The Hopeful Church
The
concluding section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is largely about money.
In this passage Paul describes his joy in the Lord in response to the financial
contributions he received from the people of Philippi.
Paul
also describes how he was able to get on in ministry regardless of whether he
had an abundance of resources or was lacking. Paul commends the Philippians for
their gift and then explains how they will ultimately benefit from their
generosity.
Paul
then ends the letter by pointing to God. Paul’s benediction to the people of
Philippi is, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in
glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
Philippians
chapter 4 is largely concerned with the subject money. This sermon is not. This
morning I would like us to spend some time looking at the principles
outlined by Paul when speaking about money. These principles are readily
transferable into other aspects of our lives. Paul presents us with principles
that will assist us in our walk with the Lord, and these principles will aid
our work as a local congregation.
Beginning at verse
10, the first principle I see is the need to praise God for Christian
cooperation.
Paul
writes, “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” (4:10).
In
this instance, the cooperation being celebrated is financial. Paul notes
that while he was in Thessalonica, the Philippian Church sent a gift more
than once for (his) needs (4:16).
Financial
support becomes a primary means of cooperation when the Christian parties
involved are separated by distance. For example, it is a rare thing for St.
Giles Kingsway to send people to remote locations for the purpose of
advancing the gospel. It is common, however, for St. Giles Kingsway to send money
to benefit ministries far away from here.
Though Paul is speaking
here of financial partnership, I do not think it wrong for us to widen the
expectations for Christian cooperation.
The leaders of St. Giles Kingsway are not
physically separated from the members of St. Giles Kingsway. And those
we hope to bless with the gospel are not far away, but are figuratively at our
doorstep in the surrounding community of Etobicoke.
Our particular context
for ministry then, allows for a much deeper level of cooperation for the
gospel. Yes, financial partnership is an important aspect, but it is just one
way for the members of St. Giles Kingsway to cooperate.
As you know we host many
events and programs throughout the year. Some of these events explicitly
promote the gospel of Christ and are out-reaching in character. Other events
promote Christian fellowship and are more in-reaching in character. All of our
programs depend upon people. All of our events require Christians to cooperate.
I’ll use Kingsway Adventure Camp as an example—one,
because it is only two weeks away, but secondly, because I regard this program
to be one of the best ways we promote the gospel within our community.
Kingsway Adventure Camp,
as you might imagine, depends hugely upon Christian cooperation.
To run our program, we
need a team of bible teachers, a team teaching crafts, a team leading games, a
hospitality team, a team teaching music, a team of greeters and a team of
administrators.
Collectively, these
teams represent more than 30 volunteers. Our volunteers are generously donating
their time, and they are utilizing their God-given abilities for the benefit of
others.
In short, the program needs money, the program needs
people, and the program requires our people to work hard and to cooperate with
one another.
I am pleased to report
that K.A.C. is a program that, year after year, has enough money, has enough
volunteers, and has enough coordination from those volunteers to accomplish our
objective of demonstrating the love of Christ to the children of our community.
I can safely site the
example of K.A.C. because I regard it to be an exemplary microcosm of what is
required from St. Giles Kingsway as a whole.
We need money for
programs yes, but more than that we need committed Christian people cooperating
with committed Christian people.
When this happens,
Paul’s example calls us to rejoice in the Lord. You see, Paul recognizes that the
cooperation he has received from the Philippians is a function of the
Philippian Church’s love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words, we need
to confess that behind every good program is a group of committed people, and
behind every group of committed people, is a merciful and loving God who has
called them and equipped them for service. For this reason, we rejoice in
the Lord!
But what happens when we
don’t get enough volunteers? What happens if the required support is not there?
I would suggest that we
need to consider two things: First, if we lack the necessary financial and
human resources to run a program, we need to consider the possibility
that the Lord is wanting us to discontinue such a program.
The biblical testimony
and our common experience teach us that the Lord often speaks to us through the
providence of circumstances. And so it may be the case that it is by Divine
purpose that we lack the necessary people and resources to run a particular
ministry.
However, if it can be confidently said that
the Lord is behind a program that is lacking volunteers, then what is
likely the case is that the Lord is drawing us into a closer dependence on
Him. This is what happened to Paul. Paul said that he learned to get
on in whatever circumstances, declaring, “I know how to get along
with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity” (4:11, 12).
In other words, if our ministry programs are
God-ordained, we may find ourselves confessing, “We know how to get along with
a just a few volunteers and we know how to live with a surplus of volunteers.”
Of course, I would prefer that latter, but I recognize that it is rare for a
congregation to reach a saturation point with regard volunteers.
At any rate, the
principle to be gleaned here is that we must depend upon the Lord in order
to gain the necessary resources for ministry.
The third, and final,
principle is a product of the former: when we depend upon the Lord for help,
He sufficiently strengthens us and meets our needs and the ministry needs of
others.
Paul declares
triumphantly, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”
(4:13).
‘Paul, what do you mean
by “all things”?’
‘I mean to say that God
will strengthen me to do all that He requires of me.’
Or, as someone has well put it, God does not call
the qualified, but He qualifies those whom He calls.
‘That’s great for you Paul—you’re an apostle, you’re a
special person in God’s plan. God may supply what you need, but we’re a
congregation, and our needs are many and complex.’
And how does Paul reply,
“My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory”
(4:19).
Friends, this is why we
can be, and why we ought to be, a hopeful church.
At the end of the day, once we have volunteered, once
we have committed ourselves to cooperate as Christians wanting to promote the
gospel, the result is left the Lord.
I think it is human
nature to want to do things we can succeed at. We’re not interested in things
where a positive outcome is in doubt.
On a personal note, I
think this is why I play less and less golf these days. I am fascinated by the
sport, and I do enjoy myself when I’m on the golf course, but I have noticed
that my hunger to play the game of golf has greatly diminished. I think that
might be because I am doubtful of having any measure of success on the golf
course.
By contrast, I now find
that whenever I am near a lake, I am eager to get out my fishing rod and get a
line in the water. I think that is because I have had great success catching
fish this summer.
Now, I realize there
isn’t tremendous skill required for fishing, but that’s not my point—my point
is that human beings naturally want to participate in things where we expect to
see advancement and success.
And I wonder if the
reason why some people drop out of assisting church ministries is because they
have prevailing doubts about whether the ministry has any hope of flourishing.
In
my limited experience, I have witnessed many backwards steps in congregational
ministry. And while every backward step concerns me, I must say that
very few backward steps alarm me. That’s because the Bible teaches we
can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
I
am entirely hopeful for ministry at St. Giles Kingsway because our God shall
supply all our needs according to His riches in glory.
Admittedly,
forward progress may come slowly. Our volunteerism may be required for a long
journey, but eventually, progress will come. If we lean on the Lord
Jesus Christ in all that we do, progress will come.
Jesus
promises us that. Jesus promises, “I will build My church; and the gates of
hell shall not overpower it” (Mt. 16:18).
For
those who have been faithful partners in gospel ministry here—I say to you,
‘Well done!’
I
also say to you: Stay the course. The journey is long, and our dependence upon
the Lord must be sustained.
And as we continue to labour together for the gospel,
let us be marked by great hopefulness. Amen.