Philippians 4:19, ‘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.’
Thank God for fulfilling each of our needs. In each stage of our lives, God gives us according to our needs. It is not according to our wishes or desires but God is fulfilling all our needs and it is beautiful. Thank God.
Apostle Paul is writing to the Philippian Church and is thankful for their generosity.
V10, ‘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. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.’
Paul had to learn to be content. We need to learn to be content, through the circumstances that we go through, until our last breath. God is teaching us through these circumstances to be content.
V12, ‘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.’
We can see the balance in Paul’s life. He had learned how to live in abundance, as well as in poverty.
V13, ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me’.
This shows his total dependance on God. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
V15, ‘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; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.’
V17, ‘Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account’.
We can see the heart of Paul – ‘a heart which seeks the profit of others’. He did not have the interest in the gift itself but he is seeking for the ‘profit’, which increases to their account! – which is heavenly, which they will get. Paul says, he received in full and have an abundance.
V18, ‘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.’
We see that Paul was amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what this Church had sent, it is a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. The sacrifice of each and every member of the Church is a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. Paul is giving a blessing to the Church. When we do this, God is going to give us all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Our needs might be met, sometimes might not be met but God is going to us His grace, at that time. We might have everything we need and have everything to sustain us in this land but we should never lack the grace of God.
V20, ‘Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.’
All his needs were met in full and he is giving God and father, all the glory. He is perfectly content in his life and along with the blessing to the Church in Philippi, he is giving all the glory to God and Father.
There is a wedding at Cana. There was a need. The mother of Jesus was quick to analyze the situation, very well. She arose to the occasion.
John 2:1, ‘On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.”’
The requirement was made by Mary. We see the reply of Jesus.
V4, ‘And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
V5, ‘His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”’
Mary said the words of faith! She said, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it’. These were the words of confirmation. Jesus is there, He is going to supply all our needs. We need to be confident in Jesus, that He is going to take care of our needs.
V6, ‘Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”’
V11, ‘This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.’
We see the manifestation of His glory here – ‘The deficiency has come to sufficiency’. We see His glory being manifested. When a word of faith is said, do whatever God is saying. When there is any need arising in our lives, we can ask God about our need and God gives us assurance that He will provide it. When we take a firm step in faith, our need is being fulfilled and we can see the glory of God is replicated. Thank God for the ways He is leading each one of us; during the times of need, when we truly depend on our God, when we wait on the Lord, we will see His glory. We can see that His nature is being transformed in our lives. When each one of us give sacrifice to the Lord, it will be a sweet aroma and is transformed into glory to the Lord. We can be a sweet aroma, bringing glory to our God.
1 Kings 18:42, ‘So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees.’
Elijah killed the prophets of Baal. After this, Elijah asked Ahab to ‘go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower’. Earlier we see that there was no rain.
V1, ‘Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.”’
V43, ‘He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44 It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” 45 In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.’
Elijah was desperate to see the rain. He went up to the top of Carmel and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. After seven times, there was a cloud as small as a man’s hand, coming up from the sea! Wait on the Lord. We see the blessings, the showers later.
At times, when things are not moving as per our wish, we get very discouraged. We need to wait unto the Lord. Like Mary said to the servants, ‘Do, as Jesus tells you to do’.
Even people around may tell us that nothing is happening, even, since many years, we are praying for something and nothing is happening, in the end we can see that God’s right hand – which is moving! Thank God for providing us everything at the right time and at the right moment!
1 Kings 19:1, ‘Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
We see that Elijah is going into the pit of discouragement! He saw the blessings of the Lord, he saw God’s glory, saw how he prayed to the Lord and how Lord answered his prayers and how he worshipped God. But slowly, when we are full of abundance, we see that, what we are getting; the blessings are not enough! Slowly we see that discouragement is scraping up. In Elijah’s life also, he was discouraged and wanted to die because Jezebel threatened him. We might also get threatened and discouraged; but we should not be threatened or discouraged because God is with us and He will supply all our needs according to His riches in His glory in Christ Jesus. The riches we need at this time, is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to be always, knowingly or unknowingly be lifted up in our spirits, allow God to work in those situations, pray to God – ‘Lord at this time I am discouraged, lift my spirit up and fill me with your Holy Spirit’. He will help us.
V5, ‘He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” 6 Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.’
When Elijah was discouraged, there was someone who encouraged him and asked him to arise and eat! The body of Christ is working to encourage us, giving us Word and asking us to arise and shine for the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are encouraged and asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to take the cross daily, let us take this encouragement and do it! As Elijah gathered the strength, we also need to gather our strength, from the Word of the Lord. When we honestly ask the Lord about our dryness, He will supply our needs, He will fill us with His Holy Spirit.
Psalms 23:1-2, ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.’
He is enabling us to lie down in green pastures and He is helping us to go to the quiet waters, where we can quench our thirst. The door is open, are we ready to accept this?
2 Corinthians 8:1, ‘Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,’
The grace of God was poured out in the Churches of Macedonia.
V2, ‘that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.’
There was a freedom in their heart. Even though they were afflicted, there was an abundance of joy in their heart. They were outwardly crushed and were going through difficult conditions in their lives, but there was joy in their hearts! There was abundance of joy in those deep poverty times! This overflowed in the wealth of their liberality! Beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord.
V3, ‘For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.’
The Christians here, submitted themselves to the will of God; they first gave themselves to the Lord. When we do this, we will have freedom in our heart and joy and the work of the Holy Spirit will be done in our hearts. Then God will reveal the actual need in our lives.
V9, ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.’
Through His poverty we became rich. Thank God for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,’
This is the real riches we have; that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He has blessed us with the Holy Spirit in our hearts. If we accept this, we will have fullness. We will know what is the need, the actual spiritual poverty in our lives will be revealed, when we fully submit ourselves to the Lord.
John 15:7, ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’
When we abide in Him and when His words abide in us, when we take His Word seriously in our hearts and when we obey it, then whatever we ask Him, it will be done for us. We might not get the riches of this world, but He will pour out the riches of the Holy Spirit – This is the actual requirement of our hearts.
V8, ‘My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.’
This should be our aim, in our small life, which we have, that ‘His Name should be glorified in our lives’! The Word should be applied in our lives and the Word should abide in us. When we obey His commandments, when we die to our self and carry our cross daily, yearn and ask earnestly for the filling of the Holy Spirit, we are going to bear much fruit and prove to be His disciples.
Philippians 4:20, ‘Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen’.
Thank God for His Word.
