If you would please turn to Philippians
chapter 2 with me this morning. Philippians chapter 2. I want to read beginning with
verse 12 and read down through the 18th verse. Verse 12 through
18 of Philippians 2. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling. For it is God which worketh in
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things
without murmurings and disputings. that ye may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked
and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world,
holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day
of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon
the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice
with you all, for the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with
me. I want to speak this morning
on the subject of believers being lights in the world, in this
world in which we find ourselves this morning. Believers being
lights in the world. But I want to begin here with
verse 13. We've been told by the Apostle
that we ought to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, beloved, we cannot work
out that which God has not worked in us, but in that that He has
worked salvation in His people, in that by the Holy Spirit He
has regenerated their hearts and he's put that precious faith
into their hearts that Abraham had of old, and he's made them
his children. He said, work out that salvation
with fear and trembling. God's people should have an attitude
of reverence and fear and trembling in this world. We're in the midst
of a crooked and perverse nation. And we're in a world of sin,
a world that lies in the lap of the wicked one. We're in a
bad place, if you please. We're in this world that's no
friend of grace to help us on to God. And we need to fear and
tremble as we pilgrimage through this world. Have you ever found
yourself kind of quaking in your shoes as you think about this
world and the awfulness of this place? This world's a whole lot
worse than any of us can imagine, and I'm sure that many of you
have felt yourself very uneasy often in this world. But then
he says in verse 13, For it is God which worketh in you. God
is at work in you. Therefore work out your own salvation. Isn't it a wonderful thing to
have God working in us? God at work in us. It can be
said that we could erect a sign by all believers, God is at work. God is at work in that believer. So it is God which worketh in
you, it says here, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. You say, well I thought that
the Bible taught free will. Well the Bible teaches that there's
one will that's free, and that's God's will. And he says here
that God works in a man both to will. You say, well, shouldn't
it be left to a man to determine what he does in this life? Well,
the Bible teaches here that God is working in us to will. God
wants that we would do His will. And certainly the will of God
ought to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we pray
that way, don't we? The will of the Lord be done.
God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Well, we want
the will of God to be done. You say, well, why not? Why isn't
the will of God the same as my will? Well, the will of God is
not your will. The ways of God are not your
ways. And on your very best day, the Bible says in Isaiah, chapter
55, in verse 8 and 9, it says, for my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your Ways, my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. You see, if we could thank God's
thoughts, and if we could will God's will, then, beloved, it
would be left to us, I suppose. But seeing that our ways are
not His ways, and seeing that His ways are higher than our
ways, and as the heavens are higher than the earth, So then,
beloved, it is necessary that God works in us to will. He works
His will in us. And also, and to do of His good
pleasure. The Lord is doing that in us
which will please Himself. Is that alright? Is that alright
for God to take your life? He redeemed your soul. I mean,
He invested His Son, His holy, spotless Son in your life. The Lord Jesus Christ laid down
His life. He suffered death on your behalf.
He lives now to make intercession for you. Is it not right that
God should do according to His own good pleasure in your life? Anyone here that would dispute
that, my friend, you certainly need to recognize the fact that
God has, if you're His child, He has claim on your life. You're not your own. You've been
bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which belongs to Him. He has number
one claim on your life, so He's working in you. He's working
in you to make you willing, and thank God from the very beginning
of God's work in us, He made us willing. You may say, well,
I've never been willing to repent, preacher. Shame on you. God has
made me willing to repent. And all of you that have genuinely
repented of your sin, it was God that made you willing to
do it. God that made you willing to do it. If you have believed
here today, and you say, well I have believed the gospel, if
you can say that, it's God that made you willing to believe the
gospel. He made you willing. I know that a lot of people sometimes,
and I remember here reading the testimony of Charles Spurgeon
and how that he attended a meeting one time shortly after he was
saved and he was sitting there and he wasn't listening to the
preacher. He said, I wasn't listening to a thing he had to say because
he said, I was thinking about how in the world it was that
I ever came to believe the gospel. And he said, I was sitting there
and I was just sitting there meditating on how it was that
I ever came to believe the gospel. And he said, all of a sudden
it dawned on me that I would have never believed the gospel
if I'd never heard the word. And he said, then I asked myself,
how is it that I came to hear the word? And then he began to
put all of this together, and he said, well, it's because God
caused me to hear his word, and God made me willing to believe,
and it's because God gave me the faith to believe. And he
said, that's where my theology, which I've had all of my life,
was born right there that salvation is of the Lord from the beginning
to the end so it is God which works in us both to will and
to do of his good pleasure and that's a wonderful thing to know
as the Lord's people so calm down Rest yourself. Think a little
bit. Meditate a little bit. What's
God doing in me? What is it that the Lord is doing
in my life? What's He up to in my life? Well, He's up to something. He's
up to something. He has you here in this world,
and there are things that you ought to do. And so Paul has
some admonitions to give us in the light of the fact that God
is in us working to will and to do of His good pleasure. Now
the end that he has in mind is that we would shine forth as
lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Paul's end
in speaking of these things is that we would be good witnesses
for the Lord, that we would be able to rightly represent the
Lord in this world, that we would be the true spokesmen for God
in this world. That's the end that Paul has
in mind in talking to us about these things here this morning.
But first of all, in verse 14, he says, seeing, Ben, that God
is in you, working to will and to do of his good pleasure, he
says you do all things in this world without murmurings and
disputings, without murmurings and disputings. He says, do all
things. Now this teaches activity on
the part of the believer. The Christian is to be active. He's not merely to think or not
merely to feel, but he's to be doing, he's to be working for
the glory of God. And if you were to keep your
finger here in Philippians 2 and turn to the fourth chapter, in
verse 9, he says, those things which ye have both learned and
received and heard and seen in me do. Do, and the God of peace
shall be with you. Those things that you have learned,
received, heard, and seen in me, Paul says, do, and the God
of peace shall be with you. And so we're to do all things. There's activity involved in
the life of the believer. Are you a doer? The Bible talks
about not only being a hearer of the Word, but a doer of the
Word. Are you one of those that just
hear all the time and never do what you hear the Bible say that
you ought to do? Well, may God rebuke your heart
this morning. As a believer, there ought to
be some doing. Now, we know in regards to our
salvation, all the doing's already been done. It was done long ago. Sin or nothing do. Neither great
nor small. Jesus did it and did it all long,
long ago. But as a believer, you're His
workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God
hath before ordained that you should walk in them. Ephesians
2 and verse 10. So, The believer is God's workmanship. God is in him working to will
and to do of his good pleasure. And now he says, do, do, do all
things without murmuring and disputing, without murmuring
at God's providence. You see, this was a common vice
of the heathen and also of some of us. We murmur and complain
at what God is doing in our lives. Now you see, if God is doing
it, you ought to just leave hands off. I mean, if God is doing
it, then why can't you rest in that? Why would you murmur and
complain about what's going on in your life if God is doing
it? Why could you not trust Him?
Where is the trust that belongs to your Heavenly Father? Can
you not believe that your Heavenly Father is all wise, that he's
too good to err, that he's too wise to err, that he's too holy
not to do right? Couldn't you trust your Heavenly
Father? Well, we're to do all things
without murmuring at God's providence. And then we ought not murmur
against one another. Let our love be hearty and sincere
as believers and let's not murmur against each other. Oh, it's
so easy to find fault, is it not? So easy to find fault. And so we find ourselves murmuring
against one another and complaining and We somehow or other are not
mindful of the fact that God is also at work in our brother.
He's also at work in our sister. He's also at work in those around
us and so we ought not to murmur or complain toward them. And
then also, I think we ought not murmur against the ungodly world,
but we ought to bear the injustices that we find and experience in
this world in silence. Bear the injustices that we experience
in this world and bear it in silence. You know, the Lord Jesus
was a lamb that opened not his mouth. He was dumb as a lamb
is dumb before the shears. So the Lord Jesus opened not
his mouth. The Lord Jesus, when he was reviled,
reviled not again. The Lord Jesus simply submitted
himself unto the will of the Father. And we ought to do the
same. Do all things without murmurings. And then he says, and disputings.
We ought not dispute with God. Let him do what seemeth him good. Let the Lord do what he will
with his own, and then let him do what he will with our fellow
believers. Let the Lord work out that which
is unknown to us. Let us simply not murmur and
dispute with the Lord. C. D. Cole said, God holds the
key of all unknown. And I'm glad, he said, and I
am glad. If other hands should hold the
key, or if he trusted it to me, I might be sad, I might be sad. So when you're apt to dispute
with the Lord and to complain about His goodness and about
His grace and about the way in which He leads you, my friend,
remember that, that if the key to the unknown was in your hands,
you would have a lot of reason to be sad. And so may God bless
us with an understanding heart. And then He goes on to say that
you might be blameless. that you might be blameless.
He's talking about the Lord's people living in a bad world,
and he says that you might be blameless. Men will blame you,
but you must seek as a Christian to lead lives that give no occasion
for blame. You remember Daniel of old, how
it was said of him, that if you're going to find anything or get
an acacia against Daniel, you'd not do it except you'd find it
against him concerning the law of his God. We'll have to find
it concerning the law of his God. This man was an upright
man. This man was a holy man. This
man was a righteous man. And that's what we ought to be
in this world. We ought to be blameless as the
Lord's people. We give no occasion for blame
at those around us. We ought to be a little more
careful about how we conduct ourselves in this world. What
we say, what we do. What we give others the reason
to believe about us. We need to be very careful about
what we do. The scripture admonishes us that
we can be better lights in the world, we can shine forth brighter
if we're blameless. If we're blameless. If men look
at us and they say, well, I don't understand that fella, I can't
find anything that I can blame him for. We're to be harmless,
it says, and I think that word really could be read hornless. Hornless. Harmless, meaning hornless. Not only that they do no harm,
but they could not do any. They're like an animal that's
been dehorned. The people of God are not out
here in this world to win battles in the flesh. They're not out
in this world. Their weapons are not carnal
to the pulling down strongholds, but spiritual. and we're not
to be out here in the world picking a fight with people and trying
to argue with people and argue them down and be overbearing
and merciless to them. We are to be like hornless, as
it were, animals in the world, like sheep that not only will
not devour but cannot devour, contrary to their nature, to
be carnivores. And you and I ought to be that
way, as the sons of God, Paul says. as the sons of God. You see what he's saying? He's
saying as God's son, the dignity of our relationship should beget
in us an equally dignified deportment of life. And so the fact that
we're God's son, a son of the king of kings and Lord of lords,
my friend, we should be blameless because we're children of the
king. We should be harmless like the
Lord Jesus was when he was in this world. We should be harmless.
You remember when Peter came and cut the servant of the high
priest's ear off? The Lord Jesus Christ healed
that servant's ear because it was contrary to the Lord Jesus
Christ. for Peter to do that act. It
was wrong. And so as sons of God, as sons
of God, we are indeed the sons of God. The Bible says we're
all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. And beloved,
it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know when He
shall appear we're going to be like Him. And it's because, beloved,
now are you the sons of God. You're the sons of God and Jesus
is coming back. You belong to the Lord Jesus,
so conduct yourself as you ought. Be dignified as a child of the
King. How important is this? Well,
if we're going to be lights in the world, It's important that
we remember that we're children of the King and we ought to live
like it. Let not the fingers which are soon to play the stringed
instruments in heaven be soiled on earth. Let not those eyes
become the windows of lust, which are soon to see the King in His
beauty. Oh my friend, as we think on
what's coming for us, we see the need for this admonition.
This admonition, as sons of God, be harmless and holy in this
world. Let not those feet be defiled
in places of mire, which are soon to walk on the golden streets. Let not those hearts be filled
with pride and bitterness which are soon to be filled with heaven
and to overflow with ecstatic joy in that place." Oh my friend,
how important it is that our lives reflect the fact that we
have the hope of the gospel in us and hope that belongs to the
sons of God. And then he further says, without
rebuke, Now men whom the world cannot rebuke, this is what he
means. You need to be living so high
above the world that the world cannot rebuke you. Men and women
who can say without Phariseeism, Lord thou knowest that I'm not
wicked. You know I have searched my heart
and if there's been any wicked way in me you've shown it to
me and I've repented of it and turned from it. Now these are
those that are without rebuke in the midst of this world. We
are to be such that men must lie before they can revile us. Before they can revile on us
and harangue on us, they must lie first. rather than being
able to point out something in us that is worthy of being rebuked. We're to live above this, you
see. The end that he has in mind is, I'm telling you this, Paul
says, as means to an end that you may shine as lights in this
world. So we need to understand this.
Now the Lord Jesus, our Master, said as he was not of the world
he said neither are you of the world you're not of the world
even as I'm not of the world and the Lord Jesus you know the
Bible says that the devil could find nothing in him could find
nothing in him but you know the problem with you and I is that
there is that under our hood as it were that the devil can
find to draw us out and to lead us astray and to cause us to
fall into temptation. The Bible says that a man is
tempted when he's drawn away. He's in a, he's there, he's there,
but he's drawn away, he's drawn away by his own lust and enticed
to sin. There's something, you've heard
of remote cars that a fella takes in his hand and he's got a button
on it and he can run that car around from one place to another.
Well, he does that because there's something under the hood of that
car. There's no wire or anything running over there. There's something
under there that makes that car respond to that whatever you
call it in his hand. And so it is the same with us. We must understand there's something
under the hood, as it were, and as the button, Satan pushes the
button, we're not careful, we'll be just drawn away, and first
thing you know, our light will be dim. It will be dim. That's
a remote, if you please. I'll go back and cover that ground. That's a remote. And so, hopefully
the devil don't have any remote in his hand that he can run you
by. Hopefully, the Lord Jesus, the
devil could find nothing in him. And oh, that we could be like
him. So Paul is telling us then, that were to be lights in the
world. And this is to the end that we
would be lights to the world. And then there's a measure of
publicity, I think, required for us to be lights in the world. Well, a light is to shine. And
somebody says, well, if I'm a light and I'm to shine, where am I
to shine? Well, somebody might suggest,
first of all, we're to shine at home, and certainly we ought
to shine at home. If we're going to shine anywhere
else, we ought to shine at home. God's people ought to be right
at home. Their lives ought to be right
when they're living among their own family. Their light should
shine. Their lives should be right.
But then, no, because Paul said it's in the world. It's in the
world. He's saying here in verse 15
that you may be blameless and harmless sons of God without
review in the midst of a crooked generation of crooked people. People that if you lay a straight
edge up along the side of them, they wouldn't touch them in very
many places. They're crooked. This is a crooked generation,
meaning that they're crooked when it comes to the law of God.
They're not responding to God's law. They're not obeying what's
right. They're not obeying the word
of the Lord. It's a crooked nation. And then he says, perverse, which
means corrupt. It's a corrupt nation, and we're
to shine in the midst of this crooked and perverse nation. So in the world, These three
words, lights, light, shining, and lights in the world, most
positively teach that a Christian must have some degree of publicity,
not to live in secrecy, not to go off somewhere to a nunnery,
not to go off somewhere and hide somewhere in the mountains in
a cave. No, because our true character is that we're lights
in this world. The Bible teaches that plainly
and so these things imply that there's to be some publicity
involved. We've got to be, we're in the
world and to get away from it we'd have to go clean out of
it. Paul said the Lord have to take us clean out of it. But
we are in the world and there's some publicity required. We need
to affect the world in which we're living. Now a Christian
should make a public Now this is one thing that we need to
understand. Some people say, well, I am a champion of old
Nicodemus. I like old Nicodemus. Well, my
friend, you are not to make an example out of Nicodemus who
came to Jesus by night. He was afraid to come in the
daytime because he feared the rulers and the Jews, and he would
not come to Jesus in the daytime. He came at night. You say, I'm
like him. I don't really believe in getting
too much into this thing of making a public avow of my faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. I say to you this morning we
need a public avowal. We need to openly confess the
Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. That every tongue should confess. Have you confessed? that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God. In Romans Paul said, With
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. It is made with the mouth. And
so there must be a public confession of the Lord Jesus Christ as one
Savior and Lord. And not only that, but there
also must be this confession in baptism. In baptism. Again, I refer you to the testimony
of Mr. Spurgeon. Now, for a man to have
a testimony, he must have had a test. He had to have a test
to have a testimony. And old Mr. Spurgeon, when he
was a boy, 15 years old, God saved him and used him mightily,
as most all of you are aware. And nevertheless, when it come
time for his baptism, he had those members of his family,
his grandfather and some others, that were not up on this thing
of baptism. Didn't hardly think that it was
necessary for somebody to be buried in the water and buried
in baptism, water baptism. And so he and his own soul was
greatly moved and tried about it. And finally he said, I have
to do it. There isn't any way out of it.
I must do it. I cannot escape the responsibility
that the Word of God places on me. I must openly, publicly confess
in water baptism that I know the Lord Jesus Christ and that
I'm depending upon His death, His burial, and His resurrection
for my salvation. I must do it. I cannot help but
do it. I must do it. And so he was publicly
baptized. And so my friend, he had a test.
Now his testimony was, I had a battle, but by the grace of
God I overcame it. I was baptized. Now also, you
should be associated with a Christian church, with a body of believers,
those that love the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I'm talking about
publicity here. I'm talking about you publicly
being light shining in the world. Now I want you to turn with me,
hold your finger here in Philippians, back to the book of Matthew chapter
5. The book of Matthew chapter 5, I'm telling you that those
who have openly confessed Christ, they have been baptized and now
they're to identify themselves with a local assembly, with a
body of Christ on earth. In verse 14, I want to use verse
14 through 16 of Matthew 5, it says you're the light of the
world. Now, beloved, this is in red in my Bible. You know
what that means? You know what that means? It's
in red! That means that Jesus said these
words. These were the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Ye are the light of the world,
he said to his people. He's talking about believers.
He's talking about born-again believers. Ye are the light of
the world. A city that is set on a hill,
he says, cannot be hid. Now this city that's set on a
hill is the church. and he said it cannot be hid
and you that are he says in verse 15 neither do men light a candle
and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick there again
this candlestick this candlestick is the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house and so when the Lord lights as it were your
candle You're to put it on a candlestick, not put it under a bushel, not
go out and hide it someplace, not go off and say, well, I'm
just not going to in any way, shape, or form get involved with
anybody else that claims to believe what I believe. I'm not going
to do it. No, my friend, that is wrong. That is sin. That is
not what God would have you to do. The Bible says in the book
of Acts chapter 2 that on the day of Pentecost there were over
3,000 souls that received the Word of God and that they were
baptized and they were received into the church. They were added
unto the church. And so it is necessary then that
publicly we should make a confession with our mouths be baptized,
and that we should then become members of a local body. Let
your light so shine, in verse 16, before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,
that they may see it. Oh, it's not something you're
to hide, that they may see your good works, that men may see
it. You say, well, isn't it enough
if God sees it? Well, my friend, what's wrong with men seeing
it? Jesus said that men ought to see your good works. And this
is the way we shine as lights in the world. So we're associated
with the people of God. We're associated with those who
know the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there should be a daily
carrying out of our Christianity in our lives, a daily carrying
of it out. Now I would remind you of the
fact that, excuse me, in this day and time that Christianity
in America stinks. Christianity is something in
America that everybody talks about in a way that is not very
pleasing to hear. People who go out and give the
name of Christians a very bad name by the way they conduct
themselves and the way they live. Religion has given Christianity
a very, very bad name. And so beloved, but it is necessary
that we be like Christ. that we be like Christ. And this
is what the world needs. The world does not need somebody
to go out here and to tell them that they need what they have. They need to go out and show
people that They need to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, and that
they are like Christ. Just be like Christ. Be like
the Lord Jesus Christ. And so daily, taking on the truth
of the scriptures in our own life, we carry out this message. Now the open testimony of our
words is also important, and there is a place for that. The
open testimony of our words. I'm talking about publicity now.
Publicity. One old writer said he wouldn't
give a rusty nail for a man's experience if he could keep quiet
about it, if he wouldn't talk about his experience. Now, if
you're a believer, the Bible says, let the redeemed of the
Lord what? Say so. Let them say so. Those whom he
has redeemed from the hand of the enemy. And so, my friend,
if you have a testimony from the Lord, if God has dealt with
your heart and you have been saved and you know the Lord,
then you should speak of that which God has revealed as He
enables you to do it and as He leads you by His Spirit to do
it. I am not a fan of this business
of going out and calling everybody you meet and try to tell them
something that you think they ought to know. I am indeed a
believer in that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide His servants
and those that know Him will guide them to speak a word of
testimony when it's His will. And I think you should be in
tune with the Holy Spirit and that He should lead you in your
witness for the Lord. And I'd like to say that that
which is nearest the heart is generally most on the tongue. That which is near the heart
in a believer is most generally close, it's on the tongue. And
so if you love Christ, if you believe in Christ, if you truly
belong to Christ, if He's the apple of your eye, and if you're
the apple of His eye, and if He's that one who's altogether
lovely to you, then I believe that He will be on your lips,
on your tongue. And sometimes there's a very
bold stand for Christ that is called for. You know, we're soldiers
of Christ. We're soldiers for the Lord Jesus
Christ in this world. Sometimes there's a very bold
stand that we must make. There's times when there's error
and heresy that must be confronted. There's times when there's erring
brethren that must be dealt with. There are times when things must
be done. in the church and by the church
and there's a time, we're in the world and we have responsibilities
and obligations that must be discharged and we as good soldiers
of Jesus Christ must be in the front, in the front of the battle.
And then what use is lights? Let's talk a little bit about
that. What is the use of Christian lights? Well, the Bible says
in Ephesians chapter 5, and if you want to turn there with me,
I would appreciate you doing that, and we'll try to hurry
on here to a conclusion. Ephesians 5, and let's see what
the scripture here says. In verse 8, he said, For you
were sometimes darkness. Now that's the Lord's people.
Sometimes you were darkness. There was a time past when you
were in darkness. But now are ye what? Light in
the Lord. But now you're light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable
unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. How
are you going to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness? Remember, we're in this world
where there's darkness all around it. The Bible says in John 3
that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
are evil. Why do men do so much evil at night? Well, if the streets
were darker, there'd be more of it. There'd be more of it.
Shut the lights all off downtown, and my friend, you'd see what
happens. Because men love darkness. Because
the deeds are evil. And their own nature is such
that they want to operate in the darkness. They don't want
the light being around. But look at verse 13. But all
things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. How are you going to reprove
the world? By living like God would have you to live. By being
a Christian, true to the Word of God, faithful to the Lord
Jesus Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, bearing the fruits
of the Spirit. And then when those around you
that are worldly and ungodly, when they rub up against you,
when they come near you, they see their sin. They see their
lost condition. They understand where they are
when they come near you because your light shines upon them. But all things that are reproved
or made manifest by the light for whatsoever doth make manifest
is light. Is light. If you're in a dark
room, and you open the blinds and let the light in, what you
see is manifested by the light. It's because the light is there
that you see it. And men and women, lost men and
women, oh that they could see what they are by the light that
is in us, that they could see it. Now, beloved, this business
of high-powered religion in our day and time is never going to
get the job done. It's never going to get the job
done. This world, if it's ever affected, is going to be affected
just like Paul's telling us this morning, as believers shine as
lights in the world as they're like Christ, Christ-like, and
as they go out filled with the Holy Spirit, living and bearing
the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, this will make manifest. Someone well said that a man
or anyone should not have to live with a Christian more than
a week without knowing the gospel that he believes. Do you believe
that? If somebody lives with you a week, if somebody lives
around you for a week, do you think that they ought to begin
to ask some questions in their own mind? What is this fellow
about? What is that lady about? What
is that person about? What is it that makes them tick?
Well, my friend, I think that's a true statement. I believe that
if we're right, people around us are going to They're going
to say something is different about that person. Something
different about them. And that difference needs to
be maintained. So I'm talking about the usefulness
of the light. The usefulness of the light.
And then you remember Philip. He went down into that desert.
And he intercepted the Ethiopian eunuch. And you remember what
the scripture says about this coming together between the Ethiopian
eunuch and Philip. The scripture says he opened
his mouth and he preached Christ unto him. He opened his mouth
and he began to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he was
led by the Spirit down there to do that. And brother, sister,
that's the important thing. There's no need for you to go
unless God leads you. And if you're where you ought
to be, the Lord will lead you and He can lead you. and that's
what we need to do. All right? And then lights guide
others. It guides others. And then a
light is for a warning. It warns men of danger. You remember,
maybe you've heard the song about the lighthouse. Jesus is the
lighthouse. Oh, where would my poor soul
be if it was not for the lighthouse, for the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
he's the lighthouse and believers also. are lights, like lighthouses,
to direct other people, to warn men and women of danger and to
point them, to lead them, to guide them unto the truth and
to the better way. And then the position indicated
here, I want to say a little bit about that in verse 15, I've
mentioned it briefly, but let me say a little bit more about
it. The position indicated in verse 15 is in the midst, that's
where we're at, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. You may say I'm not in a position
to do any good, Richard. I'm just not. If I were removed
from this wicked situation, these wicked people that I have to
be around day by day, I've got to listen to all of this wickedness
and listen to all this talk and listen to all this blasphemy
every day. If I could just get away from
that, I would shine. a whole lot more than what I
do. I would really shine as a Christian if it was not for this place
that I am in. Well, I could serve the cause
of Christ better if I could get away from the people that I have
to deal with day by day. That's not so. That's not so. It is not so. No, let me point
this out to you, my friend, that where you are is where God planted
you. And you need to shine right there,
right there. Those people need you badly. They need a light, don't they?
And so therefore, you are there, so Paul said, in the midst of
a crooked and perverse nation, among whom, among whom ye shine. In other words, you're not to
hightail it away from these places, but you're to give them the light,
show them the light. Note three things, if you will,
that our position should teach us quickly. First of all, it
should be an incentive to you, because the worse that people
are around you, the more they need to have you. Now we already
covered that, but I want to impress that upon you. The more the people
need it, the more you're needed. And so learn that from the position
that you're in. You've got a purpose for being
where you are. And that purpose is that by your
life and by your testimony at the leading of the Spirit of
God, you're able to lead people and to manifest the truth of
Christ to those around you. And then, secondly, who needs
a doctor? Well, is it the well? Is it the
sick? It's the sick that needs the
doctor. And so, my friend, you're there in the stead of Christ.
to give them the healing truth of the Scriptures, where it is
honored to be won by the soldier, if not in the hardest part of
the battle, where it is to be won. The most decorated American
serviceman in the history of our nation, I think his name
was Aubrey Murphy, isn't that right? But anyway, I thought
about old Aubrey Murphy when I thought about this. Where is
the honor to be won by the soldier if it's not at the hardest part
of the battle? Do you know how he became the most decorated
soldier in the history of our nation? It was because things
were set up, as it were, in just the right way and this man facing
down thousands of Germans coming across a meadow toward his men
whom he was trying to cover so they could get away He stood
on a tank and ran a machine gun until he himself was wounded.
According to the story, he did escape himself, I think, from
that particular situation. because he later was greatly
honored, so he did escape. I don't remember whether he was
captured at that time or not, but I think that he did escape.
But nevertheless, he was in the hottest part of the battle, that's
what I'm saying. And where is there any honor
to be gained by the believer to be off here somewhere where
everybody is just familiar with them and everybody believes what
they believe so as, and just that, you know, there's no landmines
or there's nothing. How can a soldier shine unless
he's in the hottest part of the battle? And so learn that from
the position that you're in. Don't blame your position for
your unprofitableness. If you find it hard to live right
where you are, it'll be just as hard anywhere else. Don't,
don't my friend, blame your position. We're in the world and we're
going to be here till the Lord calls us out. So be a man, be
courageous and stand fast and be a light in this world. And
then I think we should let it teach caution to us too, talking
about the position that we have in this world. This is a crooked
nation and perverse, we've said that, and do not wonder therefore
if they hate the light and try to blow it out. Don't wonder
about it if they give you a hard time. Don't wonder about it if
they call you all kinds of names. Don't wonder about it if they
give you a hard and difficult way to go where you're at. Don't worry about it because,
my friend, That's their way. They hate the
light, don't you see? And if you wasn't there, they
could talk more openly about their filth and about their sin
and about their ways. They could talk more openly,
but you are there and you're in the way. And if they could
just blow you out of the way, in some way blow the light out,
they'd be very pleased. Do you know what I try to please
men? A bunch of crooked people. Why? You've got no business going
in a place and trying to please all of those wicked people and
just talking and saying the right thing and just kind of buttering
them up and being apologetic for what you believe and all
this and that. Stop it! It's a bunch of foolishness.
Those people are going to believe what they believe today and tomorrow
they'll believe something else. and it won't do you any good
to appease them or in some way or another to try to make them
think that you understand their situation. You understand it
all right. You understand it that these people hate the light
and they're crooked people. They're crooked, perverse, corrupt
people and you cannot please them. Also remember that all the saints
of God that have ever lived in this world have endured what
you're enduring when you're out here in the world, people making
fun of you, laughing at you, calling you a fanatic, and in
many, many ways trying to blow your light out. God's people,
it's been the way of the Lord's people. Always have been the
way of the Lord's people, and so they have suffered. They have
suffered. And so stand fast. Wait, stand
fast. Don't be moved away from the
hope of the gospel. Stand fast and then wait on the
Lord. Watch and wrestle with the Lord
on the behalf of those that you deal with day by day. And then
lastly there's an argument suggested here in verse 16 and 17 You know,
Paul was the founder of the church. We're talking about Philippians
2 now, verse 16. He said, You hold forth the word
of life. And that word, hold forth, there means you get a
good grip on the word of life yourself. Get a good grip on
it. Remember, you ought to get a good grip on the word of life
for your own comfort. And get a good grip on the word
of life because you're in a real bumpy and a very traumatic place
in this world. And you're going to be going
over a lot of bad ground, get a good hold on the Word of Life. Get a good hold on it. Paul said,
I want you to do this that I may rejoice in the day of Christ.
Paul said, I'm looking forward to the day of Christ. Now Paul
had planted this church, and Paul had told these Philippians
that they were partakers. He said in verse 7 of chapter
1, he said, you all are partakers of my grace. you all are partakers
of my grace so he said I'm looking forward to the day of Christ
when this is all over with and the world's gone and we're before
the Lord assembled before the Lord that I may rejoice in the
day of Christ that I have not run in vain neither labored in
vain that I've not put out all this effort preaching the word
of God to you coming to Philippi and preaching to you and ministering
to you and suffering as I have, that I'm not, he says, that I'm
not running vain. Oh, beloved, if we're going to
be what we ought to be, then it will be to the, as it were,
to the glory in some measure of the servant of God. He's not
running vain. If you people are good Witnesses
for Christ, faithful witnesses for Christ. If your lights that
shine forth brightly in the world as you ought to, then I have
not run in vain for the last 32 years. I, he says, I've not
run in vain, neither have I labeled in vain. If you people are no
different from the world, then Paul said, I've run in vain and
I've labeled in vain. But if your lights Praise be
unto God, I've not run in vain. Yet, he says, if I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I join and rejoice
with you all. Meaning, Paul said, if my life,
as I've spent it, I've spent it with you people and I've spent
it in your service. to service your faith, to build
you up, to edify you, as it were, to bring you to that place where
you could honor God and glorify God as the sons of God, where
you could be an instrument used of God in the world. I have spent
my life and my life has been a sacrifice And if it has been,
he said, I joy and rejoice with you all if you are likes in the
world, if you're what you ought to be. He said, then I rejoice. He said, I joy and rejoice with
you, and for the same cause also do you joy and rejoice with me. You joy and rejoice because what
happened was effectual. What was preached was effectual.
It was used of God, and God blessed it, and fruit was born by your
lives. Therefore, I've not run in vain.
I've not labored in vain. The Lord has been glorified and
honored by your life in this world. May the Lord be pleased
to own and bless the message. Father, in the name of Jesus,
We pray that Thou wilt be pleased to admonish each one of our hearts
by what we've heard today, and encourage our hearts in the holy
faith of Christ, that we may be strong in the Lord, in the
power of His might, able to do exploits, able in these days,
our Father, these closing days of the world, may we, our Father,
be strong in the Lord, and be able, Lord, to bear the witness
you would have us to bear, lights shining in this whole world that
men and women may see themselves, truly see themselves, and be
brought out from sin and brought out from the ways of death unto
life in the gospel. We pray it in Jesus' name and
for his sake. Amen.