The apostle begins this fourth
chapter of Philippians calling the people, my brethren. They're
not his brethren in a natural sense at all. They're his brethren
in a spiritual sense. That is, they have the same father.
They have the same family. They're from the same household
of faith. He calls them my brethren. Then he calls them dearly beloved
and longed for. That is, he sincerely longed
to be with them. He loved these brethren and he
longed to be with them, to fellowship with them and to converse with
them and to bestow upon them some spiritual gift. And he calls
them, my joy and my crown. Now the reason he calls them
my joy and my crown is because that they were the seals of his
ministry. They were proof of his call. If you care to, turn back. In
1 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle talks about the foundation
being Christ. And then he talks about building
on that foundation. This is the minister that he's
speaking about in 1 Corinthians 3. He says in verse 4, some of
you say, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos. And then in
verse 5 he says, Who is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers
by whom you believe? In verse 7 he says, Neither is
he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, but God giveth
the increase. And in verse 9 he says, We are
laborers together with God, but you are God's husbandry, you
are God's building, you are the building. And according to the
grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder,
I have laid the foundation, that's Christ, and another buildeth
thereon. Let every man take heed how he
builds on that foundation, Christ. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, Christ. Now, if any man build on this
foundation gold, silver, precious stone, or wood, hay, and stubble,
Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare
it." That's the reason in verse 1 of Philippians 4 he calls them,
my joy, because they are the seals of his ministry and proof
of his call. These believers were to him a
greater joy and a greater die to him than anything the world
had to offer, any crown the world could give. The fruits of a man's
ministry. That's the test of a man's ministry. Christ said, Beware of false
prophets, you shall know them by their fruits. Many people
misuse this passage of scripture. They say, Do you think so and
so is saved? Well, I don't know. Do you? Well,
I don't think he's saved. Well, how do you know? Well,
the Bible says, By their fruit shall you know them. No, it doesn't. That's not the application at
all. Christ said, beware of false prophets. By their fruits shall
you know them, by the fruits of their ministry, which is their
converts. So the best test of a man's ministry
are his converts, or the people who have heard him preach what
they believe and where they stand. So he calls these people, my
joy. He had ministered to them, they had been truly converted,
and they demonstrated the fact they had been converted, he calls
them, my joy and my crown. Then he says to them, stand fast
in the Lord. Not in Paul, not in Paul's doctrine,
but stand fast in the Lord. John Gill says there are four
things implied here. First of all, we as believers
stand fast in the power of Christ and in the strength of Christ,
for even believers are liable to fall. but unto him who is
able to keep you from falling." We stand fast in his power, not
in ours, in his strength, not in ours. And then we stand fast
in the gospel of Christ, the gospel which is able to pardon,
to redeem, and to make you acceptable. We preach Christ. And then we
stand fast, thirdly, in the liberty of Christ. That is, in opposition
to the bondage of the law, in opposition to false teachers,
the liberty of Christ which has set us free. And then, fourthly,
we stand fast in the doctrines of God, earnestly, sincerely
contending for the faith, without being contentious, but contending
for the faith. Therefore, my brethren, dearly
beloved, long for my joy and my crown. Stand fast in the Lord,
my dearly beloved. Now verse 2 and 3 go together. He says in verse 2, I beseech
you odious and I beseech syntyche that they be of the same mind
in the Lord. Now evidently there were two
women in the church. They were very prominent. Paul
says in verse 3 that they labored with me in the gospel. He doesn't
mean they preached, because the Bible certainly does not recognize
any female preachers. He doesn't mean that they were
Bible teachers. He meant that they labored with
him, they assisted him, they helped him in the gospel. And
these two women were prominent enough in the church at Philippi
to be mentioned. And evidently they were divided. They were divided over a problem.
What it was, we do not know. It's impossible to say. You could
speculate. I think it had something to do
with the gospel. It had something to do with the
doctrines of grace. It maybe had something to do
with these false teachers that had crept in. Because I don't
believe the Apostle Paul would have made a personal problem
this prominent in a letter to the Church. But he beseeches
these women to be of the same mind. He takes notice of their
division. and he tells them to be of the
same mind. Every believer ought to seek
to preserve the unity of the church and be of the same mind
in all things. In verse 3 he says, I entreat
thee also, true yoke fellow. Now evidently this is addressed
to the pastor. who was to assist these women
in composing their differences. He says these two women have
a difference, they are divided, they have fallen out with one
another, and I beseech them to be of the same mind in the Lord,
settle their differences, preserve the unity of the Church, and
I entreat thee, the pastor, to help those women to solve their
differences Because these women, he said, along with Clement and
other fellow laborers whose names are in the Book of Life, were
a valuable assistance to me when I preached the gospel. And the
fellowship of the Church and the glory of Christ is more important
than our personal disputes and our personal quarrels, and we
are to solve our differences and we are to help one another
solve their differences. You're not crying and you're
not entering where it's none of your business, Paul entreats
the pastor, and I think the elders and the deacons and the bishops,
to assist these people in settling their differences. Now, verse
4. Paul repeats this statement four
times in the book of Philippians, rejoicing the Lord. Now, Paul
was in trying circumstances. We think sometimes that we are
undergoing severe trials. We think sometimes that we're
having it hard and we're having it difficult. But Paul was in
trying circumstances. Paul had been in the ministry
for years. Someone said he was about 40
when he was converted. And then he'd been in the ministry
for years. He was now an old man. He was getting to the very
end of his life. And here at the end of his life,
in this book right here, he tells us that all the people in Asia
had forsaken him, that he didn't have many friends left, that
he was getting to the end of the road, he was in prison, he
was chained to a soldier 24 hours a day. Things were very trying
and very difficult, and yet four times in this prison epistle
He writes these words, rejoice in the Lord. I wish I could learn
it, I wish under God you could learn it. And I don't mean as
a doctrine, I mean as an experience. When things are dark, we complain
and we grumble and we murmur. When things aren't going our
way, when we're sick, when we're in debt, when we cross ways with
a friend, when the children are giving us problems, and murmur
and grumble and complain and murmur and grumble, and when
things go good, then we just praise the Lord. Well, I don't
think our praising the Lord at that time is worth a plug nickel.
I really don't. Anybody can praise the Lord when
the rainbows out and when the sun is shining. Anybody can praise
the Lord, and I just don't think it's worth anything. I think
true praise of the Lord is only valuable when it comes from a
broken heart. And when it comes during a time
when a man really, by nature, won't praise the Lord. Now you
think that over a little bit. Job, when he lost everything,
he lost everything, and the scripture says that he rent his clothes
and fell down and worshiped God at that time when most of us
would have been trying to figure out what we were going to do,
how we were going to make a living, How we were going to get along
without our children, how we were going to start life all
over again, here he was down there worshiping the Lord. Rejoice
in the Lord, look at that word, A-L-W-A-Y, always. Not just when it's fair and sunny
and happy, but always. And again I say, rejoice. And our praise, believe me, I
mean this, Our praise is no good, it's just no good if it only
comes during the time when anybody could praise the Lord, when it's
expected. Rejoice in what? Rejoice in His
grace, it's always sufficient. Rejoice in His blood, it always
cleanses. Rejoice in His righteousness,
it always covers. Rejoice in His love, it never
fails. Rejoice in his intercession,
he ever liveth to make intercession. Rejoice that our names are in
the book of life. Why don't you and I covenant
together that we're going to give this a try tomorrow, tonight,
why not right now? And we're going to rejoice in
the Lord. And we're going to pick a time
when by nature we wouldn't rejoice, and by nature we wouldn't praise
him. And when we're feeling bad, and when we're tired and weary,
and we just burn the beans and spill something on the carpet,
and when we just took a cut in pay, we're going to smile and
say, Praise the Lord! Huh? Well, now, it's just a doctrine
until we can do that. That's all in the world it is.
It's nothing but a doctrine. It's nothing but cold, dead,
hard doctrine. And when we're in the hospital
and the doctor says he's going to have to operate on you, well,
praise the Lord. And when you drive to work tomorrow
and have a flat tire and you're five minutes late already, praise
the Lord. That's right. These are simple,
everyday things, but he says rejoice in the Lord. I'm not
preaching down to you, I'm talking about me too. But we're going
to have to learn this by experience, by experience. Now, verse 5,
and this goes right with it. Let your moderation be known
unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Now, brethren,
the moderation here is not eating and drinking, though that's certainly
important. No question about that. We ought
to be moderate in our eating and drinking and conversation
and all things. But Paul's on another subject
right here. He's on another subject. He's not on this subject at all.
He's not talking about settling your differences in the church
and being in unity and being in harmony and getting along
together and rejoicing in the Lord and turning around and saying,
eat moderately. No, you've got to stay on the
same subject. And the moderation here, we are
to make known, not just to the brethren, but to all men, whatever
this moderation is. we're to make it known to all
men. Not only to the household of faith, but to all people.
Now what is it? Let your moderation be known
to all men. You know what it is? It's your
attitude of compassion and kindness. That's exactly what he's talking
about. It's your attitude of submission to God's will. It's
your attitude of rejoicing in the Lord, the same thing he's
talking about in verse 4. You let this be observed by all
men. Just to give you a few illustrations,
it's this. Giving up my strict rights and
dues for the comfort and happiness of others. Well, this is the
way it ought to be, I know, but give it up for the comfort and
happiness of somebody else. Putting up with injuries and
affronts by bearing them patiently and forgiving others. Not dealing
with people according to the severity of the law. Well, this
is what they deserve. Well, I know what they deserve,
but where are you going to give them? Give them gentleness and
mercy. That's what God gave you. Give
them grace. That's what God gave you. Forgive
them. That's what God did for you.
Putting the best interpretation on words. I've had people just
fall out with me in the church here for something I said in
a sermon. It didn't mean it at all, but that's the meaning they
put on it. And we ought to put the best interpretation on what
people say in their statements and not be offended. Not seeking
vengeance, not seeking reprisals against those whom we think have
wronged us. In other words, what he's saying
here is, let your Christian attitude adorn your doctrine. Most of our doctrines lose their
significance because of our attitude. Most of our doctrine. It doesn't
mean anything to the people with whom we live and with whom we
work and with whom we socialize because our attitude is so poor,
our attitude is so bad that they have no confidence in our doctrine.
And that's what he's saying here. Rejoice in the Lord and let your
attitude, your spirit, be known unto all men. For the Lord is at hand." What
does he mean by that? He means either God will help
you, he's near to you, he's at hand, he'll give you the strength.
You say, I can't take it when people down me and say cruel
things to me. God will help you. I can't take
it when I feel I've been offended. God will help you. If he's in
your heart, he'll help you. If he's not, you're on your own.
Or he may mean this, he observes closely your conduct of spirit. Names don't mean anything to
God, it's the spirit. I can claim to believe all these
doctrines and still not amount to anything the kingdom of God.
God looks on the heart. He looks not on the outward countenance.
He looks on the heart. All of that envy and jealousy
and malice and hatred and ill feelings and all these things
that I carry in my heart, that's what displeases the Lord. And
that's not moderation. We need to adorn the doctrines. Doctrine's not enough. Well,
this is what I believe. Well, who cares, really? It is
there for you came along. It will be there when you leave.
Let's see it. Let's see by experience. Let's
see in living. Let's see in general practice. Let's see in daily conversation. Let's see in your attitude what
you believe. Show me what you believe. Let
me see it. Put it on display. And then maybe
I'll believe you. The Lord is at hand. That's what's
important. You know when the Lord lists,
talking to a man today about this, when the Lord lists seven
things he hated, seven things he hated. God hates seven things. You'd think the first thing he'd
mention would be kidnapping of a little child, maybe. What a
terrible crime are these men who stop in the parking lots
and take these women in their cars and rape them or murder
them. It looks like that would be the
first thing. That's an awful, awful thing. The first thing
God mentions in the seven things he hates is a proud love, a proud
love. God hates it. And then when Christ
starts talking about the things that defile us, the first thing
he talks about, evil thoughts, evil thoughts, evil thoughts
of others. You know, evil thoughts don't
just apply to sex. The average person you meet,
your evil thoughts, the first thing they think of is sex. If
you get sex out of your mind a little while, you'll learn
something about the Bible. There's some other sin beside that. And
that's the biggest problem that we're having now. Evil thoughts
of envy and jealousy and hatred and malice and ill feelings and
unforgiving spirit and covetousness and all these things, they're
important too. Now look at verse 6, and let
this be known to folks. Let folks see your relationship
with Christ. Verse 6, Be careful for nothing. Now the word careful there is
overly anxious. Don't fret, don't fret. Don't worry about worldly cares. Be anxious. Be overly anxious
for nothing. Don't spend your time worrying
about the things of this world, about what you're going to eat
and what you're going to drink and whether you're going to be
able to pay your bills and make your living. In everything, look,
in everything by prayer and supplication, With thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God. There's nothing that we can't
talk over with our Heavenly Father, nothing. Lean not on the arm
of flesh. When we come to the throne of
grace for mercy, we have so many mercies for which to give thanks.
in everything, everything by prayer and supplication. We can
bring everything to God in prayer and bring everything with thanksgiving,
everything. We need to spend some time counting
our blessings. Let's just see right now, just
stop and think for a moment what we have to be thankful for. Do
you ever do that? I don't as much as I ought to,
but I do occasionally. I was up visiting my father in
the hospital the other day, and he had him strapped to a wheelchair.
His mind's going bad. He has hardening of the arteries,
and he has to be strapped to a wheelchair now most of the
time. But I sat over in the other wheelchair. He was here, and
I was sitting over in this wheelchair, and I thought while I was sitting
there, I don't have to stay in this thing. I can get up and
walk out of here in a few minutes, bounce, run down those steps.
I don't have to have somebody bring me my food and be sure
I don't spill it all over myself. I've got health. I've got happiness. I don't think too well, but I
can still think. I can remember what I had for
supper. And that's a blessing. I can see, I can hear. Just honestly,
I get ashamed of myself and I get ashamed of all of us for our
awful, awful, sinful complaining. Count your blessings, and everything
with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, thanksgiving,
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. I don't
care what kind of shape you're in right now, there's somebody
in worse shape, and you can give thanks, and I can too. Now look
at verse 7. And the peace of God The peace
of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and your
minds through Christ Jesus. This peace is twofold. It's a
twofold peace that we have. Number one, this peace of God
which passeth understanding means a natural man can't understand
it. He just can't understand it.
He can't comprehend it. He can't enter into it. He can't
rejoice in it. He can't embrace it. Two-fold
peace. The first is, it's a peace which
is made with God by the blood of Christ. I've got peace with
God. The enmity has been put away. Therefore, being justified
by faith, I have peace with God. Think about it. That's another
thing I can be thankful for. If I was in that wheelchair,
I could sure be thankful I could sit there and roll around thanking
God my name was in the book of life. That the enmity was gone,
that the cloud of sin was removed, that everything is all right
between me and the Lord, because of Christ. And then the second
part of this piece is a piece of conscience. And brother, I
tell you this is something, especially as awful sinners as we are, and
that's a piece of conscience. which arises from a correct view
of Christ. We know that we have passed from
death unto life, and our sins are forgiven, and Christ is our
substitute, and I can be at peace in my heart. There is peace with
God by the blood of Christ, and there is peace in my heart through
the presence of Christ, that he is on the right hand of God
and I am accepted in him, and my sins are forgiven. All right,
verse 8. Now, finally, brethren, we're
still on this subject, still on the same thing. Settle your
differences. Judas and Seneca, settle your
differences. And you folks help them settle
their differences, and be in peace and harmony and of one
mind, and rejoice in the Lord, and let everybody see how you
get along, and how thankful you are, and how you praise the Lord,
and how you love each other. Let everybody see. Let everybody
see it. Don't be anxious for things. Don't be overly anxious. Quit
fretting. Quit worrying. Quit complaining. In everything,
pray and thank God. Let your requests be known to
God, and let the peace of God, which the world doesn't understand,
rule in your heart, and then whatsoever things are true. Now
here is one of the best commentaries, comments on these next few things.
Listen to them. Whatsoever things are true, think
on it. And this means agreeable to the
truth of scripture, the gospel of truth, the truth as it is
in Christ Jesus. I had a long conversation with
a dear friend just a few days ago, and he told me how a certain
church where he attended was departing from the fundamentals
and the basic truths of God's word, how unsettled the people
were and how unhappy they were because they were departing from
the truth. nothing can replace that foundation. We've got to hold to God's sovereignty
and the verbal inspiration of the scripture and the virgin
birth of Christ and the blood atonement and the second coming
of Christ and all of these things that are our foundations. We've
got to rehearse them over and over again, the fall of man,
divine sovereignty, the death of Christ on the cross, prayer,
the Holy Spirit, these that Whatsoever things are true, the gospel of
truth, the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, don't ever leave
it. Think on it. It is important.
Whatsoever things are honest, that is, honest business, honest
dealings, honest conduct, honesty in the sight of men, honesty
in the sight of God, dealing honestly with one another, truthful. And then whatsoever things are
just, That is, giving to God that which is his, that's just. Giving to man that which is his,
that's just. Avoiding oppression and any injustice. The scripture says, owe no man
anything, and that doesn't mean you can't borrow money. A lot
of businesses are built on borrowed money. But owe no man anything
in that he needs your and deserves your love and friendship. And don't owe it to him. Don't
owe it to him. Pay off. Pay off your friendship
and your love. Give him what he needs. What
sort of things are just to man and God? What sort of things
are pure in word and deed, in opposition to pride and covetousness
and lust and hatred envy and self-seeking. Think not on these
things, but think on that which is pure. Don't think on the argument
you had yesterday. Don't think on the disappointment
you had last week. Don't think on the unhappy things
that occurred. Think on the good things. Don't
think on the failings that a man had. Think on his successes.
Don't tell the bad news, tell the good news. Give that a try
for the next few days. When you have a get-together,
when you go on a trip or anything, don't come back and tell what
bad things happen to you. Try and tell what good things
happen to you. But you watch your conversation. I know what
I'm talking about because I listen. And much conversation is built
on, just like the newspaper, bad news. Bad news. Bad things. Whatsoever things
are pure, think on these things. Whatsoever things are holy, agreeable
to God's holy law and God's holy character, things which promote
holiness of character and holiness of heart and holiness of attitude,
think on those things. Whatsoever things are lovely,
what are these? John Guild says these are love
and friendship, kindness and gentleness, compassion and generosity. Lovely, that's lovely. think
on it. Whatsoever things of good report,
we are what we think, and that's one of our big problems. Whatsoever
things of good report, things which contribute to a good name,
things which contribute to a good reputation, things which contribute
to a good credit for the glory of Christ, if there be any virtue
among men or any praise forthcoming, if there's any such thing existing,
If there's any commendation, it ought to be towards the believer.
That's what he's saying. You're the one that ought to
get it. If anybody is praising somebody for their attitude,
it ought to be you. If anybody is praising anyone
else for their composure and compassion, it ought to be me
and you. We ought to set the example.
That's what he's saying. If there be any virtue, if there
be any praise, think on these things. And as you think on them,
as you think on them, you're going to live them. If we really
apply ourselves to thinking along this line, it's going to come
out. And let's don't be afraid to
rebuke ourselves when we feel that we're moving in the wrong
direction, when we feel that our attitude is getting bad,
when we feel that we're not behaving like we ought to behave, like
a Christian ought to behave, we're not behaving in a Christ-like
manner, why not just stop right there? And just turn to all who
are involved and say, I'm sorry, I'm not acting like a Christian,
and I apologize. Now that's what we need to do.
We need to stop right there. And this is what this is all
about, what we're talking about. Let your moderation be known
to all men. And it's a good time to start.
He says, think, what sort of things are true, and honest,
and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report, think on
them. And just stop right here, wherever
I am for the next, the rest of my life, and think on these things,
and when I see that I'm getting off the track, and I'm offending
and hurting the testimony of Christ, and hurting the cause
of Christ, It ought not to be, but actually it ought not to
be. People ought not to refrain from
coming to the house of God because of my attitude. Isn't that right? And there's something wrong with
me when that is the case. Now you can say, well, if my
neighbors don't come and they know what I stand for, yeah,
they know what you stand for. They know what you stand for.
That may be the whole problem. It may be the whole problem. Look at verse 9. Those things
which you have learned, where did you learn them? Turn to 1
Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The reason I know so much about
this subject is because I've been here. I've been here. I
know how contrary I've been. And I wish my doctrine, my attitude
was as good as my doctrine. I got good doctrine. It's pure,
but I want to get those two things in harmony, my attitude and my
doctrine. I want to adorn the doctrine.
I want to be able to preach God's sovereignty and God's elective
grace, and if anybody's going to get mad, let them get mad
at the doctrine, I don't need. And he says in 1 Thessalonians
4, verse 9, As touching brotherly love, you need not that I write
unto you. You yourselves are taught of
whom? Taught of God. You ought to love one another.
You're taught of God. So these things which you have
learned, you've learned these things. I'm not telling you anything
you don't know. And you've received them. You've received them from
the Holy Spirit. You've heard and seen them in
me, Paul said. Now you do them. And the God
of peace, God of peace will be with you. And here he goes again,
I rejoice in the Lord, I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now
at the last your care of me hath flourished, wherein you were
also careful, but you lacked opportunity. Here's what he's
saying in verse 10. The church at Philippi found out he was
in prison, and they made up an offering and got some gifts together,
and they sent it by their pastor, Epaphroditus. They sent the gift
to Paul. They had helped him before, he
said, and they wanted to help him several times, but they didn't
have the opportunity. Now verse 11, he's acknowledging
that gift that they sent him, and he says in verse 11, not
that I speak in respect of war. I'm not being covetous. I'm not
asking you for a gift, he says. I have learned, I've been taught
in whatsoever state I am to be content. God's taught me to be
content with what I have. I'm not asking you, I'm not coveting
anything from you. Verse 12, I know how to be humble,
I know how to be abased. He says, I know how to be treated
with contempt, I know how to be treated with indignity, I
know how to suffer hardship, I know how to be in a very low
condition, I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. That
is, I know how to be held high in the esteem of men, I know how to have the things
of the world without being proud and lifted up." He said, I've been both places.
Paul says, I know how, now watch this, this is good right here,
I know how to be abased. I know how to conduct myself
when men are treating me with contempt and indignity. And I
also know what it means to be on top of the heap. And I know
how to conduct myself thereto without being proud and lifted
up. Down here without being contemptible
and rebellious, and up here without being proud and lifted up. Listen, Kipling wrote a poem
that I think is one of the greatest things that's ever been written.
I think every man ought to read it frequently. I've almost memorized
it, but the last verse goes like this. If you can talk with crowds
and keep your virtue, if you can walk with kings and not lose
the common touch, not everybody can do that. Paul said he knew
what it was like to be down here, and he knew what it was like
to be up here. If neither foes nor loving friends
can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much. I know how to be abased, I've
been there, I know how to abound. Look at verse 12. Everywhere
in all things I am instructed, I've learned both to be full,
I've been full, and I've been hungry, he said. And I know how
to abound, and I know how to suffer need. And these things
are not theories, they're experiences, he said. And he said, in all
of them, I can do all things through Christ which strengthened
me. I can stand it down there, and I can take it up there. And
it's not in my power and my merit and my strength, it's in Christ. John Newton summed it up this
way. He says, content with beholding his face, my all to his pleasure
resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of
Christ's love, a palace, a toy, would appear, and prisons would
palaces prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. I would hope that any person
who came to this congregation I don't care if their job is
holding the torch for a plumber in the bottom of the sewer, that
that person would be as happy and as well received and as highly
thought of as a senator from Washington to come here. In fact,
to be honest with you, I believe we ought to give more
attention to the plumber. I think that's scriptural. We need to learn how to live
in both places. We need to learn that we're nothing.
We're really nothing. I don't care whether you're on
top of the heap or whether you're at the bottom. There's nobody
anything. Nobody. If you can walk with
crowds and not lose your virtue, if you can talk with kings and
not lose the common touch, don't lose that. Don't lose that common
touch. Don't lose that attitude of chief
of sinners. Don't lose that attitude. Don't
lose appreciation for the little things. Don't lose appreciation
for the fireplace and the fireside and the popcorn. Don't lose appreciation
for walking through the fields and seeing the squirrels and
the birds and the leaves fall. Don't lose appreciation for the
common things. God's in those things. God's
in those things. In verse 14, it's notwithstanding
you've done well that you've communicated with my affliction. He says this because he doesn't
want these people to think he's discounting their gifts. He's
saying, I can be content anywhere, but I appreciate your help. That's
what he's saying here. You've done well that you did
communicate with me. I know, Paul said, I appreciate
your help and you've done what you ought to do, but I want you
to know that I can be happy wherever God puts me. Could you? You know, I heard of a man one
time, somebody said, well, he's always lived high, and he can
never be satisfied any other way. That's a shame. That's a
shame. I hope you and I can say with
Apostle Paul, we know how to abound, but we also know how
to be obese. We know how to be full, but we
also know that we can be satisfied with Christ if we have to endure
some hard times. Are we going to quit singing
his praises if we go through hard times? Maybe God will hurry
them up and find out. Maybe we'll get a true test of
Christianity. Maybe we'll find out who the
believers are. Maybe we'll find out who they are who are trusting
the Lord. Maybe we need some hard times so we can find out
who they are who trust the Lord. And here's the shame. He says
in verse 15 and 16, you're the only church that really, you're
the only church, and this was back during the apostolic days,
you're the only church that really took an interest in this thing
of giving. The only one. Why, he said, I left Macedonia,
and I went down from Macedonia, and not one church communicated
with me concerning giving and receiving but just you. You see
why he was so high on those people? And that's consistent with love. And he says in verse 17, "...not
because I desire gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your
account." Paul has entered into this subject not because he wants
them to send him an offering, for God owns the silver and the
gold. God is going to supply Paul's need, but Paul is saying
that Your generosity and your love is an expression of your
faith, and it's essential to faith. The kingdom of God can
certainly prosper without me or you or the 13th Street Baptist
Church. But I want us to have those fruits
of righteousness. I want this to be, and it is,
it's a generous church. And we're going to have to keep
reminding ourselves of these essential things. Turn to Matthew
10, verse 40, and I'll close with this. Matthew 10, verse
40 through 42. Listen to this. Matthew 10, 40
through 42. He that receiveth you receiveth
me, talking to his disciples. He that receiveth me receiveth
him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in
the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he that
receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall
receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink
unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the
name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise
lose his reward." Paul said in verse 18, 19, "'I have received
your gifts through your pastor whom you sent.'" They sent their
pastor down there to Philippi, or down there to Rome from Philippi. to take these gifts to Paul,
and he said, I've received them and I'm grateful to you. And
he said, God will supply all your needs. I can't repay you,
but God will supply all your needs through his riches in glory,
according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. Man can't
out-give God. Let's bow in prayer. Brother
Charlie, you dismiss us in prayer, please.