Which, to turn back to the book
of Philippians, I'm gonna attempt to bring a message on the message
of this epistle of Philippians. Tonight, we're going to observe
the Lord's table together. I am thankful for such a blessing
to be able to get together to do this in remembrance of Him.
And we're also going to have this Friday night, the Christmas
get together at the Hackers. And I'm looking forward to that. Friday night, everyone's invited.
We didn't get to do it last year, so I'm very thankful for that. It appears from Paul's testimony
that the church at Philippi might have been the church that he
was at the most intimate terms. with in his own experience. Look in verse three, Philippians
one. He said, I thank my God upon
every remembrance, remembrance of you always in every prayer
of mine for you all making request with joy for your fellowship
in the gospel. from the first day until now. Look at chapter four, verse 10. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly
that now the last year care of me had flourished again, wherein
ye also were careful, but you lacked opportunity. Look in verse
14. Notwithstanding, you've well
done that you did communicate with my afflictions. Now you
Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel,
when I departed for Macedonia, no church communicated with me. He's talking about supporting
him in his missionary endeavors. No church, talking about the
churches in Galatia, the church at Corinth, no church communicated
with me as concerning giving and receiving but you only. So we see that he had a special,
special relationship with this church. And the beginning of
this church is recorded in Acts chapter 17. Remember when Paul
saw a vision in the night, there was a man of Macedonia saying,
come over here and help us. And you'll remember when he went
there, he first preached to a woman by the name of Lydia, a seller
of purple, and the Lord opened her heart. You remember the Philippian
jailer? The Lord saved him and his whole
house. And we're given these memorial words where the Philippian
jailer asks, sirs, what must I do to be saved? No more important
question than that. And notice he didn't say, what
must I do to save myself? He knew he couldn't save himself.
What must I do to be saved? And he's given that answer, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now back
to Philippians chapter three. Finally, my brother. Now what Paul is saying when
he makes that statement is, I've said all this, or I've said all
that to say this. Everything I've said up to this
point was for this reason. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. You know, he said in chapter
four, verse four, rejoice in the Lord always. at all times,
under all circumstances. Rejoice in the Lord always, and
again I say, just in case you didn't hear me, again I say,
rejoice. Now, the first thing that I want
us to think about is who is this Lord we're called upon to rejoice
in? Because if we don't identify
who He is, it's just a fleshly rejoicing. And I don't want to
have anything to do with that. Who is this Lord we're called
upon to rejoice in? Verse 6 of chapter 1, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a work in you will
perform it into the day of Jesus Christ. Now, the first thing
I want to point out, the one whose day is coming. There's
something called the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not yet,
it's not yet. In God's providence, it's not
yet, but it will be. His day is coming. Look in verse 16. The one preached Christ of contention,
not sincerely, supposing to add to affliction to my bonds, but
the other 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 and
will rejoice. This one is the one who's the
content of the preaching of the gospel, Christ. God's prophet,
God's priest, God's king is preached. This is who this one is, he's
the one who's preached. He himself is the content of
the gospel. Look in verse 21 of this same
chapter. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now listen to what he's saying.
If you know him, THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE WILL BE THE LAST
DAY. BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. TO LIVE
IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN. BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. LIFE NOW
BEGINS. THIS IS THE ONE WE'RE CALLED
UPON TO REJOICE IN. LOOK IN VERSE 29 OF CHAPTER 1. FOR UNTO YOU IT IS GIVEN as a
gift of grace unto you, it is given in the behalf of Christ,
not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. This one is so glorious that
it's a gift of God to be enabled to suffer for his sake. That's
how glorious he is. Look in chapter two, if there
therefore be any consolation in Christ, If any comfort of
love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any boughs of mercies,
fulfill ye my joy that you be like minded. Having the same love, being of
one accord and of one mind. Now, if we're not like minded,
Me and you, right now, one of us is wrong-minded. I pray that
we all be like-minded. Fulfill ye my joy that ye be
like-minded, having the same love. Being of one accord, of
one mind, let nothing be done through strife. or vain glory,
but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem the other as better
than themselves. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man on the things of others. Let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Now, here's the
one we're called upon to rejoice in, this one who being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Now understand
this about this one. There's only one reason why he
didn't find it a thing to be grasped for, to be equal with
God, because he is God. Listen to me. Jesus Christ, this
one we're called upon to rejoice in, is God Almighty. And yet this one, verse seven,
made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of
a servant and was made in the likeness of men. The eternal
God became flesh and came in the likeness of people like me
and you, men and women. What a stoop! What a stoop. God, God actually
became flesh. And he stooped even more. Look
in verse eight. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Now his death on the cross is
called by Moses and Elijah. When they were speaking with
the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration, it says they spake of the deceased,
which he should accomplish. And his death on the cross was
the greatest of all. Well, I wouldn't even want to
call it the greatest. I wouldn't even want to compare
it to anything else. If you want to know what obedience
is, don't look to your acts of obedience. They shouldn't even
be brought up. He became obedient to death. His father said, go be nailed
to a cross. He said, yes, father. His cross
is the greatest manifestation of who God is. You will not know
God apart from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the cross
of the Christ manifests every one of His glorious attributes.
His justice, His sovereignty, His holiness, His mercy, His
love, His grace. His death on the cross accomplished
the complete salvation of all of God's elect. When he said,
it is finished, my salvation was complete. Finished. Completed. Nothing left for me
to do. That's the Lord in whom we are
to rejoice in. Look in verse 9, wherefore God,
Philippians 2 verse 9, wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him. And given him a name, which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should
bow. Do you know every knee is going
to bow to him? Believers, unbelievers, they're
all going to be made to bow. of things in heaven and things
in earth and things under the earth. And that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father. Now chapter three, I've said
all this to say this. Finally, my brethren rejoice
in the Lord. to write the same things to you. To me, indeed, is not grievous. It's not irksome. But for you,
it's safe. Now, the preaching of the gospel
is the repetition of the same things. The gospel Is a limited body. Everything that said is not necessarily
gospel. There's a message. And that message is to be repeated
over and over and over again. And yet Paul says, that's not
grievous to me. Now, anything authored by human,
I don't care what it is. it will become grievous at some
point. The repetition of that becomes
grievous. And it can be the same thing
in a preacher. You know, a preacher, I ask Lynn all the time, am I
saying something too repetitively? And generally, she'll say yes,
and she'll tell me what it is, and I'll try to make a note of
that, and I don't want to say it anymore, or keep it down for
a while before it comes out again, you know? Because, I mean, somebody
says, he says the same things. Well, give me a break. I do. I've got a limited amount of
ability, a limited amount of knowledge. You try it. Someone says, you try it. But I tell you what, I want to
preach the exact same things. And it's not grievous. It's not
irksome to hear the gospel over and over again. Now, if I hear
a preacher as a judge and a critic, he starts getting on my nerves.
That's not the way to hear the gospel. You hear the gospel as
a hearer. And I want to hear the gospel. And it's not grievous, it's always
new, it's always fresh. When you're hearing it in the
power of the Holy Spirit, same things are sweet, safe. He says to write the same things
to me, to you, to me is not grievous, but for you it's safe. It's the
only safe thing there is, the repetition of Do you believe
that? It's the only safe thing there
is. Beware of dogs. Now he is saying the same thing
the Lord said when he said, beware of false prophets. Beware of
dogs. And what he calls them next,
evil workers. They talk about good works, but
it's not. They're evil workers. And then
Paul invents a new word. Beware of the concision. Now, they call themselves the
circumcision, but all they are is mutilators. He said, in Galatians,
with regard to the circumcision, he said, I would that they were
cut off that trouble you. You know, they talk about circumcision,
let them go the whole way if they're troubling you with regard
to the gospel. Four, verse three, we are the
circumcision. Who, Paul? which worship God. Now understand this, if I worship
God, I worship Him for who He is. I worship Him in His sovereignty. I worship Him in His holiness. I worship Him in His eternality. I worship Him in His justice. I worship Him in His immutability. I worship Him in His grace and
in His love. I worship Him for who He is.
And the only way I'm going to worship Him for who He is is
if I worship Him in the Spirit. A natural man cannot worship
God. That's why I never, ever say
to somebody, come worship with us. Well, I hope you can. I hope
you can, but the only way anybody worships is in the Spirit. If
God the Holy Spirit gives you the nature to worship, that's
the new nature. That's the new man. He's the
only one who worships God. The only way of worship is in
God the Holy Spirit. It's called the new birth. How do you know if you're worshiping
God in the Holy Spirit? You rejoice in Christ Jesus.
Now there the word rejoice is not the same word used in verse
one. That word in verse one means be happy in, rejoice in, be exalted
in the Lord Jesus Christ. But here the word means you glory
in the Lord Jesus Christ. You have confidence in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Paul put it this way in Galatians
6.14, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. You have confidence only in Christ. That's what it means to worship
God in the spirit. You have confidence only in Christ. Now let me tell you what those
folks who have confidence only in Christ do. They have no confidence
in the flesh. None at all. Let me repeat that, none at all. And then Paul says in verse four,
though I might also have confidence in the flesh, If any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he may trust in the flesh, I've
got more than him. Now look, he gives his resume.
He said, I was circumcised the eighth day. That's what the law
prescribes. Of the stock of Israel. I'm a
true Israelite. I'm a full-blooded Jew. Of the
tribe of Benjamin. And Hebrew of the Hebrews. I'm
not only Hebrew, I'm a Hebrew of the Hebrews. That's touching
the law. I was a Pharisee. Now I was thinking
about this, him making this comment about him being a Pharisee. In
the Old Testament scripture, is there anything about the Pharisees
in the Old Testament scripture? No, they weren't even invented
until about 150 years before the birth of Christ. He was talking
about a denomination is what he was talking about. I was of
the denomination of the Pharisees. And he said in another place
that was the straightest strict, the most, is that the right way
to say it? The strictest strict? Whatever.
It was a hard-nosed religious denomination. No different than
the Baptist and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and the Catholics
and the whatever man-made denomination you want to talk about. Pharisees
man-made, but natural to man. The fair, it means separated
one. Something I do to separate myself. It's man's religion is
what it is. That's exactly what that's talking
about. He said, um, as touching the law as a Pharisee concerning
zeal, I believed I was right so much. I mean, I believe I
had it down. Concerning zeal I persecuted
the church anybody that didn't believe what I believed they
needed to be persecuted. They were wrong and I'm right
Touching the righteousness which is in the law He was like that
rich young ruler all these have I kept from my youth up That's
what he said about God's holy law. I've kept it. I Was blameless but verse 7 but
I love the butts in the scripture. It's, uh, the grace of God, but what things were game to me that
I thought were in the plus column. Those I counted loss, garbage,
refuse. Of no saving benefit. I used to think this would be
to my advantage. Now I see it's to my disadvantage. Yay. Doubtless. There is no doubt about this. I'm convinced of this. I count
all things, but loss. For the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Everything that at one time I
thought to be good, I now see it as garbage, as loss, no merit
in it whatsoever. For the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord. You see, you won't see their
loss until you see his excellency. And when you see his excellency,
you'll see what everything else is. And here's what he calls
it. For whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do count
them but done. Now there's another word we use
for that. And you know what that is. I said this in Sunday school
a couple of weeks ago. I said, Lynn, can I use that
word? She said, no, don't use that word. Well, I'm not going
to use that word, but you know what it is. That's how Paul counted
all of his former religion and all of his righteousness. How about you? How about you? Do you count it dung? That you may win Christ. Here's
what Paul wanted. That I may win Christ and be
found. Who's looking for you, Paul?
God is. And here's the way I want to
be found when he comes looking for me. That I may be found in Christ. And let me tell you what that
means. Here's the only way I want to
be found. When God sees me, all I want him to see is Jesus Christ. Nothing else. Nothing else. What's that mean? Not having,
verse nine, not having my own righteousness, which is of the
law. I don't want to have anything
to do with anything that has anything to do with me. Don't
want it. Don't want it. But that which is through the
faith of Christ. the righteousness which is of
God by faith. Now listen real carefully. If
I stand before God justified, there's only one reason. I possess
the righteousness of God. Not my own righteousness. Not
my own doing. But the very righteousness of
God. Second Corinthians 521 says,
for he hath made him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made. The righteousness of
God. Now, there's our boldness. There's our confidence to come
into God's presence. I'm not coming in my own righteousness.
The righteousness of God is my personal righteousness. So that
if you tell my story, it's the righteousness of God. Mine. being found in him, not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ. You know, my faith is the faith of Christ. It's not my faith. It's not produced
for me. It's the faith of Jesus Christ,
his faithfulness, his obedience. the righteousness which is of
God by faith. And look what he says in verse
10. He doesn't end there with I just want to be found in him.
He says, I want to know him. I want to know him. I don't simply
want to know about him. I want to know him. I want to
know him to this extent that if I call upon his name, he knows
who it is that's calling. And he would count me His friend. His friend. It's not a strange
voice calling upon His name. It's one whom He knows. Now that's how much I want to
know Him. I want to know Him so that He knows me. That's the
knowledge I want. I don't want to just be name
dropping when I use His name. But I don't really know Him.
I want to know him whom to know is life eternal. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. Verse 10, that I might know him.
and the power of his resurrection. Now, what does that mean? Somebody
says, I need more power in my life. I want power to, well,
I do too, but that ain't what he's talking about. When he talks
about knowing the power of his resurrection, listen to me, there's
such power in his resurrection. that when he was raised from
the dead, God looked at Todd Nybert and everybody else that
he died for and said, I am satisfied. I'm not looking for anything
else out of him. He's perfect in my sight. Now that's the power of his resurrection,
isn't it? When he was raised from the dead,
I was raised from the dead as well. And as he is pleased with
what Christ did, he is pleased with everybody he did it for.
And that is the power of his resurrection. And he says in
verse 10, and the fellowship of his sufferings. What that
means is, is I want to know that what he did, he did for me. I want to know I had a part in
what he did. Because the only hope I have
is that I had a part in what he did. Paul put it this way
in Galatians 2. He said, I want to know that
he loved me and gave himself for me. I want to know I had
a part in what he did. Just that lets you know that
the very idea of Jesus Christ dying for everybody is ridiculous.
I mean, if he died for everybody, everybody would be saved. That's a no-brainer. And we know
that not everybody's saved. He died for his elect. I want
to know that I had a part in that, don't you? I want to know
he died for me. I want to rest in him only. I want to know that I was a partaker
in his sufferings. And look what he says next, being
made conformable unto his death. Now the only way I'll be made
conformable unto his death is if God makes me conformable to
his death. But he became obedient unto death. Don't you want to be made conformable
to his obedience? HE BECAME OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH. AND WHAT IS SO ENCOURAGING ABOUT
IT, I WOULD BE SO UTTERLY DISCOURAGED ABOUT THIS IF IT DIDN'T SAY BEING
MADE. IT'S SOMETHING GOD DOES. BEING
MADE CONFORMABLE UNTO HIS DEATH IF BY ANY MEANS, HE SAYS IN VERSE
11, HERE'S WHAT I WANT. I WANT TO BE FOUND IN CHRIST.
I WANT TO KNOW HIM. I want to know the power of his
resurrection. I want to know the fellowship of his sufferings.
I want to be made conformable unto his death. If by any means
I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, when I'll be raised
perfectly conformed to his image, being like him, the great end
of predestination realized. Whom He did foreknow, He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. I want to be raised up to where
I don't even remember what it's like to be a sinner. I have no
consciousness of sin. I'll know the only reason I'm
there is because of Him. I won't be thinking, I'm here
because of my... No, I'll know better than that,
but I won't even remember what it's like. to be a sinner. That's what it says in verse
12. It's not as though I had already
attained. I'm not saying I'm there yet.
Even as I speak, Paul says, even as I speak, I am keenly aware. In my present experience, oh,
wretched man, that I, not used to be, am. I'm not there where I want to
be yet. I am in my redeemer. I'm already
there. But in my present experience
right now, while I'm speaking, I've not yet attained Either
were already perfect, but I follow after, I pursue, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I'm apprehended. I love the song, Hail Sovereign
Love. that first began the scheme to
rescue fallen man. Hail matchless, free, eternal
grace that gave my soul a hiding place. Against the God who ruled
the sky, I fought with hand uplifted high, despised the mention of
his grace, too proud to seek. a hiding place, enwrapped in
thick Egyptian night, and fond of darkness more than light.
Madly I ran the sinful race, secure, without a hiding place. But thus the eternal counsel
ran, Almighty love, arrest that man. That's what he's talking
about when he says being apprehended. I want to be apprehended, don't
you? I want to be arrested by him. Almighty love arrest that
man. I felt the arrows of distress
and found I had no hiding place. Indignant justice stood in view
to Sinai's fiery mount I flew. the place of the giving of the
law, and just described with frowning face, this mountain
is no hiding place. Ere long a heavenly voice I heard,
and mercy's angel form appeared that led me on with gentle pace
to Jesus Christ, my hiding place. On him eternal vengeance fell
that must have sunk a world to hell. He bore it for a chosen
race and thus became their hiding place. Should storms of sevenfold thunder
roll and shake my soul from pole to
pole, no flaming bolt could knock my face, for Jesus is my hiding
place. A few more rolling storms at
most shall land me safe on Canaan's coast, there I shall sing. of sovereign grace to Jesus Christ,
my hiding place. Apprehended. Now look what he
says. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended. I've been apprehended, but I
haven't apprehended what I will one day, but This one thing I
do. I wish me and you'd learn this.
This one thing I do. Forgetting those things which
are behind. You know what to do about them?
Forget them. Good things? Forget them. Bad things? Forget them. Forgetting those things which
are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before
the Lord Jesus, I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. How high? Well, he's made
unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
and I press toward that mark. Let us therefore, as many as
be perfect, be thus minded, be in complete agreement with me,
and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal this
unto you. You're gonna be playing the same
instrument I am, believing the same thing. Brethren, he says
in verse 17, be followers together of me and mark them as which
walk as you have us for an example for many walk of whom I've told
you often and tell you now even weeping that they're enemies
of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God
is their belly and whose glory is in their shame and mind earthly
things. May the Lord deliver us from
that. Look what he says in verse 16. I left out this one. Nevertheless,
where to we've attained? Let us walk by the same rule.
Let us mind the same thing. Look what he says in verse 24,
our conversation. is in heaven. My conduct, my conversation,
my life, not down here. He's in heaven. That's my conversation. Christ, our life, shall appear. From whence 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. Therefore, my brethren, Dearly
beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown, so stand fast in
the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech you, Adias, and beseech
Sintikei, that they be of the same mind in the Lord, be like-minded,
and I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women
which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and
with others, my fellow labors, whose names are in the book of
life, that's talking about the elect, And then he gives what
he said in verse one of chapter three again, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Always. Again I say, rejoice. That is the message of Philippians
and that is the message of the whole word of God. Let's pray together. Lord, we ask in Christ's name that we would, by your grace, be divinely enabled to rejoice
always in the Lord. Lord, we pray that you would
put it in our heart to have this desire to be found in Christ
to know him, to know the power of his resurrection,
to know the fellowship of his suffering, to be made conformable unto his
death. that we might attain unto the
resurrection of the dead. Lord, truly we're strangers and
pilgrims here. And Lord, we say with Paul of
old to live as Christ. And Lord, the day of our death
will be the best day of our life because we'll be ushered into
the very presence of Jesus Christ being perfectly conformed to
his image, beholding his face in righteousness. Bless this
message for the Lord's sake. Teach us what it means to glory
in Christ, to trust Christ, to look to Him only. In His name
we pray.