I think it is so with most, and
I hope so, I pray so, that we love God's kingdom. The kingdom
of God is right here, this church. This is the kingdom of God. When
Christ came preaching the kingdom of God, what He was preaching
is His church, that He came to make up His subjects for His
church, His bride. And I believe it's so with most
For her, my tears fall. For her, my prayers are sin. For her, my cares, my toils,
my labors, my support. For her, the church, not a building,
people. Beyond my highest joy, I prize
her heavenly way, her sweet communion, what we're doing right now, her
solemn vows, her hymns of love. I believe it so. I believe it
so with most in here. I love God's kingdom. I love
God's grace. I love His church. I love this
church. I love to preach to the church. Whether John found out,
it's more enjoyable to preach to the church than it is to people
that don't believe what we preach. I love to preach about the church. gave himself, you know why Christ
came to this earth? To save his church. To save his
people. He gave himself for his people. He loves his church dearly. He
had David write, when you read the psalm, how many psalms does
David talk about Jerusalem? And that's the church, Jerusalem.
Psalm 122, one of my favorites, David said, you will prosper
if you love and pray for his church. You'll prosper. So this message tonight is to
the church. Verse 1, Paul and Timotheus,
their constant companion, traveled everywhere. You know, Paul was
an evangelist more than anything. Well, the Lord used him to start
so many churches, or that is, preach the gospel, and the Lord
raised up churches in places. But until the Lord sent the pastor,
you know, he was overseer of many churches. And the Lord sent
pastors, and Timothy was, we believe, the first pastor in
Ephesus. And we believe the pastor here at Philippi was at Paproditus. We speak of it in chapter 2.
Paul and Timothy traveled everywhere together. He said, we're servants
of Jesus Christ. I want to be a servant of Jesus
Christ, don't you? How do you serve Jesus Christ?
What does He need? Nothing. We can't do anything
for the Lord, but we serve His people. That's how we serve the
Lord. That's how Paul served Christ. Christ said, as much as you've
done it, to the least of one of these, my brethren, you've
done it unto me." Whatever it is. Visit, feed, and so forth. Servants of Jesus Christ. Servant.
A servant is the greatest in the kingdom of God. You know
that? You must be meek. To be a servant, you have to
be meek and lowly and humble. You have to humble yourself to
serve other people. You know that? I'm so pleased
that some of our young people are working at places like McDonald's
and Walmart. I remember it wasn't cool to
work at McDonald's, you know, flipping burgers. That's a servant,
isn't it? And I'm pleased that they're
doing that. You must be meek and humble. You must love those
to whom you serve. You're not going to serve somebody
you don't love. Now look at chapter 2, verse
2. He said, and this is what our
Lord was. Wasn't He a servant? Fulfill
ye my joy, chapter 2, verse 2. Fulfill my joy that ye be like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord, one mind. Let nothing
be done to strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, that's
humility, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look
not every man on his own thing, but every man on the things of
others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who 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 and made in the likeness
of men. And for us, for Christ to become,
God to become a man, is infinite condescension. It's lower than
for us to become a worm. And he became a servant. A servant.
Remember John 13 where he washed their feet and he said, now if
I, your Lord and Master, have done that, you do the same. A servant. So Paul and Timothy
were servants. Look at verse 1. To all the saints
in Christ Jesus. Saints. Sanctified. In Christ
Jesus. Oh my. Don't you love that? Which
at Philippi, with it, or at Rocky Mount, or wherever, whatever
church, this is all, you know this, this is not to the world,
this is to the church. Church is. With the bishops and deacons. Bishop is pastor, that's the
word. Pastor. Bishop and deacon. Thank
God for bishops. Aren't you thankful for pastors?
Our Lord said, I will give you pastors after my own heart. They'll
feed you. They'll feed you. They won't
feed off of you. They'll feed you with knowledge. And knowledge of who?
Of Christ. And when our Lord ascended on
high, He gave gifts unto men, and the gifts He gave were some
apostles, prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors and deacons. Aren't you thankful for these
men like David, Edmondson, Gabe, and John, and Bruce, and on and
on together. Marvin. So thankful. Alright, look at verse 2. Grace
be unto you. Grace. and peace from God our Father.
Grace unto you. Grace be unto you. Grace bestowed
on you. As you know, grace is not an
offer. This is how religion preaches grace. That God offers you grace
and you accept it and it's what you do with it. No, no, no, no,
no. Grace is something God does for us and in us and to us. Grace unto you. Grace conferred
upon you. Grace bestowed upon you. All
grace. Ephesians 1. Start to turn there. Grace. Chosen. By the way, that
hymn, the first hymn we sang is the only hymn in the book
with the word elect in it. That's a shame, isn't it? The
election in some form of the word is 27 times in the New Testament. We have one hymn with the word
elect in it. That's really a shame, isn't it? Chosen. Elect. Redeemed. Redeeming grace. Adopting grace. Accepting grace. Redeeming grace. Forgiving grace. Abounding grace. He abounded
toward us where sin did abound. What? Grace did much more than
that. Grace. Grace. And peace. Paul begins every epistle with
this, doesn't he? And ends. That's how you know
he wrote this. That's his trademark. Grace and
peace. There's a man in Kingsport that
he named his second daughter Grayson. Because he loved the
sound of grace and peace. Grayson. Grace and peace. Peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Ephesians 2. Turn over
to Ephesians 2. Peace from God our Father. You
know, God the Father has always had thoughts of peace toward
His people. God has never been at war with His people. Ephesians
1 says, We were children of wrath. That doesn't mean we were under
the wrath of God. God's people were never under the wrath of
God. There was a time we felt like we were, and rightfully
so. But God has never been at war with His people. He said,
I know my thoughts towards you. Thoughts of what? Peace. To give you an expected end.
God has loved His people even while they were dead in sin. He loved them dead. He loved
them in Christ. So, the Father has never been
at war with His children. A true and loving Father, a true
and loving Father like our Heavenly Father, is never at war with
a son or his daughter. He gives birth like a father
begets a child and raises that child and loves that child and
nurtures that child and cares for that child and provides for
that child and sacrifices and works hard for that child and
gives their life for that child and teaches that child and leads
that child. But too often, that child, son
or daughter, rebels and becomes at war with his parent. Thinking
that parent is unreasonably cruel and unjust because they chastened
that child. And you know why the father chastens,
don't you? Because he loves them. But the
child often thinks, my parent doesn't love me. They hate me
because they force me to hear the gospel. So that child rebels. And that child gets at war with
its parent. And it runs away. Rich in mercy. It goes after
him. Look at Ephesians 2. We're not
going to read the part you think I'm going to read. But look down
at verse 12. At that time you were without
Christ. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Strangers from the
covenant of promise. Having no hope without God in
this world. Here's the but. But now. In Christ
Jesus. You who sometime were far off.
Rebels. How? How do we have peace with
God? We don't make that peace with
God. Religion says so many blasphemous
things. Everything they do is blasphemy.
But for them to say about a man, he made his peace with God. And one thing made peace with
God. The blood of Jesus Christ. Read it. In Christ Jesus, you who sometime
were far off or made nigh by the blood of Christ, for He is
our peace. You know that. Who hath made
both one, God and us, our Jew and Gentile, broken down the
wall, the partition, the enmity abolished in His flesh, the enmity,
even the law of commandments and ordinances, to make in himself
of two one new man, so making pea." Who makes pea? How does
he make pea? The blood of his cross. "...that
he might reconcile," verse 16, "...both unto God in one body
by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby." What God does
is He preaches the gospel to one of these runaway rebels like
Philemon or Messina. Preaches the gospel. I believe
Onesimus ran away. And I believe he ended up in
Rome where Paul was in prison. And the Lord had that young man
come and hear Paul in prison. He wouldn't hear him back where
he ran away from. But he had him all the way to
Rome, out there running wild, and came in God's providence.
And he heard Paul while in prison. And the Lord saved that boy.
Broke his heart. He gave him a broken and a contrite heart.
Convicted him of his sin. And it was the goodness of God
that led him to repent. And like that prodigal son, he
realized, what I've done to my master, what I've done to my
God. That's enmity that breaks down,
the enmity in us. God's never been at enmity against
us. His people. Read on. And so he came, verse
17, and preached peace to you. which were far off. I can't even
preach a piece to you. With one of these rebels, my,
my. So, verse 3 in our text. Go back there. So he says, I
thank my God. I thank my God. Thank God. Thank God. We ought to be the
most thankful people. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. Thank God. Again, false religion
thanks people for coming to God's hand. No wonder God hates it. I thank
my God. Paul said this over and over
again. I'm bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren,
beloved, forloved of the Lord. For God has from the beginning
chosen you, brought you. You had nothing to do with it.
Give thanks to God. If you're here, thank God. I thank my God. Upon every remembrance
of you, He said, Every time I think of you, which is often, do you
think of one another often? I do. This church is my life. Every day. Every time I think
of you, Pastor. And he said, I give thanks. I give thanks. Verse 4, Always
in every prayer of mine, for you all. You know, Paul says
you all several times. Look at verse 4. He says, you
all. I thank God for you all. And
verse 7, it's for me to think this of you all. I have you in
my heart. And the last part, he says, and ye all. And verse
8, after you all. You know, Southerners learned, you know, a lot of what
Southerners say came from the Bible. Hoping. And the word y'all,
it had to come from y'all. I thank God for all y'all. Don't
you? Everyone. Everyone. And some are more faithful than
others. Some are more supportive than others. Some are more, whatever. There was a man and his wife
traveling in a car, and they had two sons. One of them was
obedient, one of them was just a joy, and one of them just gave
them great joy and enjoyment, and
the other one was a rebel. And that father stopped the car
and pulled the car over, and he said, Honey, we've been thanking
God all these years for that obedient son. See, we're told
in everything to give thanks unto God. So let's thank God
for that other child. See, I can thank God for you
all. I'll let him. And every request, I can request
with joy. You know, there's some with sadness
I think about, sorrows. Some I still find it hard to
believe that they just left us. Some, I pray for every day that
the Lord bring them back. And that's sad. But most with
joy. Some leave, but most stay. Thank God. If it wasn't for the
grace of God He talked about, we'd all be gone. We'd all be gone. So this is,
you know, this is a an epistle of thanksgiving and prayer. See,
I thank God with joy when I think about each of you, which is every
day, I thank God making requests with joy. Verse 5, the first
thing I'm thankful for is your fellowship in the gospel from
the first day until now. First time. Do you believe in
love at first sight? Yes, sir. When you first see
Christ, you fall in love with Him. When you see your brother, when
you meet a brother that you didn't know you had, it's love at first
sight. I remember coming here the first time, and all of God's
people, wherever you go, you know, people of like mind and
faith, and you just love God's people. Don't you? You love them immediately. You
don't even know them. But you love them. And for your
fellowship in the Gospel, 1 John 1, turn to 1 John 1. And you
know this, we've talked about it so many times, but listen
to this. 1 John 1, he says in verse 3,
that which we've seen and heard declare we unto you. What's that?
Christ, the Gospel. That you also may have fellowship
with it. And truly, our fellowship is
where? With the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ. Now, getting together in one
another's home and eating and having fun and all is fine, but
it's not always fellowship. I mean, it's fine and good, but
true fellowship with a true meaning of the Word is when we're gathered,
when the Lord gathers us together in His house for one reason. to worship Christ. That's fellowship. The meaning of the word. I love
this word. And God's provident in making
the English language. He called this gathering of God's
people fellow-ship. I love that, don't you? But,
you know, truly, and I've been in a ship. I was in a sailing
ship with six other fellows for 10 days, 150 miles out to sea,
and I found out I was a landlubber, you know that? But the one constant thing that
you can't, it's your life, you're on that ship, you're conscious
of that ship all the time. You're sick, you're happy, you're
getting rained on, you're getting tossed to the boat, That ship's
your life. And everybody in it. And nobody
else is on that ship but you and your companions. That's a
good word isn't it? Truly. Our fellowship. How can
light have fellowship with dark? It cannot. You're not in the
ship. Not possible. So, and there's
nothing that the world would like better than you for to make
you have shipwreck. Get you out of that ship. You
know how many people probably came by when Noah was building
that ship laughing and scoffing and talking to Shem and Ham and
Jacob? Boy, you believe that? It's not going to rain, fellas.
Your dad's wrong. And Noah kept saying, don't listen
to the Word of God. Do not listen to the Word of
God. Boys, we need to be found in that day. We need to be found
in this ship. But it's true. God's true. Thank God for this gospel fellowship. Thank God He's put us in Christ. made us to sit together in heaven
and in hell. It really is. You know, Philippians
2. Go back to Philippians 2. Philippians 3. I'm sorry. Philippians
3. You know, I want to be found
in Christ to the day I die, to the day He comes. Don't you?
When Christ comes, I want to be found in Him. I want to be
found with you. One thing that I desire, David said, that's
what I'm seeking out, what I want to do. I want to be in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, because that's who Christ
is coming for. Remember the people at Exodus 12, when the Lord said,
you stay in that house now. This death angel's coming. You
stay in that house with the bloods over the lid on the doorpost.
You stay in it. Don't you leave that house. Remember
Rahab, the spies? Remember what they said to Rahab? If you get everybody and you
bring them in this house, don't you leave them. Our life is yours
if you get out of this house. Your blood is off our hands when
you stay in the house. Look at Philippians 3. Paul said
in verse 9, this is what he said, I want to be found in Him. We're
found in Christ, don't you? Verse 10, I might know Him. That's more than about Him. relationship
with Him, the power of His resurrection, the walking newness of life,
the fellowship of His suffering. There it is. What's fellowship? It's the gospel. There is no
other kind. Don't call it fellowship if it's
not around the gospel. Okay? If it's not building one
another up on this holy faith, it's not fellowship. This is our fellowship. Don't
do without everything else, but don't do without this. This is
our fellowship. So he said in our text, thank
God for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until
now. You know, new birth. born again,
someone born again, it's exciting, it's wonderful. It's just wonderful. Like when Elizabeth brought those
babies in here. Man, oh man, it just injected
new life into this place. Let me keep the nursery. When
somebody is born again, it's wonderful. You start hearing
the Gospel all over again through their ears. It's like a visitor
coming. You hear the Gospel through their
ears, don't you? Whereas before, you just, you know, somebody
you really want to hear the gospel and you're sitting there listening
to it as if it were the first time. New birth is wonderful,
it's exciting, but you know what? Old saints are even better. I want to die in the faith. I
want to begin the faith, but I want to hold fast to the end. I want to be like John and Earl
and Sheila, like Ed and Jeanette Berry, like Nancy. They're all
in their 80s. And here they sit. Here they
sit under the gospel after all those years. I want that. You know, new birth is wonderful,
but old people... Old faithful saints. You know,
it's a great blessing to grow old. It really is. You're nearer. Now is your salvation nearer
than at first. It's close. Christ coming for
you is very, very close, John, Erlene, Nancy, Ed and Jeanette. He really is. And here you sit
faithfully. It remains to be seen if somebody
new is going to hold out to the end. I hope so. I hope so. So he said, I thank God for your
fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. John
and Earline say the exact same things to me that they said 35
years ago after me. It thrills me. It thrills me. You're not tired of me, you're
not tired of the gospel yet. That just thrills me. Now here's our confidence, verse
6. Now I'm confident that Sheasley
and Nancy and the Barrys and others are going to hold out
to the end. How's that? Why, Pastor? Why,
Paul? Because I believe that he that
has begun a good work in you will perform it. He'll finish
it until Christ comes. He that hath begun a good day's
work. You know, it's His work. Salvation is His work. And one
way you surely know that He did this work is you say it's His
work. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done. According to His mercies. Listen
to this scripture. Isaiah 26. Thou wilt ordain peace
for us, for Thou hast wrought all our works in us. For us. Isaiah 26, listen to
it. Philippians 2, 13. It is God
which worketh in us, both the what? Will. Thy people shall
be with Him. Both the will and do of His good
pleasure. What's His good pleasure? Believe
Christ. Worship His Son. Listen to Psalm
92, verse 4. It says, I will triumph. I don't
want to misquote it. Psalm 92, verse 4 says, Lord,
thou hast made me glad through thy work. I will triumph in the
works of thy hand. If you keep believing grace,
sovereign grace, salvation by grace, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
to the end, you're saved by grace. You're saved. So it's his work. I'm confident. It's something I meant to say.
You know, we talk about disfellowship. I don't want to keep coming across
my mind here. Old sailors, you know, young
sailors don't, sailing's not too comfortable. for a young
sailor. It takes a long time to get your
legs and all that. You know, I've read all these
books about sailing, and old sailors love their ship. And
they love it so much that they're not long on land until they long
to be out to sea again. They long, they have families,
and yet that ship is their life. I'm telling you the truth. And
they long, they can't wait until they leave home and get back
out on that ship. And that's the believer. Christ
and His church and His things of Christ are truly the life
of God's people. And you leave the world, you
leave family, you leave the people that you love. But you come because
Christ is your life. And we can't wait to be with
Him someday. So he says, I'm confident that He that begun
this work in you, that's how you know it. It's part of the
way you know it. Christ worked in us, but Christ worked for
us on Calvary. It was finished, wasn't it? Before he went to the cross,
John, he said it's finished. It's finished before it's begun.
It's finished when God said it shall be done. It's good as done.
Nothing's going to stop it. And Christ said, I've finished
the work you gave me to do. And then on the cross, in John
19, he said, it is finished. Christ's work on Calvary's tree
was finished, performed. I'm confident it says that the
gun of good work in you will perform it, will finish it. He
did. This work of salvation was performed
by one man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He finished the work. It's His.
His work in us is a work in progress. Do you hear me? Now, hold on. Don't anybody out there say,
like I said, progressive sanctification. I'm not saying that. Don't you
dare say that. I'll show you. Philippians 3.
Go back now. Philippians 3. No, no, no. I'm talking about
growth, maturity. Philippians 3, verse 12. Paul said, it's not as though
I had already attained, either were already, what? Perfect. Philippians 3. But I follow after
it. if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended."
He said, I'm pressing toward this mark. Paul hadn't yet realized
he didn't know. And in Ephesians 4, you know,
let me quote it to you, he said that he sent these pastors and
teachers for the perfecting of the saints. Till we all come
to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God and
to a perfect man, mature, measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ. Here it is. Here's the point I'm trying to
make. He said, He that hath begun a good work in you will perform
it, finish it, until the day Christ come. This growth, this
maturity, it's like fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. Love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,
right? Do you need to grow in love?
Joy? Do you need more joy? Do you
want more peace? Are you more peaceable? Long-suffering? Do you need more long-suffering?
Patience? Do you need more gentleness? What about goodness? Any person
in here thinks they have any. Well, that's the fruit of the
Spirit of it. Meekness? Hmm. Faith? Does faith grow? Faith in Christ is perfect
faith. But yet, Our faith is very weak,
isn't it? I want my faith to be stronger,
like fruit. Fruit grows, doesn't it? Fruit,
you go out on a tree, an apple tree, and if you see a little
green berry, that's fruit. Don't eat it. Boy, do I know that. Boy, did
we eat green apples when I was a kid. But that's fruit, isn't
it? How's it there? How did that
fruit come there? It's attached to the tree. Fruit
didn't produce itself. It's attached to the tree. If
it wasn't attached to the tree, it wouldn't exist. Root, fruit. Abide in me, Christ's seed, you
bear much fruit. But that little green apple is
fruit just as much as a great big red delicious. But does that
little green apple need to grow? How does it grow? Well, sunshine. It's going to have to be under
that hot sun all the time. Rain. Rain. Wind. The wind's going to blow.
Do you know what apples endure hanging on a tree until the day
they're ready to pluck? Storms and howling winds rain
and drought and sun, trial after trial after trial. What happens? That fruit starts to ripen. What
happens to fruit when it gets real ripe? How does it turn? Sweet. So that's with the Lord. And somebody said, like tomatoes
on a vine or apples on a tree, the more it grows, the more it
hangs its head and howls toward the ground, until somebody comes
along, the great husbandman that planted the tree, that dung the
tree, until the day when it's time, when it's time, and not
until then. puts it in a basket and takes
it home until the day of Christ Jesus. Verse 7, I quit. It says, It's fitting for me
to thank this of you all that I have you in my heart. Love,
now this shall all men know, you my disciples, you love one
another. It's an abiding thing, that's how you know. Now by the
faith, hope and love, what's the greatest? His love will never
fail. And some people say they believe,
but they don't. They leave. Some people say they
have hope and cry, but they leave. But not those that really love
Him. Love can't fail. So He said, I have you in my
heart. And they had Him in their hearts. And He says, in my bonds
and in defense, here's how I know that Christ has begun this work
and will finish it. You are set for the defense of
the gospel like I am." Paul was in prison for preaching the gospel.
Hated by most because he preached the gospel. For what? Telling
the truth? Yep. But it's not going to stop
him. Why? He loved Christ. He knew Christ. And he said,
you're in defense of the gospel too, in confirmation of the gospel,
and you're all partakers. Here it is. See, this thing started
with grace. How is it going to end? What
is it going to make you grow in grace? Grace. How do you say
grace? How are you kept? Grace. How
are you going to get to glory? Grace. The God of all grace. Okay. Stand with me.