Once again, our devotional time. I take an article from a previous
bulletin written by Pastor Gene Harmon, where he writes, Our
Lord Jesus adds to His church daily such as should be saved. That's in Acts 2 verse 47. So
he asks this question, who is it that should be saved? The answer to that question has
absolutely nothing to do with man's works, or man's will, and
every enlightened child of God will readily agree with this
truth. We echo the words of Paul the Apostle where he says in
Romans 7.18, For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, he
says, dwelleth no good thing. Those who should be saved are
God's elect. Those who were given to Jesus
Christ by God the Father, as we read in John 6.37. Those who
are drawn to Christ by God the Father, as we read in John 6.44.
Those who are taught the truths of the gospel by God Himself
in John 6.45. Those who were redeemed by the
blood, the Red River. Oh, I love that. That was a good
song. You sing that any time you want, brother. Those who
were redeemed by the blood of Christ, purchased with the precious
blood of God, our Savior. And I say amen to those words. Before we turn to our text in
Philippians, we're doing a series of studies and messages from
Philippians. I'd like to ask you to open your
Bibles to the 22nd chapter of Luke, and while you're turning
to that, allow me to point out something for you. We point out
in every message, God Almighty is sovereign in every point.
That's all there is to it. For Him to be called God, He
must be sovereign over everything. All things are by His purpose,
by His will, by His decree, and that's all there is to it. If
you're worshipping any other god than that, you're worshipping
a false god of your own imagination. Let me show you something here,
folks. I didn't go to the scriptures and read what we were going to
read in scripture this morning in our scripture reading. So
as I was reading that Scripture, it just jumped out at me, oh,
I wanted to stop and start preaching right then and there. But I, he says, the writer, a
psalm of David, a man after God's own heart, a man who over and
over and over saw God's works in his life, but I am poor. and needy, yet the Lord thinketh
upon me. Thou art my help, my deliverer,
make no tarrying, O my God." I am a poor, needy sinner. Lord, thinketh upon me. Thou art my help, My Deliverer. The Apostle Paul was no stranger
to the weaknesses of the flesh. His faith was as any of God's
elect would be, and he shared this truth as often as he could.
He went about instructing these very things, for he knew firsthand
the battle that we all must fight in this body of death. In Romans
7.24 he writes it this way, O wretched man that I am, not that I was. And Paul knew he was a wretched
man. He knew that the Lord saved him
from what he was. He knew because he called all
that stuff that he had done, that he thought he was doing
for righteousness sake, he called it all done. Paul knew. that the Lord had
saved him from what he was. But did he consider himself to
be more righteous now than what he was before? Oh, I don't sin
anymore. I don't do those things that
I used to do. I'm a much better person than I was then. Is that
what he said? No. No. He says, oh, wretched
man that I am. My friends say, what happened
to you, John? They say that because I don't
hang out with them on Sunday on the motorcycles anymore. I got better things to do now.
I like to go and hang out with my Lord. I like to be in His
Word. But I'm the first one to tell
them that I'm not really changed. The only difference between me
now and me then was I hate what I was then, and I still hate
what I am now, but I have a Savior who has covered it for me. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who, who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? You see, just as Paul was on
that road to Damascus with letters in his hand to persecute Christians,
to put them to death, to throw them into prison, to do all the
things that he thought he was doing for the sake of his God, he clearly remembers the day
the Lord blinded him to the things of this world. when the brightness
of Christ's glory shined in his heart that it blinded him bodily,
where he couldn't see and men had to lead him his way. Do you struggle with your sin, folks? I was reading some small pamphlets, and I put copies
of them out here in the foyer. I highly recommend that you take
a copy of each one and go home and read it. If sin does not still trouble
you, you need to question your faith. You need to question where
your faith is. If you walk out the doors of
God's church and you think to yourself you're some better person
than you were before, you need to question your faith. If you do not struggle with the
sin that is in your life, you need to question your faith.
If you say you have no sin, you make God to be a liar. That's
what His Scripture says. Sin is not just what we do, it's
what we are. This flesh is corrupt from head
to toe. Our Lord gives examples of that
over and over and over in Scripture. Was not Job given boils from
the top of his head to the tip of his toe, a picture of who
he was and what he was, even in the presence of God? Was it
not God who took everything from him, all that he had given him? It's not what we do, it's what
we are. How often have we heard Pastor
Gene Harmon say, there is enough sin in just that little tip of
my finger to condemn me to hell? Right now. Yet Christ the Lord came to save
sinners. Here's some good news. If you've
been convicted of your sin, may God be pleased to reveal His
sign to you. He is called, he shall be called
Jesus for he shall save his people. We've been studying the path
of Peter in our Sunday morning Bible studies. Peter was called
by the lake or by the sea shore, to come and follow Jesus. And
it says in Scripture that he and the other men with him that
were called got up immediately, without hesitation. They didn't
sit around and think, well, you know, maybe not today, maybe
tomorrow. Okay, finally, you know, today's
a good day, I'll start following the Lord. No, they got up immediately,
they followed the Lord, because the Lord has the power to change
men's hearts, and that's exactly what happened that day. Peter is on a path to become
one of the apostles of Christ. And he didn't start off that
very day knowledgeable about who the Lord was and everything
about Him. No, it took time. And so as he's going along the
path and the Lord is teaching him, He's also teaching you and
I. We're learning from God Himself through His Word the things that
we need to know to be Christians, to follow our Lord, to believe
on Him. And it's through the preaching
of His Word that we believe on the Lord. There's people out
here who are hearing about a Jesus, another Jesus as Scripture declares
it to be, who has no power over mankind. Who's left mankind up
to their own free will. The God of Scripture is a God
of power who has power over everything. Why is that important to John?
Because I remember the days I walked before the Lord called me. I
remember that I would not follow the Lord. Do you? Do you remember
where you were before God called you out of darkness? Don't ever
forget that because that points us right to His grace, right
to His mercy, and it magnifies it. Peter is learning of the Lord.
And they've come to the Garden of Gethsemane, where our great
Savior is burdened with a heavy load of all the sins of His people. And my sins are right there,
crushing my Savior. to sweat great drops of blood."
Do you know that Gethsemane means olive press? Would you not say
that's a pretty fitting name for that garden? I ask you this morning, does
your sin weigh heavy upon you? If God has revealed the depth
of sin to a sinner, one for whom He gave His life for, that one
Whom the Father hath given to the Son shall also hate the very
sin that is in each and every one of us, and will be in us
until the day that we are delivered from this body. But though we
hate the sin within us, we don't walk through this world in gloom
and doom. We're sad for sin in our flesh,
yes, but yet we are thankful and happy in the Spirit for deliverance
from it. He's called our Deliverer. He's
delivered us from the sin that we have. He who knew no sin was
made sin for us. We have a substitute, a Savior. We who have been called from
the darkness in which we all have walked in at one time or
another, see the depth of that sin and it magnifies the grace
of our Lord and the grace that He has for us in putting it away.
We sing the song, grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will
pardon and cleanse within. Not works, works, works, what
you can do, what you can do, but grace. Our Savior's grace
for us. He didn't have to do anything
for us. Could have just made a whole new creation if he wanted
to. But yet he chose out of love for a people that were people
that he has loved from eternity past to eternity whatever. Whatever
that means. I think I just blew that word
totally out, didn't I? That's the weakness of the flesh. This very day, that song, Amazing
Grace, touches my heart as much as it did 20 years ago when the
Lord called me. We sing the song, Sin Had Left
a Crimson Stain. I ask you this morning, does
your sin trouble you? It had left a crimson stain He
washed it white as snow. Our desire is to point sinners
to the One who relieves His chosen of their burden. The One who
makes His people to sit in heavenly places, revealing Himself to
them in the time of His love. The Gospel of Christ and Him
crucified not only saves the lost sheep, but it feeds the
found sheep. Look with me if you will at verses
31 and 32 of Luke chapter 22. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
as wheat. Folks, Satan is God's dog. Job was allowed to be afflicted. He was allowed to be afflicted
by Satan. The very devils that filled the
man, the demoniac man, the very devils
that were filled with him, the legion, they had to ask permission
to go into the swine. God allowed them. Our Lord rules
over everything, and that includes the devil. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. Well,
look at the next verse, 32. But I, but God. Don't you love those words, but
God? But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. My title this morning is Strengthen
Thy Brethren. Turn, if you will, once again
to the letter that was written to the saints of Philippi, chapter
1. Our desires Those who have been
called out of darkness. Those who have been brought into
the light of our Lord and Savior. They have changed. Like I said
a moment ago, my desire is on Sunday morning now is to be with
you folks, the saints. I love being here. I love preaching
about who my Lord and Savior is. I love it that you love to
hear about who He is. Our desires have changed. They've
been changed. Our wants have been turned. Not
only do we desire to turn from sin and rest in our finished
work of our Savior, we desire to tell all who will hear about
this One who did it all. As God in the flesh, He perfectly
obeyed the Father in our stead. Where you and I can't do anything,
He has done it all. He's God in the flesh. Can He
do anything wrong? Can He do anything? We were talking
in the Bible study this morning. Could you imagine what it was
like for Jesus? You know, we just read... well,
we read about... actually, let me go back and
just read it for you. I'll read it from Mark. Listen to this. Listen to this.
And he taketh with him Peter, and they came to a place which
was named Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples,
Sit ye here while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter,
and James, and John, began to be sore amazed, and to be very
heavy. And he said unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful
unto death. Tear ye here, and watch. And
he went forward a little while and fell to the ground and prayed
that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And
he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee. Take
away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will,
but Thou wilt. Can you imagine what that was
like for the Lord? I believe that that's where our
sins were laid upon our Savior. Commentators say that that was
the time when the death on the cross was before him. Yes, but
he had looked forward to that. This is the time when the pressures,
the weight of sin was laid on him who knew no sin. He knew
no sin. Can you think about what that
must have been like for he who was perfect to all of a sudden
have all that filth and vile put upon him? But even more, I think it was
Roger who might have brought it up, what about the fact that
the Father was about to turn his back on the Son? He who had
been with the Father throughout eternity, God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, three distinct different persons,
yet one, one mind, one God. You cannot worship the Father
if you do not worship the Son, and you cannot worship the Son
if you do not worship the Father. Not only do we desire to turn
from sin and rest in His furnished work, we desire to tell others
who will hear about this One who did it all. As God in the
flesh, He perfectly obeyed the Father in our stead. He walked
perfectly, fulfilling the law completely. Everything He did
was perfect. The God-Man, He who could do
no sin, righteousness was established in Him, through Him, and by Him,
and in Him alone. Salvation is in Christ alone. through grace alone. And anything
that we try to add to His works nullifies grace. It makes it
merit. And grace means unmerited favor. It was the blood of the Almighty
shed on that cross just over 2,000 years ago. The blood of
Emmanuel, which means God with us, laid down His life, the Red
River that His sheep would live. Wicked hands crucified the Lord
of Glory, but it was by His determinate counsel and will. As we read
in John 10, 15, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the
Father. I lay down my life for the sheep,
not for the world. You see the particular people
he's talking about right here? Sheep, not goats. Therefore doth
my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take
it again. No man taketh it from me. But
I lay it down of myself, I have power to lay it down, and I have
power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father." Whew! Good news. The Red River flows,
brother. And that's what he did. He took it up again. Death could
not hold the Lord of all it is. All things are of Him, and for
Him, and through Him. That means that He's not holding
to anything. He's not holding to you and I
for anything. He does it by His grace and by
His grace alone. Our will, our will is bound by
our nature. And our nature is dead to spiritual
things. You see, that's what it means
to be dead in trespasses and sin. Our Lord is not holding to anything
and that includes man's imaginary free will. For we are bound to
our nature. We come into this world dead
in trespasses and sin. We don't want to see anything
spiritual. We won't come to the light because the light shines
upon the filthiness that we are. An unregenerate soul cannot see,
nor can it understand the things of heaven, for God's ways are
not the ways of men. Our old thoughts, our old ways
of reasoning were enmity against God's ways. And when the laureate
of glory cuts away the stony heart, the heart that says, I
will not have this one to rule over me, he gives us a new heart. It's called being born again.
What did you have to do with your first birth? And if you had nothing to do
with it, why do you think you have anything to do with your
second? Our Lord gives us a new heart.
A heart that loves Him because He first loved us. And we see
Him for who He truly is. God in the flesh. Sovereign. God Almighty, and we bow to Him
as Lord. He tells us in His Word, my sheep
hear my voice. in Jeremiah 31, 33, but this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel,
the people of God, the house of Israel. After those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and
right in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall
be my people. In Jeremiah 32, 38, we read this,
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. In Deuteronomy
7.6 it says, For thou art an holy people. Huh? How could that be? Those who are in Christ, folks,
have been holy from before the world began. How can that be? Because God
Almighty made a covenant with the Son. He says, I'll give you
a people. a people that you will love,
and you will go to the cross and stand in their stead and
pay their redemptive price. And that's exactly what our Lord
and Savior did. Hear me, or no, thou art a holy
people unto the Lord thy God. Lord thy God hath chosen thee
to be a special people unto himself. He said that long before you
and I ever lived, folks. And He was talking about all
of His people from every nation and every tongue, from every
time throughout the time, as long as it goes. And when the
last child is called into darkness, that's it. No reason to keep
going. Our Lord will come back. God,
I hope that's today. Paul is going to talk about that
in a moment. We'll get to that in just a moment. Our great God
strengthens our brothers and sisters in Christ by reminding
them and ourselves, for that matter, of this gospel. This
good news that it is of God that we are saved. It is of God that
turns our hearts. 1 Kings 18.37, Hear me, O Lord,
hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God,
and that Thou hast turned their heart back again. And when all
the people saw it, all of Jerusalem, all of those who were God's people
throughout time, and when they saw it, they fell on their faces
and they said, The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the
God. Not a God, not one of many, but
the God. What is the Apostle Paul writing
in these next words that we read in Philippians chapter 1? Read
with me if you would, verse 23-30. For I am straight betwitched
to having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which
is far better. Paul was going through that very
same thing that I mentioned a moment ago. Oh, how wonderful it would
be if the Lord would return today. John wouldn't have any more sin
in him. Oh, I understand what Paul is
saying here. I want to be with the Lord now.
I don't want to deal with the sin that's in this body anymore. Nevertheless, he says in verse
24, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. I have
brothers and sisters in Christ who still walk this earth today
who need to hear the gospel preached. right here in this very congregation
who need to hear about a Savior who has saved them from the sins
that they've committed all week, the sins that they've committed
today, the sins that they will commit tomorrow. We have a Savior. God help us to turn from that
sin. But God, for wherewith His great love
He has loved us, Nevertheless, he says in verse
24, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having
this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with
you all for your furtherance and joy of faith. That your rejoicing may be more
abundant in Jesus Christ. He who glorieth, glorieth in
the Lord. God's people have no confidence
in what we have in our flesh. I know sometimes it seems like
we do. But that's when we've taken our eyes off of Christ
and turned them towards ourselves. Let our rejoicing be more abundant
in Christ Jesus for me by coming unto you again, only let your
conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether
I come to you and see you or else be absent, I may hear of
your fears, that you stand fast, that you stand strong in one
spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith
of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries,
which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation
and that of God. Folks, our Lord said, the world
will hate you because it hated me first. We sing the song, this world
is not my home. I'm just passing through. My
treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. Verse 29, for unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but
also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which
He saw in me and now here to be in me. Paul wants to go home. to be rid of the sin that is
in this flesh. Our Lord has prayed for us, folks.
The devil continues to desire this very day to sift God's people
as wheat. Yet our Lord says, I have prayed
for thee. Even though it seems Satan is
having his way, he is not. Scriptures declare him as one
who roars like a lion. He deceives all who will listen,
yet Christ has prayed for you. Though your sins may seem great,
God in the flesh is interceding on your behalf. And what He desires, shall it
not come to pass? If our Lord is praying for you,
can anything separate you from the love that is in Christ Jesus
the Lord? We all who are the sheep of the
Great Shepherd are in the same camp. We are all plagued with
the serpents of our sin. But as the brazen serpent was
lifted up, so must our Lord be lifted up. That's what He told
Moses. Lift up the Lord Jesus Christ. Stop looking at the things
that are tearing us down and look to Him and you'll have joy. I say to you, brothers and sisters
in Christ, look to our Lord for all of your needs. Look to Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Our Lord says this in John 10,
27, He says, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them to
me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Folks,
I tell you on the authority of God's Word, you can take this
to the bank. It's a surety. As much so as what we see in
Romans 8 verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation. There's the good news! There's
no condemnation to God's children. He paid the price. Condemnation
was laid upon Him on that cross. Those who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. Oh, how my spirit desires to
walk in the ways of the Lord. How can we strengthen our brethren Very simply. Very, very simply. The same way God calls His children
out of darkness. It's the same food. It's the
same living water. It's the same nourishing ingredients
that we need to get through this world. He's looking to our Savior
and what He's done for us. Looking to our Savior for His
mercy and His grace. We can speak of the One who has
done it for us. Speak of the One who is doing
it for us right now. Speak of the One who will do
it for us yet to come. We can speak of the One for whom
all the fullness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily. To Christ be the glory forever
and ever. Amen.