for this morning. I'd like to start by reading
the first few verses, the first half of this chapter, and then
we'll get into some thoughts here. It says, Therefore, my
brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Jodeas
and beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord,
and I entreat thee also, my true yoke fellow, help those women
which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and
with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of
life. Rejoice in the Lord always, and
again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known
unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful
for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, If there be any
virtue and there be any praise, think on these things. Those
things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen
in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced
in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath
flourished again, wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked
opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of
want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased
and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. In verse 13, I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me. And this morning, like I said,
we, we did last time we looked at the first couple of verses
here of, of, uh, of chapter four of Philippians and it starts
with, therefore, and he, and we looked and we reviewed back
on the first several chapters and, and what he, what he, um,
uh, pointed us to the, in, um, uh, the first chapter. He talked to all the saints in
Christ Jesus and he explained some things and he talked to
us about safety in God's grace and safety in those things which
he has revealed to his people. The second chapter we looked
at a wonderful view of our Lord and Savior and it exhorts the
church by Christ's example. And in the third chapter again
he talks about that there's no salvation in the other gospel
than that of Christ. And he tells, a couple of times
says, beware, beware of those that would not preach the gospel,
but would enter in other things that subtly or not so subtly
would be error. And he again tells him to keep
these things in mind. And then at chapter four, after
those three chapters, he says, therefore, and he goes on and
and builds and reminds them of a few things because of those
chapters. And I would like to read again this morning the first seven
verses of this. And we're going to look at a
couple of thoughts. It says, Therefore, my brethren,
dearly beloved, and long for my joy and crowned. So stand
fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Iodius and beseech
Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I
entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which
labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other
my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice
in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. Let
your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing. But in
everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be known unto God. And the peace of God, which pathseth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus." And in the passage here that we're going
to look at this morning, a couple of verses, and especially the
thought there in Verse 3 at the end there, it talks about helping
those women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement
also, with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of
life. We're going to look at that thought some, speaking about
being in the book of life. Before we do that, he talks about
several people here, above here, with Iodius, Syntyche, and Clement
and other fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life.
Those other people, I don't believe they're ever mentioned in any
other spot in the scripture, but by Paul's words here, they
were fellow laborers. They were believers. And he finishes
up that phrase about them that says, whose names are in the
book of life. So we're going to look at a couple of places
this morning. that deal with that. Start with
Ephesians, we're not too far from there. Book of Ephesians,
the first chapter, and a lot of these things we know and we
get used to hearing and quoting and having quoted and are points
that we believe in as scriptural things, but sometimes we get
common with them or maybe don't ponder enough sometimes
those things. In Ephesians chapter 1, it says, in first verse of chapter
1 of Ephesians, it says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved. And you could go down through
the rest of this book, obviously. But speaking here of verse 3, it says, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love." And here speaking about being blessed in Christ. according as he hath chosen us,
verse four, in him before the foundation of the world. These
were things that were done as we know, and we believe in God's
predestination and omniscience of all things and determining
all things. Indeed, if we believe in God's
determining all things and his predestining all things with
a purpose that we have to also believe, as the scripture shows
here, that we were chosen in him before the foundation of
the world. And this wasn't a looking down
through time, future time, and seeing what was going to take
place, but this was a determining because of what God knew was
to be and had determined what to be that these things would
be so and that we were chosen in him. As we read in Philippians there
where it talks about those whose books are in the Names are in
the book of life that indeed referring to the same thing that
God Chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the
world in and have their Their names written down and unknown
them and then in chapter 2 while we're in Ephesians 2 or Ephesians
also chapter 2 verse verse 10 that goes with them,
chapter 2 verse 10, it says, for we are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. Again, the ones that he had chosen
that would be, that would be blessed in Christ with all spiritual
blessings and, uh, uh, ordained beforehand, ordained or predestined
that beforehand determined that those things would be, and those
people would be blessed in Christ and, and, uh, as the passage
also said, that other one in Philippians, that we're accepted
in the beloved. And that was done in time past
in God's mind when he determined that those things are considered
by God as done and not as we consider worked out in time. I'd like to read a quote from
Robert Hawker in the And this is one of, I enjoy what he has
to say a lot of times and have gotten some good direction from those things that he wrote many
years ago. And here's a quote from Robert
Hawker. They're not my words, they're
his. It says, all and every covenant mercy in Christ arises from the
first and original source. They were chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. And hence, from the same everlasting
love and on the same account, all the blessings They receive
from the quickening and the regenerating grace of God, the Holy Ghost
with all his gifts and graces from the first moment of God's
electing love until grace is summed up in glory. The whole
and every one springs from hence. Their names are written in the
book of life." And that's from Hawker's Commentary on Philippians
chapter four, page 27. And as you said, all the blessings
that we have that were determined back then stem from their names
written in the book of life and all that that implies. And whether there's a physical
book that God wrote down in, I don't believe it probably is
the case, but as the picture of the priest that had that breastplate
on that had their names on it, of the tribes when they went
in to offer sacrifice, the same picture of our Lord that has
his people on his hands and before him ever before God and the Father
and the Holy Spirit and the Lord himself. They all spring, it
says, from that beginning. From when God determined to have
a people, those people were known. It wasn't just a unknown nebulous
type of number, but it was known to God. To us, it's not known.
It says many. In places, it talks about many
as the sand of the sea. In others, it talks about remnant
of grace. Whatever that number is, God
determined those numbers. He knows all of who were chosen
and placed in Christ. In Luke chapter 20, I mean chapter 10, I'm sorry,
Luke chapter 10, And this passage was read just
last week, I believe, in one of the messages. But Luke chapter 10, verse 20, it
says, it's talking to those that went out, the 70 returned again. Verse 17, with joy saying, Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said
unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold,
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and
over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means
hurt you. Now, notwithstanding in this
rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather
rejoice because your names are written in heaven." So the Lord himself, and that's
what we, it says to rejoice in and that
we can, count as something is that our names are written in
heaven, not that anything else that at this point he gave them
as they went out some power to do a few things in his name and
not in their name, but in his name. But remember, as he says,
not withstanding that, that's not the, that's not the thing
to keep your eye on, to keep your eye on is that names are
written in heaven. in Hebrews chapter 12, a couple
of places. In Hebrews chapter 12, verses 20, 22 and following. It says, but you are come to
Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better
things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh." Up here, it talks about General Assembly of Church of
the Firstborn, which are written in heaven." Again, God knows
his own. They're accounted. They're in
the ledger, as it were. The book when things were first
placed and put down before the foundation that the world was
made, that he had his people in mind and had them in the book,
in the accounting of that. And in chapter 13, right there
next door, Hebrews chapter 13, it says, starting in verse 8, 8
and 9, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever.
Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines, for it
is good thing that the heart be established with grace, not
with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied
therein. And here, just a thought to them as he
talks about in Philippians when he said, wherefore, remember
these things, here is just a thought along that line to go with God's
knowing his people, is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today
and forever. And I think that in itself is
a is something to keep hold of and keep thought on that, that
God keeps his people in mind of that whatever we, we approach
or look towards or see things that God does not change. And,
and that, that, uh, that next, that verse in Malachi, uh, in
three, six, where it says, I changed not, therefore you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. And, uh, that, uh, that chapter
there, first chapter speaking about God's, love of his people,
of Jacob as he loved and Esau as he hated, that was not determined
in time. Otherwise, it might have been
reversed if God had looked down to see the type of person, outwardly
speaking, the men were, that Jacob may not have won that contest. But God had determined before
that that's who he was and put his affection on. And it goes
through there. did not understand that, but
God has had a people and he does not change towards those people.
In Psalm 89, turn to Psalm for just a minute, the book of Psalms. I know it's still in here. Psalm
89 verses 34 and 35. Psalm 89, it says, my covenant
will I not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my
lips. Once I have sworn by my holiness
that I will not lie unto David, his seed shall endure forever
and is thrown as the sun before me. It shall be established forever
as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven." And there,
particularly in 34 and 35, he says, he will not break his covenant,
nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. Once I have
sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. Again, with
that verse in Malachi, it's saying that once he has said a thing,
it says, nor alter the thing that's gone out of my lips. When
God has determined a thing, it's done. It's determined. It's not
as we are. We determine a lot of things
that we change our mind on down the road. Or circumstances doesn't
allow us to do that. And we're not dealing with a
God whose circumstances will not allow him to have what he
has determined stand. His counsel will stand, and it
does stand. in Romans chapter 8. There's
a lot in the Psalms that we could say and be with. The next Psalm, even 90, talks
about from everlasting God has done a few things that before
the mountains were these things were determined in his covenant. It says, A year is just no time with God. A thousand years is no time with
God. In Romans chapter 8, and we don't have to stretch
much to find in the scriptures that this is so, that God has
a people. and is about that business of,
of, uh, redeeming that people. Romans chapter eight, and we're going to start with
very common passage. We're gonna look through here.
Verse 28 and following it says, and that we know All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. We're going to read more, but
we're going to stop there just for a second at least. It says that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. This is claimed by a lot of people,
all things work together for good, and that's where they stop
sometimes. But it says here, to them that
love God, to them who are called according to his purpose or to
purpose. It's not an undetermined thing. It's a determined thing. It's
a purposeful thing. The ones that he has given to
our Lord himself for his honor and for his glory was for purpose. We sometimes look at ourselves
and wonder how that purpose was determined. But God, as he so
wills, he determined what would be those people and called according
to that purpose. Verse 29, 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. Whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, he also
glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword,
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. I
am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And
here again, in this passage, those that were called according
to his purpose are blessed. And in the Christ's love, it
says who should separate us from that love. If God has placed
us there, if God has by his purpose called us and accounted us there,
those, all those things that it spoke about and all the things
that promises that we, that we have in scripture to us are assured
and it finishes up again. from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's all keyed into him. We have
nothing outside of him that we can count as a blessing. Now, anybody that's on the earth
that's breathing and eating and living can count that blessing
that they have from God in a physical sense. All those
things come from God, but being in Christ, He spared us. He didn't spare
his son, but he spared us from the guilt and punishment of sin. And we have all those blessings,
as it says up here in 20, 18 and following, because we were
called in him. Revelation chapter 20, another
passage that was brought up recently, but here again for this thought. Revelation chapter 20, starting
with verse 12. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God. And the books were opened. And
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it. And death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. And those that God placed in
the book of life, their names are there. They're all there. And God's people, when they're, everyone
it says is gathered there, stand before God. God's people are
not standing there for judgment or to determine what their situation
is. They're there as witness, as
it were, of it and to rejoice and honor and glorify
the Lord himself. This is not a time of judging
to find out. When the book's written, And
those names are there as it's open here and written. Those
names, those are not judged. They're justified by having their
names in there and then by the work that the Lord indeed did
for his people. So this is not a, we're not judged
those things that we have done or do by nature or the sin nature
primarily or the actions, those things are taken care of. And
by being in that book of life to start with determined all
those, we can say that all things work for good for those people.
God has determined a good end and it's everything along the
way is, has been determined and does work out. best. And as he sees it, not only best
as God sees it for everybody, but best for us as far as being
in him and those, those blessings that, that received because of
that. Turn to first Peter. First Peter chapter one. at the beginning of the book
here at 1 Peter 1. It says, Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. Verse four, to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved
for you in heaven, who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. And here it
speaks about elect according to the foreknowledge
of God through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace be unto you
and peace be multiplied. Here again, elect by God's doing and God's
doing only. And it says, according to the
foreknowledge of God, that he determined that he would
have this people, that our Lord would be given life again. through his mercy by the resurrection
of our Lord from the dead. Sometimes I think people read
through these or we get kind of comfortable with the wording
of it. And it's just, yeah, we believe
that. And sometimes the impact, we
don't ponder those things sometimes and consider what it's really
saying and how it how that affects us, but in these verses that
if God had, on the other hand, if God had not placed our names
in that book of life, the end is told there too. Romans chapter 11, please. Romans
chapter 11. Again, Romans chapter 11, the
first several verses, it says, I say then, hath God
cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an
Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God
hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wilt ye not
what the scripture saith to Elias, how he maketh intercession to
God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets,
and dig down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek
my life? But what saith the answer of
God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal, even so
then at this present time also, there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no
more works. Otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then it is no more grace. Otherwise work
is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, But the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded." verse five, in verse four, he
told him he had 7,000 that he wasn't aware of that had not
bowed the knee to the image of Baal. And then at this present
time, it says there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And those are the ones that are written in the book
of life. Then they're not going to be
taken away from or added to as God has determined. And as it
said, he changes not. He didn't change his mind. If
he had changed his mind, as he said in Malachi, there might
be a little bit of an issue we have to deal with if God has
changed his mind towards his people. And then in 2 Timothy,
we got just a couple of minutes. In 2 Timothy chapter 1, and this is all obviously good
stuff, but what we have a record for that we, by his grace and
mercy, believe, he causes us to believe, but it says here
in 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 8 and 9. It
says, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,
nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God, who hath saved
us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. That is something
to hang your hat on. God's people, as it says, saved
us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Several things
it says there, that not according to how we are, is his grace and
mercy to us. It's in Christ Jesus. And not
only that, it says, given us in Christ Jesus before the worlds
began. It wasn't an end time thing that
God determined who his people were going to be. This was done,
it says, before the world began. And, That's who it's speaking of in
the Lamb's book of life or the book of life are those that God
has chosen. And then one more, one more spot
I've got to go in the book of John, John chapter 17. And, um, if we ever have, or
when we have, or when we're looking into things that, that we have
because of Christ and his view of his people. The book of John
is, as other scriptures, full of things, but here the Lord's
words himself, the first few verses of chapter 17 of John,
and it says, these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes
to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son
that thy son also may glorify thee. as thou hast given him
power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou hast given, thou gavest
me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given
me are of thee. For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and
have known surely that it came out from thee, and they have
believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them. I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. And all mine are thine and thine
are mine. And I am glorified in them. And
it doesn't stop there in his words, but here, all those that
are his, the father gave him. And it says in him that he will
have them and has given them and kept them and will keep them.
And it goes on in that vein. But here the thoughts from the
beginning there of chapter four Philippians that God has a people
that he has put down and has a record of. There's a record
of that. There's an accounting of that,
of God's people that were given to the son and that he's redeemed. And that is a comfort to to God's people that it's finished
and taken care of and we will end up in his image and we will
be there to glorify God. And as other Mike would say now,
be free. Thank you. Thank you.