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Praise Lord.
Let me begin.
The high glow and.
Philippians 3 and verse 3.
Chapter 3 verse 3 Where we are the circumcision which of God and the Spirit and the joy in Christ Jesus and no conscience in the blessing. So I might also have confidence in the flesh and the other man thinketh that he asked girl he might trust in the flesh I mourn.
The circumcised, the 8th day of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew, the Hebrews as touching the law of Pharisees concerning his deals, persecuting the Church, touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless. But what things were gained to me, those I common Law for Christ?
Yay, dollars. And I count all things but law for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but the arms that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the face of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith that I may know him.
The power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto His death, and by any means I might attain under the resurrection of the dead.
Not as though I had already attained either. We're already perfect. But I follow after that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus, rather than I come not myself to have apprehended.
But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind reaching forth, under those things which are before I press forward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Keith us. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. There have been anything you'd be otherwise minded. God shall reveal even this unto you nevertheless.
00:05:20
Where do we have already attained? Let's walk by the same rule. Let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk. So she have us born in sample, or many walk, whom I told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemy, the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is rebellion, whose glory is in their shame.
Mind earthly things, for our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
There was much said this morning.
About worshipping on the Lord's Day.
And there's a meaning for breaking bread is indicated.
Fine. But that's not the only time or place that we can worship, is it?
Bob brought the force continually offering the sacrifice of praising God continually. Hebrews 13.
Maybe we could have some ministry as to individual worship and collective worship.
You're qualified? Well, I'll just suggest a place, because I've heard brethren here make it more clear than myself in the last chapter of Matthew.
I think we have individuals coming, prostrating themselves.
At his feet and Matthew 28.
And verse 9.
As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying.
All hate and they paint and held him by the feet, and worship him.
The Lord says, Jesus said to them, Be not afraid, Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me and come on down.
In the 16th verse.
Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them, and when they saw him, they worshipped him. I suggest this is collective worship at a place of his appointment somebody enlarged on those things.
Well, individually we see a nice example with Mary of Bethany, because it was read to us this morning. I believe in the prayer meeting that when the Lord Jesus came to that home in Bethany, perhaps for the first time in His pathway, we find that Mary was at his feet as a learner, she was there, occupied with the person of Christ and listening to His word. Then in the 11Th chapter of John is the next time she's mentioned by name, and we find her there, that she's at his feet again.
There she is at his feet and her sorrow and grief concerning the death of her brother. But it's interesting that the 12Th chapter of John, where she's mentioned again as the Lord Jesus, comes to that home for the last time before he goes to the cross, we find that it's true Lazarus sat at me. It's true Martha served. But what was married? She was a worshipper. She came with a heart overflowing with an appreciation of the person of Christ. And why is it that she came with that response of heart and poured out that costly ointment? Well, I suggest Brett. And it was because she was occupied with the person of Christ.
As he walked here in this world, and it was said this morning, But I think it bears repeating that there's only one way to be a true worshipper. There's only one way to have a true response in our hearts and on our lips. And that's to be occupied with the person and work of Christ. And the more we're occupied with that, and the little deeper that we enter into His person and work from day-to-day and what it means to God the Father, then like Mary, they'll they'll be a response. It's not that we try to generate a response of worship and praise within ourselves.
00:10:25
David said all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee. He also said in the 40th song he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praised to our God. So this morning we had it applied in connection with collective worship which our brother has brought out. But I think of that verse in Ephesians, in Colossians it says admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs that perhaps collectively, but I've appreciated how in Ephesians it says speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns.
And spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord. And having you experienced this, maybe sometime you wake up in the night and there's some real burden and trial. Something that you're just concerned about. And you, just the Lord by the Spirit, brought up the verse of a hymn to your mind. And you went over that hymn and you so enjoyed it. Didn't that give you a lift? So we can speak to ourselves in hymns and psalms and spiritual songs I appreciate sometimes when I'm visiting in a home.
And I hear the sister out in the kitchen peeling the vegetables, and she's just quietly to herself going over the words of some hymn. There's one whose heart is full of praise and worship, one who's speaking to herself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And we need this brethren. And if you just allow me to encourage, again, the young people here and the children learn these hymns, go over them and memorize them, because I believe that the Lord can bring them back to us.
At a time when they will be useful and applied in the power of the Spirit, we ought to be thankful for the good scriptural hymns that we have as many hymns that are sung as Christian hymns or psalms, But they often don't have the depth of spiritual truth that we have in these beautiful hymns that were written many years ago. It's not that we build doctrines on hymns, but I believe rather than we have hymns that are built on doctrine, they're descriptional hymns and I believe that the Lord can use them.
And we need to have that praise and Thanksgiving in our hearts as we go through the circumstances of life, whether it's in the home, whether it's at school, whether it's at work, wherever we are. Not to become burdened and overcome with the difficulties and problems, but be in the enjoyment of Christ. That there might be that sacrifice of praise to God, not just for one hour on Lord's Day, but continually. And brethren, I say again, too, in the family circle, I'm encouraged when I visit in a home.
And there's not only a family reading and a family prayer time, but one of these precious hymn books comes out.
And there's a time of singing and rejoicing around the table or around the living room. I believe it's sweet music to the ear of God.
In John 12 That you mentioned Jim.
It's not recorded that, Mary said.
One solitary word, but everyone in that place knew what Mary was doing because of her breaking that ointment.
And anointing the Lord Jesus. And I would like to say that.
Worship is more the sense of appreciation of the grandeur and the glories of His person. Somebody has said we worship God for who He is. We praise Him for what He has done. I don't say that praise is necessarily limited. We can praise him too for who He is. But there's both aspects. It's the glories of His person that gives value to his work.
Sometimes when I kneel down in my private prayer, I think just we just launch into asking the Lord so many things in our lives. But do you stop once in a while just to revel in the grandeur and the glory of our God? Think of the universe that he made. Necessarily, our God is greater than the whole universe.
What a great God we have. If the glory of His person would fill our souls more brethren, we would doubt less sense to His ability to perform the simple little tiny requests that we lay at His feet. Only the Lord help us to understand more of who He is, having to say this, that Judaism God was manifesting what man is.
00:15:15
And man failed.
Utterly. And then, when that test was over, God in effect said.
The task for man is over. Man failed. Now I'm going to show you who I am, and that's what we have in Christianity. And we have hymns. You'll notice Hymn 150 speaks very little of the work of Christ. It speaks almost entirely of the person of Christ. And yet you don't have hardly, in the hymn book, a more exalted hymn than that. 150 And there's a lot of hymns that are worship hymns.
That speak of the glories of His person, it's not what we are, brethren, in this time, it's what He is. That's what God is showing to us. And the more we can exalt Christ, the more souls are going to be attracted to the glory of this great God and Savior that we have learned to know in our feeble nation.
Go ahead. We worship him for who he is, as demonstrated in the second chapter of Matthew.
You might just notice that.
It identifies these people.
In the first verse of Matthew 2 There came wise men from the east to go on down verse 11. And when they were come into the house I should notice what they were asking. Where is he that is born king of the Jews? They came into the house verse 11. Again they saw the young child with Mary his mother.
And fell down and worship him. Now these were individuals, wise men from the east.
They found Jesus, they came and worshiped Him, and they poured out, they opened their treasures. They presented unto him gifts, gold, frank incense, and murder, definitely worshipping him for who he is. So we worship God for who he is, and we praise him at the same time.
Hearts are touched, we can't help it. And you find Paul touched to open his mouth and praise.
Twice in Romans chapter nine, I think it is.
Because of his mercies collectively to the people of Israel.
The woman's 11 it is.
Now this is what will bring forth praise when we come to worship him, when we realize the mercies of God toward us, collectively or individually. And here it's collective in Romans 11.
Verse 32 God hath concluded them all, you and Gentile, and unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. Oh the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways fast finding out.
For who have known the mind of the Lord, or who have been his counselor?
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again. Now he has to break out and praise for all of him, and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Now if we go to Timothy, we find that he breaks out and prays again for the mercy of God in a personal sense.
And this suggests these things to show what will spread our hearts to better be ready to face and worship when we come before him.
In First Timothy.
And the first chapter.
And the.
16th verse all talking about himself, albeit for this 'cause I obtained mercy, person, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe. When he thinks about the mercy of God toward him, what would he do? He breaks out and prays now under the king eternals, immortal, invisible, The only wise God be honored and glory forever and ever.
00:20:15
This produces out of our hearts praise when we think of the mercy of God collectively toward the masses or individually toward us.
And suits us for coming into His presence when we worship Him, to offer something to Him like those wise men that came from the East.
No wonder we could see three different characters in Ephesians 5 and verse 19.
Speaking to yourselves and psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. As it's been said, we worship God for who he is, we thank him for what he has done. And so here I believe this verse shows us and if you notice in the beginning of our hymn book, it says some hymns and spiritual songs and I believe the hymns are ones that are addressed directly to deity.
Praising God for who He is. But like has been mentioned, thou art the everlasting words, and we have different hymns that are addressed directly to the Lord. Some of them are spiritual songs. They bring before us our blessings. What we have in Him, our shepherd, is the Lord, the living Lord who died. That's learning what we have in Him. We thank Him for what he has done. But I think these, the Psalms, have more to do with practical things in life. So we.
Thank the Lord, and we sing how He guides us along the pathway of life. Our shepherd is the Lord, the living Lord who died. That's a practical one. That's a Psalm.
And so we can indeed worship him individually. We find, as it's a remark, many instances the blind man. When his eyes were opened in the 9th of John, he fell down and worshipped him. He recognized who he was. The Lord said, Dost thou believe in the Son of God? Said, Lord, I believe, And he worshipped him. The Lord said, when speaking to Satan in the temptation. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
And perhaps the reason we associate it most with the remembrance of the Lord, is because if it is precious to our hearts that He's there in the midst, we're not just thanking him for that glorious work of Calvary and remembering him and his death, but there's a person there in our midst. As our brother remarked over and over again, when they saw him, they worshipped him.
Whenever he was before their view, then they thought, who is this person?
Not just what he has done, but that's the creator of the universe. That's the one who upholds all things by the word of his power.
That's the one who is only worthy of praise, of worship.
So I believe that worship, as it's already been remarked and just repeated again, is because of who he is. So we don't worship man. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. But I thank many people for what they've done for me. And we thank the Lord, this glorious person whom we worship. We thank Him for what He has done for us by his work on the cross. He has a put away our sins and His precious blood.
He's born all of judgment that we deserve, so we thank him for that and then we go through the experiences of life, how he helps us.
In so many different things in our Christian life. And so I think the reason that we connect worship more particularly with Lord's day mourning is because.
If it's really precious to our hearts that He's there in the midst, we're not just thanking him for what he's done, but there's a person there, and that person is the Lord of glory. He says, we have in Isaiah. It says unto us a child is born and then it says His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace. That's the one when we worship and it comes specially before our hearts on Lord's Day Morning. But.
As it's been pointed out, there are many occasions where.
We feel we just are in the Lord's presence and we're occupied with Him, that glorious person, the Creator of the universe, the one who upholds all things. By the word of His power. He's the one who's become our Savior and our Lord.
I'd like to suggest one more thing. On the first part of this third verse we talked about that a little bit. See, we are the circumcision. I thought it might be a kind of a mark, but put upon a certain group of people that come into this place of being called the circumcision because of the rest of the verse.
00:25:06
Circumcision for the Jew, was a mark in the place that identified him as not a Gentile.
Now the mark I would suggest that puts us, if we fall in this class, is what we have in John 17. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Now that's like a mark upon you and I. If we have the truth and walk upon it and are known by the truth, it becomes like a mark. There are people that are set apart for God and set apart to worship Him.
And to praise him the highest calling that anybody can have while we're down here on the earth.
Today on Lord's Day, we do have that collective worship which speaks of the one body and the Spirit according to truth. And that's what he had in John. Four in mind, I believe.
There's only one only one time is the Lord's Supper mentioned. Only one time is the Lord's Table mentioned. Only one time is the Lord's Day mentioned because he wasn't going to give occasion.
For man's mind to start wrestling with comparing, there are two important the Lords Day, the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Table is too important, and if it isn't according to the truth, and that would be by the spirit of God in assembly, it's not worship. It isn't true worship, and it has to be that way. And God is not accepting it. He won't accept it unless it's that way.
We must remember there is now, today since the Spirit of God in Pentecost a way to worship and we should cherish it. You know, I won't go through it, It's 15th chapter of First Samuel, but.
Saul worship but he worshipped not according to the truth. He took what he should have destroyed and offered it as sacrifice and Samuel says.
Thou hast rejected the word of God. God has rejected you. So we have to be very careful when we. I know there's individual times we exalt God and we worship in that sense. But as we go around and visit, I know all the brothers who have this experience to get down to one brother like Fred Tansley and he worshiped, but he has the lope and the cup and he sits there.
He's a godly brother when you come, he says, Brother, I remember the Lord every Lord's day, but when someone comes, I break bread. I really feel it's worship according to true worship according to the Lord. And I don't know it. It's just wonderful that the sisters in places do that and they have a sense that they can go right up to the point. But they would be not according to the word of God if they broke that bread. And and there's everything has to be that way according to truth. That's what he meant.
By the Spirit and truth. In truth. And that's true worship. It's so precious to me. And that's our verse.
Let's see.
Where is it? Oh, we worship God by the Spirit. That's the thought by the Spirit.
Then of course, rejoice in Christ Jesus because there's no worship without him.
Yes, I like that's the new translation you quoted. We worship God by the Spirit, not just in the Spirit, but by the Spirit of God. In contrast with the Judaistic worship, where they worship by musical instruments and the choirs and things like this, we worship by the Spirit of God.
And we want to make it very clear so the young people and all of us do not misunderstand the we is Christians.
All save people, all who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. It isn't us as a company, it's all the Saints wherever they are. This is what he's talking about when he says we in contrast with with Judaism, we are the circumcision and we worship by the spirit of God.
And let's not make the mistake of appropriating that to ourselves as a company, to the exclusion of other Christians. That would be a mistake. It is our privilege to realize this as we collectively need. Sad to say, so few other Christians meet collectively to put this into practice. As we have experienced and enjoy it. Lord's Day Morning and There's nothing like collective worship.
00:30:21
We've talked a lot about individual worship, but collective worship when we're together around the Lord himself, as we will be in the morning.
Is, you might say, the highest form of worship, where the heart of one brother will praise him and a hymn will be given out and it'll awaken thoughts in another heart. And he'll receive praise after praise and worship and worship from the different hearts as the Spirit of God moves upon the whole assembly that is congregated there with one unanimous praise and adoration and worship to him who was worthy. There's nothing like that. The collective side of it, we don't minimize the individual side.
But there's nothing so precious as we experience Lawrence Day one. Isn't that so? And the theme is often, and perhaps always differs every Lord's Day. But the subject never changes. The subject is the person of the Christ. But the theme is what's so exciting, isn't it? The Spirit of God does that. And brethren, let really be aware of these things. It's the Spirit of God taking those envelopes that are before us.
And those emblems are really everything and friggin Christ to our hearts. And that's the bread. The Father wants my bread and it goes up and he's satisfied.
Is there not a distinction? I don't want to press this point, but they're not a distinction between doing homage and worship. In that verse that was quoted about the blind man, Mr. Darby translation changes that from worship to get him homage. Now, I had always understood that that was an individual thing, whereas worship is collective.
All the examples until Pentecost that we had were before the Spirit of God was indwelling so the body could express itself in worship and individuals, Of course. Did. God wanted his Son worshipped in that sense when at the very beginning. That's why those three wise men were brought there to worship. Particularly God wanted them to worship, He wanted his sons, his son exalted and God has his way. But now we're present truth. We're in Christianity.
Where we have it right before us, always the oneness. If we look to the Lord according to His word, we're going to have true worship. I think we need to recognize too, rather than the truth that the Spirit of God inhabits the house and wherever he sees, he sees fit to occupy souls with Christ. It's going to produce worship, not merely amongst those gathered to the Lord's name. It's going to produce worship, and we need to recognize.
That many souls, perhaps not with the knowledge of the place of his appointment, God produces worship in their hearts as well, and we need to recognize that as well.
Why does it say some doubted than Matthew 28? They worshiped him but some doubt?
I always just thought it was to show it wasn't the perfect company, because we expect to find the perfect company. We never will. And here at this company, right in the place, if there ever was assurance that they were in the place the Lord had appointed, it was there. It was the mountain where Jesus had appointed, and they saw him. He was visibly there in their midst, but still there were some that didn't rise to the privilege they doubted. So we mustn't expect the perfect company. But we're there because the Lord is there. Or at least should be.
I think.
It's rather dangerous, I hear a number saying in the last few years. Well, I worship the Lord individually.
I've taken the Lord's table with me.
Such expressions and I think it's very disturbing and dangerous.
The Lord doesn't appoint it that way. The Lord does not appoint it that way. That it's an individual, you know, and it's on a mountaintop. It's a pinnacle where the Lord is present and we lose the joy if we doubt. Faith gets the victory and the joy out of it.
00:35:02
Perhaps we can also read in John's Gospel chapter 4.
While the speaking to the woman in Samaria is not the subject of worship with her, he says to her in John 4.
Says to him, verse 20, Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her woman, to believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain or yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father he worshipped. He know not what we know what we worship, or salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him God is the Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Just as much that can be said. But there's two comments about it. The 1St is that God.
In the end of verse 23 the Father seeketh son.
To worship him, there's not only the thought of the worship itself, but the Father is seeking the worshiper, and he is seeking those that will worship him according to spirit and truth, according to the character of what he is. But the other comment, and I just want to leave a little emphasis on it, we worship the Father as well as our Lord Jesus Christ. As has already been said, it's wrong to worship a man.
Man should never be worshipped. We honor men according to the position that God has given them, we honor those in authority, and so on. But only God is to be worshipped, and we ought to remember in our thoughts and in our hearts. When our hearts are filled with Christ overflowing, we worship Him. But also we need to be careful not to neglect, as it says in every reference here.
Gets the Father that is worshipped as well and is brought before us. Particularly in this chapter is the object of worship and we need to remember that unless we not as it were, honor our Father and having our object himself as well.
There's also this be remembered as it's been said we worshiped by the spirit. There is neither precept nor example where the spirit is working.
Now Paul in the third verse here was emphasizing the spirit we worship by the spirit, and in the fourth verse he shows the other side which which not only quenches the spirit, but it grieves the spirit. And it doesn't let the spirit have liberty, though I might also have confidence in the place. If any other man thinketh he might wherever he might trust in the flesh. I'm more now Paul's talking about religious flesh.
Not talking about the evil wicked flesh because Paul's boasting here, he's not really boasting. He said he could. It's religious flesh, and religious flesh is contrary to the spirit.
Always. And that's the point he's going to bring out. He had everything to boast in, in religion, everything. But it was not according to the mind of God the Father. That's it.
What was a Hebrew of the Hebrews?
Suggest or bring before us.
Well, I believe he was looked up to, wasn't he, by all the Hebrews, I believe he was paramount. He had letters right from the high priest. He was one who they could trust and have faith in that he would capture Christians and bring them to be put to death. He was really working.
00:40:03
Maybe that's not the thought, but that's what I thought it meant. What did you think? Hebrew of the Hebrews?
Believer we know is the father of Abraham, and it's just the fact that God had called that particular.
Supposed that particular people. And so the son of Abraham, the son of Abraham was Abraham. Paul had all those things behind him that he could have naturally bolstered him, but they were just nothing when it compared with knowing Christ. I think it's really the old order of things that God had established, because Judaism was really a religion for man in the flesh. It was, as it's already been remarked in these meetings, everything set up.
Would find music, make people worshippers.
Grand buildings make people. Worshippers would, knowing that they belong to a special nation, make them. Worshippers know they could have all that which Paul did, and his zeal led him to persecute the church. So all that might be given to a man in the flesh, a natural man, will never never make him a worshiper. The flesh at its best estate is altogether vanity, and I just thought of it that that God had called him. Notice how the soul spoke of the people of God as Hebrews.
He despised them. He looked at them as to what they were in nature, and they were descendants of Ebert. But faith saw them as the Israel of God, because God changed the name of Jacob to Israel, a Prince with God.
Beautiful.
So a Jew I fulfill all the other requirements of the law. He could be circumcised. The 8th day of the stock of Israel wasn't a proselyte. He belonged to the nation. The tribe of Benjamin was the one faithful tribe. When the division took place in Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was the only one that stayed with the tribe of Judah, and God sent her in Jerusalem. And so he could have a boast in that too, and that God had favored him.
Brought him into blessing out of the son of Eber, and then we might say he was touching the law, a Pharisee. And that is, there were Pharisees and there were Sadducees. The Sadducees denied the resurrection, but the Pharisees were sound. As far as the faith was concerned. They were hypocritical, but they were sound in the faith. We could be sound in the faith and not be a believer at all, not be a true worshiper. So there was everything he could have posted in But where did all this zeal read him?
To persecute what was dearest to the heart of Christ, and all this knowledge and a person could be very, very religious.
Use all that energy in the wrong direction. That's what Paul was. And thus he met that blessed one. The Lord Jesus meant everything was changed. His whole sense of values, his knowledge of what worship is, everything was changed when he met the Lord Jesus. The glory of that light shot into his soul. All of these things that he lists here are would be to his credit as a Jew. Persecuting the Church was to his credit as a Jew because he was trying to snuff out the despised new religion of the Nazarene.
He's not listening his sins here. He says elsewhere that because he did that he was the chief of sinners. But here he's listening. He says what things were gaining to me, he is. He's looking at his own righteousness. Keeping the law kept it blamelessly, outwardly.
He kept all the ordinances he didn't eat.
Impure meat and so on. He he followed it, and and these are all things to his credit. He's not contrasting. He's not contrasting the righteousness which he has now in Christ with his sins, but with his righteousness that he had under the law. He's contrasting what he's got now in Christ with what was again to him before he was a Christian. And he says, I'm willing to to lay all that aside and to count it, but done that I might have Christ as my my gain and my righteousness.
So he's not looking at his sins here and how evil he was that the Sinner in what he did, but he's looking at what was to his credit as a man in the flesh, a religious man, a Jew in the flesh. And he was hardly eclipsed by anyone. And now he's found something, someone rather in the person of Christ that so eclipses all that was a gain to him in Judaism that he counts it but loss and and dumb that he might have Christ as his gain. And that's the contrast that he hasn't flipped into three years.
00:45:11
And it's so beautiful to see that when he speaks of himself as a believer now in Christ, in contrast to Judaism and the chief of sinners.
What a low place to take everything. A high place takes a low place, and it's a question of Christ.
It's interesting that he takes the place of chief of sinners as to religious flesh. It's interesting that it was a religious aspect that he felt the worst as far to himself. And I think it brings out a principle because when he wrote to the Corinthians who had a lot of.
Sinful flesh and morality and and choosing sides and having the vision and hatred.
And.
Intoxication. That the Lord, I could go on. That's not the religious life so much.
Let's just flex. Paul could commend them over and over again as he brought through to exercise their souls.
Galatians, he couldn't commence one thing because we have now religion coming in, man working in order to keep himself.
As both increases of the day think you have to do and he said, I'm afraid of you, cannot commend you at all. And so there's a real difference, brethren. The flesh, if it gets in action, can be taken care of and the man restored.
And they can be taken care of and breaking of bread done properly and all that. But when it's doctrinal religious, it can't be corrected, It has to be excised out. And let's remember that the principle is very strong. Paul could consider him chief of sinners because he went against Christ and his people.
Considering Saul of Tarsus, he would be, you might say, the epitome of an example for the world to glory in.
He was He was a religious man, and he followed it to the utmost of his of his being. He gave his everything to it, and he lived for what he believed, the Lord says in John 16. The time cometh when he that killeth, you will think that he doeth God's service.
Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing God's service and he did it, he says. I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. He did not do that against the bad conscience. He thought he was serving God. Now he is found Christ.
On the road to Damascus, that light from heaven shone into his soul. Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus.
Will thou persecute us, and that eclipse everything that he had had?
That he wants gloried in as a man in the flesh, religious man in the flesh. And as he says here he says I for whom I have verse eight. Yeah, topless. I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, that is so precious, my Lord, he says, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. I don't think anyone of us in this room today can say that. Certainly I can't say I've suffered the loss of all things. Family, friends, everyone. He did.
He was cut off from all his acquaintances and all his friends, because he stepped over the line, took sides with those that the Jews hated, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, or have Christ as my game. He had found out another object, his very light, his very righteousness, this Christ, and he had found that eclipse the highest honors that he could receive as a as a Jew.
And he was willing to set that all aside in favor of Christ. It's comparative here, isn't it? It's what he had before and what he has now. And there's loss, and there's gain.
Verse 7 is past tense things that were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ now over the course of time.
00:50:00
Did Paul repent of what cost him the loss of everything?
Verse eight. Yeah, doubtless. And I count there was not a doubt in his mind that he had done the right thing. I count all things but lost for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. My Lord, you could ask Paul, didn't you know Christ that time you came to know him on the way to Damascus?
Yes, but I want to know him and know him more. Oh brethren and dear young people and especially, I think it's so important to get the objective character of Christianity. It places an object before our souls, and our souls are drawn after that. It's not a system of rules and regulations in Christianity. It's an object that's set before us, priceless objects.
God's beloved Son and our souls drawn after that sometimes, and there is certainly place for it. Exhortation about worldliness. They sometimes say that if there's worldliness in my heart, you can look at me and say there's a person who is not enjoying the object that God has for us.
And that's what we long for more than anything is that you, dear young people would see in us who are older that we found something that is worth the whole world, worth losing it all. And if you get that before you, then those other things will drop off.
Paul says now about those things that were before gain to him, what are they like done?
Is it hard to get rid of Duncan? I don't think so. I think when we get the person of Christ before us, it will be evident where everything else belongs. Certainly not in our homes, certainly not in our lives. It's to get it as far away as possible, Anything that takes us away from the knowledge of Christ Jesus by our Lord.
Paul says, my Lord, But I just like to emphasize that the importance of seeing the objective character of Christianity, that's what Christianity is. It's not a set of rules and regulations. Sometimes I say to the brethren in South America, if you have a.
Hungry dog that has a bone and you go up to that dog and try to get that that bone away from him. He wrestles and he tries to keep that bone. Let's try a different tactic. Let's take a piece of juicy meat and throw it down in front of that dog. Is he going to let go of the bone now? Immediately he lets go. Why did he let go of that bone so fast?
Is He has something so supremely better. And if you and I can see that we have in Christ something so far beyond anything that this world has, we're not going to have to stand up here and exhort very much about worldliness. We won't be able to stop you in your pursuit of Christ, just as the apostle Paul pursuit. That's why Paul, writing to the Hebrews brought out something better, something better.
He was helping them to give up what they had in their hearts and put Christ in their hearts.
No matter what it was that they had, he had something better, so much higher than angels, so much greater than the priest. He was the priest. Like after the order of Melchizedek, everything was Christ, something better than that old order. And that's what you had in mind. You know, if we have an object that touches our heart, it's not giving up anything which is a no longer concern with it. We have no more concern with it. And it's not that you give up everything in that sense.
You begin to realize it all belongs to the Lord. You begin to use whatever you got for him. And that's the thought. He is everything. You don't have to sell your house. You'll use it for him. That's the thought. You begin to realize It's all of him, Paul said. By the grace of God, I am.
That's simple, isn't it? You see it too with the Thessalonians believers, because we've been talking about the contrast between Judaism and Christianity. But there were believers who were saved out of heaven, them. And if I had been writing that verse concerning the Thessalonian believers, I probably would have written it something like this. They turned from idols to God, but that's not what it says. They turn to God from idols to serve the living and prove God and to wait for his Son from heaven, those idols that they had been used to worshipping in heathendom.
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No longer had an appeal. Why was it that they tried to get rid of them and that it was a hard thing? Oh no, they found what they had in Christianity was so much greater. When they turned to God and came into the knowledge of salvation, they found that what they had had didn't compare at all with those idols.
I'd like to say too, in connection with the life of the apostle Paul, as a believer, we've been Speaking of him, counting all things for but lost. And when you turn to 2nd Corinthians 11, we don't have time. But I just challenge you to read it, because in the last part of that chapter you find a list of things that Paul suffered in the path of faith and service for Christ. And again, as our brother's been saying, it's a list of things that I have never been called on to pass through in the path of faith and service for Christ.
And it's a tremendous list of things. Thinking another place, too, he said. In every city, bonds and afflictions sometimes wondered, If I knew and coming to Lawrenceville this weekend, there were going to be bonds and afflictions, would I come? You'd want to be pretty sure you had the Lord's mind and coming to Lawrenceville. But Paul said in every city, and you read that list of things that he suffered not just on occasions, but day in and day out and year after year. And you say, how could the apostle go on and serve the Lord and his brother with all those things seemingly against him? The very next chapter gives us the answer.
In the 12Th chapter he tells of that experience when he was caught up to the 3rd heaven and he saw a risen, glorified Christ at the right hand of God. And I can read brother, that's what preserved him. He had Christ before him, He'd seen him there, risen and glorified and seated at the right hand of God and brother. Well, we've never been caught up to the 3rd heaven, the dwelling place of God. Like the Apostle Paul, I believe that the book of Hebrews opens to us the heavens, so that by faith we can look up and be.
Occupied with him. It's why four times in that blessing.
Jesus is brought before us as seated at the right hand of God. He opens the heavens so that we can look up and be occupied with that man. Because faith always needs an object. All those who live by faith in the 11Th of Hebrews and they all had an object. We think of Moses who gave up the glory of this world and the throne of Egypt perhaps. How could he do it while he esteemed the riches of Christ a greater than all the treasures of of Egypt?
He had an object. Abraham looked for a city who had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. But I would just say this, that I believe there's only one way to be a true disciple and only one way to follow Christ in the path of faith here. And that's not only to have an object, but to have an object that attracts our hearts and to have only one object. Because I believe, brother, where our heart is, then our feet will follow. Why is it that sometimes I don't follow in the way I ought to? It's because my heart isn't fully attracted to Christ.
But I believe when the heart is fully attracted to that one and occupied with that lovely man in the glory, then I believe that our feet are going to follow. And it will take care of all the other things. It will take care of the worldliness that we've mentioned. It'll take care of those things that we once thought were.
Dear to us, those goals, the things that we had aspirations down here, it'll put all that in its proper place. If we have that one object and our heart attractive to that one object, and I say again, that's a risen man in the glory.
It's like a it's like a a general that has been awarded by the president the highest honor and his uniform is just laden with these prestigious metals that he has won and gained and the trophies that he's won in his service for the country. And he gets saved and they go into this room where all his trophies are and all his medals are.
And someone says to him, what are you going to do with them? And he says burn, though they have no value to me. That's what Paul is saying in Philippians 3.
In India that heathen land and they really have the idols and.
Among the not so much the Muslims, but the Hindus. When they take the gospel to a village and if a family, even especially the head of the family, the father. But sometimes it reaches both. If they really turn to Christ and get saved, it isn't very long. I don't think we're in a day That idol goes out the back into the yard and lays there.
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It lays there. They just got rid of it and they want that testable. And you know when you go back with Israel to that same house, they have a crowd gathered around on the porch. They want that gospel preached to those Hindus, The crowd. It is wonderful, isn't it? But that testimony is they gave up what the Hindus so cherish the idol. It's out there in the backyard.
Have to 1St discover that he was lost in.
Goodness. If God leads to repentance, the light shone from heaven upon him. He was saved right there.
But a man captured his heart. After all that effort to serve God, a man captured his life, and Judaism was a God-given religion. And so when Paul saw the emptiness of all this, that was proper for them as a godly Israelite.
But when he looked upon it as having a righteousness that he could offer to God that he saw, it was only filthy rags. Just like we read in Isaiah, all our righteousnesses are as filthy Ray, and so here we might apply it. Here's a child brought up in the meeting, comes to all the meetings, reads his Bible and everything. But if he has never met the Lord Jesus, if he doesn't know him as his Savior, all that is not going to come for anything as far as fitting him for heaven or pleasing the Lord.
He's got to do like Paul Saul of Tarsus on the road to Emmaus. He's got to meet the Lord on the road to Damascus. Rather, he's got to meet the Lord. So these things we're talking about in the beginning of this chapter were not wrong things in themselves except persecuting the church, but otherwise all those outward things. They were what a godly Jew could value, but when they were accepted as a ground of righteousness before God.
They were only filthy rags. All our righteousnesses, not all our sins, but all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. So you meet people religious in this world. They have to come to the end and see that all a lot of things that they were gloring and may not be wrong in themselves, but they will not provide a righteousness before God. Their only filthy rags, if they're presented as a righteousness before God. Well, I say that because there are things that our brother's been talking about.
Vile things and everything that those idols glowed in the back, because they were idols. But here was a man that had things, shall I say, in a right way. But he was glorying in these things as though they provided A righteousness before God. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
How beautiful and simple and sweet.
The two words that Paul says.
Win Christ.
May each one of us go from these meetings, have that those two words before us.
That I may win Christ. It's not salvation. So know that blessed One in all its beauty and loveliness, which will one of these days burst into our sight when we see His blessed face.
The wind Christ may be the desire of our heart.
This is not a competitive race.
It's an endurance.
And every believer is going to win Christ.
That Paul was anxious to get there because of who was there now. Our hearts ought to be like that here. My heart and my life dried up for the living if our hearts attracted to the gold before the silver, and we're looking to be there at any moment.
It will give us strength to go on through the wilderness journey until we're called out of it.
The difference between the word apprehend and comprehend is embraced in the same thought.
Comprehend is the circumference to have all apprehended to come up to, and that is what he is Speaking of here to win Christ.
It's an unattainable object, surpassing all that the human mind could ever conceive.
01:05:04
When Christ notice in verse 10 that I may know him the power of his resurrection, Notice the fellowship of his suffering. It's an interesting thing to put in there the fellowship by suffering, and if you look at it at Acts Chapter 9, you'll see what the Lord told Ananias verse 14.
Well, verse 15 the Lord said unto Ananias, Go thy way, For he is a chosen vessel unto me to hear my name, to bear my name before the Gentiles and teens, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must do. He must suffer for my name great things.
Paul lets us from my head and brethren, this is not raining tonight.
This is a privileged time to suffer for Christ. We can never suffer as Christ, but we can suffer for Christ in this world. That's why we're here. That's the light. That's the testimony. That's it. And that's Paul. How great things he must suffer for my name.
The fellowship of his sufferings.
Is balanced, I might say, by Philippians 21 having the fellowship of the Spirit. What a wonderful probation for us. For Paul, the fellowship of his sufferings. We all of us get some of it, but all the time we can be in the fellowship of history by walking.
According to the Spirit, the 12 sins, this little expression in verse 10 that I may know him, I think we ought not to pass over. Just let me connect it with a verse in Hosea. I think it's the 6th chapter of Hosea.
Hosea, chapter 6 and verse 3. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord? I like this little expression because it's Paul's desire was not just that he would know about Christ, but that he would know Christ. There might be many children and young people here this afternoon, and if I were to talk to you, you could tell me many things about the Lord Jesus. You could quote verses of Scripture that bring before us the person and work of Christ. You know a lot about him.
You've heard those things from your parents and the family reading. You've heard them in Sunday school and in the assembly meetings. But do you know him? It's not just to know about him, but to know him. I read something of some of the royal family in Britain and I might feel that I know something about those people, but I don't know them personally. I believe there's a difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone personally. I've never met Queen Elizabeth or any of the royal family.
And not only so, but even if I had a desire to, they wouldn't be much interested in getting to know me and they wouldn't be interested in giving me an audience with them. But here's one Brethren. And we cannot only know about him. He's told us many things about him. Wonderful things. Some of these things we've had in these meetings, but rather it's our desire to know him. I believe there's only one way to know someone, and that is to walk with that person personally. You can read a lot of things about a person, but then you walk with that person, You become that person's friend and you spend time with them. You say, I know thought I knew a lot about them, but I really didn't know the person. Before I got married. I thought I knew a lot about the one who was to become my wife.
But as we've lived together now for 11 years, I didn't know anything about her at all. I've come to know not just about her, but I've come to know her. Brethren, we have this blessed opportunity and privilege while here in this world of walking in communion with himself. And I say that's the only way young people, that you're going to know him, and that is to walk in the power of the Spirit and to walk in communion with himself. Then and only then will you know not just about him, but you'll know him personally. This was the whole desire of the life of the apostle Paul.
The Lord gave us the formula when he said to his disciples, deny thyself, take up my cross daily and follow me. They can get to know him. Then you know it's really in trials and reproach and sufferings for his name that we get to know Christ. That's the best way I think.
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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, New Jehovah, What he was, who he is, and so on.
But they never knew him like they did in that furnace. When he walked with them in that situation, they knew him. That. And you know, when you walk with Christ, it's not going to be an easy walk or an easy path. But he goes and you'll learn more of him then than in any other way. Well, that's why I read that verse in Hosea, because you'll only know him as we follow on to know the Lord that says only in following Him and walking in communion with himself.
But I think what you say is very good, because we can't expect to be popular in this world. When the Lord Jesus was here, he was the rejected one. He was the man of sorrows, and appointed with grief he had to say, show me a penny. He had nowhere to lay his head. He said the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. And at the end of his perfect pathway they took him out. They cried away with him, crucify him, and they took him outside the walls of Jerusalem and had him nailed to a Roman cross. That's what this world thought of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if they hated me, they will hate you. Also, we read the servant is not greater than his Lord. We cannot expect to be popular if we're going to follow a rejected Christ. Now he's still rejected. If he came back in loneliness and grace this afternoon, he'd be rejected again. Thank God he's not coming in that way the next time, He's coming in power and glory. But if he came in Lolita and Grace, the heart of man hasn't changed. And I think we need to be very careful that we don't give the impression that he's following the Lord. We're going to have an easy path for a popular pathway in this world.
Many Christians who are looking for popularity in this world, If you're really following a rejected Christ, young people, you're not going to be understood. You're going to be misunderstood by your schoolmates. You're going to be misunderstood sometimes even by other Christians and other young people. But if you reproach for the name of Christ, happy are ye?
Joy in following a rejected Christ here in this world. I'd like to comment a little bit about verse 9, a little bit further about the righteousness. And I think it's important that we that this comes before what it says about knowing Him, because unless we get the matter of our standing before God settled in our souls, we're not going to be at liberty and our conscience as to want to know Him more.
So he presents here what he had before the righteousness which was.
His own righteousness which was of the law, which was something to be coveted, he had in verse six. It says it was blameless. Nobody could point to Paul and say Paul you've offended in this point of the law. He was blameless as far as man was concerned, but as soon as he saw the righteousness that he could have by faith in Christ.
He completely refused that other righteousness, and I think that's so tremendous for souls to get ahold of. I find sometimes even young people are not settled as to the place of their as to their place before God in Christ. It's a righteousness that has nothing to do with what I have done. It's a righteousness that comes by simply.
Believing the testimony of God.
God points to me and says you are a Sinner. I'm done. Say I believe it. God says Christ died for your sins. I say I believe it. God says to me your righteous. I count you righteous not by your own means, not by anything that relates to what you've done, but by simple faith in Christ. You now have a righteousness which is of God.
By faith you cannot have a more perfect standing before God. How tremendous to stop and to revel in that place that God has put us. By faith in Christ, it belongs to every true believer. Whether you understand it or not, it's yours. Whether you enjoyed it not, it's yours. But let's stop and just enjoy it a minute, brethren. We stand before a holy God, a thrice holy God.
In all the righteousness which is of God by faith in the Lord Jesus. In fact, it says in other places that Christ is our righteousness. You cannot have a more perfect standing before God.
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Fact that the Lord Jesus is there in the presence of God. Look up into the glory. See him there right now by faith. That's your standing. That's the way God views you in Christ.
And it's when we get that matter settled as to our standing in Christ, we can go on to pursue the object. If you don't have that matter settled as to where you stand and righteousness before God, you're not going to be interested in the pursuit of. This chapter talks about.
Romans 4 verse three is very important along that line. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God.
And it was counted unto him for righteousness. But even the faith to believe is a gift of God. It's all of God. We can take no credit for having believed. We have to just thank him and praise him for that even. But because we believe God.
By his grace is accounted for righteousness. We have that righteousness of God in Christ. So it's very simple. What does Scripture say? That's it. Faith.
That's the end of Romans 4, isn't it? It made him to their Second Corinthians 5. He had made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And John's epistle says as he is, so are we in this world. We don't have to wait to have this perfect standing. We have it already. We won't have a better standing when we get home to glory than we have right now, because our standing is in Christ, the righteousness of God in him.
But I was thinking too, in connection with this, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.
And the fellowship of his suffering. I was thinking of a little hymn that we often sing in the last verse of 278. Oh, teach us so the power to know of risen life with thee not. We may live while here below, but Christ our life may be. That's really the position that Paul desired to.
Manifest practically in the enjoyment of in his pathway, so that I may know him. The little song says, Oh, teachers saw the power to know of risen life with thee. I thought it was beautifully pictured in those ones who came out of their graves when the Lord arose. It says that they went into the holy city and appeared unto many. And the Bible doesn't tell us their names or who they were. But if anyone were to meet them on the street in Jerusalem, well, who are you? Well, I'm just alive because Christ rose.
And so there they were, living examples in the city of Jerusalem, that there was a risen Christ.
They went into the holy city and that's what you and I are, brethren, where's the display before this world that we have the risen life of Christ? We're we're dead and we're risen with Christ. And so Paul desired that this would be not only known in his soul, but would be a practical thing that I may know him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. So if they identified themselves with that risen Savior, then they would get the treatment that.
He received, because this world had rejected him, He cried, crucify Him, and to have witnesses that this one and they crucified was risen again there in their very midst they would be treated as the one whom they had rejected. And that's why Paul goes on the fellowship of his suffering. So we barely reproach, if we display in this world that we're not just men in a natural sense, but we have a new life, a very life of Christ.
And we display that first, knowing our standing before God the brother Bob has been bringing before us, and that in a practical way, displaying our old self, not the old man which was crucified with him, but displaying resurrection life. And that's our position. And that's what Paul desired. It would be so in a practical way, in his life.
I think that's the Father verse 11. By any means I might attain under the resurrection, I think from out of the dead or out to among the dead.
That's a wonderful thing. To attain it is to really get ahold of it and really make it look to your soul. We were dead in our sins, and we're not only going to have bodily resurrection from among the dead. That's true.
That we have resurrection out from among the dead already in Christ. It's a wonderful thought, isn't it?
01:20:03
If by any means.
Would refer to the two ways that this would be accomplished. Either that he would die and then he would be with the Lord, or the Lord would come, and these are.
Sweet for us to to realize it doesn't matter whether we go through the Oracle of death or whether the Lord comes. The object is to be with the Lord.
278.
Oh, teach us so the power to know of risen light with thee not we may live, while here below with Christ our life may be 278.
Someone raised it too.
Say your way long term.
Today I called.
You.
Oh.