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Amen, the part of the chapter we're going to focus on is just the entire book. And because tonight we're going to go over, it's the overview, we're going to preach on the overview of the book of Philippians. And so we're going to just touch on a lot of things here. And Philippians is a great book. If you read Philippians, you'll often notice that the common theme of the book of Philippians will be to rejoice, right? It's something that Paul the Apostle reiterates over and over again. And the reason why is because we can honestly see, as we read even chapter 1, that the Apostle Paul is more than likely imprisoned, right? Why? Because the Bible says, he'll say, I'm in bonds. He'll constantly talk about bonds. What does bonds talk about? It means he's imprisoned. And he's edifying those at Philippi, and he's telling them, you need to rejoice in the Lord. And again, I say rejoice. And it's almost ironic that someone who's in prison is encouraging someone who's out of prison to rejoice, right? I mean, you often think, how do these people who are going through trials and tribulations, they've suffered loss, they're going to difficulties, how can they encourage others to rejoice, right? But often those who are really going through those circumstances and situations are often the most apt, they're the most capable of encouraging us to keep going forward for the Lord. Why is that? Because man, you know, we see the grace of God in our lives, we see them standing fast in the faith, we see them being faithful in the things of God, and we wonder to ourselves, man, can I do that if I was in that situation? Well looking at an example like Paul, we can see that. We can see that man, this guy was in prison, he was in bonds, but even then he's encouraging those who are not in bonds, hey, rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice. And let me say this is, you know, the quality of rejoicing is very important. You know, we can't be these kind of Christians that everything is just, you know, the world's coming to an end, you know, we can't enjoy life, no, it's important to rejoice. Why? Because we're rejoicing in the Lord. Rejoicing means to be excited, to have joy in the things of God in spite of the circumstances that are surrounding you, you know? And if you're the kind of Christian that, you know, you're swayed one way or the other based upon the finances, based upon how much money's in the bank, based upon your job, based upon your living conditions, you fill in the category, you're not much of a Christian who rejoices in the Lord. And you probably have a firm grasp on the things of this world. Because here's the thing, happiness comes from things, right, but joy is of the Lord. Or happiness comes from happenings, right, but the joy is of the Lord. And joy is something that can never really be stripped from us, I mean we can get rid of joy by being in sin, obviously, right? When David was involved in sin, and he confessed his sin, he repented, what did he ask the Lord of? He said, restore to me the joy of thy salvation. You know, when we sin, obviously the joy can be taken from us, but there's nothing really outside of that that can take away our joy other than ourselves. But here we see that Paul is kind of given a reality check because he's going through persecutions, he's going through trials, and he's encouraging those in Philippi to rejoice in the Lord, to continue to go forward. So there's four chapters in the book of Philippians. Chapter one deals a lot with just the personal situations that he's going through, him being in prison, and he talks about, he really emphasizes this matter of the Gospel. You say, man, that's your guy's hobby horse. No, this is Paul speaking here. I mean he talks, obviously this is something that was very much important in the life of Paul, right? If he's constantly talking about the Gospel, the power thereof, the importance of it, it's something that we ought to emphasize as well. But we see that his personal situations in chapter one, and chapter two, he starts giving like a pattern of service. How should we serve the Lord? What kind of mind or attitude should we have when we serve God? And look, some people serve God with a bad attitude, you know? And it's not so much of just serving God, we need to do it with the right attitude. You know, we can't be soul winning and coming to church and doing all these things with the frown upon our face, not enjoying the things of God, you might as well stay home. Better to do it with the good attitude and enjoy it while you're here, right? And here he gives, in chapter two, he talks about the mind of Christ and how we have the mind of Christ, the humility of Christ, and to submit ourselves to that. Chapter four, he begins to talk, he gives some warnings, and he also talks about the prize of the Savior, pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling. And then lastly in chapter four, he starts giving prayers of supplication. It's the famous chapter where we see that, you know, we're to be careful for nothing but in all things by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And so a lot of good teaching in this book, and we're just going to do an overview of each chapter, we're going to hit on some points here, but in Philippians chapter one, we'll start reading verse number one, it says, Paul and Timotheus, the servant of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll start off by saying that the Apostle Paul started this letter off, I mean, once you start reading this, you wouldn't come to the conclusion that he's in prison. He's like, grace be unto you, I thank God, all these things. You know, some Christians, they're almost the exact opposite. You know exactly how their week went based upon the first thing that comes out of their mouth. You know, it's like, oh, it's horrible, everything's just bad, you know. And by the way, some things, sometimes things are bad, right? But we need to discipline ourselves to talk about the good things. Well, I'm preaching to myself sometimes because I'm a negative person sometimes, you know. I don't know if you noticed that. But you know, sometimes we need to be Christians who discipline ourselves to have grace in our speech always, have our speech seasoned with grace, as the Bible would say. Verse number three says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making requests with joy. Man, that's, I mean, you see the heart of Paul right there for his people. It's not a matter of just him teaching hard doctrine and, you know, do this because God said it. No, he had a heart for the people of God. He says, I remember you, you know, and when I remember you, I pray for you. You know, and that's a good principle to live by that when we remember someone in the church, we ought to pray for them. You know, whether you think that's charismatic or not, it's just good to pray for people. You know, people are going through a hard time, they're going through tough situations. We ought to be praying for our brethren always because here's the thing, who is going to pray for them, right? The local churches here, my house shall be called a house of prayer, the Bible says. We ought to be a house of prayer that is constantly praying without ceasing and requesting for God to help our brethren in the Lord. But it goes on to say here in verse number four, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making requests with joy. And verse number five, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. This is very important here because Paul is showing or he's telling these people, you guys obviously have fellowship, you know, a kindred spirit, you're fellowshipping with one another around food. No. What is it around? It's around the gospel. And here's the thing, the greatest fellowship you can ever experience is a fellowship of the gospel. Because here's the thing, I'm not against, I mean, we're going to, we like ate all day and stuff, we're going to go hang out, you know, hike, brought pizza, you know, and you know, we hang out all day and stuff like that. But you know where the true fellowship comes is when we're out preaching the gospel. You know, when we're out laboring together, we're side by side, two and two, winning people to Christ, getting rebuked, getting reproached, that's good fellowship. And here's the thing, these are the memories of a lifetime. I mean, those who go sowing come up with the best stories, you know, of things that happen. I mean, I got a story, but I'm saving it for like the middle of the sermon. I can't wait to talk about this, okay. But this is good fellowship in the gospel. Why? Because you're having, and by the way, when we go sowing, we don't just go sowing, we're like talking, right? And we're talking about our day, and this is the, here they come, here they come. And then you're talking to them, and sometimes the people come to the door right in the middle of your conversation. By the way, don't talk too loud, you know what I mean? That's kind of like, they're like, what are you doing, you know? But the fellowship of the gospel, and you'll build your best relationships out sowing, okay? Because you're not only out there, and you're side by side working with one another, but you're seeing people saved. I mean it's an awesome experience to be able to lead others to the Lord. You get that experience, you get that fellowship that you need. And look, that's good fellowship right there. That's something that you can come home with a clear conscience saying, I serve the Lord today. Right? I serve the Lord, we saw people saved, and guess what, we had a good time doing it too. And look, the Christian life is not some life that we have to endure, right? I mean there are going to be times when we have to endure the Christian life, but guess what, we can endure the Christian life too. You know, we can laugh. It's okay to laugh. It's okay to smile. It's okay to have a good time. It's okay to have a good time even when you're out sowing. It's okay. It's called fellowship in the gospel. And verse number six, he goes on to say, they're being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. What is that? Eternal security. You know, the work that God is doing in us, that Jesus Christ is doing in us, the first day we got saved, he's going to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Okay? And eternal life is forever. You can't lose it. David and I ran into a guy from all places, Praise Chapel, you know. How many of you have ever heard of Praise Chapel? Have you ever heard of it? It's like a victory outreach, you know, just the liberal, you know, garbage or whatever. He came out, the guy was pretty nice at first until he realized where we stood on the gospel. And it's not like we're being contentious. I mean, we're not, we're contentious in here because we're behind the pulpit and this is our church and we say whatever we want here. Okay? According to the word of God, of course. But when we're out there, we want to be out there in meekness and humility. Well this guy, you know, he specifically told us, he's like, you know, I don't believe, I reject all that once saved, always saved, you know, easy believism, I don't agree with that. You can lose your salvation. All this nonsense. And the guy wouldn't even let me get a word in, you know, it's just like, I just want to ask like, where's that in the, can you show me in the Bible? He said the Ten Commandments, thou shall not kill, there you have it. I said, well, no, no, you asked for a verse. I said, well, well, here's the thing. No, no, no. It's just like, you're not, I told him, you're not letting me talk, you know. And here's the thing. The reason he wouldn't let me talk is because he knew I was about to smash him. I mean, that was a bad example to give, okay? And, you know, I'm glad that, you know, salvation is forever, you can't lose it. And not only am I glad about that, I'm glad I'm in a church where we're like-minded in that manner, right? That once saved, once you're saved, you're always saved, you cannot lose your salvation. David said, restore unto me the joy of that salvation, and he didn't say restore unto me salvation. And he murdered, right? He committed adultery. He did some pretty bad stuff, and he was away from the Lord for a very long time. I mean, from the time that he committed adultery to the time that his baby was born, right? He was in it a long time, and yet he didn't lose his salvation. And you would think if he had lost his salvation, he would have said restore unto me my salvation. No, he said restore unto me the joy. He lost joy, not salvation. We can rest assured that what God has promised to us, he is able also to perform. You know, he gives unto us eternal life, and we shall never perish. Verse 7 says, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart. In so much as both in my bonds, and in as much as both, excuse me, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye are all partakers of my grace. Verse 8, for God is my record how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. I mean, obviously Paul has a heart for these people. He's like, man, I miss you guys, you know? And it ought to be that when we're away from church, we miss being in church. You know? It ought to be like, man, I long for the brethren. You know, I long in my bowels, you know, don't be like, oh, man, my stomach hurts because I want to be in church. No, it's just, longing in my bowels is just like, man, I long to be, to have fellowship with the brethren. You know? And this isn't a cult, or it's just like we're trying to like, you know, have a compound Jim Jones type, you know, ministry here. But you know what? The people who come here want to be here, right? They want to be here. They want to have fellowship. They want, they long, especially if you work out in the world, you know, with all the, you know, wicked ideologies, the worldly people, the people who don't love God, and you come to church, you hear some good preaching, you get some good fellowship, and it's like, man, I miss being here. It's great. And this is what he's telling them. He says, God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more knowledge and in all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. This is a good principle right here and a good verse to show that if we're going to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ and know who Christ is, we need to grow in knowledge. You know, this isn't a feel-good type of experience where it's like, well, I know God because I feel God, right? Or because I had this experience, I had this dream of the six-foot Jesus with long hair and a robe and a dress, and I just feel like I'm in tune with Jesus Christ. It doesn't work that way. You know, and here's the thing is, the way we experience Christ, Jesus said this search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are which testify of me. How do we get to know Christ? Through his word. That's how we get to know Christ. Christ is the word, okay? So if we want to have that relationship, and look, here's the thing, I'm not against necessarily the word relationship. I have a relationship with God, but that's because I read the Bible, okay? And that's, look, my relationship is based upon my obedience to God's commands. Not because I'm like, oh, we just love each other, and everything is just gooey, ooey, and God is just so wonderful. No, it's because I'm trying to obey God's commands, okay? And God is not ooey-gooey. He's a righteous Father. He's a consuming fire. He's righteous. He's holy. He's just. Yes, he's lovingly kind. Yes, we know he's long suffering. He's patient with his children. He pities his children, and we praise God for that, but guess what? That comes through the knowledge of God's word, you know? So he said, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. But I would that you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. So we see that Paul's maturity right here, because obviously what he's talking about is him being in prison. He's in bonds. And he's not the kind of Christian that when something bad happens to him, he blames God. You know, he's just like, I can't believe God let this happen to me. No, he said, you know what? There's a purpose behind this. It's the furtherance of the gospel. And he said, well, how does that help the gospel if he's in prison? Well, we're going to look in just a little bit, but he provoked a lot of guys because of his boldness to get involved and start preaching the gospel without fear. You know, he provoked a lot of people. And here's the thing. We need to take into account that when we go through some trial or tribulation or we receive persecution, you better take heed how you react to that. You better take heed how you respond to the trials and tribulations. Why is that? Because people are watching you. Christians are watching you. Babes in Christ are watching you. And if you fall or you do something that resembles cowardice, that you're scared, guess what? You're going to cause others to be afraid as well. You know, better to pray for boldness and just say, you know what? Let the chips fall where they may. I'm going to be all in no matter what happens. You know, if I perish, I perish. And guess what happens? You will provoke very many to become zealous like you are. That's an awesome feeling. You know, a lot of these guys, they started getting involved. They started becoming preachers. Because of Paul's bonds, they were bold to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. But he said this. This is for the furtherance of the gospel. And look, there's a lot of occurrences in our lives, whether good or bad. We need to realize that all of them are encompassing to further the gospel, to see more people saved. We want to see more people come to Christ. How is that going to happen to the circumstances of our life? And we may not understand everything either, right? I mean, whether it's someone dying in your family, maybe you're getting a sickness, some casualty happens in your life. You may not understand it, but you need to understand that in the future, it's going to be for the furtherance of the gospel. All things work together for good to them that love God, right? And by the way, not all things work together for good for everyone. Just to those who love God. Key point right there. And how do you love God? By keeping His commandments. You keep God's commandments, you stay in the will of God. All things will work together for good. There will be a furtherance of the gospel because of the trials that you're going through. And look what it goes on to say here in verse number 13, so that by my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places, and many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Amen. I mean, you're like, man, Paul, I'm willing to go to prison. I mean, how many people have been encouraged, have gained courage because of the boldness of Pastor Anderson, right? To stand up against the wickedness of this world, you know, they saw and he provoked very many to be zealous for the things of God. Well, that's a biblical principle, and that's happened for thousands of years. There's always someone who stands up and just says, you know what? I'm willing to put my life on the line. I'm willing to preach it the way it needs to be preached. And what happens? They provoke a lot of people to be all in for the Lord. Look what it goes on to read, verse 15, some indeed preach Christ even of envy and in strife, and some also of good will. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, not knowing, or excuse me, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. So he's saying a lot of people are talking about Christ. Some people are, it's a good thing. Some people are talking about it in a bad way. And what is he going to, what does he say later on? He goes, I'm kind of glad because whether in pretense, let's read the verse here. What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. What is he saying? He's not happy that people are talking trash, right? But you know what? Christ is the subject at hand. And when Christ is the subject at hand, people are going to listen and there's going to be a division between those who want to know what the real truth is and those who don't want it. It kind of helps filter, basically, the people, right? And he said, look, whatever happens, I'm glad because Christ is being preached and I therein do rejoice. He's the subject at hand. And he says this, I'm set for the defense of the gospel. I mean, even while he's in prison, he goes, man, this guy wanted to talk about it in this manner, but he knows that I'm here for the defense of the gospel. And every single Christian, especially in our church, we ought to have the attitude that we're willing to defend the gospel at any cost. The right type of gospel, right? We're willing to fight against the repent of your sins, the works-based salvation, and any other gospel that is accursed, we're to fight against those things. Why? Because if we don't, we're playing with the souls of men. If we are lenient on the gospel, people are going to go to hell, okay? It's not like, well, you know, they trust in Christ, but they're also believing repent of your sins. I still believe that they're going to be saved. No, they're going to split hell wide open, okay? Why? Because you have to trust Christ 100%. And so we need to have the attitude that we're willing to defend the gospel at any cost. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Now again, that salvation, he's not talking about like a justification, right? Because Paul's saved. Salvation, obviously in the Bible at times, is actually referring to a deliverance, okay? And it's referring to almost like a physical deliverance, you know? And he says here, for I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer. What salvation is he talking about? Being delivered from his bonds. So we can get out and preach the gospel again. And look, that goes to show how powerful prayer is. You say, give me an example in the Bible where that took place. What about in the book of Acts? Where they prayed and then the jail doors were opened and they came out. The apostles came out. It can happen. And it goes to show that the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. You know? And we ought to be a people of faith that are willing to exercise faith through prayer. Constantly pray for needs. Constantly pray for miracles. Look, I hope you're praying for the Sony Mega-Marathon. You know, we ought not to be the kind of people that is just, well, you know, I have confidence in my gospel presentation. We got this down pat. We're faithful. We're at Baptist Church. We're going to do this. Now how about you pray a little bit? I say, God, fill us with your power, fill us with your spirit. Help us to see a great multitude saved on that day. More than anything, pray for laborers. You know, I want the whole entire church to be here, obviously, right? And I hope every single person under the sound of my voice comes to that day. No excuses. Don't miss out on this historical event to see people saved. But you know what? More so, we ought to pray for laborers that are maybe outside of our church. You know, those who may be a part of these, you know, watered down churches that don't grow soul winning, and you know, these churches that are just weak in their doctrine, and these people are dying spiritually, they need to come here and come do some soul winning. They need to come here and get some rejuvenation in their spiritual lives. And one of the best ways to experience revival in your personal life is go out there and preach the gospel, see someone saved, and it's like a fire burns in your bosom for the things of God. You want to be on fire for God? Go soul winning. You'll get on fire for God. Because you come back with your sheaves, with you, and you're like, man, this is the stuff right here. This is the stuff the Christian life is made of right here. Soul winning. People saved. Verse 20, according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, man. I mean, he's willing to go all out. He's like, look, whatever happens, I'm bold enough that I will, whether in life or in death, God will be glorified. I mean, obviously, he's not someone who loves his life unto death, right? He's someone who's willing to just give his life. If he dies, he dies. If he perishes, he perishes. He's willing to give it all. And I like what he says there. I like that he says, in nothing I shall be ashamed. You know, obviously, Paul the apostle lived in such a way that he wasn't ashamed of anything. You know, unfortunately, not a lot of Christians can say that. You know, there's a lot of things that people are ashamed of. There's Christians that are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They're saved people. There are people who know Christ. There are people who maybe even read their Bibles. They go to church faithfully, but guess what, they're not preaching the gospel. And if they're not preaching the gospel, guess what, it's because they're ashamed of the words of Christ. You know, they just want to hand out a track. And by the way, look, I was part of that one time. I know, I'm sorry. That's, yeah, that was, years ago, I was part of that, where it was just like, you know, just want to invite you to church, you know, and that was it. And you felt like you did your due diligence. I mean, you're a martyr for Christ. I mean, you're big stuff. You will not be the least in the kingdom of heaven, you know. You're going to be the greatest, you know. But here's the thing is, Christians stay that way because they're ashamed to tell people what the truth is. And yeah, the gospel is offensive to a certain extent, why? Because you're telling people they're going to go to hell, you know. But if you love them, you'll tell them, and you'll risk that they possibly might get offended. Because you're also risking that they might get saved. And so, verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I want not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. So he's saying, you know what, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go home. I'm ready to just die and go to heaven and just enjoy, you know, heaven. But he said, it's more needful for me to stay here for you. And look, if you're breathing today and you have two feet, you're healthy, you have this good church, here, look, you still have a purpose in life. It's more needful for you to be here for the sake of preaching the gospel, being an encouragement to your brothers and sisters around you. But he said, I'm in a strait betwixt, I want both. But obviously it's more needful for him to stay in the flesh here in this world. Verse 25, in having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Then verse 27, only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. There he goes again. I mean, he keeps hammering this thing over the gospel. He talks about the fellowship of the gospel, the defense of the gospel, the confirmation of the gospel, and now what is he talking about? He's talking about, or excuse me, the furtherance of the gospel, now he's talking about striving together for the faith of the gospel. And he said this, look, when I come, when I come to you, I want to make sure you guys are striving together with one mind. You guys are working together as a team for the furtherance of the gospel. Because look, one man can't do it all. Can do a very small portion, but one man cannot do it all. You know what we need? We need a team. And you need to be a team player. You need to be a part of the team to go out, strive together for the faith. Why is it called striving? Because it's a lot of work to preach the gospel. I mean, you get tired preaching the gospel. You go out for a few hours, it's tiring work. And look, it's more than one man can handle. We need everyone to get involved, to go out there and see people saved. Verse 28, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which he saw in me, and now here to be in me, chapter two. So now we saw his personal situation. Now we're going to get into the matter of service. He says, if there be therefore any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. So now he's getting into, look, your mindset, right? And the mindset is this, you guys need to be in one accord, okay? You guys need to agree. We can't have one singing one song, another hymn, and then one has the tongue, one has a revelation. No, we all need to be with one accord and go in the same direction, okay? And here's the thing, if you don't agree with us, come talk to us about what you don't agree with so we can set you straight, amen? And then we can be with one accord, all right? And we're not the kind of church where it's just like, well, you know, you can bring any false doctrine you want and it could be a smorgasbord, we'll accept you. No, you need to correct it, okay? And look, we're not even necessarily, even the church where if you believe something that we don't, like, okay, let's, for instance, if you're pre-trib, right? We're not going to kick you out of church. People think that. People literally think that about it. It's like, if you guys aren't, you know, someone comes in and they're pre-trib, you're going to kick them out of your church. It's like, no, we're not. That's not even a biblical reason to kick someone out of church. Now, if they're pre-trib and they're homo, then we're kicking them out. But it's not because they're pre-trib, okay? It's because they're homos. But here's the thing is, at the end of the day, we need to have one accord. We need to strive together. We need to be like-minded. And how does that happen? By esteeming others better than themselves. In other words, you esteem the benefit of your brethren more than your own self. You put your desires and your wants and your ambitions aside for the sake of your brethren. You know? And let me say this, that helps by just coming to church sometimes. You know? Because when you come to church, you encourage people to stay faithful and consistent in church attendance. You say, well, I'm a nobody, you know, no one really notices. No, they notice. Everyone notices. And you'd be surprised, but there's often people who say, man, if that person doesn't come, I'm not going to come. You know? If that person's not being consistent, I'm not going to be consistent. They won't say it verbally, but they're saying it in their hearts. I know for a fact that that's true. I've been in church for 10 years, 11, going on 11. I've seen it. And that's why it's important that we are faithful in the things of God. We're consistent. We have consistency in our lives. Why? You may not be the pastor, but you're a leader at a certain capacity. And someone is always watching you. And look, kids watch you. Right? Children watch you. Young people watch you. They're always observing what you are doing. So in order to avoid that, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Then he talks about the mind of Christ in verses 5 through 9. Verse number 10 talks about the name of Jesus, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow things into heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You know the blessing about that verse is? Even the people who reject Christ, in the end, they're all going to confess it. I used to have a teacher, he used to say this. He used to tell me, Bruce, you know, when people die, they all become believers. Everyone gets converted when they die. Now at that point, it's already too late for some obviously, right? Because if you die and you reject Christ when you're alive, you're going to hell. But when someone dies, everyone gets converted. Everyone will, every knee shall bow. And they'll know who the true God is. Verse 11, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now this is a verse that people who believe in a workspace salvation will often use. I've had this verse quoted to me, I mean, I can't count how many times, has anybody ever had this verse quoted to them? Like, work out your own salvation. I went to a funeral one time and it was a victory outreach funeral. Does anybody know what victory outreach is? Okay, it's a defeated outreach is what it is, okay? They believe in a repent of your sin type gospel. And I remember being there and the guy kept saying, you know, salvation is not done in one day, you know, it's a process, it's a process. Well you know why they're saying it's a process? Because the false version of the Bible that they're reading says it's a process. You know? But unto us which are being saved, it is the power of God. But this is not what this is talking about here. What the Bible's teaching us here, well first and foremost in this verse, you'll see the maturity of those who are in Philippi. Because Paul's telling them, you've obeyed not just in my presence, but now much more in my absence. Think about that. That's a very mature person. To be able to obey when the boss is not around so much more, that takes some character. You know? To be able to do right when the authority is not around, that takes some character. You think of Joseph, when Joseph was sold into slavery and he was in Egypt, he was away from mom, he was away from dad, he was away from his land, what did he do? He still fled fornication. He still did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Why? Because obviously he had characteristics that were very mature. He obeyed not just in the presence of his mom and dad, but also in their absence. And we ought to evaluate our personal lives, how do we behave when no one else is looking? When no one else is around. How do you talk? What do you watch? What is it that you do when no one else is watching? Because that shows the level of your maturity. You know? If you only do right when you're in church and when the pastor's talking to you, or whatever it may be, when your wife's around, when your husband's around, then there's a problem. You're not mature. You obviously need to grow in the fear of God, right? Because they which do right in the sight of the Lord, even in the absence of the multitude, are those who fear God. Because they recognize, even though the pastor's not here, even though my parents aren't here, even though the boss is not here, God is here. And God is always watching. But it says that, wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What does that mean? Verse 13, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. So what is he saying? We're supposed to work out what God is working in. You know? And the Bible, in chapter one, we read it, being confident in this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform until the day of Jesus Christ. And in the practical sense, obviously, God is still working on us, not in a matter of salvation, but he's working on us in a matter of sanctification, right? He sanctified us. How does he do that? Through his word. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. And how do we get cleansed? How do we become more like Christ? How do we, you know, repent of our sins and get things right with God? By reading the Bible. By allowing God's word to filter that filthiness out of our lives. That's how we do it. So we work out what God is working in. And here's the thing, it's important that when you learn something from the Bible, that you apply it immediately. Because if you listen to preaching, or you learn a biblical principle, and you wait too long, guess what happens? You never apply it. And the Bible tells us in James that those people who do that are forgetful hearers. Why? Because they're not doers of the word, but hearers only, deceiving their own selves. Why are they deceiving themselves? Because they think, yeah, I got this down, I heard it, I understood it, and they think that's all it takes. No, when the Bible says, hear and take heed, it means apply it. Right, you're listening to it, but you're supposed to apply it as well. Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. And so we ought to work out what God is working in. Verse 14, do all things without murmurings and disputings. What is murmuring? It's complaining. You know, man, I think that's something that we all have, don't we? And it's very easy to complain. It's so easy to just be negative all the time and complain about everything. It takes discipline to be positive and to look at the silver lining in everything, right? But it says, do all things without murmurings and disputings. Why? That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. What does that tell us? The crooked and perverse nation is the one who's guilty of always complaining. You know, I just knocked on the door, I'm gonna give it away, I can't, I just, I'm gonna tell you the first part, all right? I knocked on the door of this guy and, I mean, immediately when he came out, just, just, just murmurings was coming out of his mouth. We gotta get rid of Trump and, you know, we gotta, you guys shouldn't be preaching the gospel, you should be out here trying to get the president out of the office and join together with all these other groups of churches and fight for justice. I'm like, what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Who gives a rip about who's gonna be in the office? They're all wicked anyways. He said, no, but he's a conservative. They're all wicked. They're all of the devil. No, but President Trump holds to a more biblical, no he doesn't, he's wicked. He's evil. But no, no, but Sean Hannity says, he's wicked too. They're all wicked. They're all evil. No, but the media, they're evil. The prince of the power of the air, that's what the Bible says. You can't base your moral compass upon Fox News, upon any kind of media, for that matter. Any news, because it's probably fake, okay? You said, well yeah, but I saw it on the TV, you're not even there. You know, you ever seen something called movies, right? They're basically like movies, it's fake, okay? It's a crooked and perverse nation. And the Bible says, if we're gonna, obviously we're saved, but if we're gonna make a distinction between us and them, we can't be murmuring and disputing, right? We ought to be without rebuke the sons of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. How do we do that as well? Verse 16, holding forth the word of life. You see the difference between us and even those Christians who say that they're Christians but they're not, is that we hold forth the word of life. We face every, it's not like, well Pastor Anderson said, no, it's, the Bible says. The word of God says. This is what the word of God teaches. No, no, you got that from Pastor Anderson, the homosexual should be put to death. No, we got that from the Bible. That's a biblical thing. Oh no, you, God hates people, no, that's in the Bible. That's all in the Bible. Holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. What is Paul saying here, look, you guys need to go forward, holding forth the word of life, so that at the end of your life and at the end of my life, I can see I didn't run in vain. Obviously, my investment counted for something, right? I didn't labor in vain. You know the worst feeling is when you invest in someone and they just fall away from God. You know, they fall away, they get out of the will of God, they get out of church, they stop reading their Bibles, it's like, dang man, I invested so much in this person, they just got away from the Lord. You know, we ought to have an attitude that says, obviously we're doing it for God, but think about the people who have invested in your life. Think about the people who have prayed for you, who have discipled you, who have taught you the word of God, and look, maybe some of the people in your life now you don't agree with anymore, right? Maybe they believe in some false doctrine and they're pre-tribbed this and all this, love homos, but you know, there's a time in their life and a time in your life when they're a blessing to you. Look, I don't hate those who booted me out, you know? I don't hate them. In fact, I love them. In fact, when I talked to my wife about them, I talked about them in a very high way, I honor them. Why? Because there was a time in my life and in their life where they were a blessing to me. They invested in my life, they taught me things, and I gleaned wisdom from them. Obviously we don't agree on certain things, but I don't hate them. And here's the thing, I don't want, even if we don't agree on these things, I don't want His labor to be in vain in me. You know what I mean? Because if His labor is vain in me, it's not because of Him, it's because of who? It's because of me. Because I stopped, or I get out of church, or I stop reading my Bible, or whatever. And so we ought to have that attitude. Verse 17, yea, if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do you joy and rejoice with me. In Genesis 19, through verse, let's see here, through verse 23, we see, he talks about Timothy, and he's going to send Timothy unto them, and he says, you know the proof of him. You know, Timothy obviously was Paul's son in the faith, and he wasn't someone who Paul led to the Lord, but he's someone who basically Paul discipled. He brought him up. He became, he adopted him as his spiritual son. And it looks like, according to this verse right here, the Bible says that he has served with me in the Gospel. Timothy was someone who knew how to preach the word of God. He knew how to preach the Gospel. And that's why Paul can entrust Timothy with the responsibility of overseeing Philippi. Why? Because he was like, this guy knows how to labor. He knows how to work. He knows how to preach the Gospel and see people saved. He talks about Epaphroditus in verse 25, all the way down to verse number 29, and in verse 30 he says, because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. Now look at chapter number three, chapter number three. Verse number one says, finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you. To me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. You know, people often get on us and say, you guys repeat the same thing over and over and over again. Yeah, because it's not grievous to us. In fact, for the people who are hearing it, it's safe. You know? Because once you hear the same thing over and over, and here's the thing, I learned even from my father-in-law, you have to repeat things over and over again, and it's not until like the 50th time that people actually start getting it. You know? If you wonder why we're announcing Chris and Candy's wedding like every single service, it's because Chris, I guarantee you, there's people in the church that do not know that you're going to get married still. They're like, right now the light bulb just went on and they're like, whoa, he's getting married? Like, I just announced, I made a YouTube clip for you, man. You know, I put the music over, I did everything. The next day, people are like, hey, is the wedding like on Thursday? It's like, the thing has like 400 views and obviously you're not one of them who viewed it. Or you viewed it and you saw the first couple seconds and then you're like, I'm going to go watch something else. You know? Be honest, be honest. But sometimes you have to repeat the same things over and over and over again. And look, my father-in-law used to say, because they used to ask him like, well, how do I know, you know, when to stop repeating it? And he says this, once you start getting tired of repeating it, they're just getting it. So just keep that in mind. When you're sick of talking about Chris and Candy's wedding, you know, when it's just like, get married or I'm tired of announcing this thing, they're barely getting it. In fact, Chris, I'm going to just tell you right now, they're going to get it the week of the wedding. That's something they're going to be like, hey, I heard Chris and Candy are getting married this Thursday, you know? And you're going to be like this, what time is the wedding at? But here's the thing, it's not grievous, I mean, it's grievous for me, but it's not grievous for biblical principles sake, right? Doctrines need to be repeated over and over again. Now we've got to repackage them with a different title and maybe use different illustrations, but we're not looking to preach new doctrines. We're looking to preach the same doctrines, maybe hit it from a different angle. My sermon this morning on the Zydonians is things that we always talk about. They have verses that we always go to. We're just using a different story in the Bible to illustrate that story and those biblical principles and doctrines. So it's not grievous for people, it is safe. And here's the thing, the reason people don't know doctrine in churches is because the same thing is not being repeated over and over again. You know, they're not talking about what is salvation by grace through faith. They're not talking about this matter of, you know, end times Bible prophecy. They're not talking about these important subjects and therefore it doesn't stick, okay? Verse two, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision for we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Okay, now what are the dogs, okay? Look, when you go on sowing you should beware of dogs. That's a good principle to live by but that's not what it's talking about, okay? We saw some pit bulls today, it was just like dude if that gate was open I'd be done. I cannot outrun that thing, you know? And we ought to beware of dogs but this is not what that's talking about. I've heard pastors say that, you know? And here's the thing, I never really heard anybody give a clear interpretation of what this means. They're just like, you know, in fact I've heard preachers use this chapter or use this verse to talk about literal dogs and comparing them to like, it was just like weird, it's just like the Dalmatian, you know? The pit bull, there's a guy who's like the pit bull, there's a guy and they would give care. I've heard two preachers do that, you know? And I remember hearing about they're going to preach on dogs, beware of dogs and I was like, oh man, cool, you know, I've never heard a sermon, it's like you're talking about literal dogs. This sermon's for veterinarians, it's not for Christians, you know? But here's the thing, if you don't hold to our doctrine, it's going to be hard to interpret this verse. You tell me what this verse means, you know? Because this is what dogs are, they're sodomites. And not just, look, you just say, oh there you go again, it's not grievous, okay? This is safe. But it's not just sodomites, it's false prophets, false teachers, you know, reprobates are all the same thing. You say, well how do you know that? Because it says this, beware of evil workers, beware of the what? Concision. Now what is the concision? Those are the Pharisees, those are the Jews. See the concision is just another word for circumcision. And anytime the Bible would use the circumcision, it's talking about those who hold to Judea ism. Well, we know that according to Galatians, these are people who are false teachers and false prophets. Why? Because they were teaching a works-based salvation, they were teaching in the book of Acts that you needed to be circumcised according to the law of Moses in order to be saved. That's a false teaching. And that was something that was creeping into the churches of Galatia and Paul referred to them as what? As false teachers. Well, they're being used in the same context as those who are dogs. Now we don't have time today, but you look in Deuteronomy, a dog is a sodomite. And a false prophet is a sodomite as well. The reason the sodomite is a dog is because dogs do very weird, unclean, backwards things. You know? I used to have dogs. They'll throw up, lick up their own vomit. They eat their own feces. You say, sodomites don't do that. Don't look it up, but yes they do. They do some disgusting stuff. And the Bible calls them evil workers. So it's no wonder why God says He hated all workers of iniquity. No, but it says here evil workers and the other one is workers of iniquity. Iniquity and evil are the same thing. He hates all workers of iniquity and the Bible says here that we need to beware of dogs and of those who are evil workers. You see, our culture has conditioned us to think that there's no such thing as evil people. You know, no everyone's good, God died for, God loves everyone, of course God did die for everyone, but God loves everyone and we need to accept everyone. No, the Bible's telling us right here, beware of them. You can't beware of them if they're sitting in the front row. You know? You can't, it's, come on. Think about it. How are you going to beware of them if they're sitting, and look, what about this? What if one of them comes in here and we're preaching from Philippians chapter 3? I'm like, beware of dogs and evil workers and I'm like, I mean, basically this guy right here, you know? I'm preaching against that guy, and look, if, I don't think there's anyone in here that has a doubt in their mind about this doctrine, but if you do, you really just need to study this matter of the reprobate doctrine, okay, and come to a conclusion of what this is. Because here's the thing, okay, here's my story. So today we're out soul winning, and you know, when we go soul winning, we need to give people the benefit of the doubt. And I try to give people, I mean, if you give me the most effeminate, faggoty looking guy, I won't assume that they're a homo unless they tell me. Now Alex and I, we had an issue one time back in the day when we were out soul winning, and we talked to this one guy, and he was as soft as like, man, what's something that's soft? A pillow, a feathered pillow, a silk feathered pillow, the dude was a softie. And you know, I was just like, you know, probably this guy's just effeminate, and you know, being effeminate is a sin, don't get me wrong, but it's not being a homo. And we're talking to this guy, and he just kept talking about evolution, he wouldn't let me get a word in, and you know, I kept thinking in my mind, man, I would hate to think that this guy's a homo, because I'm just wasting my time here, you know? He's twice dead. And you know, finally he just kind of says, you know, I'm gay, you know, or something like that, I think he used that terminology, that's a cuss word for us. But he's like, I'm gay or something, and I was like, alright, forget it. You know, I just walked away, and he tried to shake my hand, and I didn't want to shake the guy's hand. You said you didn't shake his hand? No. I don't know where that thing has been. How do I know he doesn't have a cut on his hand and he has AIDS? I mean it's funny, but it's not funny, right? I mean, and then he like, he was screeching, you know, he followed us down the street, you know, he was just like, evolution rules, you know, I was like, atheism, and he was just like, shut up, you know? And then, you know, Alex, he likes to do the knock till you talk, I don't do knock till you talk, we just kind of, you know, go back and forth, and Alex was like, you could get the next door, because that didn't even count, you know, when I do knock till you talk. You just get the next door. We're not even going to count that, because that doesn't even count. But today, today I'm out with David, and I knock on the door, this guy opens up, and he has the lisp, he just, he's lacking something, you know? And I give him the invitation, and he's like, I don't have time for this, and all this stuff, and I'm like, alright, well, you know, more important than church, is not where you're going to go when you die, and I was like, are you 100% sure? He goes, of course, I'm a good person, blah, blah, blah, and gives us the whole spiel, and he goes, you guys are wasting your time. He goes, what you need to be doing is trying to figure out how to get Trump out of the office, you know, we need to band together with these churches, and all these things, and you know, I honestly don't, I can care less about all that stuff, you know, politics, I hate politics. I don't even know what's going on in politics right now, okay, like I have no idea what's going on. I have the furthest, I don't know anything, and I don't want to know, because I can care less about it, okay? And I told him, I said, but the Bible says, you know, what if a man shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? I said, what about we help these people, and we do these justices, but those same people, they die and they go to hell. And he was just like, couldn't believe that I said that. He said, you think they're going to go to hell? I said, no, I know they're going to go to hell. He goes, but they're doing justice! I said, there's none righteous, no, not one. And then he started yelling, you know, and, you know, there's something deep down inside of me that was just like, Bruce, I'm just, I think he's a homo, but he didn't say it, so if he doesn't say it, I'm not going to be like, are you a faggot, you know? I'm at his dorm, and David was right there with me, and he's like, you don't even know the Bible. You know, he started like saying that, and I was like, you haven't even read the Bible. I was like, actually, I have read the Bible, like scores of times, you know? I said, have you read the Bible? He says, I got a bachelor's in theology, and I told him, I said, man, that makes a huge difference, that makes a big difference right there. Did you go to Bible college? No, I'm just kidding. And then he said, you know, I said, okay, well, you know, maybe you're right, I said, maybe this does have mistakes. I was like, can you just do me a favor, can you just show me where the mistakes are at? And he goes, they're all over the place. I'm like, okay, just, can you show me just one? I got a Bible right here. I said, can you just show me where the mistakes are at? They're all, it's a translation, therefore, it's a mistake. The whole thing's in error, because it's a translation from the original tongues. Then I went to the first page of the King James Bible, where it says translated from the original tongues, you know, and I said, so you believe because it's a translation that it's in error? And I was about to, you know, start speaking Spanish to him, because he knew Spanish, and they were just translating to English and say, was that in error? You know what I mean? If they're saying the same thing. And he's like, I don't have time for this, just, you know, whatever. And I said, okay. And as soon as it turned, he goes, and I'm a queer. And by the way, commercial break, if they say they're queers, I mean, come on. He said, he's like, I'm queer. At that point, man, I was ticked. I was pissed off. I'll just be honest with you. Because I just wasted like 15 minutes of my time talking to this guy. And I just said, all right, forget it. And I just walked away. He's like, yeah, get out of here. I'm going to report you. And all these things. And I'm just like, go ahead. You know? And I'm telling David, I was like, man, I need some hand sanitizer now, you know? Because I touched the track that he touched, and he gave it back to me. Well, in fact, he handed me the track back. He said, take this thing. I was like, no, no. Oh, you know, yeah, let me get that. You know, because I don't want him to keep it. And David's like, man, you need to throw that thing away. And I was like, yeah. But you know, these people can't be appeased. They're implacable. You know? And you know, I made the mistake, because look, I violated the principle. I cast my pearls before swine and before dogs. I gave that which was precious to dogs, but unknowingly that he was a dog. You see what I'm saying? And here's the thing is, is he tried to trample over me, as the Bible says, right? But the Bible teaches us here that we need to be aware of these people. Why? Well, first and foremost, you can't reform them, OK? Now we don't even believe in a repent of your sins gospel, but let's just imagine. Let's go to candy land real quick and imagine that we do believe in a repent of your sins, right? Because the repent of your sins believes you have to turn over a new leaf, right? They can't even do that. In the world's eyes, they can't even turn over. They can't change their behavior. They're full of unrighteousness, laden with sins, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin. They can't. And that's why the Bible says here to be aware of them, be aware of the evil workers, be aware of the concision, and he puts them all in the same group. He says you need to be aware of them. He doesn't say bring them into the church, he doesn't say try to create some sort of ministry to reach out to them because no one's reaching out to them good. No one needs to reach out to them. They need to die is what they need to do. That's what they need to do. We need a righteous government to put these faggots to death. Why? Because I love my children. I love your children. I love families. And the Bible, and that's why God instituted the death penalty not just for them but the people who commit adultery as well. Why? Because these are evil workers who will spread evil work, okay? And look, the reason he couples, I mean he couples the evil workers, the dogs, and the concision all together is based upon what they do as people but also what they teach. And look, you go to any of these victory outreaches and all these liberal denominations or whatever who teach you to repent of your sins, they got homos in there all over the place. They always do. They got the dykes in there who are ushers and all this stuff and why? Because they're supposedly reformed, right? They gave up their homo lifestyle, no they didn't. They're looking for people to pray on in your church. For we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Why is he saying that? Well because the concision believes that they have Abraham to their father, right? They're basing their salvation, they're basing their relationship with God based upon who they are according to the flesh. And Paul's saying here that we are the circumcision, we are the real Jews, we are Israel spiritually speaking, which worship God in the spirit. Look, the Jews don't worship God, they don't worship Christ, they hate Christ. And these independent fundamental Baptists need to get this through their thick skulls that the Jews are not God's chosen people if they reject the God of the Bible. No, but they accept the God of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament, buddy. Hello? He's the God of the Old Testament. So if they reject Jesus Christ, they're rejecting the God of the Old Testament. Put two and two together. Two plus two is four, I promise you. And he says here, though I might, and look, he says, I have no confidence in the flesh. Why is it? Because he's saying that because he's a Benjamite. There's someone who can boast as himself. But even he said, he goes, I don't even have confidence in the flesh. I don't have Abraham to my father because of my flesh. Verse four, though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. And look at all the stuff, he says, circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. What is he saying? He goes, this is my pedigree. So he has room to talk. You know who can talk is the Jew who gets saved and says, I'm not a physical Jew anymore. I'm a spiritual Jew. And no, not a messianic Jew either. For there is neither Jew nor a Gentile, according to the Bible. But he's saying this, this is my pedigree, but I don't even trust in these things. Look what it says, verse seven, but what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And look what it says here, and do count them but what, dung, that I might win Christ. You know what he thinks of his pedigree? It's dung. You say, well, what is dung? If you look in the Greek, it means poop, it means crap. It means crap to me. Because here's the thing, you tell that to a Jew, I mean, a Jew, that's very much important to them. Because they're physical descendants of Abraham, which they're not. They're not even physical descendants of Abraham. I mean, where I live, I live next to a little place called Bixby Knolls. Okay, and Bixby Knolls, they have a synagogue there, and you see Jews all the time, I'm talking about the curls, the hat, you know, the little tassel and all that stuff, but they're white as snow. Yeah, they're from Poland. I've even seen little kids with the little skullcap, I mean redhead, freckled. I've seen them. These aren't people from Israel. People from Israel are dark. This is the Middle East we're talking about here. Okay? And no, Jesus did not have long hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. Unless he was like not under the sun and wasn't born in Israel, right? The Bible says here in verse 9, and be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. He says my righteousness is not through the law, it's not through the keeping of God's commandments or through the carnal ordinances, meats and drinks and diverse washings because all those things were done away with at the time of the Reformation. When Christ came, all those things were done away with. He didn't have confidence in those things. You said this is your hobby horse. This is, Paul spent like how many, verses one through nine, he spent nine verses just talking about this one subject. I think it's just Paul's hobby horse, right? And this is a doctrine found within the word of God that we need to understand, we need to embrace, really. Because here's the thing is, this belief that the Jews are God's chosen people is to believe that there's a special race. You know, these hyper dipsticks, right, who believe that. And they believe that they're worshiping the Jews, they have the, what's his name, Bill Grady, the stinking heretic that he is, you know. And look, it's, they're racist. I'm just gonna let you know right now, these people are racist. And I've known about Bill Grady for years, and you don't believe he's a racist, read Final Authority and look what he, just see how he describes black people using the N-word freely, quoting Ruckman, calling black people the N-word, okay. Yeah, they're racist, okay. And those who hold to this, that there's a superior race, yeah, they're racist because they think all of us are inferior to the Jews, okay. And him and his dispensation, that's why we ought to stay far, far from dispensationalism. It is the doctrine, it is the mother whore doctrine of all doctrines, false doctrines. Okay, that's where they get all these false doctrines from. And here's the thing is, you know, our Baptist brethren who are dispensationalists, even they would reject like a guy like Bill Grady. I'm telling you, they would. I mean, my old pastor, my old pastor, Bill Grady called him to go preach at his church. He's like, man, I'm not having this guy by church. He doesn't even agree with me. He doesn't agree with Pastor Anderson, but he definitely doesn't agree with Bill Grady. Why? Because he's out there. And people who believe in a dispensational doctrine, they're out there doctrinally. They believe weird stuff. You know, why is that? Because it's a bunch of unsafe people creating doctrines that fit their agenda or whatever. And they say, I mean, look at Brother Thompson's clips, okay, or Thompson, Brother Thompson's clips from Faith Baptist Church, and all the clips that he's made of Peter Ruckman, some of the weird stuff. He says that everyone in heaven, did anybody see that? Everyone in heaven is going to be a 33-year-old man. And you wonder why I call them hyper dipsticks. Because a dipstick is what? Is a stupid idiot. Look it up. I'm not, this is not a slang word. You look it up on the internet, dipstick means stupid. You're stupid if you believe that. You are stupid. You have the IQ of a rock, if that's what you believe. And he's like, yeah, the rock's smarter. And he's like, he's like, you know, many of my independent Baptist brothers don't agree with me on this teaching, but I believe the King James Bible. You know, it's like, no you don't. What in the world? Everyone, he goes, so every woman is going to be a 33-year-old man. What kind of crack are you smoking? That's a weird teaching. You know, he believed that abortion was fine. You know? He believed that abortion was fine, and he has all his crazy beliefs about that. And by the way, he divorced three times, remarried, red flag number one. But you know, it's a doctrine of convenience because then you can get involved in all kinds of wickedness at the expense of supposedly that it's in the Bible. But it's wicked as hell. The Bible says in verse 10, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. And in verse 12 through 14, he talks about the prize that he receives of Christ when he reaches the end. And look, this ought to be an admonition to us to stick it out, you know, stick it out in the Christian life when it gets hard, because it's going to get hard. And Lord willing, we will go through the tribulation. And I hope for that. I really do. You know, I think that will be an awesome feat to accomplish is to make it until the end. You know, the day that endured to the end, the same shall be saved. I believe that. But we have to practice endurance today. Right? Look, if you cry and you don't come to church because you stubbed your toe and you got an ingrown toenail and all these things, you know, you need to build up some endurance. Okay? You can't cry over every little thing. And I'm not saying, look, there's a time to weep, the Bible talks about. But look, we need to develop some emotional fortitude. Okay? And I'm not saying be a jerk. Like, it's just like, oh, you know, no fun, no nothing, and we can't enjoy anything. No, no, no. You can have a balance of enjoying the things of life, but still be vigilant. Still develop endurance in your personal life. That's why it's good to go through hardships. You know, welcome hardships. Welcome difficult times. Welcome the times when you don't know what's going to happen. Welcome those times and grow through those times because that's preparing us for the end times. And here's the thing. Let's just say that the end time, that the tribulation doesn't even come in our generation. Okay? For sure, it'll come in our children's generation. And guess who our children learn endurance from? Us. So for the sake of those of the next generation, we should develop endurance in our personal lives. First of all, because we might go through it, but if we don't, the next generation will. And if you raise a bunch of sissy boys, you know, weaklings, they're not going to make it through tribulation. They're not going to make it through hardships. We need to make sure that we are pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And we're going to skip some verses here. And chapter number four says, Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and longed for my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Aeodes, and beseech Syntych, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Look, that goes to show that the women can get involved. Amen? And he's not talking about like, you know, that they were pastors and stuff like that, but they were laborers. They helped. They were involved. They were preaching the gospel to. They were getting involved in the work of the Lord. Verse four, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. So he says the same thing again. Verse five, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Verses six through eight talks about prayer and not being worried or anxious about many things. We talked about that this morning. Verse eight gives us a mindset that we should have. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Let me say this. Most of the situations in our life in battles, they all start right here. And if you become defeated in your Christian life through an outside circumstance, it's the battle started right here, and you lost the battle right here. That's why the Bible says to gird up the loins of what? Of your mind. Gird up the loins of your mind, and make sure you have to discipline yourself to think on these things. That's why you got to turn off the news. Turn off the notifications on your phone. You don't get every single bad news notification that comes through. You need to think on the proper things so that you can exert those personal qualities in your life. Verse nine, those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, there were to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. This is a great quality for every Christian to have. To learn how to be abased and learn how to abound. Learn how to be a good Christian when you have plenty and learn how to be a good Christian when you ain't got nothing. And here's the thing, it's not something that comes naturally. The Bible says that Paul learned these things. He was instructed. Contemplate is something that we have to learn how to do. Verse 13, I can do all things through Christ what strengtheneth me, notwithstanding ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. Communicate means he gave, they gave. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving but ye only. So these were a giving people. So even in Thessalonika ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift but I desire a fruit that may abound to your account. So this teaches us here that when we give to the work of God, to the man of God, to other Christians, we actually receive rewards because of it. Okay? It's a fruit that abounds to our account. But I have all and abound, I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell and a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to the riches and glory by Christ Jesus. This is an awesome principle right here because it teaches us that when we give, what happens? God gives back to us. You see a lot of the reasons why Christians don't give of their abundance or of the things that they have is because they feel that once they give it they're no longer going to have it. But what happens is in God's economy when we give unto the Lord, we give unto the Lord through our brethren, God gives unto us. Because he's seeing that we're stewarding the resources of God in a wise way. And if he sees that you're investing your finances, your talents, your treasures and your time into the right things, he's going to give you more of that. Because he knows you're invested in the right things. But look, if you're wasting your resources on stupid things, guess what, yeah, your money's going to flee. It's going to create wings and fly away. But if you're constantly funneling it through the work of God, you're constantly going to have a supply of needs. Or excuse me, a supply of according to the riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever, amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus, the brethren which are with me, greet you. All the saints salute you chiefly, they that are Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, amen. And that is the book of Philippians. Let's bow our head and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for the book of Philippians. If there's anything we can take away from this Lord is that we can rejoice in all things. Even when we are trying to be aware of dogs, of evil workers, of the concision, we can still rejoice even in that. We can rejoice when we're in prison. Why? Because the circumstances ought never to determine our joy in the Lord. Our joy in the Lord is exactly from the Lord. And as we read the word of God, as we grow in our knowledge of Christ, mature us, Lord. Help us to endure. Help us to do all things pleasing in your sight and to live a life that's pleasing to you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.