They were dark, dungeon-like. Usually the men were in there
had very little food, very little water, probably rat infested,
all kinds of things in there. And this epistle that we're going
to read to look at tonight, a portion of it, is what's called a prison
epistle. And Paul was in one of those prisons. He was in one
of those prisons, and he pens these words. The name of the message is, Our
God shall supply all our needs. And here in Philippians chapter
4, we're going to read from verses
3 to 20 to get the context of it. In the first nine verses,
Paul is exhorting the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, and he's
encouraging them to think upon things Whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are a good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things. And we see that he tells them
to do that. And remember where he is. He's telling them to do
this, and he's in a Roman prison. Now all these things that he
tells them to think And I imagine that Paul was a man like any
preacher. When we preach, we practice or
we try to practice what we preach. And so think of that. He's in
this situation and he knows that he's there for the furtherance
of the gospel. He knows that. He's there for the furtherance
of the gospel. He believes that God sovereignly
works his will, whatever he wants to do, and he bows his knee to
the fact that he is there by God's sovereign decree. And all these things he tells
them to think upon are, of course, found in Christ. They're found
in him. They're not found anywhere else. So he's exhorting them,
well, he's in prison, and well, there's maybe rats scampering
around, and well, we can just imagine being in one of those
old prisons, what it was like. He's exhorting them to rejoice
in Christ. To rejoice in Christ. And to
pray to He who is our Lord, and our King, and our Redeemer. Now, that's the grace of God
at work, isn't it? because not many of us would
rejoice if we're sitting in a prison cell. But see, Paul saw everything
through the lens of God's providence. It's like we were talking about
with the hurricane that just happened to hit a place where
the least population. We see God's hand guiding and
directing all things. All things. We see the world,
we see life through a whole different lens now that we're born again. And we rejoice, don't we? We
rejoice in our Savior as much as we can when we're going through
certain circumstances, because I don't think there's any one
of us here that ever went through a circumstance where we grumbled about it, right? Let's be honest. And Paul's telling
them to rejoice, and he's in a prison. My. So let's look at verses three
to nine where we see Paul's exhortation and encouragement, and call for
them to pray to our great God. And remember again the setting.
He's in a Roman prison. I beseech Eurydice and beseech
Syneithe that they be both of the same mind in the Lord. Verse
2 and verse 3. And I entreat thee also, true
yoke fellow, to help these women which labored with me in the
gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers
whose names are in the book of life. Every believer's name is
in the book of life, beloved. That alone should leave us in
awe. Because that book was written before the foundation of the
world. Rejoice in the Lord. Now, here
we go right away. Remember where he is. Rejoice
in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Oh,
my. This man has been given grace,
beloved grace. Let your moderation be known
unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful
for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. So carry
everything to the Lord, beloved. Carry everything to our Savior.
As I've said many times, nothing's too small to take to our King.
Nothing. Nothing at all. And the peace
of God, look at this, this peace is unlike any We know what world
peace is like. The peace in the world, they
have peace for a little bit, then it gets broken. Why? Because
of sin. Because of sin. But look at this peace. This
is the peace that passes all understanding. Man can't understand
this peace. And beloved, every one of God's
saints have this peace in Christ. It's called the peace that passes
all understanding. It shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. And that's in all circumstances.
What happens sometimes when a circumstance comes up? Sometimes we freak
out a little bit, don't we? Sometimes we do. When something
comes up, we get anxious, don't we? But what always happens to
the believer after we sit and we pray and we consider about
our God being in control? We get peace, don't we? We get
that peace that passes all understanding. It's not normal peace, because
it's not normal to us, is it? No, it's a peace which comes
from God to every believer. It's a peace which passes all
understanding. It shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus. Remember that text we looked
at in the Old Testament where the Lord said, I shall not let
them depart from me? Just think of that in that too.
This peace he gives us, it's a peace. And we're not always
at peace, are we? Because there's our sinfulness.
But oh, what peace we have when we contemplate the things of
Christ. Finally, brethren, look at this. Whatsoever things are
true, What's over, what's truth? This is truth. Right here, this
book, this whole book is truth. What's over things are truth.
Christ is truth. He's called the truth, the way, the truth,
and the life. What's over things are honest. What's over things
are just. Who's the just one? The Lord
Jesus Christ. What's over things are pure. Who's the sinless one?
Christ. What's over things are lovely. Oh, he's the fairest
of 10,000 to his people. What's over things are a good
report. This is, Isaiah says, who hath believed our report.
Scriptures is a report. It tells us the things of Christ.
If there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on
these things. That's all Christ. These things are all in Christ. Those things which he have both
learned and received. What have we learned? We've learned
that Christ is the only Redeemer. We've learned that he's the only
Savior. We've learned that he's God Almighty incarnated in the
flesh. There's so many things we've learned since the Lord
saved us. And it's he who's taught us these things. It's he who's
taught us, he said, those things which ye have learned. And what?
And received. We gladly receive these truths, don't we? Now that
we're born again in the Holy Spirit of God, there was a time
when we didn't receive this, this truth. When we recoiled at it. Brother Matt and I were talking
about that. We've been talking about that in our studies, how
before we were saved, we recoiled from these truths. And he was
raised in the gospel church. But we recoil in our natural
state. to the things of God. We don't
want to receive them. But when God opens our ears,
what? We've heard, haven't we? Those
things which ye have both learned, received, and heard, and seen
in me, do. So Paul's a pattern here. And
the God of peace shall be with you. Paul's content no matter
what circumstance he's in. What's he do? He looks to Christ.
He rejoices in the Lord. Remember when him and Silas were
in the prison, they were singing songs. My! Oh my. And the God of peace shall
be with you. He's always with us, beloved.
Now in these next 10 verses that we'll look at, we'll see God's
provision for his saints masterfully bought out by Paul in the fact
that when Paul was sitting in the Roman prison for preaching
the gospel, and remember, that's why he's there. He's there for
preaching the gospel. He lacked the necessities that
are needed to maintain his physical strength. Again, a little background
for these verses. The believers at Philippi, they
found out about Paul's deplorable circumstances and they sent relief
to him at the hand of their pastor. They sent relief to him. Having
received the gifts from them, he wrote back to them saying,
I'm full. having received of Epaphaditus
the things which were sent from you in order of a sweet smell,
a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. We'll see that in verse
18 when we read. And Paul also assured them that
the Almighty God would take care of all their needs. All their
needs, all his needs too. He says, my God shall supply
all your need. He's writing from a prison. He's writing in a, Oh my gosh,
what grace He's been given, beloved. My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. So
let's read verses 19 to 20 now. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly
that now at the last your care of me flourished again wherein
you were all so careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that
I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever
state I am therewith to be content. Paul was content no matter what
circumstance he was in. He said, I've been rich and I've
been poor. Now that's in verse 11. Now that
I speak in respect of want, for I've learned that in whatsoever
state I am therewith to be content. And then look at verse 12, for
I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. He
knows how he feels in poverty and how he feels in riches. Everywhere and in all things
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthen me. There is the object of his faith.
There's the one who strengthens him. There's the one who he looks
to in his content, because he realizes that he is there in
that prison again for the furtherance of the gospel by the providence
of God, by the providence of God. And note too, note too, he, He
professes his weakness even in that verse too, because he says,
I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. So he's
professing his own weakness, that all his strength comes from
Christ and Christ alone. Now you Philippians know also
that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from
Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving
and receiving, but ye only. They were the only ones who sent
anything to him. For in Thessalonica ye sent once
and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift,
but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all
in abound. I am full in having received
of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of
a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable while pleasing to God." So Epaphroditus,
their pastor, had delivered this gift. But my God shall supply
all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus.
That will be our text tonight. Now unto God and our Father be
glory forever and ever. Amen. Now oftentimes the verse
19 is just ripped out of context, beloved. Oftentimes that verse
there, it says, but my God shall supply all your need according
to riches and glory by Christ Jesus. It's often just ripped
out of context by the prosperity preachers out there, the false
preachers that are telling the people to send money to them.
Preachers of our day, those prosperity preachers are
just false prophets. And they say that God will give
you what you want, no matter what it is of course, but they
always preface it with you have to send them money. That's what
they do. Because if you don't send the
money, then supposedly God won't give you what you want. Now,
it was interesting because as I was reading and studying for
this verse, several of the commentators of old brought out the fact that
this verse is not a verse that we pull out and say, okay, God,
you can give us whatever we want. Isn't that interesting? And that's
exactly what the false preachers are saying. That's interesting, isn't it?
Because it shows us that they're proclaiming the wrong things.
So these religious hucksters out there, they're nothing but,
that's what they are, religious hucksters. They're just fleecing
people for money. Now the context of this verse
is very important, and that's why we read from verses 3 to
20. Paul's bringing forth how God will supply all that is needed
as it relates to the ministry of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and he always brings it back Where does Paul always
bring it back to? Christ. Always. Always. And that's what every
gospel preacher does. You bring it right back to Christ.
Right back to Him. And note, he brings it back in
the fact that all our need is supplied in and through Christ
according to His riches in glory. All his need. all his need, but
my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
and glory by Christ Jesus. Turn to Psalm 24, if you would.
Psalm 24. And then we'll go to Psalm 40.
Psalm 24, let us consider here how needy we really are. How
needy we really are as human beings. Now, of course, we know
that what we need More than anything is our spiritual needs to be
fulfilled, isn't it? And that's what we're gonna be
looking at. Basically, all our needs spiritually is fulfilled
in Christ. He takes care of every one of
his sheep too, right? He feeds us and clothes us, gives
us intellect to learn things and to be able to have jobs and
he gives us all that. But spiritually, spiritually
is where our deepest need is. Where our deepest need is. Because
we're spiritually bankrupt when we come into this world. We're
dead in trespasses and sins. We're needy, needy. We're mercy
beggars, as one grace preacher says. That's what we are. I like
that. Because that's what we are. We're mercy beggars. And
we have a great need for spiritual blessings. And one of them is
being able to stand in God's presence. being able to stand
in God's presence. How can a sinner stand in the
presence of a holy and righteous God? Well, we have a need, don't
we? Look at this in Psalm 24, look
at verses 3 to 5. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? So who shall stand in his holy place? Who shall
do this? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity, nor
sworn deceitfully, He shall receive the blessing from the Lord and
righteousness from the God of his salvation. How does one who
does not have clean hands and does not have a pure heart stand
before the Lord? Well, it's impossible, isn't
it? By our works, by anything we do, it's absolutely impossible. But it says here, he that hath
clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul
in the vanity nor sworn deceitfully, This can only be said of those
who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, those who are
in Christ. In Christ, we've been given a new heart, haven't we?
A new heart that hungers and thirsts after righteousness.
We've been we're we're called in the perfect, spotless righteousness
of Christ. We're made clean in the eyes
of the Lord. We're made clean in the eyes
of the Lord. And how are we made clean in the eyes of the Lord?
Only in Christ. Only in Christ. My God shall
supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ
Jesus. So the only way we can stand
in God's presence is in Christ. There's no other hope. No other
hope. So what a promise then we have
in our text back here where it says, Let's go back to Philippians
4.19, "...but my God shall supply all your need according to His
riches and glory by Christ Jesus." This is a promise to every one
of God's people. What a promise we have here!
We know that God will supply for the ministry of the gospel
where it's being preached. We've seen that in our lives,
haven't we? Where the gospel is being preached
and proclaimed, God keeps the ministry going as He sees fit.
where He's pleased to have His name. And we can fully believe,
we can fully rest in this and the many other promises of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And how we can rest is in the
fact that God will supply our need. And we're needy. We are needy people. And He'll do all this not according
to our religious works, not according to anything we've done, but he
does this according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. The opposite of what religion
says. The opposite of what the religious
hucksters say. The total opposite. It's all
in Christ. It's all in him. And this is
why we desire to live a life for our king, isn't it? because
of the great things he's done for us. My. But here supply all our needs
and Christ Jesus, he does all things we saw on Sunday, Sunday
school. He does all things after the
council, his own will, doesn't he? He does whatever he pleases
to do. Oh, my. Let's look at Psalm 40 now. Although
we are poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon us. I want you
to think about this, beloved. You who are the sheep of God,
God thinks upon you. I was looking at this today and
almost shouted. This is wonderful. God thinks
upon me. One of his blood-washed saints. And I know if he thinks upon
me, he thinks upon all of us, doesn't he? Because that's what
he says. Look at this. Look what the psalmist writes here in Psalm
40, verses 16 and 17. Oh, this will make you rejoice.
We're poor and needy sinners, and yet the Lord thinks upon
us. Let all those that seek Thee, being God, rejoice and be glad
in Thee. And think it, Paul was rejoicing
in prison, wasn't he? Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation.
Do you love God's salvation? Oh, we love it, don't we? We
love it. That's Christ. Christ is our
salvation. Christ is God's salvation, isn't
he? Oh, with thy salvation, say continually, the Lord be magnified.
Praise his mighty name for what he's done. Glory to him. But I am poor and needy. That's
us right there. That's us. We're poor and needy. Look at this. Yet the Lord thinketh
upon me. Oh my goodness. Thou art my help
and my deliverer. Make no tarrying. Oh my God.
Notice the glorious assurance that is here. The psalmist brings
forth his lowest state, right? He's been showing something about
himself, hasn't he? The psalmist has been showing
something about himself. He says, I'm poor and needy.
What do we say when the Lord reveals himself to us? What did
the publicans say? God, be merciful to me, the sinner.
See, we see our poor and needy estate, don't we? When the Lord
reveals himself to us, we see our desperate need for him. But who's his confidence in?
Who's the psalmist's confidence in? It's in the Lord. Thou art
my help and my deliverer, make no tarrying. Oh, my God. But look at that. Yet the Lord
thinketh upon me. Oh, my. He thinks upon his people,
beloved. He thinks upon his people. Let
this wonderful verse write it to your heart, beloved. Write
it to your heart. The believer stands while others
sink. Not because of anything in us,
but all because of our great God, because he's our he's our
deliverer. He's our help. He's our confidence. Let such as love thy salvation,
say continually, the Lord be magnified. We praise his name,
don't we? We are so thankful. God is our portion. Let this wonderful portion of
Scripture comfort your soul. But I am poor and needy, yet
the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer.
Make no tarrying. Oh, my God. He thinks upon us even when we
don't think upon him. Oh, my. If God thinks upon us, should
we not think upon him? We should, eh? David did. Obviously, David did. He pondered
the affairs of God. And when we ponder the affairs
of God, we find rest for our souls, beloved, amidst everything
that's going on. We really do. Trust me, I know. I know it to be true. Oh my. When I look to the one who is
my help and my deliverer, my God and my Savior, it makes everything
else just fade away. My. Let's go back to Philippians
chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4. We'll
be there for a minute and then we'll go back to the book of
Isaiah. Philippians chapter 4. Let's
look at that verse again. But my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Now, when we come into this world,
we're born dead in trespasses and sins. We're poor and needy. We're poor and needy. We're sinners
by birth, nature, and choice. That's our estate. That's how
we are. And we have a great need. We
have a great need. We have a great need for pardon
before God. We have a great need of the forgiveness of all our
sins. And we know from Scripture that our God is ready to pardon.
He's gracious and merciful to His people, isn't He? All the
time. He's slow to anger and of great
kindness, and He will never, ever forsake His people. Never.
Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 55. The Lord, Jesus Christ,
is ready to abundantly pardon His people from all their sin,
because He paid all their indebtedness to God. All their indebtedness
to God's offended justice, He paid it all. And he put away
their sin, how? By the sacrifice of himself.
And look at this in Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6 and 7. Seek ye the
Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord. He will
have mercy upon him, And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
Now note that. Our pardon is just not a pardon.
We've been abundantly pardoned, beloved. Abundantly pardoned. And how did it come about? Well,
over in Hebrews chapter 9, I'll read verse 26. It talks about
how Christ put away the sins of His people. He has appeared once in the end
of the world to put away sin. How? By the sacrifice of Himself.
So we are abundantly pardoned at a cost. And the cost is our Lord and
Savior giving His life for us. Our pardon is not free. Our Lord left heaven. He appeared
once. Scripture says this, for then
must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world,
but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared, what?
To put away sin. To put it away. Let's bring it
home. To abundantly pardon you. To
abundantly pardon me. To put away sin, how? By the
sacrifice of himself. And think of that. Think of the
sacrifice of Christ. Think of how it was for every
single one of the elect, of all the elect of all the ages, that one sacrifice is sufficient. We couldn't pay for one of our
sins, yet alone anyone else's sins. And he, because of who
he is, God incarnate in the flesh, comes into this world. to sacrifice
himself for our sins, for us. He gave his life for us. The sinless one died for this
sinner and you who are saved, you who are saved sinners. He's
appeared once and in the end of the world to put away sin
again by the sacrifice of himself. We could not put away our sins.
We could not satisfy the law of God. And our holy God demands satisfaction. Demands it. And our Lord Jesus came in the
room and place of his people. And the sword of God's justice
was plunged into him. That was rightly for me. And
that was rightly for you, if you're one of his blood bond
people. And he bore it all, beloved.
And he cried, it is finished. And we are abundantly pardoned. We are abundantly pardoned because
of what he's done. all because of what He's done
for us. We have redemption through His
precious blood. We have the forgiveness of sins
through the shedding of His precious blood. And it's all according
to the riches of His grace. And the believer says, hallelujah,
what a Savior. What a Savior. Now there's something else that
we have a great need of, which is not proclaimed in most pulpits
today. I've been contemplating this
for a while now, and it's just not spoken of in many pulpits
at all. It's spoken of in grace preaching.
We proclaim it almost every message. We do talk about it every message.
But you don't ever hear it in religion. You don't hear about it. And it's something that every
one of us is in great need of. And it's supplied by Christ and
Christ alone. And you'll know what it is as
soon as I say it. Beloved of God, we have a great
need of righteousness. And that's not spoken of in pulpits
today. That's not spoken of in most religious circles. Now they'll tell you what you
got to do. But they won't tell you what he's done. And what
he's accomplished. And what we're clothed in. Do you know that the fact that
we have need of righteousness is proclaimed both in the Old
Testament and in the New? And if you would, Isaiah chapter
66 or actually 64, I'm sorry, Isaiah 64. Isaiah chapter 64, and then put
your finger in Romans chapter three. It's proclaimed in the
Old Testament. About what our righteousness
is. In the eyes of God. And it's also proclaimed in the
New Testament, the fact that we don't have any righteousness.
But look what God says about our supposed righteousness. Now
think of the best person, religious person you know, the best religious
person you know, that supposedly thinks that they're righteous
before God. And I was there when I was a Pharisee in religion,
thinking I was better than everybody else. But when God showed me
who I was and what I was, man, I fell down before God and begged
for mercy. Begged for mercy. Look at this in Isaiah 64, verse
6. But we are all as an unclean
thing. That's how we are in God's eyes. In our natural state. And
all our righteousness are as filthy rags. And we all do fade as a leaf
and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. Now turn to Romans 3. We see
in the New Testament the fact that there's none righteous is
proclaimed. So this is what we proclaim.
This is what we proclaim as grace preachers, that there's no one
who's righteous in God's eyes in their natural state. And that's
not being taught today. They talk about how you can become
a better person. How can you do that when we're
all unrighteous? It's a blind leading the blind,
beloved. Look at this in Romans chapter 3, verses 9 to 12. What then? Are we better than
they? So Paul was saying, are we Jews
better than the Gentiles? No. No. No and no wise, for we
have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are what?
All under sin. That means that everybody on
the top side of this earth is guilty before God in their natural
state. Everybody. And we see that, look
at this in verse 10. Here it is, it's spoken of. As
it's written, there is what? Non-righteous. Remember, all
our righteousness are like filthy rags. We're an unclean thing before
God in our natural state. There is non-righteous, and then
he goes even more emphatically, no, not one. So in case we didn't
get that there's non-righteous, Paul says, no, not one. Oh my. Look at this though. There is
none that understand it. So no man can come to a knowledge
of Christ through learning. Because there's no one who understands
the scriptures unless we're born again and the Holy Spirit teaches
us the things of Christ. So there's none that understand
it. And then look at this, you got people saying, well just
come to God, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it, you
can do it, but the scripture says there's none that seeketh
after God. Now we know, we know, that we
are made willing in the day of his power. We know we do. We
tell people to flee to Christ, don't we? But we say that knowing
that if they do, it's God who makes them willing, because we
are unwilling. That's what that scripture says
right there. We are unwilling to come to God in our own natural
state. There is none left to ourself,
left to ourself. There is none that seek it after
God. If we had been left to ourself, beloved, we would not have seeked
God. That's what that scripture is
saying. Praise God for the Holy Spirit's regenerating power.
He makes us will in the day of His power for us to flee to Christ
because left in our natural state, there's none that seek after
God. Look what it says there in verse
12, they are all gone out of the way. They're all on their
own way. They're all together become unprofitable. There is
none that do it good. No, not one. He does it again.
No, not one. Paul lays it out pretty plainly,
doesn't he? But this is not taught in the
religious circles of our day, beloved. It's not taught. I have a guy who talks to me
all the time, tells me about what he's gonna supposedly teach
in his Sunday school class. It's always about something you
have to do. And I always tell him, Jim, that's not the issue,
the issue's Christ. The issue's Christ. Christ, Christ,
Christ is the issue. In the religious circles of the
day, they don't want to offend each other by calling each other
sinners. But they do want to tell you
how to be a better person. And you know that they're just
doing the things of the past. You know that they're just trying
to establish righteousness by their own works. Nothing new
under the sun, is there? There's nothing new under the
sun, beloved. Turn, if you would, to Romans chapter 10. We're seeing
in Romans 10 that there's absolutely nothing new under the sun. See,
we have a desperate need and it's righteousness. We need to
be made righteous. We are unrighteous in our natural
state. We need to be made righteous.
And the problem is we can't make ourselves righteous. But God
can make us righteous. God can make us righteous. Look
at this in Romans chapter 10. Look at this. And I love, I'm
gonna read verses one to three, but verse four is the key too. Oh, this is amazing. But look
at verses one, we'll read verses one to four. Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel. And Paul's writing about. for the Israel nation is that
they might be saved. He desired for them to be saved.
Just like we desire for our kinfolk to be saved, don't we? We desire
for our family to be saved. We desire our friends to be saved.
We desire the gospel to go forth and people in this nation would
be saved. We desire that. Paul had the same desire. He
desired that God would save Israel, but he knew that it's all in
God's hands. Look what he says. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. Well, they're zealous for the
things of God. Well, they're actually zealous for their traditions
and the various things that they yoke people with, but not according
to knowledge. They haven't been taught of God.
When I see that, I think of Catholics and other religious groups out
there. They have a zealousy for what
they believe, but it's not according to God. It's not according to
knowledge. They've not been taught who Christ
is. For they, look at this. Now think
of this. Remember there's only two religions
in the world? Right? There really is. You can boil
down all the religions in the world. There's only two religions. Grace and works. Grace and works. There's only two. And grace is
the truth. Salvation by grace alone through
faith alone in Christ alone. Works is anything that adds to
that. Anything. Or anything that man
says that you have to do to reach heaven or whatever they say.
All this other stuff they say. My, just, we don't want to get
into that. Look at this. For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness. That's what they are. They're
ignorant of God's righteousness. Before the Lord saved me, I was
ignorant of God's righteousness. I was ignorant of it. I used
to think my good would outweigh my bad. I was ignorant of God's
righteousness. I had no clue who he was. I had
no clue how holy he was. I had no clue how majestic he
was. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, look
at this, and going about to what? Establish their own righteousness.
What did God tell us about that righteousness in the Old Testament?
That it's like filthy rags in his eyes. That we're like unclean
things before him. They're ignorant of God's righteousness.
And so they go about trying to establish their own righteousness. And some of them go as far to
say that they're the ones who keep themselves. They're just
the blind leading the blind again. You can boil this right down
here. Anyone who's trusting in anything that they do to save
them, is going about to establish their own righteousness. That's
the bottom line. That's what Paul's writing here
about. Now specifically he's writing about Israel. But that
can be broadened out to anyone who's trying to do anything for
salvation. For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness are going about to establish their own righteousness
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Look at this next verse. Oh my goodness. Paul just, by
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he just, the nail is hit right
on the head, beloved. For Christ is what? The end of
the law for righteousness. To everyone that believeth, we
are not under the law anymore, beloved. Praise be to God. We
are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Salvation's
all in the Lord. It's all in the Lord. The only
righteousness that God will accept is the righteousness of Christ.
That's it. That's the only righteousness
that God will accept. The only one. Men and women before
and after regeneration and conversion, we have no ability before or
after to perform or produce a righteousness that is acceptable or well-pleasing
unto God. And thankfully, He does not ask
us to produce a righteousness, beloved. He doesn't ask us to
do that. But rather, He gives to us the
righteousness of Christ by faith. And who is the believer's righteousness?
Look at verse 4. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believes. It comes right
back to Christ. Right back to our great God and King. And what
comfort this gives the believer. So is it any wonder then that
the scriptures proclaim, blessed is the man whom God imputes righteousness
without works. We have this righteousness imputed
to us without works. Not by anything we've done. All
by what he's done though. All by what he's done. His work,
oh it's wonderful. It's magnificent. The next point
is, we have a great need of salvation. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
2, verse 3. We have a great need of salvation.
So we've seen that God supplies all our need for righteousness,
doesn't He? All we need for salvation, He
supplies. And here we see the great need
of salvation that we have, and He supplies it all. Hebrews 2,
verse 3, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed
to us by them that heard Him? How shall we escape the judgment
of God for our sins? Well, in our own natural state
there's no escape. There's none. How will we escape the law of
God which has a just demand upon us? Because we're born sinners. And sinner friend, how will you
escape these things? You who do not know Christ. For
whoever this goes out to. How will anyone escape what this
verse talks about? How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? By your own works? No, we looked
at that. That's impossible. Because we looked at how God
views our own works and our own righteousness. No one will be
justified by their own works. They're only be condemned by
their works. Only be condemned by their works.
God will accept no work of ours. Again, they only lead to our
condemnation. But it is the work of Christ
and Christ alone which satisfies the demands of our Holy God.
And we look to Him alone for salvation. Turn if you would
to Hebrews, oh you're still on Hebrews 2? We'll look a little
bit more here in Hebrews 2. Christ alone is our salvation.
It's all about what He's done. He has saved us and not we ourselves.
Our Savior came into this world to accomplish salvation for His
people, and He did it. And His blood atonement at Calvary's
cross was not a payment for some of the sin of all people, nor
for all the sin of all people, which some people say, that's
just a lie, but rather His sacrifice was a full payment for all the
sins of some people. And those some people are His
elect. Look at here in Hebrews chapter
2, let's read verses 9 to 18. But we see Jesus who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man. For it became him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons
unto glory to make the captain their salvation perfect through
sufferings for both he that sanctified and they who are sanctified are
of are all of one for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren saying I will declare thy name unto my brother and
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee and again
I will put my trust in him and again behold I and the children
which God has given And we know who they are. They're
the elect of God. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same. He came to this earth. He's the
God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. That through death, that's his
death, he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage. Now we don't fear death,
we who are his people. We know it's but a door to pass
into glory to be in his presence. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore, in all things that behooved him to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. It is he who has reconciled us
to God. It is he who has satisfied all
of God's demands for us. Reconciliation is a wonderful
word. It's an absolutely wonderful
word. We're reconciled to God by and in and through Christ
Jesus alone. For in that He Himself has suffered,
being tempted, He is able to secure them that are tempted.
Now turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 53, and then put your
finger in John chapter 10. John chapter 10 in Isaiah 53. It's clearly taught through the
scriptures that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished salvation
for the people that God gave him in the eternal covenant of
grace. This is spoken of both in the
Old Testament and in the New. Look at this in Isaiah 53 verses
10 and 11. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him, that being Christ. It pleased God to bruise him.
He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin. Remember, again, Christ is the
sinless one, the sinless sacrifice, and the offering for sin is our
sin, the sins of his people. He's the sinless one, dying for
sinners. Dying for sinners. He shall see
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be, underline that word right there, satisfied.
God is satisfied with Christ. He's not satisfied in us, but
he's satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ, beloved. And remember,
I like what Brother Henry Mahan used to hammer away in the sermons
all the time. Two words, we love you as preachers to walk away
just pondering. Substitution and satisfaction. Substitution and satisfaction. Two wonderful words. Christ is
our substitute before God and God is satisfied. We see that
right here. He's satisfied. He shall see
the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, not all, but many, for
he shall bear their iniquities. Now turn over to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Look at verses 14 and 15. I am
the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Remember the many there over in Isaiah 53, 11? He'll justify
many. Look at this. As the Father knoweth
me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the
sheep. The sheep. That's who He gives
His life for. The sheep. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. He
tells the Pharisees, you're not my sheep. A little further down tells him.
My. And then over in John, 1930,
it says when Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, he
said, it is finished and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
So think of that, I lay down my life for the sheep over there
when he cried, it is finished. That was when he was laying down
his life for the sheep. And in turn, if you would, to
Acts 20, 28, Acts 20, 28. I read Isaiah 53 11 again, he
shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.
God will see the travail of Christ on Calvary's cross and shall
be satisfied. The sacrifice of Christ and shall be satisfied
by his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall
bear their iniquities. Look at this in Acts 20 28. Take
heed, therefore, yourself, therefore, unto yourselves and to all the
flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to feed
the church of God. which he hath purchased with
his own blood. I lay down my life, he said to
us in John chapter 10, I lay down my life for the sheep. He
purchased us, beloved, with his own blood. His blood was offered
before God for us to redeem us, purchased our eternal souls.
So we have every spiritual need that we have. We have it supplied
in our great supplier and shepherd. And He is abundantly able to
provide for us. And He provides for us freely
and fully, beloved. Freely and fully. Now let us
look at the wonderful closing statement. Let's go back to Philippians
chapter 4. I want us to look at this wonderful closing statement.
We see the wonders of divine grace, beloved. Paul's been shut
up in prison, and he's in Rome, and we know it's for the furtherance
of the Gospel, don't we? We know that these things have
fallen out for the furtherance of the Gospel, and he knows that
too. He knows that he's there by God's divine providence. And we know it's all by God's
purpose and plan that he saves his sheep. When he saves his
sheep, when they hear the Gospel, It's all of Him. And Paul's been
shut up in prison. And the saints at Philippi have
been supporting the work. And look what the Holy Spirit
inspires Paul to write in verses 21 to 23. Salute every saint
in Christ Jesus. God's people are called saints.
I remember a long time ago when my mom was alive, and she was
a Catholic, and I told her I was a saint. She about had a heart
attack. But that's what the scriptures say, isn't it? We're saints.
We know we're not saints in anything of ourselves, but the scripture
declares that. That's what we are. That's what we are. We're called saints. Salute every
saint in Christ Jesus. If you're born again, you're
a saint of God. Because it's all, and we're in Christ. The
brethren which are with me greet you. Is that not always the way? Whenever I go somewhere, the
preacher always says, tell the folks back home, we love them.
Greet them for me. Drew said that, and whenever
I see, talk to Norm, anytime I talk to a preacher on the phone,
greet the saints, brother. And that goes right back to the
people who they're preaching to, too. It's wonderful. Look
at this in verse 22. All the saints salutely, chiefly,
they that are of Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all, amen. Verse 20, all the saints salute
you, again, this being members of the church at Rome. But notice
this, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. Oh my. God in his providence, by the
power of the Holy Spirit of God, has made himself manifest through
the preaching of the gospel. through the preaching of the
gospel in Rome, even through the apostles' bonds. And he's done this even in the
emperor's palace. Christ was made known to some
there, even though Nero at that time, he was the reigning emperor,
he was a very wicked emperor. His court was very wicked. Yet
the grace of God reached some, beloved, We don't know who they
are. We don't know who they are, but
our text proclaims cheaply they that are of Caesar's household. Oh my. I just read those words
in awe. The mighty power of our sovereign
God goes where it pleases. Goes where
it pleases. God saves whoever he's pleased
to save. Whomever he wills. My. So here's Paul and his bonds. He goes to Rome and he's preaching.
You know he's preaching the gospel there. You know when he's being
bought before Caesar, he's preaching the gospel. Oh my, chiefly they
are of Caesar's household. So we've seen tonight that all
our spiritual needs are fulfilled in Christ Jesus. We've just touched
on it a little bit. in what comfort and encouragement
we can glean in looking to our mighty Savior. Are we wounded? Yeah, we are by a fall, aren't
we? He's our balm. Are we sick? He's our medicine and He's the
great physician. Are we naked? We are before God
in our natural state, aren't we? He's our righteousness, He's
our clothing. We're clothed in His perfect
righteousness. Are we poor? Yeah. Bankrupt sinners. He's all our wealth. We're rich
in Him. Are we hungry? Yeah. We hunger for the things of Christ,
don't we? He's our bread, beloved. Are
we thirsty? Yeah. We thirst for the things
of Christ, don't we? He's our water, beloved. He's
the water of life. Are we in debt? Oh, in our natural
state, we have such a debt that we could never pay. He's our
surety, beloved. He's our surety. Are we in darkness? We're born dead in trespasses
and sins, and we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God, and
He is our light. He's our son. He's our son. Have we a black and gathering
storm to face? Is there a storm coming our way? Always, isn't it? Always in this
life. He's our strong tower, beloved.
We run to Him. He's our refuge. He's our refuge. And we may flee to Him and be
safe. And we are safe in Him. We're safe in Him. Are we to
be tried for all our sins? He's our advocate, beloved. He's
our advocate. Is sitting past that we're all
under condemnation? Yes, it was by the law, wasn't
it? He's our pardon. He's our pardon,
beloved. And we are fully and freely forgiven
in Christ by the mercy and grace of God. So for God's elect, truly
all our needs have been supplied. All our needs have been supplied.
All our spiritual needs are supplied in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the believer says, glory
to his name. Glory to his name. Heavenly Father,
we thank thee for the time that we could spend together. Oh,
how wondrous it is when we consider that all our spiritual needs,
everything that we need is in you, Lord Jesus. You, you provide
everything we need. You also give us everything we
have materialistically to our health, The things that we have,
that we enjoy, they all come from Thee, O Lord, and we glorify
Thee and honor Thee and praise Thee for Your goodness and grace
and mercy to us. We love You. We pray that we
think upon these things through the week and that it would draw
our hearts and minds to Thee, O Lord, we pray. In Jesus' name,
Amen. Let's close with