Rejoice In the Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about rejoicing in the Lord?

The Bible urges believers to rejoice in the Lord regardless of circumstances, commanding joy in His greatness and sufficiency. The Bible emphasizes rejoicing in the Lord as a core component of the Christian life. In Philippians 3:1, Paul reminds believers to rejoice in the Lord, encapsulating the idea that when evaluating life's successes and failures, the appropriate response is joy in God’s unchanging character. Even in challenging circumstances, such as Paul’s imprisonment, the call to rejoice remains constant, focusing on God's ability to work all things together for good (Romans 8:28). Rejoicing in the Lord fosters a perspective rooted in gratitude for His grace and atonement, ensuring that our hearts remain aligned with His truth.

Q: Why is the concept of joy important for Christians?

Joy in the Lord assures believers of His goodness and strengthens their faith amid life's trials. The concept of joy is paramount for Christians as it reflects a deep-seated assurance in God's character and promises. Joy in the Lord acts as a source of strength during trials (Nehemiah 8:10), reinforcing the believer's faith. Such joy is not contingent upon external circumstances but is anchored in the reality of Christ’s victory over sin and death. By focusing on the goodness and sufficiency of God, believers can cultivate an attitude of gratitude, which sustains them through hardships and draws them closer to their Savior. As Paul encouraged the Philippians to rejoice, so too are believers today urged to foster joy that transcends momentary struggles.

Q: How do we know that God’s promises are true?

We know God’s promises are true because of His unchanging character and faithfulness throughout Scripture. The assurance of God's promises stems from His immutable character; He is faithful and cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). Throughout the Bible, God’s dealings with His people illustrate His unwavering commitment to His word. Just as Abraham believed God’s promises because he recognized God's ability to fulfill them (Romans 4:20-21), believers today can rely on God's character as the foundation for their faith. The history of redemption, culminating in Christ's atonement, affirms that God’s promises are not contingent upon human effort but are grounded in His sovereign will. This historic faithfulness encourages Christians to trust His promises with confidence.

Now, I want you to turn in your
Bibles to the Scripture which Brother Cecil read for us, Philippians
3. Now, I realize that this passage
of Scripture that I'm speaking from tonight is one that I've
preached from many, many times before. many times before. I've got several
messages from Philippians 3. And secondly, I realize that
it's one with which you are so very familiar. When Cesar was
reading this, you could almost close your Bible and close it,
couldn't you? You're so familiar with this
passage of Scripture. And there's a possibility And this entered my mind when
I prepared this message as a possibility that some may feel that they've
pretty well exhausted its potential. I hope not. But for whatever reason, I do
not know. I've tried to find another subject. But for whatever reason, I began
thinking about preaching on Philippians 3 yesterday, when I was preparing
to preach last night at Pikeville. But I thought about, now, what
am I going to preach Wednesday night? And I thought about this passage.
And when I started working on it this morning, I kept wanting
to get away from it, get away from it. through the Psalms,
I looked somewhere else, I kept trying, you ever do that and
you kept trying to get away from it. At two o'clock this afternoon
I said, now this is ridiculous. That's right, I talked to myself.
This is ridiculous. Preach the passage and don't
worry. They all know it by heart, they've
heard a thousand sermons on it. If God lays it on your heart,
preach it. And I believe he did. Like I
say, I do not know why, but I couldn't get away from it. It's been there
since yesterday. So Philippians 3, let's look
at the first word of Philippians 3. Let me divide it into 4 or
5 sections, 4 or 5 parts. The first thing I want to deal
with is rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. He said
finally, my brethren, finally, when all is said and done. Finally, my brethren, when the
inventory of life and your years and your vocation and your family when the inventory
of life is taken. And when you're busy weighing
the good and the bad, weighing truth and error, success and
failure. I had a dear friend who took his life, and the last words he wrote before he did that unexpected
act, he said, I've been a failure. I've been a failure as a husband.
I've been a failure as a father. I've been a failure as a friend.
And he scribbled the rest, you know. But when you weigh the good and
the bad, truth and error, success and failure, sorrow and joy, Rejoice in the Lord. That's what,
finally. You know what he said? Finally,
my brethren. He was in prison when he wrote this, wasn't he
Cecil? Prisoner of Jesus Christ. And I know he was looking back
over all of these things. He said, finally, my brethren,
this is it. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the greatness of his
person. You'll never exhaust that thing. Rejoice in the greatness of his
person. I told the folks at Pikeville
the other night, the foundation of assurance. I know we say it's
the Word of God, and it is. Abraham believed God's Word,
didn't he? But the foundation of confidence
and assurance is the character of God and his ability to do
what he says. You understand what I'm saying? Abraham believed God that he
was able to do what he promised. Now I may promise a bunch of
things and you may believe my word, but if I don't have the
ability to do it, my word's no good. So rejoice in the greatness
and power and majesty of his person. Rejoice that God is able,
he's able to make everything work together for your good. Rejoice in his atonement and
the sufficiency of it. My sins are gone. They're put
away. They're remembered no more. Rejoice
in the sufficiency of his atonement. that he called you. Rejoice that
he didn't pass you by. Rejoice that he redeemed you
by his blood. Rejoice. Rejoice that you have
a good hope in Christ Jesus. Just turn one page out of Philippians
4, verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Now again, I say, rejoice. But I'm so depressed and I'm
so blue, forget it and rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice. Bless the Lord, O my
soul, and all that's in within me. Bless his holy name. I'll
praise him in the morning and praise him at noon and praise
him in the evening. He's worthy to be praised. Rejoice
in the Lord. And then he goes on, he says
in the next line, to write the same thing, the same thing. And John just sang that beautiful
hymn. John, I guess I've sung that
hymn a thousand times, but it was the best when you just did
it. It's all new again, wasn't it? You enjoyed it. I enjoyed
it. Same old, never get tired of
it, never get tired of it. And he says to write these same
things to you about the master, about redemption, about his blood,
about his grace. That's not grievous. It's not
grievous. It's not tiresome to me. That's
the word, tiresome. It is not tiresome to me. Not tiresome. But for you it's
safe. It's good to keep reminding you
to rejoice in the Lord. Keep reminding you. of the source
of blessings of the fountain of grace to keep coming over
this same gospel again and again and again. Last night I preached
the same gospel for 41 years now. And last night I was back
at the door greeting people as they came in down at Pikeville.
We had such a good crowd there, such a good service. Brother
Scott Richardson was there and his wife. He preached a little
and I preached a little. I stand at the door and this
man came in, a man about in his late fifties,
early sixties maybe. He said, I'm a barber. I'm a
barber over in Pinson, Fort Kentucky. And he said, back in 1953, 38 years ago, he
said, I got interested in the things of God. And a man came
in my shop and handed me one of your little papers, that Pollard
Baptist Missionary. You remember it, Ruth? I am.
Remember it, Booth, how that little paper was put out? So
he handed me that little paper 38 years ago. And he said, I
read it. And God taught me His grace. And he said, I've been resting
in Him all these years. He said, I've never heard you
in person. So I've been listening to you
on the radio and on television, getting some tapes from my brother
Trey, man. But he said, I wanted to come over and hear you tonight,
get acquainted. Oh, I tell you, that's the reason I'm going to
keep telling the same story. Because if it'll reach him, In
1953, it ought to do the same thing in 1991, you know it. God's
the same, people are the same, Christ is the same, the blood's
the same, grace is the same. To write the same things to you
is not tiresome to me. I don't get weary of it. For
you it's safe because it'll keep your thoughts on Christ. It'll keep your hearts on Christ.
And I need that. I need that, don't you Frank?
Keep my heart on Christ. Tell you another thing that will
keep you from error. I don't only worry about error
of mind, but I worry about error of spirit. Error of spirit. You can be right on some things
and wrong in your attitude. And the best thing to avoid spirit, keep your heart on Christ. Keep your heart on Christ. And
it will keep you looking to Christ, looking to Christ, coming to
Christ. Now look at verse 2. Now, beware of dogs. Now, these
are ugly words. These are ugly words. Beware
of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concession. Now,
what Paul is talking about here is false teachers. false teachers,
by whatever name, they're false preachers and false teachers.
And he said that Peter said there were many in the days of Israel
and there are many even today. Men who deny the blood of Christ,
men who deny the grace of God, men who deny his sovereignty,
men who preach salvation by works and salvation by free will and
who preach the observance of days and ordinances and laws
and all these things, and he calls them dogs first. I think
he takes that from Isaiah 56. Let me read it to you. Isaiah
56, verse 10. His watchmen are blind. Those
that claim to be his watchmen, they're ignorant, they're dumb
dogs. They cannot bark. They sleep.
They lie down. They love to slumber. They are
greedy dogs. They never have enough. They
are shepherds that cannot understand. They all look to their own way,
every one for his own gain from his own quarter. And you see
these men on television. I watched our program last Sunday
morning down at Pikeville. The service started at 11, so
I got to watch our program at 930. There's a fella that came
on before me, and he was selling some kind of trinkets that you
wear around your neck, and some kind of trinket you wear here,
making merchandise of the gospel. And it was disgusting. And that's
what he's calling them here in Isaiah, greedy dogs. They never
have enough. They deceive people. They use
people. Profit from religion. He calls
them dogs. And then he calls them evil workers.
I believe that's taken from Matthew 7 when these people at the judgment
told the Lord, well, we've done many wonderful works and cast
out demons. And he said, depart from me.
I never knew you. You're workers of iniquity. That's
evil workers. And then he calls them the concision. That's those circumcisers that
require men to be circumcised. Christ, it's all right. You believe
on Christ and his blood, but there's more to salvation than
that. You've got to be circumcised. You've got to be baptized. You've
got to keep the Sabbath day. You've got to tie it. You've
got to keep the law. These are the circumcisers. These
are the concision. Now, he said, beware of them.
Beware of them. Beware of them. But now let me
sound another note. And I need this, and I've got
a little help on this, and I'll give you a little help. Of course,
beware of following them, but I'm not worried about you following
them. I'm not the slightest bit worried about anybody in here
leaving Christ for the law. How could you? When you found
him, you found everything. So I'm not concerned one bit
about any of you all going from Christ to the law or from grace
to work. or following these dumb dogs.
I'm not worried about that. But let me sound this note. Not
only beware of following them, which you're not going to do,
but beware of allowing them to occupy your thoughts. Beware of allowing them to occupy
your thoughts and rob you of the joy of truth. Now, you can
think on error, and think on the propagators of error, and
think on all the things that are wrong, and you'll miss the
joy of what's right. Now, let me show you something.
Turn to Philippians 4 again. Philippians 4, verse 8. Here's
that finally again. Finally, brethren, rejoicing
the Lord. That's what we need to do, rejoice in the truth.
The Lord. Who's the Lord? Wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, redemption, truth. The Lord is truth. Rejoice in
him. Now, finally, brethren, Philippians
4, 8. Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there
be any virtue, if there be any praise, Do what? Think on these
things. Don't think on error. Think on
that which is true. Don't think on those that are
evil. Think on those that are good.
Don't think on the ones that are preaching error. Leave them alone. The disciples
came all upset and they said, Lord, this heresy didn't like
what you said. He said, what? Leave them alone. Why do you want to dwell on them?
I have a friend, she'll probably get this tape. She might get
mad at me, but I've been mad at her before. She'll get over
it. But I have a friend that sends
me articles in the mail. And she'll cut out articles about
Swaggart, and articles about Falwell, and articles about all
these Southern Baptist preachers, and articles about these healers,
and articles about... She wants me to read them. I
don't have time to read them. I don't have the desire to read
them. And I don't want to clutter up my mind with their activities.
Isn't that right? I don't want to think about them. I don't want to think about what
they're doing. I don't want to discuss what
they believe. It's enough to condemn them and
leave them alone. You understand what I'm saying?
And when you come together for your fellowship, don't bring
up those folks and what you heard them say. Bring up what you heard
Bob say Sunday morning. Bring up what you heard John
Chapman say Sunday night. Bring up what you heard your
pastor speak on tonight. Quit talking about false prophets. Quit reading about them, talking
about them, discussing them. Leave them alone! Because what
you're doing is letting them interrupt your rejoicing in the
Lord. I don't need to discuss error,
nor the people that preach error. Do you get what I'm saying? So
when he says, beware of dogs, don't stand there, that dog is
not going to bite me, he may bite, but don't stand there and
look at him, leave him alone. Go on down there where something
nice is and enjoy it. Quit standing there arguing about
him and talking that way, he's got bad teeth hasn't he? Look
at those claws, look at that hair bristler. Go down here and
talk about rejoicing the Lord. You know what he's saying? Beware
of them. Give some good-bye. Verse 3,
listen. For we are the circumcision,
we are true Israel. And here's our identifying marks,
true Israel. What is true Israel? We rejoice,
we worship the Lord, we worship God in spirit and truth. We worship
God in spirit and truth. And secondly, we rejoice in our
Lord Jesus Christ. And thirdly, we have no confidence
in the flesh. What is the mark of true Israel? They rejoice in Jesus Christ. That's the first point. That's
the first section here. He starts with that. Finally,
my brethren, whatever the circumstances, rejoice in Christ. Talk about
Christ. Think on Christ, love Christ,
preach Christ, teach Christ, think Christ, whatever things
are pure, holy and honest, think on these things. Because that's
the mark of true Israel. They worship God in spirit and
truth, and they rejoice in Christ Jesus, and they have no confidence
in the flesh. Now let me point out something
else. In relation to this, to thinking on error. or those who
preach error, instead of rejoicing in Christ and thinking on that
which is holy, pure. I read articles once in a while,
and I've been guilty of writing them. I'm trying my best to quit. But I read articles which have
more to say about error than they do truth. They start out
this way, they start out with, now many people are preaching
this, many people are preaching that, many people are preaching
something else, and this is wrong, and that's wrong, and the other's
wrong, and this is wrong, and that's wrong. Well, you've just
filled my mind with wrong. You've just filled my mind with
error. You've just called more attention to that, and you don't
have any time left for what's so. So why start with it? Why don't we just preach the
truth? And I'll tell you what, a fellow
that's got a good mind and hearing ears and seeing eyes and a receptive
heart is going to believe what's right and reject what's wrong.
You understand what I'm saying? It keeps you from rejoicing in
the Lord. I don't believe truth because
it's the opposite of error. A man is not going to convince
me something's true by showing me what's not true. I just might
find another error. The way to show me that a stick
is crooked is put a straight one down beside it. That's not
too hard to figure out, is it? Just lay the truth out. Let's
don't take our introductions and our prefaces and our forewords
to everything we write and call attention to the error. Our Lord
never did that. He just got up and preached truth.
The disciples just preach truth. Isn't that right? Preach the
truth. And I'll tell you, it's the truth that sets a man free.
Error never sets him free. It's the truth. This is what
he's saying all the way through these verses, rejoice in the
Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Don't rejoice
that you don't believe in error. I'm glad I don't, but I'm rejoicing
in the Lord. He's the truth. See what I'm
saying? I know it's good. I know it's
profitable. I know it's what we ought to
do. Rejoice in the Lord. This is the mark of a believer.
He worships God genuinely, sincerely, in spirit, in spirit and truth,
and he rejoices in Christ Jesus. Now, what's the next portion?
He starts out here, the latter part of verse 3, he says, I have
no confidence in the flesh. No confidence in the flesh. Now
here's my second point, and I believe it's the second section. Deny
strongly, deny strongly any hope of acceptance with God or before
God on the basis of your works. And I mean in any form, in any
form at all. We're not, we're accepting the
beloved. We're not accepting because of
what we do, because of who we are. Before God, this This includes
family ties, ceremonies, ordinances, religious deeds, morality, outward
duties, human works, whatever it is. We can only rejoice in
Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh, mine, yours, or
anybody else. I've never done anything religiously
that God could accept or look upon with favor except through
the blood of Christ. Isn't that right? I've never
said anything, given anything, or done anything that's perfect. And to be accepted, it must be
perfect. So let's deny any works. Dead works is what they are.
They're all dead works out of Christ. Just deny any of those. And that's what he's saying here
in verse 4. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh,
if anybody else thinks he can have confidence in the flesh,
or trust in the flesh. Now Paul says, is there any of
you down there in Philippi that thinks, is anything you've said,
done, given, practiced, believed, with which God can be pleased,
or upon the basis of which God can show you favor, he said,
do any of you think that? Well, he said, let me tell you,
I'm more. Because he said, I was circumcised
the eighth day of the stock of Israel. I was born of the tribe
of Benjamin. I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, because
touching the law I was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin concerning
zeal. I persecuted the church, touching
the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. This man
was a law student. a law believer, a law abider. This man was a particular follower
of the points of the law and the ordinances and everything,
but what things were gained to me,
those things that I thought were beneficial, those things that
I thought were necessary, those things that I thought would make
a contribution in my acceptance with God, I count total loss. total loss. I hear about a building
burning down. They say it's a total loss. What
does that mean? Everything's gone. Total loss. And that's what he's saying about
Go back to your decision, go back to your baptism, go back
to your experience, go back to your feeling, go back to the
days when you taught Sunday school, you were a deacon, you were an
elder, you were a preacher, you gave ten percent, you did all
these things. Surely God will take notice.
No sir, no sir, not for salvation, not for justification, not for
redemption, not for acceptance. It's Christ and Christ alone. Is that clear? Christ and Christ
alone. And take all these things and
bundle them up, and verse 8 says, Yea, doubtless I count all things,
relationships, duties, deeds, morality, loss, loss, total loss,
for the excellency, oh, the excellency of the knowledge Christ Jesus
my Lord. I know Him, that's all I need
to know. If I have Him, that's all I need to have. He's all
I need. For whom I've suffered the loss
of all things, and I do count them but dough. Listen to this poem. No more,
my God, I boast no more of all the duties that I've done I quit
the hopes I held before to trust the merits of thy beloved Son.
Now for the love that I bear his name, what was my gain I
count my loss. My former pride I call my shame
and nail my glory to his cross. The best obedience of my hands
dares not appear before thy throne. But faith can answer all thy
demands by pleading what my Lord has done. Don't talk about false preachers. Don't be occupied with them.
Don't be occupied with their theology. Talk about Christ. Rejoice in Christ. And then don't
talk about false works. Don't be occupied with works.
be occupied with Christ. Isn't that right? All right,
here's the third section now, and I'll move along quickly.
I haven't been preaching long, have I? All right, here's the third section,
starting there with the latter part of verse 8. Now listen to
Paul, that I may win Christ and be found in him, that I may win
Christ and be found in him. I call this part seeking the
Lord. You know, it's alright to say, I found him. There's
nothing wrong with that. Solomon said, I found him whom
my soul loveth, didn't he? And inscribed him. There's nothing
wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with saying, we have found the Christ. That's
what that woman at the well ran down and said, I found the Christ.
Or Andrew said, we found the Messiah. That's all right. But
there's nothing wrong with saying this, too. Oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in Him. I believe I can say both tonight.
Can you? I found Him, whom my soul loved. But oh, that I may
win Christ and be found in Him. A lot of folks, you understand
that, don't you? A lot of folks don't. Say, what's
my, you say it or you not say it? And no. I have been saved,
I'm being saved, and I ain't saved yet. You understand what
I'm saying? I found him, and I want to find
him. And I want to be found in him. And then there's nothing wrong
with saying, I know whom I have believed. And yet Paul says in
verse 10, O that I may know him. This same man said, I know whom
I have believed. I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed to him. John said, we know that
we've passed from death unto life. And yet here Paul, there's
nothing wrong with saying this, oh, that I may know him. That
I may. And the power of his resurrected
life, and the fellowship of his suffering, and being made conformable
to his death, And listen to this, if by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. There's nothing wrong with saying,
I know my Redeemer liveth and he'll stand on this earth, and
I'll see him, the worms destroy this body." Ain't nothing wrong
with that. Nothing wrong with saying, surely goodness and mercy
will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in
the house of the Lord forever. But there's nothing wrong with
saying this. Oh, that I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. Isn't that right? That's what
Paul's saying. Because he says in verse 12,
I haven't arrived. I have not arrived. I am not
perfect. Listen. It's not as though I
had already attained. I found the Messiah. Oh, that I
may win Christ and be found in him. I know whom I have believed. Oh, that I may know him and the
power of his resurrection. Sure, I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. Oh, that I may attain unto the
resurrection of the dead. Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither
by thy help I am come, and I hope by God's good pleasure, safety
to arrive at home. Spurgeon said if you get to the
gate of heaven, have one step to go, and just the distance
between your hand and the knob, and God left it to you to make
the last step, you plunge into hell. You believe that? I believe that. I know that. So he said verse 12, I haven't
attained, I'm not already perfect, but I tell you this, I follow
after. I follow after. I'm going to exercise faith and
diligence and prayer and perseverance. I follow after that I may apprehend. What is it to apprehend somebody? You lay hold of them. you arrest
them. When you apprehend someone, you
lay hold of them. He said, I want to lay hold on
that for which I have been laid hold by Christ. I want to lay hold on that. Lay
hold on what? Eternal life. I'm preaching assurance and confidence
in Christ and yet no presumption. This is too great. to allow for
presumption. It's too important. And then
this last part, he says, Brethren, brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, not yet. I'm not perfect, I haven't attained,
I haven't laid hold yet, but this one thing I do, one thing. Now strangely, this one thing is three things. That's right. Watch this, Charlie. This one
thing is three things. This one thing I do, and it's
all together. Number one, I forget those things
which are behind. Oh, dear one, dear Henry, dear
Ab, dear Herman, Paul, if we could just do that, what a blessing
it'd be. Forget the past. Forget the past. Forgetting those things which
are behind, number two, and reaching forward under those things which
are before, that's the present. Forget the past, redeem the present,
and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of Christ the Lord. That's the future. That's right. This one thing I do is three
things I do. Number one, now listen to me,
forget the past. Forget your sins. Quit bringing
them up. God's not bringing them up. You're
the one bringing them up. He said, I remember your sins
no more. Forget them. Forget your rebellion.
Forget your sin. Forget your failure. Forget those
things. You know, I hear some people
talk about their days of evil as if they were proud of them.
They sit around and say, boy, I was a rebel. Boy, I was this,
that, and the other. You bragging now. You're going
down memory lane and you've got some monuments to meet us. Forget
them. How about it? Forget your rebellion. Forget your profession. Don't
talk about when, it's not when, it's whom. Forget your experience. Forget your works. Forget even
those things you did in the name of Christ. Forget the past. Another
thing, forget the trials. Like that dear lady right here
in Iceland whose son died and she never changed his room from
the day he walked out of it. Left it just like it was. That's
not the way to do it. Not the way to do it. Forget
your trials. You don't live back there. You
just can't do it. You know, once in a while I'll
find myself thinking about things in the past and I'll say, don't
do that. What if I'd have done this? What
if I'd have said that? No, sir. Not going to do it. I'm not going to let it rob me.
I'm not going to let it drain me. I'm not going to do it. Forget
it. Nothing you can do about it,
is there? Isn't that right Ed? Forget it. That's what falls. Forgetting
those things which are behind. My trials, my experiences, my
works, my misunderstandings, my conflicts, forget them. Sufficient
for the days of evil thereof. You've got enough to handle today.
You sure don't need to bring that up. Isn't that right? If you're going to live in yesterday,
you're going to miss this bread today. That's all it is. If you're going to insist on
living yesterday, you're going to miss his blessings today.
He's going to come with a blessing and you're going to be back there
messing around that old hog trough. That's right. Forget it. And
he says, reach forth unto those things that are right before
you right now, present mercies. He said to Peter, he said, When
you get old, they're going to take you and they're going to
crucify you. But he said, you follow me. And
Peter turned and looked at John and said, what about him? And
our Lord said, it's not in your business what he does and what
I do with him. And he said it again, you follow
me. Twice he said to him, follow
me. When? Right now. Right now. right now. Follow Christ right
now. Receive the blessings right now.
There's so many of them. And thirdly, this one thing I
do, pressing toward the mark. I press. What do you do when
you press? Well, you're not inactive. What do you do when you press?
Well, you're not indifferent. What do you do when you press?
You're not careless. You're not presumptuous. You're
pressing. Pressing. I press. Move over. You're not going, let me go.
I press. I press toward something. Toward
what? Toward a mark. Toward a finish
line. Toward the end of life. Toward
this right here. They died in faith. They all
died in faith. I'm pressing for that right there.
And beyond that mark is the high calling, the prize. Beyond that
mark I'm pressing toward that mark. When these eyes close,
and this mouth shut, and this ear no longer hears, and this
heart no longer beats, I'm pressing toward that mark. For beyond
that mark, there's a prize. Paul said, I finished my course,
and there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, is going to give me in that day, and not
me only. but all you that love his appearing." Everybody. He said, I'm not going
to get a bigger crown than you. It's not a crown anyhow. It's a crown. Rejoice in it. And everybody's going to have
one that loves his appearance. And that's what I'm pressing
for. Hinder me not, ye much loved saints. What's that song you
know you've heard it in? Let's go. Let's forget the past. Let's redeem the time, let's
reach out for the blessings, and let's move on and press.
Now here's one more verse, and I'll quit. Verse 15. Let us, therefore, as many as
be perfect. There's nothing in the world
but spiritual maturity. Isn't that right, Bob? We know
we're not. We're perfect in Christ, his
righteousness. But that's spiritually mature.
Now if you are here tonight, you're spiritually mature, be
thus minded. What he's been talking about,
that's the way to be. You know what he's saying? You
that are perfect, you that are spiritually mature, you be thus
minded. What is that? What I've been
saying, rejoice in the Lord, deny any works of the flesh,
seek the Lord, lay hold on Christ. Forget those things that are
up, quest toward the mind, be thus minded. That's the way to
be. That's your mind, your thing. Now, and if in anything you be
otherwise minded, God will reveal even this to you. And that's
what he does through preaching. If you got a wrong attitude,
if you listen to his word, he'll straighten it out. If you head it the wrong way,
if you really want him to, he'll straighten you out. If you're
obstinate and rebellious, He'll let you go. And then you are
in a mess. I've been there, haven't you?
You're going to do it your way, He'll let you do it your way.
But now if you've got a willing spirit, He'll turn you back. You can hear His word, you say,
that's right, I believe that. Nevertheless, now watch this,
now watch this nevertheless. Where to we have already attained? We've already attained some degree
of knowledge, haven't we? Some degree of faith, some degree
of grace, some degree of truth. Where to we have already attained?
Let us still walk by the same rule. I don't care how much you
know about this gospel, you still need to win Christ and be found
in Him. You still need to know Him. This rule applies no matter,
here's Brother Cecil and some of these older men, John, some
of these fellas, I told John that we found out that he's older
than Arizona. That's right. I just write, what
year was Arizona made a state? 18, 1912. I'm almost as old as
Arizona. 1912. I said, John, you're older
than Arizona. So we'll just call him old Arizona.
But, you know, even when you get that age, this still applies,
doesn't it, gentlemen? It still applies. Nevertheless, where to, we have
already obtained, let's walk by the same rule. No matter how
young you are, how old you are. And somebody told me, he said,
you know, our church is We've got some older people, some younger
people, we need some activities for each. No, they need the same
activities. There's no age in Christ, because
we all walk by the same rule. We're all seeking Him. Isn't
that right, Herman? Another guy over in Arizona. Alright, that's
a good chapter. I hope it's a blessing to you.
Well, Ronnie, let's sing another hymn and we'll be dismissed.
I lost the paper. This is a good hymn to sing after
that study, 266. Faith, faith, each earthly joy,
Jesus, thank God is mine. All right, 266.

Rejoice In the Lord

What does the Bible say about rejoicing in the Lord?

Why is the concept of joy important for Christians?

How do we know that God’s promises are true?

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Rejoice In the Lord

What does the Bible say about rejoicing in the Lord?

Why is the concept of joy important for Christians?

How do we know that God’s promises are true?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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