Philippians 4:8-23 with Josiah Shipley - The Secret of Contentment is IN CHRIST

We're in Philippians 4 tonight, it will be our last week in Philippians. Last one. Alright, so last week we got through, hey

Miss Carrie, we got through Philippians 4 1 -7 and we had read verse 8 and we hadn't finished it.

So we're going to try to finish chapter 4 today, we're going to start in verse 8.

So I'm going to start by reading Philippians 4, 8 through the end, so that's 8 through 23.

Guys, I'm going to read out of the ESV, it doesn't matter what you read out of, of course, but I'm going to read out of the

ESV today. So Philippians 4, 8 through 23, here we go. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence and if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the

God of peace will be with you. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.

You were indeed concerned for me, but had no opportunity. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I've learned in whatever situation

I am to be content. Verse 12, I know how to be brought low, I know how to abound in any and every circumstance.

I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my troubles. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when

I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only.

Even in Thessalonica, you sent help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Verse 21, greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the

Lord Jesus Christ be with you in spirit. Okay, very good.

Alrighty, so we left off in verse eight. That's where I'm going to leave off. But I do want to just make sure we remember

Philippians. And for those of you who maybe haven't been with us while we've been going through Philippians and didn't have a chance to, just real quick.

Philippians is one of the prison epistles, means it's one of the letters Paul wrote while he was in prison.

Hey, brother Marty. And up to this point, Paul has repeated certain themes in this letter.

He's repeated rejoicing. He's repeated standing firm in the spirit. He's repeated unity.

He's repeated about the deity of Christ, about Jesus being God, about the body of Christ and being in Christ Jesus.

And at the beginning of chapter four, Paul called out two women by name who apparently were causing enough of a division at the church in Philippi that he needed to write a letter and call them out by name.

However, he did so humbly and with mercy, knowing that they were fellow workers, but they were causing division.

He had a really good balance about it. He didn't candy coat it, but he also didn't forsake them.

He encouraged them to come back to the fold and do what they were supposed to do. And then last week, and you can go find this one on YouTube also, we talked about anxiety and there's an anxiety which is perfectly natural and not sinful in the sense that you are anxious or you're afraid or you're worried.

But then there's the kind that's crippling, right? Hey Rita, the kind that you allow to take hold of you so that you don't obey.

So we quoted from Deuteronomy 31 where it said, have courage, fear not.

Knowing that you can't have courage if there's not some element of fear, what the Bible is telling us to do is if you're afraid, do not allow that fear to keep you from obeying.

So when it says be anxious for nothing, okay, but instead in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto

God. It's saying don't let that anxiety keep you from trusting in God, right?

Now watch this and we pointed this out last week. Notice in verse six and seven, thanksgiving is already in your heart even though he hasn't answered your prayer request yet.

Guys, we need to be thankful to God for who he is, not just for what he's done, but for just who he is.

As brother Jeff said this morning, enter his presence with thanksgiving in your heart and enter his courts with praise.

So verse six says the peace of God and verse seven says the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will keep and guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And verse nine says the God of peace will be with you. So in verse seven through nine, we have the peace of God and the

God of peace. You see, God will give you peace, but he doesn't just give it to you and walk away. The peace of God will be with you, but also the

God over peace, he's a God of love, he's a God of justice, he's a God of holiness, he's a

God of peace. He will give you his peace, the peace of God, not worldly peace. What does that do?

That buys you a couple of days and then you're back to worry again. The peace of God and the

God of peace will be with you. He doesn't just give you his peace and walk away. Verse nine says the God of peace will also be with you for those who trust in his name.

Isaiah 26, three, and he keeps you in purpose. He keeps you in perfect peace for those whose mind is fixed on him.

So again, verse eight, finally, brothers, whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy.

Think about those things. I have all those written out here in Greek. I just want to talk to a couple of them.

First off, true, alēphēs is the Greek word for truth. In John 18,

Pilate asked Jesus, and this is where we left off last week, what is truth? And then

Pilate walked away and went back out to the crowds who wanted Barabbas, and then it finished talking to Jesus.

He didn't wait to hear the answer. In John chapter eight, Jesus told the Jews in John 8, 32, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Now, VeggieTales and parents all around have used John 8, 32 to tell their kids, you see, you got to tell the truth.

You got to tell the truth. Well, that's true, but that is a microscopic view of what

John 8, 32 is talking about. John 8, 32 is talking way more about simply a child telling the truth.

Jesus told the Jews, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And then two verses later, he says, who the

Son sets free will be free. Sounds like a song, doesn't it? They didn't come up with it from the

Bible. John 14, 6, Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth,

I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. You see, when

John 8, 32 says, you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free, it doesn't mean you're simply telling the truth.

Jesus is the truth, right? That's why, you know, Ephesians 4 says, speak the truth in love.

Speak the things about Jesus, speak the truth because they are true in love. Okay, very good. So whatever's true, whatever is just or right, whatever is honorable, worthy of honor and respect.

How about whatever is pure or holy? Haggaios means set apart by God.

Okay, these type things, set apart by God, not by man, not a church building or religious ceremony.

Things set apart by God, made holy by God and his word, his law, his word.

And then you go on, it says, whatever's lovely or worthy of love, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise.

This last part, verse 8, think or dwell or consider these things.

I'm gonna talk about that word for just a minute. Hey, Bill. So the end of verse 8 says, think about or dwell on or consider, count these things.

What does that mean? Greek word logizomai means to consider it to be true.

You see, in verse 8, it's not just telling you to think about doing these things or to consider these things or to just let these things, you know, mull around in your mind for a little bit.

That's not what it says. In fact, this same word is used in Hebrews 11, 19. In Hebrews chapter 11, the

Bible's speaking a lot about faith of those who've come before us. And it mentions Abraham. And it mentions how

Abraham, who I believe demonstrated one of the greatest acts of faith in the whole

Bible, in that God said, your seed will be traced through Isaac.

And God said, kill Isaac. And Abraham believed that he was going to sacrifice

Isaac. And Abraham believed that his seed would be traced through Isaac. And he believed both of those at the same time.

That's faith. Hebrews 11 says, for he considered, he counted, he thought that God could even raise his son from the dead.

You see, and so he obeyed. So my point is this, Abraham didn't think or consider or count on God's ability to do that just as a possibility.

Abraham believed God could do it and acted on it. When, in Philippians 4, 8, when it says think about or dwell on or count these things, it doesn't mean just consider them and then let them pass by.

It means to consider them as true and let your actions result from that.

So the things that we should consider, count, dwell on, are the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable.

Are those the things that you and I think about, dwell on, consider?

They should be. And maybe sometimes we need to check on where most of our time and energy goes.

And does it fit the list God has provided? Continuing verse 9, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,

I'm sorry, I lost my spot. Practice these things and the

God of peace will be with you. It's not a one -time prayer.

It is a lifelong, heartfelt commitment to God. Notice it says practice these things.

Practice these things. Not just, not just do them one time. Not just walk down the aisle.

Not just pray a prayer. But these things, practice habitually over and over.

Pick up your cross daily. It is a constant Him decrease, Him increasing and you decreasing every day.

You dying yourself. Not a one -time decision. It's a lifestyle. For the leaders out there, pastors, leaders of your home, any, notice this.

Paul in verse 9 said, what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me.

Practice these things. Paul's putting himself out there just like he did in 1 Corinthians 11 when he said, you can follow me because I'm following Jesus.

It's not just do what I say, guys. That does not cut it. For God, that doesn't cut it.

Do what I say, not what I do. For God, that doesn't cut it, guys. Let your light so shine on my men that they can see your good works and glorify the

Father which is in heaven. Paul says, whatever you have received, learn, heard of, or seen in me.

Any of that. What I've written down, what you've heard me preach, what you've seen me do, what you've heard me say, practice those things.

That's how careful we are to not have a single careless word come out of our mouth or do nothing out of robbery or conceit, but take every thought captive to obedience to Christ.

Let's see, what else we got here? If you practice these things, the

God of peace will be with you. And it will be his peace. Guys, it has been said, and I think rightly, the person with the least amount of peace is a believer who is not obeying

God. If you're a believer and you are in disobedience to God, or if you're a believer on here and you have ever been in disobedience to God, which is every believer on here, you know what

I speak of. Well, you don't have that peace of God. You lie in bed thinking about what you need to do and what you ought to do every day, every waking moment.

It's like, Josiah, what are you doing? Josiah, you know what you're supposed to do and you're not doing it.

You see, it's not just the sin of commission, but omission for he who knows what to do and does not do it to him in his sin.

So with all that being said, with all that being said, practice these things, then the

God of peace will be with you. If you're a believer and you're not experiencing the peace of God, it's probably because you're not obeying.

We have used this verse before, and my Sunday night crew will probably laugh at me. I find a passage that really speaks to me and hits me home personally, and I just want to share it with everyone for weeks on end, and I can't shut up about it.

So whether it's Romans chapter 8 or John 3 .30, right now it's 1

Samuel 15 .22. 1 Samuel 15 .22, and for those of you joining in, we're in Philippians chapter 4.

1 Samuel 15 .22, let me just quickly go over this again.

We talked about it last night. God tells Saul and his men to go attack a city and don't bring anything back.

Bring no spoils from war. Well, Saul and the men go in, and they win the battle, and they bring back animals and cattle, okay?

God sends Samuel to talk to Saul, and God says to Saul, what are you doing? I told you not to bring back anything, and the soldiers brought back cattle.

Now Saul didn't, but the soldiers did. But notice the Lord spoke to Saul, the leader, because he didn't do anything about it.

So we've mentioned this before. Fathers, pastors, God spoke to the leader who didn't do anything about it.

He spoke to Saul. Now, Saul said this.

Yes, but God, we did bring back the cattle, even though you said not to. I understand that, God. But they brought back the cattle to make sacrifices to you.

Now I mentioned this last night. Can you have a better excuse? Any of us who have ever disobeyed, we've never had that good of an excuse.

Did you hear that? Yes, God, we disobeyed, and we brought back the cattle from the foreign land that you said not to, but we did it so we can make sacrifices to you.

That is a better excuse than any of us have ever had for our sin. Most of the time, it's just for personal gain, or praise, or pride.

They went and got cattle that God told them not to so they could offer sacrifices, and then God tells

Saul this through Samuel, do you think I desire sacrifice more than obedience?

1 Samuel 15, 22 says this, look, to obey is better than sacrifice.

To obey is better than sacrifice. God doesn't want your sacrifice or your money.

He requires your obedience. God doesn't want your money. He requires your obedience.

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe, right? Like the song, Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Obey. It really is that simple. Obey. If you want to love

God more and more, obey. If you want to serve your church family more, obey.

Obey. Obedience. Obedience to God is the way that we show our faith, by obeying in all circumstances, as we're about to see.

And let's pray that we can set the example Paul set to anyone in our life, anyone in our sphere of influence, that we can look at anyone and say, whatever you've learned, received, heard, or seen me do, practice those things, and the

God of peace will be with you. Let us be so in tune and so aligned with conforming to the image of Christ that we can say, you can follow me in what

I say and what I do because I'm following Jesus. I want to be able to say that. Now, I'm not there yet.

That's where I want to be. That's where I want to be. And I want to have a desire to be able to say that to anyone at any time.

Verse 10, I rejoice in the

Lord greatly. Sorry, 10 and 11. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that you at length have received your concern with me.

I'm sorry. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.

Not that I am speaking out of need, for I've learned in every situation I am to be content. So remember,

Paul is in prison, probably on house arrest, guarded by Roman soldiers. It's at the end of Acts 28.

And he's not allowed to leave. Now, he can have visitors and he can preach the gospel. He's not allowed to leave. He's on lockdown, if it were.

And if you remember, we mentioned it in chapter one. It's about to mention again, Epaphroditus. He's the one that the church at Philippi sent with the gifts, financially and other gifts, to give to Paul.

And remember, Epaphroditus got so sick he nearly died, but he was committed to his job and he made it to Paul with those gifts.

And then he got better. Paul is saying, thank you for those gifts.

Thank you. And Paul is very appreciative, but he goes, but that's not where my happiness and contentment come from.

You see, Paul has spent all of Philippians repeating the word rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. But he wants the church at Philippi to know that he's not rejoicing just because he got the gifts.

That's not why he's rejoicing. Let's read verse 12 through 13. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance.

I've learned the secret, the secret of facing plenty, hunger, obedience, and need.

And verse 13 is the answer to that secret, that I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

Now, did you notice the Bible just told you, the Bible is giving you the secret to be content in any and all circumstance.

And it's verse 13, that I can do all things through him who strengthens me. This is probably maybe the most misapplied verse in the whole

Bible. You'll have unbelievers that have this verse tattooed on them or quilted in a pillow.

And I'm afraid that even we as Christians aren't really understanding what this verse says.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

You see, in any and all circumstances, in any and all, can you get more specific?

In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being content. I know how to have a little,

I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances, I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

And I think the problem that we all, including myself at times, have missed is the through him.

Guys, we said previous weeks, this piece of God we're talking about in verse six and seven, the

Bible says it can only happen in verse seven, in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus.

Guys, your conversion, okay, your regeneration, when you were saved, if you will, you were positionally placed in the body of Christ.

We spoke about this at length a couple weeks ago. You were placed in the body of Christ. You are now in Christ.

If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, a new creature. Old things have passed away.

Behold, all have become new. Did you notice that? Second Corinthians 517. If anyone's in Christ, he's a new creation.

Guys, in Genesis chapter one, God didn't make a new earth. That comes later. He didn't make new animals.

He created them out of nothing. Well, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. He's a new creation.

The old Josiah, the old Richard, the old Bill is dead. Now, our struggle remains because we're still in the flesh, but our spirit is renewed.

Our spirit is made new. It's a new creation. God didn't just mend your old heart. He gave you a new heart and a new spirit, according to Jeremiah 31.

Because Jeremiah 17 says the heart is desperately wicked and incurable. Who can understand it?

So God gave you a new heart and a new spirit. And in Philippians chapter four, hey,

Tom, in Philippians four, when it says I can do all things through him who gives me strength. Well, guys, that's only for those who are in him.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you're out there today and you're not in him, you're not saved, you're not a believer.

According to Philippians four, let me encourage you. You can experience the peace of God unlike any peace you've ever experienced.

I can testify to that. And there are 200 other people here who can testify to that. You will experience peace like you never have before.

And you will experience contentment and joy and not in passing worldly things, but in eternal things.

For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Serve something greater than yourselves and you'll know what

I speak of. Search the scriptures for it. Reach out to us at Witten if you have any questions for it.

Put in the inbox and we'll try to answer all your questions. It is not a sin to have questions when you read the

Bible, guys. If you read this Bible and you don't have questions, either you're lying to yourself, you're not reading it for real, or you need to be a pastor, okay?

And it's not the last one because even pastors have questions when they read the Bible. It's written by God. Now, we can understand it, but guys, you can't tell me that you can read this whole thing from cover to cover and never stop and say, hmm,

I don't think I quite get that. That's not how it works, guys. The sin is not in having questions.

The sin is having questions, ignoring them, not trying to find the answer, not caring to find the answer, or being afraid of what the answer really is, and living in disobedience, knowing that what you're doing is wrong.

Guys, if you're a believer here, you have died, and you are killing your flesh every day, decreasing it so he can increase.

You know, 2 Corinthians 12, 7 through 10, on a wow moment, one of our women's ministry videos a couple of weeks ago,

Deborah and Vicki and Mercedes spoke about this passage. I believe it was this passage, in a way. 2 Corinthians 12, 7 through 10 speaks of, because I'm in the flesh, but my spirit is in Christ, when

I am weakest, I'm actually strongest. You see, when I have decreased,

John 3, 30, when I've decreased my flesh so much so that he can increase, in a way, when I'm weakest,

I'm really strongest, not by my own strength, but that him that's in me, I'm actually strongest. When it says

I can do all things through him who gives me strength, it's because I'm getting out of the way, and he living in me is doing it.

I can only do all things through him because I am getting out of the way. I'm pushing myself down and letting him increase in me.

I want to read a quick passage on this idea to you guys. This is in Galatians chapter 2.

You can write it down for later, or read it with me. I'm going to be in Galatians chapter 2, and I'm going to start in verse 15.

Galatians 2, 15 through 21. I'm going to go ahead and read it. Galatians 2, 15 through 21.

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a person is not justified by works of a law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.

I'm going to repeat that part, guys. I want everyone to hear that. A person, verse 16, is not justified by works of a law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.

So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ, not by the works of a law, because by the works of a law, no one will be justified.

By the works of a law, no one will be justified. By the works of a law, no one will be justified.

Verse 17. But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is

Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not. Verse 18. For if I rebuild what

I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law, I died to the law, so I might live to God.

Verse 20. Listen very carefully. For I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer

I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live on in the flesh, I live by faith in the

Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, because if righteousness comes by the law, then

Christ died for no purpose. I got to read verse 20 one more time, because this is the core of what we're talking about in Philippians 4.

Verse 20 of Galatians 2. I have been crucified with Christ. If anyone wants to come after me, he must pick up his cross, that torture device, daily and follow me.

I've been crucified with Christ, and it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live on in the flesh,

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me. And gave himself for me. Guys, the Christian walk is you and your flesh decreasing, and the new man, the new man in Christ increasing, because Christ is increasing in you, that you are mortifying the flesh, you're putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and you're living in the spirit, okay?

And you're living in the spirit. It's not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.

It is not thinking less of yourself, like, oh, I'm such a bum, I'm such a loser.

God knew that, according to Romans 5, 8, God knew that before he died for you. He never waited for you to become a good person, to die for you, or he would have been waiting all the way until your death, because there are none good, there are none righteous, not even one.

According to Romans 3, there's no one even seeking God. Wrap your head around that, there is no one on this planet that is seeking

God without God. There is no one who has ever sought

God without God. Let me ask you a question. Did Abraham come to God first, or did

God come to Abraham? Did Moses come to God first, or did God come to Moses? Okay, no one has ever sought

God without God, okay? Guys, the

Holy Spirit is at work in every believer watching this right now. And the

Holy Spirit is working in you, Philippians, we read this last week, two weeks ago maybe, enabling you to desire and work out his good purpose.

Ephesians 2, 10 says, we are his creation created in Christ Jesus for good works that God planned ahead of time that we should walk in them.

Well, Josiah, how do I know what works God has planned ahead of time for me? Obey, and the rest will be laid out.

Is it really that simple? Yes, trust him Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path.

See, his word is a lamp to your feet and a light into your path. He's a lamp into your feet because it shows you where you are, right?

But he's a light into your path because he shows you where you're going, okay? So with that being said, if you obey, he will direct your path.

He will light your path. You have to obey now. You obey now in everything, in word or deed.

Do as something done for God and not for men, and he will reveal what you need to know in due time.

In summary, I'm gonna read what I wrote on this. It's a little long paragraph. A little long paragraph.

In summary, the more sanctified you become, the more conformed to his image, formed in the body of Christ, dying to self, living in Christ, the more

Christlike you become in outer action and inner desire, the more this verse,

Philippians 4 .13, reveals that it's not about Christ helping you in the flesh to do worldly things for your personal passing happiness, but about what

Christ can accomplish through working through a center like me and you. Paul shows us that no matter our circumstance in the work for Christ, he encourages us to do all things for his namesake.

Though we are weak in the flesh, he's able to use us, and all the more when we forsake worldly pleasure and focus on him.

Guys, I can do all things through him. He strengthens me, not because Josiah Shipley can do it, but Christ living in Josiah.

And that doesn't mean I simply sit back and don't do anything. No, it's work out my own salvation with fear and trembling because God is working in me, enabling me to desire and work out his good purpose,

Philippians chapter two. So guys, constantly dying to self, constantly decreasing so he can increase, takes work, takes work.

But at the core of all of it is obedience. And at the core of obedience is faith. Guys, your faith is never demonstrated more than in obedience.

Well, Josiah, I thought it would be love. Yeah, and who told you to love? Christ, so obey. The secret of being content for a believer is to realize that on your own, you can do nothing, but through him, you can do all things.

The secret to happiness and contentment for a believer is realizing that on your own, you can do nothing, but through him, you can do all things.

My Sunday night crew is gonna laugh at me, but I can't help but read through Romans eight. Anytime I see the word all,

I have to read through Romans eight a little bit. So I'm gonna be in Romans eight. You can write this down for later. I'm gonna read verse 26 and I'll try to stop.

I'll try to stop by 32 or so. Romans chapter eight, starting in verse 26. Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness for we don't even know how to pray as we are, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

And he who searches the heart knows that what is the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, not people made holy by man.

Saints are anyone who believes in Jesus as Lord. Verse 28 of Romans eight. And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love

God. Those who are called according to his purpose. For those, for he who foreknew, he predestined to be conformed in the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

And those he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified. Here's what

I wanted to read. Verse 31. What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Verse 32. He didn't spare his own son, but he gave him up for us all. How will he with him not graciously give us all things?

Verse 37. Knowing all things were more than conquerors. Guys, verse 32,

Romans eight 32. Hey, Brittany. Romans eight 32. Wrap your head around this verse for a minute.

He didn't even spare his own son, but he gave him up for us all. How with him will he not give us all things that we need?

If you're a believer listening to this, now if you're lost, guys, if you're not in Christ, there's a different story.

And that's why the call to salvation goes out to the whole world. But for those of you in Christ, guys,

God the son has already given himself. He died. How with him would he not give us all things that we need?

What other material things would he not be willing to give us? He didn't even spare his own son. But according to Isaiah 53, it wasn't the

Jews or Gentiles or Pilate or Herod, but it was God who crushed Jesus. Jesus said, no one's going to take my life.

I'm laying it down. He didn't spare himself. How much less will he give you all you need?

Again, back in Philippians four, saying I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me shows that on our own, we can do nothing.

But in him, we can do all things. So long as we are decreasing and he is increasing, we are dying the self and he is living in us.

And I know this may sound repetitive guys, but this is key because this verse has been misapplied and twisted more than any other verse

I can think of in the Bible. I can do all things through him. For those of us in him, allowing him to live through us, decreasing so he can increase, crucified with Christ.

Yet we live in our weakness. We are strong because we're letting him live in us. We can do all things.

Not for worldly passing happiness, but for his namesake, for his namesake, which we'll see in just a minute.

Okay, very good. 14 through 16. Let me read that. Philippians four, 14 through 16.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. So even though God can do all things, it was still good that he used you to give me physical needs.

Verse 15. And you Philippians know yourself in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.

Even in Thessalonica, you sent for my help and needs once again. Guys, people are like, see

God didn't take care of Paul. The Philippians did. You see,

God is not healing people of disease. Medicine is. Guys, because sometimes

God uses natural means to bring about his purpose. I mean, think about it.

In Genesis 50, 20, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. In Genesis chapter 50, verse 20.

And Joseph looks at him and said, yeah, you did that for evil, but God did that for good. You meant that plan that for evil, but God planned that for good to bring about this present result, the survival of many people.

And because of that act, because of Joseph getting sold into slavery in Egypt, the entire nation of Israel did not starve to death.

Think about that. When they planned for evil, God planned perfectly good. Guys, sometimes

God uses human action to bring about his purpose. Through the loving action of fellow believers in Philippi, God provided for Paul.

Sometimes God sends ravens to bring you food like he did for Elijah. Sometimes he rains manna from heaven.

Sometimes he gives you a hammer and some pitch and says, build a boat. It's about to rain. Okay, God provides in different ways and at different times, but God always provides for his.

In this instance, God used the obedience of the church at Philippians, their obedience and giving to provide for Paul.

And in their obedience of sacrificial giving, not giving out of excess, but sacrificial giving like the widow with her mites,

Paul assures believers that God will provide for them. Verse 17 through 23.

Let's read it. Philippians 4, 17 through 23. Not that I seek to give, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus to our

God and father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus the brothers who are with me, greet you, all the saints greet you, especially those in Caesar's household.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you in spirit. In their obedience of sacrificial giving,

God provided. This obedience is described in terms of Old Testament sacrifices, a fragrant offering, right?

Remember in the Old Testament, they would offer fragrant offerings as well as, as well as animal offerings that offer fragrant offerings.

And remember, it wasn't the blood of bulls and goats that God wanted. It was the obedience of doing what

God said to do. The Philippians knew they had to supply Paul, not for personal benefit, but to obey.

We said before, God doesn't need your money. He requires your obedience. The reason he'll supply all your needs is for his glory.

Okay. I want to read this part one more time. My God will supply all your needs. Verse 19. And guys, we missed this.

Let me spend just a few minutes on verse 19. See, God will supply every need.

God will supply every need. Yes, he will. But read the rest of the verse in verse 19. My God will supply every needs of yours according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

To God, to our God and father be the glory. Why does he supply all your needs?

For his glory. Psalm 23. We all know it, but I think we miss this part sometimes.

He leads me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. For his namesake.

We read this in Isaiah 40. For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it,

God says. Look into me all the ends of the earth and be saved for I am

God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me. I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things not yet seen, saying my counsel will stand and I will do all my good purpose.

Psalm 115 .3 Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases. Guys, God supplying for you is not for your physical material happiness.

Jesus didn't die for your your current physical material happiness. Those are blessings from God.

God supplies your needs for his glory. You see, the light is shining in us so we can be a light in the world so that our light can shine before him so that they can see, the world can see our good works and glorify

God in heaven. That's the purpose. Remember, we're like the moon. Okay, it's a silly analogy, but I thought of it a few weeks ago standing in my backyard and I can't let it go.

I hope it conveys some message to you. We're like the moon. Guys, what glory, what light does the moon have on its own?

What makes the moon shine? What makes the moon beautiful?

Guys, the moon has no light on its own. It has no source of life. It is nothing but a reflection of the sun.

Guys, without the sun, the moon will be a desolate rock. A desolate rock that would be visible to none of us.

None of us could see the sun. Excuse me. None of us could see the moon without the sun.

The moon would have very little purpose of being a light at nighttime without the sun. The moon would be purposeless, dead, desolate, and we wouldn't know anything of it.

But you know what's funny? We consider the moon more beautiful the more it reflects the light from the sun, don't we?

When it's a full moon and it's bright and beautiful, we say, oh, the moon looks beautiful. Why? Because it's doing a better job reflecting the light from the sun.

Guys, in and of ourselves, we have nothing good to offer. In and of ourselves, we have nothing.

We are a desolate, cold rock. But the more we reflect the light of God, the more that we reflect the outside source of life to others, the more purpose we have.

Let your light so shine in that way, Matthew 5, 44. Let it shine so brightly that they can see your good works and then glorify your

Father, which is in heaven. Notice in verse 19 and 20, it seems to be a little confusion and note my sarcasm.

It says the glory of Jesus and the glory of the Father. Well, which is it? Because the

Father and the Son's glory are one. Because Jesus is God. We talked about this at length last night and I encourage you, the question and answer session from last night,

I think it's on YouTube now, on the trying nature of God. If you've ever struggled with that, with, okay, how can

Jesus be God if he was this and the Holy Spirit and the Father? Go watch that from last night.

Question and answer session. I think it's definitely on Facebook. I think it's on YouTube now, the trying nature of God.

It's from, yeah, Saturday night, May 2nd. Check it out. Okay, I want to read one more passage for you.

1 Peter 3, 18. 1 Peter 3, 18.

Well, that's not what I wanted. That is a fun passage. That's not the one I wanted. Oh man, that's okay.

I wrote down the wrong passage. It happens. Okay, well here, that's fine.

No problem. Let's do this. Here we go.

1 Peter 1, verse 1 and 2. 1 Peter 1, verse 1 and 2.

Sorry about that, guys. 1 Peter 1, verse 1 and 2. We still find something in Peter worth reading. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of this

Persian, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the

Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for the obedience of Jesus Christ.

Catch that again. Did you hear the triune right there? According to the foreknowledge of God the

Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for the obedience in Jesus Christ. One more time.

1 Peter 1, 2. According to the foreknowledge of God, the sanctification of the

Spirit, for the obedience in Jesus Christ, and for the sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be applied to you.

And again, you know, 2 Peter 1, 1. Just you write down later.

2 Peter 1, 1 says this. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Christ Jesus, to those who have attained to faith, equal standing to ours, by the righteousness of our

God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1, 1. By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is not just your Savior, he's your God. And it's his righteousness that's put on you.

All right, back to Philippians 4, and we'll be back. I don't know why I wrote that passage wrong. Sorry about that, guys.

All right, last thing. Notice at the end of Philippians, in 21 and 22, it says, greet every saint as a brother.

Not just the ones you have coffee with or talk sports with. Greet every saint as a brother. Remember, saint is a fellow believer.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, the Bible calls you a saint, because saint just means haggios or haggadizo, means set apart by God, not by yourself.

By the grace of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Well, what saves you? God's grace or Jesus's grace? Exactly. So let me sum it up by this, guys, and we'll end in just a minute.

Philippians chapter 4 says, I have learned, Paul's talking, the secret of being content. And while I thank you for the gifts you sent me, those are not what give me happiness.

My happiness is that I can do all things through Christ Jesus, who gives me strength. And to experience that, guys, you must be in Christ Jesus.

And when you're in Christ Jesus, you die to self every day and let him live in you more and more so that it's not

I in the flesh can do all things to fulfill my personal values, my personal passions, but that Christ living in a center like me can do great things.

He can do all things through centers. Guys, Moses was a murderer. He wasn't just someone who had stage fright or a stutter.

He killed the Egyptian. He looked to his left and right and buried him in the sand. OK, David.

Paul, formerly Saul. Guys, God doesn't call the equipped.

He equips the called is how it's often said. But basically like this, the only thing

God requires is obedience. And if you have a believer obeying

God, God can do amazing things to that believer. If you have a believer obeying

God, God can do miraculous things to that believer. OK.

In summation of Philippians, we have finally finished Philippians in summation of Philippians. Paul repeats the word rejoice a bunch of times.

And he focuses on our joy, not being in things of this world, but in Christ. And we can only experience that joy and that peace, that joy and peace that walk hand in hand in obedience to him.

God's not interested in you sounding religious or you just going to church or you living your life however you want to, or you living like a

Christian this way. But when you go to work, you do everything. That peace and that joy can only happen in Christ Jesus in obedience.

And the most unhappy person is not the unbeliever.

The most unhappy person is the believer living in disobedience. That's when you will, because it says, look here in verse 9 and 8, practice these things and then the

God of peace will be with you. A believer in disobedience will have constant until they repent.

The Israelites lost every battle in the Old Testament against the Philistines until they sought after God and repented. Yeah, Paul talks a lot about unity and a lot about the deity of Jesus, about Jesus being

God. You can find more about that on the question and answer session last night on The Trying Nature of God.

Okay, guys, let me leave you with a couple of things. If you have anything else, put it in the comments. Do me a favor, everyone watching this.

I would like you please to go to the YouTube page, Witten Media Ministry. I want you to subscribe, not so that we can make money.

We're not charging anything, but the more subscribers they have, the more things we can do to get the message out. But anyway,

I want you to share your favorite video from the Witten Media Ministry, favorite

Bible lesson, favorite time out with Pastor Ben or wow moment with Vicki and Mercedes or sermon from Pastor Jeff or even if you think these

Sunday night Bible studies with this loser is in any way helpful. Share one of those videos on your personal

Facebook page so we can get the message out better. That's the best way. The best way is not for the pastor to do this or that the best way is for the people to go to the

YouTube page, Witten Media Ministry and share their favorite video on their personal Facebook page.

That would be the best hope. All right, guys, y 'all ready for what we're doing next? I can't remember if I already told you this might be anticlimactic.

We're doing Isaiah chapter 53 next. If you haven't noticed, when

I teach, I prefer to do verse by verse. Now we've done a few where we try to do a whole chapter in one night and I'm willing to do that.

I mean, you can't do verse by verse for every book of the Bible. You'll be in it for six years. But our next thing we're doing is

Isaiah chapter 53. It's only 12 verses. We're going to probably spend two, maybe three weeks on it. And you're like two or three weeks on one chapter.

Yeah, actually, our Sunday night crew knows that we normally go at a pace of a chapter a month, a chapter a month.

That's our regular pace. I went back into all the calculations from the past two years. We normally do a chapter a month.

But at any rate, we're going to spend two or three weeks on Isaiah 53. If you have never read that, I want you to go read

Isaiah chapter 53, the whole chapter. It is about the crucifixion prophesied 700 years in advance.

And the details it gives, you're going to be like, man, this prophecy, how can you not believe 700 years before Jesus?

It's amazing. And it is heart -wrenching and uplifting and joy -filling.

It's one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. Romans chapter 8 is my favorite. Most of you know that by now.

Romans 8 is my favorite chapter. My favorite verse is Genesis 50, 20. But Isaiah 53 is right up there with favorite chapters.

And no, it's not a sin to have favorite chapters. I recognize the whole Bible as God's word. But some of them,

I just, I don't know, I have an even more fondness of. I love every word of God and all that stuff.

But Romans 8 and Isaiah 53 have spoken to me many, many times. Okay, very good.

Next week, Isaiah 53. Guys, read that. If you have preemptive questions, what would really help me?

Because if y 'all haven't had to do one of these yet, it's really difficult to read all the comments, you know, while you're trying to read the

Bible and all that stuff. Thanks, guys. If you read Isaiah 53 this week, which

I hope you do, please. Yes, if you read

Isaiah 53 this week, don't be afraid to go ahead and send me questions.

You can send them to my personal Facebook Messenger. You know, I'm Josiah Shipley. You can send them to my personal

Facebook Messenger inbox. You know, Josiah Shipley, and we can talk there.

Or you can send them to the Witten Baptist Church public one. Either way, we'll get to them.

I'd be so glad to meet on Sunday nights for your class instead of Facebook. Me too, Mike. I think we're closer to that than we realize.

I think it's going to happen soon. And last thing, guys. For those of you who are in the Memphis area, but you don't normally come to a

Sunday night Bible study here at Witten, whether you don't come to the church often or ever, or you're a member here and you don't come, we have a lot of fun in Sunday night

Bible study. It's a lot like this, but there's more interaction, obviously, when I'm not the only one in the room. I encourage you, whenever we open back up, come back in here at six o 'clock.

We'll show you the room. Come back in here at six o 'clock. We're going to do exactly what we're doing now. And we're not going to stop until Christ comes back, right?

So come join us 6 p .m. on Sundays as soon as we open back up, which I'm really praying will be soon.

And we'll get back in it. Isaiah chapter 53 for next week, guys. I love you all very, very much.

Genuinely, genuinely. I love my fellow believers. I will talk to y 'all later. Thank you for making this.

Thank you for letting me see the fruits of my labor. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for letting a dork and a sinner like me have a purpose in teaching.

I really appreciate it more than you know. Love you all very, very much.

And Lisa, even for those who don't live here, I'm going to find a way not to live stream the actual

Sunday night lesson, but the material, the passages we do to do something like this. Some point during the week.