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"AS YOU WELL KNOW, WHEN I FIRST BROUGHT THE GOSPEL TO YOU... ONLY YOU PHILIPPIANS BECAME MY PARTNERS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING. NO OTHER CHURCH DID THIS." PHIL. 4:15 TLB
The Bible not only teaches the joy and blessings
of GIVING, but also the REWARD that giving
brings to the GIVER! The confirmation of this
glorious truth is firmly established by the apostle Paul
in his letter to the Philippians.
I have heard numerous great sermons on the
duty of giving for the cause of Christ, but not nearly
as many on the way God blesses and returns the gift
many times over! Mark's gospel tells us that some
gifts will return 30, 60 and even 100-fold! Jesus said:
"There is no man that hath left house, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or
wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the
gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold
now in this time...and in the world to come
eternal life"! Mark 10:29-30 KJV
Wow! Does not Jesus' own words settle it? Yes! He
wants us to prosper and have all our needs met! But,
that's not all — God also says:
"Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart"! Psa. 37:4 KJV
We could stop right here and have a "camp
meeting revival," but the great apostle Paul makes it
even more emphatic! Our theme Scripture is clear —
the Philippian church were GIVERS, so Paul adds:
"But though I appreciate your gifts, what
makes me happiest is the well-earned reward
you will have because of your kindness." Phil.
4:17 TLB
Every so often on "Behind the Scenes" and on
Praise-a-Thon®s, I offer you another KEY for your
SPIRITUAL KEY RINGS! So, those of you who have
a need (and who doesn't?) I challenge you to take hold
of this one. As the precious Holy Spirit makes this
truth real, I too, am reaching out because, like you,
I have some very real needs!
Paul goes on to nail it down firmly as he
concludes:
"And it is he who will supply all your needs
from his riches in glory, because of what Christ
Jesus has done for us"! Phil. 4:19 TLB
While this verse is a wonderful promise, I am told by
Bible scholars that the word "need" is a poor translation by
the King James Version. The translation from the original
Greek should read as: He will supply all your abundance
from his riches in glory...." But HOLD ON — there is
always a condition to be met by us before we can claim this
blessed key! Before I give it to you, there is one gift that
requires NO condition! It is our eternal salvation which
is full and free to all who simply believe!
So, to claim this key of God's abundance we must
remember that the Philippian believers were GIVERS!
Paul did not give this key to any of the other churches!
Paul teaches the Corinthian church the joy and blessings of
giving, but then chastises them for not obeying!
"Did I do wrong and cheapen myself...because I
preached God's Good News to you without charging
you anything? Instead I ‘robbed' other churches by
taking what they sent me...so that I could serve you
without cost"! 2 Cor. 11:7-9 TLB
Paul concludes his strong exhortation with, of all things, an
apology!
"The only thing I didn't do for you, that I do...in
all other churches, was to become a burden to you —
I didn't ask you to give me food to eat and a place to
stay." 2 Cor. 12:13 TLB
And, if you cannot say "AMEN" right here, say "OUCH!"
because Paul concludes, as I said, with this apology:
"PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THIS WRONG!"
2 Cor. 12:13b TLB.
Finally, Jesus Himself makes the condition clear. So we
want our needs met, right? We want to have even the desires
of our hearts — right? Okay, here it is:
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should remain: [so] that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name,
HE MAY GIVE IT TO YOU"! Jn. 15:16 KJV
I believe the above verse forever settles it: ONLY FRUIT
BEARERS may claim the precious promises of God to
prosper and have abundance in everything on earth and
finally, eternal life!
So, what is this "FRUIT" that God so greatly desires?
Ah, I think you know: it is the eternal souls of men, women,
boys, and girls that we are snatching as "brands from the
burning" from the evil one's grasp! Yes, with over 12,000
stations, cables, DTH, and the Internet — fed by 70 great
satellite angels in the sky — glory be to God, together we
are doing it in Jesus' holy name!
Will you join us? Jan and I need you more than ever
as we see the finish line in view! It will not be long until
we will have to pass the torch on to our next generation, if
Jesus tarries. But, this I see clearly now: THE HARVEST
IS POURING IN FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD!
"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision" — we
must continue to tell them to flee from the wrath to come!
TBN's great week of Praise-a-Thon® begins
November 2 - 7
In fact, the whole month we will keep the phones and Internet
open to receive your call and pledge. Tell us your need —
we will put our whole TBN family in agreement with you —
as we learn the joy of giving and receiving!
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