Thank you, brother. Having that in our ears and our
hearts this morning will help us continue to pick up where
we are. When I think of the premise of
Paul's writing, the purpose and the occasion of Paul's writing,
I want to remind us that it is so applicable for us as a body
being that we as human beings who are redeemed by Christ find
ourselves in the midst of suffering at every turn. Even if our suffering
is not directly related to persecution because of the gospel, our suffering
is real and active and living. And according to what we understand,
Paul has been teaching us is that the suffering that we endure,
the suffering that we receive in this life as Christians is
a gift from God for the purpose of growing us. For identifying
with Christ as we share in his suffering. It is an opportunity
for God's grace to to work mightily in our lives and through our
suffering that we may also, as we see in Second Corinthians,
that we may also give grace to others because we relate to them
in this suffering. As you heard the voice of Paul
ring through this letter this morning, you realize that there
is a reminder for us, the Church of Jesus Christ, to focus on
the fact that Christ himself suffered. that Christ himself
was in a position where all glory and honor is due. And yet he
emptied himself, becoming obedient to the to death on the cross.
And in doing so, when we suffer in the same way, we are In some
sense, like Christ, we are partnering with Christ. We are partnering
with the gospel. We are partnering in grace because
as much grace as we have received, Jesus Christ has received that
as well, not because he needed the pardon of sin, but he needed
the power of God's grace to help him as he became sin. As he suffered,
as he atoned for sinners and made them right with God. So
as we look at this text today, verse 17 and 18, we see that
Paul begins by saying these words. Even if I am to be poured out
as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your
faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also
should be glad and rejoice with me. Now, Paul has given some
instruction here to these Christian Philippians that they would have
the mind of Christ, that they would see and embrace and celebrate
the encouragement that comes through the gospel. And they
would do it in such a way that their joy would be complete,
that their joy would be full. And then Paul witnessing when
the Paul saw what was happening, that his joy would be complete,
his joy would be full, his joy would be alive in him, that he
was not suffering and working and laboring in vain, but rather
all that God had given him as a gift of suffering for the sake
of the faith of the Philippians was coming to fruition. It was
fruitful and it was visible. And so in that, I want you to
focus on that for a moment. I want you to see that all of
this is just a not a collection of individual thoughts, but an
argument unto main points. And it's difficult sometimes
in exposition that we get so bogged down in today's point
that we lose sight that it is a continuation of yesterday's.
And that's OK. It's supposed to be like that.
But someone who communicates should take note to remind us,
especially himself, that this is a continuation. This isn't
a new point. This is a continuation of what
God has been teaching through this word. So as we think about. What Paul is now saying, he said,
hold fast to the word of life so that the day of Christ that
I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
And then he says, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering. Now, keep in mind that he's speaking
to a Greek people. He's not talking to a Hebrew
people. He's not speaking to an audience that is that is Jewish,
so they would not come and relate that focus there with a Jewish
ritual, although there we do. We do see in Deuteronomy. We do see in the Old Testament
where there is sometimes a strong drink being poured out to the
Lord. But how would they know that is Paul trying to relate
to them that he is Jewish and remind not at all for Paul himself
made very clear. And most of the time what we
saw Paul say is that he would become all things to all people.
So Paul, especially as he wrote to the Galatians, would not want
his Judaism to be involved at all in his Christianity, period,
none of it. So what in the world would Paul mean if I'm to be
poured out as a drink offering? Well, some people have often
said, well, that means that Paul's blood is going to be poured out.
No, that's not what he's talking about at all. There's no historical
reference of a drink offering being poured out in blood, but
rather a drink offering as a drink, a strong drink, something that
was not free, something that was costly, something that was
for for for being consumed, but then was poured out. It was very
prevalent during the day of pagan rituals. It was very prevalent
during pagan worship services that they would also, just as
the Jews did pour drink out, they would pour drink out in
their own. way in their own sacrifices to their own false gods. And
so what's happening here? Paul is striking a nerve. He's
striking a point. He's striking a chord so that
they would see that this is not just some suffering that Paul's
doing, but it's a final suffering that Paul's suffering is actually
a giving of himself. So let's think about this. He
says, even if I am to be. This is not the words of a man
who knows he's going to die, as we've already seen previously
in this writing. Paul is certain that he's not
going to die, but he's willing to die. But he has been shown
by the Lord that he's probably most certainly not going to die.
Therefore, he is excited about seeing the Philippians again,
that he may share in their joy and that he may see them, that
they may grow in their faith. So what does he mean there, even
if? What he means is that, you know, I know that I will probably
live. I know that I am willing to die. But even if I do not
make it through this, even if I am poured out as a drink offering,
and we'll talk about what that looks like in a minute, what
Paul is saying is that I resolve to the reality that I may die. I'm okay with dying for your
faith. I'm okay with my life being extinguished
so that your faith may be real. I'm okay if God takes me out,
as Brother Jesse prayed, resonating the words of John the Baptist,
that he may decrease, that the Lord might increase. He's fine
with that. I think there's something for
all of us as Christians, especially in our culture and in our day.
We need to ask ourselves, would we resolve even as we pray, Lord,
even if I die, I am willing to endure the suffering that you've
given me. Why? We're not we're not suffering,
some of us might say, for the sake of the faith of others.
How do you know that? How do you know that? How do you know
that your joyful resolve to die might not be that which God would
use to bring conviction and salvation upon hearing the gospel through
your life and through your words to bring someone else to life?
Everybody followed Jesus Christ when Jesus was doing cool things
and ministering and teaching and not everybody, but the majority
followed him. The majority followed him from
town to town to see the to see the great miracles, to hear the
good seasoned talking, especially the Gentile people who would
follow him because they they they didn't know what else to
think. The Jews had sort of ostracized them from the gospel. But when
Jesus finally said, listen, if your satisfaction is in what
I do and in the things that I say and how they relate to you selfishly,
then there is no hope in that. But if you come to me for me. You find all hope, all glory,
all honor, all life, and they walked away. John six, they walked
away, they left. They did not want to hear that
it was going to cost them. They did not want to hear that
Jesus was the pivot of eternal life. They wanted to know that
what Jesus was pointing to could be picked up and walked with
with anyone. Are we willing to resolve? To
be poured out for the Lord. Isn't it funny that we might
say that today, but then tomorrow when the suffering comes, we
pray, oh, God, please. What have I done? Maybe it's
what God is doing. For his own glory. Well, Paul
is referring here to a pagan pouring of a drink in a sacrificial
way. We sacrifice this drink. We pour
out this this drink. He was saying, I am being poured
out. Now, consider the imagery there.
Paul's not being poured out. He's not in a cup. He's not a
soda. He's not a wine. He's he's a person. He's been
incarcerated. He is suffering greatly. And
according to this text that we see in the New Testament, Paul,
of all the apostles, suffered the most. Matter of fact, it
was God's preordained purpose for Paul when he sent the prophet
there to tell him that he would suffer greatly for the name of
Christ. So Paul is being poured out.
Think of it when you consider what the the pagan altar must
have looked like. Even the Jewish altar. What did
they do? They killed an animal and then they burned. They set
a fire and then on that fire they burned the carcass or the
remains of that animal as a sacrifice and the drink offering then would
be poured over that sacrifice. Have you ever poured water into
a scalding pot? What happens to that water? It
just immediately evaporates. It turns to steam. That liquid
that Paul is imagining as his life is quickly being poured
out. He says to Timothy that I am
being poured out as a drink offering. I've finished my race. I'm coming
to the end of my day. So being poured out in Paul's
mind was a quick demise, a quick And a quick not just in the possibility
of death, but in the possibility of being remembered no more.
My life is worthless, Paul say. It's just a poof in the pan.
It's a flash in the pan. It's just like a spark of lightning,
like a piece of static electricity. It's there. All that I've done
is just gone quickly. It's over. It's worthless. Except that it was spent for
a purpose. So being poured out in Paul's
mind was a quick thing. He wasn't looking to become,
to live until he was a hundred. Whatever it may be, Lord, I resolve
that I'd be poured out for your purpose and for your glory, for
your people's sake, not even for the fame of my own name.
Because Paul, as he ended his day, died as a criminal. Also being poured out in Paul's
mind was a costly thought. It was costly, just like the
drink offering. Some of us may not understand
that, but there are some things in antiquity that cost a lot
of money. My wife has recently gotten involved
in essential oils in a large way. And there's an oil that
we use almost in everything, like a drop. And that oil is
frankincense. And so we get the little bottle
of frankincense. It's about that big, 0.5 milliliters.
And we take a couple of drops, literally drops, and put it in
other tinctures and other things to use it. It's just so potent.
You can put it in a bottle like that and you can clean your kitchen
with it. It's a disinfectant. It does
a whole lot of things and I don't know anything about them. I'm
just going with what I've been told. But ultimately, that's
an expensive little bottle of oil. We didn't know how expensive
it was, but just a few weeks ago, Robin was taking from this
bottle and putting drops in this bottle like a little chemist.
And then she turned around and tipped over the frankincense.
To where it went over the counter, I thought, wow, that that's smelly. And Robin says, that's expensive.
That's $100 spilled out on the countertop right there. So I
get a napkin and begin to drip it back into the. I mean, I tried that, but I don't
want it in my mouth. And I'm like, OK, so the point
I'm making is like that nard that Mary poured over the heads
and feet of Jesus. She poured the whole jar. It
was an annual salary. It took months and months of
travel just to go get it. You had to take a year off to
go and find that nard and bring it back. So it was worth a year's
wage. And she poured all of it out
in the same way Paul and his mind, his life being poured out
as an offering was costly. But not in that way it was costly
in that it cost Paul everything. He was willing and resolving,
if even I am to be poured out, Paul in his mind is saying, I
am willing to pay the cost of my very life. And we know how
deep that goes with Paul. We know how Paul talks to the
Roman Christians. And he says these words, he says,
if I am able, if I was able, I would give up my eternal life
that my brothers, my Jewish brothers would be saved. Friends, that's a mighty work
of God. Paul was not paying lip service
here. We've already seen that is to
die would be gain, not just to be with Christ, but to see the
work of Christ continue through his death. And why would he think that?
Because Paul has no concern for himself, even if I am to be poured. Is that the is that the language
of someone who considers himself? No. What does someone who consider
themselves say? Well, you know, I'm important.
Or at least I'm necessary. I need to I need to I need to
live, Lord, so that I can do some more work for you, God,
you know. All right, you Philippians, you better gather up the money
for my bond. You better come here by night and dig me out
of this jail because there's a lot of work that we need to
do and and I need to be a part of it. The Lord's ordained me
to do it. Paul's like, just kill me. That's fine. I'm willing. To put myself aside, does it
sound familiar? Christ, though he was equal with
God, did not take equality with God, something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, a servant, a slave, obedient unto death,
even death on a cross. Paul, in the same way, because
he was saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and filled
with the Spirit of God, had the mind of Christ to be able to
say with complete joy, I am willing to die for the sake of your faith. And I do not have any concern
for my own life, only your eternal life. And why is he willing to do this,
for what reason, look at this next word, even if I am to be
poured out as a drink offering upon, upon, so the drink offer
will be poured upon the sacrifice. What is the sacrifice? The sacrifice
is the sacrificial offering of your faith. Whose faith? The Philippians faith, the Christians
and Philippi, their faith is the purpose for which Paul is
so willing and enabled and ready to die that if he is to suffer,
at least it is for the sake of the faith of these Christians. It's not the first time he said
that even in this letter. He says it that that we are what
we are striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
Upon the sacrificial offering of your faith. I don't quite get it sometimes. Why would Paul have to die for
the sake of the Philippians faith or even more faith in Philippi
or how about faith for us? Well, the wisdom of God is at
play here. But the likeness of Christ, the
identity that Paul had with Jesus is something that is it is absolutely
essential. It's not only essential, it's
absolutely guaranteed. And Paul says that he is like
Christ in his suffering and that when the Philippians partner
with him, Paul in their in his suffering, as they also are suffering,
that they together then are suffering with Christ. So Paul knows that as Jesus Christ
died for the faith of the church, so then he in Christ also suffering
with Christ in the same way will die for the fate of the church.
That's why he tells the Colossians, I pray that I may fill up what
is lacking in the suffering of Christ for your sake, that is,
for the church. Now, when you hear people say
that, when you hear those words, you might think to yourself,
what is wrong with Paul? What possibly could be lacking
in the suffering of Jesus Christ? Well, in its efficiency, nothing. But in its visibility, everything.
Where is the suffering of Christ today? It's not there because
Christ has been raised from the dead. His suffering is no more. It has been finished. that He
has been raised to glory, been set up to be Lord of all, where
every tongue and every knee would bow and confess Him as Lord.
He's at the highest place of honor. So Jesus is no longer
hanging on the cross. He is not a martyr decomposing
in the ground, but he is a risen Savior alive who has promised
that as we suffer as he did and we suffer in him, that the same
power that took him to the suffering and brought him through the suffering
and gave him life beyond the suffering would do the same for
us. It's much what Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians chapter four.
where he says that this light momentary affliction prepares
us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look
to the things that are unseen rather than the things that are
seen. For the things that are seen
are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Do you see it? Do you see the eternal? Friends,
you will see the eternal in no better place than when you suffer
with Christ in this life. When you suffer as Christ suffered
and that even if it may be just general issues of your health. You have to know that God has
a purpose in it for the sake of his church. So that our strength,
our faith may be strengthened so that our ministry may be bold
so that our hope is not in what we see, but in what we do not
see. Though you love him, you haven't
seen him and you do not see him now, you love him and are filled
with a joy that is inexpressible. That's what Peter tells his suffering
brothers and sisters in the faith, those who were once followers
of Judaism who. Rejected that and received the
Christ of Israel. He tells them that they will
suffer, even if a little while, that it will produce a standing
stronghold, that their faith would not fail, that their hope
would not be in vain because God is working through their
suffering so that they may endure to the day of the Lord. As Paul
says, I await that I would not be have run, would not have run
in vain or for nothing, but I would be proud to stand and proclaim
the greatness of the work of God through Jesus Christ in you.
And that is why I suffer so that this might take place. It's the
only way. Friends, just as a side note,
that's why feel good, worldly, non-expositional, topical, humanistic
preaching is so wicked. Because it takes away the power
of God. It removes there is no power
in worldly preaching, there is no power in pragmatic principles
that are not in the text. If they're there, they're there,
but they're there by the power of God and they're empowered
in us by the power of God. And that is only given to us
by the word of God. Friends, you could not. You could
not learn this text if I told you that you just got to be willing
to lay down your life and be fine with it. Now, cheer up and
move on. Doesn't work. This is the work of Christ. And what's the what's the fruit
of it all? The faith of the Philippians. Came at the cost of Paul. Look
at that. The cost of Paul's suffering
brought faith to the Philippians. Well, I thought Christ brought
it did, but as Christ suffered, then as Paul suffers and then
as we suffer, but are we proclaiming the gospel? Are we working toward
the faith of the people of God and of the lost as we suffer? That's why self-pity is such
a sin. because it fails to believe the
purpose of God in suffering is for the sake of the good news
of Christ. Who suffered greater than we
ever will, because Christ not just suffered in the flesh, but
he suffered the penalty of death by God, the father, so we would
not have to suffer that. The faith of the Philippians was the offering. For which God purpose Paul to
suffer. I will put you and cause you
to suffer, that's the first thing that Paul heard from the Lord.
After. He met him on the road to Damascus,
who, by the way, transformed his heart and mind and gave him
spiritual eyes while blinding his physical eyes, because Paul,
his entire days had looked through physical eyes and an academic
mind. And Jesus Christ, by his sovereign
pleasure, stopped Paul. And powerfully infused life into
Paul's dead body. Paul had nothing to do with it. Paul's testimony to Agrippa and
to Caesar was that God, Jesus, the risen Lord, met him on the
road to Damascus while with zeal he was the worst sinner that
ever walked the face of the earth because he persecuted the very
God who created him, who was Jesus. Don't let people tell
you that Paul was pardoned because he was able to sort of say, well,
I was trying to do it for God. The God of Paul's Judaism, his
name is Lucifer. He is Satan. The God of Paul's Judaism is
the devil, the enemy of God. There is no God of Judaism who
is not Jesus Christ. That is a lie. Now let that run
out in your eschatology for a minute, your end times thinking. For
people who would preach a prejudiced, bigoted, racist gospel for the
sake of Jerusalem or Israel or Israeli blooded people. Be careful
not to fall prey to another gospel. Paul was saved by the grace of
God and the first thing he heard. After going to Damascus, before
his sight was returned to him, was I've come to tell you that
the Lord has met me in a vision and told me that you were coming
to us and had you not been blind, I wouldn't have believed it was
the Lord. That's the sign God gave him.
I'm going to send Saul of Tarsus to you. He's not going to kill
you or have you arrested. He's going to join you in the
gospel mission. To which, when he came a knocking, I wouldn't
have opened the door either if God hadn't shown me something.
He had to burn Jerusalem down. I mean, think about it. And he says, I want you to tell
Saul this, that he has been chosen to suffer greater than any human
would for the sake of my name. Much. And that's Paul. He doesn't know the future, but
what Paul is revealed by the Lord, he says these things. I
don't know what to expect. I don't know what's going to
happen when we go here, but I do know that the Lord has promised
me this. We, I will be imprisoned. I will be hated. I will be whipped. I will be young Timothy. Anyone
who desires to live a godly life will be persecuted, he tells
him. So what's the antithesis of that, if we are not persecuted,
if we are not being disciplined by the Lord, we do not belong
to him. There's no other way around it. So. God's working and Paul here,
the giving of Paul's life. Created the fruit of God's work,
which is a salvation of the people of Philippi. Evidenced by their
heart, their concern, their partnership in the gospel, their partnership
in grace, their partnership with Paul, their prayers, their attitudes,
Their lack of complaining in the midst of pain. Their celebration
of Jesus Christ, their continued proclamation. Their patience
with people who were not believers, but were preaching a good gospel
just so they could outdo Paul. Yes, lost people can preach good
gospel. God can use anyone. To proclaim
his word. So Paul worked. And suffered
for the glory of God, which is the faith or seen in the faithfulness
of God to bring faith to the lost. And Paul. Was glad to see that very next
sentence, I am glad I am glad as if we stop there. We see something
with Paul. Let's look at what Paul saying
and then let's see what he says in the next phrase and then the
following sentence. Paul says, I am glad we know
Paul's glad Paul's glad if he lives, Paul's glad even more
if he dies. Paul's glad. Don't forget why.
Paul's gladness comes from knowing that God has called him to be
poured out for the sake of the faith of the elect. God is working
his providential decrees, his divine purpose in Paul's suffering
to bring the sheep of God to salvation. Paul is glad he's
glad. And for us, we could say, you
know what, I see how Paul is glad, but that's not how I'm
suffering. You're right, we're not suffering
like Paul. Praise God, on one hand, and
well, I wish we were on the other. Why? Because if we were, then
we'd see revival. As it is now, we sort of can
sit status quo and be Christians. And I don't know that the Church
of America even does a good job at that. And the only answer, as I pondered
in my own life, is, wow, we better be serious about praying for
God as we read his face in his word to do a work in us and our
neighbors, through us and our neighbors, through us and our
brethren and sisters. Paul's glad. And Paul, his joy,
his desire was to see their faith grow in joy. And so we can say
that Paul is glad because Paul sees their fate. We could say,
wow, Paul sees that he was not suffering for anything, but there
goes more when he says and rejoice with you all. I rejoice as you
rejoice. And we could see a contrast there
if we're not careful, if Paul had not stated what he's already
stated and if Paul had not told us what he's about to say, likewise,
we would think, well, they're rejoicing because they're saved
and Paul's rejoicing because they're saved. which is partly
true. But what we want to see fully
is the purpose and the meaning behind Paul's writing when he
says this, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Paul's joy then
comes from his his his suffering because it brings life and life
is in Christ. So Paul's joy is in Christ. and
the joy of the Philippians as they suffer is in Christ. So
ultimately, Paul is saying, I'm glad and you're glad because
we are suffering in Christ together. And that's strange. It's strange for us because we
don't really have a worldview that relates to that at all.
We don't have a worldview of what it's like for our sisters
and brothers in other countries where Christianity is illegal,
where this very day, this very Lord's Day, many of them are
always wondering when the axe will fall. But always remembering
that it will only fall at the moment that God is ordained.
And that God has a purpose in their suffering, so therefore
they do not fear their enemies. Paul's already said that. You
know what the enemy of the American church is? Itself. The enemy of the American church
is entitlement, and power, and pride, and prestige, big buildings,
and big ministries, and popular names, and fame, and being well
known. That's the enemy of the church
of America. And I say that very lightly in that the church of
America Friends, we must resolve to be a people poured out by
God at the cost of our very earthly joy so that our joy would be
true. Because you see what ultimately
takes place here in God's gracious work of suffering. We think that
if we could just get rid of the sickness, if we could just get
free from prison, if we could just get our ministry off the
ground, if we could just see people assimilate, if we could
just have some peace in our homes, then we would see some joy. We
could be fruitful. No, we wouldn't. We'd be fat
and lazy. What keeps us fit spiritually
is always looking to Christ and dying to the world and putting
our our fleshly bodies to death because Christ has crucified
it. So that our joy. Is actually pure and eternal
instead of temporal and worldly when we suffer, you know what
doesn't matter, the landscaping. Nothing wrong with landscaping.
But it's not what's going to give us joy. When we're suffering
to the point where we don't, it's not our painting that gives
us joy, it's not our productivity that gives us joy, it's not our
spouse, it's not our children, it's not our grandchildren, it's
not our money, it's not our homes, it's not our place in society,
it's not even the freedom of our government. It's Christ. So all these things are stripped
away through suffering that were made like Christ, who learned
obedience through what? Suffering, so that in the same
way we are like Christ when we suffer for the sake of Christ,
that we become more like Him, that we find that the joy that
is left at the end of the day of a season of suffering never
stops, never ceases. And we're not dependent upon
even each other in a in a in a divine way. We're dependent
upon God through each other. Maybe the other way around, dependent
upon each other through the Lord's work, so ultimately dependent
upon God. So Paul rejoices. And he says
to them, likewise, You also should be glad and rejoice with me. See, that's how we know that
Paul's not just talking about what they're going through in
the sense of that they have life. Part of it, but they're also
suffering greatly. As Paul is suffering. They're
being persecuted back in Philippi, don't you remember Paul was arrested
in Philippi, he was beaten and imprisoned. Silas was his partner
there. and they were imprisoned and
they sang songs of praise. They didn't pray in precatory
prayers. They didn't pray for deliverance so that they could
be free as citizens. They prayed for the word of God
not to be bound and God put them in jail and caused them to suffer,
caused them to be despised by the culture and they got inside
those prison walls as they bled and suffered and they praised
God through song and God shook off the chains and opened the
doors of the prison and they stayed there. Because that's where God had
placed them to do the ministry. There. And the guard runs in
fearful for his life. Jesse actually preached this
text right before we started Philippians. And what happens? I thought y'all all escaped.
We didn't escape. Why was he suffering in prison? That the
jailer and his family and much of the imperial guard would know
the gospel. Because there's something to
preaching and saying that God is sovereign and we find joy
in our suffering and the chains come off, we can't be found. And everything's good, that's
the kind of grace that was given to Pharaoh and as hard his heart
became cold. Likewise, you also should be
glad and rejoice with me. Not just in life. But in suffering and not just
in suffering, but most importantly, and here's the key suffering
as we partner together as Christ suffered, so we partner with
Christ. And that's the ultimate hope
in our joy, that's the ultimate key for our understanding of
what Paul is arguing here, and then he's going to give Next
week, two more examples. He's going to talk about Timothy.
He's going to talk about a path for guidance. But first, he talks
about himself. And he sets the tone. Paul, likewise. Just as Christ became nothing
and suffered for the sake of the faith of the church. Likewise,
Paul partners in the suffering of Christ. Likewise, the Philippians
partner in the suffering of Paul and in so doing partner in the
suffering of Christ for the same reason. For the strengthening
of the faith, for the beginning of the faith of those who do
not have it. Now, friends, if I start, if
I turned around a microphone for us to give just a quick testimony
of how God has done that right in the last 10 days in our lives,
we'd be here for a week. I pray. And if we wouldn't have
a testimony of that, that then maybe we should consider how
we've missed seeing it. Are we sharing in the suffering
of Christ to the ultimate joy and satisfaction of Christ? No matter what the suffering.
And some of us would even say that the greatest suffering we
have is inside our own minds. Inside our own hearts, we can
be in prison, a prisoner of our own hearts. And I will say to
you that while we are bound in our hearts, in our hands and
our health. That the gospel of Jesus is not
bound. And that the joy of Christ is
not bound. And that is why we suffer. That
is why Paul says, do it all without grumbling or complaining. Because
you have the mind of Christ, beloved, because you are one
in Christ, because your life is visible as a reflection of
the worthiness of the gospel of Jesus and you have partnered
with grace, your partners in suffering, your partner at the
cross, because Christ has given you life. So we pray for you,
we pray for each other and we praise God with joy because God
has given grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ, our
Lord. Is that true for you today? Is the gospel of Jesus truly
the satisfaction of your soul? Let's pray and then let's praise
God through song. Lord, we're so glad and we rejoice
knowing that you have purposed our suffering for a greater good. It's not worthless. It's not
for nothing. It's preparing us to see Christ,
preparing us in our own lives, even in this temporal world,
to look toward the gospel, to look toward your face. So, Father,
as we are very aware that there is great suffering in our lives. There's great suffering among
our small flock. As we minister together, let
us please, please see your hand of joy that we might rejoice
together. knowing that it is for our good,
that it is for your greater glory and it is for the sake of the
faith of the church that we suffer. We pray these things in Jesus
name. Amen. Let's let's.