All right, let's turn to Philippians
1. Brother Payne will preside in the service tonight, and Brother
Milton will be speaking. Philippians 1, verse 6, being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you will finish it, complete it, perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. I hope to get to that text and
point out to you five very pertinent facts from that text. But by
way of introducing this message on the perseverance of a believer,
I make two statements. The first one is this. The life
of a Christian of a true believer in Christ is a miracle. The life of a believer, a Christian,
is a miracle. Donnie Bell asked me the other
day, and you who were here Thursday night heard this discussion.
Brother Bell asked me this week this question. We were sitting in my den and
he looked over at me and he said, what's the greatest miracle the
greatest mystery of all ages." What is the greatest miracle,
the greatest mystery of all ages? Well, I replied in the words
of 1 Timothy 3.16, which says, without argument without controversy,
without debate. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. No question about it. The greatest
miracle, the greatest mystery of all ages is that he who made
woman should be made of a woman. That's a miracle. That the ancient
of days should become an infant of days, that God should become
a man. That's mind-boggling. Don't try
to understand it or comprehend it. You can't. You just believe
it. God become a man. God in human flesh. That's what
the Jews said to Christ. They said, we're not stoning
you for good work, but because you're a man. You're a man, and
you say you're God. It can't be. And then I replied,
though, to you that night, Thursday night, the second greatest mystery
and miracle, you know what that is? Of all time. Well, the second
greatest miracle, if incarnation is the greatest miracle, the
second greatest miracle is regeneration, that a worm, a worm You talk
about a great miracle of God coming down, the second greatest
miracle is you going up. That's just as mind-boggling
as the other, and that takes the same power of God to accomplish
as the first. God coming down, Jesus Christ
came from heaven and became flesh, for this flesh, for this worm
to become a son of God, a joint heir with Jesus Christ to enter
into his glory, equal with the Son, in position, and we are
in him. And that's the second greatest
miracle. Hannah prayed this prayer. She said, He raiseth up the poor
out of the dust. and lifteth up the beggar from
the dunghill, to set him among princes, and make him inherit
the throne of glory." It would be a miracle if God just washed
us. It would be a miracle if he just
got us off the dunghill, Tom, if he just moved us off the dunghill
into respectability. It'd be a miracle if God just
straightened us out, but the fact is that he does more than
that. He lifts the beggar from the
dunghill and makes him inherit the throne of glory. You know
what the throne of glory is? That's his throne. That's his
throne. If you can imagine, listen to
me, this life of the believer is a miracle. It's a miracle. It doesn't exist everywhere.
It doesn't even exist in everybody who claims to have it. If you
can imagine, Cody, when you're out there in
your submarine, in the middle of the Pacific, in your surface,
and you look out there in the mid-ocean and you see a fire,
shake your head, you know, and rub your eyes, you know. No such
thing as a fire in the middle of the ocean. Or if you can imagine
a stone hanging in mid-air, no support, no threads. We see these
magicians, you know, folks in the something, they got some
support. But if you can imagine a stone hanging in mid-air, a
stone defying the very laws of gravity. If you can imagine a
rose blooming in the freeway while I'm driving this afternoon,
headed for North Carolina, Cherokee, and I look up there in the middle
of the freeway, that busy traffic, there's a rose bush with a beautiful
red rose blooming. No way. No way. If you can imagine
a snow-white swan with its crooked necks and beautiful white feathers
swimming in a cesspool, no way. If you can imagine a beautiful
maiden rising down at the funeral home from the corpse, a rotting
corpse of a dead person. But if you can imagine any of
those things, then you behold the miracle of a believer. That's
exactly, it's just such a miracle. It is God's divine purpose that
chose to redeem a people from Adam's corrupt, cursed, fallen
race. God, it's a miracle of God that
he purposed to even save us. What is man that thou art mindful
of him? What is the son of man that thou
shouldest even think upon him? That God should even give us
a second thought, that he should even consider our race. But he
did. That's a miracle. It's a miracle
of his grace and love that he should appoint by his divine
power his son to be our representative. Christ, my representative? Christ,
my surety? Christ, my federal head, that
God should appoint. You've heard of a court-appointed
advocate? He is my court-appointed advocate,
the Father appointed. I didn't even want him. I don't need no advocate. I don't
need no mediator. And God, against my wishes, against
my will, in my guilt, personally, himself, who is the Supreme Judge
of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice, appointed his
own son as my advocate. Oh, my goodness, that's a, you
talk about the dice being loaded. You talk about a setup. God appointed
the Chief Justice, appointed his son my attorney. I believe
I got some pull in court, Charlie. I got some pulling. You think
about it. That's a miracle. That's a miracle. And it's a
miracle of divine power, the power of God that came one day
in my depravity and quickened me and called me to life and
God gave me repentance. He demanded repentance and He
gave me repentance. I couldn't produce it. And God required faith and lo
and behold, He gave me faith. Look down here at verse 29 of
Philippians 1, right there where you got your Bible open, Philippians
1, 29, unto you, unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not
only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. God not
only gave me the privilege to suffer for Christ, but he gave
me the will to believe. You talk about grace, the life
of a believer is a miracle straight from glory, spawn in glory, purpose
in the mind of God. accomplished and executed by
the grace and love of God, and it'll be the will and power of
God that one day raise me from the tomb and make me like his
son. The whole of the Christian life
from start to finish is a miracle of God's grace. It's a mystery. The wind bloweth
where it listeth, and you hear the sound thereof, and you can't
tell whence it cometh, and you can't tell whither it goeth.
Even so are those who are born of the Spirit of God." He said,
I'll be merciful to whom I will. I'll be gracious to whom I will,
and whom he will, he'll hearten. Salvation is of the Lord. I wish
I could convince this generation of that. I believe if I could, they'd
not only lay down their shotguns, but they'd lay down their tables
of laws and rules, too. I don't only believe they'd lay
down their swords and shotguns and their weapons of warfare
against God, but they'd lay down all their religious relics, too.
And they'd cry, in my hands, no price I bring, no weapon I
bring. Simply to thy cross I cling."
That's what they'd cry. Helpless look to thee for dress,
naked look to thee for dress, and helpless look to thee for
rest. Now, here's a second statement. The life of a believer is a miracle,
a mystery. It's like help rising from death. It's like light springing out
of darkness. It's like a fire burning in an
ocean. It's contrary to all of nature. The life of God, spiritual life
in you and me, is contrary to us. It's the opposite. That's
what I'm saying. It's the opposite, because we
are flesh and corruption and all associated with it, and spiritual
life is of God. It's of God, and that's a miracle. And God, believe me, puts it
where He will. And we can go through all of
our motions. We can have our Moonies and Buddhists and Confucius
and Catholics, and we can have our Presbyterians and Baptists
and Church of Christ and Nazarenes, and we can have our Camelites
and Jehovah Witnesses and all our sects and orders and religious
rules and regulations and go through the motions with our
traditions and customs and so forth. We can have Calvinism
and Pelagianism and Arminianism and all the rest of it. But salvation
is the life of God, created by God in the soul of an individual. That's just so. It's the life
of God. This is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the
only true God. Not know their creeds or their
catechism or their confessions of faith, but know Thee, the
living God. That's eternal life. Now, I know my Bible. Well, it
would be great if you knew the author. That's more important.
be great, it'd be great, do wonders for you like you could never
explain. The second statement is this,
the perseverance, the continuation of a believer's life is a miracle. The fact that God should purpose
life for us and give life to us and purchase life for us and
apply life to us, that's a miracle. But that that life should be
sustained upon this world, in this world, in this world of
danger and death and darkness and disease and damnation and
depravity. The fact that it should be maintained
for five seconds, that's a miracle, too. See what I'm saying? We
stand only by a miracle of his grace. Somebody said one time, the believer
is like a dove. like a dove, a helpless, frail
dove flying to her nest while thousands of people are shooting
at her, and every one of them with a scattergun. There's that
many dangers around you, about you, under you, over you, and
in you, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness. You don't
even see the dangers that are about you. You're not even aware
of them. You got up this morning and took
your shower and shaved and combed your hair and dressed and got
ready for church, and you didn't even know all the demons of hell
and the spirits of enmity and the forces of evil and the satanic
powers that wanted to sift you and try you and destroy Christ's
love for you. You're not even aware of it.
Stay there, Tom, I'm not kidding. We wrestle not against flesh
and blood. We think so. We've got all these little yeah-yeahs
going on with the flesh, you know. And we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, rulers
of the darkness, spiritual wickedness and high places. And boy, I'll tell you, if it
wasn't for the armor of his grace, they'd have got you a long time
ago. I hear these fellows Donnie Bell told me about how when he's
in Pentecostalism, he said, I'm so confident I'd swing across
hell on a rotten grapevine and spit tobacco juice in the devil's
face. I hear him talk that way now.
I hear him talk that way. But little dove, let me tell
you, you're no match for one BB. His grace keeps you. His grace, He's hedged you about. I'm going to keep on keeping
on, only by His grace. He said you're like a man walking
along a narrow path into darkness. And the lightning's flashing,
and the rain's pouring in torrents, and the wind's blowing, and you're
walking along a narrower path, and on each side is a deep ravine,
a deep ravine. That's what you are. And it's
only by His grace that you take the next step. Do you believe
that? I know that's so. And I'll tell you this. There's
a sheer drop on each side to fall into despair or presumption. I walk in the Spirit, but I walk
by His grace. He will keep me from falling. Now unto Him, now unto Him that
is able to keep you from falling. You can't keep yourself. If one
sheep of Christ would fall away, my poor, fickle, feeble soul
would fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day, a thousand
times a day. He said, you walk like Peter
on the raging billows of the ocean of life, and it's only
by his strength and power that you're able to walk. Don't look
within, you'll sink. Don't even look without. Don't
look to me. You'll see. Look to him. Look to him. I tell you, some
of the brightest stars of the Church have fallen, and some of it took them a long
time. Some of the most able professors have departed And you and I only hear by his
grace. We only stand by his grace. Our
hearts only beat in tune with him by his grace. I believe that. The life of a believer which
is instituted and purposed and purchased and applied is by the
grace of God. And the life of the believer
as it continues It was grace that taught my heart to fear
and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. But through many dangers, toils
and snares, I have already come. Huh? And it's only by His grace that
I've come this far. And it's only by His grace I'll
arrive at home. It's only by His grace I'll be
kept for the next five minutes. Friends, I believe that. There's
one thing needful, and that's Christ. One thing needful. There are a lot of things to
be desired, but there's one thing needful, and that's Christ. His
hand, His strength, His power, His righteousness, His blood. That's all. Somebody wrote a
song one time, it went like this. Lord engrave it on my heart. that thou the one thing needful
art, I could from all things and all people parted be, but
never, never, never, never, Lord, from thee. Needful art thou to
make me live, needful art thou all grace to give, needful to
keep me lest I stray, needful to help me Every day, needful
is thy precious blood, needful is thy correcting rod, needful
is thy sovereign care, needful is thy interceding prayer. Needful
thy presence, dearest Lord, true peace and comfort to afford. Needful thy promise to impart
faith, trust, and comfort to my heart. Needful art thou to
be my stay through all life's dark and stormy way, nor less
in death thou shalt needful be when I yield my soul up to thee. Glory and praise be ever his,
the one thing needful. Jesus is one thing. Now, look at the text
a moment. And that's the reason Paul could
write, I'm confident of this very thing, that if he has begun
that work in you, he's going to complete it. He's going to
finish it, Mike. He's going to perform it. He's
going to do it. That's our hope. In Malachi 3,
he said, I'm the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob
aren't consumed. That's the reason. He's the Lord. He doesn't change. That's the
only reason that I'm kept. Cody is because he's the Lord.
Not anything in me. Not anything in me. It's his
grace, his love, his mercy, his purpose. I don't change. I do. He's the same yesterday,
today, forever. I change. I'm on a mountain and
in a valley. I'm gung-ho today and quitting
tomorrow, aren't you?" But not him. He's always the same, never
changes. With whom there is no variableness,
no shadow of turning. He said also in Romans 11 and
29, the gifts and calling of God are without change. If God
gave you a gift, you got it. If God calls you, you call, without
repentance. John Jeremiah 17 and 9, listen,
he said, "...the righteous shall hold his way." Yeah, he will. Now, not righteous in ourselves,
Tom, but in him. But we're going to hold our word.
Though he fall, David said, though he fall, though he fall, and
he will. Not me. Wait. I wouldn't bet
on it. I told somebody in the study
the other day, I believe it was you, Richard, I said, Cary Grace,
my little granddaughter, was standing there, six years old. I think I said to you, she's
not going to get married. She's going to live with her
ball ball. She said, I wouldn't bet on it. I wouldn't bet on it. Oh, I wouldn't bet on it. And that's what I say, though
he falls. You say, not me, I wouldn't bet on it. Wait a minute, he
shall not be utterly cast down. For the Lord upholdeth him with
his hand." Who upholds him? His preacher. No. He's upheld
with him. Who upholds him? Well, we got
a standard down at our church. I like that. We got a standard
that upholds our people. We got watchdogs. We got a discipline
committee. We keep them in line, you know.
No. Upheld by his hand. His hand. He keeps his people. He said
they won't depart from me and I won't depart from them. My
name from the palm of his hands eternity cannot erase. Impressed
on his heart my name remains in marks of indelible grace.
Yes, I to the end shall endure as sure as the promise is given. More happy but not more secure
are those already in heaven. give you that again. Yes, out
to the end shall endure, as sure as the promise is given. More
happy, but not more secure, are those already in death. Because
he's going to keep me till the river rolls its waters at my
feet, and then he'll bear me safely over where my Savior I
shall greet. Look at Philippians 1.6, being
confident I have a confidence, it's not a cockiness, believe
me. I have a confidence, it's not a presumption. I have a hope,
it's not an idle hope, nor an uncertain hope, it's just a good
hope. And it's the hope in a person, being confident of this very
thing that he, that he. I'm not saying I'm confident
of this very thing that we. I'm not saying I'm confident
of this very thing that I. I'm not saying I'm confident
of this very thing that believers, I'm saying I'm confident of this
very thing that He, which hath begun the good work. That He
chooses, He sent His Son, He loves, He calls, He justifies,
He saves, He keeps, He intercedes, and He began the work. He began
it way back in eternity. He began the work. And he says
it's a good work, watch this, being confident of this very
thing that he which hath begun a good work. What does it mean
a good work? Well, it's good in that it honors
God, it glorifies God, and it's for my eternal good. And watch
this, he hath begun a good work in you. Brethren, let me tell
you something, the work of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, is not
only a work for us, and this is as close as the average preacher
gets to redemption or salvation. He keeps talking about the finished
work of Christ, the finished work of Christ, talking about
his sacrifice, the shedding of his blood, and brethren, that's
rich and precious and imperative and necessary, but God does a
work in his people. in His people. Salvation is not
just a profession, it's a possession. It's not belonging to a church,
it's in dwelling of God within. That's what salvation is. It's
God does a work in us. He said He was pleased to reveal
His Son, not to me, Mike, in me. We're new creatures. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. God gives him a new heart, God
gives him a new attitude, God gives him a new spirit, God gives
him a new motive, God gives him a new objective, God gives him
a new family, God gives him new principles. It's God in you,
Christ in you, the hope of glory. I wish I could emphasize that
like it ought to be emphasized. Being confident, absolutely persuaded,
that of this very thing, of this certain thing that He, Almighty
God, which hath begun. We are His workmanship. He began
this work of implantation, imputation, impartation, this work in you. The Spirit of God in you, a new
nature in you that makes you love one another, makes you love
God, makes you pant after holiness and desire perfection and desire
to be like Christ. and desire to fulfill His Word
and His commandments and glorify His name. He does that work in
you. He makes you a loving son, an
obedient son, and a faithful son, and a trustworthy son. He begins that work in you. It's
not just a belief in a doctrine. They're not commitment to a Baptist
principles and way. It's life, work of God, the movement
of God, the grace of God, the presence of God, the craftsmanship,
the skill of God working in a man to do his will and his good pleasure,
to want to do it. I told my Sunday school class
this morning, I said, when you got up this morning, it was Sunday
morning. And you was getting ready to
come to church. With what attitude did you face it? Well, it was honestly kind of
reluctant. I just really didn't want to
go. And I just wasn't impressed. I didn't face it with cheerfulness
and joy and apprehension and expectation and the joy of being
worshiping God and meeting with people. Then why didn't you go
on back to bed? That's my advice to you. Do you
a heap more good, you get some sleep. Because I tell you, those
in whom God dwells, they said, I was glad when they said to
me, let's go worship God. With anticipation and expectation,
I go to praise my God. That's in you. That other ritualism
and that duty and that responsibility is something somebody's done
outside of you. a good snow job and conjure you
into religion. But when God does a work of grace,
it's in you. When you reach down to give your
gift for the missionaries or the preaching of the gospel,
did you do it with cheerfulness and joy and hilariously as unto
the Lord? I just wish I had more that I
could send forth the gospel that God sent to me. Now, I'll be
honest with you, preacher, I just, I gave because, you know, you're
supposed to. Why don't you keep it? Why don't
you keep it? Buy you a suit to be buried in,
so at least you could look nice on the outside, look natural,
they say. Don't he look natural? Yeah,
he's natural. But God's people give as unto
the Lord willingly. That's right. It's in them. See
the well of waters within springing up That's what I'm talking about.
He has begun a work, His work, His glorious redemptive work,
regenerating work, saving work in you. He purposed it, purchased
it, and began it in you. And you know what He said? He's
going to perform it. He's going to perform it. In
other words, He's going to complete it. He's going to finish it. He's going to finish it until
the day of Jesus Christ. What is the day of Jesus Christ?
Well, somebody said this, there's a great day coming. A great day
coming. It's the day of Jesus Christ,
because He's all. Creation was His day. By Him,
God created all things. Creation is His day. And redemption
is His day. He walked the winepress of God's
wrath all alone. That's his day, and judgment's
his day. The Father judges no man hath
committed all judgment to the Son. We shall all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. And eternity's his day, because
in all things he has the preeminent. Now, don't let me offend you.
Don't get angry with me. Don't get upset with me. Like
Paul said, am I your enemy? Because I tell you the truth,
and I'm telling you the truth, that this thing of life is a
miracle. of God. Now, God does it. It's a miracle. No man can produce
it. David was a miracle. Abraham
was a miracle. Job was a miracle. Isaac's a
miracle. Isaac's a miracle. Born where
there's no possibility of birth, a miracle. And the believer's
a miracle. And the sustaining of his existence
in God is a miracle. Because every demon in hell is
out to get him. Satan is out to get him. Satan
hath desired thee that he might sift thee as wheat, but I have
prayed for you that your faith fail not. And I'm confident of
this very thing, that he that has begun this work, he began
it. And he began this work, this
glorious work, where? It's in you. You see, anybody
on earth can buy my Bible and read it. Anybody on earth can
want the benefits and blessings that are written in this book.
Anybody on earth can be scared of hell and want to go to heaven.
Anybody on earth can claim to believe the five points of Calvinism.
Anybody with a mind can believe morality is better than to be
degenerated and depraved. Anybody on earth knows it's better
to be honest than a crook. Anybody on earth would rather
be out of jail than in jail? Anybody on earth could want to
die with a little hope for something ahead? Well, if a man dies, will
he live again? Anybody got that much sense?
We're not animals. We're not lilies of the field.
We're not grass that's going to remain in the oven. We're
going to live. I'm telling you this thing. Anybody
on earth believes there's a God, the devil believes there's a
God, but he don't love God. He doesn't see the glory of God.
And this is a work in you, that a man actually, a man actually
loves this Word. Not just believes, he loves it.
It's the children's bread, and he lapses it up, and he loves
to look in it, and he loves to study it, and he loves to meditate
on it. I don't understand that picture.
I know you don't. Because the work hadn't been
done in you. That's what I'm saying. A man
actually loves to pray. He actually loves to give. He
loves to take things that he himself wants and give it to
somebody. He loves to do that. I don't
believe that. I know you don't. I know you don't. Ain't nobody
can believe that. that a man reach down in his
savings and take things he's been saving up to buy something
for himself and give it to somebody else more needy. I don't understand
that. I know you don't. That's what I'm saying. I know you don't. Because it's
a work God does in a man. Y'all go to church all the time. You there hear two or three speakers.
Seventeen speakers in three days. That'd drive me nuts. I know
it would. It would me too if I didn't love it. Nutty in a
fruitcake. But I love it. I'd be in service
every night this week and talking about the gospel all day every
day, but I like it. Looks like to me you'd want a
holiday. It is my holiday. Christ said, I got meat to eat
you don't know anything about. They said, who fed him? I know
who fed me. Now there ain't no way I can
put that in words. And I know you've got to write out a list
of things for people in your church to do, or they're going
to kick the traces out. I know that. But not God's people. His law is written on their hearts,
in them, and on their minds. They love it. They love it, and
they think on it. And I can't explain that, but
don't get mad at me because I can't, because I didn't understand it
either. But he that hath begun this work in you, he's going
to finish it. And then He's going to stand
back and brag on you to the praise of His glory. He's going to say,
look what I did. Look what I did. Look at Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians chapter 2. Verse 7 says, In the ages to
come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Jesus Christ. That's what He's going to show
in the ages to come. And that's what we were talking about yesterday.
You can live in luxury in this world with a lot of money and
a big house and a fine job off somewhere where the gospel's
not preached and a Christian will be miserable. He'd rather
live in a two-room apartment on the meager affair of everyday
life and walk with God and hear the gospel and fellowship with
the people of God. You say, I don't understand that.
I know. But that's the work in a man.
He's got to have Christ. He's the one thing needful. Our Father blessed the Word this
morning. Do for us what we not only can't
do but don't want to do and we don't want done. Make us willing in the day of
Thy power. Make us willing in the day of
Thy power. Do a work of grace in us. We pray for Christ's sake. Amen.