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For Jesus Christ the Savior, we only look to thee, descend thy love, and favor our souls. By Liberty 211.
Oh Jesus Christ.
The same.
On the day of the day. Can't make a chance, I wonder.
All of our souls, I live without any.
Wednesday. Wednesday.
Say say please.
The rocks and trolls are proud of us and the blood swelled on my heart.
In Philippians chapter one and.
Start in verse.
11.
The Olympians chapter one and verse 11.
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out of out rather under the furtherance of the gospel.
So that might bond in Christ, or manifest in all the palace and in all other places.
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confidence by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed, preach Christ even of envy and strife, some also of goodwill. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.
What men, notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, neither do rejoice. Yeah, and will rejoice. I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 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.
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Whether it be life or by death.
For me to live as 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 would not, for I am in straight betwixt to have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith, that for your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.
And whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token, a partition, but you, but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given on 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, now here to be in me.
Chapter we have that the expression the day of Jesus Christ. Or could someone just give a thought on that?
Is that the day of manifestation? When?
We will when Christ will be manifested, and he will be glorified in his Saints.
Expression also appears in the second chapter.
And verse.
16.
Holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ.
That I have not run in vain either. Labored in vain.
And.
Paul's letter to the Corinthians, and the marginal reading of it, is that today is man's day.
And I believe Christ's day is set, in contrast with Paul, to man's day. This is the day of man. Man is having his way.
In this world it's characterized by man doing what he wants to do and the apostle Paul said it doesn't mean any. It's not important to me what man thinks. My life and the manner of my life is what man thinks about it isn't important, but there is. He could have said and and here he does express it, that there is a looking on to a day which is going to be Christ's day and instead of what?
Man is what man is, and he manifests himself. I like that word. Can he manifests himself?
But there will come the day, and we believe it soon when it's going to be what's of Christ and it's going to be his day. And can I say then it'll be done his way. And the Apostle Paul here in speaking to the Saints in Philippi, is it where he could say there's a work going on in you that will have its completion and manifestation when Christ has his day.
You're not a finished product yet, but there's a work going on. And then it repeats it here when it talks about growing. And he says you need to grow in love and in the the knowledge that the knowledge of true love that is appropriate to the day in which things will be the way of Christ. He himself looked on to it and he says, brethren, you're my joy.
My crown of rejoicing and if you don't go on well, if you don't continue to in the path, then for me I won't see that result in Christ day. That would be from for God's glory, for your blessing and for my joy. And so the question can be asked of us this afternoon, what day are we living for?
Are we living for man stay?
Our our objectives of life, our thoughts in this life, all centered in the here and now. Or are we living now with that sense that?
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What's important now is going to have its fulfillment and its manifestation in the day of Christ. And so it's given to exercise us to say.
What do I want to live for? Do I want to live for the here and now? That's going to.
Begone and its character even in the day of Christ, even before eternity? Or am I living in view of his day but it.
This way it's always exercised my heart this way. Is there going to have to be any change in the character of what's important to me on the day of the Rapture or on the day of manifestation? Yes, physically we will all change. But will our motives, our objectives, what's important to our hearts going to have to change?
It didn't for the Lord Jesus. When he went from earth to heaven, He didn't change in that way at all.
It didn't have to change what he was in his character or in his interest. And so the more we grow, the more we are going to be spiritually grow conformed to the day.
Of Christ that is coming.
There are four perhaps.
Very significant days that are brought before us in the New Testament.
And I think it's helpful to keep them in their perspective. And brother Dawn is brought before us. Man's day.
The day we live in, which is really a day in which man is asserting his allowed to assert his rights.
And when was there ever a day when man has asserted his rights, like the day in which we live and the.
God is allowing man to do that. God is behind the scenes, of course, but he's allowing man, in a sense his own way. But then there are three days that are yet future. There's the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, or the day of Jesus Christ and the Day of God. I just want to suggest that the day of the Lord and the day of Jesus Christ, there is a little bit of a difference. They're both days of manifestation.
And we're not talking about 24 hour time periods. We're talking about a time frame in which God allows a certain thing or operates in a certain way. And I just want to suggest that there's a little difference. The day of the Lord is a day when he will assert his rights. There's a day coming, as Dawn said, when man will no longer be allowed to assert his rights publicly and get away with it. The Lord is going to come back and he's going to assert his rights as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
But the day of Jesus Christ is perhaps more in connection with the Saints of God. As we've been saying, it's the day of a day of manifestation, and it's for Christ's glory, but it's a day when He will be glorified in His Saints, as Brother Ken alluded to that verse. In fact, let's just turn to that verse and Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, chapter one.
And verse 10, Speaking of a future day, says verse 10, when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe. And if you leave out the italics in that day, you know there's a day coming when Christ is going to come back with this Saints and every St. is going to reflect fully the glories of Christ. But before that, there is going to be what we often refer to as the judgment seat of Christ.
And Paul's desire was that he and his brethren live in view of that day, that day when for his glory he can give reward and commend his people. Because when he appears with his own, I'll be after the judgment seat of Christ, after the marriage supper of the Lamb, there's going to be the manifestation of those rewards that are given at the judgment seat of Christ, those things that he could commend for.
That are referred to in the Book of Revelation as the righteousnesses of Saints. And are we really living in view of that day? We heard a little exhortation at the end of the last reading in connection with being sincere in view of that day, living in view of that day, not being fake, not trying to cover up things now, but living with the realization that there's a day when everything is going to be manifest and his sense.
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Of what is right is going to be manifested, then not man's sense, not our brethren's sense of what is right and to be commended, but his sense. It's Christ's day, but it's a day of manifestation for the Saints, for the Saints of God. Just to round out our remarks, there's the day of God which will follow all that when the Kingdom is delivered up to the Father, and after all enemies are put down and the last enemy to be destroyed, his death, and he delivers up the Kingdom, that God may be All in all in the eternal state, then is referred to as the day of God. But I want to connect where we started.
With what we've said from verse 10, because he speaks here in verse 11, being filled with the fruits of righteousness. Now in Galatians where it's a in connection with our walk in the Spirit of God. We live by the Spirit, we walk by the Spirit. It's called the fruit of the Spirit because it's in the power of the Spirit that we manifest the attributes of Christ in a practical way in our lives down here.
But we might then question, why is it referred to here as the fruit of righteousness? Well, I believe it's just because of what we've been saying. It's in view of a day when everything is going to be brought into display and commended in a right way, as according to what was right, as to his sense of it. You know, Mary poured out her ointment at the feet of the Lord, and not only did Judas speak up against her, but all the disciples.
Spoke up against her. The Lord commended it as to what He saw was right and for His, for His glory. He gave the proper sense of what was right. And maybe you do something for the Lord and you say nobody appreciated it. Nobody thought it was the right thing. Never mind, Paul said. We labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. He was living in view of the day of when all that he did down here was going to be brought to light.
And the fruit of righteousness was going to be commended. And that's why Paul said in the almost the last words he penned by inspiration was in connection with loving his appearing and how at that time he was the Lord Jesus is going to give a crown, notice this, of righteousness to all those that love is appearing, and not to me only, but not to me only, but to all those that love is appearing. Why is it a crown of righteousness?
Paul had sought to live righteously in an unrighteous world. He'd been misunderstood. Not just by the world, not just by his.
Brethren by nature, the Jews. But he'd been misunderstood often by those he sought to love and serve as his brethren in the faith. The Corinthians misunderstood him. They others had forsaken him and turned away from what he taught, and so on.
Paul said there's a crown of righteousness. There's one who's going to give a proper sense in the coming day.
In view of that reign of righteousness. And he said, I live in view of that day. Now, as Dawn said, are you and I living in view of that day, or are we just looking for some commendation here? Nice to commend one another, nice to praise when there is something done that's noteworthy and Scripture encourages us to do that. But brethren, are we willing to leave those things that are not appreciated or understood? Paul said, I know whom I have believed.
And am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him, when against that day, he said, I'm waiting for the day of Jesus Christ, when it will be properly commended. And not all have the glory, but Christ will have all the glory, and that's the key.
And glance at the grammar real quick leading into verse 11. It proves rather helpful starts off with in this I pray that but that there's showing a strong.
A strong purpose this is, it's also the content probably of his prayer, but this is the purpose of the man's prayer. His purpose is that the believers love should abound in knowledge and on certain discernment. The knowledge here is cures the idea of an experimental knowledge and the fullness of an experimental knowledge. This isn't some abstract mental love, but a living acting love that he's talking about with discernment. A verse or brother pointed out earlier.
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Yesterday we saw about knowledge puffeth up, but love edifying it in the context there the knowledge is the freedom that a Christian has it in Christ that might offend other people in the exact context is talking about meat offered to idols that knowledge without this special love that we have, I'll just go eat the meat offend people. But the special love causes me to consider you more than important than me It considers makes me put my.
But what's good for me is unimportant. What's spiritually best for you is very important, OK? It's where this is supposed to be happening. And if this happens, it's for the purpose or the result that we can approve the things that are more excellent. We can discern what is best.
And we need this in two areas of our life. First, as I mentioned in Christian Liberty, on Christian Liberty, we need love to be able to know whether I'm just using my liberty for an occasion to the flesh or if I'm using my liberty to edify other people. We've all used our liberty for selfish purposes before.
But we should grow to where we use our liberty for the purpose of others.
And as this happens.
We become since oh, in the other area, I'm sorry, is in areas that are good. Well, let's see, I have an hour to kill. Should I read my Bible? Should I pray, should I go out and share the gospel in this hour? As we grow in the experimental love of Christ living and thriving through us, we naturally, and this isn't intellectually, but through the Spirit we remember the Spirit and the word always work together.
A person that says I have the word but I don't know the Spirit has, and somebody tries to claim the Spirit without the word is nothing. The Spirit and the word always act together. So as I grow in this and understand scriptures, as I understand the person of the glorified man of heaven, I become able to start a Christian liberty. What I should do, I became able to discern through the work in the Spirit in my heart and mind.
What is best for now and that you may be sincere. And it's another purpose clause. It's like all his other prayers. He mixes together different ways of expressing purpose all through the prayer, but one phrase always builds on the other phrase and all the Pauline prayers for the purpose that we might be sincere.
And then the next phrase is very interesting. It may sound a little different when I'm getting ready to say than our brother said, but it's really the same thing. Having been filled the the construction or the timing of this is before the time of the prayer. Before he prayed, the Saints were already filled and continue to be filled with righteousness. This is very similar to Second Peter. What refers to us having department of them to divine nature.
That Christ in US carries different but similar concepts that he could pray this for a believer because the righteousness of God has already been placed and will continue in US till the day of Jesus Christ and after the day of Jesus Christ.
Excuse me?
In 11 verse that says.
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness.
And we have a apple tree on our property. And last year it was filled with fruits. It was loaded. We made applesauce and neighbors got apples and used them. And there was so much that we couldn't use them all up. And there was a piled up on the ground. After the season was over, it didn't get used. There was one bountiful harvest. But this year there are only four or five blooms on that same tree. It's the same tree.
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Where they're only going to be four or five apples. It's not going to be filled with fruit this year.
And so the Apostle Paul wants us to desire.
That there's more righteous fruits produced in our lives.
A real fruitful, fruitful tree he wants us to be and another interesting thing here is apostle Paul speaks of things that happened to him only fell fell out to the furtherance of the gospel which is right righteous fruit as well. Remember we heard it today someone.
Bringing before us what happened in the 16th of Acts at Philippi when he was put in Silas or put in prison. And and there at midnight they sang praises and prayed and there was an earthquake and and as a result of it, the jailer and his old household got saved and others got saved. That was something fell out.
To him there that.
He wouldn't have chosen, but God even turned that into fruits of righteousness.
Souls are saved. And the same thing is true in many other instances of Paul's life. For instance, he was arrested at at Jerusalem, and he got to give the gospel to Felix and to Festivus and Agrippa, and he was shipwrecked on an island of Melita, and he gave the testimony there of Christ, and many were saved. He went on to Jerusalem.
And even got to go right before Caesar.
And so all of these things fell out. It didn't seem like a wonderful thing to happen to him, but everything that happened to him only gave an opportunity to give forth the gospel, and many were touched. They wouldn't have ever come in contact with the gospel except those things that happen.
Like to read?
The 12Th.
Verse in Mr. Darby's translation.
But I would have you know, brethren, that the circumstances in which I am.
Have turned out rather to the furtherance of the glad hidings.
The circumstances in which I am everybody this afternoon in this room is in some set different for different ones of us, but every one of us sits here.
In present circumstances, every one of us is living today in some set of the circumstances, as Paul said, the circumstances in which I am.
We can say something about Paul's circumstances when he said this. He was sitting in prison with an uncertainty as to whether he was going to be condemned to death or not. Most of us wouldn't consider that to be the most ideal of present circumstances. In fact, most of us would probably say our own circumstances aren't quite that severe. But nonetheless, we each have this afternoon our present circumstances.
And what is important for us to understand and appreciate and accept is God is presently perfectly in control of them.
They are allowed and ordered of God according to His work.
To accomplish what's said in this chapter, he said, He that hath begun a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ day. The present circumstances in which every one of us is in this afternoon is ordered of God toward the fulfillment of that perfect work.
And in addition to that is having given us something in our lives to do or bear, He has ordered the circumstances of our lives for the furtherance of whatever use He may have of us.
In his service and here in the case of the apostle Paul, he was given of God to preach the gospel to the Gentile, and here he was in prison. He might have said, oh, Lord, this just doesn't add up. You gave me this job to do. You entrusted me with this responsibility, and now I'm sitting here in prison and I can't fulfill it. Please change my circumstances so that I can get on with it.
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Is that how he says it? Is that what the next verses say? No, no. He then goes on to explain to us he found joy because God was using His present circumstances to the furtherance of the very work that God had given him to do, and in this case through others, Some you might say with right motives and some with wrong motives, but nonetheless he stepped back from himself.
He didn't focus on himself. He did recognize his present circumstances.
But then he could see what the Lord was doing in them and he was happy and content. May the Lord allow us to be the same and be an acceptance of the circumstances that God has said. All things are working together for your good.
I think those are beautiful picture of that. Is he not? And when we think of what his circumstances were at the time as a young man, young boy and his father sent him out for to see of a house, brethren did and that was the last time he saw him. And for what would it be close to 20 years or so.
1713 years was, pardon me, 15. I thought he was 17 at the time.
And pardon me.
Well, he he was raised up after that and it would seem like he was almost 40 before he saw them again.
His father by this time had had grieved him, and we well might sympathize with Jacob as to his thoughts towards.
This whole his circumstances at that time and and yet we get the end of the story when we see.
When Joseph sees his brethren then, and he could say.
Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me, hit her for God did send me before you to preserve life and that is such a wonderful thing. The rest of the story is is so beautiful because we see God's hand in it and all this time the various thoughts of the various ones. Joseph is lost and his father grieved and how often this has happened in the circumstances that we go through in our lives. We think all is lost perhaps and and we see someone.
Depart and we say that's the end of them, but.
That's not the end of the story yet. What does God have in purpose for it all? So I think this is the story of Joseph is such a wonderful picture of what you have just been saying, Don.
And deliverance when he interpreted the dreams and he had to remain another two years in prison, must would have been, could have been very discouraging if he hadn't realized that God has a perfect timetable. And brethren, in the fast-paced life we live in and where there's instant answers and remedies to everything, I think we need to be careful to realize that God's timetable may be very different than ours. And sometimes we pray and we give God a timetable.
I do that sometimes. I say well God, this has got to get cleared up by the 25th of September and if it doesn't what's going to happen? We should never lock God into timetables. God has a perfect timetable but He doesn't deal in 24 hour days and seven day weeks like we we do Thank God. He has put us in the realm of time so that we can operate in the physical sphere in which we find ourselves. I would like to just say this too in connection with Don's remarks and that is.
But the apostle Paul never, and Joseph too. They never became callous or indifferent to their circumstances. They felt what they were passing through. But what gave them the energy of faith to accept their circumstances and be content in them was to realize that what God was doing was the very best. Do we stop in the circumstances of life, brethren, and consider that.
That God is doing what God is doing in our lives is the very best. It may be very different from what we think should be be done, but it is the best if we're willing to leave it in his hand. And what the apostle Paul wrote here to the Philippians had great moral weight in Philippi. Why? Because we were reminded earlier this morning that Paul and Silas had once been in a prison in this very city.
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In this very city that he's writing to these brethren, He'd been there and at midnight, as we were reminded, they rose up and prayed and sang praises. I want to just mention those two things. If it said they prayed, you might think well they got under the circumstance. If it just said they praised, you'd say maybe they were indifferent to their circumstances. But the Spirit of God has told us that they did two things. They prayed, they felt the circumstance and they prayed.
But they also sang praises because I've often wondered if they remembered the verse in the 119th Psalm. I think it's the 62nd verse that says at midnight will I arise and sing praises unto thee because of thy righteous judgments. You know, they realized that what God had allowed was right. Maybe it didn't seem like it was the best, but it was right. Maybe they didn't understand why, but they realized that it was right.
And realizing that it was right, they could arise at midnight and sing praises to the Lord. And brethren, it's not a question of knowing all the reasons why. You know, I sometimes said, if God allows some difficulty in your life, even if He came to you and told you all the reasons why, you can't have joy in that circumstance without submission. But you can have joy in the circumstance without knowing the reasons why.
If you submit to his will in your life and realize that He's doing the very best, and so it says, David said, commit thy way unto the Lord, Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. It may not be to pass in the way that we thought was the best, but it will be a pass according to His will and what He sees as the best. And if we're willing to submit and leave it in His hands, then there will be a joy.
In the circumstance, not indifference to the circumstance, not the removal of the circumstance, but a joy in the circumstance and blessing not only for our own souls, but as we're going to see here, blessing for other souls both in the gospel and for his brethren as well.
Another.
Lesson that we learn is from the life of Joe and that's in that situation and they just think of what Job went through and I'm sure he was not too happy in his circumstances. I know I wouldn't have been. And yet all through that God preserved him from from cursing God and dying as his wife would suggest.
But at the end of it all he could say, I have heard of thee with the hearing of my near.
But now mine I see it thee, and I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. So had he been delivered out of those circumstances, he would never have learned God like he did through those circumstances. And that's perhaps why He puts us through these circumstances too, is that we might learn Him in a whole different way than we would if all our circumstances were perfect.
Friends made the mistake of thinking that prosperity was a sign of God's approval and affliction was a sign of God's disapproval and very dangerous to.
To walk in that way, being guided by our circumstances, isn't it? And you know, there's other examples you could bring up, like for example, the case of Lazarus. His death was for God's glory. So there are many times and, and, and this is.
So critical in the day in which we live, where there's this gospel of prosperity that's being preached.
In which case Paul was the biggest loser that there ever was. I mean, he ended, history tells us being.
Decapitated.
Suffered capital punishment. He ended his life in prison. All of Asia turned away from him. You know if.
If he was guided by his circumstances, then at the end of his life he must have assumed he was all wrong.
Parents, they asked the Lord in connection with the blind man, but he said they neither this man nor his parents, but that the works of God may be manifested in him. There was going to be glory brought to God and the Lord Jesus through the healing of that man, and a great testimony in that day. But when we read these next few verses in connection with the furtherance of the gospel, and how some were preaching out of contention and so on, don't we think of the verse in the 76th Psalm that says, the wrath of man shall praise thee?
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And the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain. Paul said himself on another occasion, We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. And no doubt the enemy thought, if I can lock this man up in jail, he's not going around preaching the gospel and encouraging the Saints of God. No doubt the enemy thought he had a great victory. But the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain. God showed that he was in full control of this circumstance.
And Paul recognizing this, he's content in the circumstance and he's content to be there if it means that the truth and the gospel is going out in some way. And so, as we often quote, the word of God is not bound. And some were preaching even out of contention. Paul said that's OK. Whether in truth or pretense, Christ is preached. And I there in due rejoice, Yeah, and will rejoice. He might have thought, well, I wish I was out there telling the gospel.
I wish I could do that. Don't we do that sometimes, Brevin? We say, I wish I was the one the Lord sent there to to preach the gospel or sow the seed and all the blessing. No, Paul said if, if, as long as the gospel is going forth and whatever instrument, whether it's whether it's with the right motive or wrong motive, the Word of God is living and powerful, it's not the vessel, it's not the presentation, it's not the motive. In the final analysis, fruit and blessing is going to be a result of the living Word of God going forth in one way or another.
He said, I'm very content. He rejoiced, Could I do that rather than could I rejoice? You know, it's like in Philippi when he was there as a prisoner, I think I would have been grumbling and saying, well, Lord, I thought I got a vision to come over here and help somebody. And my job is to preach the gospel and to reason with the Jews and the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And what good am I doing here? My feet fast in the stalks, my back bleeding. But that wasn't Paul's attitude. No, he knew that the word of God was going to go forth and there was going to be blessing.
And what was the testimony in the prison at that time? Why, the prisoners heard them. The jailkeeper got saved. There was an assembly, no doubt established, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. There was fruit and testimony because a servant of God was willing to accept his circumstances from the Lord and rejoice in it as a result. And here Paul, as I say, when he writes this, it has moral weight when he tells them he's content as a prisoner of the Romans.
Because the gospel is going forth, they believed it, they understood it because they had seen it manifested in his life. Well, brethren, it's a word to us all, isn't it? And you know, so often we can be jealous of what others are doing and what I can't do because of circumstances the Lord has placed me. But again, our testimony to others is our is often our joy in the Lord in our acceptance of what are difficult circumstances.
And this is a practical manifestation of Ephesian truth. You know, we can say, oh, I understand these great positions. I understand I'm in the heavenlies. But until these truths become more real to us than the way our back hurts in the morning or the bills that come in the mail when we get home from this conference, it's not a reality. But as the truth set forth, Romans clash and Ephesians become real to us.
This is the way they manifest themselves in our personal lives. We see this all through the book of Philippians. Not in the errors that Paul was correcting and a little disagreements in the assembly, but in Pauls life. Here's one that was willing to suffer anything so that the gospel would go out later. We see that nothing is important to him in chapter 3 except to know Christ. He doesn't care what it cost him. How much pain?
There's one thing he wanted to do was known, know the heavenly man to experience him in knowledge.
And experimental knowledge more deeply. He wanted to cry out for me to live as Christ. To die is gain. I would rather be in heaven, but for for your benefit, my benefit, I'd go straight to heaven right now. But for the benefit of the Saints, I'll suffer in this present evil world for your benefit.
You know these great positional truths. We can't exhort people into living this way. We can lay forth their responsibility, but it's only by a deep grass and a living reality of our union with the man in glory that these things can be expressed in our lives. We can set up a bunch of rules of do's and don'ts and try to produce them, and maybe outwardly look good for a while, but to produce them in our lives the way the apostle Paul did.
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Only comes through a living reality of being in Christ.
What were the false circumstances at the time?
I understand that he was under house arrest.
And what were the incidents?
Bread caused him to be there.
There were quite a few circumstances.
First of all, he insisted to go to Jerusalem and take a vow. He had a vow on him.
Had his head shaved.
And then he.
Caused the riot there, he got into jail.
And then he was examined by certain rulers there, and finally he appeared to Caesar.
And he was finally sent on that ship.
To Rome.
And that's quite a few circumstances there that happened to him.
And what we see there, they all went to the furtherance of the gospel because he was chained to a soldier there and a lot of people were visiting him, first of all, the Jews, and I'm sure I was too. And they all heard the gospel. That was his object was always to bring the gospel to people.
Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's really our object too, isn't it?
We are definitely into circumstances every day. I just got talked to a neighbor lady.
And I was able to.
Get into a conversation with her and she told me that.
What religion she had and she said, well, I'm Catholic, I'm Christian, and these were her circumstances and they made everything right.
Well, then we have the opportunity to tell what really.
Makes things right. What really her responsibilities to God isn't what really makes 1A Christian. So on. So we have opportunities every day, all the time, because we constantly are in certain circumstances.
I like what Don was mentioning about that, where it says the circumstances in which I am, we can just go back to that a minute. And I would say that every morning that you and I get up, if we ask God to help us to please Him in the circumstances in which we are that day, there would be unlimited opportunities for us to to speak a word in to our neighbors or to speak a word in season to those that are in difficulties or whatever. Yeah, you name it. But.
That is so important like we you're saying there that even with your neighbor, you've got a circumstance there that you can either pass by or you can take, you can accept it, you can make use of it. And I dare say it's speaking for myself most of the time I let it go by and it's to my shame. I remember 11 situation where I just about let a circumstance go by and and I was on my way home from work and I there was this old brother that was in our town that was a nice Christian. He used to show up at our.
Our Lord's evening meetings, he said that that was the highlight of the week for him was to come to our Bible readings. And so he was he, he'd had a heart attack and, and he was not well. And so I was on my way home on a Friday night and I went past his place and I said to myself, you know, I think I should turn around and go back and stop and see him because I know he'd had a visit from a man who was.
A a British Israelite and this would get him very upset. I know that. So I stopped in there and I spent.
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Two hours with them and we had a real nice conversation. We had reading and we had prayer together and the next morning I got a phone call and said this man had gone home to be with the Lord. Just like that. He got up in the morning and he healed over and I was the last one that had stopped to see him after that other man that had got him so upset and I was so thankful for taking advantage of that opportunity.
And you know, and I say we we can either pass it by or we can take advantage of it. And I say this to my shame that I don't do it so often.
It's natural to us to want to control.
Our own circumstances, it's just the way we are. We would like to be in control of the circumstance itself. But I think we have a lesson, a valuable lesson here. In the case of the apostle Paul, he did fail.
In Jerusalem, and it did bring upon him the circumstances in which he was when he wrote this letter.
But at the same time, God overruled it and put him or allowed him to be in those circumstances because God had an agenda too, and God's agenda was better than Paul's. And there were, as he says in the next verse, so that in my bonds, verse 13, Christ are manifest in the palace. Why was it manifested in the palace? Because of those circumstances.
I We know that Felix and Festus and the jailers and those who were responsible for his house address. We know from Romans chapter 16 that there were certain ones in the palace of Caesar who came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. Why?
Through the circumstances that God allowed Paul through his own wrong in a way doing to be in and so brethren, even when we fail, God overrules for good for our own blessing for our own training, learning, but also to accomplish what his purpose is in himself are I well remember and I was struck by it a brother once that I went to visit.
In a hospital, and he was there for a fairly extended period of time. And as I talked to the brother and as I was there at the hospital, I saw how many people in that hospital had the testimony of Jesus Christ presented to their souls. And in that sense it's as if God were saying to me, I put him in there. Now, did he choose to go there? No. He was there because he was sick. He had a fairly serious problem.
But in another sense of it, the Lord put him in there because the Lord had a work to do in that hospital with souls, and he put him into those circumstances and to accomplish that work and.
I want to add this one more comment about the circumstance. Your neighbor if you hope you don't.
Play the lottery. That's the first thing that came to my mind. But let's suppose you inherit $5 million from somebody and your neighbor hears it. They're going to say, wow, I could be happy, too.
But if you just lost everything and you're happy, your neighbor says, where's that come from?
One is a testimony to the power of God if you're happy in adverse circumstances.
And it for is works out to the furtherance of the purposes of God and blessing for souls often times.
Bless really beneficial circumstances that your neighbor can look at and say, sure, I could be happy too if I had your house, your car, your circumstances or whatever. Many times doesn't work. The Lord doesn't use it in the furtherance of His purposes. And so we can be thankful even when circumstances are not to our natural tendency or liking that God may have put those there because He has a greater purpose through us.
See in verse 14 how that that which fell out to the furtherance of the gospel was an encouragement to others too. And I was thinking of Jonathan and his armor bearer, you know, when they went up and while his father was sitting down there under the pomegranate tree with the 600 men and Jonathan was out to fight the Lords battle. And he and his armor bearer went up and they conquered that little piece of ground up there. And, and, and where were all the rest of the children of the, of the, of the Israelites other than those that were with the assault?
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Well, they're in the caves and they're hiding. They're under, they were under the the fear of the Philistine. But Jonathan and his armor bearer went up there and they won that little piece of land. And what did it do to other brothers? They came out and they supported.
That's a very good point.
Our behavior does influence other people.
And here in the case of the apostle Paul, what happened to him caused others to be brave and to say, well, the apostle Paul was in that circumstance and.
The way he set an example for us, we know that the Lord is in control and so they're made brave to go out with the gospel. The example encouraged them and strengthened them and they through that example, they, their whole life was influenced so that they instead of cowering back and and withdrawing, they were.
Emboldened to go out with the gospel.
So we need to remember that how we react to things influences others, the other side.
Too bad that it took Paul being a prisoner of the Romans to bring out these brethren boldly for the Lord. And I want to just make a practical comment and bring this down to our situation where we're at today because, you know, I guess we've all experienced it as we've seen perhaps older brothers taken, they're not able to get around like they used to. Brothers that we counted on as help in the ministry of the Word and the preaching of the gospel.
Or maybe even on the local assembly, a brother who's been a great help, maybe moves away through circumstances, maybe through some physical difficulties, not always at the meetings and able to help like he once was. Or maybe the Lord takes him home in death. And it often does exercise those who are younger and others, some who are not so young sometimes to step up and to fill in the ranks and to come out more boldly for for the Lord in that way, as far as the gospel or help to their brethren.
But, you know, it's too bad that sometimes it takes those circumstances. It took this circumstance to bring many out in Pauls day boldly. Now Paul rejoiced that if this was a fringe benefit of his being in prison again, he was very content and he rejoiced. But, you know, I just want to say, particularly perhaps to those who are younger, and I'm getting to a point in life where I can say this, that you know some of those who take responsibility in your local assembly.
Or in a situation like this, we're looking for the Lord to come today. But if the Lord doesn't come, they're not always going to be there or able to take the responsibility that they once did. And you know, Paul perhaps felt this even more near the end of his life as he realized he was going to become a martyr and lay down his life for his testimony. He wrote to Timothy and he encouraged Timothy to step up and to.
Timothy had taken hold of the truth, but now his desire was that Timothy would exercise his gift and pass on the truth to others and do the work of an evangelist and so on.
It's just like Paul Saint Timothy, you're not going to be able to live in my shadow forever.
Timothy, I'm not always going to be here to take the lead forever. The Lord is going to Take Me Home and you need to step up even before the Lord takes me home. You need to step up and take responsibility and come out and out for the Lord. And so as a result of Paul becoming a prisoner of the Romans and not able to travel and preach the gospel, many were encouraged by his spirit and attitude, and perhaps as they saw the need, the gap that it left.
As a result of His being put away in this by these circumstances, they boldly stepped out in this way. But I just want to encourage those who are younger particularly be exercised. God has given you something. He's given you gift and ability. Exercise it, stir it up. Of course, in accordance with the truth of God, it has to be done in a proper way and with discretion and realizing.
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Where you're at in your Christian life and where you are naturally to but be exercised to step up and come out boldly. And you know this was alluded to earlier, there are no shortage of opportunities. There are no shortage of opportunities to preach the gospel and be a testimony in whatever our circumstances are, whether our circumstances are a one mile radius or whether we have opportunity to travel the world wherever we are.
There's no shortage of opportunities. There may be a shortage of diligence on our part and I can only speak for myself on my part to avail myself of those opportunities. But you know, you don't have to get up in the morning and pray for opportunities as much as you need to get up and pray that you would be in such a state of soul and a watchful exercise to avail ourselves of the opportunities as they present themselves.
Again, Paul and Silas.
They were in a difficult circumstance in the 16th of Acts, but they availed themselves of the circumstance of the opportunity in the circumstance to be a testimony. They weren't grumbling and saying, well, these circumstances, what good are we? No, they availed themselves of the circumstance, the opportunity and the circumstance in which they found themselves and whatever circumstance, maybe it is in a hospital bed, maybe it is in our neighborhood, maybe it is at work, maybe it is in difficult circumstances, but use the opportunities in those circumstances.
And the Lord can turn it into joy in your soul fruit for His glory and blessing for others.
This can also work over a long time.
Just reminds me of a story my wife's sister told me in Germany.
There was like 20 or more years ago she worked in the woods planting trees and cleaning walkways and the like.
And there was a lot of work to do. So they apportioned to her helpers 6 people and they were from, I think they were from Vietnam.
And she used to talk to them people. She taught them first to count in German, and she taught them all the phrases that they need during the day. Of course, there's a lot of time they spent there. And then later on, she retired and these people, they went to school to learn German.
And while they, the teacher was teaching them there and the same things that she had taught him there, the teacher said, well, where did you learn those things? Oh, we were working with a lady there in the woods, and she told her all those things.
Well, they learned a lot and just in a very peculiar circumstances they learned. So we can see that we use the opportunities.
The work can work a long way and especially when we use them for the Lord.
And our verse about the brethren being influenced by our behavior.
And the way we react to things that included even their being beheaded them.
Crucified for the Lord. Almost all of the apostles were. And it influences people in this way if you don't really believe something, if you are really coming forth with something that's false.
And you are put on the line to give your life for what you're teaching and holding.
Do you think that has an effect on people when they see that what they're preaching, you are so sure of it and it's so real to you that you're willing to lay down your life?
In order to promote it if I were promoting some false.
Product and it was going to cost me my life, I'd get out of there and quickly get away from that danger. But if I really believe that the Lord Jesus is God, that he's a savior and that he died on the cross for my soul and he's my savior and my Lord and I go out and tell others about him.
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And even if they take my life because I'm doing it, that impresses them. They're greatly impressed.
I'm sure the Apostle Paul was impressed with.
They his are clothing of those of stone. Stephen to death, were put at his feet. He was greatly impressed by that behavior. Steven there and others were equally impressed with in a greater way, when they were willing to lay down their lives for what they were preaching.
There's more blood under Smyrna than there was elsewhere at other times, and that's the time of persecution. Thou shalt suffer persecution. 10 days. It says they're in Revelation. And so as I think it was mentioned in our the last address about Smyrna.
How that God allowed that to come in because the Saints had lost their first love and were going back into the world and so.
Circumstances that God allows causes the fruit for him. It's like the the flower, the smell of the flowers that come over the wall there and Song of Solomon chapter 4 I believe it is the north wind blows and it brings the the perfume of the of all the the flowers and the the spices over the walls.
So that others can smell it.
And it's not always the South wind blowing softly that brings fruit. It's the north wind put off.
Well, to remember, brethren, that sometimes circumstances are used of God to manifest what's in our hearts.
What was in the heart of the apostle Paul here is summarized as our time is about up. It summarized in verse 18, Christ is preached.
That was what was important to Paul. It wasn't himself. His circumstances were not centered on what makes me happy and good and comfortable and all the rest of it, but the circumstances as adverse as they were in his life as he evaluated them before God, he found that in which he was content and found joy in because Christ is preached. And that was what was the real heart of the motivation of fall.
Sometimes if we find it difficult to accept circumstances that have come into our life.
It's a good reason for us to stop and say to our own hearts before the Lord, what is my motivation? What is it that's frustrating me in these circumstances? Because we may find that it is something that's not, if I may use the expression on God's agenda, it's not that line on which He's working. And in fact, the circumstance is not a hindrance to Him. It's a hindrance to us and what we want and what we would like to see happen.
With respect to our own lives, But if that which is motivating us is truly of the Lord, then we may find in the Lord that which will give us peace in it, and joy even that He is something that He is doing for good.
Circumstances even in the life all because.
If I read this correctly, there was no fruit for God in Pauls life from the time he left Ephesus to the time he got back on that ship. On the way to Rome. He said he wanted to go to Rome and and the Lord said you're going to go to Rome, but you're going to go my way and so.
It was his determining determination to go to Jerusalem.
To keep that feast and I don't believe it was God's mind for him to do that, but he let him go and there was number fruit from that time to the time he got back to where he left off. And that should be a voice to us that we we are more.
Desires to wait on the Lord and to rush ahead on our own, with our own plans.
44.
God moves in our mysterious way. Yes, one character.
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On your eyes and everyone's hands and blood see and crystal on one sword.
I'm holding every hour.