Glory To God
God’s abundant mercy and grace be yours today!
We have come to the end of the month and very near the end of this letter of Paul to the Philippian Christians. Paul chooses to give one more word of exhortation and thanksgiving for the generosity of the Philippian Church in our text. Hear what he says to them!
You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. 17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account. 18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:15-20
Paul states once again that he has been blessed by their generosity, and he is blessed and thankful for them. He makes reference to his time in Thessalonica and the ministry they provided by sending gifts to assist in his needs.
This is a stark lesson for missionaries throughout history. You arrive at a place where no one knows you and you have no support. You set out to preach the Gospel to the lost, and while God is providing many blessings, the financial resources needed to continue the ministry must come from some distant place. The new converts have little understanding of the need to support the ministry and their few numbers in the beginning make it impossible. How many of us individually or in our churches have supported missionaries serving in a foreign field?
At the same time, Paul expresses his absolute dependance upon God, Who always provided what was needed for him as he served. He even mentions Epaphroditus who was the messenger who was sent to Paul with their gift.
Paul then makes an unusual statement, one which recalls the worship of God in the Temple. He says, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. While there were many different types of sacrifices made in the temple, I believe Paul is referencing the Thank Offerings and the burning of incense which took place each day for the people of God.
If you remember, Zechariah was taking his turn in the temple when he was told that Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. Because he doubted, he was struck mute until John was born. He was taking his turn to burn the incense on the Alter of Incense at the time of evening prayer. It is as the smoke of the incense rose toward heaven the prayers of God’s people ascended.
God looked with favor upon these actions because God desires for His children to talk to Him. It is a challenging concept for each of us to grasp! God desires to live in a relationship with each one of us. What is any relationship without communication? How can we commune with each other if we are not talking to each other? It is impossible!
It is as we read God’s Word that we hear Him speak to us and reveal His will for our lives and it is in this process that the Holy Spirit is working to guide us in our relationship with Him. In response, as we pray, we are speaking to our Father who loves us and desires for us to live in such a way that we are depending on Him for everything.
We often find it difficult to speak to God in a casual way. We are more comfortable with the formal types of prayer. We use the term “Father” to address God and there is nothing wrong with this. But how many times did you walk into your living room as a child and say, “Father, I would like to ask you something?” I would imagine we all said, “Dad, can I talk to you?” It is only as we understand the love of our heavenly Father that we come to realize He is “Abba” which means “Dad” or “Daddy.” He does not want formality to keep us at a distance. He desires a true intimate relationship with each of us where we are relaxed and comfortable approaching Him in every time of need, and especially when we simply want to say, “Daddy, thank you for being with me today and blessing me.”
Paul concludes these remarks with an assurance of God’s blessing for them and a doxology! And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
God is faithful and He will always be present with us, and we will never go without what we need in life. This would include what is needed for daily life such as food and clothing, but there are more important things we need. God is present to support and comfort us when times are difficult, and we are struggling. He promises to be present, and He will provide what we need to move forward in life, giving us the strength to go on when we don’t think we can take another step.
The doxology praises God and attributes to Him all glory forever and ever. This is Paul’s reminder to us that God is worthy of all glory and honor because He is God. It is as we give glory to God that we are placing ourselves in the proper relationship. He is God and we are not! It is an amazing truth that the God of the universe has chosen to love us, save us, and claim us as His own to be with Him forever in eternity. Set your heart on this truth and the struggles and trials we face will suddenly fall into proper perspective.
Glory to God,
Pastor Russ
We have come to the end of the month and very near the end of this letter of Paul to the Philippian Christians. Paul chooses to give one more word of exhortation and thanksgiving for the generosity of the Philippian Church in our text. Hear what he says to them!
You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. 17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account. 18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:15-20
Paul states once again that he has been blessed by their generosity, and he is blessed and thankful for them. He makes reference to his time in Thessalonica and the ministry they provided by sending gifts to assist in his needs.
This is a stark lesson for missionaries throughout history. You arrive at a place where no one knows you and you have no support. You set out to preach the Gospel to the lost, and while God is providing many blessings, the financial resources needed to continue the ministry must come from some distant place. The new converts have little understanding of the need to support the ministry and their few numbers in the beginning make it impossible. How many of us individually or in our churches have supported missionaries serving in a foreign field?
At the same time, Paul expresses his absolute dependance upon God, Who always provided what was needed for him as he served. He even mentions Epaphroditus who was the messenger who was sent to Paul with their gift.
Paul then makes an unusual statement, one which recalls the worship of God in the Temple. He says, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. While there were many different types of sacrifices made in the temple, I believe Paul is referencing the Thank Offerings and the burning of incense which took place each day for the people of God.
If you remember, Zechariah was taking his turn in the temple when he was told that Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. Because he doubted, he was struck mute until John was born. He was taking his turn to burn the incense on the Alter of Incense at the time of evening prayer. It is as the smoke of the incense rose toward heaven the prayers of God’s people ascended.
God looked with favor upon these actions because God desires for His children to talk to Him. It is a challenging concept for each of us to grasp! God desires to live in a relationship with each one of us. What is any relationship without communication? How can we commune with each other if we are not talking to each other? It is impossible!
It is as we read God’s Word that we hear Him speak to us and reveal His will for our lives and it is in this process that the Holy Spirit is working to guide us in our relationship with Him. In response, as we pray, we are speaking to our Father who loves us and desires for us to live in such a way that we are depending on Him for everything.
We often find it difficult to speak to God in a casual way. We are more comfortable with the formal types of prayer. We use the term “Father” to address God and there is nothing wrong with this. But how many times did you walk into your living room as a child and say, “Father, I would like to ask you something?” I would imagine we all said, “Dad, can I talk to you?” It is only as we understand the love of our heavenly Father that we come to realize He is “Abba” which means “Dad” or “Daddy.” He does not want formality to keep us at a distance. He desires a true intimate relationship with each of us where we are relaxed and comfortable approaching Him in every time of need, and especially when we simply want to say, “Daddy, thank you for being with me today and blessing me.”
Paul concludes these remarks with an assurance of God’s blessing for them and a doxology! And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
God is faithful and He will always be present with us, and we will never go without what we need in life. This would include what is needed for daily life such as food and clothing, but there are more important things we need. God is present to support and comfort us when times are difficult, and we are struggling. He promises to be present, and He will provide what we need to move forward in life, giving us the strength to go on when we don’t think we can take another step.
The doxology praises God and attributes to Him all glory forever and ever. This is Paul’s reminder to us that God is worthy of all glory and honor because He is God. It is as we give glory to God that we are placing ourselves in the proper relationship. He is God and we are not! It is an amazing truth that the God of the universe has chosen to love us, save us, and claim us as His own to be with Him forever in eternity. Set your heart on this truth and the struggles and trials we face will suddenly fall into proper perspective.
Glory to God,
Pastor Russ
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