Thank you, brethren, for inviting
me here. I appreciate it. Turn to Philippians chapter 1. Now, this letter to the Philippians
was authored by the Apostle Paul, the bondslave of Jesus Christ,
and he was in prison at Rome for preaching the gospel of the
Savior Jesus Christ. This letter was occasioned by
the gift that the church at Philippi had put together and sent to
Paul by the hand of Epaphroditus. And Paul calls this Epaphroditus,
your messenger, and he that minister to my wants. And later Paul states,
I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which
were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable,
well pleasing to God. And so in return for this gift,
this considerate gift that the people put together and sacrificed
to bring together for Paul, thinking that he would be in need there
in prison, in return for that gift, Paul sent back with Epaphroditus
a gift more precious than what they had sent to him, because
he sent Epaphroditus back with this letter full of the sweet
odor of Christ our Savior, so that Brethren, just think about
it. There's someone, some brother
or sister or someone that you think, you know, maybe I'll do
something nice for them. You have it in your heart to
do it for them, but you think, I don't know, what could such
a small thing do for anybody? Maybe they'd be offended. Maybe
they won't appreciate it. You know, we talk ourselves out
of doing things so often, so easily. But remember this letter
to the Philippians and how it's been the occasion Because Paul
may not have sat down and wrote a letter to the church at Philippi,
but because of that gift, he sits down and writes this letter
that is redounded to the glory of God, to the church, blessing
us even now. Two thousand years later, it
still continues to bear fruit unto our gracious God who puts
it in the hearts of his people to serve and to think of their
brethren. It's been a comfort and edification
to us all these years. My title this morning is A Servant's
Thankful Heart and Prayer. You'll see this as we look here.
We're going to just look at the first 11 verses of Philippians
chapter 1. And I want us to notice this
morning just the care and the thoughts that this Apostle Paul
has for these brethren here in Philippi. That they would be
established in the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in the knowledge
and grace of Him. And just take note, this willing,
bond-slave heart for these people here. Alright, we're just going
to go through the verses a couple at a time sometimes. Philippians 1.1 Paul and Timothy,
the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. So as I
mentioned, Paul wrote this letter, but notice two things. He never
mentions the fact that he's an apostle. Most of the time, in
a lot of his letters, he mentions that he's an apostle, but here,
he doesn't. He simply calls him and Timothy
servants, or bond slaves, as the word actually is. That's
all he calls himself, servants of Jesus Christ. And I'd like
to point out two prominent reasons why Paul did that in this particular
letter. First, he calls himself a servant
because he finds himself in prison for preaching the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's in prison for preaching the gospel. And he knows that
God is sovereign and that whatsoever pleases God, God can do and work
in the hearts of men in turning their hearts and releasing Paul.
He doesn't have to be there, but there he is, so he knows
that it's God's good providence that has him there in prison. And so Paul is content with God's
providence in putting him there. But secondly, The reason why
Paul calls himself a servant is that in only a few short verses
from now You can just tell it's just weighing on his heart. He
has such a view, a sweet view of Christ who laid aside his
glory and took upon him the likeness of our sinful flesh to come and
minister to his people and do for us what we cannot do for
ourselves. So that Christ as a servant himself
came and ministered to his people rather than us laboring and ministering
for him. He laid aside his glory and did
for us what we could never do for ourselves in putting away
our sins. Look there in Philippians 2,
verse 5, we see this. Let this mind be in you, Philippians
2, 5. 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, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, that's the same word,
a bondslave, and was made in the likeness of men, and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. So Paul, knowing the
words of his Saviour that says, the servant is not greater than
his Lord, if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
you. Paul, knowing this, became obedient
unto the imprisonment which God was pleased to put him in, and
was the more happy to suffer for his Lord's sake, who became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross for his sake,
who also learned obedience, the scriptures say in Hebrews, that
Christ learned obedience through the things which he suffered.
So I've no doubt that this is weighing very heavily on Paul's
heart as he's writing this letter, just thinking of how Christ sacrificed
everything for us, who are now called by his grace and mercy.
Because from the outset, when he's beginning this letter, he
starts right off there, rather than calling himself an apostle,
he starts right off to say, just confessing, I'm nothing but a
bond slave, a servant, subject to the sovereign will of my God,
whom I serve. He's there in prison, and I'm
sure his enemies thought, well, this is an evident token of God's
displeasure with Paul, because here he is in prison, but Paul
sees it, all the while, how God is still working his sovereign
will, even through his imprisonment, because he says in Philippians
1, verse 12, But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the
things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the
furtherance of the gospel. So that if we may pause here
again for some sweet reflection of what this means for us in
seeing how Paul is happy with the providence of God, Paul is
calling our attention again to how Christ as well was I mean,
look at how Christ, in all His sufferings, no one worked as
much as Christ worked through all of His sufferings there.
Through His sufferings, through His death, He brought forth many
sons and daughters unto the Father, so that through His death, He
brought forth more life and more fruit unto God than when He walked
here on the earth ministering to the gospel. They wouldn't
receive him then, but how his grace has worked mightily in
our hearts. So that brethren, if you and I, though we go through
suffering, and we go through trials, and through tribulations,
the Lord is using these things to teach us, to show us Christ,
and to show us our need of him, and how precious he is, and how
much more wonderful and precious and needful he is than all the
trinkets that this world can give us. He's showing us that
through these sufferings, bringing us to the end of ourselves, because
you know our hearts, how proud and puffed up we get. He's bringing
us to the end of ourselves so that we might find our all in
all in the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, let's move on to verse
2. Philippians 1, 2. Grace be unto you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, grace and
peace are very common expressions used by Paul in his letters,
right? But there's nothing common about
them. He may have used them a lot in his letters, but there's nothing
common about these, so that we understand that the grace we
receive from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
peace that we receive from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ, only comes to us sinners who are now called saints in
Christ Jesus. It's so easy for us just to breeze
by these words, you know, as we open up a new book in the
Bible and we think, well, let me just get down to the meat
of the word. Let me get to the doctrines. And we skip over these
things as though they're just like fluffy little Christian
words that are out there, you know, and we don't really give
much attention to them. But we ought to consider the
cost that it costs our Savior that now God is gracious to us,
and now God is at peace with us who are undeserving, wretched,
vile sinners, so easily forgetting what our God has done for us.
It cost Christ his glory. He laid it aside that we might
know him and be found in him, not having our own righteousness,
but the righteousness which comes by him alone. And you have to
wonder, Brethren, do you gladly own that, of what it means that
God is gracious to us and God is at peace with us in Christ? A proud man, he might say, oh
yeah, yeah, I believe in the grace and the peace of God. But
when he really thinks about it, what you're confessing, if you
believe that God is only gracious to you and only at peace with
you because of Christ, if you really believe that and understand
what that means, you're confessing, I'm a sinner. wretched, vile,
dead dog, sinner, not worthy of his grace. I've done nothing
to earn his grace and nothing that God should be merciful and
at peace with me. But it's all because of Christ. So when you really think about
it, you're confessing what a sinner you are if you really believe
that God is only gracious and at peace with you in Christ. God, we know by the word of God,
teaches us that he chooses the foolish things, the weak things,
those of us who stammer and can't get out what we're trying to
say, and those of us who are just poor, weak, and worthless,
and unable to do that which God's glory really deserves in our
service to him. But he's pleased to take us who
are weak and who have issues and problems and struggle with
so many things that we ought not to struggle with, but we
do, and he's pleased to show his grace and mercy to us. Paul
wrote to the Corinthians saying this in 126, for you see your
calling brethren, how that not many wise men enter the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called, that God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which
are despised hath God chosen yea, and things which are not
to bring to naught things that are, all that know flesh to glory
in his presence. We know and we own it that what
we are, the grace that we have, is all in Christ. And the peace
that we now have with God the Father is in Christ. And that's
not lost on Paul. He understands that this is no
common thing that all people just have. I mean, when you think
about the fact that you're near Springfield and among hundreds
of thousands of people, and you look around and there's only
a small, precious few that the Lord has gathered who hear this
gospel and delight in it. It's a precious thing if you
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and know that God is gracious
to me, God is at peace with me, not for my works, not the filthy
works that I've done, but He's gracious and merciful to me because
of the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. He pleased the Father.
He accomplished that work that we can't do for ourselves. All
right, verses 3, 4, and 5. Paul says, I thank my God upon
every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you
all, making requests with joy for your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now." And I was thinking about these
verses and thinking, well, what does this have to do with us
today? This is Paul saying what he's thankful for for these brethren. How does this bless us today? What does that mean for us today?
The value here of what we see is that this is the pattern of
the heart of a pastor. One who loves the people of God.
You see his heart here. First you saw all the way up
to this point in this passage how he's low in his mind. He's
content with the providence of God. He's at peace with what
God is doing with him and where God's put him. He labors and
ministers to the saints of God and now we see his heart's prayer
for the saints that God has blessed him to know and minister to.
And it's not only expressed here by Paul, but we see it in our
pastors today, right? You hear how pastors love their
church and minister to their church and make many sacrifices
for their love for the brethren. They pass up on careers and things
like that where they can make plenty of money just doing what
it is that they're gifted to do. yet they put all that aside
to say that they may minister to the people of God. I know
on many occasions I've heard my own pastor Clay Curtis just
tell us just most sincerely how he prays for us, he cares for
us, he cares for us, he cares for our children and he prays
for us so that brethren Even if it's a groaning in the spirit,
sometimes you don't know what to pray for your brethren. You
don't know what they have need of, but you just trust the Lord
and you just groan in the spirit, praying that the Lord has mercy
upon them and helping us. So the Lord raises up pastors
and he sends pastors to preach the Word of God, to edify and
to exhort and to comfort the people of God. Paul told the
Corinthians, He that prophesieth, or he that preacheth, speaketh
unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. And
you can be certain that if a man is raised up of God to do those
things, and to preach Christ faithfully, each and every time
he's there, preach him, you can be sure of this, that that man
is also praying, begging God to bless the Word, to bless the
Word to the hearts of his people, to prepare their hearts, to prepare
our hearts, that we might hear and to receive that Word by the
spirit, not by the flesh, we can all do that, not with just
a carnal ear, but with that spiritual ear that only God himself can
give to us and put in our hearts. Paul told Titus, you know, you
can see how this is weighing on their hearts, knowing that
it's of God, and he says that they labor, the passers labor,
looking for that blessed hope. and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." So that,
you know, when I was talking with Joe about this, brethren,
I know you don't have a pastor, but you can be sure of this,
that as God is gathering you together and knitting your hearts
together and preparing you, he's preparing a man of God just as
he's preparing you that loves you and is praying for you and
is going to be sent here of God. He's raising him up. And just
as he's raising up that man and preparing that man to lay aside
the things of this world, just as he's raising him up, he's
raising you up for that man. So that the Lord is able to bring
together those two. He's able to join them together
that they might serve and love the Lord together. I mean, think
of Clay, who's a boy born in deep South Arkansas, just a few
miles from the border of Louisiana. That's where he was raised. He
hunts and he fishes and he loves all the things that a Southern
boy loves to do. And then there's us up there in New Jersey. He
lived in Nashville, Tennessee with Melinda and he had a good
job. They both had good jobs and two children and a very pretty
home. I went there and visited him once, and it was a very nice
home, and they had good jobs, and doing well for themselves,
and yet God was preparing him to preach, to be a preacher,
to be a pastor, and he loved the Lord and the gospel. And
there was us up there in New Jersey, and we went through many
churches and went through some similar things to what some of
you went through, and we fed on those dead husks of religion
for many, many years that we might come and be brought to
just be thankful for a pastor. Just be thankful that God would
send us a pastor and the Lord sent us Clay. The last place
in the world those two, Melinda and Clay, wanted to go was to
New Jersey. I can tell you, they told us that. They didn't mince
any words about it. This is the last place they wanted
to go and yet that's where the Lord had prepared him and prepared
us to be brought together. So you can just see how the Lord
does that. He said through Paul to the Ephesians,
and he gave gifts unto men. And verse 11, Ephesians 4 11
and again gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints
for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body
of Christ till we all come in the unity of the faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ." So God unites his
people, he brings them all under the blood of Christ, and he brings
them together that they worship and serve the Lord, and he does
this through the preaching of the gospel by his pastors. And
Paul prayed for them, being full of thankfulness and joy, and
he said there in verse 5, for their fellowship in the gospel. Brethren, don't ever forget just
how precious this gospel is. It's so precious because it's
the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. So
that by the gospel we're taught that no man by nature knows and
loves and seeks out God. We're all sinners born into this
world in need of God's grace. There's nothing we can do to
make ourselves fit and right before God. We are all dependent
upon the grace of God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We're in spiritual darkness. We may worship a God. We may
even worship a God called Jesus. But if we don't have the Spirit
of God bringing us to Christ, then it's the Jesus of our own
imagination, and we're just worshiping an idol just like all the rest
of this world. is doing. So it's the Lord who
must seek us out, and he does this by raising up pastors, giving
them the gospel, teaching them the gospel, and sending them
forth to preach that gospel, to feed his people, and to call
them out of darkness, and to comfort them, and edify them,
and exhort them as is necessary. We read in God's Word that it's
God who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, the power
of this nature's darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins." So our God is building up a spiritual
house, adding each and every brick as it pleases him, each
of us fitting us with gifts, and just a heart of service and
love for the brethren, and honestly brethren, even if All you can
do is just come here and hear the gospel. Just faithfully come
each and every time that the children of God meet together.
It's a blessing to the children of God. They appreciate that.
It's so encouraging just to have brethren come faithfully to hear
the word of God. It really is. Don't ever think
that that's a small thing. Just to be faithful and to unite
with your brethren. It's not a small thing. It's
necessary. If everybody thought that way,
then nobody would be gathered together. We wouldn't be here
this morning if we all felt that way, that we didn't have anything.
Just being here, brethren. Instead, we're being perfected
through this gospel until we all come in the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
So that we're taught that we have this fellowship in the gospel
in Christ. And so, because God has assembled
us together, because God has taught us this and brought us
under the gospel, under the blood of his Son Jesus, he says in
verse 6, Philippians 1.6, being confident. Being confident. Now
there's many in this world that are confident, right? They're
very confident, and they ought not to be so confident, but there's
a lot of confident people and whatnot, but this isn't a fleshly
confidence that Paul has here. Not at all. This is Paul who
wrote himself saying that, let him that thinketh he standeth,
take heed, lest he fall. So Paul doesn't have a carnal
fleshly confidence in these things. but his confidence is in the
power of God able to affect and do that which pleases him in
the hearts of men. So he says in Philippians 1 6,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And that work of our God in our
hearts is so effectual in that to the measure it empties us
of self so it fills us with that longing and that desire and that
need for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord does that work in us.
He empties us of pride and self-confidence and the confidence in the things
that we can or what we think we can do in this world and shows
us our need of Christ. So that our boasting becomes
not in ourselves but in what Christ has accomplished for us. Turn to 2 Thessalonians 2. Turn
to 1 Peter 1, and I'll read 2 Thessalonians 2 for you. Paul writes this,
he says, we are bound, in 2 Thessalonians 2, he says, we are bound to give
thanks all the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God, not you, but God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation, through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. Whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So that if for God's then his will is that he saves us through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Now
if you're in 1 Peter 1 you'll see very similar language, and
I just enjoy showing just how Peter and Paul said the same
things, the same spirit that was in one is in the other one,
and they say things so similar to one another. So remembering
those words that Paul said, through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth, then we find Peter here in 1, 2, 1
Peter 1, verse 2, elect, he calls us elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the spirit, Unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ grace unto you and
peace be multiplied All right, so we see that similar language
there through the Spirit sanctifying his people He goes on to say
in verse 3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus
Christ Which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you All right,
now in verse 5, Peter's going to say something almost identical
to what Paul says in Philippians 1-6. Peter writes in verse 5,
"...who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time." And that's exactly what
Paul says in 1.6 when he says, "...being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, kept by the
power of God, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
That which is reserved in heaven for you." So they're saying very
much the same thing, brethren. So our confidence is in God.
Right? Now, some of us, you know, just listening
to Brother Joe and what he went through and just the things that
have been a struggle for him, you know, that it's probably
very hard for you to think of even saying you have confidence
that you're his. Right? And it's such a struggle
when we've been beat down like that because you were taught
that you better not speak like that until you've had enough
experience behind you that you can even talk confidently that
you're the Lord and that the Lord has put away your sins.
But we know that by the authority that God has given us and showing
us Christ that we can have confidence. So long as your confidence is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not your confidence. It's
not you being confident that you're going to hold yourself
and keep yourself in Christ. But rather you have confidence
in God. who promised that he put away your sins by the Lord
Jesus Christ, by the shedding of his blood, doing that, which
we can never do for ourselves. So our confidence, that's where
it is. It's in Christ, not ourselves, but in Christ. We fall and stumble
and sin and do horrible things all the time. That's not what
we look to. We don't look to our feelings.
We don't look to our works and to see how well we're doing.
If we prayed enough that week and read our Bible long enough
that week, that's not what gives us confidence. Our confidence
is in Christ and Christ alone. All right, verse 7 says, Even
as it is neat for me to think this of you all, because I have
you in my heart, and as much as both in my bonds and in the
defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers
of my grace. So why is it neat for Paul to
think this of the saints of God? Because of what Christ has accomplished
for his people. Our confidence is fixed in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Everything always goes back to
Christ. It's our hope. Our faith, our confidence is
founded upon Jesus Christ. And that's where we have this
fellowship in the gospel, because we're united in this. We're not
looking to ourselves and our own religion and what we can
do. We're looking to Christ. We're just constantly dependent
upon Him and what He's done. Therefore, consider the importance
of this gospel, where we're reminded when we gather here together
what sinners we are, how hopeless we are in this world, how meaningless
this life is. I imagine it's got to be hard
for some of you who are young and just starting out in life
and you think, you know, it feels like the world is there at your
fingertips and that whatever you set your heart to do, that
you're going to be able to do, but if the Lord is merciful in
kind, he'll show you. He'll cause you to stumble and
to fall on your face and to see that, no, you can't just do whatsoever
you want in this world, that you are human and that your will
doesn't always win the day. And that, you know, the Lord
is merciful. There's people that, that everything seems to go right
for them. And that's not a mercy. The world says, oh boy, that
person's blessed. They're lucky or something like that, they
say, but that's not a blessing. Just that everything for you
to get everything that you want is not a blessing. It's good
for us to have our face put in the dust and be brought low and
to see our mortality and just how weak and flimsy we are. It really is a mercy. So God
teaches us, He teaches His children what sinners they are. He teaches
us who He is, how holy and righteous and wonderful a God He is, and
that He's much greater than we ever thought He was by nature.
He shows us our need of Him. He shows us what Christ has accomplished
for us. and that God is now pleased with
his people in Christ alone. As Paul wrote to the Romans 3.21
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon
all them that believe, for there is no difference. for all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God." The
Gospel declares to us, brethren, that God hath made Him, our Lord
Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, He hath made Him to be sin for
us, that we him might be made the righteousness of God. In Acts 10.43 Peter declares,
and all the prophets testify to it, that whosoever believeth
In the name of the Son of God shall receive remission of sins. He promises that. He put away
your sins. Those who know that they have
no hope in themselves, but look to Christ and stay upon Him.
Just keep looking to Christ. Trust in Him. You shall receive
the remission of your sins. Your sins have been put away.
You have received remission of sins. Our Lord will work this in our
hearts. He teaches us. He grows us in
this constantly seeing. Sometimes we see it. We see it
with the eye of faith and we see it and the Lord blesses us
and then again the waves of this world just come and and beat
us down and bring us low again, but he faithfully keeps bringing
that gospel to us and bringing us under the gospel, reminding
us once again, aha, this is what's needful. This is what's important.
This is what I need is the Lord Jesus Christ. I need to be reminded
of His grace and mercy. And I know, brethren, through
the years of even sitting under a faithful pastor like Clay,
who was faithful to preach the gospel, It's a shame to think of just
the evil that goes on in our hearts and that we're brought
to see what vile sinners we are. If he just lets us go with his
hand, if he just takes our hand off of us, what vile wretched
sinners we are and how we can just flee back to those things. But instead, he melts our hearts
not with the law, but he melts our hearts with what Christ has
done for us. showing us over and over again
how Christ puts away our sins, how he's faithful and continues
to love us and be compassionate and kind toward us, dealing with
us not as our sins deserve, but dealing with us in mercy and
grace and kindness and he speaks peaceably to us and comfortably
to us so that our hearts are melted in him and we rejoice
in him and we're just thankful for that gospel. He doesn't send
the whip and beat us down, He breaks our hard hearts through
the preciousness of Christ and what He's done for His people.
All right, verses 8 and 9. For God is my record, how greatly
I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray
that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and
in all judgment. And that word judgment means
perception or insight, that we might grow in our perception
and insight of these things and just see how how Christ meets
all our need, right? So we hear the truth, we're taught
this by the Spirit, we receive it, we don't argue about it,
we don't want to argue about it, we don't want to make war
and fight with people, we just want to rejoice in our Savior
Jesus Christ. And the enemy comes with all
kinds of silly arguments and twisting things that faithful
preachers say to add confusion to the children of God, but our
Lord is able to bring us through that and to redeem us from that,
so that we see, you know, this world's passing away, but so
long as we have Christ, it doesn't matter what comes upon us, what
judgment is coming to this world. And I think this world is coming
towards judgment one day, but we see it. We just see how it's
passing away and just how precious Christ is. Now, any pastor who's
sent of God, who's raised up of God, Brethren, whatever it
is that we're going through, whatever it is that our need
is, He's going to preach one thing. He's going to preach Jesus
Christ, faithfully, faithfully, faithfully. He's going to preach
the Lord Jesus Christ each and every time. Because whatever
question you have in your heart, whatever trial you're going through,
whatever you're struggling with, so long as He's preaching Christ,
the Spirit of God will minister to each of His people's hearts
as they need ministering. He's going to apply that word
in a way that only He can apply it. I don't know everything that's
going on in your heart. I might see things by certain
actions or fruits, if you will, like the outward thing, but I
don't know what's in a man's heart. So long as The pastor
or the preacher is just preaching the word of Christ and just preaching
the gospel. The Lord is going to take care
of everything. He's going to deal with us. He's going to put those
down that are lifted up and high-minded in themselves. He's going to
raise up those who are low and broken and brought down. He's
going to raise them up in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever the
question may be, the answer is always Christ. It's always Christ. You children, as you get older
and maybe leave the house and things like that, I pray the
Lord will show you your need of Him and that you'll be listening
for Christ. Because that's the only thing
important is Christ. Not just how good you can tell
a history lesson. Not how good you can exponentiate
the scriptures, you know, and tell of all fancy things and
things like that. But do you know Christ? Can you
preach Christ? Can you minister to the hearts
of God's people just with Christ? Alright, verses 10-11. Well,
this is the last one. that ye may approve things that
are excellent by preaching Jesus Christ, that ye may be sincere
and without offense till the day of Christ by preaching Jesus
Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which
are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. If I were to stand up here and
just preach a dead-letter religion, just do this, don't do that,
start doing this, stop doing that, that's just death. If you
do those things in your flesh, it's just a dead-letter religion.
It's just the works of the flesh. It's what we see all around us
every day. That's only going to bring forth
fruit. The purpose of preaching isn't to puff us up. It isn't
to puff up the flesh and get the flesh all excited and trying
to start doing things for the Lord. Knowledge puffeth up, but
charity edify. There's one that will cause our
love to abound in more and more knowledge. There's one that will
enable us to approve things that are excellent. There's one that
will establish us in sincerity and our defense and confirmation
of this gospel that we hold dear and that will fill us with the
fruits of righteousness. And that one is the Lord Jesus
Christ. I pray, brethren, that the Lord
will raise up a pastor and send you, brethren, a pastor who loves
you, loves the Lord Jesus Christ above all, and loves you by faithfully
ministering and preaching the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ,
because that's what we need to hear, because it's Christ that
fits us and makes us able to stand before him in his holiness. Amen.