Let us read again tonight from
Ephesians chapter 6. Beginning in verse 10, Ephesians
6 verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole
armor of God that you may be able to stand against the walls
of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield
of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints and for me, that
utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly
to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an
ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought
to speak. But that you also may know my
affairs and how I do, Tychus, a beloved brother and faithful
minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things. whom
I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might
know my affairs, our affairs, and that he might comfort your
hearts. Peace be to the brethren and
love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love
our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. I ended my message last
time from this passage of scripture before we came to the end of
the Apostle Paul's sentence. You know, he is known for very
long sentences, and especially do we see that in this letter
of Ephesians. But I stopped where the subject
of the sentence, the subject of the sentence that we looked
at last time concerned the word of God and prayer. verses 17
and 18, the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God, and then prayer, praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, semicolon. I
didn't go to the period, but tonight I want us to continue
with his words in verse 19, and for me. Praying always with all prayer
and supplication for all saints and for me. First, Paul's prayer
request for himself. Pray for me. And I have three
lessons I want to bring to us from this request. First, the
myth. The myth of the teaching of what
is called sinless perfection. the myth of that so-called doctrine,
sinless perfection. That is, that it's possible for
a saint of God in this world to advance to the position that
he lives or she lives without sin. Paul would not have asked
that prayer be offered for him if he had come to such a sinless
state. In fact, he tells us in Romans
chapter 7, his testimony of the conflict that is in every believer
because of the new nature, which is created in righteousness and
true holiness, and that old nature, which is born of the flesh and
is flesh. He tells us his testimony there,
but here he asks for prayer. Pray for me. Pray for me. As long as God's children, If
you're one of God's children tonight, as long as you remain
in this world, the two petitions in our Lord's model prayer will
always be for us. First of all, lead us not into
temptation. That's a prayer that every child
of God, every saint of God, yes, even every apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that's a petition that every one of God's children
will pray, lead us not into temptation, and number two, but deliver us
from evil. When we are in temptation, and
we shall be, we will be, no doubt, different times, deliver us from
evil, or keep us from the evil one. Aaron, the first high priest,
who is a type of our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ,
One of the things that we read about him is that he was to bear
the iniquity of the holy things. In other words, as a priest of
God, and especially in regard to that golden plate that was
on the forehead of the high priest upon Aaron's head, holiness to
the Lord. He was to bear the iniquity of
the holy things. Now, what would we consider tonight
Holy things, our holy things. Well, certainly worship is something
I would consider as one of our holy things when we come together
to worship the Lord, to sing praises, to offer prayer unto
God, to study his word. When we pray, that's one of our
holy things, isn't it? When we pray. But yet we see
that even in these things, because of who we are, what we are, that
we do still have that sinful nature, that we need a priest
who will bear the iniquity of our holy things. I was listening the other day
to a radio program, a so-called Christian radio program. This
man was praying, he said he was praying, and I thought, how? This is the way he prayed, hey
God. That's the way he addressed, hey God. And then he asked the
person he was praying for, what was that, what was, just started
his prayer and then he just, as it were, leaves God, hey God,
what did you say your sister's name was? the irreverence that
is accepted as worship. It's amazing, isn't
it, that we live in such a day, such a time, the ignorance about
who God is and who we are. But the point I'm making tonight,
even God's people in our holy things, we know we have thoughts
that come into our mind We, our minds get distracted. We come
together to worship the Lord. And we're thinking about what
we're going to do next week. And you're thinking about things
on your job that you experienced today. And you, and you're completely,
uh, for you completely for a moment, forget, Hey, I'm here to worship
God. The high priest of old, who was
a type of our great high priest, He was to bear the iniquity of
the holy things. And the Apostle James in his
small letter tells us this. He said, for in many things we
offend all. In many things. There's no such
thing as sinless perfection. I've only met one man in my Christian
experience who believed that, or at least told me he believed
that. That he believed that that it was possible for a person
in this world, in this life, to live a life without sin. I've only met one person. I've met some others that supposedly
believe that, or at least attend under a ministry that teaches
that. But the scripture's still very clear, isn't it? If we say
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves in the truth. Who is the truth? Christ. He said, I'm the way,
the truth, and the lie. We deceive ourselves, and the
truth, that is Christ, is not in us. One of the things about
God's children, for sure, is we know that we're guilty sinners. We have sinned. We're not proud
of it. We don't boast about it. But
we receive the truth from the word of God. We are saved sinners. But we're still sinners. We are
saints of God, but we're still sinful saints. You say, well,
that's a contradiction. Well, the believer is a contradiction. He's an oxymoron, right? There's
many so-called contradictions. But as long, here's the point,
as long as believers remain in this world, we need an advocate
with the Father. And thank God we have one. The
Apostle John said, if any man sin, we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And we know that he
is our advocate and he is the propitiation for our sins. His advocacy is always efficient
and sufficient, isn't it? So that's the first thing, the
myth of the teaching. Here Paul is, and I think most
people would agree, of all the apostles that we know much about,
Paul would be right up there at the very top, wouldn't he? I know we shouldn't make that
comparison, but we do. But here he is, and he's an aged
man when he wrote this letter, no doubt, and he's asking for
prayer. for himself and for me. Don't
forget me. Don't forget me. Praying for
all the saints with prayer and supplication in the spirit for
all the saints and for me and for me. Our Lord prayed for Peter,
didn't he? He said, Peter, Satan hath desired
to have thee. But I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not. He fell, but his faith did not
fail. All right, here's the second
lesson. The great concern of every gospel
preacher, the great concern of every gospel preacher that he
might preach as he ought. You see that? You see that in
verse 19? And for me that utterance may
be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known
the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in bonds
that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. The one request mentioned, as
you look at what he asked for here, pray for me And his one
request is not that he be released as a prisoner. We know he was
in prison when he wrote this letter, but he doesn't ask. Pray for me that Caesar will
turn me loose. Pray for me that my circumstances
will be altogether changed here and I no longer will be under
arrest No longer be in chains and bonds, as he says here. No,
pray for me that utterance might be given to me. Now, he didn't
have the liberty that he had enjoyed before in taking the
gospel to new places. Taking the gospel to new places. You know, he said in Romans 15,
yea, So have I strived to preach the
gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I build upon another
man's foundation. He delighted. It was joyful for
him to go to Lystra, to Derby, to Philippi, to the various towns
that we read about in Acts. And I know there were many others.
Take the gospel to Asia, Ephesus. Take the gospel to Europe, Philippi. He loved to preach the gospel
in places where the name of Christ had never been mentioned before. I remember preaching one time
in a place, and I don't know for sure it's true, but the thought
came to me, this is the first time the gospel's ever been preached
in this place. It wasn't a large place. It was,
I guess, maybe 200 or 300 people lived there. But I thought, what? What a joy it is to preach the
gospel in a new place. That's what Paul, he loved to
go to a new place, preach where the gospel had never been preached.
He didn't want to be accused of building on someone else's
foundation. And remember, he told those at
Corinth, he said, I laid the foundation. The foundation is
Christ and there is no other foundation. Let every man who
comes among you and preaches be careful how he builds upon
this foundation. Let him do it with precious doctrines,
truths from the word of God, and not be building with wood,
hay, and stubble, because that's all going to go up in smoke. Pray for me that utterance may
be given unto me. He didn't have the liberty, like
I said, he didn't have that liberty any longer. He lived, from what
I gather in the last chapter of Acts, he was under house arrest. That's what we would call it
today, house arrest. He had his own private house,
rent house no doubt there in Rome, where he could receive
men and women. He had that liberty, but he didn't
have the liberty that he once had to go to new places. preaching
the gospel. The gospel had already been preached
at Rome. We know that by his letter to
the Romans before he was arrested. But let me tell you something
that occurred to me. The great concern of every gospel
preacher that he might preach as he ought, that utterance might
be given unto him. But here's three things that
Paul knew. He knew that he was where God's providence had placed
him, even though a prisoner, even though in chains. He knew
that he was where God's providence had placed him. The sovereignty
and for the nation of God are truths that we know the apostle
not only believed and preached. And I'm sure they gave him much
comfort now that he was in this restricted, this confined state
that he was now in as a prisoner. These truths gave him great comfort,
no doubt. God's purpose was being fulfilled
in him being a prisoner. Every bit as much as God's purpose
was fulfilled in him as he traveled. preaching the gospel and going
from place to place. To the believers in the church
at Philippi, he wrote this, and he wrote that letter while in
prison as well. He said, I would have you to
understand. This is something I want you to understand. Brethren,
I want you to know this, that the things which happened unto
me have fallen out rather unto the futherance of the gospel.
That's the reason I'm in prison here, for the futherance of the
gospel. He knew that he was where God's
providence had placed him. There's no comfort like these
great truths that you and I have been taught and that we believe. When you're going through trials
and sickness and whatever it may be, that God's in charge. This, whatever it is, it hasn't
taken God by surprise. This is something that God ordained
for you from before the foundation of the world. And Paul knew that. He knew, he believed that. He
preached that. And second, he knew that the
word of God was not bound. Turn with me to second Timothy,
just a moment. He knew that the word of God
was not bound. He was bound. He was a prisoner. But God's word was not in prison.
In 2 Timothy 2, verse 8, he said, remember, 2
Timothy 2, beginning with verse 8, remember that Jesus Christ
of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my
gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer. Here I am in
prison. like a evildoer, like a thief
or a murderer, like a whatever, in trouble with the law. I'm
suffering like an evildoer in bonds, but the word of God is
not bound. No, God's word is not bound. Therefore, I endure all things
for the elect's sakes. that they may also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. What
a blessing, right? What a blessing to obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. You've obtained that salvation.
If you know Christ, you haven't been saved fully because you're
still here in the body. But what a blessing, isn't it,
that God chose you and sent the gospel to you and gave you grace
and faith to believe in. Hundreds, thousands, millions
of people around us. And God chose us. Nothing like grace, is there?
Nothing like grace. You know, Paul knew the word
of God is not bound. I remember reading the biography
a number of years ago of Charles Spurgeon. And this, I read several
times, happened in his ministry. You know, when he was pastor
there in London, at least a couple of newspapers in London, they
sent a stenographer to the service and they would take down his
message as he was preaching it in shorthand. And during the
week, that message would appear in the newspaper. daily or weekly
newspaper. Well, you know what people do
with newspapers. They read them and then they
discard them, or a lot of times they use them for wrapping. And
he received word more than one time that someone there in London
had used the newspaper that had his sermon in it, wrapped up
something, sent it off, to South America, I remember especially
South America, and someone there unpacking the package pulled
out that letter, that message and read it, and God began a
work of grace in their heart. God's word is not bound. He has a people in this world
that he has chosen, a people that he has redeemed, and he's
going to cross their path somewhere between the cradle and the grave
with the gospel. He really is. I spoke to a man
one time that told me his experience about God beginning the work
of grace in his heart. He was in jail. He was in a county
jail. I believe it was here in Harris
County, in the county jail. And someone provided them with
a pencil, him with a pencil at least, and a piece of paper that
he could write to somebody on And on that pencil was printed,
for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
And God used that, God's word, God used his word to begin this
man's coming eventually to know Christ as his Lord and Savior.
What an encouragement to you and I, to all of us, to spread
his word. I received a letter about two
weeks ago from a man in a town here in Texas, and what was strange
about it, he addressed me as Pastor David Pledger, and the
address here at the church, and how in the world he got my name
and the address here in this town, I have no idea. Probably never will know, don't
need to know. The point is, he received something,
and I'm sure it had to do with the gospel, and he wrote to me
from that. But my point is, Paul was bound,
yes, but he knew that God's word is not bound. And then something
else, he knew that God had used him. Even as a prisoner, God
had used him. and reaching others with the
gospel. Look in Philemon. Philemon only has the one chapter,
but oh, what a chapter. Lance, I remember you preaching
from this passage one time here, and one thing I remember especially
about it is you pointed out Think of all the things that were written
at this time among the Romans, all the edicts and laws and all
the things that would commonly be written. All those things
are gone. And here's this letter after
all these two millenniums. It's still here for us to read. Philemon. Paul knew that God
had used him, even while a prisoner, in reaching someone else with
the gospel. Here in Philemon, verse 8, it
says, Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin
thee that which is convenient, yet for love's sake I rather
beseech thee, being such and one as Paul the aged, and now
also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, he was a prisoner, I beseech
thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten, and my bonds
and my chains. In other words, while a prisoner.
Paul's one request, back in our text, his one request for prayer
was that as an ambassador of Christ, Though a prisoner that
he might preach, speak boldly as he ought to speak. Now he
called himself an ambassador. We know what an ambassador is. Our country has ambassadors in
all the various countries of the world. And those ambassadors
are personal, as far as legally, they're personal representatives
of the President of the United States. They don't represent
the Congress. They don't represent the Supreme
Court. They represent the executive
branch, the President. They serve at his pleasure. And one writer commented, they
are sent, ambassadors are sent to do what the head of the country
would do if he were their president. They are set to do what he would
do, what the president would do if he were there. That's what
their job is. How would he speak? This is what I thought, how would
he speak? How would Christ speak if he
were here? That's the way I should preach. That's the way I should speak.
That's the way preachers, his preachers should speak. The preachers
that I know and have had fellowship with over the years, we've all
said the same thing. The gospel message, the message
that God has committed to our trust, is offensive. There's an offense to the cross,
to the message of Christ crucified. It's offensive to the lost world. And there's several reasons why
it is, but the preachers that I've known have all said the
same thing. When the gospel offends, that
must be so. We can't change it. We don't
want to change it. And when the gospel offends,
that's one thing. But I don't want to offend by
my demeanor, by my conduct. No, the gospel, if it offends,
so be it. But I don't want to be offensive. Every preacher I've had any fellowship
with, I've heard many say the same thing. Number three, the
third and last thought I had, the way that we should pray for
our minister. Here's the third lesson. The
way that we should pray for our minister, that God will enable
him to make known the mystery of the gospel. This is what Paul
requested. The word mystery, we know how
it is to be understood. It's something that was hid until
it was revealed. It was a mystery. It was hid
until God revealed it. And it was something that man,
with all of his learning, all of his education, everything
else that he has, could never have understood or believed or
known. It's a mystery that has to have
been revealed. And John Gill, explained this
as the mysterious doctrines of the gospel and then he gave a
few examples. He said the doctrines of the
Trinity of persons. That's a mystery, isn't it? How
that there's one God and yet he exists in a trinity of persons. Say, I can't understand it. Do
you expect to understand God? That'd make you as big as him.
It's a mystery. justification by his righteous,
the two natures of Christ, how that, that he can be both God,
fully God, absolutely God, the eternal God. And yet at the same
time, man, perfectly man. And yet he's one person. Now that we're justified by his
righteousness. Regeneration by his spirit and
grace, how it is a mystery. The wind bloweth where it listeth.
You hear the sound thereof, but you cannot tell from whence it
cometh or where it's going. And God's saving work is mysterious,
isn't it? How God saves one and passes
by another sometimes on the same pew. out of the same family. God saves one and passes, it's
a mystery. The saints' union to Christ and
communion with him. And let me close, look with me
to 2 Thessalonians chapter three. How the way that we should pray
for our minister, chapter three of 2 Thessalonians. Verse one, finally, brethren,
pray for us that the word of the Lord may, do you have a marginal
reading in your Bible? You see that little number there?
Pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course. In my margin, it says run. Pray for us. that the word of
the Lord may run. Used to hear preachers years
ago pray that God would cause his word to run well today. Run well as it's being proclaimed
that it will run well and be glorified even as it is with
you. May the Lord bless His word to
us this evening. If you will, let us sing a hymn. Brother Bill, choose one out.
And let's stand as we sing tonight.