Today I would like you to turn
in your Bible to the book of Philippians. I'll be speaking
from Philippians chapter 4, verse 19. Let's read this verse together.
Philippians chapter 4, verse 19. But my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ. Now Paul was especially dear
to these believers at Philippi and greatly appreciated by them.
When Paul was put in a Roman prison for preaching the gospel,
they sent a gift, a care package, by the hand of their pastor to
help meet the need of the Apostle Paul while he was in prison. And Paul sent this letter back
to them by the hand of Paproditus, their pastor, to express his
love for them. He calls them several times,
My dearly beloved brethren, Paul loved these people. Paul preached
the gospel to these people, and they loved and appreciated him.
And he sends this letter back to them to express his love for
them. Also, giving thanks unto God for the gospel which they
believe, which they receive by God-given faith, to encourage
them to stand, to stand fast for the faith. Stand fast for
the gospel. Don't waver. Don't move. and
to assure them that God would meet all their needs. That's why he closes this epistle
by saying, My God, the living God, the true God, shall supply
all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ. Now this morning, let's consider
several things together from this text. The first one is this,
our great necessity, our great necessity, Everyone listening
to the broadcast this morning has a great need. We are by birth
and by nature, as David says throughout the Psalms, poor and
needy creatures. We're sinful creatures, guilty
creatures in need of many, many things of God. I need not borrow
from the needs of others. I have plenty of my own need. We have many temporal needs,
food, shelter, clothing. medical care, personal needs,
family needs, economic needs. Our needs are as many as the
hairs of our head, our temporal needs. If we took personal inventory
of all our need, we'd be overwhelmed. But listen to this precious promise
the Lord gives us in Matthew 6, verse 32. Your heavenly Father
knoweth that you have need of all these things, these temporal
things. He knows we have need of these things. But he said,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you. We do have temporal
needs, but our temporal needs are very small compared to our
spiritual need. A man may with the blessings
of God provide for his needs of his body, for his temporal
needs, but who shall provide for the requirements of our soul,
of our spiritual needs? Pardon from all sin, righteousness
to stand before God. Wisdom to understand spiritual
truth. Faith to receive the truth. Spiritual
life to believe the truth. Reconciliation unto God. Who
can provide these things? The sinner certainly can. Justification
from guilt. Redemption from all transgression.
Salvation from all our iniquities. Grace to help in time of need.
Comfort in time of trial. You see, all of our spiritual
need that we have, and we're unable to provide these things.
and comfort, mercy, to daily refresh our soul. It might be
better to ask this question, what do we not need? We're absolutely
helpless to supply our own spiritual need, our great necessities,
our temporal or our spiritual need. We're shut up to one source,
our God. Now that's my second point here.
The poor and needy sinner has a great need. But my friend,
don't despair. We have a great Helper. Paul
says here, My God, My God shall supply. My God. Here's a promise
of Scripture in Hebrews 4, 16. Let us come boldly into the throne
of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help when?
In time of need. My God. Who can meet every need
of the believer? Who can meet every need of the
guilty sinner? David said, The Lord is my shepherd
and I shall not want. Only our all-sufficient, all-wise,
almighty God can meet our every need. Who is this God of Paul? Well, Jeremiah says, is there
anything too hard for God? Who is this God of the Apostle
Paul where he says, my God, my friend, he's the living God,
the true God, who is the almighty, all-sufficient, all-powerful,
and there's nothing too hard for God. With salvation, with
men, it's impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. He's the God of all providence.
The God of all providence. He said, I've spoken it. I'll
bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I will do it,
Isaiah 46. He's the God of all grace. The
God of all grace who has called us unto His eternal glory by
and through Jesus Christ, Peter said. He's the God of all salvation.
Salvations of the Lord from election to glorification and all the
way in between. Salvations of the Lord from first
in the Alpha to Omega. Salvations of the Lord. Paul's
God, the God of the Bible, is not a weak and unable God. He's
able to perform all that He has promised. And He's promised to
never leave us, to never forsake us. David said, Our God is in
the heavens and He has done whatsoever He has pleased. You see, Paul's
confidence Yes, we do have great need, temporal and spiritual
need, but our confidence, the confidence of the believer is
this, my God, my God, we have a great helper. We have a great
helper. Now, thirdly, here's this. Here's
our great supplier. Yes, we have a great need, but
we have a great God who is a great supplier. He said, my God shall
supply. Some render this verse this way
and translate it this way, my God will fill to the full all
your need. How graciously and freely God
gives to the poor and needy, not to the rich, not to the righteous. He didn't come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. My friend, we have a great need
of pardon, but thou art a God ready to pardon. Listen to this
promise. Let the wicked forsake his way.
The unrighteous man is stopped. Let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him, and unto our God, for he will
abundantly pardon." We do have a great need of pardon, but in
Christ, because God shall supply all our need, He's able to pardon. We have a great need of redemption,
redemption and deliverance from our sin. Listen to the promise
of Scripture. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. We're redeemed with the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have great need for righteousness. That's why Paul said, Oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through Christ. David
said, Blessed is the man to whom God would impute righteousness
with how it works. Yes, we do have a great need
of pardon. redemption and righteousness.
But my friend, God, my God, the living God, the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. He shall supply all your need,
all your need, pardon, redemption, righteousness, every spiritual
need that the sinner desperately has. Our God is able to abundantly
supply, abundantly supply. Now, fourthly, let's consider
this, consider the great resources that our God has. Yes, we do
have a great need. But my friend, we have a great
helper who has great supplies of pardon, redemption and righteousness. And consider this fourthly. Look
at this verse where it talks about God's great resources. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory. According to his riches
in glory. Now, consider the riches of God
in nature. David said in Psalm 24, the earth
is the Lord and the fullness thereof. Consider the riches
of God in nature. He owns all things. Everything
that he made is his. He's abundantly rich in all resources. But consider the riches of God
in glory. The riches of God in glory. Now, you listen to this scripture
in Ephesians chapter three. And Paul prays this way about
the riches that he would bless his people according to that
manner, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you,
being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend
with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth
and height, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge,
that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think according to the power that worketh in us, unto
him be all the glory." You see, the riches of God's glory, how
does God bless us? Well, not according to our merit,
not according to our deed, not according to our work, but rather
according to His inexhaustible riches of His glory, not our
merit, but His glory. Paul said this in Romans 11,
Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God, how in search of his judgment and his ways past finding
out. God doesn't bless us according
to our merit, but according to his riches of glory. In Ephesians chapter 2, we read
about this, that God is rich. He describes what we are by nature,
children of wrath, even as others, but God who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He loved us. It is not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to God's
mercy He saved us." God is rich in mercy. Not only that, but
He is rich in grace. Ephesians 1, 7 says, "...in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
according to the riches of His grace." He gives abundantly out
of the riches of His glory, but He also gives richly to magnify
His glory. He receives glory by giving richly. You see, the resources according
to the riches of His glory, not according to our works. You can't
merit grace. You can't merit mercy. God gives
richly out of the abundance of His glory. Now, here's the last
thing. Here's the channel by which Our
God supplies every need. He said, My God, the living God,
the true God, shall supply all your need, pardon, righteousness,
redemption, everything the guilty sinner needs. My God shall supply
according to His riches in glory. Now lastly is this, buying through
and in our Lord Jesus Christ. Does God supply all His people's
needs buying through Jesus Christ? Does He? Did He supply all our
need through Christ? Absolutely, always and only. How? Let me give you two things,
two reasons. How does He do this? By giving
us Christ Himself. The person that has Jesus Christ
has all things. Listen to this promise of Scripture.
Paul said, All things are yours, for you are Christ, and Christ
is God. Now, if you have Him, in Him
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and the believer
is complete in Him. We're accepted in the Beloved.
How does God supply all our need? By giving us the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ in you, the hope of glory, of His fullness. Of His fullness
have we all received grace for grace. By giving us Christ, the
man who has Christ, has everything, has everything. Secondly, by
giving us all things by the virtue of His merit. We deserve no blessing,
but He does. God said, this is My beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. He honored the law on our behalf.
He died as a sinner's substitute to put away our sin. We deserve
no blessing, but He does. When He had by Himself purged
our sin, He sat down at the right hand of God. And my friend, He
freely gives us all things that He has earned. God who spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? We deserve no
blessing, but He does. And He freely gives us all things
that He has earned, justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said this
to the Corinthians, but of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who
of God? is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Now unto God our Father, Paul
said, be glory forever and ever. Amen. Do you have need? I do. I'm a guilty sinner by nature,
and I need mercy. I need righteousness. My friend,
the hope of the guilty sinner is this. My God, the living God,
true God, shall supply all your need. according to his riches
in glory by and through the Lord Jesus Christ.