A Prayer for All Saints

Q: What does the Bible say about prayer for other believers?

The Bible emphasizes the importance of interceding for fellow believers, as illustrated by Paul's prayer for the saints in Philippi. In Philippians 1:1-14, Paul exemplifies the practice of praying for other believers, highlighting a special bond among those who share in the faith. He explicitly mentions 'all the saints' indicating that our prayers should be directed towards fellow believers. This is consistent with Jesus’ statement, ‘I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me,’ which emphasizes that our intercessions carry a weight of mutual support and encouragement within the community of faith. Thus, believers are called to regularly uplift one another in prayer, fostering unity and love in the body of Christ.

Q: Why is fellowship in the gospel important for Christians?

Fellowship in the gospel is crucial as it unites believers in the shared truth of Christ’s saving grace. According to Philippians 1:5, Paul states that their fellowship is grounded in the gospel from the first day until now. This fellowship is a profound bond that transcends mere social connections, rooting itself in the divine truth of Christ's atoning work. It is not based on personal merit or familial ties, but rather on the shared experience of grace and acceptance into God's family through faith. This bond is eternal and meaningful, reinforcing that the centrality of the gospel is what binds believers together across various backgrounds and circumstances. Hence, the unity found in the gospel fosters an environment of encouragement and growth in faith.

Q: How do we know that God is working within us?

We can be confident that God is at work in us because of the transformation we experience upon believing the gospel. Philippians 1:6 assures us that ‘He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ This verse emphasizes God's faithfulness in the believer's life, as genuine transformation and growth in faith are indicators of His active work. When a believer begins to show an increasing love for Christ and His Word, and a desire to live in accordance with His will, it is a manifestation of God's handiwork in their hearts. This inner change is not something we initiate, but a product of divine grace, confirming our status as God’s people and assuring us that He will complete the work He has begun.

Q: What does it mean to have love that abounds more and more?

Having love that abounds means developing a deeper, overflowing love for Christ and others through knowledge and insight. In Philippians 1:9, Paul prays that the love of the Philippians may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment. This refers to a growing love that is active and overflowing, rooted in a deeper understanding of Christ and His gospel. As believers grow in knowledge of the Word and experiences of God's grace, their capacity to love—both for God and for others—expands. This abounding love not only reaches out to fellow believers but also involves discernment, helping one to recognize the truth and value of what glorifies God versus what does not. Thus, love is more than an emotion; it is a dynamic expression of faith that grows through relational and scriptural knowledge.

I brought a message from 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5. And I had a few words to say
about, don't turn to it, I'll quote it, it's just a verse of
four words. In 1 Thessalonians 5, I had a
few words to say about Paul's request there in verse 25. He said, Brethren, pray for us. Pray for us. Brethren, pray for
us. Now, I know we have a thousand needs. And if anybody's praying
for me, about any direction you take in sincere prayer for me
will be to my advantage. Brethren, pray for us. And I
hesitate to suggest a definite direction for a man's prayer. But I found a few verses over
in Philippians 1. I will have you turn over there
with me. Philippians chapter 1. I found a few verses here in
Paul's letter to the Philippians regarding his prayer for those
believers in Philippi. And I believe this prayer pretty
well sums up what we need. I think it pretty well sums up
what we need. Turn to Philippians 1. Now I'm going to look at the first
14 verses of Philippians 1. That's our text. Philippians
1, 1 through 14. The title of the message is a
prayer for all the saints. And I've divided these 14 verses
up into two parts. Verses 1 through 8, Paul tells
us for whom he prays. For whom he prays. Verse 9 through
14, he tells us what he prays for these people. Now, for whom
does Paul pray? I know there's a sense in which
we pray for everybody, but there's a particular sense in which we
pray for His people. Our Lord said, I don't pray for
the world, I pray for those whom thou hast given me. There's a
particular sense in which we bear before God one another. And there's a particular people
for whom we intercede on a regular basis. And here in Philippians
1, verse 1, we'll find out who they are. First of all, in verse
1, Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ, the bond slaves
of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are in
Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. That gives you the first
clue concerning those for whom he prays, all the saints. all
the saints, all believers in Christ in Philippi with the bishops,
deacons, elders, officers, all of them. Now verse 2, he says,
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you. Every memory of you causes me
to thank God. every time I think of you. Every
memory of you brings praise to God, thanksgiving to God. And verse 4, always in every
prayer of mine for you all, I pray for all the saints, for you all. Pray for all of you. I pray for
all of you. I pray with joy, look at that
verse 4, always in every prayer of mine for you, All making requests
for joy. You see, with joy. These people and Paul had a special
relationship. These true believers. These folks
who loved Christ. The saints in Christ in Philippi. They had a special relationship
which motivated Paul to pray for them. With joy. and to give
thanks to God for them upon every remembrance, every remembrance,
every memory that cost his mind of them caused him to thank God.
Now then, I want to show you the four things upon which this
relationship rested. Four things he gives us, and
for all these people he's talking about, there are four things
on which this relationship rested. First of all, in verse 5, he
said, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day
until now. That is the main foundation upon
which their relationship was built. Their fellowship in the
gospel. That's it. That's not just like
this woman says here in the letter, that's not just any religion
or any preaching, that's the gospel of grace. The people who are united in
Christ are united, first of all, in the gospel. They have a fellowship
in the gospel, and it's the gospel of His glory, and the gospel
of His grace, and the gospel concerning His Son. And this
gospel, this Redeemer, that's the foundation of their fellowship.
And outside the gospel, Paul wouldn't have any fellowship
with these people at all. Not at all. There's a family fellowship. People have a relationship with
blood kin. They have sons and daughters
and brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers. And that's
a relationship. And that's built upon a common
name and a common mother and father or a family relationship. They're kin folks, and they care
about one another. And that's the bond that keeps
them to caring, keeps them in contact. But if they weren't
kin, as you and I are not blood kin, and as Paul and these people
were not blood kin, they didn't have the same name. They didn't
have anything to bring them together except one thing, and that's
the gospel of Christ. But that is the supreme thing.
That's what made them one, was the gospel of Christ. That's
why he said we have fellowship in the gospel. Now this family
relationship, this blood kin, this family name, this thing
that brings some folks together because they have that common
bond of family, that'll be gone someday. That'll be gone. But this relationship in Christ
is eternal. That's God's family. That's God's
family. That's what he's talking about
here. I pray. There's some folks I pray for. There's some folks that live
on my heart all the time. There's some folks for whom I
give thanks to God every time I think of them. There's some
folks that I pray for with joy. There's some folks that bring
gladness to my heart, and those are the folks, in verse 5 he
says, who have a fellowship with me in Christ Jesus. That's it. And these kin folks, if you weren't
kin, you wouldn't have nothing to do with one another. That's
right. Because they hate your God. That's
right. They hate your God. And God's
enemies are my enemies. That's what David said. But this
fellow, that's the first fellowship, that's the bond. It brings them
together. I thank God for your fellowship
in the gospel. And Paul wouldn't tolerate any
other gospel. He said if anybody preaches any
other gospel, let him be accursed. I'll say that again, he said.
Even if it's an angel from heaven, let him be accursed. And then
here's the second foundation for this relationship and this
prayer for these people, verse 6, being confident of this very
thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it unto the day of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says, I pray
for you and I think of you with joy. Because I see that God's
done something in you. God's done something in you.
It's obvious to me that He hath begun a good work in you. That's right. What has been done in you is
not of man, it's of God. God has begun. He hasn't finished
it yet. But He will. He said, I'm confident. That He which has begun that
good work, that work of grace and mercy in you, He's going
to perform it, finish it, complete it, unto the day of Jesus Christ. But it's begun. That's what He
said to the Thessalonians. He said, I thank God for you,
and I'm sure you're the elect of God. Because our gospel came
to you in, not in word only, but in power, in assurance. You
became followers of us and the Lord, so forth. He said, God
has begun a work in you. And that's what brings us together. Number one, you love the gospel.
Number two, God's given you a new heart, a new nature. A heart
to love Christ has been a work of grace begun in you, alright? Here's the third thing. Even
as it is meet, and that word is right, put down in your margin
R-I-G-H-T, even it's right for me to think this of you. It's
correct for me to think this of you. Because I have you in
my heart. God's laid you on my heart. You
see that? God has laid you on my heart. This is why I pray for you. Pray
for all the believers, because of your fellowship in
the gospel. Because it's obvious to me, I'm
confident, God has begun a work in you. It's the work of God. And then, God put you on my heart. Wouldn't it be terrible for God
not to lay us on the hearts of His people, of His servants? You know, if you turn over, and
this is all a heart work, this business of salvation and grace
and that which has to do with God is a heart work. God lays
it on the heart of the teachers, like Ron said, bless the pastor,
he might bless us, lays it on the heart of the preacher to
preach to the people. God takes the word and applies
it to the hearts of the people. Brings them in their hearts to
repent, to love Christ. It's all a heart work. And Paul
is saying here that God's laid you on my heart. I have you on my heart. Turn
with me to 2 Samuel 7. David said something about this. 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel
chapter 7. How else does God speak to His
people? How else does He impress them? Through His Word and through
His Spirit in their hearts. Through His Word, a direct commandment
or a direct instruction or a impression on the heart. You hear preachers
get up here and say, I felt led of God to preach this sermon.
What do you mean you felt led of God? God laid it on my heart.
See what I'm saying? I felt led to come and talk to
you." What do you mean you felt led to? God laid you on my heart.
I felt led, pastor, to give this money for a certain missionary. What do you mean you felt led
to do it? Somebody tell you to? No. Did you read it somewhere?
No. What do you mean? God laid it
on my heart. And that's what Paul is saying
here. He's saying to these Philippians, the gospel brought us together.
And another thing that brought us together is I'm confident
God's done something for you. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't
waste my time. I'm confident. And thirdly, He
laid you on my heart. Now listen to David here. Verse
25 of 2 Samuel 7, And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast
spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish
it forever, and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified
for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel. And
let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed Thou hast revealed, thou hast
opened the ear, the margin says, to thy servant, saying, I'll
build thee a house. And therefore hast thou servant
found in his heart to pray this prayer to you." I found it in my heart. That's
why I'm praying this. Who put it there? Richard. God
did. I found it in my heart. I found
this in my heart." That's what Paul is saying to this church
over here. It's me, it's right for me to think this of you because
I have you in my heart. God laid you on my heart. Don't take that lightly. Don't
take that lightly. Paul's confidence of the redemption
of these people is strengthened because God laid them on His
heart. I'll tell you in verse 7 another
reason why He prays for them. Verse 7 here. He says, It's right
for me to think this of you all, because I have you on my heart.
Think what? That God's begun a work in you
and will finish it. Also, inasmuch as both in my
bonds, in my imprisonment, And in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, you're partaker of my grace. You've stood with
me, Paul said. You've stood with me. You've
held up my hands. In the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, even in prison. And you were not ashamed of the
gospel of God's grace. And you weren't ashamed of me,
his servant. And you weren't ashamed of my bonds. But you've
been with me, both In my bonds and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, you've been partaker of this same grace, the grace
of God, which he gave to all of us. He calls it, my grace
with me of grace. You see that? Of my grace is
with me of grace. Not my grace, it's his. But you're
with me in that same grace. So you see that? The people for
whom he prays, I've had people say to me, pray
for me. I don't hardly know how to pray. I don't know you. I can say, Lord, bless whoever
it is. Help whomever it is. But when
it comes down to this matter of intercessory prayer, calling
on God for what we're going to talk
about in a minute, There has to be some reason, and Paul gives
it right there. He said, number one, we're one
in the gospel, the gospel of His Son. Secondly, God's begun
a work in me and in you, and He's going to finish it. I thank
God, he said, that He's begun a work in you. He talked about
that work in him, God who separated me from my mother's womb was
pleased to reveal His Son in me. going to finish it. And I pray for you thirdly because
God laid it on my heart to pray for you. Oh my. And fourthly, because
you stood by me. You've proven faithful in trial
and trouble. You've proven faithful to the
gospel of His Son. Alright, the next verse is verse
8. He said, For God is my record,
how greatly I long after you all. in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray." All right,
here we go. Here's his prayer. And this I
pray. And this I pray. You may mark
four or five things. Five things. As I said a while
ago, there are 10,000 things you can pray about, but here's
some very needful, necessary things. I pray, number one, that
your love, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge
and in judgment. Now what does that mean? I pray
that your love, that your love, your love for Christ, your love
for His Word, your love for one another may abound more and more. He doesn't pray that they might
have love. They have to have love or they're
not in Christ. They do have love to God. If
any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.
They have love. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. So Paul's not praying that they might have love. He's not
praying that their love may abound. Abound means active, overflow. And their love is active. Love
flows from a principle in the heart. But notice the words carefully.
I pray that your love may abound yet more and more. Oh, we have love. We have an active love. It's
not a love in word only. It's a love in deed. It's active. But he prays it may abound more
and more and more and more and more. See that? That you may grow in grace, the
grace of love, the grace of faith, the grace of humility, that you
may grow more and more, you may increase and be multiplied. That's
what I'm praying about. That's what I'm praying about. And he uses two words here, that
your love, or the love of God shed abroad in your heart, your
love for the Savior, your love for His Word, your love for the
Gospel, your love for one another, that your love may abound yet
more and more in knowledge and in insight. In knowledge. I tell you, the
more we know of Christ, the more we love Him. He said, grow in
grace and in the knowledge of Christ. The more you know of
Christ, the more you love Him. The sweeter He becomes, the more
precious is the Savior. And that's true of one another.
The more we know one another, the more we know one another,
the more we're able to love one another. True believers, that's
right. And this thing of judgment, what
is the word judgment? In the margin it says sense.
or perception, or insight, that your love may abound more and
more, and it will. The more you know of Christ,
the more you know of His gospel, the more you know of His Word,
the more you'll love Him, the more you'll love His Word, the
more you'll love His people, and the more you have insight
and perception into the things of Christ. Okay? The more you
love. If God is pleased to give to
you and me insight, discernment, this is the thing. Oh, for understanding. Oh, for perception. Oh, for insight. Oh, for a sense. S-E-N-S-E. Look at that word in the margin
there. S-E-N-S-E. What do you think
of when you think of sense? You think of the senses, as this
is stated here. the senses, that your love may
abound more and more in knowledge and in the senses. There are five of them, aren't
there? What are they? Seeing, that we may see Christ,
see more of His glory, see more of His beauty, that we may see
more of Him, He that seeth the sun. whom having not with these
eyes seen, but we've seen him with the senses, haven't we?
Inwardly, more we see him. Hearing, hear his word. This dear lady is saying, I'm
dying because I'm not hearing the gospel.
I'm getting cold, I'm not hearing the gospel. That your love may
abound more and more in knowledge and hearing, seeing, hearing,
hearing the Word of God, hearing His gospel. What's that? Smelling? Paul said this, he said, we are
a fragrance. Our gospel is a fragrance, a
savor. It's a sweet-smelling savor to
the believer. And he smells it more and more,
and it's sweeter all the time. To those who are not in Christ,
it's a smell of death. But to us, it's a smell of life. There's some perfumes that some
people love make some people sick. Well, it's true of this perfume
here. You who know Christ here tonight
can't get enough of it. Those who do not know Christ,
smells. That's right. What's the other?
Taste. Have you tasted that the Lord
is good? What's the other? Feeling. Our Lord talked about feeling.
He said He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
And I'll tell you this, I can't touch with a feeling. of our
infirmity, of His suffering and of your suffering. That's when
you pray for one another, when your love abounds more and more
in knowledge and feeling. In the knowledge of the gospel,
in the knowledge of Christ, in the feeling, in the senses, in
seeing Him, hearing Him, smelling Him. You know, the Song of Solomon
talks about how sweet the Beloved smells. and tasting. Talks about His
mouth is sweet and feeling. That's what I pray for you, he
said. And secondly, in verse 10, he says, I pray secondly
for you that you may approve things that are excellent. The
word approve there is try. Try. You may discern. Try things that are Different. Things that are different. Let
me see if I can help you with that. Paul is praying for this
church that you may approve or prove or try or discern things
that differ. There are some things that differ.
There's morality and regeneration. Can you tell a difference? There's law and gospel. Can you
tell the difference? Those things differ, don't they?
The ceremonial law and the gospel of Christ, they differ. What
about the works of men and the grace of God? They differ. What
about the traditions of men and the truth of God? What about
this woman who writes this letter knows the difference? That you may know the difference.
Do you know the difference in temporal and spiritual blessings?
False preachers and true preachers? Our righteousness and His? Do
you know the difference in a man preaching about Christ and a
man preaching Christ? There's a difference. You can
preach about the gospel and never touch it topside or bottom. You
can preach about Christ and not preach Christ. Do you know the difference? Do
you know that which glorifies God and that which glorifies
men? These things are different. I pray that you may have the
discernment, he said, and the ability to discern and distinguish
and try things that are different. That's what I pray for you. That's
from above. All this is from above. This
is something you can't get anywhere but from God. I pray that your
love may abound more and more, knowledge and senses. I pray
that you may have discernment, be able to prove what's different,
different. Thirdly, I pray, verse 10, that you may be sincere
and without offense through the day of Christ. This is just plainly
saying this, I pray that you might continue in the faith and
not fall by the wayside until the day that Christ comes. That's
what I pray for these people. Turn back to the book of Colossians,
over to the book of Colossians chapter 1. I pray that you may
be sincere and without offense, till the day of Christ. Colossians 1 verse 19, It pleased
the Father, for it pleased the Father that in Christ should
all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood
of his cross, by Christ to reconcile all things unto himself. By him
I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven,
And you that were sometimes or one time alienated, enemies in
your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the
body of his flesh through death to present you holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in his sight, if you continue in the faith, grounded
and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,
which you have heard. and which was preached to every
creature which is unto heaven, whereof I appalled and made a
minister." You've heard the gospel. I pray you won't leave it. That's what he's saying. I pray
you won't leave it. Now here's the next verse, verse
11, the fourth thing he prays for them. I pray that you might
be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus
Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. I went to Dr. John Gill's commentary on this
verse here. He's the old solid grace man. I find most all the time he's
so true to the gospel and true to Christ and true to the Word.
And when I looked up verse 11, In his commentary, he said, being
filled with the fruits of righteousness, and he wrote two words and a
period. Two words and put a period. One even complete sentence, just
two words, period. Good works. That's what, good
works. That's what, these fruits of
righteousness are good works. Good works. This is what this
scripture is talking about here. That you might be filled with
good works. Filled with good works. That's
right. Let your light so shine before men that they may see
your good works. That's right. That's exactly
what that's saying. And glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Good works. Now look at it again. Look at
verse 11. being filled with the fruits of righteousness. Now
these fruits and works of the believer are called fruits of
righteousness first because they come from Christ's righteousness,
not yours. That's right. Paul said, what
I do is Christ in me. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. He said, I labored
more abundantly than everybody, yet now I have Christ in me.
It's the fruit of His righteousness. Isn't that right? His righteousness. I am what I am by the grace of
God. And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
patience, goodness, and so forth. And so he says here, in verse
11, that you might be filled with the fruits of righteousness,
with good works. which spring from the presence
of Christ in you, the Spirit of God in you, the love of Christ
in you, the grace of God in you. That's right. But Mr. Gill said secondly, these
fruits, these works of the believer are
called the fruits of righteousness because they are performed by
a righteous man. You with me? You see, in the fullness of time,
God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under the law to
redeem them that are under the law, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Christ. We're the righteous in Christ.
But He also makes us righteous. That's true. These works are
performed by a righteous person, a person who has a work of grace
in his heart. Only a good tree can bear good
fruit. Isn't that right? You don't get good fruit from
a bad tree, you get good fruit from a good tree. And I know
it's not the branch that bears the fruit, it's not the branch
that produces the fruit, it's the vine, but the branch bears
it. You don't pick grapes off of
a vine, you pick grapes off of a branch that came from a vine.
Isn't that right? He said, you are the branches,
I'm the vine. And he said, without me you can
do nothing, and nobody knows that better than this preacher
standing here reading this Word, being filled with the fruits
of righteousness. It's his righteousness, it's
the fruit of the vine. But we bear it. That's right. It's not the hand of God that
reaches down and lifts the fallen, it's your hand. And God in you
does it. God didn't put the offering in
this place last Sunday, you did. Isn't that right? God didn't
write that check, you did. But God put it on your heart
to do it. God didn't go down here and visit that sick man,
you did. God didn't fix the meal for the
people who needed some food. You did. You see what I'm saying,
Tom? Is this clear what I'm saying?
You wouldn't have done it if He hadn't been gracious in you
and to you, but you did it. That's right. Why'd you do it?
Because you wanted to. Why'd you want to? Because God
laid it on your heart. I don't understand why. Some
of the grace preachers, it just seems like that they get the
heebie-jeebies when you talk about good works. And without
the works of God's people, we're in bad shape. We've got to have
this kindness and tenderness and forgiveness and generosity
and grace and help, help me! See what I'm talking about? And that's what being filled.
I pray that you might be full of the fruits of righteousness,
which are by Christ. That's where they come from.
It's the fruit of the vine. Nobody denies that. No one but
a fool would deny that. But I want to show you a scripture.
Turn to Acts 11. Acts 11. And I know there's a sense in
which there's none good, though not one. But I know there's a
sense in which there's some good people. The Word of God says
that. You look where it talks about
Barnabas here in Acts chapter 11, verse 22. Listen to this. Then tidings. Acts 11.22, Then
tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church,
which was in Jerusalem. And they sent forth Barnabas,
that he should go as far as Antioch, who when he came, and had seen
the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with
purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. But he was a good
man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, and much people
were added to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man. You
see that? He was a good man. No, compared to Christ, he was
a rotten sinner. He had a lot of flesh. He and
Paul had a real falling out. He showed his flesh then. But
I tell you this, by the grace of God, he was a good man. He
was good to those people. He was good to this one, good
to that one, good to the other, because God made him good. That's
right. All right, all right. That all
right? It better be all right, because that's what it says.
I pray that you might be full. And I'll tell you, a lot of people,
what they don't like about this type of preaching is they don't
have these works. That's exactly right. They don't
have them. They don't have them. They've
got doctrine up here in their heads. That's what they've got.
They can tell you the five points of Calvinism coming down the
stairways, standing on their heads at three o'clock in the
morning. They're so orthodox. Barney,
you say they're straight as a gun barrel and just as empty, just
as hollered. That's right. And there's no
need for that. There's no place for that, being filled with the
fruits of righteousness, His righteousness. and the fruits
of a man whom God has changed and made righteous and made kind. I told John Fleming a few days
ago, I've known him 40 years. He's a lot sweeter now than he
was 40 years ago. That's right. He said, you are
too. That's right. Takes one to know one, doesn't
it? A lot more grace, a lot more grace, a lot more God does something
for these old pine nuts, changes them, right, makes a jewel out
of them, a ruby that's bright and shines, gives forth the radiance
of Christ's presence. But to good men, good men, good
men, that's right, good women, I wouldn't swap some of you for
a dollar and a half and a countercalf or a ranch in Texas. You're good
men and good women. That's right. Oh, I'm no good,
but I know, I know what you're talking about. And you know what
I'm talking about, too. That's right. If there's ever a need,
you're quick to respond. That's right. Anybody got any
need, you can come right here and it'll be met. Good man. All
right, let's see the fifth thing. In verse 12, he says, and I would,
I would that you should understand, brethren. I want you to understand
something. This is what I pray about. God give you understanding
that the things which happen to me have fallen out rather
unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are
manifest in all the palace and in all other places. I'm in jail,
but my being in jail has resulted in the progress of the gospel.
I want you to understand that. What I want you to understand
is that in the good providence of God, even the bad things Even
the trials and difficulties serve His overall purpose. That's right. You say, boy, that didn't work
out like I thought it would. No, but it worked out just exactly
like He planned it. Well, how in the world? It looks
like to me that instead of putting Paul in jail, God put him on
television. That's our way of thinking. But
Paul said, I endure all these things for the elect's sake that
they might come to knowledge of the gospel. It looks like
to me, I'll tell you what I'd do. I know, but we don't want to
do what we do. We want to do what He wants us
to do. That's right. We want to learn and understand
that whatever God brings to pass, whatever happens, if I drop dead
in this pulpit right now, And I feel like, like I said
the other day, I've been pastor here a long time and perhaps
a few more years. I don't know. It doesn't seem
like to me the work's over. It looks like it's still going
pretty good. But I guarantee you this, if that happens, that's
His will and His purpose, and His good providence and purpose
will be accomplished by that.

A Prayer for All Saints

What does the Bible say about prayer for other believers?

Why is fellowship in the gospel important for Christians?

How do we know that God is working within us?

What does it mean to have love that abounds more and more?

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A Prayer for All Saints

What does the Bible say about prayer for other believers?

Why is fellowship in the gospel important for Christians?

How do we know that God is working within us?

What does it mean to have love that abounds more and more?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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