James Richards

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Sunday Morning Service

Jeremy Richards

Copalis Community Church

07 December 2025

Bible References

• Philippians 4:10-13

Audio MP3 PDF

Things. Our meditation is an investment. And spiritual people have the opportunity to invest in something that actually produces something.

People of the world meditate also, but it does not have the same benefit as which comes through spiritual meditation. It is like an investment. You can throw your money wherever you want it, but that does not mean that what comes from where you throw your money is going to be the same how much more our minds are then our money to invest the most complicated thing in existence, the greatest organ that this universe possesses, our mind to invest it wisely. And we are focusing on things like truth, whatever things are noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. And while I was encouraged through scripture to set my mind on those things this week, was there anyone else here that maybe found their minds in other places?

I think everyone's laughing because someone might have not been focusing on true things all week. And who is that person? The truth is, I believe all of us have been in some way in that place. But the great thing about Christianity is to be trained, to be shown is a benefit and a blessing. When we recognize those places where our minds run, we have the opportunity to confess and repent.

And Jesus, Jesus begins to build something better in our lives. And so be encouraged, be continuously aware of what you are focusing on. What are you meditating on? Meditation is something you do with your mind all the time. Okay, we're going to move on to verse 10, chapter 4, verse 10 and 12.

Philippians 4:10.

Philippians 4:10. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again. Though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need. For I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.

I know how to be abased. I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So Paul is in a situation where he has some sort of physical need, Right?

And if you remember, Epaphroditus had come on a mission from Philippi to provide for Paul something of substance to meet their dedication that they had already determined to provide for Paul on one of his missionary journeys. They had decided we want to be a part of that work of an individual who besides Christ, changed the world. More than any other person alive, we want to invest in that work of an individual who is changing and shaking the entire world. We think that it is a good investment of our funds to put them someplace where we change the world with. And they decided, you know, in order to do this, we're going to provide for your needs in some way.

If you remember, Ephroditus had come at the risk of his life to bear that gift from Philippi to Paul. As a result, he almost died in order to meet this obligation that the Philippian Church had. He risked his life to present Paul with some sort of physical substance, right? Paul, as a result of his physical infirmity, for he had been sick almost to death. Paul was sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi, right?

But now Paul is going to talk about that gift, that gift that he received. Now, if in the stumbling and bumbling ministry that Stacy and I have been a part of, there's one thing been consistent, that God has met our needs continually in astonishing ways. And I love to think back from Honduras to Los Angeles, to being on the ships, to coming here and having a family of 10 children, just how many incredible different ways God has supernaturally brought physical and time together in a miraculous way to meet our needs. One of the kind of funny examples I remember in Honduras, it was a difficult time down in Honduras, and it was extraordinarily poor. No support.

My clothes were just worn to rags everywhere, working in the heat and. And humidity. But friends of mine were going to get married, right? And I had nothing nice to wear and particularly no shoes, right. And I was, you know, didn't really put it a lot of thought, but there was a thought in mind.

You know, it would be nice to wear something other than my work shoes to this. To this thing. And I mean, everything was just full of holes. I remember some of the guys had so many holes in their shirt that you just took it and just rip it and the whole thing would just rip off of their backs. I mean, it was really a difficult time.

Didn't feel like it maybe back then, but it was very hard. I had no shoes. And we're getting ready to go to this. I was the witness at their marriage in no shoes. Woke up in that morning, no shoes.

And there was. Ended up right before we left, the leader of the ministry came with a package. The package I opened and it had shoes. It had shoes in it, black shoes. And so I put on the shoes and went from there to that wedding and very grateful.

But that thing happened a long time ago. You see, getting mail in Honduras was a very complicated thing. And so someone back here in Kapelis beach had been. Had gotten a pair of shoes Right. They decided they didn't like the shoes they gave them and said, you know, is there any way that these shoes could be of a benefit?

And they said, yeah, let's send them to Jeremy. So you have to take these shoes. And my dad packaged them up and you send them to Miami, and they sit in Miami for a little bit of time. It clears customs, and then it goes on a. On a plane, and then it goes to Roatan, and it sits in Roatan for a certain amount of time, and then they clear it there, and then someone has to pick it up, put it in their car, and drive it down this road.

To me, waiting to get dressed to go to a wedding, it was a month's process. Right. But to me, it was a miraculous thing that encouraged my heart time and time again. My and Stacy and I's and our family's needs and the ministry's needs were met in just absolutely incredible, miraculous ways to us. And so Paul says, I rejoiced in the Lord that now at last, your care for me has flourished.

I'm absolutely confident that he actually was in a position that required the support and care of these Philippian believers for his case. That need, I'm sure, must have traveled in a lot of different directions. It could have traveled on donkey or by boat or by foot. It had to go through many obstacles, of dangerous things, of bandits and customs officials and all these things. But at the right moment, at just the right time, a miraculous provision happened to Paul, got through at the moment he needed it, and there was a provision for him in some sort of arrest, in some sort of a jail.

He had what he needed provided for him. And it says he rejoiced in the Lord greatly. If you've ever been on the receiving end of one of these gifts to you, there is a great deal of rejoicing. Rejoicing. But it's interesting that the area that the person you're thankful to is surprising, right?

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. Now, at last, that your care for me has flourished again. Those individuals who receive a miraculous provision from the Lord do appreciate the person who gave the gift. But more importantly than anything, they're thankful to the God who ordained the gift, provided for it, and made sure it arrived at the correct timing. It's an instant of thanksgiving to God for that gift.

And having had this in my life multiple times, I can absolutely say that is true. Okay. He is thankful to God that this individual's care has been able to bear this fruit it's flourished again, though surely you did care, but you lacked opportunity. He's thankful to God that this opportunity to provide for his needs was given to these people. Okay, now I want to just stop here and think about this.

Wouldn't anybody in this situation say that they're grateful to the Lord for the gift? For a certain reason? For a certain reason.

I'm going to skip ahead. We're not going to talk about this. But in verse 17 we come up with the idea that Paul ascribes to himself. He is thankful for a certain reason. It says in verse 16 describing the Philippians gift to him.

It says, for even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your count. Here Paul is rejoicing. He has been given a gift, he is thankful for it. But, but he is saying, look, I am not thankful necessarily for the gift, but I am thankful for the investment you made that is going to pay back into your life.

But I believe everyone says that, right? We have individuals on TV and other places all the time basically saying, look, send in money, right? And this money is going to produce a tremendous blessing in your life. You know, send in $20 and we're going to send you a handkerchief and you can put that handkerchief wherever you want, right? And someone's going to get healed or send in this amount of money and we're going to give you this amount of perfumed water.

Send in this amount of money and you can have a square footage of the facility with a spiritual deed that you own that benef. Yes, I want the money, but more than the money, I want the spiritual benefit that comes to you.

Anyone been in there? Everyone says this, but is there a way to determine whether or not a person is actually interested in the spiritual well being of your life or that they don't really care about you, but just want the money?

And is it important where you invest your resources spiritually? Does it matter to you? Is it good enough just to throw that resources that you have wherever you want and expect an outcome? Here? The Philippians had decided, we want to invest in the life of Paul, but because we believe that missionary activity he is engaged in is going to be one that produces results, other individuals are encouraged to donate, sometimes liberally, to ministries where the desire may be for just the money and they don't care a bit about what happens to you.

Is there a way to understand and to know the heart's Direction of individuals. Is it important to understand where we place our resources? First of all, we need to see that the Lord is in charge of the harvest. He is in charge of the harvest. Those things.

If we are to expect a spiritual benefit that comes from the resources we share with people or ministries, we have to understand that the Lord is in charge of that harvest. How does the Lord work? How does the Lord work? If you remember in the description that Jesus gives of individuals giving money on the treasury, in the treasury, and there came individuals who gave large portions of money into that treasury. And then there came a widow, an individual with very limited resources, and she gave her last penny.

Does anyone remember which of the two groups of people gave more into the kingdom of God? And I'm going to say which of the two amounts of money influenced the kingdom of God for its forward momentum? More the widows. So this individual, because of the reason she gave, she influenced that work of God more than individual who gave vast revenues. We are told to look at individuals.

It says when they give, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. It says when they give, they love to be seen that they might have the reward from men. But you, when you give, do not give in that way. Because it is unreasonable, unrationable to think that God is going to reward in the same way that men do. It is a horrendous decision for you as a person to invest in individuals who want their reward from men.

It is a bad investment. It is better to give a little bit with the right heart than a lot with the bad heart. Because what they do with the money is important. It says they want to be seen by men. They love to be called rabbi, Rabbi.

They love to be noticed in the street. They want to have that outward shining lifestyle. But Jesus says, hey, look, they might tomb that's built up and looks great on the outside, but inside they have dead men's bones. Inside you have the opportunity to invest your resources in the life of someone. I hope that you're smart enough to invest spiritual resources in the same way that you would invest your financial one.

Some people invest stupidly time and time again, right? But they don't necessarily shouldn't be writing books encouraging other people to do the same thing. You and I are given the opportunity and should have spiritual eyes to understand that the way we invest is important because the reward that comes from that investment is going to be associated to our account spiritually. You have to understand that Jesus gives a picture of what hypocritical people look, like we talked about it this morning, that has not changed much. Today there are Pharisees that looked a certain way.

In the Middle Ages. There was a scourge on the earth and their names were the begging friars.

Wherever Catholicism went, there was a group of friars who were not paid and existed by going through society begging for money.

Thank God the Reformation solved a lot of those problems. In every church they would have pieces of things for which a price you could come in and see and hold pieces of the cross, bones of Jesus fingers, all sorts of things that they claimed to be relics from the past that were nothing more than hoaxes. They brought these in display that people who did not know better would be release of their finances to these individuals. Friends, that spirit still lives today somewhere. It's not my business to say who and where, but it is important to know that if we want our investment to go somewhere spiritually, we need to follow spiritual precepts to make sure it is used in a way that is right.

Let's look at that a little bit. Number one eleven says, not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. It is a strange thing. Individuals teach that people should have faith, right? That they should, in whatever circumstances they in, should look to God and quietly wait for deliverance.

But it's strange. At times it seems as if the church and ministers are excepted from that rule, that they beg continually for money. It seems as if the same faith that we preach to people should be exercised in the Church of God and the individuals who preach God's message. Also, how come it is that we encourage oftentimes people to exercise faith and wait patiently for God's provision. And then at times we hear of things like people just begging repeatedly that if enough money was not given in the offering plate, that you send that thing out again and again and a third time, Come on, guys.

Does God not speak to you? Send that thing out again.

So how do we understand? It says not that I speak in regard to need. Paul was recognizing if that money, if Paul is truly grateful not for the money itself, but that for the fruit that comes to their account as a result of being involved into God's work. If that's the truth, then it cannot be connected to the personal needs that Paul has. Okay, it says not that I speak in regard to need.

Paul does not in any way link his need to physical provision. He has learned to rest and is assured that his needs are not met by a physical source. This is what he Says, for I have learned in whatever state to be content. Paul has learned. Now, learning is about schooling.

Schooling is how we learn. Paul has been put in positions where he has had to learn. Paul has been in positions where he had to learn a lesson. The lessons he learned taught him to be content, taught him to be satisfied, taught him to rest in what he had. You and I are also in school.

Yes, you and I also have tests. Some of those tests we pass and we learn to be content. Other tests we don't pass.

God places us in unique position, challenges us to rest on his provision. He puts us uniquely, desirously. He chooses to place his children in places where there is difficulty, where there is a need, where there are short finances, where there is mysterious shortage of physical provision for whatever reason that people. That money, where it should have come in didn't. Where situations where crops that should have grown didn't grow, where cows that should have been there were lost in the forest some way and we're left screaming.

Our flesh is concerned, everything is going haywire and we are put to the test. That test is not necessarily to hurt you. I know that some people felt in high school or college that those individuals that called themselves teachers were actually sadistic ministers meant to inflict punishment on people.

And we're like those guys. But from their perspective, they were people placed there to put a test in front of you that you might learn from it. An individual cannot learn from the test that God gives them unless he is willing to walk through it. Some people, I'm afraid to say, were so afraid of test day that they didn't come to school.

They thought they got over it. They thought they escaped the trial, the tribulation. They felt like it was the lion's den or the fire furnace. And they just said, I'm not even going to go there. But the truth is that those people that went into the lion's den, those people that ended up in the fiery furnace after having trusted God and learned the lesson, came out of the fiery furnace with something that those individuals who would not go there could not have.

That test was not designed to destroy a person, but rather to build in something in them that could never be taken away.

But I'm just going to say sometimes it hurts like hell when you're short, when it doesn't feel like you have what you need. But God is engineering circumstances for your benefit to bring you. He loves to bring you to that testing point. Paul says, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. It didn't matter whether provision came from the Philippians or not, his contentment was found in a different source than finances could offer an individual.

If we're going to judge the circumstances, you have to recognize if you want to invest wisely. Is the individual you are giving to dependent dependent on the finances for their situation or do they depend in a hidden source of manna that comes from somewhere else?

As a result of that learning? We say in verse 12, I know how to be abased. I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. As a result of this test, as a result of passing that lesson, as a result of God bringing us into situations where we're tested and we go through them with faith, not always saying flying colors.

We go through them by faith. We learn something, we know something. Paul has a secret that enables him to effectively operate in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He says, I know how to be abased. I know how to be brought low.

Jesus came as the king of kings, possessing a throne and a name which is above every name. And he knew how to be abased. He knew how to associate with the humble. He knew how to be thirsty. And he must needs go through Samaria and be met by a certain Samaritan woman who had been married six times.

He knew what it meant to ask her from water. He knew how to be involved in the lives of of broken prostitutes as demon possessed. He knew how to associate with the tumble, to serve them and to be a blessing to them. Paul says, I know how to be abased. I remember for a while I had a pickup with no gas gauge or a non working gas gauge.

And I got to know almost every neighbor between here and the farm because I ran out of gas somewhere along the road over the three or four years and had to ask them for help. And it was an incredible ministry. If you're lacking a ministry, If you don't have one, I know how to be abased. You cannot claim to walk with Jesus Christ if you do not know how to associate with the humble. It's something you got to learn.

All of us feel we're one step ahead of everyone else. We're just a little bit cleaner than our neighbor. We're just a little bit better financial circumstances than they are. And for that reason, no. But Paul says, I know how to be abased.

He says, I also know how to abound. One interesting thing about Jesus is he did not hesitate to associate with the humble. But he also used every opportunity to associate with those who are rich, that it didn't matter about their financial situations. But he was ready to make the most of every opportunity. So you and I at times unfortunately resist opportunities to be associated in place where we can have some influence because we look down upon another class of people who, which may be better than we are or seem to be better than we are, excuse me, they have a better understanding, a better education, a better financial responsibility.

And so we shun them in some way also without realizing there is an opportunity there to influence the kingdom of God. We see in Jesus life that he was ministered to by a group of financially stable women who provided for his needs in different ways, that he knew how to minister to the lowest and to those who seemed to be the highest, that he ministered to them. He learned to do that. It says everywhere and in all things. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry.

Probably if I look back in our life, it's funny. Gabe came back, Jeremy and Danielle's son, and he came back from friendships. And we sometimes in friendships, when people come back, we relate to each other and what kind of food situation the ministry was in at the period we were there. And I was in there in the seven year old green ham freezer, burnt ham section, and then there was the burrito section and then there was the frozen calf tongue section and you know, there was the pallets of Spam section when we were resorted to eating fluffy white bread with mayonnaise for our food for a time.

But in that time where there was an emptiness, I can look back and say, yeah, those are the times where God was working so strong in my life. I learned to be hungry. And then there's a time learning to be full when we use our resources and the God of abundance fills our cups until it comes out and it fills and splashes on the life of the people around us. These are things we have to learn. It says both to abound and to suffer.

An individual who has gone through these tests and learned, it says there's nothing that can stop them. It says in verse 13, I or the individual who has learned can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. He or she does not hesitate to put them in any type of circumstance because he or she has already learned that in every type of circumstance that Christ is the provider for that person's need and rushes forward with Christ into that opportunity, knowing that it is the one that is going to produce spiritual fruit, that there is no physical thing that can hinder the work of Christ's movement on the earth. This church, its ministry, your ministry, is absolutely not held up by finances. It is a wrong thinking to beg for finances as if it were that thing preventing that ministry from moving forward.

Christ's ministry moves forward on an independent spirit which works unhindered in this world and always completely provides for the needs of its people. Without a doubt and unstoppable.

Let me read it one more time. For the individual that's been through the test and learned they have the right assurance to say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. There is no circumstance that's going to hinder that work. I can do it all through Christ who gives me strength. So my encouragement to you and I is two things.

Number one, you are being put to the test. Christ is testing you because he wants to teach you. He wants you to learn to rest on his faithfulness. Because knowing that once you've learned, you're unstoppable from the physical things of this earth. But number two, where you invest your finances, be careful that it's a wise investment.

Check carefully that you can give like the widow gave to, in a way in which the benefit went to the kingdom of God, not to some personal person's pocketbook.

We're going to pray and then we're going to open for communion. And with communion, there's always the encouragement that you and I need to receive that this is an invitation to take part in the walk with Christ that He offers every individual. He says, come and walk with me. He calls it yoke up with me. I loved.

I had twin bull calves born. And I just thought, this is a perfect thing. I'm going to yoke them. I'm going to train them to pull something. And to watch those little bull calves for the first time try to work together was astonishing.

But we're being offered the opportunity to pull in tandem with Jesus Christ. But I am going to let you know that he sets the direction that that place that he wants to pull is where we need to pull. And so our opportunity is to break our body in service to other people, just in the same way that Jesus broke his body in service to others. That's our walk. Serve other people.

Lay down your life for the lowly. Open those doors to the hurting. Provide for the needs of the poor. This is our calling to walk with Jes. But I'm going to let you know that in that calling, just as it was revealed to Peter that you and I oftentimes fail miserably.

Jesus blood is the covenant that you and I receive through coming to Christ. That those faults are washed away and guaranteeing us a pure spot in our heart, not because of how we walked, but because of how who we walked with. And it guarantees us also a home in heaven. And so if that is you, if you've made your decision to walk with Jesus, then this is an open door for you to reaffirm that through taking the bread and the cup together as a group of people with us. That is a choice that we make.

I make a choice. I want to walk with Christ. That cross and that cup, they come together. Let's pray.