God supplies all your needs in Christ.

 

Sermon for Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, 2024

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  Amen.

Philippians 4:10-20  ¹⁰I rejoice greatly in the Lord now that you have revived your concern for me once again.  Actually, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  ¹¹I am not saying this because I lack anything; in fact, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself.  ¹²I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough.  ¹³I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.  ¹⁴Nevertheless, you did well by becoming partners with me in my affliction.  ¹⁵You Philippians know that in the beginning of your experience with the gospel, when I left Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone.  ¹⁶Even while I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once for my needs.  ¹⁷Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am seeking the fruit that adds to your account.  ¹⁸I have been paid in full, and I have more than enough.  I am fully supplied since I’ve received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.  ¹⁹And my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  ²⁰Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever!  Amen. (EHV)

God supplies all your needs in Christ.

Dear generous friends,

            “Say thank you.”  How often did we hear that as children?  And how often did we also say that to our children, trying to teach them to show gratitude for gifts they received.  It is good and wise to give thanks when others share with us.  We all know it.  Yet, sometimes it might feel a bit forced.  Maybe the gift we received wasn’t as much or as great as we hoped it would be, or maybe we felt like we deserved something better.  Perhaps, even having a special Thanksgiving Day may, also, feel like you are being commanded to give thanks, whether you feel like it or not.

Now, Thanksgiving Day began with noble intentions.  The Pilgrims truly felt great gratitude for surviving a year that had begun with them in such desperate conditions that many had died.  President Lincoln declared the first national Thanksgiving Day in the midst of the Civil War.  He felt that too many people had forgotten God’s gracious hand while there was much reason to thank God and pray for further blessings.  If we are honest, though, Americans didn’t invent giving thanks.  That is something that flows honestly from hearts knowing that God supplies all your needs in Christ.

St. Paul received help from the congregation in Philippi.  Here, he expresses his gratitude to those faithful Christians who had supported him generously, time and again, even when no one else did.  Paul praises their loving concern for him and for his work.  Even more so, however, Paul is genuinely grateful for what their giving represents.  The Philippians weren’t trying to buy any favor with either Paul or God.  They gave because they believed in his mission of sharing God’s grace with fellow sinners in need of forgiveness and salvation.  They showed their loving concern for Paul, certainly, but also for the strangers in need of God’s grace.

There is much we can learn, here, about how we should give, but also how we should live, and how to be truly thankful.  We should give, not in some misbegotten attempt to earn favor with God or anyone else.  Real giving begins in the heart and leads to putting the needs of others ahead of ourselves.  We all know that can feel hard, and we likely would all admit to falling short of that goal, as well.  Thank the Lord, God supplies all your needs in Christ.  Not only does God give us exactly what we need, but He pours out His rich providence upon us, usually far above what our basic needs would require.  Especially, God has poured out His generosity upon us in the gift of His grace and forgiveness in the life and sacrifice Jesus made to take away all our sins, guilt, and shame.

Paul also pointed out for his fellow Christians the secret of happiness he had learned through the blessing of the Gospel.  Paul’s life assuredly had its ups and downs.  His early life was likely well up in the upper class of the Jews.  He had enjoyed the best schooling they could offer, and he was quickly rising up the ranks of power among his fellow Pharisees. 

That all changed after being brought to faith in Jesus.  Paul then realized how hopeless his early career had been.  Through the gift of the Gospel, Paul had learned that whether he was enjoying great material blessings, or being stoned, chased out of a place for his teaching, or being tossed into the sea by shipwreck, his God and Savior had everything firmly under control so that Paul’s eternal life was secure.

As Paul received this gift from his friends, he wanted them to know that he appreciated it, but he also assures them that he wasn’t thankful because he had been in dire straits.  Also, he didn’t want anyone to think that he had required, or somehow demanded their help.  At the same time, Paul did want them to realize that their faithful generosity would be rewarded in heaven.  He wrote, “Even while I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once for my needs.  Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am seeking the fruit that adds to your account.”

That my friends, tells us all we need to know about true Christian giving.  God doesn’t demand that we give anything to Him or His work.  When the Israelites proved unfaithful in their worship life, especially neglecting the sacrifices that pointed them to Christ, the Lord declared, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, because the world is mine, and all that fills it.” (Psalm 50:12)  He further explained, “Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.  Call on me in the day of distress.  I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” (Psalm 50:14-15)  What God truly wants from us is to trust in Him completely.  He wants us to look to Him for every need, to trust Him to take care of us in hardship or plenty.  Especially, God wants us to look to Him for forgiveness, salvation, and life.

Therefore, our giving to the Lord isn’t required to appease an angry God or even to gain His favor.  He has already promised that, and more, and delivered bountifully since the day He created the world.  Rather, faithful giving comes from a believing heart that knows we will never outgive the Giver of all good things.  Again, when Israel had departed from trusting God, He challenged them, “Bring the complete tithe to the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Just test me in this,” says the Lord of Armies.  “See whether I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour down blessing on you, until there is more than enough.” (Malachi 3:10)

Whether in good times or bad, God always gives us more than enough.  Even if in His will, He determines to allow great hardship, persecution, or pain into our lives, He is always at hand to guard and keep us unto life everlasting.  Through the Psalmist, “The Lord says, ‘Because he clings to me, I will rescue him.  I will protect him, because he acknowledges my name.’” (Psalm 91:14)

Knowing that the Philippians gave their gift for his work solely out of thankfulness for the great blessing of having a Savior from sin, Paul could describe their generous gifts as “a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.”  Therefore, knowing that the Holy Spirit inspired this writing, you will understand that your giving to God’s work, not out of compulsion, or because you saw a shortfall in the budget, but only because you are thankful for everything God has given you and because you trust Him to keep taking care of you, and you truly desire to be a help to your neighbor both physically and spiritually, then your gift is a good and pleasing offering to the Lord God who loves you.

Consequently, living our thanksgiving isn’t a one-day event but the way we go about our lives.  When we believe what the Lord Jesus has taught us, we know that we never have to fear a shortage.  We never have to fear the troubles that surround us in a sinful world.  We can say with Paul, “I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough.  I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”  Learning to be content in every circumstance we experience is also our Lord’s gracious gift to us through faith.

Dear friends, tomorrow, most of us will gather around tables overflowing with good and hearty foods.  Most likely, many of us will eat too much.  As we do so, we will remember how richly God has blessed us.  We will give thanks for how He poured out His bounty upon us again this year, but especially, how for He has poured over us the water of life that washed away our sins in Baptism, and how He continues to bless us with His holy Word that so strengthens our trust in His faithfulness.  In doing so, we are looking forward to how God will remember the good works Jesus has accomplished on our behalf, so that when He returns in glory, Jesus can declare, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)  We truly believe that God supplies all your needs in Christ.  “Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever!  Amen.”

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, forevermore.  Amen.