As the Lord should be pleased to help me again, dear friends, I would ask your prayerful and loving attention from the same word as this morning, chapter one, the epistle to the Philippians. And we go again to verse 27 and May the Lord lead and guide us in his word this evening.

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit. with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel.

Well, the Apostle Paul was writing this epistle as divinely led by the Holy Spirit of God. And we must ever remember that it is the Word of God the eternal word of God that liveth and abideth forever. And we, if we are the Lord's dear people, and I trust we are, then our experience will be according to the word that we read. And the Lord's dealings with his dear people has ever been the same. in calling by grace, in quickening them by His Spirit. And so as we read the Word of God, we are really reading about ourselves, the Lord's dealings with us in our souls.

If we have been called by grace, if the Lord has begun that good work, The Lord only begins that good work in the hearts of His chosen people who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. And the blessed doctrine of the election, of course, runs right through the Word of God. And if we are the Lord's dear people, we shall know that we are elect Because the Word of God tells us, knowing brethren beloved your election of God.

Now how do they know it? Because the Word didn't just come in the Word or the letter of the Word, it came in the pair of it. And in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. And only the elect know the Word in that sacred way and manner. And so, The Apostle was raised up of God to write these epistles to the various churches and to dear Timothy. And the circumstances and the way that he was led, of course, was hard to bear. Very difficult, very perplexing. It wasn't easy for him.

But consider, friends, his own call by grace. Ponder what he was before his call by grace. When Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian Church, was stoned to death, there he was, holding the clothes of those that stoned him to death. When you think of it, the depth that he went into, blaspheming, causing men to blaspheme, hailing men and women, taking them to prison. Well, he's the last man you would ever think the Lord would use. But he was the very one the Lord would use. And it's the same with you, friends. Oh, you look at your poor sinful self in and of yourself and myself as nature. And yet the Lord has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Why? Because of love. Because of love.

And so the Lord loved the apostle Paul, and he loved the Philippian church, and he loves all his dear people. And I felt disposed this afternoon to read that chapter in the Acts, because there we have a detailed account of what took place when Paul went to Philippi, we are told. And when you consider the various circumstances, and the difference in the characters. Take dear Lydia. Dear Godly Lydia, a seller of purple, of Thyatira, and the Lord opened her heart, gradually opened her. You see, sin, as sinners, it closes the heart. Now grace will open the heart. Grace will open the understanding. And if you know anything, friends, of the things of God, it's because God has opened your heart. And He opens it further. He did with Jabez. Oh, that thou wouldest bless me indeed, that thou wouldest enlarge my chaste. That's a greater opening. It's a greater understanding.

The apostles had been preaching for three years, but when Christ rose from the dead, then opened He their understanding. That means He opened it more. Well, indeed, the Lord did, because there's more to preach. They could then preach a risen and an exalted Savior. A risen Saviour. He had risen from the grave victorious. They could preach the doctrine of justification. They couldn't preach that before. But they could now. So this is the opening. This is the furtherance. This is the increase. And this is the whole purpose, friends, of these epistles. It is for the Church of God to be increased in the knowledge of God, in the power of God, in the truth of God, and to be established and settled upon that one foundation stone, which is Christ Jesus, the Lord.

And so, friends, may you be able to look back this night and see, remember when the Lord did this for you, when he begun that good work, when the truth was brought in measure to your understanding, You may have come to chapel all your life, I suppose most of us, many of us have, and you went to chapel and you came home and what was said, what was preached had no effect, it wasn't remembered, it was all forgotten. And then a day came when what was spoken had an effect upon you. You consider what was being said. You pondered the path of your feet. The reality of truth came upon your spirit. The reality of your possessing a never-dying soul was felt in measure upon your spirit. And then you needed truth. You needed truth. You needed the Word of God. And as you read the Word of God, you began to read about yourself. It was speaking about you, personally.

Well, dear friends, you see the Word of God does this today. It's speaking to us by the power of God's Holy Spirit. And we need, dear friends, to be graciously further instructed in the word of God, because, and I say this lovingly, and I include myself first, we know but little of the word of God. I look at myself and the years of waiting upon the Lord in searching the scriptures and endeavouring to preach the gospel, And yet I have to say, dear friends, how little I really know of the deep things of God. How little I've really preached from the sacred pages of truth. How little.

But a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. And so, dear friends, may we, Peter puts it this way in his epistle, but grow in grace. That's it. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Well, the Apostle then brings before us these various matters of edification and instruction to further that work of grace in our heart. Because when the Lord begins, Then there's a lifetime of teaching. A lifetime. A lifetime. Yes, friends, when the Lord begins to teach in his school, you'll stay in that school, the school of Christ, all your days. You will indeed. And you won't want to come out either.

What I know not, Lord, teach thou me. And so the Lord here is dealing with our speech, with our conversation, with our talk. And of course the grand example set before us is the Lord Jesus Christ. He spake and it was done. He spake and it was done. He spake this world into being. He commanded and it stood fast. And friends, that new work of grace, that new creation, in your heart and mine, the Lord spake it. He spake it. What did He speak? His Word.

Come, beloved, can you remember that Word He spake with power and you felt condemned to the sinner? You knew you were a sinner because the Lord had told you from his word. And you felt the power of it in your soul. You felt to be under that measure of guilt and condemnation in your soul. The Lord spoke his word. And friends, remember this, the word of God is quick and powerful. And it's faster than a poor sinner can go. You will never escape, friends, that divine sentence that the Lord speaks. The Word of God runs very swiftly, far quicker than you can go. You may be as far from God as sheep can run. That matters not. God's Word will come where you are. It's quick. And it's powerful. in the heart and upon the spirit. And it'll bring you to realize and know what you are by nature.

But the Lord doesn't leave one there because the glory of the law was excelled by the glory of the gospel. There is a glory in the law. Indeed, there is. The Lord gave it. And there's a light attributed to it. But the light and the glory of the gospel is greater than the light and the glory of the law. Nevertheless, the law was given because of transgression. Now the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And so the Lord speaks. And he speaks conviction. And then later he speaks pardon. He speaks forgiveness. He brings comfort and consolation. And a measure of good hope. And a gracious trust in and believing in the Lord. That you're one of his dear children. This all tries through the treasure house of God's Word.

And so, dear friends, we come to the Word of God. We bow before it. We submit to it. It's the authority. And we desire to be further instructed and taught. And of course, conversation is part and part of this of this process in the lives of God's people.

Now, The Lord Jesus then spoke. Never man spake like this man. Never man spake like this man, they said of the Lord Jesus. That dear woman at the well of Samaria, that Samaritan at Jacob's well, she came to draw water. The Lord was there. The Lord spake to her. Look at the power of the word spoken. There was a poor woman living in sin, coming to the well every day to draw water. And one day there was someone there to meet her. She didn't know. The appointed time came on a pace, not to propose, but called by grace to change her heart, renew her will. and turn her feet to Zion's hill.

I, that speak unto thee, am he. Because she said, we know that when Messiah cometh, he will tell us all things. The Lord said to that woman, I, that speak unto thee, am he. She never forgot that, friends. She never forgot that meeting. Come, see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? And friends, the Lord will tell you everything that you've ever done as well. Because he knows, he knows, he saw, he heard. Where else will he escape from the presence of God? If I take the wings of the morning, and go to the uppermost parts of the sea. Even there thy right hand shall lead me. You can't escape from the eye of God, friends. It's thou God seest me. So the Lord sees. The Lord heard. The Lord knows everything, friends. You can't hide everything from the Lord. He knows everything. Everything. And this is why the judgment of God is according to truth. Because he knows all things. The judgment of God is according to truth.

This was one of the matters that can be considered regarding the when I hear of your matters as it comes to mind now, when Paul was preaching at Mars Hill at Athens, he spoke concerning the resurrection. And of course, the people there were steeped in idolatry and superstition. And Paul preached concerning the resurrection. There were those that dismissed it, there were those that received it. And one said, we will hear thee again of this matter, of this matter of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We will hear thee again. We want to hear it again. We want to hear it again.

And friends, you'll want to hear again what the Lord speaks. And you will seek for confirmation. If the Lord has spoken comfortably into your soul and given you a sweet hope in His mercy, you won't rest there. You will seek the Lord to bring another word to confirm the same. And this brings the people of God into the house of God in an exercise-wired manner. You don't just come like the door on its hinges. You come with an exercise before the Lord that the Lord would speak a word through his servant to your soul that will be confirming and divine consolation to you. Because you see, if the Lord has spoken, he will confirm it. And his word confirms The Word is spoken before. As I've said from this pulpit before, but it's no vain repetition, the Word of God is self-confirming. Self-confirming. If the Lord's ever spoken to you, He'll confirm it. He'll confirm it from another Word. And this is what brings you, see, to the house of God. You're in exercise. You need the Lord to give you a Word concerning a matter. All your matters in your life, you need the Lord, friends, don't you, in every one of them. You need a word of direction, a word of comfort, a word of consolation. And you say you come seeking for a word from the Lord.

It's all in the sacred pages, friends, because you're not outside the sacred pages of truth. No, you're contained within them. The wicked are not outside the pages of truth. God speaks very solemnly concerning the wicked. He speaks very blessedly concerning his dear people. And so the Lord speaks. And his dear people desire to follow him in that conversation. Every word the Lord spoke was pure. Every word was true. You see, it comes to another point. in him he is the way the truth and the life so the child of God can rest your soul and all your matters and everything upon Christ because he is the truth and you want the truth don't you you need the truth and so it's only the word of God it's truth because the devil will torment the people of God. And how does he do it? Well, he speaks lies, doesn't he? Tells you a lie. And if you don't know the truth, friends, you'll accept what he says. Because truth is the defense for the child of God. The Lord is my defense. And he's a defense against the wiles of the devil and the lies of Satan. If Satan speaks a lie and one doesn't know the truth, they'll just do what Satan says. If they know the truth, they'll resist the devil, because they know the truth of God. And if you resist the devil, he'll flee from you. But if you've got no defense, friends, you're finished. You'll fall a prey to sin and Satan. The Word of God is the only defense.

you have but God is my defense and the Lord defends his dear people read in the Proverbs a good man Solomon right in the Proverbs you see he's teaching the young the benefit of the truth and to have nothing to do with the ungodly don't walk in their ways don't go with them If sinners entice you, don't go with them. It's a dangerous pathway. And you see out of it are the issues of life. This is why it's vital for the yarn to be kept. Because out of it, the heart, are the issues of life. You see, dear friends, it's true. It's spoken. It's taught.

The Sunday school, parents, need to speak to the children. The minister needs to speak to the congregation because God's ordained him. I'm not here tonight, friends, because I put myself here. No. God has ordained that his word should be preached. So that's the doctrine. You might say, well, what are you doing here then? Because the Lord laid the exercise of the ministry in my soul by the power of truth. And friends, although that was in 1963, 1963, however long ago that was, the power of that remains to die. Never lost. All those years ago, men's not. The power of truth was so great in my soul.

You see it was spoken, the word of God. It's due us forever. And it will abide in your heart all your days. And you know the promise that God has spoken to you. You know the word upon which God has made you to hope. You see, it was spoken. It was communicated to your soul by the Lord. Spoken. Speech is so powerful. It's so vital. It's God's means of revealing His will, His ways to His dear people. He speaks the precious promises to His dear people. Exceeding great and precious promises are spoken. He spoke to Moses. The Lord spoke to Jacob. He spoke to all the patriarchs. He spoke to Father Abraham. Exceeding great and precious promises. They were spoken. Dear Abraham, believe God. It was accounted unto him for righteousness. It was spoken to him. Conversed. You see the power of the word, the power of speech.

And friends, here, only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. To be followers of Christ. The followers of the meek and lowly lamb. May the meditation of my heart The words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in the sight of the Lord my God. So the meditation of the heart, the words of the mouth. I said this morning, where do words commence? They commence in the heart. Then they come through the lip. Conversation, speech.

Well, the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Christ is the dear Redeemer. He is the gospel. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. And if our gospel is hid, it's only hid to them that are lost. It's not hid to those that are saved. It's revealed. It's made known. It's spoken. The word upon which the Lord has caused me to hope has been my comfort in my affliction, David said. Well, Paul then, all these miles away, and yet, you see, his conversation, as the Lord spoke to him, as the Lord guided and directed him, and the way of man is not in himself, Paul didn't go to Rome because he just decided he'd like to go. The Lord sent him. But the means that were used were crucifying to his flesh, mortifying to his flesh. And if he didn't have the strength of God's promise for him, he would have never endured what he did.

You read through the Acts of the Apostles And you have to write to the end and you will see what Paul endured for the Lord's sake. Some very hard things. Look at Philippi. Preached. And you know what happened as we read this evening. And then when the gain the those realized their game was gone, their finances were gone. They took them and brought them before the magistrates. They were beaten, uncondemned. Many stripes for preaching the gospel. And you get the effect. What? Grace, Sean, at midnight. They prayed and sang praises unto the Lord. When you think what they suffered, what they endured, and yet not one word of complaint, their conversation, their speech, they prayed and sang praises to God. The sacrifices of praise acceptable to God, the sacrifice of prayer they offered to God at midnight.

You see, dear friends, that this taught the apostles, taught Paul so much. He understood and he was concerned with the spiritual welfare and the spiritual prosperity of the church, of the living God. The Lord is today, dear friends, He doesn't want us to be slothful or indifferent or careless. He wants us to be active, spiritually active, and He gives His grace. He gives His Holy Spirit to enable us to do it. Now, there's no exhortation in the Word of God that is given the Church that cannot be done. by the grace of God. It can all be done and accomplished by His grace and by His Holy Spirit.

So you see, human nature might say, well, I can't do this. I'm a poor, weak, finite sinner. I can't do this and I can't do that. By the grace of God, you can. Paul said in writing this epistle, he said, I'm sure it is in this epistle, He said, I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me. This is it. The fourth chapter, verse 13. I can do all things. All things. Well, there may be things you say I can't do. I can't pray, you might say. I can't apply myself to the things of God, you see. But by His grace and through Christ, we can do all things. Satanists say, well, of course, you can't do this and you can't do that. You're only flesh and blood and you're poor and you're needy. You can't do this. But friends, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And so can you. So can I. Through the Lord Jesus strengthening us.

And so you see, dear friends, how this is so wonderfully seen in the epistles that Paul wrote when he was in Rome. And of course, this wasn't the only one. He wrote to the Galatian church. He wrote to the Ephesian church. He wrote to the church at Colossae. And he wrote to Philemon. And he wrote to the second epistle to Timothy, which really was like his dying testimony. As he wrote to the church at Colossae, he speaks concerning this matter of speech. He says, let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt. As ye may know, he ought to answer every man. And so, dear friends, may we then suffer the word of exaltation, and may there be this gracious steadfastness in one spirit, and we can ponder one or two steadfast characters in the word of God, and in consideration of the children and the young people here. What about dear Josiah? eight years of age and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord like David his father walking in those steps eight years of age doing what is right in the sight of God and his whole life was very consistent our text speaks of a consistent life Josiah was. He died at 39, but his whole life was consistent. He did that which was right. He knew. God had told him. God had instructed him. He knew what to do and he did it. Eight years of age for him. Wonderful, isn't it? Let no man despise thy youth The Lord can begin in the heart of a young person.

Well, the Lord gave his Holy Spirit to John the Baptist in his mother's womb. You see, friends, what wonderful things there are in the Word of God, what wonderful experiences. Cover it earnestly, friends, the best gifts. And I'll show unto you a way, the way of truth more perfectly. covet earnestly the best gifts the gifts of God

well may we then consider we can also consider dear the um the three Hebrews can't we in the uh the fiery furnace they refused to submit to the gods that Nebuchadnezzar worshipped and they refused to submit to that which he built they utterly refused They worshipped God and God only. They weren't concerned with any idolatry. They refused to do it. The power of truth was sealed to their heart by the Spirit. And when you think that furnace was there and they were telling Nebuchadnezzar, they refused to submit. Nebuchadnezzar was in a rage. made the furnace seven times hotter than it was and those that cast those three men in bound were consumed by the fire but you see three men were cast in bound into that fire and then what? lo I see four men loose Their bonds were gone. They were free. There were four men there, not three. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. So there was the Lord Jesus with them in that furnace. It couldn't hurt them. It couldn't touch them. It's impossible because the Lord was with them. And the Lord is over all things, fire, water, everything. Couldn't touch them. See, the Lord was with them.

What steadfastness, friends. What steadfastness. You see, these accounts are on record. And we need to be steadfast. They were, because they knew the Lord. That was the secret. They knew the Lord. They could trust in Him for everything. See, if you don't know the Lord, friend, you can't trust in Him. If you know the Lord, you can trust in Him for everything. And you can walk in every path that is consistent with His Word and Will and Why. Because you know that the Lord will be your defense. He'll be your shield. He'll be your buckler. He'll be your strong tower. He'll be your hiding place. He'll be your all. They knew. You see, they knew the power of truth. Daniel was the same. He knew the power of truth. Sealed in his heart by the Spirit. You go into a lion's den. He's not going to worship a molten image. When you think a lion's den, friend, just ponder it for a moment. And he knows he's going to go into that den. But he knew the Lord, he knew the truth. My God has sent his angel and hath closed the lion's mouth. They haven't heard now. You see, and the Lord brings his people into straits and difficulties. And then he proves to them is wonderful, delivering grace. But we have to be brought into these straits, dear friend. We have to be brought into these places to prove the faithfulness of God.

Well, in the second chapter that I proposed, I thought I would read this evening. But as I said, I've read in the Acts, it's the commences, you see, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Thought it not robbery to be equal. He was equal with God. He was equal with God the Father. It wasn't robbery to be equal because he was God. The eternal Son of God from all eternity. But he made himself of no reputation. He took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

But Paul, you see, says, If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bells and mercies, if there are, well indeed there are, then fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. It's founded on Christ. He's a foundation stone. And therefore there will be one accord, one mind, because there is consolation in Christ. There is comfort. There is love. There is fellowship of the Spirit. There's bowels and mercies. So this constitutes being of one accord and one mind. And then to esteem each other better than ourselves. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem each other better than themselves. Friends, do we esteem others better than ourselves? You see, quite a test, isn't it? To esteem each other better than yourself. The Pharisees think they are the best. The poor publican didn't, did he? Poor Mephibosheth didn't think he was better than others. No, he esteemed others better than himself. But oh, you see, look at the blessing the Lord gave to those two men.

the publican, the blessing he received. Look at Mephibosheth, everything restored to him that was lost. And then he will eat at my table, the King's table, David's table, continually, honoured by the King, honoured by King Jesus, David's greater son, David's greater Lord. Sit at my table continually all the days of thy life.

the rich provision of the gospel. You see, dear friends, what a fullness there is, what a beauty there is, what a glory there is. And so this is to be furthered in the things of God.

You don't expect a young person to be mature in the things of God like an older person. Because you see the Lord work goes on and on and over the years you are taught and instructed further in the things of God. You don't expect a young person in Christian experience to be mature in the things of God. But those who have been in the way many years then you do look for a gracious, godly, maturity in their life, in their walk, in their conduct, in their conversation. You look for it, and rightly so, because you've had time to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And the Lord Jesus Christ, He came to do the will of God, he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man. What sacred humility! He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And he bore the death of the cross, friends, to save his church.

Because, you see, the law pronounced condemnation and a curse upon the lawbreaker. Christ became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Now the death of the cross removed the curse because it was a curse of death. We read in Deuteronomy, cursed is everyone who hangeth on a tree. Christ was hung on a tree, whom they slew and hung on a tree. And that death, the crucifixion, that cursed death, removed the curse that the Church of God was under, the people of God was under.

And so the Lord turned the curse into a blessing. And that's why you've got the Church of God, friends, today. Has He turned the curse into a blessing for you, friends? It's only through His death, the death of the cross, no other death would survive. Stephen's death of stoning would have never sufficed to atone for the sins of the Church of God. It must be a cursed death to remove the curse of the Lord.

So you see, the glory of these epistles is Jesus Christ. He's the glory. He's the glory in the Church of God. He's the glory in Emmanuel's land. Glory, glory dwelling. in Immanuel's land. Well, we could continue, couldn't we, in the glorious truths in this epistle. But as I read it, then the apostle says, my God shall supply all your needs. according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

All the saints salute you, Paul says, chiefly they of Caesar's household. Now Caesar, of course, was the emperor in Rome. And they of Caesar's household, you see, salute them, the Church of God. All the saints salute you. chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. Look at the effect that Paul had when he was a prisoner in Rome upon Caesar and Caesar's household, the Roman emperor. He had an influence. Why? Because of the grace of God.

Oh, if we possess the grace of God, then we should have a good and gracious influence amongst those that we meet, as it did here with the dear Church of God at Philippi. Well, we come to the close. And how can I close the services today, the preaching of the gospel today? Well, friends, it's the last verse that Paul wrote. to this church, and I repeat the same, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Let's conclude with singing hymn number 1,106. 1,106. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Hymn 1,106, student 430. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest, frilly, butterly When darkness fills his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace.

? Was within the veil ? ? Yes, I'll make His crown ? ? And His blood ? ? Support me in the world before ? ? Where, O Lamb of my soul, ? ? Gives way then ? ? Here to thy heart I'll sing. ? ? Thy justice, Lord, just for a time, ? His cross, so proud, gives her out his pow'r. His honor and his grace, that saved his day, came from the Lamb in pain.

When I shall march in worlds unseen, And may I then be found in Him, Just in His righteousness aligned, Or let it stand before the flame. O Lord, we would desire to acknowledge with gratitude and thankfulness and praise thy goodness and mercy granted to us today, and thy precious truth, O Lord, may it abide and remain in our hearts and may we know these things in our own experience and trace the Lord's hand leading and guiding us through this wilderness.

And now, Lord, we pray that Thou wilt continue to remember Thy cause and interest here at Hostins, and also there, dear Pastor, and be with them in all their matters. May they prove the continued faithfulness and loving-kindnesses of the Lord, who so is wise, and will observe these things. Even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. May thy grace, Lord Jesus, the Father's love, the communion of thy Holy Spirit, rest, remain, and abide with us each, now and for evermore. Amen.