the night in Philippians 4. Sometimes it is helpful when
you read a portion of Scripture to know a little bit about the
background. The book of Philippians was written
to the saints at Philippi whom Paul had not seen in a long,
long, long time. They were dear friends, brothers
and sisters in Christ. The Church was established, you'll
recall, while Paul preached at Philippi. Principally at the
beginning of the Church was Lydia, a seller of purple, and the Philippian
jailer, who was converted by a tremendous work of God's providence
as well as his word when Paul and Silas proclaimed the gospel
to him while they were prisoners under his care, and God had set
them free. Paul was now in prison at Rome, falsely accused of men who were
supposed to be religious leaders in the day. They were religious
leaders in the day. He was in all likelihood going
to be executed very soon for only one thing, because he preached
the gospel of God's free grace, and for that he was despised.
And in this condition, Paul wrote the book of Philippians, which
is primarily an epistle about the joy of faith. He says in
verse 4 of chapter 4, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again
I say rejoice. In the midst of terribly difficult
circumstances, Even in the prospect of death because of his faithfulness
in preaching the gospel, he repeatedly speaks of his unbridled joy in
Christ Jesus the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always. The words joy or rejoice appear
sixteen times in these four chapters. References to the Lord Jesus
Christ are found sixty-one times. One writer said it is obvious
that Christ, not circumstances, was the source of Paul's joy.
Oh, now God teach us that, we'll be all right. Christ, not our
circumstances, is the source of joy. The joy of faith does
not depend upon the happenings of time. The joy of faith is
that joy that comes from the blessed knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the midst of great heaviness,
Paul here teaches us to rejoice in Christ. What's he talking
about, rejoice? He's not talking about the pretense
you have. You know, you see these fellows
on television who grin and smile like a possum eating briars,
and you know it's as fake as a three-dollar bill. That's not
what he's talking about. He's not talking about hee-hee-ha-ha
joy. He's talking about that joy that
will sustain your soul when nothing else will. He's talking about
confidence, reliance that gives you contentment and satisfaction. In the midst of great tribulation,
he teaches us to be content in our Savior. The Philippians,
I'm quite sure, would remember how that Paul and Silas with
bleeding backs rejoiced and sang praises to God in the midst of
great trouble when they were in jail at Philippi. Now let's
look at some matters of joy that Paul gives us in these chapters,
and then I'll come back and pick up some other highlights. Look
in chapter 1, beginning at verse 3. Paul rejoiced in the sweet
fellowship of God's He counted the church of God to be his family,
and he rejoiced in fond memories, in sweet experiences, in loving
fellowship with his brothers and sisters in Christ. Verse
3, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. I can say
that with regard to every man, woman, and child in this building.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. And like Paul at Rome,
I have some friends I haven't seen in a long, long time, dear
friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. God brings them to
mind, oh, how I thank God upon every remembrance of them. But
you don't. Always in every prayer of mine
for you all, making request with joy, making request with this
confidence, satisfying, content trust for your fellowship in
the gospel. Now that's where fellowship is.
People talk about getting together and having fellowship. Fellowship
is not socialization. Fellowship is not going out to
the local restaurant and sitting down and talking with good friends.
There's no fellowship where we are not fellows. Fellowship is in the gospel.
Fellowship is in Christ. Fellowship is the common ground
of believers in Christ, the union of their hearts in Christ. We
may enjoy a good time with people, but fellowship is in the gospel. And our fellowship at the restaurant
or our fellowship as we drive down the road is in the gospel
of God's grace. I thank God for your fellowship
in the gospel. from the first day until now,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Over in chapter 4, verse 1, he
says, Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for. Isn't that a good word? My brethren,
dearly beloved and longed for. My joy and crown, so stand fast
in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Now either he is sincere, Larry,
and expressing what's in him, or he's putting on flattering
words. He's not putting out flattering words. No, he speaks here of
dearly beloved, dearly beloved brethren, twice in just a few
words. How come? Because God's saints
were dearly beloved to him. His brethren, his joy, his crown,
he longed for them. longed to see them, longed to
be with them. He knew with much likelihood
that he would be ever again, but he longed to be. Now did
you notice back in chapter 1, verse 6, the confident assurance
that Paul speaks of? He says to these saints at Philippi,
but remember this is not just a letter to the Philippians,
he's writing to the saints in Danvilton. He says to every believing
sinner, every man, woman, child in the world who trusts Christ
as Savior and Lord, I am confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. Oh, what sweet confidence. What sweet confidence. This I
know. If you're God's, God's going
to take care of you. God's going to take care of you. I wish I could act like I knew
that all the time, but I know it's so. Salvation is God's work. In the experience of it, at the
very beginning, it's God's work. He called you out of darkness
into light. He revealed his Son in you. He
gave you life and faith in Christ, and he will perform it until
the day of the revelation of Jesus Christ in his majestic
saving glory at the second coming. That means that God's people
are all safe in his hands. That means that you will persevere
in the faith, no matter how often you may fall. No matter what
may come down the road, no matter what you may face, no matter
what temptations or trials come your way, you will persevere
in the faith if you're God's, because this is God's work. And
those to whom he gives eternal life shall never, under any circumstances,
by any means, by any possibility, they shall never perish. Paul
was confident that these Philippian believers, that all believers
would persevere because he believed God. Now look in verse 7, he
says, it's right for me to talk this way. People say, well, you
can't tell people things like that. You can tell people the
truth. He says, it's right for me to
talk this way, even as it is neat for me to think this of
you. Because I have you in my heart, inasmuch both as in my
bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you
are all partakers of my grace." Now I looked at that this past
week and mulled that over, about all I can mull it over, and this
is what it appears to me to mean. Paul says, you are partakers
of the same grace of which I'm a partaker. You are partakers
of the grace of the gospel of God's free grace that I proclaim
to you. And being as how God has saved
me by grace and saved you by grace, that of which I am confident
concerning myself, I'm confident concerning you. Now look at the
tender words he uses to describe his feelings for these saints.
He said, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. In
verse 7 he says, I have you in my heart. In verse 8 he says,
I long after you. God is my record, he says, how
greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. You're always on my heart. And
then in verse 12 he says, I pray for you. He's just concluding
these things he's been praying for, asking that God would do
so much for them. And in the end he says, this is what I want,
that you may be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Not
the fruits of your righteousness, the fruits of the righteousness
that Christ Jesus has given you by his obedience unto death.
How do you know that? Which are by Jesus Christ. The
righteousness is his and the fruit is his. In me or from me
is your fruit found, he says. Which are by Jesus Christ unto
the glory and praise of God. Now here's the second thing Paul
rejoiced in, not only the sweet fellowship of God's people, but
he rejoiced that in God's wise, adorable, and good providence,
he was allowed to suffer the things he suffered. Because he understood that that
which he suffered was one means by which God was pleased to advance
the gospel of his glory in this world. Let's see if that's not what
he says. Look at verse 12. I would, you should understand,
brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen
out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. I'm not griping
because I'm here. I'm where God wants me to be.
In that prison, fixing to be executed, maligned and slandered,
I'm right where God has put me. And all this has happened to
me for the furtherance of the gospel. Read on. Verse 13. So that my bonds in Christ, not
my bonds by Caesar, my bonds in Christ. I'm not Caesar's prisoner,
I'm Christ's prisoner. I'm not in Caesar's prison, I'm
in Christ's prison. My bonds in Christ are manifest
in all the palace and in all other places. And many of the
brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much
more bold to speak the word without fear. Fellas who come see me,
and they go back and give report concerning me, and the brethren
scattered around, and they say, Well, now listen, if Paul can
handle this, we can handle it. If Paul can be strong where he
is, surely we can be. If he can be faithful where he
is, surely we can be faithful where we are. They weren't strong
by my bonds. Now look at verse 15. Some indeed
preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill.
The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add
affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I
am set for the defense of the gospel. Now I understand what
it means in verse 17. If you corner me and want to
know what it means in verse 15 and 16, I'll tell you I don't know.
I just don't know what it means. I have absolutely no idea what
it means. I've read everything I can find
to read on it and heard just about every opinion I can hear, and
I still don't know what it means. But I know what it means in verse
17. They preach Christ of love, knowing
that I'm set for the defense of the gospel. What then? Notwithstanding Every way, whether
in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And I therein do
rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. If this is what it takes for
Christ to be preached, bring on the bonds. If this is what
it takes for Christ to be preached, let me be slandered. If this
is what it takes for Christ to be preached, let me suffer adversity. Verse 19, that this shall turn out to my
salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my
hope, and in nothing shall I be ashamed. But that with all boldness,
as always, so now, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether
by life or by death." I'll tell you a third thing Paul rejoiced
in. He rejoiced and was completely happy to suffer or die to live
or not live, exactly as the Lord willed, because he knew that
Christ was magnified in what he did. Look at verse 17 of chapter
2. He says, Yea, and if I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice
with you all. Well, Brother Don, that would
be good enough if I knew that I was a preacher and I suffered
for those reasons. Let's go back and see if that's
all it means. Look at chapter 1, verse 19. I know that this shall turn out
to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the
Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation, that
is, according to my confident desire and expectation and my
hope, that in nothing shall I be ashamed. He that believeth on
me shall not make haste, shall not be ashamed. But that with
all boldness is always, so now also Christ shall be magnified
in my body, whether by life or by death." Well, Paul, what are
you talking about? Verse 21. For to me to live is
Christ. He didn't say for me to live
is Christ. He said for to me to live is
Christ. I am the life, our Savior said. And Paul said he's the life.
For me to live is Christ. Or to me to live is Christ. And
to die is gay. Here I must endure continual
need. which can only be supplied when
I leave here. To me, to live is Christ. Oh,
but to die, now that's really to live. To die is gay. Now please, please, please, don't
make light of what this says. Some folks say, well, I'm not
ready to check out right now. Paul said to live is Christ.
to die is gain, period. And however he does it's all
right, verse 22. But if I live in the flesh, this
is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I want not. I don't know what's best. He
said, I want to come see you, I want to visit with you again,
that's what I'd like. I've made up my mind, if I get out of this
place I'm coming back to Oh, I long for you at the bowels
of Jesus Christ. I want to see you one more time.
And I can just almost picture him wiping away the tears as
he writes. I'd love to see you one more
time. But I don't know what's best. I don't know what's best.
I don't know what's best for me, to pray that I live or not.
For I'm in a strait between the two, having a desire to depart
and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to
abide in the flesh is more needful, watch this, for you. For you. For you. I'd like to
get this thing over with now. But it's needful for me to stay
here with you for right now. You still need me. And if you
didn't, I wouldn't be here. We don't. And having this confidence,
I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your
furtherance and the joy of your faith. I will continue with you
as long as you need me. That your rejoicing may be more
abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Here's the fourth thing Paul
rejoiced in. Look at chapter 2. Oh, this servant of God found
his joy full. when he knew that God's saints
walked together and worshiped together as one in Christ. Have you noticed in reading through
Paul's epistles, this is the one thing he mentions in every
epistle? This is one thing he deals with
in every epistle. He considers it to be paramount.
Philippians 2 verse 1, if there be therefore any consolation
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies," he says, if there's any comfort
and encouragement and consolation and mercy and feeling in Christ,
"...fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same
love, being of one accord and of one mind." And then Paul rejoiced
in the company and ministries of his fellow laborers in the
gospel. Toward the end of chapter 1, or toward the end of chapter
2 rather, Paul specifically mentions both Timothy and Epaphroditus. And I'm going to tell you a man
who is a truly faithful servant of God. I'll tell you who he
is. Not the one who speaks of and
promotes himself. but the one who speaks of and
rejoices in and promotes the ministries of other servants
of Christ. Look how Paul speaks of Timothy,
his young son Timothy. Now I don't have any idea how
old Timothy was, by this time he was a mature man, but considerably
younger than Paul, and certainly younger in the faith. And Paul
could not have commended him more highly than he did. Look
at verse 19. I trust in the Lord Jesus to
send Timotheus Timothy, shortly unto you, that I also may be
of good comfort when I know your state." Now, back in chapter
1, verse 1, Paul says, Paul and Timothy. Timothy wasn't an apostle,
but he puts Timothy's name right there beside his because he wants
these folks to know, Timothy and I, we're buddies. We're one
in this thing. We're laborers together. In verse
20 now, For I have no man like minded. Oh, Timothy's a young
man. I have no man like minded. Young
men are unstable. I have no man like-minded. Young
men, you can't count on them to admit, I have no man like-minded. Well, he's so young. He's so
young. Fellas talk to me about preachers.
Well, he's so young. I don't know why I have such
young. I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your
state. This man is old beyond his years.
For all seek their own and not the things which are Jesus Christ.
They served themselves. But Timothy, you know the proof
of him that as a son with the Father, he has served me in the
gospel. Him, therefore, I hope to send
presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me."
He said, just as soon as I find out whether my sentence is death
or whether I'm set free, I'm going to send Timothy down to
you. And then he could not have spoken more honorably or more
encouragingly. of their own pastor, an old man
by the name of Epaphroditus. It appears that Epaphroditus
had come to Rome to visit Paul, bearing a gift from these poor
Philippian believers that they wanted Paul to have during his
time of need. And while he was there, he got
sick. And folks back at Philippi heard
about it. Now Paul deals with this. Look at this, verse 25.
Yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my
brother, and companion in labor and fellow soldier. My, what
a commendation. He's my friend, he's my fellow
laborer, he's my fellow soldier. We're laborers together and on
the same battlefield and the same cause. But your messenger,
your messenger, your messenger. I don't mean to put people off. I often get and letters from
folks or questions when I'm visiting places and folks will ask me
things and I'll say, what did your pastor tell you? Well, listen
to your pastor, he's your messenger. He's your messenger. He's your
messenger. Your messenger. Not Paul, not
Timothy, Epaphroditus. He's the one committed to you.
Who was their pastor? He says, he's your messenger.
and that he ministered to my wants, verse 26, for he longed
after you all and was full of heaviness. What made him so heavy
hearted? Because he knew you were worried
about him. Not because he was sick, because
he knew that you knew he was sick. Okay. He was full of heaviness
because that you had heard that he had been sick. And you've
only heard part of the story. For indeed he was sick, and about
dead, nine to death. But God had mercy on him, and
not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon
sorrow. Paul said, For me to live is
Christ, to die is gain. He said, I'm going to hang around
here just as long as you need me, I know that. And when I'm
no longer needed here, God's going to take me home. But man,
in these circumstances, I sure didn't want to lose a papadamus
too. He had mercy on him and on you and on me. I send him
therefore, verse 28, the more carefully that when you see him
again you may rejoice and that I may be the less sorrowful.
Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness and hold
such in reputation. Hold him high. Hold him high. for the work of Christ he was
nigh unto death. The reason he died was because
of what he was doing. Not regarding his life to supply
your lack of service for me. Now that doesn't mean to supply
what you wouldn't do. That means to supply what you
couldn't do. He brought your gift to me. We'll see that in
a minute. How could a man in the midst of such adversities
express such joy in so many directions? How could a man He was in prison. I've heard all kinds of things,
read all kinds of things about how comfortable and nice it was
where Paul was in that hired house at Rome. He was in prison
at Rome. And he was about to be executed
for the gospel's sake. How could he be joyful and content? Look at chapter 4. I'll show
you. Verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again
I say rejoice, let your moderation. I've told you this many times,
just in case you missed it. That word moderation, the word
that's translated moderation is only used one other time in
the entire Bible. And this is the way it's translated,
gentleness. Over in 2 Corinthians 10, the
gentleness of Christ. Let your gentleness, your gentleness. Trouble comes. The unbelieving pull out their
hair and scream and cuss God. Religious unbelieving folks.
Or they will make a pretense of submission and say, well,
this Lord will have to endure that. The believer will often weep and feel bitterly the sharp pains. And bow to God's will gently. We just saw you and your wife
go through that. Just observe you go through that. What's that
gentleness? Unruffled. Hurt, yes, but unruffled. In pain, yes, but unruffled. Feeling sharply things, yes,
but gentle. My Father still rules. Let your
gentleness be known unto all men. The Lord's at hand. Be careful for nothing. Don't
let anything twist you out of shape. But in everything, by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request
be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all
understanding. Oh, what a good peace that must
be. Shall keep, shall keep. Now a bit of this is what that
means. If I said to you, strap on your gun and stand at the
door and guard it, and don't you let anybody in that door,
that's the word. The peace of God shall stand
as a sentinel around your heart and your mind through Christ
Jesus the Lord. If ever we learn to rejoice in
the Lord, then we will be able to rejoice in the Lord always,
no matter what our circumstances may be. Now, I'm not talking
off the top of my head, and I'm not giving good theory. I'm telling
you what I know. I can't rejoice in my sorrows. But I can and will rejoice in
my God who sends them. I can't rejoice in my bed of
languishing, but I can rejoice in my God and my Savior who pledges
himself as a nurse to make my bed. I can't rejoice in bereavement, but I can rejoice in the Lord
my God who gives and takes away as he will. I can't rejoice in
emptiness in my soul, but I can rejoice in the Lord's
fullness. I can't rejoice in my pain, but I can rejoice in His presence.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Walk with confident peace and
contentment and trust in the Lord. That's the joy he's talking
about, my man. That's the joy he's talking about.
That's what joy is. Confident peace, contentment,
and trust. And that's better than any laughter
in the world. I told somebody the other day,
had reason to use the illustration again, and I'd like to tell it.
I remember the first time I kissed this lady over here, and I saw
skyrockets. I'd been waiting for two weeks
to get a kiss, and I got one, and I saw skyrockets. Last Wednesday
morning, about four o'clock in the morning, I kissed her goodbye.
And as it gets to be sometimes, it was a quick peck. Best kiss I ever had from her.
Best I ever had. Because the relationship is better
than ever. The love is sweeter than ever.
The confidence is surer than ever. You understand what I'm
saying? Rejoice. Walk confidently with God. Always. Again, I say walk confidently
with God. And then Paul teaches us something
about life and death. Go back to chapter 1 again. Of this one thing we ought to
be sure. Christ shall be magnified in
our bodies. Christ shall be magnified in
this physical existence, whether it be by life or by death. Do you see that? To me, to live
is Christ. To die is gain. A ministrate, he says in verse
23, betwixt the two, having desired to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, nevertheless,
to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. So I'll stay
here, and Christ shall be magnified in my body. Either by my living
or by my dying. And whichever magnifies Him is
what I want. Whichever magnifies Him is what
I want. Whichever magnifies Him is what
I want. It's what I want for you. Whichever magnifies Him. Because
whichever magnifies Him is best for me. and best for his church,
and best for the glory of his name. He shall be magnified in
me." Wonder of wonders. He shall. No question. He shall be magnified
in this man. And then in chapter 2, Paul admonishes
us to walk together in unity and peace, living with the mind
of Christ. He said in verse 5, let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And then he
describes our Savior's step after step after step after step into
the depths of humiliation to do the will of God. until at
last he stepped into death itself, pouring out his life's blood
unto death. Why? Because he esteemed Lindsey
Candler more highly than his own life. Now, you esteem each other that
way. Let the mind of Christ be in
you, esteeming each better than himself, loving each more than
himself. And in chapter 3, he begins again by calling us to
rejoice. He said, ìFinally, my brethren,
rejoice in the Lord. Write the same thing to you indeed.
To me it is not grievous, but to you it is safe.î And in verse
2 he tells us, ìBeware. Beware of dogs, evil workers,
the concision. Beware those fellows who teach
you that you have something to do with your own salvation. In
verse 3, he describes what true religion is. He says, We are
the circumcision. We are the true Israel of God.
We have been truly circumcised by the grace of God in our hearts,
who worship God in spirit. Worship God inside here. Worship God in our hearts. Worship
God spiritually. Worship God in the Holy Spirit.
and rejoice. There's that word again. Rejoice
in Christ Jesus. What? What on earth has our rejoicing
got to do with our being saved? Understand what rejoicing is.
It is confident trust. Confident trust. Confident reliance
upon the Son of God. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Of him
are ye in Christ Jesus. who of God has made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." Oh, we trust
in him for it all. We rejoice in him. And I know
that's what it means because it says in the very next word,
"...and have no confidence in the flesh." We don't have any
confidence in ourselves. Not in our experiences, not in
our knowledge, not in what we do. We have confidence only in
Christ Jesus. And then in verses 4 through
8, He tells us something about self-denial. You read these verses and you'll
see that self-denial, I don't mean this is where it ends, I
mean this is where it begins. Self-denial begins with the denial
of all personal worth, merit, and righteousness before God.
We have none. And then Paul speaks of his ambitions. for great ambitions of faith.
Look in verse 8. I count all things lost that
I may win Christ. This is the one thing I must
have, the one thing needful, the one thing I seek, Christ. I wonder when we will ever learn,
and when I say we, I do mean we, to quit teaching our children
to seek fame and fortune and teach them to seek grace and
mercy in Christ Jesus. Amen. That I may win Christ.
Verse 9, and be found in Him. I want Him, I want to be found
in Him. not having my own righteousness
which is after the law, but the righteousness of God which is
in Christ Jesus the Lord. And then in verse 10 he says,
I want to know him. I want to know him, that I may
know him in the power of his resurrection. I want to know
the power by which I am justified. That is the authoritative power
by which God declares me righteous. I want to know the power by which
he was raised from the dead, that is, the power of life given
by the Holy Spirit, and in the fellowship of his sufferings. I want to live in the constant
knowledge of what he did for me, being made conformable unto his
death. That's what I want. Conformity
to him. Absolute conformity to him. So
that as he in his death cried, not my will, thy will be done. That's what I want. I want to know him. I want to
be found in him. I want to win him. if by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. This
is the thing I'm pressing after. I'm pressing after eternal life. Now look at verse 20, chapter
3. For our conversation, that's not talking about our yack-yack
with each other, that's talking about our life. Our conversation,
our life is in heaven. We live there, not here. We're
just walking through here. from which also we look for the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself." Then in chapter 4, Paul speaks of the gift, the
sacrifice the Philippians had made to These poor folks, I don't
have any idea what they sent him. I suspect there wasn't much
pocket money in it. I suspect maybe some of the ladies
had baked him some cookies, maybe a little bread. Somebody may
have sent him a blanket or a coat. Whatever it was, they sent it
because they loved Paul. And he says in verse 18, this
sacrifice that you sent by Paphroditus It is an odor of a sweet smell,
a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. That cup of water you give in
the name of a disciple, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice
acceptable and well-pleasing to God. So it says, accepted
by Christ, through his blood, through his righteousness. And
then he gives an assurance. Sometimes I have believers tell
me, well, I don't know whether I can afford to do this. I have
preachers tell me, I don't know whether I can afford to go there,
I don't know whether I can afford to do this or not. Listen to this. Listen
to me. You listen to me. You use whatever
God Almighty puts in your hand today for his glory. And God will speak to it, there's
never any lack of anything put in your hand to use for him.
I don't care whether it's time, or energy, or money, or your
house, I don't care what it is. Let's see if that's what it says,
Luke verse 19. They gave to Paul's need according
to their ability. Now, Paul says God's going to
take care of you according to his ability. Watch this. shall supply all your need,"
this is important, according to. He didn't say out of. He
didn't say out of. He said according to. According
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. If I were to get a registered
letter at the post office tomorrow, it's not likely to happen, but
if I were to get one from J. Rockefeller and It says that
Mr. Rockefeller would like to meet
with you. He has a gift for you according to his riches. I'd say to Shelby, we won't be
hurting for anything tomorrow. We're going to be taken care
of for a while. Now, if I got a letter that said Mr. Rockefeller
would like to give you something out of his pocket, I might not
go down there because I know the fellow. No, not worth the trip to town. Not worth a trip to town. Oh,
but according to His ability, God Almighty provides for you
in everything according to His infinite ability of riches in
glory by Christ Jesus. Now, turn back to chapter 1.
Let me give you three things, and I'll just give them to you
quickly, that Paul found comforting. They sustained him. They strengthened
him. In verse 12, this was his joy
and his confidence. Everything that happened to me
was brought to pass by God's will and will serve God's cause
in this world. Number two, verse 19. Everything
he experienced in this world was good for his soul. and fell
out to his eternal salvation. Number three, verse 29. Everything
he suffered in this world was just as fully the gift of God
as the faith which God gave him in Christ Jesus. You see that
verse 29? Unto you it is given in behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on him,