Transcript

Good morning, church. Something about this just feels special. I like it. I like it Sunday on a Saturday and you showed up. I'm so proud of all of us today.

All the volunteers, all the people on the worship team, the tech team, the guest services team, the children's team, the coffee team. Both venues are open today. We started calling people Thursday morning and saying, would you help us move from Sunday to Saturday so we don't have to cancel church? And we're recording the service for those who couldn't make it today so we can show it tomorrow. But what we were planning earlier in the week because, man, it was just on the news, on the news, this storm is coming and we're like, okay, I'm going to wait till Saturday morning to make the call.

That's kind of how I was thinking. And we'll record the service. And I thought, man, I do not want to record another service for the rest of my life to empty seats. I've already done the whole recording to empty seats. And I thought, well, if we're going to open the doors and record the service, why not open the doors and invite those who would come and look at you, look around.

What a packed house today. We're thankful for you. Well, this is the last sermon in our four part series, Vision. Seeing your place in God's story. We'll be in chapter four of Philippians.

Over the past four weeks, we've talked about having a heart for God, getting a vision for who you are in Christ. We've talked about your home, how to have a vision for your home that's based on the relationships that God wants you to form in your life. And we've talked last week about hands, the mission God's called us to, the work he's called us to. And now today we're talking about harvest, How God has called us to have a vision that for the world. Indeed, this is what Jesus says in the Book of Mark, chapter 16.

He said to his disciples, go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. So this is God's vision for the church. And we're the church. The church is not the steeple. The church is the people.

Right? And so we're the church. And the church doesn't have to meet on Sunday, it can meet on Saturday and it can meet on any day. Wherever the church gathers, there the church is. And wherever you go, you're the church.

And we're to carry the gospel into all the world. That's God's vision for the church. That's God's vision for me. That's God's vision for you. But many today face a challenge.

It's not that we disagree with the vision. If you're here today, I would say as a believer, you're not disagreeing that that's the vision, but you might feel overwhelmed by it, like it's too big. It's a big world, and I'm little. You might be thinking that, how do I get at this? I feel overwhelmed.

It's just too big. Maybe you feel disconnected by the whole idea. I agree with the Great Commission. I recognize that we're supposed to reach the whole world. But it seems like, don't you think it's reserved for just a few?

I mean, how do I fit in? And so you feel a little disconnected to it. And you might even be wondering, do I really what my contribution? How does it even matter to God's world vision? And maybe you want to help, but you're not sure.

How do my prayers, how do my offerings, how does my part have to do with the big part? And so you're interested in that. And so that's kind of what we're talking about today as we get into chapter four. The Apostle Paul is commending the church at Philippi and rejoicing with them because they want to share in the partnership for the gospel in order to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's exactly what he's talking about today.

So let's look at the text today. I think we'll see three essentials for experiencing the joy of gospel partnership in God's vision for the world. So let's dig in. We're looking at chapter four, Philippians, verses 10 through 20. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length, you have revived your concern for me.

You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you, Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the Fruit that increases to your credit, I receive full payment and more.

I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours, according to his riches. In glory and in Christ Jesus, to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul closes that section with a beautiful benediction, doesn't he?

To God be the glory. Well, let's look here in this text for three essentials on how we can experience the joy of gospel partnership and God's vision for the world. Here's the first. By cultivating a concern. By cultivating a concern for gospel saturation, Paul, notice in verse 10, rejoiced.

He was rejoicing in what? That they had renewed their concern for him, their care for him. That when Epaphroditus had come to that Roman prison where prisoners in that day, the state did not provide meals for them, did not provide medical attention. All they provided was change. And so loved ones, people who cared, had to go and bring them food and these kinds of things.

But the church at Philippi, they never forgot Paul. Their concern for him was renewed. And so notice that verse 10. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length, you have revived your concern for me. And so Paul loves these believers at the Church of Philippi.

When I say gospel saturation, you might say, well, what does that mean? What are we talking about when we say gospel saturation? It's just another way of saying carrying the gospel to the whole world, but starting in our world, starting in our city, our county. And one of the ways we say this, and I'm part of a group that we call Christ Together for Wilson. We call it CT4W Christ together for Wilson.

It's a group of pastors that were praying for revival in the city of Wilson. And we're praying for gospel saturation of our city. And the way we say it is like this, that every man, woman and child would receive repeated opportunities to see, hear and respond to the gospel. The only way to do that is for you to gather for power like this, gather for encouragement, and then scatter. And as gospel witnesses, going out into your workplaces, your classrooms, your schools, your neighborhoods, and telling people about Jesus so that every man, woman and child has repeated opportunities to see the gospel in action, to hear it and to respond to it.

And this is our vision. And it's not our vision, it's really God's vision that we're trying our best in the power of the Holy Spirit to obey and to follow. He says, I rejoice that, that you've revived your concern. But indeed, he says, you were indeed concerned for me. In other words, you'd never stopped being concerned for me.

Paul says, I know you were still concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. He doesn't want to accidentally discourage them by saying they forgot him, because they didn't forget Paul. They just lost track of where he was. Perhaps. Perhaps that's what it was.

Or perhaps the last they had heard, he was at such place, but he's somewhere else. And so they had a hard time keeping up with him because he's always on the move. Or maybe it was because they had hit a season of extreme poverty themselves and they were offering prayer, but they were unable to offer the gift at that point. If we read in 2nd Corinthians 8, 2, we can see that the area of Macedonia went through a season. Philippi is in that area of Macedonia went through a season of suffering financially.

And so it could have been any of these things. When we say concern, when we talk about concern, it means to be mindful of, to have care for, to take your eyes off of your own situation and to place your concerns on someone else. To pull your eyes and your thinking and your prayers off of your situation. Your laundry list of things that you don't have to be reminded to bring up to God, because it's easy to tell God, God, I need help with this, I need help with that. But to have a concern for your pastors, for your community group, shepherds in our church, other churches in our town that are preaching the gospel, to pray for them and to pray for our missionaries that are around the world, to pray for those that you don't see or think of very often.

But to be that kind of a believer that has a concern, that I think the first step is to see it, like to open your eyes to it and then opening your eyes to it, to pray for it and then to be moved to give towards it, to cultivate a concern. He says now he kind of does a sidebar here. He says, now, look, I know you're taking care of me and you've been reminded of me and you've sent help to me, but I'm writing this to you not because I've lacked contentment, you've supplied a need for me. But he's saying, but really all my needs are met in Christ Jesus. He wants them to understand that what he's celebrating here is, is not Just that they met his need.

But he's more celebrating and rejoicing in the fact that they care about him no matter what they sent. If it was a little or a lot, he's satisfied because he recognizes this, that all of his needs are met in Christ Jesus. And sometimes he taps the church at Philippi, and sometimes he taps somewhere else. But he's going to take care of Paul. Paul's not worried about how God's going to take care of him.

So here's Paul commending them and rejoicing with them and celebrating their gift, but also teaching them. Because he's the Apostle Paul, he's also teaching them, hey, I want you to be content, just as I'm content. I've learned a secret, he says. I've learned a secret. I've learned how to be content in plenty and in lack.

I've learned how to be content when I've been brought low and when I've abounded, because my contentment is not based on circumstance, but on Christ. I've gotten off the roller coaster of life, up one day and down the next. But no, I'm climbing, climbing, climbing towards the King. And I recognize that all my needs are met in him, and it gives me a constancy of contentment. And he concludes that thought in verse 13.

He says, I can do most things through Christ, who gives me strength. Is that what he says? No, it's not what he says. He says I can do pretty much everything, all things. You were reading along with me, weren't you?

I can do all things through Christ. That hymn points to Christ. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. Though many of us have that as our life verse. Philippians 4:13.

If you haven't memorized a verse, there's a good one to start with. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. And he's thankful. He's cultivated a concern for gospel saturation himself. And he commends them and rejoices with them that they have the same Seeing the need is only the beginning.

To cultivate a concern means to open your eyes to the need of the gospel in the world. The gospel is the only thing that will solve the division in our nation today, the division in our world today. Not a political answer, not an economic answer, but an answer that changes human hearts one at a time. We must allow the spirit to turn our sight. Begin.

We see it. But to cultivate concern is to turn our sight into compassion. Look at Matthew, chapter 9. This is Jesus says, when he saw the crowds. He had compassion notice.

He saw the crowds. He looked at them. He saw the crowds and it moved him to compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

We've titled this message the Harvest. To have a vision for God's, God's vision for the world. And here's Jesus. He saw, he was moved to compassion. He's asking for workers and he's praying.

We can see a lot here in just this short passage. Have you ever been driving down the road and your phone goes, starts making. What we've learned is an Amber Alert. It makes a different sound. If you have a smartphone, it'll do that.

And an Amber Alert can be distressing if you've never heard it before. And you're driving along, you've been seeing cars, you're on the highway, you see them, but you don't really see him. But the Amber Alert flashes up a memo there. And I've got mine stuck on like a magnet thing there in my car. And so I can kind of cut my eyes over there without, you know, losing sight of how I'm driving.

And I'm looking over and all of a sudden it says silver car.

It says silver car, 2016 model. You know, whatever the name of the model, license plate, five year old girl last seen wearing just all this coming across, you're driving all of a sudden, every silver car, you're looking at it differently than you were before because there was an Amber Alert. You, you saw them, but you didn't see them because that's not. You weren't looking for them, but now you're. Could that be, you know, for a moment?

And so God wants us to have a spiritual Amber Alert about your neighbor who maybe you've never noticed or you've noticed them and they irritate you.

It might be because they're far from God and they're struggling and hurt people. Hurt people.

Just kind of that person, that co worker, the most aggravating co worker might be the one that God's calling you to see and move your heart to compassion and to begin to pray for them. And then having prayed for them, you begin to love them. And then before you know it, you have opportunity to talk to them about Jesus. Have you heard God's Amber Alert? Have you seen the crowds harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd seeing and Hearing is an important step towards cultivating concern, to be aware of what God's doing in this world.

Have you noticed the growing number of guests visiting our church? There might be first timers here today. You're like, that's a crazy church. They moved it. They're having Sunday on Saturday.

Let's just go kick the tires and see what this is about. Glad you're here. Thank you for coming next Sunday. We do plan to, and we've been doing this for some time. New to Eastgate, and it's just an opportunity to get to know us better.

A way of welcoming guests so they can meet the pastors and other leaders and kind of make, you know, progress towards making a decision about this being their church home. We've been doing this for a while and, and we've been thinking we'd like to upgrade that. And so today is Vision Sunday. Vision Sunday. Today is Vision Sunday on Saturday.

And we're coming out with a new way of onboarding and welcoming our people that just started coming. We're calling it. Oh, this is great. The East Gator.

Come on. It'll grow on you. Give it a chance. Because if you have decided I'm going to be part of Eastgate, you know what that makes you an East Gator. Yeah.

Come on, come on, come on. You're going to love it. The more you say it, it'll stick with you. And so this coming Sunday will be our last new to Eastgate. This will replace new to Eastgate.

The first one of our East Gators will be in March and we're going to do those on Friday night. And that way the pastor will not have just preached two sermons and be completely tanked out. I'll be able to give my best and other team players will. And we're going to do something a little bit more elaborate and spend a little bit more time with you. There will be more coming on that, but the East Gator will start in March and we're going to need more concerned volunteers to help us accomplish that.

Another way of trusting and taking care of and being good stewards of the reality that God is trusting us with people that want to hear the gospel and grow in the gospel. And so we wanted to improve our effort at helping them know us better and know more about us. So that's one thing. New this is. This is me preaching this last sermon, but also talking about our vision in our city and in our world.

So the East Gator is coming. Here's something else I want to ask you. If you've taken notice of. Have you taken notice of the increase in visitors and first time guests? You have, I hope.

Have you noticed that God is trusting us with a church that looks more like our city? Well, what do you think I mean by that? What I mean by that is red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. I mean, he's given us, he's checking us right now to see, okay, you've been praying that you could have a church that looks more like heaven, where every tongue and every tribe, every ethnos will be represented before the throne of God.

And so he's trusting us now with that. Would you pray with me? Would you cultivate a concern that we don't mess up and start talking about politics or talking about something, even joking in some way that is not mindful, not concerned about how God is calling us to represent his kingdom in this world? And I want you to think about, have you crossed the aisle and been welcoming. Now don't be weird about it and just scare people off.

Like, I'm so glad you're here. We've been looking for people like you. Yeah, don't do that.

Please don't do that.

I was talking to one of my, one of my brothers earlier, one of my pastor buddies, Pastor Sherman, he pastors at Mount Moriah Community Church here in Wilson. And I said, I was telling him, I said, pray for us about this. And I said, can you give me any advice? And that's what he told me. He said, just be normal.

Don't look like, lean in too hard. You know, we're just, we're all just people here. And there's only one race, that's the human race. And we're all children of Adam and Eve. And there's one Jesus, I think he was probably brown, and that's okay.

And I don't care about that, but I care about him. Come on, have you noticed that? And I want to cast a vision for that and I want to see that increase and I want us to be aware of how division could infect it. So we're going to have a cultivated concern that prays and sees and has compassion and watches out for what God's doing and welcomes it.

And did you catch in the opening announcements that our Rocky Mount campus is getting ready to make a strategic move and launch a second service? Did you hear that?

So just a year ago, we were able to move them into a new home, a permanent home, a place that was actually built to Be a church. We're in a movie theater. I told them, I said, you guys got a real church. What in the world? Well, this is a real church because the church is not the steeple.

The church is the people. And we just happened to get a movie theater and turn it into the church. Because wherever we go, that's where the church is. But they're growing, and they are we, because we're one church, two campuses, and I celebrate with them. They're a little scared.

Next week, they launch second service. The reason they're scared is they got a stretch. Kind of like we did today when we started calling people Thursday morning, saying, is there any way possible you could help us do this, this, this, this and this on a Saturday instead of a Sunday? And you know what you said? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

And that's what we have to do. Cultivate a concern for gospel saturation. That's the first. Here's the second. By courageously sharing in the work of the gospel.

Courageously sharing in the work of the gospel. We're verses 14 through 16. He says, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

Now you don't have any problem. You know this. You don't have any problem getting someone to share your fortune. They find out you just put in a swimming pool in your backyard. You got friends, immediate friends.

You own a beach home. I'd like to know you.

You got a boat over at the lake. I love boats. You don't have to have any problem. There's no problem finding somebody to share your fortune. But, boy, the line is short when you're in trouble.

Even shorter if you've been locked up.

Paul says, it was kind of you. Man, that seems an understatement. It was kind of you to share my trouble. You didn't forget me. You didn't forget me.

A lot of people have forgotten Paul. A lot of people have betrayed him. They've left him. They know why he's there. He's not there because he's a criminal.

He's there because of Christ. He's preached the gospel and it's not popular. And they've locked him up. It doesn't matter. They don't want to be locked up, too.

And they figure if they run from him, they can improve their chances of not joining them there. But not the Philippians. The Philippians. The first church he planted when he first came into Macedonia, when he first left Asia Minor and he came across. They've never forgotten him.

They're even willing to share in his Trouble. To courageously share in his trouble, he says, and you, Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel. What does that mean? I think it really means this. When you first heard the gospel, he's not talking about back at the cross and back when Jesus was raised again.

The gospel story that Jesus died for our sins, he was buried. He was raised on the third day and ascended to the Father. That's the gospel message. He's not talking about its origin. I think here, as he's talking in context here, he's saying, you yourselves know that in the beginning, when you got the gospel, I think that's what it means.

And I left Macedonia, which is the larger area that Philippi is located in. Be kind of like saying when I left Wilson, when I left North Carolina, like that. It's kind of like that. No church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Y' all are special to me.

Y' all believed in the gospel. And right from the beginning, I mean, you just got saved. And you started. Man, you started believing to the point where you were giving of yourselves and of your finances and of your talent and your treasure. You are giving.

You're special to me. And even now that I'm in trouble, boy, those kind of friends are even more special to us, aren't they? The ones who share in our trouble. Ones who weep with us when we weep, hurt with us when we hurt. That's a short list.

But you've been there from the very beginning. Notice a couple of things. The word partnership. This is a Greek word you should probably know. It's koinonia.

Can be translated fellowship, communion, partnership.

You entered into a partnership with me in giving and receiving. Even in Thessalonica. You sent me help. And pop up a map. I've got too many things here.

I got to see a map. Okay. You see the map? I forgot my pointer. Pretend like it's running.

So you see Philippi over there's Troas. Troas is what was originally ancient Troy. And he was preaching and teaching in Troy. That's. That's modern day Turkey over there.

Okay? And if you look at that little opening where the Aegean Sea flows up into the Black Sea, that's Istanbul. That's right. At that point. But when he was in Troas, he wanted to go into Asia Minor, but the Lord prevented him.

And he had a vision of a man of Macedonia beckoning him. And he caught a ship from Troas, and he went up to Philippi and he preached the Gospel there. And that's the first church he planted in the. The Greece area, the area of Greece, of Macedonia. And he planted church in Philippi, and then he went to a bigger city in Thessalonica, which was really like the.

That was the. Where the governor for Macedonia was. And so just kind of picture it like this. It'd be like he. He planted this little church in Philippi, that it'd be kind of like planting one in Wilson.

And then saying he sends back word to the church at Philippi and says, I'm over here trying to plant a church in Raleigh. Could you send money over here and send some help over here to help me plant this church in Raleigh? And if he did that, if the Apostle Paul sent us that letter, we'd be like, there's rich people over there in Raleigh. Why do we. People in Wilson like, what in the world.

They should be sending us help?

And so if you look at it, he says, even in Thessalonica, it'd be like. Even in Raleigh, even in Washington, D.C. even in. You know, pick a big. You know, it'd be like, we're from Elm City. We trying to plant a church in Black Creek.

And you'd want us to help the people over in Greensboro. That's right. Even in Thessalonica. You sent me help for my needs once and again. Not just once, but.

But once and again. You continually did it. You had a heart for getting the gospel out to the whole world. You didn't see cities. You saw the world.

You had a vision for the world because you had God's vision you courageously shared. Even in trouble, even regardless of location, you sent me help time and time again. In second Corinthians 8, Paul talks to them. In that letter to the city of Corinth. He actually tells people in the Corinthian city, he brags on the people of Macedonia.

He says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that's been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. He was actually, in a way, shaming the wealthy city of Corinth by comparing them to Elm City. Elm City is supporting all these churches. Now, when I come to take a collection here, don't let me have to tell them you didn't send anything.

That's some strong fundraising Paul was doing down there in Corinth. He was telling them, look at what little Philippi has been doing. They're like a heartbeat of the gospel, sending out people and funds in these bigger cities, that's often true. I've noticed this in history. I've noticed it in my 34 years of ministry.

By the way, this coming Monday, we. We are 34 years old. Eastgate Church. Now, we had a big plan for tomorrow to celebrate our birthday. We're going to try to do it next Sunday, weather permitting.

We'll see. Come back next Sunday. We'll have a birthday party. But we still wanted to talk about vision. Today we were trying to do both, but God's God and I'm not.

So we're. We're following him, but we're trying to cast vision today. We'll celebrate our birthday next Sunday if we're able. But this little church is like a lot of little churches. They tend to be the ones that get ahold of a big God.

Sometimes if you think you're big, you don't feel like you need God. But if you know you're little, but you've got a big vision from a big God and you're depending on God, and you say things like, I can do all things to Christ, who gives me strength, then you, you got a different way of thinking about things. And I want to. I want to be like that. I want our church to be like that.

In the late 1700s, there was a man named William Carey. He's considered today the father of modern missions. He felt called to carry the gospel to India, a place that had no gospel witness at all. It was virtually unknown, and the danger was immense. And as he was leaving his friends and his church, he said to them, I will go down into the pit if you will hold the rope.

When we think of the harvest, we often think of the person that goes down in the pit. We think of the church planter, the missionary, the one who goes and begins to have a witness in the Middle East. We have two dear families that our church is connected to in Istanbul that are there carrying the gospel to that Muslim majority country of Turkey. We have a young man in his family that came to Christ here, was raised up here, baptized, married, we grew up here. We sent him to seminary, and now he's in the Czech Republic, that former USSR country that has become such an atheistic country as a result of those years under the Soviets.

But he's there planting a church and teaching at a seminary from our church, our little church here in Wilson.

We've got a family right now in Pachuca, Mexico. You know them. They were Just greeting with us a few months back. They came in on furlough. They're back there again.

That's the Castro family. These are the family. You think. When you think of missions, you probably think, well, they're going down into the pit for us. But who's holding the rope?

That's us. We're holding the rope. We're supposed to hold the rope. Paul says, basically, hey, Philippi, I've been out here putting it on the line, but you've been holding a rope the whole time. I see you.

I'm thankful for you. You've been amazing to me. Even when I was in trouble, you shared with me. How can you help? Well, some of you need to go.

Some of you will be called, and you need to go be like, you talking to me. I might be. That's the Holy Spirit's job. What would stop you? Especially if you're young and maybe especially if you're older and you already got your Social Security check coming in.

You don't even have to raise support. Just hit the road.

I don't think God called you to just golf and fishing, as much fun as that is. Instead, he took some fishermen back there 2,000 years ago and turned them into fishers of men. How about that? What about that?

So let's hold the rope. We need some people to hold the rope. As we launch our new East Gator. It's going to take more volunteers. Now, don't laugh every time I say East Gator.

Come on, now. You're going to learn to love it.

And speaking of volunteers, I want to celebrate some changes that we visually are making right now is Jeff Webb. You all know Jeff. He's been faithful as our guest services leader for several years, and he started working with Taj Martin. You all know Taj, and Taj has now taken over Jeff's role. Jeff is moving into our missions role as a lay leader over missions, and he's going to be working with us to help champion that even more.

Local missions, domestic missions, farm missions. We're. We're asking him to dream with us about how to really connect to that. That's Jeff. But I want you to support Jeff's transition, but also Taj's transition to guest services.

So if you want to get involved volunteering with guest services, helping hold the rope, Taj is your man for that, and so hope you'll stop and thank them for what they're doing. These are volunteer lay leaders in our church that are really standing it up right now, and we're thankful for them. Maybe you can help us with our second service at Rocky Mount. We still have several people from our Wilson campus that attend our Rocky Mount campus and help with children's ministry and help with guest services, help with worship team. A lot of our instrumentalists and our vocalists actually rotate between this room, our gathering place next door and Rocky Mount.

So that's three worship venues that we have to support. So a lot of our worship people, I don't know if you know this, that they work here one Sunday, they serve here and then they're serving over here next Sunday and then maybe they're in Rocky Mount. So we celebrate that. We're thankful for it. I want to also mention to you our status on our It's Time generosity initiative.

We pledged last January, February. We had our It's Time initiative announcement and we talked about needing $1.6 million in order. Well, actually we said we needed 1.5, but you came back and committed 1.6 in order to acquire that property in Rocky Mount. In order to increase and strengthen our community engagement in both cities. In order to elevate our ministries.

We talked about how we needed that additional income in order to do it. Now here's where we're at. Year to date, $364,521.63. Okay, praise the Lord, but amen. Right, so that's you holding the rope.

That's you holding the rope. But we want you to stay committed. It's a three year generosity initiative. And if you're new here and you're just a new member of the church and you're still trying to figure out what that is, go online to our website. You can read about it, get with one of the pastors, find out more about it.

And so you could help us push over the line for that need of our It's Time generosity initiative. Here's another idea of how you could get a concern, a growing concern and also share in missions is we're sending out two mission teams this year, our Uganda team, and that one's pretty much already closed. Those that have identified themselves as going our next meeting, they've decided they're going. It might not be too late for you, but boy, you'd have to really jump it right now. But the Uganda team is going in June.

But here's what you definitely could do for the Uganda team. You could hold the rope because they're going to be raising support. It's going to cost $3,600 a person to go for that two week trip. To Uganda to partner with our partners in Uganda. So that's June, and then in the fall, our Serbia team is going out and they're just starting to have their information meeting.

I think it's next Sunday. So if you want to go to Serbia and go minister there. So some of us are going to go, but all of us are going to hold the rope. We're going to, we're going to pray, we're going to support financially. We want to be the kind of church that does missions.

That leads us to the third essential. Do you see what I'm trying to do here? I'm trying my best to preach Philippians, preach vision at the same time and give you details about what is going on in our church in 2026. I'm so glad you're here. This would have been so hard with empty chairs.

I very, very encouraged by you. Here's number three. By confidently investing in the gospel for God's glory, we're verses 17 through 20. By confidently investing in the gospel for God's glory, I want you to notice the words credit and glory, credit and glory. Not that I seek the gift, Paul says, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

Another way of translating the word credit is he could have said the fruit that increases to your account. Now what account is he talking about? He's talking about the heavenly account. He's going, here's it's not that I was. It's not that I'm seeking more from you because I'm content, but boy, I'm thankful for what you've sent, but I'm content.

But what I want to celebrate is that your giving and your concern and carry and holding the rope. You might not know it, but there's a heavenly account that's accumulating. You can't see it, but you're setting aside riches in glory. It's as if we have two accounts. We have an earthly account that we live off of.

You know, we got to have an earthly account in order to buy food and clothing, those kind of things, and God supplies that need as well, with what we're doing here. But there's an unseen heavenly account that Paul's referring to. He says, I want to make sure you recognize that what you're doing for me is not just for me, it's for the Lord. And since you're doing it for the Lord, it's accumulating in your heavenly account. Now, they say you can't take it with you.

That's true, but you sure can send it on ahead.

As the man said, you never see a U haul being pulled by a hearse. Never see that. But when you give to God, he takes notice, and it is credited to your account when you give of your time, of your talent and serve, and when you give of your treasure, it accrues to your account if you do it cheerfully and you do it for the Lord. He says, not that I seek a gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I've received full payment.

More, I'm well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus. Well, Epaphroditus was a member of the church of Philippi. He's got a cool name. It means lovely. It's based on.

Well, he was. It's from a Greek area. And so they had all those Greek gods, and so probably they were worshiping Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. So they put it in their son's name. He must have been a pretty boy.

He must have been a pretty baby. They called him Lovely Epaphroditus, lovely. Named after Aphrodite. And so I don't know if he turned out to be a pretty man, probably a pretty baby, but he's beautiful to Paul and. And he names him here, and they would have known him.

I know you sent Epaphroditus. You sent gifts to me through Epaphroditus. He referred to him back in chapter two of Philippians, if you recall. He says this, I have thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. This is quite a journey from Philippi to Rome.

He nearly died. And I would say that this letter to the church at Philippi was what he hand carried back. Epaphroditus carried money and gifts to Paul. He almost died doing it. And then now he's carried it back.

And here he is appearing twice in this little letter, this little four chapter letter, and I guarantee he's the one who handed it to the preacher there at Philippi. And they read it on Sunday morning, and Epaphroditus probably just lowered his head and everybody's patting him on the back and they said, thank you for helping us hold the rope. Thank you that you went and showed our love and concern for Paul. And he doesn't want them to miss that. That's why I think he names Epaphroditus twice in his Little book, his little letter.

And then he uses Old Testament language to describe the gift. If you're not familiar with the Old Testament, you'd miss it. But it's sacrificial language. As if you're offering a sacrifice in the temple and equates what they've done to that. And he says, epaphroditus, the gifts you sent.

A fragrant offering rising to the nostrils of the Father. A sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. You don't realize what you've done. You've offered an offering to God by caring for the church planter Paul in his trouble, this is how he talks to them. He helps them understand how high and holy it is.

Some are sent and they're called to go. But just as important are those who are called to stay and pray and send and. And hold the rope and give and write letters to. And go visit when they can. Like Epaphroditus does.

Here. Man. If you ever go on some of these trips. I've had a few that I came back half dead from jet lagged catch something in a third world country. I've had some strange things happen to me through the years, but I always keep going because I catch such fire when I'm on the field.

Seeing God's people out there serving him in often troubled and lonely places. He closes with a benediction. Oh, it's great. And my God will supply every need of yours. And my God will supply most needs of yours.

No, every need of yours. According to his riches. How much does he own? He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The earth and all the people thereof are his.

Everything is his he'll supply. According to his riches of glory in Christ Jesus who has authority to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

He closes with this wonderful Benedict, by the way. You can keep on giving, you can keep on supporting. Because everything you have, he gave you. Just let it flow. Second Corinthians we read and God is able to make all grace abound to you.

So that having all sufficiency in all things at all times. I like this. It doesn't say having most sufficiency in some of the things at part of the times. All sufficiency in all things at all times. You may abound in every good work.

You have two bank accounts. One is a balance on earth and one is a balance in eternity. How much are you sending on ahead? As you serve, as you give, as you visit, you're sending on ahead. Can I share some of the heavenly results that have been accounted under this little church in Wilson and Rocky Mount.

I don't know everything. I only know that which we CAN number. In 2025 we saw 37 people say yes to Jesus and obedient to baptism. 37 we saw 93 people decide to join our church family as members. 334 serving on volunteer teams.

330 are in community groups. 236 are doing life on life. Discipleship growing in Jesus. 187 children heard the good news and experienced the joy of Christ. At our annual Kids fest we support 17 mission partners, local, regional and international.

International. They were empowered. We held the rope while they preached. We raised nearly $12,000 in our benevolence fund this year, providing a lifeline to members and neighbors in the midst of their financial crises. We raised nearly 10,000 this Christmas to send emissions, half of which goes to the International Mission Board.

And a supply of it was sent to the Castros to buy a missions vehicle for the Mexico mission. Recently we joined the Mercy Hill Collaborative which is a network of gospel centered churches that are working together to make disciples and plant churches. We're going to be giving 2% of our annual general fund to plant churches, especially in eastern North Carolina. Which by the way is why our name is Eastgate. Because we want to plant churches.

We want to make disciples and plant churches in eastern North Carolina. In conclusion, we can say that as we experience the joy of the harvest, it starts by cultivating a concern for the lost. It grows as we courageously share the burden of the work. And it's sustained as we confidently continue to invest in eternity. For the last four weeks we've been looking at vision.

We've been looking at how we need a changed heart that has a vision, that's satisfied in Jesus. A changed home. A new vision for our home and so that our home has become a lighthouse for his grace. That our hands are busy with his purpose and that he wants us to have a heart for the harvest. Next Sunday in Rocky Mount we'll launch our second service.

Next Sunday we'll hopefully and prayerfully Lord delays his coming say Happy birthday to Eastgate. 34 years. We'll blow out candles.

I'm ordering some cupcakes for y'. All.

You can eat them in the bobby. Try not to crumb too bad for cleanup sake I want you to consider its time if you just now getting on board that you would find out more about it and I want you to help us with the East Gator. But more than anything, I pray that you would follow Jesus. So this has been a sermon today to conclude this series, but it's also been a vision casting moment of talking about what I see God doing in our church now and what I prayerfully hope we see God doing through our church in 2026. Let's get a vision to be involved in God's story.

Amen. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for your people that you would bring out on a Saturday and treat it like it was Sunday.

Lord, I pray for that one that's here today. Maybe it's their first time, maybe they've been coming, but they've never given their life to you. I pray right now for that person that you would give your life to, Jesus, believing in your heart that he died for your sins and that he was raised from the grave and that he lives today. You can say that, Lord, I believe that. And saying, lord, forgive me a sinner.

I believe in you as Savior. Would you come into my heart, forgive me and change me and adopt me into your family. I want to follow you all the days of my life as Lord and Savior. If you're praying that prayer of faith, believing he'll save you and make you his own, but I especially pray for that one that God's been calling you to full time ministry. He's been calling you to be a missionary or a church planter.

Or maybe he's been calling you to serve in children's ministry or some other area. Would you say, I'll go if you'll hold the rope. I pray for you today. I pray that we hear of people that are saying, I'm ready to go. I pray that we'll hear people today that say, I'm ready to hold the rope.

We pray it all now in Jesus name, Amen.