We've begun a series of studies
from the letter written to the saints in Philippi. And while
you're turning in your Bibles to chapter 1, allow me to briefly
summarize our first study last week. Paul had written this letter
thanking these brothers and sisters for their generosity. Their generosity
in sending material support to him when he had no other way
of securing it for himself. You see, Paul was a prisoner
in Rome. And he was waiting for his trial for stirring up the
people. It's interesting. He's waiting
for his trial for stirring up the people, for causing some
trouble out there, for not going with the grain. He wasn't doing
anything illegal, but he was causing quite a stir. For quite
some time, the people of Israel, the Jewish nation, I thought,
well, this is the only way to be saved. We're God's people. We're favored by God. And they
were, as a picture of God's church. But they had taken the things
of God and they had made it the things of man. Do this. Do that. Do this and you shall be saved.
Do that and you shall add to your salvation." Does it sound
like anything in our world today? It sure does. Paul was a prisoner waiting for
his trial, stirring up the people, declaring the sovereign will
and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was preaching the Word of
Truth. And it's interesting that preaching the Word of Truth will
always stir up something. We can see it in our own world
today. that people would rather believe a lie than believe the
truth. That doesn't just go for our
government and our politics. That fits right in with the religious
people of today's generation. What must we do to be saved is
a natural thing for all mankind to say. And how easy it is for
a man who believes he thinks or thinks he knows the truth
to stand before people and say, well, this is what you must do.
And he tickles their ears with things that they can do. That
minister or man who thinks he's a minister who stands before
thousands Thousands of people. Not just one, but several churches
with thousands of people in the churches, in the church buildings. Joel Osteen, he's a really good
self-motivator. A very sweet talking man. He
can talk you into putting all that stuff you used to do behind
you and start doing the things that you should do, and that's
going to save you. And I'm here to tell you that's
not going to save you one bit. Jesus Christ saves. And Him alone. And if you're not in Jesus Christ,
then you are in utter darkness. We can see the desires of the
people in our own world. They would rather believe a lie
than the truth. The truth exposes their wickedness. the truth that
there are none that seeketh after God, just irates those who say,
wait a minute, what are you talking about? I've been looking for
God all my life. And I found Him. I found Him
in that church over there that told me I could be a better person
if I would just send more money. If I would just get up and walk
down to the aisle and pray the prayer. See, the light reveals that darkness.
The gospel of Christ and Him crucified is like a two-edged
sword. It cuts unto salvation to some, and it hardens the hearts of
everyone else. We were talking about the wide
path to destruction. Oh, I agree, Cheryl. What a sad thing it is that that
path is so wide and so many. So many are on it. I'm stressing that because, folks,
being on the narrow path, the narrow path of Christ and Him
crucified is seeing the grace of God and His love to His people
for us. It's not a path of what you and
I can do, it's a path of what He has done. And what He has
done because of that love for you and I. Oh, for the grace
of God, there go I, on that wide path. When the sovereignty of God was
spoken of to Pharaoh, it hardened his heart. He said, who is this
one that I, Pharaoh? You know, he was the greatest
man on earth at that time. He had more power than anybody
knew. He had all the wealth of the world in his hands. How easy was it for his pride
to take over? We were looking into the book
of Arthur Pink on the sovereignty of God. And we're in chapter
5. It talks about the sovereignty
of God in reprobation. That means the sovereignty of
God over the wicked. Were they predestinated to be
what they are? as we are predestinated to be
what we are? Yes. The Word of God was spoken
unto Pharaoh just as it was to you and I. Why did it not do
him any good? Why did it harden his heart?
Because he was never loved by God before the world began. The
world wasn't created for him. He serves God in the purpose
of being what he was. God raised him up. to be exactly
who he was and all the power that he had in the world so that
God could show his power was bigger than anything the world
had. Who is this one that I, Pharaoh,
should listen to? Pharaoh's pride had been let
loose. He actually believed himself
to be a god. But that's no big thing, is it?
Ooh, Pharaoh believed himself to be a god. Folks, people do
that all the time. That's what false religion is
all about. We raise ourselves up to be above God when we say
that it's our will, not His. And we know what Scripture says,
don't we? Scripture says this. It's interesting
how Scripture can be so clear. Yet God has given some to be
blinded by their own pride that they cannot hear nor see the
truth in God's word. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. All who walk this earth thinking
their will, their decision, their making a choice can overrule
the Most High is the very same thing that Pharaoh said, who
is this one that I should listen to him? They make themselves
gods. above the Most High. When we
speak out above the will of men, being corrupt, full of its sin
by nature, spiritually dead in trespasses and sin, unwilling
to seek the true and living God, there are none that seeketh,
there are none good, all have gone astray. People don't like
to hear that. That's what Paul was out doing.
He was declaring the only righteousness was the righteousness in Jesus
Christ. And here were all these people thinking, now wait a minute,
wait a minute, I've never sinned. Okay, I sinned for a while. Okay, yeah, but I don't sin anymore.
Look at the clothes I wear. Look at what I do now. I give
to the poor. I do all these things. People don't like to hear there's
no righteousness in our flesh. Talk all you want about the love
of God. But don't tell us about our condition.
Don't tell us about our condition before a thrice holy God. Don't
tell us that we are but vessels and He is the potter. Don't tell
us about God the Father choosing a people before the world was
created. certain ones, chosen ones, elect
ones, to be given the gift to believe. What do you mean, the
gift to believe, John? I believe. I believe on the Jesus
that lets me do what I want to do, that lets me help. People don't want to hear about
the gift to believe on His Son. Life where there is death. Don't
tell us that we are too wicked to see our need of a Savior.
That we must be brought low before we can see the Most High. How
dare you tell me that my grandmother spoke lies. Paul went about teaching and
preaching about the true and living God. preaching and teaching about
Christ and Him crucified. Crucified for His sheep. Crucified
for the ones that He calls, My sheep, the ones that He says,
My sheep, hear My voice. Just before He said that, He
said this to some unbelieving Jews, some self-righteous Jews,
some leaders of the religious generation. He said to them,
you don't hear My words, Because you're not my sheep. People don't want to hear that.
It stirs them up in anger. It threatens the power of those
who lead the religious people of the world. This man, Joel
Osteen, has so much power in his hands that all he has to
do is ask for something and people will jump to give it to him. The Pope, think about the power that that
man has. The Church of the Later Day Saints,
they own Utah. I know, I've driven around that
town, made deliveries there. They own Utah. They own a lot of Hawaii now,
too, by the way. People don't want to hear these
things because it stirs them in anger. They have an anger
against the messenger. But not just against the messenger,
they have an anger against the author of those words. In verse
1, Paul declared himself and Timothy both on equal ground.
Both servants. not just servants, but willing
servants. He spoke of it as though they
were proud to be servants, as though, this is what I want to
be. I want to be a servant of Christ. There was a time when
I had no will to be a servant of Christ. In fact, I persecuted
the church, but now I serve Him willingly and gladly, as if to
say, They were willing servants. What
a joy it is to be a willing servant of the Most High. All who know
the Lord know that at one time we did not walk as willing servants.
We walked in darkness, just as Paul did. Loving that darkness,
fulfilling the lust of the flesh, even as others, the children
of disobedience. We all know that at one time
we walked according to this world and were by nature children of
wrath, yet God has mercy on us. Even though we were yet dead
in trespasses and sin, He gave Himself for us. God came to us in the day of
His power and He quickened us. How do we know? Because we know
we were dead at one time, don't we? We all know that day when
the Lord spoke to us through His Word. It might not have been
one day, it might have been over a series of days, but we all
who know the Lord know this. It was by His power that He awoke
us and gave us the ability to believe His truth. to see His
grace for the first time, and what grace it is. We sing the
song, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. Oh, how many of us
can relate to that very saying. All that I just brought before
you about those who are hardened, I brought before you because,
folks, we were on that same boat. And by the grace of God, we have
been given the light to see His love for us. We can see the magnification
of His grace, knowing that we deserve the very things that
those who are on that wide path are going to receive. Yet the
Lord took us out of that path when we were willingly walking
it. And He put us on the narrow path the narrow path following his
son. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me. Does that song still touch your
heart? It does mine. In verse 2 of Philippians chapter
1 we read this, Grace be unto you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. My title this morning
is Grace and Peace. Notice the order. Grace first and then peace. Every letter Paul wrote has this
salutation in the opening address. Every time he has the order right. Grace and then peace. The peace God's children have
is not a peace that the world can understand. Our peace is simply in one thing. It's in His grace to us. It's
in His grace for us. It's by His grace that we are
saved. It is by His grace that we are
quickened, made alive, made able. Able to understand and see the
simplicity of His words. That's the only explanation we
have for why the world cannot see it, because God is not gracious
to the whole world. I've heard people say before
that, well, Esau was blessed. You know, the Lord says in his
words in Malachi, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Well,
now wait a minute, John. Esau was blessed. Look at all
the things that Esau received afterwards. Lord, folks, the
things of this world are temporary. Yes, we are blessed in this world.
And it may seem like the wicked are blessed too, but if you sell
your soul for the things of this world, you're going to miss out
on eternity. Eternity is where the true blessings
of everything are. and to be eternal is to be in
Christ Jesus the Lord. The peace that we have in our
Lord and Savior is a peace that the world cannot understand.
A man or a woman or a child who has been graciously given life,
born again, They are a new creation, a new vessel, one that is fitted
for honor. They have a new look upon the
world. And they see the rule of God
in all that is. We see His sovereign hand in
ruling everything according to His will, according to His pleasure,
according to His desire. What can stay the hand of God? By His grace He has revealed
His Son. Not just this little Jesus, not
another Jesus that man has come up with, but THE Son of the Living
God. Ask Peter, who do you say that
I am? Are thou not the Son of the Living God? Well, blessed
art thou. Blessed are each and every one of you. Just as Peter
knew who Jesus Christ was, blessed are every one of us who know
the Lord Jesus for who He is. For flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto us, but the Father in heaven. By His grace, He has revealed
what truly happened at Calvary 2,000 years ago. Christ did not
shed His blood that some might be saved. He shed His blood on
that cross so His people would be saved. His name is Jesus,
for He shall save His people. The power of God shed on that
cross washed away the sins of all of us. And that should make each and
every one of us, when that sin goes through our thoughts, and
God forbid that we act upon it, that grace of God should go through
our hearts and... Lord, help me. Help me, Lord, to see Your grace.
in what truly happened at Calvary 2,000 years ago. By His grace,
He has revealed the results of His sacrificial, substitutional
death. By His grace, we see Him risen
from the grave, sitting on His throne, keeping His people to
the day of His return. Does that not make you blessed?
Knowing that the Lord is keeping us? I'm glad He is because I
know I couldn't. It doesn't take me but a moment
to walk out of those doors and be reminded that my flesh is
weak. My mind is weak. This body I am cursed in is full
of sin. Yet my Lord is keeping me. For His blood His blood is sufficient. In our
bulletin today, there's an article in the second half of that page
titled, My Grace is Sufficient. That's a phrase from 2 Corinthians
12.9. Our Lord declares His grace is
sufficient. Although this verse is not a
question, we must ask ourselves, do I believe it? Is God's grace able to get me
through whatever trial, whatever temptation, whatever weakness
I may be experiencing? Is God's grace all I need or
must I also do something? I believe this is the war that
goes on between my flesh and my spirit that is spoken of in
2 Corinthians 10. Oh, how often I think that I
can change the tide of something by my own doing. Could Joseph
do anything about his situation when his brothers sold him into
slavery? Folks, we do not know what he,
what our Lord may have thought, or what Joseph may have thought.
of at that time his brothers turned against him, but we do
know what he thought in the end, don't we? Our Lord tells us in
Genesis 50 verse 20, his brothers thought evil against him, but
God meant it good for good. Our Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
He leads us through the troubled waters. We trust and believe
because His grace is sufficient. When we have fallen to our lowest
weakness, when we see that we can do nothing, when we feel
there is nothing left to lean on, God's grace shows us His
strength. God's grace is sufficient. His
strength is made perfect in my weakness. God's people are of every kindred,
every tribe, every tongue, and He will have all for whom He
purchased. When the last one is called,
there will be no need to keep things as they are now. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. That's His promise. And our peace
is in His promise, in His promises. We believe Him when He tells
us, I shall never leave you nor forsake you. We believe Him when
He tells us it is finished. It is by His grace that we get
that gift called faith, that ability to believe. We believe Him when He says there
is therefore now no contemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. We believe as Paul does when
he lists off a whole list of things that would bring fear
to one who knows not the Lord. Pardon me. A list that would trouble even
the most brave among us. Yet we, by His grace, are completely
convinced of His promises, are we not? We know that nothing
can separate us from the love of God, which is in His Son,
Christ Jesus the Lord, because it's in Him. It's not in this body. It's not
in this flesh. It's not in something that we
can do. We know that the love of God is in His Son. The love that God has for you
and I is in His Son. It's not in us. He's God. Nothing can stay His
hand. Nothing can turn His will. He
shed His blood for His people and He shall have them. As God, He can lose nothing.
If God has by His grace given you the gift of that faith, to
believe on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall have
everlasting life. You shall not perish in your
sins. Why? For he who knew no sin,
was made sin, that we would be made righteous in Him. We are
brought to love Him because He first loved us. By His grace
we have peace. That's the order of the salutation.
That's exactly how it has to be. It's by God's grace that
we have peace. Turn to Romans chapter 8 if you
would. Just a few pages over to the
left. Romans chapter 8. And join me in reading at verse
5 if you would, please. For they, it says, that are after
the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are
after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. We know of the war that battles
within us, don't we? But we trust in the Spirit of
Truth, the Word of God. We have been brought to the understanding
that we have no confidence in our flesh. Sometimes we forget, don't we? Sometimes John thinks, oh, I
can do that. No. I need to put that away and remember,
and God will remind me. And sometimes reminders can be
painful. But because He loves me, He will
not let me go the wrong way for too long, just long enough to
stub my toe And remind me who it is that rules. Remind me of
who it is that my righteousness stands in. It's in my Lord and
Savior. We know of the war that battles
within us, but we trust the Spirit of truth, the Word of God. We
have no confidence in the flesh. Verse 6, For to be carnally minded
is death. but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Because we have spiritual life
in us, because Christ dwells in us, we can turn from the things
of the flesh. Our peace is in Him, who He is,
God Almighty in the flesh, the God-Man. What He's done, He has
saved His people by shedding His blood for us. and where he
is right now sitting on his throne ruling over everything. You can't
have better peace than that. How can those who trust in themselves have
any peace? There's only one way. It must
be to think that they have a righteousness of their own. and that they don't
need the righteousness of Christ. Do you need the righteousness of Christ? Amen, sister. Absolutely. Not just once, but every moment of every day. That's our peace. His grace is
our peace. Verse 7, Because the carnal mind,
the very mind that once controlled my world, is enmity against God,
and I know it was. Do you? For it was not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed could it be. So then they that
are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye, but ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. So if so be that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. There is the proof. There is the very foundation
of our peace. Christ has risen from the grave as God death could not hold Him.
Our salvation is assured. God has accepted His Son's blood
as our payment. Our debt is paid in full. Look
at verses 16 through 18. The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children,
then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so
be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the suffering
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. Paul's afflictions when
he was thrown in prison for his troubles, for stirring up the
people, for just speaking about the truth of who God is, the
truth of what God has done, and the truth of where God is right
this moment. His troubles were brought upon
him. They were not worthy to be concerned
with. He had peace with whatever the
Lord had in store for him. Why? Why? Because he knew Christ
the Lord. More yet, more yet, because Christ
knew him. The day is coming when all will
stand before God and answer for their works. Those on the wide
path to destruction who are trusting in the flesh in their decision,
and their free will, or whatever it is you want to put on the
table for them, other than Christ. They'll stand before God, and
they will hear these words, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity,
for I never knew you. Are you standing on your own
merits this day? On your own works? on your own
righteousness? If so, you will hear those very
words. But if Christ is your righteousness,
if Christ is your salvation, if you can read these words,
if God has sent them to your heart, look at verse 28. And
we know that all things work together for the good to them
that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose,
for whom He did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate
them, He also called. and whom He called, them He also
justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What
shall we then say to these things? Here's our peace. Because of His grace, if God before us, who can be
against us, Paul says to those in Philippi, I say this to you, grace and peace be unto you from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. And if the Lord applies that
to your heart, giving you his peace. You can sing this song
and it will be well with your soul. Please stand.