Well, good evening again. I am humbled to be here. I'm truly humbled that you'd
ask me to come. And it's just wonderful to see some
of you that I haven't seen in a long time. I came through here
in 2001, 16 years ago. And it's too long to be away
from anywhere. But it's great to see you and
we're just happy to be here. Everyone who knows Brother Rupert
and has ever been here before said to tell you hello. Everybody
knows I'm coming here. So hello from all the churches.
But you respect, as you come to know this truth, as the Lord
teaches you the truth of the Gospel, You thank God for the
men that He called to tell it to you. And you think about that
scripture that says, how beautiful are the feet of them that bring
glad tidings. And I think about my dear brother
here, and I thank God for him. And I'm just honored to be here.
Turn with me, if you would, to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. I have
three questions for us this evening. Three questions for the mind,
the heart, and the soul of every person here. Every person here
tonight. My prayer is that in just a few
minutes we're going to walk out of here with three answers. to
these three vital, vital to salvation questions. I mean vital to salvation
questions. And here's the first one. Who is God? That's an important
question, isn't it? Everybody talks about God. Everybody. Everybody prays to
God. Everybody does. Everybody loves
God. That's what they say, isn't it?
You love God? You better believe it. I love
God. Everybody wants to live forever
with God, don't they? Well, who is God? Who is God? The second question is, what
has He done? What has He done? Everybody talks
about what He wants to do. And everybody talks about what
He's trying to do. But what has He done? The third question is,
where is He now? Where is he right now? Is he
standing at my heart's door? Is that where he is? Is he running
here and running there trying to stop the work of Satan? Satan's
messing this up and messing that up and he's trying to Who is God? What has He done? And where is He right now? Where
is He right now? Look with me if you would here
at Philippians 2 verse 5. It says, Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus. What He's telling every one of
us, every person here in this room, starting with me, is we
all need to repent. That's what he's telling us.
We need to repent. That's where God's truth starts. That's where the truth begins.
Look with me, if you would, at Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3 verse 1 says, In those days came John the Baptist
preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's what he said. That was his message. Repent.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Look at Matthew 4. Matthew 4,
verse 17 says, From that time Jesus began to
preach and to say, Repent. For the kingdom of heaven is
at hand." What does repent mean? It means have a changed mind.
That's what it means. Have a changed mind. We all know that there is a God. We all know that there is a God. The heavens declare the glory
of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. We would be fools
to say there is no God, wouldn't we? Fools. It's written on the
conscience of every man that there is a God. And man with
his natural thinking thinks he knows God. But he doesn't. He doesn't. By nature, we can't. Our Lord said in Matthew 11,
No man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal Him. Without God revealing Himself,
no man can know God. If God does not reveal Himself,
no man can know God. Man naturally thinks he understands
God, but he doesn't. He doesn't. God said, My thoughts
are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways My ways. Well, this is the way I would
do it. Just thinking about it rationally,
this is the way I would do it. Well, that's not the way God
does it. Not at all. So the first thing
that God gives to a sinner, the very first thing in this calling
of salvation, in this bringing a child to Himself is He gives
this new mind. He gives a brand new mind, a
changed mind to know Him. To know Him. He comes to that
child and he says, I am. I am. And for the very first time that
child sees, he is. He is nothing like I thought
he was. Nothing at all. He gives eyes to see His truth
in the Word. This Bible is so closed to man. This Bible is so closed to religion,
they don't even use it anymore. They don't even need it anymore. My wife ran into somebody in
Kingsport, and you know, you always ask, what do you do? And
it gets around my husband's a pastor, and then everybody wants to talk
religion for a while. He asked, what version of the
Bible do you use? And she said, we use the King
James Version. He said, no you don't. She said, yes we do. He
said, no, you use the New King James. And she said, no, we use
King James. He said, nobody can understand that. It's closed, isn't it? It's closed. But when God comes to His child,
all of a sudden, They see the truth in His Word. All of a sudden, there it is.
I never saw it before. And it's on every single page. He gives ears to hear His voice
through His Word. And only a person who has heard
His voice through His Word knows what that means. What are you
talking about? Somebody asked the question to a preacher one
time, are you saying God speaks out loud? He said, no, it's much
louder than that. He speaks through His Word. And
my sheep hear my voice, speak my truth through my Word. And that child finally for the
first time sees Him as He is. Not the way I had Him made up
to be in my mind. Not the Jesus I was told and
the one I had in my back pocket I've been keeping as a good luck
charm. Oh, I see Him as He is. I see Him as He is. That child at that moment in
time believes on Him. And that child follows Him. Now, who is God? Who is God? Go with me back over to Philippians
if you would. Philippians 2. Who is God? That's the question
for every one of us. Every single one of us. Who is
God? Philippians 2 verse 5 says, Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Everything he's about to say
is concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Christ Jesus the Lord. He said
in verse 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. Okay, it says he's in the form
of God. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. Does that mean he's like God? Or does that mean He is God? Turn with me over to John 14.
We're going to turn a little bit. I like to see it. John 14. John 14 verse 6 says, Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father, but by me. Oh, so he's the one who can get
me to God. He's the one who came to point
me down the right path. Well, verse 7 says, If you had
known me, you should have known my Father also. And from henceforth
you know Him and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show
us the Father? Why do you keep saying, Show
me the Father? Have I been so long time with
you? And yet hast thou not known me?
What does he mean by that? What does he mean by that? What
is he really actually saying right there? Isaiah wrote, For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulders, and His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace." That's His name. That's His name. The name of
the One who was born. Call Him the Mighty God. Call Him the Everlasting Father. Because that's who He is. That's
who He is. He's the Mighty God. The Everlasting
Father. He and His Father are one. They're one. He said, Have I
been so long time with you? Have I been so long time with
you? Turn with me, if you would, over
to 1 John. 1 John chapter 5. 1 John 5, verse 20 says, And we
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
this understanding, that we may know Him, that is true, And we
are in Him, that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Now, who is God? Who is God? The very one that came here 2,000
years ago and walked this earth for 33 and a half years, He's
God. He's God. He is the highest God. Now, I'm not going to waste our
time dwelling on the lies that men tell about Him. That He wants
to do this and He's trying to do that. Bless His heart. Bless
His heart. It's all lies, isn't it? It's
all lies. He is not the weak God. He is the mighty God. He's the
mighty God. All I want to know is this. What
has this mighty God done? Rather than us telling what He's
going to try to do and what He hopes to do, and He really has
a wonderful plan for you, and if you would play along, it would
be very helpful. What has this mighty God done? The Scripture says He does whatever
He pleases. Isn't that right? The scripture
says, whatever he does, no man can stop him from doing it. You know what the gospel says?
Look at what he's done. That's the gospel. Look at what
he has done. Back over in Philippians chapter
2, go with me back there to our text. Philippians 2. Verse 5 says, "...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." Now, Jesus Christ is the one
who spoke this world into existence. Genesis 1-1 says, "...in the
beginning God." You know who that verse of Scripture is talking
about? Jesus Christ. The Word of God. Without Him
was not anything made that was made. He made every bit of it. He's the one who spoke this world,
the whole world, into existence. He's the one who formed man from
the dust of the ground. He's the one. Jesus Christ is
our Maker, He's our Owner, He's our Controller, He's our King,
and He's our God. Jesus Christ is the one that
every soul on this earth ought to reverence and thank and worship. But when he came here, he chose
to make himself of no reputation. Is that not amazing? Wouldn't
you just stop and think about that? He had to veil himself. He had to hide who he was. And make it so that no one, no
reputation. Who are you? When He came here, not only did
His creation not know Him, they hated Him. Is that not amazing? They hated
Him. They hated the One who gave them
life. They hated the one who gave them
breath, every breath. The one who gave them a world
to live in, a family to love. They hated the one who blessed
them with a mind to reason. Physical strength to do work.
Every good and perfect gift, every good thing, they hated
the One who gave every good thing to them. Isaiah 53 says, He is
despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He
was despised and we esteemed him not." Now, wait a minute. Who are we talking about here? We're talking about God. The
God. If you had been God, If you were God, what would you
have done? What would you have done? If
you had made man and then man turned and treated you that way,
what would you have done? I'll tell you what I would have
done. I would have killed them all. That's just the honest truth. I would have wiped them off the
face of the earth I made. But what did God do? What did God do? Verse 7 here
in Philippians 2 says, "...but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant." What does that mean? Isaiah 53 says it means, "...he
bore our griefs and carried our sorrows." That's what a servant
does. That's what a servant does. A
servant bears the burden of another. That's what a servant does. He
bears the burden of another. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. Let's get our minds around that.
Not only did He not kill us, The Lord took all that iniquity
and laid it on him. Every soul that God the Father
gave to him. Every sin was laid on him. Verse 7 says, But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men. Now does that mean he made himself
to be like a man? God became a man. God became
a man. Just listen to this verse of
Scripture. This is so amazing to me. I can't explain this. I don't need to. I just believe
it. God wrote it in this Word and
I just believe it. This is Luke 2, verse 52. It
says, well 51, this is when the Lord was at the earthly age of 12 years
old. And Mary and Joseph came back
and found Him in the temple. And they said, why did you do
this to us? And He said, I must be about my father's business.
And it says in verse 51, He went with them. He went down with
them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But His
mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus, now
who is Jesus? God Almighty. Jesus increased in wisdom. How does the one who is wisdom
increase? How do you do that? He increased in stature and He
increased in favor with God and man. You know what that means?
He was a man. He was a man. He was a true man. Why would He do that? If He is
God, why would He do that? The reason is because that's
what I am. That's what you are. in order
to bear our burden, in order to take our sin upon Himself,
He had to become us. That's what Hebrews 7 says. He
became us. He became us. He made Himself
of no reputation because that's what I am. Nothing. No reputation. Nothing. He was
despised and rejected because that's what I deserve. That's
all I deserve. It was a great humiliation for
God to become a man. Such a great humiliation. But
He didn't stop there. Verse 8 here in Philippians 2
says, In being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself
even more. He humbled Himself to the last
degree. He humbled Himself lower than
any man is able to recover from. Verse 8 says, "...being found
in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross." Now wait a minute. Who are we talking about? Who did that? God did. God did. And there's one word in that
verse that explains why, why He would do this. Verse 8 says,
"...being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and
became obedient." He became obedient. God the Father, God the Son and
God the Spirit made a covenant with each other. They didn't
make a covenant with sinners. Aren't you so glad for that?
They did not tell sinners, I'll do this if you'll do that. And
we'll shake on it and make a covenant. They didn't do that. God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit made a covenant. God the Father said, I will choose
them. out of this sinful race, I will
choose them." God the Son said, if you'll choose them, I'll redeem
them. You choose them and you give them to Me, and I'll die
for them. I'll pay their price. I'll wipe
that slate clean. And God the Spirit said, if you'll
redeem them, I'll call them. I'll go get every single one
of them. And God the Father did, and God
the Son has, and God the Spirit will. Every single one. God did this. And we're going
to stand up and tell men now, if you'll take part in it, God
did this. God did this. Our Lord said in
John 6, This is the Father's will which hath sent me. that
of all which He hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up again at the last day." If that's the Father's
will, that's exactly what will be done. Verse 8 right here says, "...and
being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Now was
he successful in what he did? Did he accomplish what he came
here to do? Did he save his people? Is salvation finished or not? To know the answer to that, all
we need to do is find out where is he right now? Where is He
right now? If He is standing at my heart's
door, knocking, it's not finished. If that's what's happening, it
is not finished. If He has taken the first step,
and now it's up to me to take the second step, it's not finished. It's just not. If He is standing there saying
that He's done all He can do, and now the rest is up to me,
it's not finished. My salvation depends on where
He is right now. Where is He? Where is He? David said, Our God is seated
in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath
pleased. Hebrews 1 says, when he by himself
purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high. Hebrews 10 says, this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down. Why did he sit down? He was finished. He was finished. He was absolutely
finished. Christ was given a work. Christ
came to do the work. And Christ finished the work. And it's finished. Philippians 2 verse 9 says, Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name. that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and
things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now let me
tell us three things about that and we'll be done. Number one,
He is Lord. He is Lord. He already is. God the Father has already highly
exalted Him and given Him a name that's above every name. We cannot
make Him Lord. He already is Lord. He already
is the ruler. Lord means the ruler. Lord means the controller. He's the controller. Somebody
told me one time, you make it sound like I'm a puppet on a
string. That's exactly what I am. He's the controller. The word
Lord means sovereign. That's what it means. He already
is Lord. Don't listen to any man who tells
you that you have to make Him Lord. He already is Lord. God
the Father made Him to be. The second thing is every knee
is going to bow. Every knee is going to bow. Every knee in heaven I'm looking
forward to that. Can you imagine being in a congregation
of believers? I mean true, true believers. A number no man can number. And at the name of... Every time
the name of Jesus goes out, every knee in that place bows to the
ground. At the name of Jesus, every knee
in heaven is going to bow. Every knee on this earth is going
to bow. Every knee in hell is going to
bow, not willingly, but they're going to bow. So here's the third
thing. Salvation is bowing the knee
right now. Today is the day of salvation. Today is. Bowing to the fact
that He is Lord, He is God, He's the ruler, He's the controller,
that is the calling, the awakening, the change of mind to salvation. Bowing to the fact that He is
salvation. Salvation is not a decision.
Salvation is not a thing. Salvation is a person. Bowing to the fact that His blood
paid the debt and it is over. I mean it's over. He did it by
Himself. I didn't take any part in it.
People say the phrase, I got saved. I didn't. God saved me. I didn't do anything. God saved
me. I took no part in it. There's
nothing left undone to do. Nothing. It's over. That is salvation. Acknowledging that I have no
control over this knee. I don't have any control over
this knee. If it bends, God in mercy and
goodness and kindness and grace caused it to bend. He gets the
glory for it. If I bow, God did it. He said,
you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. If
I believe, God did it. That is salvation. Having this
knowledge right here, either He in mercy is going to bend
it now or break it later. That knowledge is the evidence
of our salvation. That's the evidence. If God has
revealed that to us, and if God has revealed Christ to us, that's
the evidence of our salvation. We started this message by saying,
God begins the calling of salvation with a changed mind. A changed
mind. That's what it is. That's what
it is. Salvation is not waiting on me
to do anything. Nothing. Has God bent our knee? Do we know, are we convinced
in this heart right here, God bent my knee? If He has, then let's just stay
in that position. That's a wonderful position to
be in. If He has not yet bent our knee,
let's start crying for mercy. Let's start begging God for mercy. Lord, bend me. Bow me. Show me the evidence that I'm
not going to be broken. If you'll bend this heart and
if you'll bend this knee, that'll be my token of your covenant. That'll be my evidence, my proof,
my hope that I'm not going to be broken. You've bowed me to
Christ. In this heart, let's all, every
one of us, let's all bow the knee, bend the knee right now
to the Lord Jesus Christ. May He make it to be so. And
may He make that a blessing to us. Thank you. Hmm.