PHILIPPIANS 1 with Brother Josiah Shipley - FELLOWSHIP in the WORK God STARTED and WILL finished

Whitten Baptist Church

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All right, I'll tell you what, while I'm waiting for everyone else to join in and all that kind of stuff, let's go ahead and open up in prayer, shall we?

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Father, thank you for all you've given us. Forgive us where we fail. If there's anything in any heart of anyone that's listening to this, if there's anything in that heart that's not of you,

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I pray you get rid of it. God, bless us with conviction and repentance in everything we do.

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Let us love you and love each other and promote love and good works and build each other up, not tear each other down.

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Let the world know that we are your disciples by the way we love each other, even through Facebook.

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God, we love you and we praise you, and right now we pray in faith that you heal Robert forever.

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In Christ we pray. I'll give you just a couple minutes to get there, we're going to read the whole chapter and then go back through and comment, if you will, on each one of those verses.

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So again, we're going to be in Philippians chapter 1, a little bit of background before we start reading.

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Philippians was written by Paul. Bonus point to anyone in the comments who can tell me how many letters

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Paul wrote. I'm looking in the comments, I think it's like 10 seconds delayed. Bonus point for anyone who can tell me how many letters or epistles the

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Apostle Paul wrote. Okay, Philippians is one of Paul's letters, and this is often called one of the prison epistles.

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There are four of them, obviously those are the epistles, the letters Paul wrote while he was in prison.

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Five? No, more than that. That's how many John wrote. Twelve or thirteen, which is it? I don't do the whole, thirteen with a question mark doesn't count, there's a question mark.

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Yeah, but she said thirteen, she didn't actually answer, she just, Mercedes got rid of the twelve or.

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Thirteen! There we go. Thirteen. Paul wrote thirteen epistles. That's okay,

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Sam. Five is how many John wrote, remember, because John wrote the gospel, and then first, second, third

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John, and then Revelation. Yeah, actually, the way your Bible is ordered, Paul wrote everything from Romans to Philemon.

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They're all together. Everything from Romans to Philemon in between is Paul. And then of course, some believe that he wrote the book of Hebrews, which would be fourteen, but we're not really sure, because he did not sign that one if he did.

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That's actually the only book of the New Testament we can't be sure of who wrote it, because no one signed it.

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Okay, very good. So again, Philippians is one of the prison epistles, it's one of the ones Paul wrote while he was in prison.

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He was in prison a couple times. Sometimes it was a house arrest, if you will, sometimes it was an actual

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Roman prison. Philippians was one of those written towards the end of Paul's life, probably early 60s.

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Paul probably died, you know, 67, so we're getting towards the end of his life.

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And Philippians is one of those. And what it is, is the church at Philippi is doing a lot of good things.

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There is a little bit of dysfunction and disunity and arguing amongst a couple of the believers, couple of the women he names by name at the end of chapter four.

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So this is Paul's encouragement to them to keep up the good works they're doing and to not let any division or false teaching arise among them.

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And Paul writes this and towards the end, he even says that he hopes to see them again soon, but he knows his time on earth is coming to a close.

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So let's read all Philippians one, and then we'll go back through it. Here we go. Don't just listen to me read, read it.

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Philippians chapter one, Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus to all the saints and Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons, grace to you in peace from God, our

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Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you. Always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

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I am sure of this, that he who started good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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It is right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart and you are all partakers with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the gospel.

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Verse eight, for God is my witness how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

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And I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment so you can approve the things that are superior and be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

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Verse 12, now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel.

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So it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ.

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Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.

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To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of goodwill. These do so out of love and knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the gospel.

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The others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, seeking to cause me anxiety in my imprisonment.

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What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed and in this

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I rejoice. Yes, I will rejoice because I know it will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the

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Spirit of Jesus Christ. Verse 20, my eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always with all boldness,

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Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is

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Christ and dying is gain. Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me and I don't know which

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I should choose. I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.

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Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that because of me your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus when

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I come to you again. Verse 27, just one thing, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

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Then whether I come to see you or in absent, I will hear about you, that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents.

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This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your deliverance, and this is from God, for it has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.

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Having the same struggle you saw I had, and now here I have. Okay, very good.

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Let's go back through and figure out what that means. Yes, I am reading through Holman right now. You're my master,

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I appreciate your reading. Okay, for those of you just joining in, we are in Philippians chapter 1.

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Paul is writing from prison to the church at Philippi. All right, here we go.

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Verse 1, Paul and Timothy, now Paul wrote this, but Timothy is with him, slaves of Christ Jesus.

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The word is doulos. Some of your Bibles might say bondservants or servants, but the word is doulos, it's the same word used as slave elsewhere in the

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New Testament. Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. Every person on this planet is either a slave to self or a slave to Christ willingly.

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If you are a slave to self, you do whatever you want in the prison cell of your sin, and you may feel that you are free to do what you want, but you are in bondage to sin.

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You're a slave to it. Paul and Timothy are willingly slaves of Jesus Christ and no longer slaves to sin.

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It's ironic, Paul is in prison, but he doesn't consider himself in prison by any Roman authority.

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He's in prison by obedience to Jesus. According to Ephesians 2, if you are a slave to self, you're really a slave of your father,

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Satan. We're going to read Ephesians 2 in just a little bit. To all the saints in Christ Jesus, now if anyone is still confused about this, saint is not some holy person that has died and performed miracles.

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It's clear as day, right here, verse 1, a saint is anyone who is in Christ Jesus.

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It says it right here. To all the saints in Christ Jesus. We talked last week from Romans 8, that sanctification, being set apart, has three stages, right?

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Positional, okay, you are in Christ Jesus. Progressive, these are our

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ING words, okay, this is the continual process of becoming more and more like Jesus.

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And then final, or glorification, right, which happens at the resurrection.

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Okay, now, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, so all the saved people, all the saints,

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Haggaios, okay, all those in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, so I'm talking about the believers in Philippi, that's who the church is.

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The church, God's church, is one global church of whoever believes, Paul is addressing those in Philippi.

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Thanks, Bill. Okay, hey, Nolan. Okay, including the overseers and deacons.

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I'm going to avoid the temptation talk here, but notice there's only two offices mentioned in verse 1, overseers, which is the same word as presbyter, bishop, pastor, shepherd, and deacons, and those are the only two offices of the church that Paul mentions here.

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I don't think that's a mistake. Okay, verse 2, grace to you and peace from God our

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Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you catch that? Where does grace and peace come from?

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God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know why? Because they're both God, they're both Yahweh, they are both giver of grace and of peace.

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There's nobody else on this planet that can give grace and peace like Jesus Christ and God the

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Father and God the Holy Spirit. Verse 3, I'm going to read 3 through 5 again.

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I want you to ask yourself this question. I'm going to read verse 3 through 5. How grateful are you for your brothers and sisters in Christ?

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This is the attitude of a man who is sitting in prison. Ready? I give thanks to my

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God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

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It says in every prayer. Verse 4, with joy Paul prays for each one of the saints at Philippi.

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Always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer. He is joyful to pray for all the saints in Philippi in his every prayer.

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And thanks God anytime he remembers them or they remember him.

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Just the memory of them makes him grateful. That's how grateful Paul is for his brothers and sisters in Christ.

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He talks later about how some have abandoned the faith or abandoned him in his time of need.

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But he says the church in Philippi has been a partner of the gospel with him from the first day until now.

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That word partner is koinia, means fellowship, togetherness. It's used again in verse 7.

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We'll get to that in just a second. Thank my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer because of your koinia, your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

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Verse 6, a familiar verse to most of us. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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Sometimes it's very helpful to notice what the Bible does not say.

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Let me read what it does not say. I am moderately confident of this, that he who started work in you will try his best to carry it on to completion.

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Or I am doubtful that he who started the good work in you may carry it on to completion. Or I can't be too sure, but I hope that he who started good work in you will have enough power to carry it to completion.

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None of that is what it says. What does it say? I am sure that he who started the good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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So notice the sanctification again. Romans 8, we notice all three stages of sanctification. We're going to see it here again.

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Verse 1, positionally, those in Christ Jesus. Remember, I know we said this last week, but it's worth repeating.

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A lost person, okay, is a piece of clay in the ground.

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A saved person is a piece of clay. The difference is one of them is being molded and is, in faith, working towards God, molding him to be something useful.

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Guys, I'm just another piece of clay, just like anyone else on this planet. The difference is those who believe are, in faith, asking

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God to mold them to whatever he sees fit, and you are being molded into the body of Christ, into the best body part, whatever role

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God has called you to. Ear, nose, the I can't say to the ear, I don't need you.

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You are being molded into that body part. And he that started that good work in you will carry it on to completion.

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Notice who started the good work. Write it in the comments. Why do we love him?

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What does 1 John tell us? We love him. Why? The Bible answers the question.

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We love him because he first loved us.

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That's why we love him. We love him because he first loved us. That's why we love him.

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Hebrews 12 says that he is the source, the founder, the author of our faith.

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He who started the good work in you will carry it on to completion. See, it's not just he's the author of our faith.

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He's the finisher. He's the perfecter. If he was just the author of it and left you to your own devices, our faith would not last very long.

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But the beauty of it is it's not really our faith. You read verse 29 in this chapter.

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It says it has been given to you to believe in him. Philippians 2, 13, the next chapter says he enables us to desire and work out his good purpose.

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Guys, Romans 8 said we don't even know how to pray right without the spirit. Well, we don't even know how to believe and have faith right without the spirit.

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We can't even do that. He shows us. He gives us the faith. He gives us the ability and the perseverance to continue on.

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He does not stop working on his Karina. You see, Jesus is not like some door -to -door evangelist.

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Bill and I have talked about this before. Sometimes, you know, all right, here we go.

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We've all heard this before. All right, every head bow, every eye closed. Repeat this prayer after me.

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All right, raise your hand. Who prayed the prayer? Great. You're saved. Have a good life.

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No discipleship, no sanctification, no encouraging, no building up.

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Just you said the words. I prayed the prayer. Nothing ever changed in my life, but I prayed the prayer.

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Jesus doesn't work that way. As Karina just said, he doesn't stop working on us.

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He's not finished with us. Your conversion was not the end of grace. It was the beginning. Actually, the beginning was for the foundation, but your realization of that at your conversion, right, allowed you to become a willing servant, a willing slave of Jesus Christ and say,

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God mold me into whatever you want. And sometimes we resist that, don't we, church? We resist that chiseling, that molding.

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But our job is to decrease so he can increase and mold us in whatever he sees fit. Sanctification is the process of you becoming more and more molded into Christ.

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And it's by faith you allow God to do that. And don't trust your own ways, but acknowledge him in all your ways.

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And then he will direct your path. You did not find

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Jesus. Jesus found you. We mentioned earlier, I'm going to go to Ephesians chapter two.

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You're welcome to turn there. It's the previous book. You go back one book. I'm pointing this way left.

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But anyway, whatever way Ephesians chapter two, starting in verse one. This is still written by Paul.

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This is also a prison epistle. Ephesians chapter two. Hey, Eliani. Verses one through five.

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And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler, that's

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Satan, who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient.

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Listen to verse three. Everybody, please. We too, all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, doing whatever we wanted.

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And we were by nature, children under wrath as the others were also. Verse four.

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But God, who is rich in mercy because of the great love he had for us, made us alive in the

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Messiah. Even though you were dead in trespasses, you are saved by grace.

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Notice in verse five again, made you alive in the Messiah positionally, even though you were dead in your trespasses.

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Total depravity. Yeah, that's right. Guys, you didn't find Jesus. Jesus found you. If Jesus waited for you to find him, he'd be waiting all the day until you died.

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You carried out the inclinations of your flesh until the Holy Spirit regenerated that soul.

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He started the work in you. Verse six. We're back in Philippians one. He started the work in you and he will finish it.

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Remember Romans 8 30 from last week. And those who before knew he predestined to be conformed to image of his son.

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Hey, Reagan, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8 30. And those he foreknew, he also called.

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And those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified.

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It's in the past tense, ladies and gentlemen. Those who he justified, rendered innocent, positionally placed in his son,

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Jesus Christ in the mind of God are already glorified. The process is how we experience it.

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The continual process of becoming one with Christ. Our sanctification, right? But he who started the work in us will carry on the completion.

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Not might, not possibly, not potentially, not unless someone screws it up. Will carry on the completion.

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And notice as Miss Karina said a minute ago, grace did not stop at conversion. It continues on because we need grace to persevere.

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To keep believing, to have faith. Last point on verse 6.

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Jesus Christ will get what he paid for. Bible says you were not redeemed with silver or gold or perishable things, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

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That's what you were bought with. To redeem means to be bought back. You were bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

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Folks, Titus 2 says that he, Jesus, purchased a people for his own possession.

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I promise you Jesus Christ is going to get what he paid for. We've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating because he didn't pay for it with a dollar.

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He didn't pay for it with gold. He paid for it with his blood and he will get what he paid for with his blood.

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Verse 7. It's an amazing sentence. Verse 7.

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It is right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the gospel.

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It is right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart, church, not just the ones you get along with or have friends.

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I have you all in my heart and you are all, anyone who calls on the name of the

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Lord as master of their life is a partner with me in grace. I don't care what church they go to.

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I don't care what country they live in. Anyone who calls on the name of Yahweh as the master of their life, anyone who believes and trusts in Jesus is a partner with me in grace.

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Now notice, partners with me in grace in my imprisonment.

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Did you catch that? In mentioning how people are a partner with him in grace, the first thing

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Paul mentions is his imprisonment. Paul, you view your imprisonment as grace?

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How is you being in prison grace? Doesn't sound like grace. And how can you have that attitude?

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If the air conditioning goes out at work for me, I'm not grateful. You're in prison and you say it's a grace.

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If you read on, which we will now, he gives us why he has that view in verse 12 through 14.

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Let's read that 12 through 14 real quick. Now I want you to know brothers that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel.

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So it's become known throughout the whole imperial guard, praetorium, if you will, it's become known throughout the whole imperial guard that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ.

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Most of the brothers of the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.

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Me being in prison has resulted in the advance of the gospel. And two things happened. In verse 13,

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Paul got to witness to the guards guarding him. And in verse 14, the believers are gaining more confidence to speak the message about Jesus.

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That is sanctification. So because Paul is in prison, people are hearing the gospel and believers are becoming more bold.

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And Paul considers it of grace that God allows him to be that tool, to be that mouthpiece, to be that piece of clay that gets to preach the gospel to the imperial guard, to the

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Roman soldiers. And because he's in prison, the other believers are gaining confidence and are becoming more and more sanctified.

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Paul says that's of grace. He's allowed to be part of that. Back to verse seven.

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You're all partners. Again, we have that word koinonia, fellowship. You're all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the gospel.

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We could go on a tangent here, but I just want to point out one thing. In the defense, apologia, a reasoned defense and the establishment, the confirmation of the gospel.

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So not only defending the gospel and the reason you believe it, but also, yes, it does,

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Mike, not only defending it, but also confirming it to those who already believe. Remember, God does not need you to defend

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God. You do not defend God. You don't defend the word of God. Spurgeon said trying yourself to defend the word of God is like defending a 500 pound lion.

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He doesn't need your help. You're defending, according to 1 Peter, the reason for the hope that's in you.

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You know what you're defending? Why you believe what you believe. The reason for the hope. Why do you have hope?

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That's what you're given a reason answered for. Whether in prison or free,

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Paul sees it as grace. Check out the last chapter of this book real quick.

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Philippians 4, 10 through 13. Philippians 4, 10 through 13.

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Verse 13, it's probably the second most known verse in the whole

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Bible. Here we go. Philippians 4, 10 through 13. I rejoice in the

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Lord greatly once again. You renewed your care for me. You were in fact concerned about me, but lacked the opportunity to show it.

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I don't say this out of need. For I've learned to be content in whatever circumstance

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I am. Did you hear that church? I've learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am.

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What do you think the Bible means when it says whatever? Whatever. Verse 12,

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I know both how to have a little and how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances,

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I have learned the secret of being content. Here we go. Let's hear what's the secret of being content.

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Here we go. Whether well -fed or hungry, whether in abundance or need, I am able to do all things through him, through Christ who strengthens me.

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The secret of being content. Did you just hear it? The secret of being content is whether you're well -fed or hungry, whether in abundance or need.

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Verse 13, that you know that you are able to do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

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The secret of being content is knowing you can't, but Christ can. And you are in Christ and he is in you.

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The secret of contentment is knowing that no matter what comes our way, in Christ, we can do all things.

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All things. You know why? Because those last few words, because he strengthens us.

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Not because, not because you were converted 30 years ago, but because today he is strengthening you.

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Back to chapter one, verse eight. For God is my witness, how deeply

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I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Man, I know

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I'm not in a prison cell, but I think that's how we all feel about each other right now, wouldn't we? God is our witness, how deeply we miss each other with the affection of Christ Jesus.

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First John says, love consists of this. Not that we love him, but that he loved us.

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So when it says, I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Guys, there is a deeper love.

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There is a deeper love that the world will never know apart from Jesus Christ.

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Jesus Christ is the source of true love. The Bible says God is love.

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Jesus is the source of that. So when it says, I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. My brothers and sisters in Christ, I love you guys.

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I love you guys. The same spirit that's in me, the koinia that we were talking about in verse four, and verse three, and verse seven, that koinia is what binds us.

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It's what binds us. That's why Paul can say, I miss all of you, and I pray for all of you in my every prayer, and that all of you, all of you, all of you, because all of them are partakers with him in grace.

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Verse nine. Now, before we read nine through 11, I just want everyone who's going to listen to this to know that if you ever text me, or message me, or email me, or mark or poll me, or whatever, and ask for me to pray for you, and don't tell me what it is,

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I pray Philippians 1, nine through 11 for you. Anytime anyone ever asks me to pray for them, and I don't have something specific to pray for,

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I literally pray Philippians 1, nine through 11. This is my goal for all believers.

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Listen. Verse nine. And I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so you can approve the things that are superior, and be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

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That's my prayer for every believer on this planet, that their love keep on growing. Now, guys, if we were not reading

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Philippians 1 right now, and I said, okay, guys, Philippians 1 says that your love has to keep on growing in two things, okay?

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Well, we might sit back and think, okay, our love has to keep growing in forgiveness, or our love has to keep growing in affection, or our love has to keep growing in servanthood or submission, or our love has to keep growing in giving hugs, and our love has to keep growing in giving, and all these things that really are love.

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That's not what Paul prays here. He prays that your love keeps on growing in two things.

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Notice, knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you, not your pastor, not your deacon, but that you can approve the things that are superior, and be pure and blameless in the day of Christ.

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When we say pure here, we don't mean perfect. What do we mean? We mean set apart. It was said this morning in the message, come out from among them and be ye separate.

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You are being purified and refined by fire and sanctified day by day, more and more in the image of Christ.

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Martin Luther once put it this way. He said, the more holy and sanctified a man becomes, the more he rids himself of the old man and puts on the new, the more disgusted he is with the sin that remains.

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See, the more holy, the more like Christ you become, the more you hate whatever sin remains. When you were totally in sin, it didn't bother you.

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You weren't convicted by it, but the more you decrease and the more he increases, the more you hate the old man left in you.

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I pray this, verse 9, that your love keeps on growing. Notice the ING. When you see the

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ING, that's progressive sanctification. In verse 3, it said those in Christ Jesus. That's positional.

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But in verse 9 here, it says your love keep on growing. Notice he said all of you.

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I don't care if you've been saved for five minutes or 50 years. All of you, your job is that your love keeps on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, not just the stuff that you want to discuss or the stuff that you want to discern between.

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Every kind of discernment. Why? So that you can approve the things that are superior, the things that matter, and be pure and blameless in the day of Christ Jesus, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, through the glory and praise of God.

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All right, we read this next section. I want to skip over to verse 20.

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Let's skip over to verse 20. Oh, we're doing good. 640. Hey, Brother Richard. Hey, Lisa.

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Man, it really is encouraging when I see people commenting and see the people here. Reminds me

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I'm not just sitting here. My wife's here though. Verse 20.

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I think Philippians 1, 20 and 21 should be the mantra, should be the creed of every

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Christian. By the way, the

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Bible very rarely... Hey, Rebecca. The Bible very rarely tells you to read the Bible. It tells you to memorize, dwell, meditate, live on, write down scripture.

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The reason why you memorize scripture is not for you though. It's for God. Your word have

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I hid in my heart, so that I will not sin against you. Philippians 1 was the first chapter of the

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Bible I ever memorized. It was 10 years ago and I can still quote it to you now. Not because I'm super smart, not because of any other reason other than the

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Holy Spirit, if you allow him to, can work on you and sanctify you in different ways.

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I think verse 20 and 21, I think if you like, hey, I want to memorize a scripture verse, what verse should

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I memorize? Memorize Philippians 1, 20 and 21. Here we go. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness,

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Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death, for me to live as Christ, to die as gain.

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Paul, the apostle Paul, we already went over this, wrote 13 letters, all that.

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It's still his goal, his eager expectation and hope, is that he won't be ashamed about anything, but that in all things, always in everything he does,

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Christ will be highly honored in his body, whether by life or by death. It doesn't matter if it's something big in our minds or something small, and that whatever we do in word or deed, we do it as something done for the

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Lord and not for men. Remember, you're a man that includes yourself, so you can't even do it for yourself. It's supposed to be done for him.

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My eager expectation and hope is I won't be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

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Verse 21, for me to live as Christ, to die as gain. Paul goes on to talk about how he's ready to be with Christ.

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Guys, he's tired. He's ready to depart, to die and be with Christ, but he knows he has to remain because he still has work to do, and that people at Philippi still need him, and that God has not finished with him at Philippi yet.

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Verse 22, to live is Christ. My math teacher, y 'all remember

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Algebra 1 and Pre -Algebra? When they had word problems, Brother Ben and I worked on this a while back.

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When they had word problems that were like six sentences long, right? It wasn't like 42 plus 12.

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It was all words, zero numbers. Well, my math teacher taught me how to change those words into...

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No, you don't remember math? Pastor? My math teacher taught me how to change those words into numbers and symbols.

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And what he told me is anytime you see the word is, put an equal sign. So that if it says five is three greater than x, five equals.

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Now, let's say this, to live is Christ. Living equals

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Christ. You know why? Because I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.

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Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the

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Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The old man is dead. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.

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Old things have passed away. Behold, all have become new. Living is Christ because that's where true life is.

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You were dead in your sin, spiritually dead in your sin. When the

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Holy Spirit regenerated you, you experienced real life for the first time. Remember, this is the fake

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Josiah. This isn't Josiah. This is, how does Pastor put it? The vehicle carrying Josiah. Josiah, the real

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Josiah, will live on forever because living is Christ. I'm crucified with Christ.

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And the life I live in the flesh, I'm living by faith in the Son of God because to live is

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Christ. I am in the body of Christ. I'm part of his body now.

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Verse 27. Just one thing. Don't you love how

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Paul says, just one thing? He's in chapter one. He has three more chapters to write. Just one thing.

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Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. I just want to go over that line again.

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Live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Remember, in and of yourself, you were not worthy of the sacrifice of the cross.

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In and of yourself, you were not worth it. You were not worth it.

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But he died for you anyway. And now your job is to live the remainder of your life worthy of that gospel.

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Guys, Christianity is not a story where Jesus died to exchange one good for another and to garner good people to himself.

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The point of the gospel is to show you're not worth it and he died for you anyway. And now in your progressive sanctification, you are to live the rest of your life in a manner worthy of that gospel.

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Verse 27. Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come see you or I'm absent,

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I'll hear about you. I'll hear about you. That you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel.

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Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Verse 28. Not being frightened in any way from your opponents.

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That's a sign of destruction for them, but it's of your deliverance. And this is from God. For it has been given to you not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.

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Have the same struggle you saw I have and now here I have. Once you notice, if their love does keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, then

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Paul doesn't have to physically come see them. Verse 27 says, I'll hear about your works.

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Remember guys, my goodness, witnessing. Yes, yes, yes.

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You have to open your mouth. Okay. If the only time you ever witness is lifestyle witness, that's the only time you're missing half of the way to witness.

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Don't get me wrong. You must open your mouth. How will they hear without a preacher? I get it. But guys, your actions, the way you walk, the way you live is witnessing as well.

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Matthew, let your light so shine among men so they will see your good works.

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Before you've even opened your mouth and said, can I share Jesus with you? They will see your good works and glorify the

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Lord. When you come out from among them and be separate, it's not just your mouth, it's your whole life.

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They'll see your good works and glorify the Lord. In verse 27,

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Paul says, if you do this, I will hear about you. And notice the first thing he says, he'll hear about him.

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Listen, Witten, the first thing he's going to hear about is that koinonia, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel.

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And you're not afraid of the world. You're not afraid of the world. Verse 28, you're not being frightened by your opponents.

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That's a sign of their destruction. But of your deliverance and all of that is from God.

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If you type out in those squirrels and then I read it, I kind of just squirreled. Anyway, that's like, y 'all know the, here's a squirrel.

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You know, those signs above the interstate? Hunter Wilson made a post about this a few years ago. Yeah, I know this way off topic.

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They're like signs that take your eyes off the road and say, keep your eyes on the road. Or signs and you look up and it says, slow down, pay attention or don't text.

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All stuff that takes your eyes off the road. It doesn't make sense to me.

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Anyway, verse 29, for it has been given to you.

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Two things are given to you in this verse. I want you to look for yourself. What two things are given?

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In verse 29, on Christ's behalf, for Christ's sake, it has been given to you two things.

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To believe in him and to suffer for him. Two points on this

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I want to make. Number one, again, I can't reiterate this. If we're going to be consistent with verse six, don't try to get too theological or too over -spiritualized.

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Here, I'll make it simple for you. Why do you believe in God? Because God. Why do you love

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God? Because God. Because grace. It has been given to you to believe in him.

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The answer to every question about anything positive in your life is grace.

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None of it is of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Hebrews 11, 6 says, without faith, it is impossible to please

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God. Let's read that backwards. So, if you do not have faith, you do not please

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God. You cannot. An unbeliever without faith cannot please God. Then Hebrews 12 says, he's the source of our faith.

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You know how you please God? With the help of God. That's how.

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It has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, which is given to you, but also to suffer for him.

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Now, wait a minute. Josiah, are you saying that Paul is saying that part of grace is suffering?

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My answer is yes. That's what the first part of the chapter was about. Paul says they're partners with him in his imprisonment and they're partners in grace.

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Do you remember in Acts chapter four and five? Hey, Christian. When Peter and John are arrested and then they are commanded by men to not speak the name of Jesus anymore.

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Romans 13 tells us to obey the governing authorities in all circumstances, except those which contradict the word of God.

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So Peter and John said, men, whether it's right in your eyes or not, we cannot obey this for we are unable to stop speaking about Jesus.

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It says the Pharisees were amazed at the boldness of these men for they were uneducated and untrained.

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They released them and beat them and told them don't preach the name again.

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And they left praising God. And this is what the Bible says. Because they were counted as worthy of having being beaten for the sake of the name.

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Once you think about that, they praise God that they were worthy enough to be beaten for the sake of the name.

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In other words, that God in his grace had made them a good enough mouthpiece and a good enough tool in his hand that other people noticed it and didn't like it.

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And that by his grace, they were allowed to be counted worthy of being beaten for the sake of the name.

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Guys, when the Bible says, consider all joy when you experience various trials or when you're in suffering, when the

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Bible says you will suffer, it's not a E or O is me suffering.

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It's a joyous thing. Because every time you decrease, he increases, okay?

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Less Josiah, more God. Remember, we often pray to be filled with the

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Holy Spirit, and that is a good biblical prayer. But part of being filled with the

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Spirit is being emptied of yourself. You don't need an extra dose of Holy Spirit.

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That's not what you need. You need a lesser dose of Josiah, a lesser dose of self.

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The same Spirit is still in you. You're just not filled with him because you're filled with self. The whole summary of sanctification is said in John 3, 30, of you decreasing and him increasing.

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There's Tim. So again, verse 29 again, it has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, which was given, my stomach just growled, even though I am hungry.

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At least I don't have the hiccups though, right? It has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.

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And he tells him, having the same struggle you saw I had and now hear that I have.

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To sum up, let's hit the high points one more time. Verse six of chapter one.

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I am sure of this, sure of it, Witten, that he who started the good work in you, that he started, will finish it.

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He will finish what he started. He will get what he paid for. The only difference between a believer and an unbeliever is the regeneration of the

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Holy Spirit. We're all pieces of clay. Some of us are just still in the dirt without a use.

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Those of us who believe and who continue in that belief are being molded into whatever body part and tool

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God has in store for us. Paul prays for all the saints in Philippi that they all grow in love and that their love keeps on growing nonstop until you die in knowledge and every kind of discernment.

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So they, not their pastor, not their dean, so they can approve the things that are superior. Paul considers it a joy that he is in prison for two reasons.

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One, he got to witness the imperial guard and two, his brothers in Christ gained confidence and boldness because he was in prison.

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He prays that Christ be highly honored in his body and no matter what, big or small, whatever he does in word or deed, whether by life or by death.

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In verse 27, he says, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel because you are not worthy of it.

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But now you're called to live worthy of it because you are Christ.

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You are in him. Others should be able to see your good works, not just hear you talk about them.

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Finally, notice that as he's praying in verse 9 through 11, that the love keeps on growing.

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Remember the command of Hebrews 10, that we are supposed to provoke, to promote, to exhort each other in love, in good works.

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So part of you and your love growing in knowledge and discernment is sharing that with others so their love and good works grow.

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Remember, last thing is how I ended last week. The world will know we are his disciples, not even by the way we love the world, which we are supposed, we're supposed to love our enemy, but the world will know we're his disciples by the way we love each other, by that koinia.

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The world, church, if they see us loving each other in person or online, that's how they know we're really of him.

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Hey, there's something different about those guys. They really love each other. They're actually a family. And it's not just this, little children, 1

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John 3, 18. We must not love in word or speech only, but in truth and action. The world will know we are his disciples by the way we actually love, that's an action, each other.

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That's how they'll know. And what is love? Well, that's Philippians chapter two, which

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I guess would make sense if we continue with that next week. But in short,

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I lost my train of thought. What was the last thing I said? It's obviously time. Brother Jeff posted this should only last 25 minutes and then

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I lost my train of thought. What did I say? You said you were going to continue. Oh, Philippians 2. Anyway, promoting love and good works.

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Love is less of self and more of others. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

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All right, next week, I suppose we'll finish, continue with Philippians 2 if you guys like that.

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If you don't, if you don't, tell me we can do something else. Again, Sunday night class was supposed to be doing the life of the apostles, but it's difficult to do over this because it's less of an expository sermon and more of a history lesson.

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Marty just reminded me we're going to pray for Robert before we finish here. Anything else? Romans day and to continue checking up on each other.

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Yes, okay. Brother Jeff, if I get this wrong, please correct it. Wednesday, on the live stream, on the public page, it'll be the youth one first and then the regular

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Wednesday night Bible study. Both those on the, Mr. Jeremiah and then Pastor Jeff, contact each other during the week.

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Hey guys, I'll tell you what, one of the positive things that has resulted from this, yes, positive results can come from evil things, is that the church, we at Witten have been contacting each other more during the week.

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I pray when we come back together, that doesn't stop. Correct, a youth will be at 5 .30

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in Bible study. Excellent. Yeah, all right.

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Contact each other. Yeah, yeah. All right, let's pray for Robert. God, at what time we are afraid, we'll trust in you, our rock and our redeemer.

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Forgive us where we fail. God, if there's anyone listening to this or any member of our family that needs to repent.

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God, I pray your Holy Spirit convicts them so hard, they can't even sleep tonight until they make it right with you, Lord. God, we know you discipline those you love and punish every son you receive.

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Thank you for the grace of your Holy Spirit's conviction so that we know we are of you and that you started that work in us and we know you will finish it.

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God, we pray for brother Robert right now. And God, we don't wish, we pray in faith, just like your word says, that you will heal him.

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And we praise you for glorifying yourself in that way. Please, God, as the words leave our mouths and as the thoughts leave our heart, heal him completely and totally forever and let this never come back to him so that all of us at Witten and the whole world from when we tell can sing about how great you are.

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Thank you for all you've given us and we will not stop praying in faith. God, you are

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God and we are man and we love you for it. We run out of words to say, but God, we love you.

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We love each other. Help us to do both those more. Amen. All right. Love you guys.

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Uh, I will talk to y 'all later and we will see you guys on Wednesday. Don't forget to check out brother

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Jeff's daily reminders. Contact each other, guys. I love you all.