Philippians 4:19
~15 min read
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for this morning's message is taken from Philippians 4:19, just one verse, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” We all have needs—spiritual needs, physical needs, emotional needs, and so forth. As we live our lives on this Earth, we know that we ought not to be worried, anxious, and despaired because the Bible is filled with promises that God will help us. He will protect us, preserve, and provide for us.
So oftentimes, when we are discouraged, afflicted, and depressed, we will scramble to find verses in the Bible for promises that will encourage our hearts and uplift our souls. There was once a Christian girl who took a large empty tin can and filled it with Bible verses. She would write all those Bible verses that had to do with God's promises, roll them up into tiny scrolls, place them into the tin can, and cover the lid. Whenever she was discouraged, she would pull out a Bible verse to cheer her heart.
Then came World War Two; her country went into war, her father and two brothers were sent into the battlefield to fight, and the whole economy plunged into depression. She was devastated and she cried out, ‘God, you know how depressed I am. You know I need a word of encouragement. Is there a promise in the Bible that can help me in this most difficult time?’ After she prayed, she took the tin can so that she could pull out a Bible verse, but as she took the tin can into her room, she tripped and fell. The tin can dropped onto the floor, the lid was open, and all the Bible verses spilled out. Immediately, she realised how foolish she was to ask for one promise when there were so many amazing promises in the Bible.
Pause for a moment and consider all the promises in the Bible. Take, for example, for the promise of eternal salvation there is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” For the promise of God's sovereign purpose in all situations of life, there is Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” For the promise of eternal security, we have John 10:28 when Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” For the promise of God's peace, we have learned Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Indeed, the Bible is filled with many glorious promises. Perhaps the greatest promise is found in Philippians 4:19 because this verse includes all the other promises.
Do you need salvation? Surely you need it. God will supply salvation. Do you need strength in times of trials? God will supply strength. Do you need comfort in your loneliness? God will supply comfort. Do you need provision? God will supply the resources. “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This is a most wonderful verse. May our hearts be encouraged and comforted as we consider this one verse. Our title is "My God Shall Supply All Your Needs."
I. Our Source
Our first point is: Our Source. This verse begins with two very important words, "My God." Paul did not say ‘a god,’ referring to one of the idols of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, or Romans. In fact, all other gods beginning with a small letter ‘G’ were no gods at all; they were nothing. Paul did not say ‘the God’; he said "My God." He was specific and made it personal. Sometimes in evangelism, people would say to us, ‘Isn't the faith of the Christians the same as the faith of all the other religions? You believe with all your heart; they also believe with all their hearts. You are sincere; they are also sincere. Your faith is personal; their faith is also personal. What is the difference?’
On the surface, it may appear to be the same, but that is only the subjective element of our faith. The objective element of our faith is the difference. It is that which separates us from all the other religions of this world. The God whom you and I believe in is the God of the Bible. He is the only one living and true God. By way of illustration, there may be no difference between the belief of a person who trusts he can lean on a tower, or a pillar, made of paper and the belief of another person who trusts he can lean on a real pillar. Both may be sincere, but only the real pillar will support the person, while the fake pillar will collapse and break apart. The God whom Paul was talking about was the only real God, the only living and true God who will support His people, and He will never let down those who believe in Him.
Dear friend, is Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Saviour? It is not good enough to say Jesus is a shepherd or He is the shepherd. You must say, ‘Jesus is my shepherd.’ Are you able to say that? If He is not your God, if you have never believed in Him genuinely, if you are not able to say, ‘He is my God,’ then this blessed promise is not for you. On the other hand, if you truly believe and trust in Him, then you will find Him to be strong, infinitely strong, and absolutely faithful.
II. Our Need
Our second point is: ”Our Need. "My God shall supply all your need." When we read this phrase, immediately some people will say, ‘There are so many things in my life that I'm lacking. I do not have this, and I do not have that. Most certainly, not all my needs are met.’ Do you know the reason why they feel this way?
Firstly, it is because most of us do not really know what our needs are. We are confused about our needs. Today practically everything has become our need. We say we need a new car, a new house, a new job, a new environment, a new holiday destination, a new electronic gadget, etc. Those are not our needs; those are our wants, our desires. We are confused.
Secondly, what we say we need, what we think we need, may not be good for us. We think we need to get married, settle down, and have children, but we are not ready for that. Even in spiritual things, we think we need to step up and start serving, but we are not ready for that. Why? Because we are spiritually immature. We will create problems for ourselves and for the people around us. Sometimes when we go through a trial, we cry out, "God, I do not need this, especially at this moment." But the reality is that this is exactly what we need. We need to go through the trials to build up our faith. We need to be disciplined because we have some hidden sins.
The truth of the matter is that none of us can confidently say we know perfectly what we really need. Only God knows. That is the reason why you notice the prerequisite: "My God shall supply all your need." Which means God is not only the source; He is also the one who determines. Because He is the only one who knows perfectly what you and I really need, and He shall supply all those needs. Not some of those needs, or most of those needs, but all.
How does God supply our needs? God could supply our needs in a miraculous way, like the way He sent manna down from heaven to feed the Israelites while they were living in the wilderness. Today, it is true that God no longer provides for us like the way He provided for the Israelites by raining manna down from heaven. He can if He wants to, but God chooses to provide for us through the situations of life, through the events of life, through sending people into our lives to help us, to support us, through seemingly normal circumstances. Nonetheless, His provision is no less a miracle. From providing us with jobs, to sustaining our jobs, to giving us the strength to do the job, at every step of the way he is providing for us in a most miraculous way. We must have the spiritual eyes to see.
By way of testimony, when the Lord first called me into full-time ministry, I was supported by a Christian organisation and they paid me $250 monthly. At that time, my wife Hye Young, we were not married yet. She was serving in a Korean church and was paid more than me, $400. Humanly speaking, it was impossible to have a family, to have children, to have a roof over our heads, to put bread and butter on the table. But step by step, God provided for us. Now, as we look back, He has supplied all our needs, and it is no less a miracle.
Some of you here are in your retirements. When you look back, how God has provided you with jobs, sustained your jobs, given you strength to do the work set before you, enabled you to save enough money to live through your evening years. Has He not provided for you just as He has provided for the Israelites for 40 years? His provision may come to you in very different ways, but it is no less a miracle.
The Greek word for need is very interesting. Basically, it means employment or business. You may be wondering what has this employment and business got to do with this particular verse. You see, in the preceding verses, Paul spoke about his needs being met by the generous giving of the Philippians who sent him a gift through Epaphroditus. In other words, the Philippians were into this business of giving and receiving. You cannot give what you do not have, and what you have, you have received from God. When you give willingly and sacrificially, your resources will be depleted, and they need to be replenished.
So, as the Philippians were engaged in this business of giving, would God not replenish their resources? Most certainly, He would. That was why the Apostle Paul said, "My God shall supply all your need." He will replenish all your need. And the word "supply" is amazing because it means to fill it up, to supply abundantly, bountifully. In Malachi 3:8, the familiar passage about giving, God rebuked the people for robbing Him. And how did they rob Him? Through the giving of tithes and offerings. Everything they had came from God, and yet they withheld their tithes and offerings, refusing to give.
God said to them, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith” - which means, test me now in this way, test to see if this is what will happen - ‘I will open the windows of heaven, and I will pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’
In other words, God was saying to them, ‘Why do you steal from me? I have given you so much. Why have you withheld all these things? Do you think by doing that, you can build up your treasures? Do you not believe that I can supply all your needs? Do you not realise that by doing that, you are actually losing a great blessing? Now test me, prove me. If I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that your finite minds will never be able to fathom.’
This is an important lesson for all of us to learn. Oftentimes, God's way of providing for the church, for the needs of others, is through blessing us with the resources to give. But instead of giving, we withhold those resources. We keep those resources, thinking that they are securities for ourselves. It is so foolish because when we do that, we lose out on a great blessing that God has in store for us. Dear friends, God wants all of us to be engaged in this business of giving and receiving. What we have comes from God, and when we give, He will replenish. And then we give, He will replenish again. And then we give, He will replenish. His blessings will never be exhausted. This is the biblical principle behind this phrase, "My God shall supply all your need."
Do you believe that God will supply all your needs? Do you believe that everything you have cometh from Him? Do you acknowledge and are you thankful for the bountiful blessings you have received from Him? As parents, we will provide meals for our children, right? Whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Let's say every time you prepare a meal for your child, he says, ‘Dad, Mom, thank you so much for the meal.’ What do you think your child has learned? He has learned to be grateful and thankful. He has learned not to take things for granted, and he acknowledged that you are the one who has prepared the meal for him.
Our God has graciously provided for all our needs even though at times we do not pray, we do not give thanks for what we have received, yet He still continues to provide for us. When you and I do not pray and give thanks for our needs being met, what do we learn about His gracious provision? Nothing. When you and I do not give thanks for our needs being met, what does it show? It shows that we are ungrateful and unthankful. It shows that we take things for granted and we do not acknowledge that we have received those things from His good hands. God forbids. We must never do that. That is why we must always pray and always give thanks for the needs being met because we have received all these good things from the good hand of the Almighty God.
III. Our Provision
Our third and final point is: our provision “according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The original Greek word for ‘glory’ means the brightness, magnificence, majesty, or splendor. Take a moment and consider the glory of God. Can you think of anything in this world that can adequately or sufficiently describe the glory of God? In Exodus 33:18, when Moses was on Mount Sinai, he wanted to see the glory of God, and God said to him, ‘Thou shalt not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.’ But God knew Moses desired to see His glory, so He took him and placed him in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand. And as He passed, He took away His hand so that Moses was able to catch a glimpse of His back.
Later on, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two plates of the Ten Commandments, his face shone as he spoke to the people. How amazing! In Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the throne of God surrounded by the seraphims. The seraphims were the angelic beings; they had six wings, two pairs of wings covering their eyes, two pairs of wings covering their feet because of the magnificent glory of God and His holiness. So they had to cover their eyes and cover their feet. And with the other two pairs, they flew around the throne of God, crying out, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of Thy glory.’
Every time I visit one of the elderly sisters in our church, she would invite me to sit in her living room, and then she will look out of her window and then point to the birds in her garden. And she will say, ‘It is so amazing to see the creations of God. It is like a glimpse of His glory.’ Indeed, the Psalmist says in Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Even the entire universe cannot contain the glory of God. At best, it can only declare a glimpse of His glory. When you and I try to fathom the glory of God, it will blow our minds. Humanly speaking, we can never fathom the glory of God, how magnificent it is, how majestic the brightness of it, the splendor of it.
The riches of God's glory is infinite. It cannot be contained; it cannot be exhausted. Yet, God chose to reveal to us His glory in a most wonderful way by sending His only begotten Son. Jesus Christ is the glorious second person in the triune God. He came into this world and died on the cross of Calvary for you and me. Through Christ, we are redeemed, and our sins are forgiven. Through Christ, we have received every spiritual blessings. Through Christ, we have an inheritance reserved for us, which will never perish, and we can never lose. Through Christ, we will dwell in our eternal home in heaven, where the streets are made of pure gold, garnished with precious stones of all sorts. The gates are made with gigantic pearls.
That is what God has done for you and me. And He says to us, I will supply all your needs, not out of my riches, but according to my riches. If God had given to us His only begotten Son, if God did not withhold from us His only begotten Son, will He withhold from us anything? Will He ever withhold from us by not supplying for our needs as we live on this earth? Most certainly not. He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Dear friends, we all have needs, different kinds of needs. Some of our needs are more intense than others. It could be spiritual needs, physical needs, emotional needs, financial needs, and so forth. Do you believe with all your heart that the God who spared not His only begotten Son, who did not withhold His Son from you, will He supply all your needs? If you believe with all your heart, then this morning, you'll be able to say, like the Apostle Paul confidently, 100% assured in your heart, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” That is our God. He is the source. He is the one who determines our real need because He knows perfectly. We have needs and we cried out to Him, and He will provide without holding back, providing all our needs. And we believe. Let us pray.
Father in Heaven, indeed, Thou hast saved us. Thou who has called us out of darkness into thy marvellous light. Thou did not withhold from us even Thy only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, the glorious second person in the triune God. He came for us. He died on the cross, shedding His precious blood because of us. Is there anything that Thou will withhold from us? No. We truly believe that Thou will supply all our needs, whatever our needs may be—spiritual needs, physical needs, emotional needs, and so forth. Thou will supply. And Thou art not only the source; Thou art also the one who determines because only Thou alone knoweth what we really need. We may think that we need those things, but those things that we have in our minds may not be good for us. Oftentimes we are confused about our needs. We know that Thou alone knoweth perfectly what we really need.
So, to Thee we come and ask that Thou will supply all our needs according to Thy perfect wisdom. And we rest upon this assurance because Thou who spared not Thy only begotten Son, Thou will not withhold anything from us. Thou will provide, and Thou will supply abundantly, bountifully. And this is the confidence that we have, that our hearts are encouraged, our hearts are comforted because we have a God who loves us with such a perfect love. And we cry out to Thee each time we need, and we ask that may Thy will be done in Thy own time according to Thy own purpose and will. May Thou supply all our needs.
We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANSThe Church at PhilippiThe Church at PhilippiPhilippians 1:1-2
The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)Philippians 1:3-5
Elements of True JoyElements of True JoyPhilippians 1:3-6
The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)Philippians 1:6
What are the Things Most Important to Us?What are the Things Most Important to Us?Philippians 1:7-8
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Message 5: Praying for the ChurchMessage 5: Praying for the ChurchPhilippians 1:9-11
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Are All Things Really Working For Good?Are All Things Really Working For Good?Philippians 1:12-14
In Times of AdversityIn Times of AdversityPhilippians 1:12-18
Trouble in the ChurchTrouble in the ChurchPhilippians 1:15-18
For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainFor to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainPhilippians 1:19-26
To Live is ChristTo Live is ChristPhilippians 1:19-26
Living Worthy of the GospelLiving Worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
Live your life worthy of the GospelLive your life worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)Philippians 2:1-2
Let's Have FellowshipLet's Have FellowshipPhilippians 2:1-4
Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Philippians 2:3-4
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-8
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-11
What Is Christmas?What Is Christmas?Philippians 2:6-11
The Greatest NameThe Greatest NamePhilippians 2:9-11
Living a Sanctified LifeLiving a Sanctified LifePhilippians 2:12-13
Work Out Your Own SalvationWork Out Your Own SalvationPhilippians 2:12-18
Moving Forward Not BackwardMoving Forward Not BackwardPhilippians 2:13-14
Stop Murmuring and ComplainingStop Murmuring and ComplainingPhilippians 2:14-16
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulPhilippians 2:17-18
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyPhilippians 2:19-24
The Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentThe Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentPhilippians 3:1-2
True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthTrue Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthPhilippians 3:3, John 4:4-30
Nothing to Boast OfNothing to Boast OfPhilippians 3:3-6
What Is Gain To Me Is LossWhat Is Gain To Me Is LossPhilippians 3:7-9
The Power of Christ's ResurrectionThe Power of Christ's ResurrectionPhilippians 3:10-11
What are Your Spiritual Goals?What are Your Spiritual Goals?Philippians 3:10-11
Pressing Toward The MarkPressing Toward The MarkPhilippians 3:12-14
Pressing Toward the MarkPressing Toward the MarkPhilippians 3:13-14
Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouMorning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouPhilippians 3:13-14
How to Know the Will of GodHow to Know the Will of GodPhilippians 3:15
Who Are You Following?Who Are You Following?Philippians 3:16-19
Heavenly Or Earthly MindedHeavenly Or Earthly MindedPhilippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
How Do You Stand Fast?How Do You Stand Fast?Philippians 4:1
How to Maintain Christian UnityHow to Maintain Christian UnityPhilippians 4:2-3
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Philippians 4:4-7
The Cure for AnxietyThe Cure for AnxietyPhilippians 4:6-7
Message 6: Praying for the TroubledMessage 6: Praying for the TroubledPhilippians 4:6-7
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Philippians 4:8-9
Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Philippians 4:10-12
How To Be An Overcoming ChristianHow To Be An Overcoming ChristianPhilippians 4:13
Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Philippians 4:13-19
My God Shall Supply All Your NeedsMy God Shall Supply All Your NeedsPhilippians 4:19
Living By Grace and For God's GloryLiving By Grace and For God's GloryPhilippians 4:20-23
