So, starting from verse 10, it says, "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 and acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Let's take a moment to pray. Lord God, we want to thank you again for your word and we pray, God, that as it exposes our hearts, whether it be content in Christ, exposes some of our expectations and desire, and it touches upon an area of our lives where most of us prefer to keep it very private.

And I pray, Father God, that as your word continues to search our hearts, Lord, will we be sanctified internally and therefore strengthened. I do pray, God, that your word would have its fruit in our thinking, everyday decisions, and even, Father God, the way that we feel about our life circumstances.

And so, God, we pray for this time now as we study, God, that you bless us thoroughly. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. So, I want to give some introductory remarks about the passage as a whole. And remember that in context, the Apostle Paul said in chapter 1, verse 12, he says, "I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel." Remember that this letter, it has multiple purposes.

He wants to encourage them, he's praying for them. But one of the things that he wanted to say was, clearly the church was worried about him. They sent somebody to him, right? And so then, in response, he was giving an update, so to speak. This is how I'm doing.

And although they might have heard, like, "Oh, goodness, he's, you know, jailed. He's under guard," you know, and in his absence are all these other people who are preaching out of false motives or whatnot. He's saying, "These circumstances don't be dismayed," okay? Because God has turned these circumstances for the good.

Now, within this last portion, though, what's very interesting is, given the context, he is talking about finances quite a bit in this section because he is thanking them, right? He is appreciative of the concern. And what's really interesting is he uses what I like to call euphemisms for a hard topic, a topic pertaining to finances.

Now, for a lot of us, actually, talking about finances can get a little touchy. And it's sometimes kind of weird, you know? And just like majority of us would, I just thought it was kind of funny that it's the last thing, you know? It's like, you talk about everything else, "How are you doing?

Everything's good? Oh, yeah." And then, by the way, you know, he brings it up at the end. But I think what's really interesting, then, is as he's talking about finances, because I think in commonality, right, we can have misgivings about it. We could be misinterpreting what he's doing with finances.

And because it can be a touchy subject, essentially, Apostle Paul gives some qualifiers. So if you notice within this text, he talks about the way that they gave, but then he also talks in more qualifying terms, "Oh, this is what I'm thinking," or "This is what I'm intending," in terms of those finances.

But what's really interesting is, overall, this passage has so much to say about his thankfulness and so much to say about his contentment in relation to those finances, right? And so I just had a kind of interesting thought, you know, as I mentioned that sometimes finances is a touchy subject.

And you kind of wonder, like, "Why is it a touchy subject? Why do you have to qualify this and that?" And we know why. Because sometimes when something, an object, is very near and dear, if something is very precious or something is of the object of my desire, then it becomes touchy to talk about, right?

Just like you don't go and talk to somebody about their kid and just flippantly make comments and whatever it may be, that can be a very sensitive subject. And then you kind of realize, "Oh, man, why is it that sometimes talking about finances is like talking about someone's baby?

It shouldn't be like that." You know, if we're thinking about it correctly, if we're having the right heart attitude towards finances, it shouldn't be so touchy, right? But nevertheless, I think in that whole vein then, in that whole thought, this passage is a huge encouragement to have a mature attitude in both the receiving, in both the concept of general finances, right?

This isn't the only passage in the Bible, obviously, that talks about finances, but very much appreciate Apostle Paul's mentality towards it. Okay. Now, in saying that, you don't have to copy this down, I just wanted to show you how I saw the breakdown of the passage. And I asked this question for your Bible study, "Did you notice any pattern?

Did you see any structure? Did you see any way to outline this?" Because if you kind of read it in a fast way, it almost sounds like he's wrapping things up saying, "Thank you," and then we're done, right? But actually, what I saw was there was a commendation. So there was a praise in a sense, like, "Wow, you guys did well.

Thank you." But then there was a qualifier, and I saw that repeat twice. So that's what I showed you there. But to make it into a nice outline, some of the words that kind of hinted that was, verse 10 is, "I rejoice in the Lord for your concern for me." And then he says, "Not that I was in want." I'm not speaking out of want.

So there's a qualifier there. Verse 14 through 16, he's like, "You did well to share with me my affliction." And then verse 17, 19, he says, "Not that I was just seeking the gift in of itself." So I saw that pattern. Again, there's maybe other patterns that you noticed.

And what I like to do is, you don't necessarily have to copy this exactly down because all I did is essentially highlight the first phrase of the sections that I saw. But this is the way I broke down the verses. So what I like to do is kind of paraphrase to make it a little bit more easier for me, at least, to conceive of it, which is in verse 10, it's just simply, "Thank you so much for your concern for me." I think what Apostle Paul is all the more grateful for is not just, "Thank you for the money," right?

It's your concern. And then he talks about how, "But in his heart, he has no other wants because he's content." And then in verse 14 through 16, he says, "Thank you so much for your fellowship." And the reason why I say that is because he says, "Thank you for sharing in this affliction." And the idea there really is more so fellowship.

And then he says, "But my heart is not so much that like, 'Oh, help me. I need you.' It's, 'I want to bless you.'" Because for to you, your opportunity to engage in this is to your blessing. And I think that's a good way to just summarize this passage as a whole.

So I hope that was helpful in just overview, overview of the passage. All right. With that said, let's jump into the very first section of our study, okay? And I just want to say in advance that, man, it was tough to try to... This is so rich, you know?

A lot to go over. And so I apologize if it feels like I'm skimming over some stuff. Okay. With verse 10 in section 1A, it says, "Thank you for your concern." And verse 10 reads, "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." What I like to do is just break that sentence down into longer phrases, and I broke it down this way. One of the very first things I see is that Apostle Paul is saying, "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly." And the reason why I bring this up is because maybe some of you guys noticed, "Huh, this verse starts with a 'but.' Why does he start like that?" And what's really interesting about this is, I'm not going to necessarily make a huge point of it, but it seems like he introduced the kind of concept and transition from the previous section where he was saying, "Follow my example," right?

And try to emphatically say, "I am rejoicing in the Lord and thinking about this whole scenario." Okay? Because remember, Apostle Paul right now, he's trying to paint a picture for the whole church of his perception of his entire scenario, right? And what he's doing is he's thanking the Lord.

Yes, the church has given him, but more so than anything, he's thanking the Lord. And what's very interesting is that I think that very first phrase is very emphatic because when I looked up how the sentence structure was, the first word is, "I rejoice, but, in the Lord greatly." Okay?

Meaning, there is this emphasis on this idea that he is rejoicing in Christ, he's rejoicing in the Lord as even just the fruitfulness of everything that's happening. Okay? Now, what I want to say is this is, in thinking about this very first sentence, clearly, Apostle Paul is very grateful for their concern for him.

Okay? And what's really interesting about this is that one of the key phrases, or I guess words, that we studied in the previous sections was the idea of attitude. If you guys recall in chapter 2, Apostle Paul said, "Have this attitude which is in Christ," which is the humble attitude, the sacrificial attitude, right?

What's interesting is if you did a word study on concern, it's the same word for nail. So this term actually within the book is repeated multiple times through many chapters, and the idea behind it is to have this mindset, is to have this kind of, here it says, "The activity represented by this word involves the will, the affection, and the conscience." So it's pretty broad, but more so than anything, it's kind of like a frame of mind.

And I think what Apostle Paul is really highlighting is what he's grateful for is not just that he received the money, right? What he's absolutely grateful for is that as he looks at this church, he is recognizing there's a Christ-likeness in their thinking, the sacrificial thinking, the thinking about the kingdom, and all the more than he is grateful for seeing Christ reflected in their hearts.

And what's kind of interesting, if you notice, is in describing the church and how they gave, there's these two phrases I want to highlight to you. It says, "Now at last and lack the opportunity," right? So he's describing their giving, and at first you'd kind of be like, "Oh, he's just kind of patting them on the back.

It's like, 'Before, maybe you tried, you know? You forgot for a little while, and then finally you did it.'" But that's actually, I don't think that's necessarily what he's exactly saying. What it appears is there has been a long time in between the numerous times that this church gave.

So later on, Apostle Paul is going to commend them and say, "You actually gave multiple times," right? And so time has passed between the times that he's given, and so he's not talking about how these people had just completely forgotten him. He's talking about how a big intermittent time has passed.

This is not perfect, but judging by when he is writing Philippians in his jailing, and judging by when he went to Macedonia, almost 10 years has gone by in his relationship with this church, okay? So I want you guys to think about that for a little bit, because if we're thinking, one of the questions I asked you was, if you look at this whole discussion of finances here, and we're looking at the Philippian church as an example, or perhaps model, and some principles to gain concerning financial giving towards ministry, what's pretty crazy is these individuals have committed, or in many ways, kept Paul in their hearts for a long period of time, right?

Ten years have passed. And what's more, Apostle Paul, again, is so thankful for them, not just because they gave the money, but clearly they were so concerned for him that they were willing to send their best, right? Remember when we were talking about Prophet Didius, he was clearly an individual where he had a reputation within the church.

He was clearly an individual where people esteemed him highly. People already knew, "Wow, this man, man of character, already fruitful." So you send your best person out there, right? Wow. What kind of concern the church had for Apostle Paul, it was deep. And so Apostle Paul commends them. It wasn't for a lack of concern, but rather a lack of opportunity, okay?

All right. I'm going to move into the next section, because the next section has so much more additional deep things to talk about in terms of Apostle Paul's perspective. So what we can say is the first portion, Apostle Paul is very thankful for their heart of concern, and yes, a long time of past in their relationship and how they were giving to him.

And during that time, he is communicating, "Don't you worry, I did well," right? And in many ways, you can say that he was saying within all the concern that you had, yes, he wanted to update them. Yes, humanistically, it sounds like, "Oh my goodness, the situation is so bleak." But he says, "No, I was content." And so in the next section, 1B, he says, "I want nothing more." That's my paraphrase.

But in verse 11, he says, "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. 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." Man, there is so much in there. And one of the tips I want to give you is, again, in previous ones, we talked about meditating. If it's a simple command, you just meditate and try to soak it in. Am I doing that?

Right? How does that look? Is there ways I'm failing? Those are just questions you ask to evaluate yourself. But here, there's such kind of richness to the perspective Paul is trying to give us. And so what I typically recommend is just break the deep, deep kind of spiritual teaching down into its phrases.

So you guys have seen me do this multiple times. Sometimes when we're taking a big chunk like this, we can't do it with every verse. But when he says, "Listen, thank you. However, I'm not speaking from want, because I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." I like to break it down into those small phrases so that I can appreciate every piece of the pie.

Okay? If this is sweet bamboo pie, okay? They have specials now. I want to enjoy every single piece of it. And so just like that, I recommend sometimes if you have the time, I know we don't have the time to do it again with every verse, but to take each piece.

And you can start asking questions about every piece. When he says, "Not that I speak from want," what is it that Paul could actually want if he did, though? I mean, being held without privilege in prison, having a guard with you at all times, wouldn't you want freedom? Wouldn't you want your own time?

Wouldn't you want certain liberties as a Roman citizen? Wouldn't you want to be able to vindicate yourself? Wouldn't you want some finances? I mean, he's probably scraping by with the very meager portions they give him as a prisoner, right? And you ask the question, like, "For I have learned." Whoa.

Sometimes we think like, "Apostle Paul, he's the man," right? And so he always makes the right choices. He's always gung-ho. He's always there doing the right thing because he's the man, right? And then you realize, no, could there be a process by which Apostle Paul was learning? Sometimes people don't realize, and I love this fact that when Apostle Paul gets knocked off his horse, right, on the road to Damascus, we learn that thing.

He gets knocked off his horse, and he goes, and he has to wait three days. And some people think immediately he went to the synagogue. It's like, "Oh, my goodness. My eyes are seeing. Believe." But actually, history says there is a time of silence for Paul where after he is converted, yes, he goes to the synagogue, and then there's a silence of 10 years where Paul is learning.

And then when he starts to get commissioned by the church, it's a decade later. Really interesting stuff. But what process of learning does Paul have to go through? And especially in this context, when we're learning this passage, he gives all these different scenarios. And you better bet he probably was learning how to learn his heart through all of those scenarios.

To be content, what does that mean, right? I mean, do we struggle with contentment? Absolutely. And so what does he mean when he says that he is content in every circumstance? In whatever circumstance? What kind of circumstances is Paul thinking? Imprisonment? False accusations? Does he also then expect us to follow this example in every circumstance that we might be in?

What other circumstances are the people in? What are the circumstances that some of these individuals he's talking to right now, what are they in? If you recall, he lived in a season. He lived in a generation when things like slavery existed, when things like indentured servanthood existed. So when he says every circumstance, it includes the parameters are bigger than ours, right?

Again, I'm running through this stuff, but I'm just saying sometimes when you see something rich like this, you want to pause and enjoy each piece, okay? Now what we're going to do is go forward to talk about this stuff. So he says, "I don't speak from want, but I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances." The idea of content in the scriptures is really, really also, again, rich.

What's interesting is this idea of contentment is translated, given the context into kind of different nuances, but one of the most primary ones or more frequent ones is this idea of being self-sufficient, which is weird, right? To feel a sense of adequacy, to feel a sense of being satisfied, right?

And that's kind of an interesting nuanced way to think about it, and that's why I paraphrased to I don't want anything more, right? To constantly feel this need like, "Oh, gosh, I need to level up. I need to gain this thing. I need to have. I can't live without." That is the mantra of our generation, like our generation of wish list, our generations of got to try and haves.

That kind of concept really is challenging. And then what's more, he talks about that no matter the circumstance, he's learned to be content, and I think that's what to me is incredibly impressive. So on your packet there, on your student handout, I have just the words like, "What's impressive?" Because I think, again, if we were to think about, "Wow, how is this challenging to our generation?" In my mind, this is impressive faith.

I'm not sure if I can say it that way. It's commendable. It's inspiring to have a kind of faith where it supersedes circumstances. And he reiterates this idea that in whatever circumstances, humble means, prosperity, whether he says in any circumstance, and then he says, "Filled, hungry, abundance, and suffering need." And some of those pictures, we have to appreciate, he's not just talking about the kind of hunger that we go through.

It's like, "Oh my gosh, I skipped breakfast, and around 11 o'clock, my stomach started to grumble." No, he's talking about being famished, right? Being absolutely famished. So I want you to think about that for a little bit because, man, how many of us can say in the spectrum of life experiences, "I know how to deal with all of those things.

I can live. I won't be affected by the luxuries," right? Kind of like Moses as a hero of faith in chapter 11 of Hebrews talks about how disdaining the luxuries of Egypt, the palace, right? In some ways, does Apostle Paul know that stuff? He does. If you recall, he was prime candidate almost to be the leader of the Jews.

He clearly had the education. He clearly had the backing, all that kind of stuff. And yet also, knowing the humble means, but within his suffering, in his desperation and things like that, he doesn't turn to. And he says he could have. He's like, "I could have used my authority.

I could have used my position. I could have used my powers, but I didn't." And you know what else is impressive? Again, is the fact that he had to learn these things. I think about this sometimes and it's kind of crazy to me, right? The great apostle who planted churches upon churches, and Scripture says, "And he worked night and day building tents." He says, "I very well could have asked you to support me, but I didn't because I didn't want you to mistake my intentions." And so what's really interesting is in terms of the experience, what I'm trying to highlight to you is if we're really trying to appreciate his mentality, we have to appreciate the fact that A, there was a full gamut and various kind of experiences that Paul went through.

B, those experiences were extreme ends of the spectrum, right? And within all that, he says, "I have learned to be content." One of the passages I want to highlight to you is 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9 through 10. I don't know exactly, exactly what it was that was the thorn on his side, but you guys have heard that phrase before.

Some people think it was that one false teacher who was just coming at him, constantly accusing him, constantly trying to usurp his authority and try to sway his congregation, right? Some people think it was actually a physical thorn on the side, meaning he had this ailment. Regardless of the case, remember, Apostle Paul requested numerous times, three times, right?

And God's answer was no. He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong." Man, that to me is just crazy.

Because ingrained into just how we normally react. And what's more, it is also rational and normal. If something hurts, if something's painful, we just react to remove ourselves from that, right? If something is threatening, if something is risky, it is natural, it is normal, and it is rational for us to escape.

And he says the complete opposite. That although yes, there is this human rationale, the logic, he says no, there is this biblical, Christ-like rationale that he exercises to be content in these situations. You see, I think for us, sometimes we forget this fact, that what God is trying to produce in our lives isn't the perfect bubble scenario, right?

Perhaps our desire, perhaps our longing is to control all circumstances. That if we adjusted, if we moved the way, the location that we lived, if we had an artificially controlled environment where there was no threat, no danger, no germs, no bad people, no irritation, then we would truly be set.

But God says no, then you would truly be weak, right? Because what God is trying to produce in you is inner strength. Through the trials, through the hardships, through the persecutions and difficulties, he's not just trying to give you freedom from those difficulties, he's giving you inner strength over those difficulties.

And so our God, he's not just trying to artificially control our circumstances, but rather he is producing in us, producing in us a perseverance, a steadfastness that has its rationale in God and not in the circumstances. And so I want to give you a couple of these cross-references that Scripture challenges us to be content.

Here's a passage for you here. In Luke chapter 3 verse 14, there was a soldier and he was told, "Be content with your wages." In 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 8, Paul says, "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." In Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5, it says, "Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have." Now, if I could ask you, please turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 20 because this admonition and this kind of exhortation is really intense.

Remember I told you that in the context of Apostle Paul's generation, his era, there existed different types of extreme scenarios that are so far beyond what we can imagine as oppression, so far beyond what we can imagine as difficulty and hardship. But in this passage, 1 Corinthians 7 verse 20, this is what Apostle Paul says to the church.

He says, "Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called." Meaning you had a certain role in life, whether you were a boss, manager, servant, or whatever it may be, and then you get saved, right? The gospel is preached to you and you get saved. And then he says, "Were you called while a slave?

Do not worry about it. But if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who has called unto the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freed man. Likewise, he who was called while free is Christ's slave. You are bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men.

Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called." What? Can you imagine? You have to do the whole like imagining what the Bible is saying, right? Can you imagine being a slave? Apostle Paul is saying, "Were you called while you were being a slave?" And then you hear the words, "Don't worry about it." Maybe in an Italian accent or something.

"Don't worry about it." Wouldn't you just be like, "What? How in the world are you, Pharisee, educated, ruler guy, Roman citizen, you're going to tell me not to worry about it? How dare you? You don't know me?" That's what you would say. "You don't know me? You don't know what I've been through?" Now what's really interesting is Apostle Paul almost like, "If you can get free, get free." Now I'll be even more offended.

Like, "What? I don't think you get it, Paul." But Paul says, "No, no, no. You don't get it." Apostle Paul takes this small world view and expands it out. He says, "See, you think that in your operating world of mankind that you're going to get freedom and you're going to maneuver and you're going to escape your circumstances." Right?

Apostle Paul is not thinking on that small level. He's thinking about God Almighty. Right? He's thinking about heaven. He's thinking about eternity. He's thinking, you know, that whole mentality is, "What good is it? You escape this and then you go jump into hell. It's like out of the frying pan." You know what I'm talking about?

Once you realize a spiritual perspective, he's saying, "Look, I get it that you have been in this position, but what good is it to bend your whole life to gain this one small victory?" Do you understand you're going to become a slave of Christ? What's more, do you understand you already have your freedom in Christ if you're saved?

Apostle Paul is expanding the perspective. Right? And so when you do that, then you can go back to the whole idea of the "I can do all things." Right? That that admonition of "Remain where you are," that might sound like an impossibility for individuals who are oppressed, for individuals who are suffering.

Yeah. On a human level, he has the right to...an individual would have the right to fight back and be like, "I don't think you know and understand what you're saying." But Apostle Paul is going to say, "No, I do." And the fact of the matter is what seems to be impossible for you, it is possible in Christ.

"Because I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Yes, if Apostle Paul needed to stay in jail extra years, he's already been there a while. The course of time that Apostle Paul is jailed unjustly in false accusation is over two years. Could Apostle Paul do that? He says, "Yes, I can." Why?

Because it is Christ who is strengthening him. This passage, verse 13, is so powerful. And I'm going to say it like this. There is this question that I asked, "What are the parameters of using this verse, verse 13?" And if I asked you, "Have you ever heard this verse used out of context?" I'm pretty sure all of you are going to be like, "Yeah, you know, I heard it in sports.

I can do all things." You know, it's like swish. "I can do all things." It's like I aced the test. "I can do all things." It's like I survived the season of life or whatever it may be. What I'm going to say is this. This verse is so powerful.

To use it for sports is not wrong. It's just simply so minuscule. Let me repeat that, okay? This verse, if you think about it correctly, is so powerful because he's talking about being empowered by the one who has all power. So this is my paraphrase. In all, I am strong in the one empowering me.

The term for "I can do all things," that idea of can do all is actually, in the Greek, is just one word. It's just one word describing a physical ability. It's talking about a power. It's talking about a capacity, right? And the way I want to talk about it is, again, what God wants to do in us, His power is residing within us so that He is actually strengthening us from the inside so that all those things that we think are human strengths rather are now completely, completely redefined.

For those who are believers, strength is not to go fight for your life and then win all your enemies. The strength is to actually bear under all that hardship, to bear under all that persecution, to bear under all those things that seem unbearable. Why? Because we have the power of Christ, the power that Christ exercised in all of that.

So with that said, again, He's not thankful just for the money. He's not thankful just for them giving and sending somebody, but He's so thankful. He's so thankful for their concern, and after that concern, He wants to reiterate that He's not speaking out of this want for their money.

He's not, you know, like speaking out of want for their support, but rather He is speaking out of an abundance of the strength that God has provided. Now, I want to move quickly then to the next section and then start wrapping things up. Is in verse 14 through 16, Apostle Paul thanks them for their fellowship.

He says, "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." All I wanted to really highlight from this section is here it says, "You have done well to share with me in my affliction." What's very interesting is that idea of share, oh, I don't have the word there for you, but the word for share is the word, it's a dual word, syn-koinonia.

So essentially, it is a partnership. Essentially, it is a fellowship. And within that, all I want to highlight for you is Apostle Paul commending them. Look at what we can appreciate about the model they have set. So here's a passage from 2 Corinthians 8 describing how when he first went to Macedonia, the way that they shared with the brothers in need.

It says, "Now brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia that in a great ordeal of affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints.

And this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God." Man, you know, take that verse down and that's something really to meditate on, their heart behind their giving, right? The priority in their giving, their liberality in their giving, the kind of sacrifice in their giving, all of that is absolutely commendable.

And I want to say again, what's really awesome about all of this is seriously, when you see that kind of attitude, when you see that kind of sacrifice, you can really appreciate the fact, wow, they must have seen the sacrifice of Christ, right? They must have seen the sacrificial heart of the Lord.

Now, that is the commendation or that that is a thankfulness for the church. But then there's a second qualification that Apostle Paul gives, okay? Second qualification. And what he says is, "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." I want to highlight for you what I believe to be this.

Apostle Paul, if you see it the wrong way, he's kind of like, "Thank you so much." And if you see it the wrong way, he could appear to be somebody who's like, "Thank you so much. Bring it on. Keep it coming," right? And it could almost look like he's just vying for more.

But I think what he's doing is he's thanking them appropriately, but then also he has this mature, mature attitude. And that's what I began with, right? There is a maturity. And there is a maturity. Why? This first maturity, what I like to highlight, he says, "Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account." I want you to imagine with me somebody who asks for help, but is absolutely childish in their attitude.

If you can imagine, let's say, a young child doing dishes and he asks his parent, "Can you help me do the dishes?" So the parent comes over and says, "Well, let me do the scrubbing." And he says, "No, I want to do the scrubbing." Like, "Whoa," right? And the child says, "You just hold the faucet." Is that mature?

No. Likewise when it comes to finance, if you just say, "I wanted you to just send the money. I wanted you to just play this role. Do what I say," right? Is that really asking for help? I don't think so. Apostle Paul has this maturity to say, "It wasn't just simply just the gift," right?

"I didn't have this mentality of just send the money. I wanted your what? Your involvement in this. I wanted your participation in this. I wanted your full engagement in this." That isn't a great leader. That is a humble person. That is somebody who has the right perspective. All of that then I want to summarize as maturity, right?

Maturity. What's more? Number two, "But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. I am amply supplied having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent." So it's again perspective, right? Perspective. Could Apostle Paul have used more? The answer is yes. But look at the kind of attitude he has.

"I received everything in full and I have an abundance." He's not speaking. He's genuinely not speaking from a greedy, "Why can't you do this for me? Why don't you come earlier?" There is no complaint in there. And then lastly, "As a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God." The way that he describes what the church is doing, he describes with a perspective of God, of it in relationship to God.

And that is maturity. A maturity of faith has God as its consideration, has God in the context, has God as its goal. There's a maturity of faith in all that. And again, there's lots of questions to ask. Why does he describe it like a fragrant aroma? Why does he describe it as an acceptable sacrifice?

But clearly there is a consideration of the Lord. And I want to conclude with this. The very last kind of maturity that I see is an absolute confidence in God's provision in the midst of talking about the church's monetary provision for him. Something that I absolutely appreciate of mature Christians who've been walking with God, right?

There is this paradoxical confidence. Are you supposed to be laboring diligently so that you provide, so that you're not a burden on people? Yes. Are you supposed to make sure that you exercise all the opportunities that God has given you? The answer is yes. But that weird paradox of you working, but having not the confidence in yourself, but a confidence in God, I think mature Christians who've been walking with the Lord appreciate that.

That they recognize the confidence they have in God's provision. They fight, they fight the tendency for us to calculate cost, do risk analysis, and constantly think about how do I secure this and that, recognizing by experience we could run around and do everything we want. But if the Lord does not provide, we have nothing.

Right? That is the kind of conclusion I hope that people walking with the Lord can testify from their experience of walking with God. And I hope that every single one of us continues to do that. And what we appreciate about, again, those, the people around us, what we appreciate about those who are setting the example is this kind of hard attitude that Apostle Paul is saying here.

There's maturity, talking about finances. We thank the Lord, we commend you, but in terms of all things, my provision is in God. Let's take a moment to pray. Lord, we want to thank you. Father God, there is a desire from Apostle Paul for all the churches. God that we would have such a experience, Lord, of testing and seeing that your Word is true.

You say in Scripture that it's more blessed to give than to receive. And clearly, Father God, there have been saints before us who have exercised that and all the more than experienced the blessing of it. And I pray, Father God, that we too then will be challenged to do the same.

I also pray, Father God, that as this study, it challenges our heart, Lord, whether we want constantly our circumstances, life situations to fit our own benefit. I pray, Father God, that we will recognize our greed. I pray, Father God, that we will repent of our selfishness. And all the more abide in your plan for us to cause us to be strong in you.

That, Father God, we would walk with the kind of power that doesn't come from having life set for us, but rather, God, having a strength that comes from having Christ and the power of our Lord abide in us. So God, we want to thank you. And we continue to pray that you would help us to have a fruitful discussion.

It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.