I invite you to turn back in
your Bibles, if you will, to the book of Philippians, the
fourth chapter. Philippians chapter 4. I'd like to read beginning with
the 18th verse and read through verse 23. Verse 18 through verse
23. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of
Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor,
a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my
God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be
glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ
Jesus. The brethren which are with me
greet you. All the saints salute you chiefly,
they that are of Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. I have a very unusual text here
this morning. I want to look at verses 21 and
22. Salute every saint in Christ
Jesus. The brethren which are with me
greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly
they that are of Caesar's household. Chiefly they that are of Caesar's
household. Just recently, of course, I've
been away and was privileged to be in a Bible conference in
West Virginia where I met several brothers and sisters of black
faith and many of them saluted you here. And the word salute,
of course, means simply, it signifies to greet. It signifies to welcome
or to greet. And so each one wanted to send
their love and affection toward you saints of God that meet here
in Great Falls, Montana. But these words were impressed
upon me. All the saints salute you. Salute
every saint in Christ Jesus. Now that, of course, first of
all, is an admonition to us that we ought to greet all the saints
that are in Christ Jesus and always welcome them into our
heart and into the affection of our souls and into our homes
and certainly into the Lord's Church. And then he said, all
the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.
Now, these that are in Caesar's household, it's a very interesting
thought to me that God had his people in a place like Caesar's
household. And he says, these saints, they
salute you. Speaking, of course, to those
in Philippi who Paul, whom Paul was writing to, Paul was writing
to them out of a prison out of a prison in Rome. And so he writes
these words to the Philippians and he says that those that are
in Caesar's household, the believers there, the brethren there, the
saints of God there, they salute you. They welcome you, they greet
you, because it is in the heart of every child of God to love
those that have been begotten of the same Father. God's people
are God's people by the new birth. They're God's people by the fact
that God chose them in Christ and gave the Lord Jesus Christ
to them and for them to die in their room instead and place
their in union with Christ. Now then, These saints respected
one another, and we ought to respect one another, and we ought
to respect the brethren, and have regards, and hold them in
high regard as the Lord's people. Now, the word saint, I want to
ask, try to ask a couple of questions here, maybe three questions. Number one, who these people
are that are in Caesar's household? Number two, where they were,
and talk a little bit about Caesar's household. And then the third
thing would be, what can we learn from this? Talking about Caesar's
household and discussing these people that were in this household. Well, first of all, I'd like
to say that in regards to who these people were, that they
are saints. They're the saints of God. Now
I recognize that we have the idea, and of course it's erroneous
because we received it from false religion, and that is that the
only saints there are are those who are somehow or other are
exceptional holy people and because of their saintliness and because
of the deeds which they did while they were alive, when they died
they became saints. in the Holy or Roman Catholic
Church. And of course we know this to
be wrong. We know that the Word of God teaches that the saints
of God are all God's people. They're all the redeemed of the
Lord. The word does mean holy. And
certainly the people of God are chosen in Christ Jesus that they
might be holy and without blame before Him in love. God's people
are indeed a holy people because they stand in that perfect righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ, all that He
is, has been imputed unto us. And God's people stand in the
righteousness of God's Son, and so they are indeed holy. But
just because somebody did a saintly thing, because somebody did something
in their lifetime that men consider or esteem to be very, very holy
and such an outstanding deed, in men's eyes they may become
saints, but not in God's eyes. Men and women are made saints
by God Almighty through a relationship with Jesus Christ. You cannot
be a saint of God any other way. And it's not just something that
is applied to these hyper or super saintly people that the
world speaks of. Now then, another thing that
we find here is that these people were brethren. They're brethren. Now this is tremendous. We recognize
that we are only brethren in the Lord. Now Mike is my son,
but he also is my brother in the Lord Jesus. Susan is my daughter. but she is my sister in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Brethren and sisters in the Lord. Now the Bible does not teach
the universal fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. We
know that there are many people that believe that just because
they are creatures of God that that makes them children of God.
Well, beloved, that is not so. That is not so. God's people
are brothers and sisters. They're so in the family of God,
and they're so because God is their Father, spiritually speaking,
and He has begotten them to a lively or living hope through the gospel
of Jesus Christ and through the work of regeneration. They have
been brought in to the family of God. Now my friend, you have
no right to call God your Father. Look in verse 20, it says, Now
unto God and our Father. Now unto God and our Father.
The people of God can call God their Father because He truly
is their Father, spiritually speaking. And but a man who doesn't
know the Lord Jesus Christ, a man who's a stranger to the grace
of God outside of the covenant of grace, he is not in a position
to say, God is my father and this is my brother or sister
in Christ. But when you're converted, when
you're born of the Spirit of God, you're regenerated into
the family of God, translated out of the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom of God's dear Son, then You can say, brother,
sister in Christ. And so the brethren which are
with me greet you, Paul said. The brethren that are here with
me, they come and visit me. And like Epaphroditus, he had
come and brought an offering from the church of Philippi.
And Paul said, as he stands with me, he greets you. He's a brother
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a brother in Christ. And
then there's another thing here that I think we should understand
and see that these individuals that Paul's talking about who
are in Caesar's household, that they are in Christ. They're in Christ. In verse 21,
Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. Now brother, sister, this
is of tremendous importance. Our being in Christ. in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You're not saved if you're not
in union with Christ. If the Lord Jesus Christ, if
He has not taken you and put you as it were in Himself, then
you're not a child of God. It's Christ in you that is the
hope of glory. Are you in Christ Jesus? Is Christ in you? And if He be
not in you, then you have no hope of glory to come. You have no hope of eternal life
unless Christ is in you. You say, well preacher, there's
many things that I've done, religiously speaking, and I'm a member of
this organization, that organization, and I'm a very charitable person. You may be, but Christ in you
is the hope of glory. And until you're in Christ and
Christ be in you, until there's a union formed, a living, lasting,
loving union formed between you and the Lord Jesus Christ, you
are not saved. You're not God's child until
this union is formed. And the scripture says that they
that are joined to Christ, that they're one spirit. It says that
in 1 Corinthians 6 and 17. Those that are joined to Christ
are one spirit with Him. And then look at these verses,
Ephesians 1, Ephesians chapter 1, and I referred to this verse
of scripture just a moment or two ago, but I want you to look
at it with me if you will. Ephesians 1 and 4, according
as ye have chosen us in Him. When did God's people get in
Christ? When did they get in Him? Well,
God put His people in His Son before the foundation of the
world by decree, and then actually they got into Christ when they
were born of the Spirit of God, when they were converted, when
they believed the Gospel, when they were enabled by the Spirit
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to trust Him as their
personal Lord and Savior. but according as He hath chosen
us in Christ. We were chosen in Him before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. Now look at verse 6. To the praise
of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. The way God accepts sinners,
black, foul sinners. The way God accepts those that
are born with a nature that hates God and despises everything that's
high and holy. The way God accepts sinners,
the ungodly and those that are very unsaintly. The way God accepts
them is in the Beloved. He puts us in Christ and then
He sees us. He does not see us as we are.
He sees Christ in our place. He sees the Lord Jesus Christ
in our room and in our place. And He looks upon Him. He sees
His merit. He sees His righteousness. He
sees His perfection. And therefore we are accepted
by God in Christ. We can never be accepted. by
God any other way. You say, if I'm religious enough,
the Lord surely will, he surely will accept me. He will not accept
any man unless he is in the beloved. God has one perfect son, and
the Lord Jesus Christ is that one, and he is the representative
of all God's people, and unless you're in him, just like Adam
was our federal representative, and when he sinned, when he did
what he did, we did too, And we all died in Adam, and if we
ever live, it'll be in Christ that we live. Are you in Christ? Are you in Him? Look at this
scripture to be found in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 30. This also is a verse that we
need to think about and to memorize if we're God's people. Look at
it in 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 30. But of Him are you in Christ
Jesus. Of Him. That is, that it's an
act of God that put us in Christ. That we cannot put ourselves
in Christ. It's an act of God that we're
in Christ. Who of God? God has made Him
to be unto us wisdom. Christ is God's wisdom. You say,
Preacher, I don't know much. If you know Christ, then Christ
is God's wisdom. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. And if you know Christ, then
you're wiser than all of your teachers, let me tell you that,
if you know the Lord Jesus, because he's God's wisdom. Now the world
by wisdom, the Bible said, the world by wisdom, they never found
God. They won't seek God. The world's
wisdom tells them to look in another direction, some other
place. But those that know the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ is
their wisdom. And then we take note also that
he's our righteousness, and he's our sanctification, he's our
holiness, and he's our redemption, the Lord Jesus. You say, preacher,
is he all of that? My friend, he is all of that
and more. And unless he is all of that
to you, my friend, you're not his child and you're not going
to be accepted by God. When you die and leave this world,
the only way we can be accepted before the thrice-holy bar of
God is that we be in Christ Jesus and that all the judgment that
was due our sin that is fallen upon him and that God has clothed
us upon with that perfect robe of righteousness and we're righteous
in him in him and that's why we sing of him that's why we
make much of him and that's why we glory in only in the Lord
is because that salvation is entirely in Him, in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and
verse 9, the scripture says, Who hath saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our own works, but according
to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. My friend, salvation is God's
work. Salvation was of God's planning.
Salvation was purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary
and salvation is applied by the divine spirit, the Holy Spirit
of God into the souls of those whom the Father chose before
the world began. Well, so that's who these people
are. They're brethren and they're
saints of God and they're in Christ Jesus. They're married
to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you that everybody
that's saved is married to Christ. They're in union with Him and
they make up the many-membered bride of Christ and they're joined
to Him. Well then, where are these people?
These people that are saints, these people that are brethren,
these people that are married to Jesus. Well, we read here
that they were in Caesar's household. They were in the household of
Nero. Nero had come to the throne. He was his predecessor, Claudius,
and he had gotten to the throne by poisoning his stepbrother. Barticomus, and he was a very,
let me say that he was a very lustful and ruthless individual,
and he was a murderous man, and he burnt down, I understand,
three of the districts out of the 14 that made up the city
of Rome. And then to cover up the awful
crime, he blamed it on the Christians and then set out to destroy the
Christians. And he destroyed thousands of
believers, among whom was Paul and Peter. And so this man was
a was a ruthless individual and these saints of God now they
were in his household. They were they made up the servants
and the slaves of his household. They made up those who took care
of the grounds and and who took care of the palace and took care
of all of his of his goods. These were the people and and
among all of those many employees if you want to call them that
are workers in Caesar's household some of them were believers they
were children of God and that's who I'm talking about those believers
that were there in Caesar's household now Paul was in prison and he
had been put there by Nero but yet there were children of God
that were saluting the folks of Philippi even from Caesar's
own household isn't that amazing it really is it's an amazing
thing now beloved I don't know whether these people whether
they wanted to be Well, they got there maybe because
they were slaves. Maybe they had been captured
and brought there and made to work there unwillingly. But nevertheless, they were there.
Maybe they had been born in Caesar's household and had heard the gospel
and had been converted and had been saved. But they were there,
here in Caesar's household. Now Fred, you may not be where
you want to be this morning. You may say, well, I don't really
want to be where I am. You may be in a business. You
may be in a job. You may be in a marriage. You
may be in a situation where you don't really want to be. But
I want you to understand this, that these people were in the
position they were in I believe because God had ordained them
to be in that position. God had placed them there in
Caesar's household, and I'll try to show you in a few moments
why I think that they were there. But nevertheless, in those words
of Thomas Kelly, in praise the Savior, ye who know him, these
words, then we shall be where we would be. We may not be there
now. We may be somewhere else. We
may not want to be where we are, but then we shall be where we
would be. Then we shall be what we should
be. Things that are not now nor could
be soon shall be our own. So the people of God are going
to finally someday maybe even be where they want to be and
that is with the Lord in eternal glory. But these people were
the children of God but they were in Caesar's household. Now they were where God had ordained
them to be. He had placed them there providentially
and sovereignly. He had set them in Caesar's household. He put them there in his providence. Well, how did you get where you
are? How did you get in the position
that you're in? Well, I believe you got there
by the providence of God. You say, well preacher, I come
in a very unusual way to where I am now. Well, many of us have
come in a very unusual way to where we are now. But let me
tell you this, if you're here this morning under the sound
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, God has providentially brought
you to this place. He has brought you here and the
hope of your soul is that you will hear the message, that sweet
and glorious message of how God was in Christ reconciling men
and women unto himself and how that the just for the unjust
went to the cross, that glory tree outside the city of Jerusalem
and bled and died in order that sinners could be regenerated
and born again by the Spirit of God and be in His family. God has brought you here by His
providence. Now then, I want to go ahead
with this a little bit. God had found these people in
Caesar's household. You say, well, I wouldn't think
the Lord would be looking for anybody in Caesar's household. I wouldn't
think God would be looking for anybody over there, not in Nero's
house, not in this man who hated Christians and hated believers,
and not in this murderous man's house. I wouldn't think God would
be looking for anybody there. Let me tell you this, brother,
sister, God has his people everywhere. and God will find them wherever
they are. You say, well, I've been learning
from God. He'll find you. If He's chosen you, He will find
you and He'll lay hold of you. It won't make any difference
where you plant yourself. God will find His people, every
one of His sheep. There are other sheep, Jesus
said, which I have. This most unlikely place in Caesar's
household. Well then, what can we learn?
Thirdly and lastly, what can we learn from this? All of this
that we've said this morning. Well, there's four or five things
that I'd like to suggest to you that we can learn from these
saints of God that were in Caesar's household. Number one, the number
one thing that I learned from all of this is that God has his
people everywhere. God has them everywhere. Now
if you look at the poor, afflicted, and storm-tossed people of God,
you'll be surprised. You'll be surprised. If you're
looking for them, you'll be surprised where you'll find them. Now we
mentioned that Caesar's household was a very unlikely place. God sows his people wherever
he wants them to be. God sows them and sometimes God
uproots his people and takes them halfway or three-quarters
of the way across the nation and plants them somewhere else
because that's where he wants them. You will find God's people
everywhere. Now then, I want you also to
take note of another scripture and it's found over in the book
of Acts and this I think is a very interesting scripture, and it
brings me to the second point that I'd like to make here in
regards to what we can know is that God knows them that are
His. God knows them that are His.
You'll find His people in many, many places all over the world. God's people are scattered out
in most unlikely places, but God knows them that are His. He knew These saints that were
in Caesar's household, he knew them. And you can look in 2 Timothy
chapter 2 and verse 19, and it says, Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them
that are his, and let every one who nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. The foundation of God has this
sure seal. God knows them that are His. You say, well, my mama thinks
I belong to the Lord. Well, she may be right, she may
be wrong, but God knows whether you belong to the Lord or not.
You say, well, the preacher thinks I'm saved. Well, he may think
you're saved, but I'll tell you this, God knows whether you are
or not. God knows whether you're a child
of God, whether you belong to Him, whether you're in His family.
God knows who's in His family and who isn't in His family.
Now then, there's another verse that I want to share with you.
It's found in Acts chapter 18. If you were to turn there, Acts
chapter 18, verses 9 and 10. This has to do with the Apostle
Paul and God knowing those that are his. And in this chapter,
Paul has been preaching in a city called Corinth. And he's had
a little bit of success but there's been some people that got very
much irritated and upset with him and they were out to get
him. And so we read in verse 9 Then spake the Lord to Paul
in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold
not thy peace. For I am with thee, and no man
shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this
city. Now the apostle Paul did not
know these people. He had never met these people
yet. But the Lord said to him, I have much people in this city.
Which shows that God knows His people, and He knows where they
are, and He knows them even before they're converted. Even before
they're brought to Himself. Even before the preacher goes
to preach to them, the Lord knows them because He chose them before
time began. He chose them before the morning
stars sang together. The Lord chose his people before
there was a world. God had chosen his people and
these people belong to the Lord and the Lord's going to save
them. And so he told Paul, I've got much people in this city.
And we can learn that from this this morning that God has some
people and don't be surprised if you run on to some of them
around here, and discover that all the time you thought, well,
just so few God's real children here, and you discover that there's
more of them than you ever dreamt of, that God does have these
people, and you will find them, and sometime they're near at
hand, And sometimes they're a piece off, but God has his people and
the Lord knows who are his, who belongs to him. Now the number
three thing is this, what do we learn from this? That wherever
God's people are, And wherever they're found, it's a place of
witness for them. God puts them where they are,
sows them where they are, in order that they would be a witness
for Him. Now, we may feel that we're wasting
our time where we are. We may say, well, you know, I'm
here in this position, this job I've got, and this situation
that I'm in, or this school that I'm in, or this business that
I'm in, or this office that I'm in. I'm just wasting my time
as a Christian. I just don't seem to be making
any progress whatsoever. You say, where I live and work
is a very bad place, preacher. Well, maybe that's why God put
you there. Maybe that's why God sold you there. Maybe that's
why God put you in the place that you are, in order that you
might be a light in a dark place. And you're of the day. God's people are of the day,
not of the night. And the reason God put these
people in Caesar's household is in order that they might be
a blessing. Think of these believers there
in Caesar's household, and one word, one wrong word, could have
meant their lives. One false step could have been
disastrous, but God placed them in this precarious place to be
a witness unto Him. This world, my friend, is no
friend of grace to help us unto God. And wherever you find yourself,
And I think you should understand that God put me here. Don't just
go around crying about the awful place you're in. And just all
the time, you know, fretting about it. But remember, God put
you there. And as long as you're there,
God would have you to be a witness in that place. And then when
He moves you on, the next place you find yourself, He'd have
you to be a witness there also. Now the number four thing I learned
is this. We learn that wherever God puts us, It's a place to
grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, wherever He puts
us. Now, sometimes we don't feel that where we are is conducive
to our learning anything and our making any progress in the
grace of God. And I'm sure these saints there
that were in Caesar's household, they probably couldn't have a
Bible study and they probably couldn't get together for a prayer
meeting. If they did, they had to hide to do it. But they were
in a place where they could grow in the grace of God. They really
were. You know the Psalm says in Psalm 23 and 6, it says, Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and
I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The goodness and
the mercy of God follows the Lord's people wherever they are.
And even if they're in Caesar's household, God's mercy is with
them. God's grace is with them. And they can grow. Where God
has placed us will bring many, many trials. But God who has
called us into the fellowship of His Son is faithful. And God
will be faithful unto His people. And it's a place to grow and
look on it that way. God's put you where you are and
you can grow in the grace of God. In that place you can grow.
1 Corinthians 10 and 13, There hath no testing taken you, but
such is common to man. God is faithful who will not
suffer or allow you to be tested above what you're able, but will
with the testing make a way of escape that you might be able
to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10 and 13, God
is with his people and you can bear what you have to bear and
wherever he puts you and sows you, you'll be able to deal with
it. You'll be able to deal with it,
brother. You say, well, I'm in new circumstances. Well, you'll
be able to deal with it. It'll be a trial to you, but
God will bless you and God will undertake for you. He'll meet
your needs. He'll supply your needs. He's a God that is all-sufficient
and He can meet your need, whatever it might be. You say, preacher,
my situation is very peculiar. It's very difficult. I just wonder
if I'll Can make any progress at all where I am well You just
wait the Lord will deliver you and he'll bless you and you'll
find that you can glorify God wherever you are and you'll find
That God will meet your needs and that the Lord will supply
and that you will grow in his grace now these people in Caesar's
household I don't think they would have changed places with
Caesar himself I don't think they would You say, well now,
do you really mean that? I really mean that. I don't think
they would. Now old Caesar died, Nero did
when he was 32 years old. But these believers that were
there in his household, I don't think they would have changed
places with him when he was alive and when he was in his best health.
They would not have changed places. They knew they were better off
than he was. They knew that he was going to face God one day,
and they recognized that having God with them, and the blessing
of God upon them, that they were better off than he, and therefore
they would have never changed places with him. And if you're
a child of God today, never feel sorry for yourself. You say,
well, I wouldn't have wanted to have been in Caesar's household.
No, you wouldn't have wanted to be there. But my friend, listen,
you're feeling sorry for yourself this morning. You say, I've got
so many troubles, preacher. I've got so many problems. But
listen, if you're a child of God, if God's your Father, if
Christ is your Redeemer, if the Spirit of God has indwelt you
and is your Comforter, then you have no reason to feel sorry
for yourself. If you're in right relationship
with the Lord, if God has blessed you with all spiritual blessings
in Christ Jesus, then you have no reason to feel sorry for yourself. You're a child of the King, and
you belong to Him. His royal blood now flows in
your veins, and you're one with Him, and you belong to Him, and
you will inherit, along with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you have no need to feel sorry for yourself. Think of
those believers over there in Caesar's household. Now the number
fifth and last thing is this. What do we learn from this? We
learn from all of this, at least I do, that one day things will
just be turned around opposite of what they are now. One thing
I learned here, and this is a blessing to me, is that things are going
to be turned around. And those that are, that is in the world
to come, those that are on top now will be on the bottom then. And those that are on the bottom
now, they're going to be on top then. Now I'll read a passage
of scripture to you from the 16th chapter of the book of Luke.
If you would turn there, I want to read beginning here with verse
19. And remember, I think you can remember this story and you'll
see exactly what I'm talking about. That those that are on
top now will be on the bottom then and vice versa. Look at
it, verse 19, there was a certain rich man which was clothed in
purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there
was a certain beggar named Lazarus. You see, here's the rich man,
he was on top, and Lazarus, he was on the bottom, which was
laid at his gate full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the
crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, more of the dogs
came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the
beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. You see that? Here's the beggar,
he died, and the angels carry him up to Abraham's bosom, and
the rich man also died, and was buried, and in hell he lift up
his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom. And so you get the picture. There's
coming a day when those that are on top in this world are
going to be on the bottom, and those that are on the bottom
are going to be on top. And so old Caesar's burning in
hell now, but all of those saints of God who had to go around fearful
of their life every day as they worked for him and lived in his
household are now in the freedom and bliss and glory of heaven. And old Nero's in hell burning
there in the flames of hell along with this rich man that's spoken
of here. And he cried and said, in verse
24, this is the rich man, Father Abraham have mercy on me and
send Lazarus. That fellow used to be at my
gate. Send him that he may dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue for I'm tormented this flame. Can't you imagine,
oh Nero, oh Caesar, can you imagine him looking for someone, one
of those calling out for one of those servants in his house
that was a believing servant, come, come and bring me a cold
drink. Well, in hell he'll still be
asking for it, but he won't get it, because the people of God
will be worshiping the Father, they'll be joining in glorious
chorus around the throne of the eternal God while He's burning
in hell. And so the truth stands, my friend,
that there's coming a day when things are going to be turned
around. and all of those who are without Christ will be in
hell and all of those that know Christ and love Him and have
been saved by His gospel will be in eternal glory. May God
be pleased to bless you with these thoughts this morning and
to give you a heart toward Him. May the Lord give you His salvation
as to be found in His Son. Let's have a hymn