God's Filling Station

Philippians 4:10–19 NASB95

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. 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 but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 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, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

one; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 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, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

​ NASB95But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. 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 but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 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, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Introduction:We are constantly in need. We need food and water. Air to breathe. Shelter. Money to pay bills. We need companionship, we were not built to be alone. We see that when Adam was created. “It is not good for man to be alone.” We need people around us. When we are isolated from people our mind will start play tricks on us. We will see and hear things that are not there. We go crazy. What is amazing though, is the people who drive us crazy, actually keep us from being that way. When I think of being needy, I think of a small child who needs everything. As we grow up we still have needs, we always have needs. The good news is, god has promised to supply them all. It is important, however, that we understand what He actually promises us. is one of those promises.

​ NASB95And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

This Supply has a Context

We have to look at this promise in light of the verses before it. Paul is thankful that God has used the Philippian people to meet his needs. Apparently they wanted to help him but did not have the opportunity originally.Paul acknowledges he has needs, but he has trusted God to meet them. And he had learned to be content, no matter what the situation was. This is a lesson we all need to learn. Are we content in what we have?

We will always have needs

but this does not mean we cannot be content in our present state. We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with people telling us what we need. We need a perfect body, perfect teeth. A big house, two cars (or trucks if you are from Texas.) We need the latest fashion trend, the newest Jordan sneakers. One of our toughest challenges is to be content with what we have. (wanting a new truck, nothing wrong with the one I have. not a need, but a want) Paul was not begging for money to do God’s work. He placed the need before the people and then trusted God to meet it. God had placed him there to do His work.

God will provide.

We talked about this last week as we looked at the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness. God bring them there just to watch them fail. He didn’t put Paul in ministry just to watch him fail. God would take care of him. Paul knew this.

We all have ups and downs.

Look at v 12.

​ NASB95I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

We are reminded Paul is human. Ministry was hard. Sometimes there was a lot and other times there was very little. Sometimes his stomach was full and others it was empty. We understand this, don’t we? There have been times in our lives we didn’t know where the next meal would come from and other times when we had more food than we knew what to do with. You have had times when you didn’t know how you were going to pay the light bill, but you did. I believe Paul is on the same page as Jesus, when Jesus tells us not to worry. This isn’t a flippant attitude of ‘I don’t care.” It is a calm that comes from trusting in God and believing He truly wants what is best for us.

Worry doesn’t change anything,

it only adds to the stress. Paul understood this. He trusted God. This leads us to one of the most popular and, I believe, most misused verses in the Bible:

​ NASB95I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Whatever life throws at him, he can handle. Good, bad, little or a lot. What does this, “I can do all things, mean?” I can run the 100 meter dash in 8.8 seconds? I can lift 1000 lbs? This verse does not magically give me powers to do anything. Whatever we are capable of doing, it is because God provides the ability to do it. What can life throw at you that you cannot handle? Well, almost everything! That is not the question. The real question is, “What can life throw at you that you, together with God, cannot handle?” I believe this is where Paul is going with this. Paul was living for God and as he followed the God path, God would meet his needs. This is important to us. If we are living for God, following the God path, he will meet our needs. If we are out there doing our own thing, with no involvement of God, we cannot expect Him to bless us and meet all our needs.

God enables us to bless others.

The Philippian church was the only church that provided monetary support for Paul. They sent help to him no matter where he was. When he left Macedonia, they supported him. When he was in Thessalonica they sent money there. They sent Epaphroditus to deliver money to him.

The real blessing was for the giver.

​ NASB95Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

Don’t make any mistake about this. Paul could use the support. But there was more to the gift than simply supporting Paul. He wanted them to see the blessing that comes from taking care of God’s workers. Their gifts were truly not to Paul, they were to God. They were as he says in v 18 a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. When we give to support missions, whether it is Summer, Julie or Adam in Peru, we are furthering the work of God, but we are also offering a sacrifice to God. We are trusting that He will accept it and multiply it as only He can. And in the way that only God can do it, he blesses both the giver and the receiver. As a result of this Paul writes:

​ NASB95And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Supply

This means to make full, to fill up, fill to the full. David said it this way: My cup runneth over.This is where the idea of God’s filling station comes in. He fills us to the full so we may then use what he gives us to bless others. Example: Old fashioned gravity pump. Fill it full in order to fill something else.

My God

This is a personal expression Paul uses. “my” God. He knows you and He knows what you need. My God who knows and loves me will take care of me. He is the source of our subsistence, of all we have.

Gloriously supply

He doesn’t just give us what we need so we have stuff. He does it for His glory, to bring glory to himself. We don’t have stuff just to have more than the next guy. We have stuff so we may bless others out of what we have. We overflow with His blessings so we cannot help but to get them on everything and everyone around us.

Riches

Wealth, abundance. God doesn’t supply junk. he supplies the real thing. There are a lot of cheap imitations and knockoffs out there that claim to be able to bring what only God can give. There are a lot of people claiming they know another way or a better way and you will be blessed by it, but the truth is, there is only one way. “I am the way the truth and the light and no one comes to the Father except through me.” This is either the truth or Jesus was a liar.

In Christ Jesus

There is a lot of fool’s gold out there. It may look and sound good, but it is not God’s riches. When we follow the God path, looking to do what God would have us do, we will then experience the riches of God. Conclusion:There are two major promises found in this passage that promise to fill us up.

​ NASB95I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

​ NASB95And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Fill us with strength and fill us with all we need to do His will. Not just all we need but an abundance of what we need. When we are following Him and doing His will, He takes care of us. Isn’t it interesting that two great principles of God’s Word arise out of a passage on giving? God won’t beg us to give, but He wants us to give. He can accomplish whatever needs to be done without our money and gifts, but we need to realize, just like the Philippians, that true blessings come when we give not when we get. We cannot outgive God. God has given us salvation and eternal life and that is not all. He will give more back in blessings when we are faithful and bless others.My prayer today is that God will fill each of you so you may let it flow out and fill others.