Life and breath are the choice
I have, makes me joyful. Well. Scripture says, play skillfully
on a stringed instrument, and that she did. Love so amazing
demands my soul's best song. Thank you. I enjoyed that very
much. Very much. All right, go back with me to
Philippians chapter 1. You will sing that by order of
this pastor. You will sing that. at the Bible
conference this year. Philippians chapter 1, in seeking a message from the
Lord for you, for this church, seeking a blessing. I want you
to be blessed. I've just began reading through
the epistles. Epistles are written to the churches. Epistles are letters, as you
know, letters to the churches. And I read several, and I came
to this one and was so blessed and so comforted, uplifted, and
I thought this is it. And the epistles, as I said,
are written to the churches, and though they're full of reproof
and rebuke, admonitions, warnings, chastenings from our father who
wrote it. Yet, these are love letters. The epistles are love letters
to his people. Love letters from the Lord is
maybe the title of this, a love letter for God's people. Have you ever gotten out any
old love letters? That you're. Whoever wrote it
better be your husband or wife now. But. You read them you've
read them before and but when you read them again. They're
still. A blessing to you aren't they. Mindy, every now and then, gets
out some silly little poems I wrote to her when I was just a young
man. But she loves them. But this is something we've read
many times before. Some of you, I know this first
part of Philippians is one of your favorite, favorite passages. And we need to read this over
and over again. It's God's word to his people. Verse one, Paul and Timothy. These were two dear, dear men. Don't you feel like you know
them? After all these years of reading about them and reading
from them, don't you feel like you know Paul? You do. They're just like us, two dear
brethren, two faithful, loving servants, Paul and Timothy, the
servants of Jesus Christ. He's the one who called them,
sent them. He's the one whose people he loves and sent these
men who love his people. And he sent them, and he says
to all the saints, all the saints in Christ Jesus, all the saints,
old and young, male and female, weak and strong, all these saints,
I love the term saints, don't you? It's short for sanctified
ones, ones whom God Almighty set apart, whose love sets them
apart. Whom he did foreknow, he did
predestinate. His purpose sets them apart.
Whom he did predestinate, he called. His call sets them apart,
brings them out from among others. And whom he called, he justified. The blood of Christ that justifies
them sets them apart. The saints in Christ Jesus, in
Christ Jesus. Look at this. We would look at
this many times, but most recently we considered what this means
to be in Christ Jesus. And we use our pregnant ladies
as an example. And that's a good illustration,
I think one of the best that I can think of how the child. Is in that mother's womb conceived
by the father, the father is the one that can see that job
and. But gotten of the file and that
child is a new brand new creature. A living being that's never existed
before something someone who has never ever existed before
that cannot be denied. And that child has life given
not only from the father But from that mother, that child
lives because that mother lives. And that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ said, didn't it? Because I live, you live also. And that child is complete. Complete. When we were looking at that
ultrasound, I was just amazed to see all those arms and legs. Long ones like his daddy, her
daddy. fingers and toes and all those members that make up a
complete human being. Complete. They'll never grow
anything in addition to what they have right there in the
womb, in the mother. Complete. Christ said, the Word
says, we are complete in Him, in need of nothing. And that
child feeds off of the mother. I'm looking at you now, Hannah.
I talked about her last time. Your child is feeding off of
you. He gets his nourishment from her, so do we, from Christ. We feed off of him. That child
is protected by its mother. If the mother is safe, the child
is safe, right? As long as the mother lives,
the child lives. If the mother is safe, the child
is safe. If Christ lives, we live. And that child is accepted
in her. Wherever Hannah Parks goes, her
baby goes. Right, you can't not accept Hannah. I mean, you can't accept Hannah
and not accept her baby, right? If you have her, you have to
have her baby. They're one. They're accepted. We are accepted in the beloved.
Where she goes, the baby goes. Her friends are the baby's friends,
right? Would you love anybody that didn't
love your baby, Hannah? I don't think she would love
anybody that didn't love you either. So it is with God's people. What the mother does, the baby
does. And what our Lord does, we do
in Him. And to an expectant mother, you're
an expectant mother, aren't you? That means you're expecting to
have this child. You're expecting this to be fulfilled. You're
an expectant mother so that child is that child on your mind. Is
that child in your heart already can you love an unborn child
and. That child in her love that child
is in her mind and her heart and so he said to the science
in Christ. In. And it goes on to say. which are at Philippi, and whatever
is written to one church is written to all. Saints, you could easily
say, to the saints which are at Rocky Mountain or Central. With the bishops and deacons,
grace be unto you, marvelous, infinite, matchless grace be
unto you. Grace means gift. Grace means
gift. What we need, the Father, freely. Lovingly abundantly gives he's
called the God of all grace whatever grace we need he gives it and
gives it abundantly and give it more of it you use it up or
you think you abuse it he gives more he delights to give it he
gives life everything we have is a gift by the grace of God
we are what we are he gives life the gift of life. He gives repentance. Repentance comes after life,
doesn't it? Faith comes after the fact. Wisdom,
understanding, peace, pardon, grace. We need grace to live
by every day. Grace. He gives it. Restraining
grace, constraining grace. Grace to die by. We're all going
to need this someday. Grace to die by. He's promised
it. I've witnessed many believers die. Never seen one yet. that
didn't die in peace the Lord said that mark the perfect man
the end of that make that is the one who's in Christ the end
of that man that woman is peace. Why? Because they're in Christ.
Grace for every trial whatever we're going to go through he's
promised grace to get us through it right and he goes on to say
peace from God our father peace. Peace, God who's angry with the
wicked every day. God who is a consuming fire,
Scripture says, and the world's going to find that out someday.
God who hates, Scripture says, all workers of iniquity. This
God is not angry with us, but rather smiles on us as that
peace with us. Peace from God the Father. Because why? We didn't make our
peace. Now, Scripture says Christ made
peace for us by the blood of his crop and the Holy Spirit
makes us peaceable. He breaks down the enmity in
us. We were once rebels. God's people were once rebels
against God, but God changes that. God, the Holy Spirit, breaks
down that enmity and makes them into a submissive, loving, subject
of God, not a rebel, but a God-hater to a God-lover, from a God-ignorer
to a God-worshipper. That's God's work. Peace from
God, our Father. This God, who is not only our
sovereign Creator and Judge and King, is our Father, which art in heaven. Our Father. Our father who loves
us. Our father who begat us. Our
father who provides for us. Our father who protects us. Our
father who leads us. Our father who guides us. Our
father who teaches us. Our father who chastens us. Our
father who loves us and will always love us and do all things
for us forever and ever. Amen. Let me ask you, sons of
God, let me ask you, do you love your sons? Do you? Sinners, though they be, though
they be like you, do you love them? Rebels, though they may
be, do you love them, even while they're yet sinners? How much
more? Scripture says. Do you give good
gifts to your children? Do you? Do you love to give good
gifts unto your children? What does Scripture say? How
much more does your father give good things of the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him, will you ever? Will you ever disown your
children for any reason? Do you think that there's anything
that will ever cause you to disown your children? They may try to
disown you, but will you ever disown them? John, will you?
How much less would our father? Do you pity? Let me ask you this.
Do you pity your children? Do you have pity upon them? Do
you have compassion upon them? How much more? Like as a father
pitieth his children, the Lord pitieth them that fear him. What
about, do you know your children? Stephen, do you know Joseph?
You know Joseph better than Joseph knows Joseph, don't you? You know it, you know everything
about him. Why? Because he's you. He's you. Well, our Father knows our Frank. He remembers that we're dust. And our Father, this God who
is our Father, the great God, the everlasting Father, became
a son, was made flesh. and took upon himself. And entered into these environment
he knows that. He knows everything about. He
himself was compassed scripture says with in. He's able to suffer
or help them. You're the biggest help to Joseph
as well he knows they're not the best friend you'll ever have
whether he knows it or not someday we are not already. Our God,
Scripture says, of his people, we're his friends. Christ said
that. I call you friends. I call you
friends. And all of this is because of
the firstborn. Look at it. First, from God our
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten. We're
sons by adoption. Yes, sons by new birth, but first
by adoption. The papers were drawn up for
the world of our adoption and then we're given this new birth
in time, but the Lord Jesus Christ is truly the only begotten son
of the Most High God, the express image of God, the perfect. He
is him. He that hath seen him hath seen
the Father. It's not robbery for him to be
equal with God because he is. Because he is. And he's the one
in whom we are elected. Behold, mine elect, Christ said,
God said, mine elect, my servant, whom I delight. And all of God's
people are chosen in him. I had an older brother. I have
an elder brother, the firstborn. He was the eldest, and he, like
most firstborn children, bore the. Closest image to my father. The closest to Stephen is Joseph
in the Joe Park walks like he talks like he acts like. He is
him my oldest brother was that way just like my father and he
was greatly loved by my father my mother and me. He was worthy
of that love I did not mind my father Loving him, I did not
mind him loving him best. I loved him, too. He was my hero. He was my example. I looked up to him. And I did
not mind the Father loving him best. I could see why. He was
a role model. I loved him, too. And so it is
with the Son of the Most High God. All of God's people They
say that he's the fairest among 10,000. No mortal can with him
compare among the sons of men. Fairer is he than all the fair
who fill the heaven train. We don't mind that the Father
loves him best, do we? We see why. We know why. He deserves
it. He's worthy of it. from God, our Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ, our elder brother. He is the heir, and
we're joint heirs. And he says, I thank God. In
this letter, he says, I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you, every mention of you, every time your name comes up. I thank my God for you. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.
He said, we're bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord. Because God has from the beginning
chosen you to salvation. You're bound to give thanks always
to God for you. My father and mother, I don't
ever remember them thanking me for letting them be my parents.
Do you? I don't ever remember. Sam, did
your father and mother ever thank you for your cooperation over
the years? Did your mother ever thank you for cooperating in
your birth? for letting her give you know. It's absurd and we thank God
we don't. That's the reason you'll never
hear this preacher or any true preacher thanking people for
coming to worship God. Oh we you know we give honor
and we give thanks to those that are for what they do for us and
God is not unrighteous to forget our works of faith and labor
of love, he's not. And he says, well done, thou
good and faithful servant, but it's God that worketh in us both
to will and do of his good pleasure yet. So we're bound to give thanks
always to God for you. The only reason you're here is
because God brought you here. The only reason you're here is because
God chose you. The only reason you love God
is because he first loved you. And I thank God upon every...
Oh, we have to thank God for bringing wild asses colts in
here and taming them, no. Huh? Oh, this is certainly a
clear work of God. By the grace of God, we are what
we are. So we are bound to thank God
always upon every remembrance of you. You know, those you love,
you think of often, don't you? Those that you love come to mind
quite often, don't you? Even those who have left us come
to mind. I've talked about old Joe two
or three times now already tonight. We don't ever forget those you
love. And we ought to keep bringing
them up. They're not dead anyway. Keep
bringing them up. They're more alive than we are.
And those that come to mind, those are the ones we love. And
we have fond memories of them. Those that are often mentioned,
we have fond memories. He said, I thank my God upon
every remembrance of you. Do these people come to mind
to you during the course of the week? Do you think about your
brother? We need to think on things of others. Verse four,
he says, always in every prayer of mine, I thank God upon every
remembrance of you, every mention of you, every time you come to
mind, in every prayer of mine, I thank God for you. Those you
love, you pray for, too, don't you? Those you love, you pray for.
And he says, I pray for you all. You all. Let me ask you something. Who
in here could we do without? Who would you be willing to do
without? Is there anybody in here you
think is dispensable? You know, Jenny Williams said,
we can do without her, can't we? Oh, God forbid. She's one of the
dearest, sweetest, most precious sisters I have. I can't imagine
being without you. I mean that. I'm not being silent
and pious. I mean that. You think that about
me? Can you think of anybody? There's
old Ed Berry. He's over the hill. A few years,
he'll be gone. We won't miss him. Will we? Of course we will. Anybody
we can do that, huh? I thank God, he says, in every
prayer for you all. All of you. All of you. How about the weak one? We can
do without him. He's a nobody. He needs us the most. What about
the young one? The ugly one? No, not one. All of you. For
you all, he said. Making requests with joy. Requests. That word means favor. Paul asked
God to show favor on his people. God does favor his people. They're
his favorites. All the tender mercies of God
are upon all his work. He's good to all, but he's got
his favorites. He's got his favorite, don't
you? Nah, admit it. Yeah, you do. You're going to
go to, Steve and Mary are going to go to graduation. Saturday
night, there's one person in however
many hundreds there are to graduate that they've got their eye on.
They're waiting on all those names. Just get this over with
and get to the peas, right? Call him first so we can get
out of here. We've got our faith. God has
his faith, his people are his There are sons, all of them,
and none of them more special than another, unless it be Christ. That's all right. He's worthy. But the fact is, He loves us
like He loves Him. Hard as that is to believe, it's
true. He says, I thank God for you all, making requests, asking
God for your favor. Do you mind, dear brethren, Succeeding or prospering. Somebody gets a new car or job
or house or whatever. We took that check to the hollows.
I wish it had been a million dollars. I guess. It ruined them if it was. Nevertheless,
I don't mind a bit. I could use a thousand dollars.
Couldn't you? Anybody here couldn't? If you
don't need it, give it to me. I could use it. But I could use
it. But honestly, I was more pleased
that they got that. I'll get it. It'll come. You
will too. What you've given will be returned
to you with interest. Guaranteed. You have God's word on it. And
he says in verse 5, I thank God, always thank God, in every prayer
of mine, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first
day until now. How was it the first day that
you were united in this fellowship? What was it like? Ah, this fellowship that we have
is sweet indeed, is it not? Huh? The old saying is, it doesn't
get any better than this. It really applies here. Honestly. Is that the way you feel? It.
What's it? This life, it doesn't get any
better than it here. It will up there a whole lot
better, a whole lot better. But this world is getting worse,
isn't it? It's getting worse and worse.
And God's people are all like Lot, they're vexed. It continually
vexes them, the world vexes them, their sin vexes them. But this,
this fellowship is getting better, getting sweeter and closer and
more precious. We need reason, we need to guard
it. And I know why, I know why that is. I know why it's this
way. You don't attribute that to me,
you don't attribute that to you, but the God of all grace, our
Father. He's ordered peace, and we have
it. And he called us into this fellowship
from the first day until now. It's been wonderful. Verse 6.
And I'm confident, he said, of this very thing. I'm confident
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it,
will finish it, until the day of Jesus Christ. I'm confident.
See, the Lord has never started anything. that he didn't get.
I have. Have you let's pick on somebody
Sam. Does Hannah have anything for
you to do in projects that she's that you have maybe have not
finished. Any how many. Oh my let's get off the subject.
But our Lord never starts something he doesn't. God is able, God is willing,
God hath, God doth, and God will yet finish it. I love that passage
in 1 Corinthians. It says, God who hath delivered
us, who doth deliver us, and we trust he will yet deliver
us. God will finish that good work. What is that good work?
work of salvation. He's the author of it. He's the
one that began this. He's the one that started it.
He's the finisher. He always finishes what he starts.
God purposed it. See, God's the one who architect
this thing of salvation, this so great salvation. God's the
one who purposed it. It was his will. Before the foundation
of the world, God Almighty came up with this genius, this stroke
of genius. for his glory, for the eternal
good and happiness of his people, a glorious everlasting kingdom
of his dear son. God Almighty is the one that
purposed this, and he wrote a book, wrote it down, wrote it all,
everything about it in this book, predestined, ordered, and all
things ensured, and stamped it and sealed it, finished it. God
finished it. Yeah, when he said, I've wrote
it, it's done. Victim, factum. I said I finished
it was done when Christ came it had to be performed in this
work of salvation had to be performed so God came in the person of
his son Christ came down here and he did everything to work
out our salvation. And when hanging on the cross,
what did he say? It is finished. And he sealed
it also in his blood. Finished. Done. Sin put away
and everlasting righteousness brought in. Then the Holy Spirit
is sent. He's got a part, equally as important. equal with the other two. The
Holy Spirit is sent by God the Father and by God the Son to
round them all up. By the preaching of the gospel,
the gospel call, and he rounds them all up, and
he gives life, regenerates them by the word, by the seed, plants
it in their heart, and gives this new life. And the Holy Spirit in the end
will gather them all together, in the end and present them to
the son, the son to the father, all present and accountable.
Finished. It's done. No one miss it. No
one miss it. And it says here, I love this.
This really caught my attention. He'll perform it. He'll finish
it until the day of Jesus Christ. The day of Jesus Christ. That's what that great day is
called the day of Jesus Christ. Scripture calls it that dreadful,
that great and dreadful day, dreaded by some, greatly anticipated by others,
by God's people. A glorious day, a terrible day,
a day of terror for some, but a day of great joy for his people. A glorious day, a marvelous day,
the day of Jesus Christ, the day Here's that. The one long never ending eternal
day. The day he is that. And since
we're in him. Since we're in him since it is
his day and we're in him it will be our day in the sun. I thought that was, that's true. Our day in the sun, it'll never
end. You know, scripture says there'll
be no more sun, no more sea. You don't need those things anymore.
The God is the light. The Lamb is the light thereof.
One long, the day of Jesus Christ. And he says, this is fitting.
It's all fitting. Verse seven, it's all neat. It's
neat for me to think this of you all. Because I have you in
my heart. God Almighty laid these people
on his heart, and that's a good indication that God has done
and is going to do something. Keep somebody on your heart.
Because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my bonds. Now, this church at Philippi,
this church at Philippi, do you remember how it began? is a woman named Lydia. Remember,
Paul came to Philippi. Remember, he wanted to go to
Asia, Macedonia, or Asia, and Bithynia, and the Holy Spirit
kept him from going there. Instead, he had just dreamed
somebody down in Macedonia, Philippi, said, come down here and help
us out. and he went down there he wanted to go to buy any Asia
up there but. But the Holy Spirit prevented
it so he went down here now there's a woman named Lydia that was
from my opinion. She was a businesswoman a seller
of purple or this material purple and she had business she had
a business trip to take to Macedonia. You see, he wanted to go there,
but the sheep wasn't there, so he sent him where the sheep was.
And Paul went there, couldn't find anybody to meet, and he
heard there were some women down by the river who told him about
the Holy Spirit. He went down by the river, and
there was Lydia and some other women, where prayer was wont
to be made. And Paul began to preach unto them the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And Lydia, the Scripture says,
the Lord opened her heart, and she opened her home. She was,
from then on, Paul's, one of his dearest sisters and friends
in that, in that Philippi, and he stayed with her, he and Timothy
and others stayed with her every time they came through. And that
wasn't the only one, there was a jailer. Remember, Paul, they
took him to jail for preaching the gospel there in Philippi.
And while in jail, he and Timothy, or Silas, he and Silas, They
were singing. They were beaten with stripes
and in chains and in darkness. But they were singing and praying. Well, you know that story. The
Lord shook off the shackles and opened the jail doors. And that jailer, you know, scared
to death and sprang in there with a light. And Paul preached
the gospel to him and his house. And so the church at Philippi.
was started that miraculous. And this church no less miraculous
we have our own story don't we each one of us have our own story
of how the Lord brought us here a roundabout way. Don't you. What are you doing here all the
way from North Carolina from Alabama. Back from Alabama. What are you doing here from
Kentucky. What are you doing up here. I know why you're here.
God brought you here part of this body this fellowship And
so he says, you've been with me in my bonds. You reckon the
church at Philippi thought about Paul? Paul was in prison when
he wrote it. In prison at Rome. You reckon he was on their mind
and their heart? What if I was thrown in jail? Huh? What if
I was in jail and rolling up for preaching the gospel? Would
you be thinking about me? Pray about me? Huh? It wouldn't
be a day go by. Wouldn't it? Oh, my. So he says, you're with me. in
my bonds and in defense and confirmation of the gospel. In defense and
confirmation, we're set for the defense of the gospel, aren't
we? I'm not the only one. I'm your voice. I'm your spokesman.
I get on the radio and stand up here, and you bring your loved
ones and friends and so forth, and I preach to them what you
long to and want to. But you do the same. Aren't you
set for the defense of this gospel? Aren't you, John? This gospel,
my gospel, your gospel, God's gospel, your gospel. Herein I stand, Martin Luther
said. Here I stand, I can do no other. I'm not going anywhere.
They'll not believe anything else by the grace of God set
for the defense and the confirmation of the gospel. And you're all
partakers with me of this grace, all saved by the same grace that. You know, I thought about this
today, Jeanette, you reckon Paul had any. You see, the jailer. Was cruel to Paul. At first,
wasn't it? put him through him in that dungeon,
was mean to him. You reckon Paul had any compassion
on him? Do you remember what Paul used
to do to people? I thought about that for the first time. Paul,
oh, if anybody could have compassion on that jailer, Paul could. He
did the same thing. He hailed men and women to jail. He said, I persecuted the church.
He said, I'm not fit to be called an apostle. I'm less than the
least of all the saints. And he had compassion upon that
jailer, considering his own self, where he came from, the grace
of God. See, he's a partaker of the same grace, took the same
grace of God to save him as it did us. And so he says, you're
partakers with me of this grace. And God is my record, he says.
God is my record. Now, I don't think we should
use this this term. God is my witness. God is my
record. Paul could, under inspiration. As much as I want to at times.
Don't you? You want to emphasize your sincerity
to somebody. Don't you? You want to say, God
is my witness. But don't do that. Don't do that. God is not our witness, but we're
his. Nevertheless, Paul, under inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, God testifying of him, of the truth of what
he's writing, of who this is. God testifying. He says, God
is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels or
with the bowels, the same bowels of mercy and so forth, of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
mind of Christ was in him. And he says, I long after you
all. Oh, he longed. They longed for
him, and he longed for them. Don't you know? Paul says, It's
fitting I have you in my heart. It's fitting because you're with
me. It's fitting because I long for you. Long for you. Love longs for the one it loves. No. Love can't bear to be separated
very long from the one it loves. Is it so with you? I ask you to ask yourself a trying
question. How long can you be go without
worship? David envied the birds that were
nesting in the tabernacle when he was in exile, when he was
being chased. He wished he could be back with
his brethren, with the saints, didn't he? How about you? I know
you did. Nancy, when you were laid up
for a while, we came to see you. But you longed to be here, didn't
you? Sitting in this blessed place. How long can you go without
fellowship with the brethren? Folks, if I didn't have fellowship
with you, I wouldn't have any. You're the only friends I have.
Really. And so, he says to the saints,
in Christ Jesus. Church at Central. Grace. Grace be unto you. And peace.
From God our Father. And Lord Jesus Christ. Okay,
stand with me. Our God and our Father in Christ,
we give thanks. We thank you for every good and
perfect gift. We thank you for your grace,
your mercy, your love, your kindness toward us through Christ Jesus
our Lord. We thank you for that good work. I'm confident that you will finish
it, perform it for us until the day of Jesus Christ. We look
forward to that day. We long for that day. But until
then, we thank you for this blessed fellowship, this oasis, this
refuge, this city of refuge that we have, that you put us in. And Lord, it's a blessed fellowship.
Let us cherish it, nourish it, nurture it, and protect it, guide
it, guard it, be zealous of it, and promote it, and support it. Thank you, Lord, in Christ's
name, amen. Okay.