Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Good morning and welcome back!

And Happy 4th of July to you all!

My prayer is that everyone will have a happy and safe Independence Day holiday.

This morning we are going to continue in our series The Bible Doesn’t Say That.

And this morning we are going to build on last week’s sermon but look at it from a slightly different angel.

This morning, if you would like to start turning there in your Bibles, we are going to be in , and in just a moment we will be reading from .

And just as a reminder, last week’s sermon dealt the phrase “God Helps Those Who Help Themselves, which we both discovered is not in the Bible and is not consistent with God’s mercy and grace.

We had to face the fact that there are times and situations in our lives to where we simply cannot help ourselves.

Times and situations when we MUST rely 100% on God, which is what He wants us to do anyway.

However, we did learn also though that God does know what we need and God will provide for all our needs.

But unfortunately however what we have done though is stretch this idea of God providing for all our needs into a whole message that God will give us anything we want.

And what I’m talking about here is this Prosperity Gospel that we hear so much about.

The idea that as long as we are obedient to God and as long as we give to the church, God will fill our bank accounts up, give us new clothes, new cars, new houses and all the things we desire.

Well, I’ve got some bad news The Bible Doesn’t Say That!

We are not guaranteed any type of financial blessing and over-abundance.

God’s Word promises that our needs will be met and not necessarily our wants.

Now, that doesn’t mean that God will not bless us and that God will not give us more than we need, but I also believe that God is also very careful about the over-abundance.

And the reason why is that God knows our nature and these things can be temptations and these things can turn into idols.

Yes, the Bible does tell us that obedience is better than sacrifice and we have many examples of God blessing those who are obedient but it is no guarantee.

Also, we have to examine our motivation behind our obedience.

We have to ask ourselves, are we being obedient as a response to God’s love or are we looking for some type of payoff?

“I will obey, if I get a big return.”

We have people out there telling people if they will send $100 to their “ministry” then God will give them $1000 or if they send $1000, God will give them $1,000,000!

Folks, it don’t work that way.

If God tells you to give, then you give, not out of obligation and not because you think God’s going to give you a big payoff.

No, we give because we love God and as a response to that love, we obey God, expecting nothing in return.

In , Jesus says this . . .

Matthew 5:45

Meaning that good and bad comes to everyone and instead of focusing on what we are going to get out of things we may way to do what Jesus says in verse 48 . . .

And rely on God to take care of us.

Now, does that mean that we shouldn’t be giving to the church?

Well, the answer to that question is, do you want your church to stay open?

There is a misconception in the church world that all the money that the church takes in either goes to the pastor or gets hoarded up in the bank.

That is simply not true.

A church is just like our homes, it has bills and has to pay the bills.

We have electric bills, water bills, gas bills, phone bills, internet bills, insurance, lawn-care, repairs and maintenance, cleaning supplies, Sunday School supplies, VBS supplies, and the list goes on and on and on.

And all these things are paid for by the money that people give, the tithes they pay.

And I will even go as far to say that everyone should be contributing something to the church.

The bills continue to come in but the giving tends to decrease.

And we are no exception here.

We have money that has been given for specific purposes that we are not allowed by law to use for other things, but our general operating account is pretty low.

At our last board meeting we learned that our average weekly giving for the last few months has been around $450.00 a week.

Which is not a lot when we are trying to run a church.

And this is not a sermon about tithing....The point is, if you are in this church and you are not giving then, why?

Is it because you have been disappointed, thinking that God will pour money into your bank account if you gave and he didn’t?

Because if that is the case, then you have been caught up in this false idea that obedience leads to some sort of financial blessing.

And this morning, Paul is going to teach us something about God’s true blessings.

So, if you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you to stand with me if you are able, as we read verses 10-13.

Again, that is . . .

Scripture Focus

Paul’s Rejoicing!

Now, in this passage Paul is responding to the Philippians, who apparently were concerned about Paul’s condition.

We know from reading different letters that Paul writes and some historical facts about Paul that he had some physical issues.

Paul talks about having a thorn in the flesh, which some believe is a physical problem, that many believe had to do with his eyes and his sight.

We also read in Scripture that in many places that Paul was bi-vocational.

He worked a secular job and preached.

The book of Acts talks about Paul being a tent-maker and at times this was how he made a living.

So Paul, like most of the disciples was not a rich man.

In fact Jesus, himself, when he was on earth was not wealthy.

He was the son of a carpenter, so he had a skill, but Jesus didn’t live in a mansion.

Jesus him:self says that . . .

Matthew

To which many think that Jesus was alluding to the fact that he didn’t even have a home of his own.

He relied on God and the kindness of others.

So this notion that the disciples were affluent and rich, that Jesus had money coming out of his ears is a misconception.

And for us to think that God is going to treat us any different than he did Jesus is also a misconception.

However, when we read our Bible we find that the disciples for the most part seemed content, Jesus seemed content, and even Paul here seemed content.

In fact he says here . . .

Paul is rejoicing in this passage!

He is happy that others are showing concern for him and caring about the fact that he may be in need.

But he tells them that he doesn’t need anything but rather that he has learned to b content whatever the circumstance.

Whatever the situation or circumstance that Paul has found himself to be in, he has learned to be content.

And I wonder have we?

Have we learned to be content wherever we have found ourselves?

And people often answer this to themselves-they don’t want to say it out loud but this is what they are thinking- “Paul didn’t go through what I have....”

And you are right, Paul hasn’t gone through what you have, but here is a bit of what Paul did go through . . .

2 Corinthians 11:

And the one thing Paul wasn’t able to write about was the fact that he was killed.

1 Corinthians 11:23-

This was not a man that God poured every good thing into.

Paul didn’t get many breaks and Paul’s bank account was not full.

In fact Paul gave up everything for Christ.

Paul before his conversion was a high ranking Jew, set to probably be the next high priest, with power and money.

But he gave it all up, not because he thought God would fill up his bank account, but because Paul loved Christ.

Now, that does not mean there is no pay-off and no reward.

However, the reward is not in the here and now.

The reward is eternal.

The reward is salvation and eternal life.

The reward is the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yes, we will be kings and queens, princes and princesses but not here.

This life is full of trouble and hardship.

Not just for the disobedient but FOR EVERYONE.

That is life.

But Paul also tells us this . . .

And because Paul has learned to trust the Lord for ALL THINGS and not worry about the things of this life, (like we talked about last week) Paul has learned to be content in whatever situation and circumstance he finds himself.

And I ask you again this morning, have you?

Have you learned to be content in whatever situation or circumstance you are in?

Have you learned to trust God for all things?

Have you learned to be obedient to God in all situations, not just when things are going your way?