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This chapter 4 Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and longed for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord. My dearly beloved, I beseech geodes and beseech synergy, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also true yoke, fellow.
Help those women which labor with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers.
Whose names are in the book of life? Rejoice in the Lord Alway. And again I say, rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true.
Whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just.
Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things, those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last year, care of me hath flourished again, wherein you were all so careful, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of one, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding you have well done that you did communicate with my affliction.
Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you.
An odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Salute every St. in Christ Jesus, the brethren which are with me greet you all the Saints salute you. Chiefly they that are Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. In view of what comes at the end of chapter 3.
That is in view of the expectation that we have, the bright hope.
Power that God will put forth and transforming our bodies.
It's as if, he says then.
I love you all very dearly, just stand fast now.
And my oversimplifying that, I think it's what Chuck was talking about on his address. We're talking about this frail body and the glory that's to come. It's so indescribable that he was forbidden to try to relate it when he when he tried to talk about it. He says I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago. Whether he was in the body or out, I don't know. But he's such a one caught up to the 3rd heaven and heard things unspeakable.
You know that's what we're coming into, Brother Unspeakable Lord.
And how could we ever how much can we enter into it now? Well, it's it says we walk with the Lord that we come, I believe, into some fellowship of the Lord and the joy that he gives us. It's his rejoice in the Lord.
I can do that.
The 139th Psalm, he said, he tells us a little secret there. He said, if I ascend up to heaven, thou art there. How long does it take you and me to ascend up to heaven just like that? A moment. Lord Jesus, help me or Lord Jesus, I praise thee. How long does it take? But there's an alternative in in that particular Psalm, the psalmist was reflecting on the way the Lord had dealt with him.
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There was another man that went the wrong way. His name was Jonah.
And where was he winding up? And so the psalmist could reflect and say, if I make my bed in hell, thou art there. It was a man, he says, out of the out of the belly, one of these, out of the belly of hell. He relates it to that, to that contrast. And you and I by our by the way that we bring the Lord into the circumstances or don't. It could be one way or the other.
And I think I mentioned it once, but there was a man that I met.
I visited with what a man that is a brother I believe.
But he got angry with his brother. Yeah. Could I agree with his brother that try to correct him? And he says, and in fact, I will not. And he got angry about it. You mean we can get angry? And the man said to me, Bob, I've been in hell for 16 years. I said, brother, you don't have to stay there. 3 little words.
You know what they were? Well, I just mentioned that because you bring in the side of things that stand past the chance, that we don't stand fast, sometimes we get eye trouble, and that we had some of those things brought before us, that we were in a body that's very frail. But what about the Lord? Is the Lord frail?
I don't want to be a technician, Brother Bob, but.
I think it's important for our young people to understand that and our older ones to to understand that there's a little problem in our ordinary translation with regard to the word hell. There are two original words, one meaning the lake of fire and the other which is Sheol or.
Hades in the New Testament and they are what?
Is referred to, Are they not in the passage you quoted in a Psalm 139? It's not the lake of fire. I think sometimes there's a confusion between them and it's important we keep them separate. I remember being very much helped as a young believer by another pamphlet by AJ Pollock, which is called Hades and Eternal Punishment.
And he draws a very careful distinction between.
Hades and Gahanna, or the place of eternal punishment, or the Lake of fire.
And I don't know if Brother Tim had that pamphlet out there on the table or not, but if not, I think it's still available from BTP. I was wondering if he could explain what Hades is. The Lord Jesus went there, didn't he? 16th son? Well, we find like prototype as indicated in the Old Testament we have the word shield. In the New Testament we have Hades.
Refers to the intermediate state between death and resurrection. It's only in the New Testament that we have light shed upon that which we don't have in the old, and that is in Luke 16 we have that. There are two compartments, you know, there where the damned are those who died in unbelief, like the rich man who Lazarus was in a place of bliss and happiness. But there is conscious existence in that state, you know.
Witnesses and Seven Day Adventists deny the conscious existence after death. They speak of the soul sleep. There's never sleep used in connection with anyone who has died in unbelief. Sleep in Scripture is only used for believers and not in connection with the soul, but in connection with the body. The soul is consciously in the presence of the Lord Jesus as we have had it in the first chapter. We didn't comment on that very much. To depart and to be.
Christ, which is better? Well, unconscious existence would be better than a life of useful service on earth. Nonsense. But if we are in the presence of the Lord Jesus, consciously enjoying being near Him, that is a wonderful place to be. And then in 2nd Corinthians 5, we have absent from the body present with the Lord. And these are things that we do well to understand, and there is no doubt, as we see from the rich man.
Torment, he's not in the body. Torments are explained for people who are in the body that they are true sufferings, torment of the soul, anticipating hell, not yet being in the lake of fire and take off those wicked rulers that have been in existence, they're now in that place, Adolf Hitler and those people you know, and they must be in tremendous torment even now. And no place, no possibility of get out of that place or out of that condition. They will be there.
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And then they will be raised and appear before the great white Throne, Revelation 20 and they will be cast into the lake of fire. These are important things to understand for all of us, young and old. But what a comfort. Our loved ones who have gone before, who love the Lord Jesus, are with Him in His presence. Glory has begun for them. You might say in that way that they are with Him. They will be with Him forever, and not yet in the glorified state, but they are with Him, and we long to be there soon. I think it will make an application, brethren.
Men that I've known, some women perhaps have used this description for their life here, leaving God out. I hope I can make not confusion about it, but some people have said to me, I've been in hell all these years. It was the experience where the left got out. That's the application I wanted to make. And I hope that I don't bring confusion about the real meaning of it, which I'm sure that we look into the teaching of it. I didn't want to get us off the track.
Because the track doesn't have anything to do with that. But I just, I know that people will say, for example, the Creed's even say.
That the Lord descended into hell based on our common translation. But I believe that we want to be careful about it and let's not spend the whole meeting on that.
Thinking of death, death is not a place. When we talk about death, death is a condition of the body without the spirit. Body without the spirit is dead. So death is a condition. Hades is also a condition. It's a condition of the spirit and soul in the disembodied state. And that's when we don't have a, you know, those that have gone on don't have a body. There's only one man in heaven that has a body and that's the Lord Jesus. We will have ours then.
So Hades or she'll is the disembodied state, just like death is the state of the body when it dies. The state of the spirit and soul when the body dies is Hades. And but the New Testament doesn't call it that for us, it says to be present with the Lord. So it's it's when when you say Hades or Sheil, that could be a place of bliss like they're like Lazarus or the place of suffering like good rich men. But for us, when you say present with.
We know that's or paradise. We know that's a happy place, don't we? Paradise also is a condition. You can use that word as well. Paradise isn't a place, it's a condition. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Well, the thief wasn't in heaven a day, but he was in that condition of joyful anticipation. I'd like to come back to Brother Dick's original comment.
I thought that, and again, we don't want to get into First Corinthians 15, but we have a similar thought there at the end of chapter 15 after the resurrection.
Has been described, you know, gone into and expounded. What does Paul say at the end of chapter 15, First Corinthians. Since there is a resurrect, we don't have to worry about anything that might come our way in the service of the Lord Jesus. He says, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord isn't that.
Thought is you had in connection with verse one here. I think that helps us. In other words, we might suffer in going on steadfastly for the Lord, but never mind, never mind. Don't worry about that. There's going to be a resurrection. You know, even if we are asked to pass through death, don't worry about it.
We will be raised and will be brought into full conformity to our blessed Lord. There's a problem with some here, and the Lord directs us to realize that the glory. There are things we're going to have that we have here. We're going to have the Word of God. We're going to be with the Lord Jesus, but we'll have our brother. So perhaps we need to keep things in the reality that we are one in Christ and we need one another.
Here we need to own anything that would hinder our fellowship together, and I leave. There's a great deal of it here in these early verses about his longing to see his brethren, his duty belong, and his problem with his two sisters and so on. So he goes down to verse four. He says rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice.
Well, if you're rejoicing in the Lord, and we see one another in the Lord.
And we're going to be with one another for eternity. We need to have that bunch of sense that we need one another here. We need the fellowship of each other and we need to get rid of that which would hinder that fellowship with the Lord and with each other. As our brother Chuck was bringing out in the end of this third chapter. It's we have our citizenship is in heaven. And that's very interesting. But while we're here.
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As our brother John is just saying, there are difficulties, so he goes into that now, doesn't he for our for our pathway, for our wilderness journey. Therefore, my beloved, my brethren, my therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and long for my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved repeated there in that verse. Why does he say this Because there's confusion. We get into these confusions we we're.
Always in accord and strength is gained by being of one mind, isn't it? In the early days of the apostles, no man just joined himself unto them. Why? Because they were one mind. Of course, Satan came in very soon. But I just thought of it here in this little epistle to the Philippians, and we need this. The keynote in this chapter is verse 13. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.
Say that's the key for this chapter, strength for the pathway.
So in order for them to get to wanted to bring them up to this point, he says I therefore my my my brethren, dearly beloved and long for my joy and crown, stand fast in the Lord. My dearly beloved, I beseech you odious and synteke that they've made they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I think this is interesting because even if sisters have a difference between them, if there's a difference with sisters, it can cause problems in.
You know it as well as I do, but how lovely to see that he just enjoins them. He doesn't say you've got to do this, you must do that. He just says he just prays that they might be of the same mind, they might be of unity together because it would cause a discernment, it would cause disruption in the gathering, in the little gathering are Philip I. So I, I believe I see in it a very tender way that the apostle says, he says that they be, they may be of the same mind in the Lord.
That's entreaty, isn't it?
Our desire is not to pound them and say don't do this. We want to get them before the Lord, to see that each one belongs to the Lord, and in order to get them to see, have one mind in the Lord, Not one mind as to our thoughts or views, but one mind in the Lord. See what the Lord has for us because they were His dearly beloved ones and He wanted to see them going on. I think we've already noticed in one of the meetings earlier that the fourth verse was spoken by a man in prison.
Lord always again I say rejoice and it shows that it's not a question of our circumstance comes out again on the 11TH verse. There's an italicized doesn't belong there that should read like this. Not that I speak in respect of want. I've learned in whatsoever state I am to be contented. You don't have to be content with the difficulty, but you can be content just the same because it's the Lord you're content and I was just looking back in havoc. You probably remember that portion in the third chapter havoc.
Nothing went right, and they rejoiced anyway. I'll read it. Habakkuk 3, verse 17. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.
What a contrast. Nothing to cheer as far as earthly things.
No food and yet he rejoiced in the Lord and I think we need to get into the habit of rejoicing in the Lord even when things go well so that when we lose those mercies and mentioned also in these meetings. If we lose the mercies, then we could we still have one in whom we can rejoice. Lovely. The the terms that he loses Paul uses here in speaking, he says earlier, I beseech.
Cyndic and Eudis Euticus, and then he goes on in the third. I entreat also.
Through your the also true yoke fellow, help those women which labored me with me in the gospel. He entreats, he beseeches and he pleads. And I think this is very, very precious to see. And is that not should that not be the character, our character to just Lord, please, please plead with the Lord and and before the Lord to and beseech and seek to guide.
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Rather than than to command. I believe I see something here in this. It's a lovely little epistle because it does bring that out, doesn't there is this thought too. There's this thought also that I just suggest this that the apostle says here in verse one, my dearly beloved long for my joy and my crown. Why does he mention the crown in this respect? Well, I believe that he was considering.
The Lord's approval, that time of reward, and the apostle spent a lot of Labor in these places. Consider what he suffered at Philippi when he first came into that city and he says in one place, for now we live. If you continue that is, it's our life. And the apostle John even says, look to yourselves that we lose, not that which we have wrought. So the apostle had labored much.
For the glory of God.
And to see a threat upon this work was a concern to his soul. Now by the time you get to second Timothy, it looks like it's all going into ruin. And he says, I know who might have believed and am persuaded he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. He just entrusted it all to the Lord, even though it looked like it was breaking up and Asia was turning away from him. But I believe, it seems to me that the apostle.
Is concerned that there was a thing at work that could spoil this labor and he just touches on that and the crowds are important. We know that because this all has to do with that coming time when we'll be with the Lord and will reign with him and it'll be the token of his approval. So scripture speaks of crowns of righteousness and rejoicing and and.
So forth. I think it's Harry Ironside that in a little book called Illustrations of Bible Truth quotes a simple brother as giving these names as odious and soon touchy, odious and soon touchy and.
I believe sometimes those two things commended to bring differences in among believers. But I'd like to ask a question that has puzzled me for years. Who is the true yoke fellow in verse three? It's certainly personal. It's thee. It's not In treating the assembly, who is this true yoke fellow who is exhorted?
To assist the women.
Pressed that that was a paraphritis. I don't, I don't remember that, but that was the thought. I made a little note on that. But didn't the papparditis carry this epistle when Paul sent him back and he was the one that the assembly had sent to Paul what was lacking in the in their service? The last verse of chapter one.
Was that they had no way to send it to him. There was number Postal Service so Epaphroditus took that up and you have it in the end of this chapter A little later I am full verse 18 having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you an odor of a sweet smell to sacrifice acceptable while pleasing to the Lord and he's described in chapter one verse 25.
As my brother and companion and labor and fellow soldier.
But your messenger.
Wouldn't that be a yoke fellow? And you might say this about Epaphroditus. We see he is a reflection of Christ in that selflessness in giving himself. We see that there's three reflections in the second chapter of the Lord Jesus. Paul certainly was one in himself. That is, he was ready to be.
Poured forth as he speaks of and then he talks about Timothy who was like minded. He certainly was a real reflection of Christ.
In that way, and then we have Epaphroditus, we have these three mentioned in a special way in chapter 2 as those that reflected that same quality, that humility, that unselfish spirit that we see in the Lord Jesus. What a testimony this ought to be to us. We have the.
Perfect example in the Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son, but then he's given us the example of those men of like passion, and we see how that Epaphroditus was sick even unto death for the care of the Saints. So what a commendation of that man. We'll hear more in the glory too, for sure. In as much as the yoke fellow is not named, I think it is a word that permits exercise on the heart of.
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One to be a true yoke fellow with the apostle in making peace among the Saints. We are to be followers of that which makes for peace. The blessed is the peacemaker and so on. So that it is language that can let me put my own souls exercise as to whether I am joining in the Apostle Paul to maintain peace in the assembly and in the family.
I like to point out that at the bottom of the epistle and I don't know.
How accurate always these statements are that says it was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus. If that's an accurate statement, then that supports the thought that Brother Little expressed that it was him that he is addressing and these ladies evidently along with others.
Had labored together with the Apostle Paul.
Epiproditus, no doubt. Nudist sisters? Well, but I like to ask this question for a little.
To be of one mind doesn't mean we always see things alike.
I think that's an important point, good point to bring out, because we don't always have the same judgment, although it is desirable that we have the same judgment, but we can still be of one mind, that is that we're seeking the glory of Christ and maintain his glory in the assembly and then not allow.
Differences unless they are.
Differences of a serious nature, such as doctrine or question of immorality and so on. But there are many times cases, and this was apparently one, where they had differences of judgment, but they could have gone on in peace in spite of it. And I think this is what we can learn from that.
There are circumstances where we don't always see things alike, but if you want to please the Lord.
And live for His glory in a corporate way. We can still go on together. I really believe, however beloved, that it goes beyond just what has been enunciated in as much as the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The highest authority that can be called upon us is that we speak the same thing and be of the same opinion.
Where the Spirit of God is given liberty to lead us into the mind of Christ, we will be of the same mind at the same opinion.
And we had brought before us in the in the address that there are those who are otherwise minded. Well then we have to be let our yieldedness as we get in verse 5, be known and wait upon God to bring us into one mind. But the level of communion should be that we all speak the same main, and as Mr. Darby says, be of the same opinion. But it it does not say one mind, it says the same mind.
And there's a difference.
The same mind is not quite the same as being one mind like it says in First Corinthians 12. It says the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God. There's a that's a very I think it's closer than just one mind. I agree with that brother. Thank you that we're in moderation comes in.
That's the reason I refer to it as your yieldedness. That's really the way it's translated in another translation. Let your yield in this be known in all things. If there is adamancy in my spirit, it's going to cause difficulty among my brother.
Any kind of difficulty has a very simple solution, but not an easy one.
Peter teaches us that we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and submit ourselves one to another and that's what makes for peace. What I've enjoyed in those two first 2 verses was the the expression in the verses in the Lord.
It speaks about that, be it, stand fast in the Lord. Then He beseeches them to be of one of the same mind in the Lord. And that's the key to me. That's the key. What was the Lord? How did the Lord conduct Himself? Meekness, gentleness, kindness, love, affection in every phase of His pathway. Or there were times when he had to speak very pointedly and harshly.
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To those religious leaders. But his whole spirit was of meekness, graciousness, kindness, and love. And I think when I think of in the Lord, I think of those thoughts. I remember the pamphlet by Mr. Darby on the Trinity, and he makes this statement. He says the persons of the Trinity are not of one mind, they are of the same mind.
And.
You know, you and I can be of one mind. We agreed. We agreed to agree on something.
But that's not quite the same thing as saying we're of the same mind. That is, the same mind is produced by the Spirit of God. It's not just an agreement that we've come to, but the.
God is so wrought that we are of the same mind. Would you say, Chuck, that if.
If I come, if I get before the Lord, to seek the mind of the Lord, and you get before the Lord to seek his mind, and when we come together, we're going to have one mind in the Lord. You'll have the same mind. That's right. You'll have the same mind. It'll be the Lord's mind, right?
Our yield is this, or gentleness or moderation.
That's very, very important.
Abrupt, rude dealing and the things of God is not ever becoming, but the other one is the Lord is at hand. And I think sometimes we've misunderstood that to, to think that it means the Lord is coming, He's about to come. But I really think the thought is the Lord is standing right near us and is and is the witness to all that's going on between us.
Least that's my own exercise that we have to remember that in everything the Lord is right there.
And the Lord is when it I think the Lord is near is a wonderful expression.
And that ought to govern our speaking and the way we talk, shouldn't it? The way we think, the way we act with one another, to remember that we stand in the presence or near. The Lord says, be careful, The Lord is always there. Well, I, I was just thinking, **** whether it's realizing the Lord's standing right there or that he's coming at any moment.
Wouldn't it have the same effect?
There was a question.
27 It has a one mind striving together from the face of the gospel. I was wondering what the difference is between that and having the same mind in the Lord as having one mind in the face of the gospel. Or it's the same thing. Don't take our silence, brother. It's an indication we don't appreciate the question because it may be just that we're it makes us stop and think. The first thing I do when I hear a question like that is look up the new translation. You see how it reads? It reads.
Only conduct yourself verse 27127 Well, I'll read the whole verse. Only conduct yourselves worthy of the glad tidings of the Christ, in order that whether coming and seeing you are absent, I may hear of what concerns you, that you stand firm in one spirit with one soul labeling, laboring together in the same conflict with the faith of the glad tidings. So he uses the word one there, one soul, one spirit and one soul. Doesn't it seem as though the apostle.
Really beginning to hint at the problem that he names in chapter 4, because evidently this had to do with the work of the Lord they were helping. And then a problem came up between them. Maybe it was jealousy or something of that sort. So perhaps it's it's leading up to the same thing in chapter two. He goes a little further with the thought.
In verse two, fulfilling my joy.
That she be like minded having the same love being of 1 accord of one mind. So he's going further with the thought and then he touches on the very thing that may have been the problem and that is let nothing be done through strife or Vainglory. Well brother, and that should speak to our hearts as to the motive spring of why we are doing what we are doing.
What's the motive of it? We need to really get before the Lord in that regard.
And then he goes even further. But in loneliness of mine, let each esteem better other better than themselves. If we're honest, we'll see that the other has quality or equality that we lack, and that we can do that Wingstein others better than self if we're honest enough to recognize.
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That there is quality there that we lack. But the apostle, then he gives them such a beautiful.
Example. It is Christ our example, as we have set before us in chapter 2. And so we have the outstanding example and the examples of Paul, Timothy, and a pappaditis. Why? Why should there be this vying for a better place or better recognition? It can be a treacherous thing to come into the work of the Lord in that way.
To have jealousies arising.
In the work of the Lord to each man, his work, the Lord has things for each of us to do, and we certainly need to be exercised in that way. And they were doing a work in connection with the apostle here, and so they were. This feeling was developing between them, and the result is that it affects others.
It seems whenever there's a problem like that.
It begins to affect others. That's verse six, I believe. Be careful for nothing. Don't get all filled with care. We tend to get preoccupied with a troubling situation like that. So I believe these things become very practical in that sense. This was.
We would consider perhaps when you look read the Epistle to the Galatians that was terrible, or if you look at the problem situations of Corinth, that was bad.
This seems like nothing in comparison to it, but the Philippians were going on so well and then to have this kind of thing begin to come in, the apostles saw the threat upon the well-being of the Saints and he's greatly concerned. It seems to me like he he is very concerned because they're going on sewing come into their midst. Would you say that this kind of correction wouldn't even be in Corinth because.
So much more severe. These are just little ripples on in this huge wave of problems in currents. Is that the thought you have this? Well, yes, because there was envy and strife in Corinth too, and that made them carnal. They were like babes because of this enviant strike. But he doesn't like you say, he doesn't go into detail of that. There were other things far worse, but here they were normal Christianity. They were going on well. And now to have this thing arise between the two, I'm sure.
Very dear sisters, and very needful in the work. And yet between them there was a feeling arising. And people, people tend to take sides, a root of bitterness arising whereby many are defiled. That's what happens when there's this root of bitterness. It begins to affect others and causes a defiling among the Saints. Well, we need to really think about it. You want to really.
Extreme example.
Of what has been referred to as affecting others it's found in the 12TH and 14th of numbers and the 12TH of numbers Aaron and Miriam murmured against Moses and then the 14th of numbers. A whole congregation and that's exactly what was referred to the root of bitterness springing up and many being defiled there by. So when these ripples come in they must be judged and that's the way to stop it there's only one remedy for.
Discord in that self judgment. So it's always desirable that the Saints have the same mind, but it's obvious that that is not always the case and therefore yielding Ness or yieldedness is a necessity, Brethren.
And our spiritual state, generally speaking, is not up to what we find even in the Assembly of Philippi.
So I believe in our situation, the spirit of yieldedness is very much in place for us. That's good brother. I was thinking someone explained this yielding Ness as as keeping ourselves under control.
Keeping under control that is not.
A check on our own wills, healing us. It's not always easy, is it? Sometimes older brethren who might have a more sound judgment in a given situation that arises in an assembly might have to yield to less experienced brethren. And I've sometimes said, don't be too much concerned if there are some mistakes made.
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The Lord might well use mistakes to teach lessons I have learned in my own personal life things through mistakes, you know, and I believe that is what the Lord can use, not that we want to excuse mistakes or.
Having had a wrong judgment in a certain matter, but.
It shows humility on our part if we're willing to yield and trust that the Lord will come in in due time to correct whatever situation might not be according to His mind and will. Couple weeks ago we were coming into the city of Fagarach in Romania and we were in a little bit of a Stew about finding a hotel.
They don't have many, no money, not many Holiday Inns or whatever else we're accustomed to, and we decided that we ought to let our request be made known to the Lord. We had no sooner finished we saw a sign on the side of the left side of the road Hotel, and it was the nicest place we stayed in in the whole time we were traveling. We.
Learned a lesson out of that I think.
Is to be anxious or careful about nothing. Well, we learn it for one week and then the next week we're kind of anxious again, aren't we? That's the way we are. But there was a piece after we just presented the thing to the Lord. There was a piece that came over our souls about it.
We had put it in the Lords hands and I think that's the point here isn't it? The peace of God.
Ruling or garrisoning our hearts, it protects US against all this, you might say.
Anxiety. Anxiety is a terrible thing, but if you just put it in the Lord's hands, he takes the anxiety away and you put it there and he takes care of the knee. He knows our needs. He knows them better than we do, and He knows how to solve them. He knows all the solutions.
And I think that's wonderful because it passes all understanding the peace that comes from putting everything in the Lords hands and not worrying about things. You know, there's a little course that says why worry when you can pray? That's not a bad course, it's a nice one.
But our sister Sue Hadley, sometimes if she hears somebody unnecessarily worrying, she says.
Why pray when you can worry kind of to reproach us for it. And I think that's a thing we need to get our our souls out of this worry business because worry is not a helpful thing. It's not even good for you physically. Is it worry? The thing about anxiety is it may arise in very, very severe circumstances and making the quest known to God may not change the circumstances.
You might not have found a suitable hotel, you may have had to accept substandard facilities, but where one gets into the presence of God as to those circumstances, as Paul did as to his thorn in the flesh, My grace is sufficient for thee, that thou mightest have all sufficiency in all things, so we can have peace in the midst of even adversity where we get into the presence of God.
About it and not have anxiety.
Along that same line, I think it was about 1968, it was a team of us went from RCA, from Switzerland, we went to Romania to Bucharest to negotiate a contract there and we had sent.
Telegram saying we wanted private accommodations, meaning each one of us wanted a separate room.
And when we got there, they said there are no hotel rooms, you're going to have to go with a private family. The Lord gave me very great peace about that because I felt he directed that we got to the private family. The other three fellows were stewing about it. We need to make a protest to the tourist division and all this sort of thing. And they went out to do the town that night. And I stayed at home and found out the Lord had put us with a dear Christian couple and.
In those days it costs something to be a Christian in Romania. And I remember saying to them as we were, as I was leaving, I said, brother, could I write to you? He said, please don't just talk to the Lord about us because we'd be in trouble if you wrote to us. But to put that to take it's an example you'll of what you were saying, God didn't give us a hotel room. He gave us a private home. He had something better.
00:45:22
Fellowship with his own.
What verse 11 is telling us, be content with that state, even it was a poor quality. Paul was in prison. I might just suggest this in the context of what we've been considering, notwithstanding these excellent applications that we've all enjoyed and we've been comforted by in the use of verse 6. But it seems to me that still within the context of what we have here, they were there was the danger of them.
Preoccupied with this trouble in the assembly. So in verse four he says rejoice in the Lord. Are we? And again I say, rejoice. We can't always rejoice in circumstances. There was a problem there, but the Lord never changes. We can indeed always rejoice in the Lord. And then if a thing becomes a real burden to us, we need to really get before the Lord about it in verse 6.
These things that are so troubling.
To us in the assembly and a problem between two persons perhaps, but then it seems to me that God assures that he'll give a peace that does pass all understanding. Let's trust him he can work things out in these matters and sometimes there's nothing we can do but pray for these situations. You try and get involved and it's like taking a dog with the ears or something and so it it it becomes a very.
Dangerous thing.
But then the apostle marvelously brings in better thinking in verse eight. He gives us things to think upon. It's the other side of the picture. And I enjoyed especially what dear brother Lawrence Huff when we were young persons said to us when it was evident that we were preoccupied with some worldly things. And this dear brother in a most wise.
Way said, say you young brothers, have you ever have you ever read about God's divine sieve? We didn't know what he was talking about. What do you mean? He said, well read verse eight of Philippians chapter four. He says that's God's divine sin. That'll screen out a lot of things. And so when we consider all these qualities here.
Mentioned in verse 8, we can relate to the Lord Jesus.
In everyone of them. But we also see qualities in others too. We certainly see these qualities, many of these qualities in Paul and Timothy Epaphroditus in our local brother in the assembly. Oh, how good it is that we take note and consider these things of quality instead of the defects and faults of our brethren. It's such an easy tendency of our hearts, but.
We not see the qualities in our brethren, you know, it's like someone could tell it better than I could, but.
Brother Eric Smith come into this assembly down South and some unfeigned brother came up to him and said, see that brother there? He said I can't stand him. He says I can't stand him. And Mr. Smith said, well now brother, have you really tried to see Christ in that brother?
And he didn't say anything about it. But Mr. Smith came back another time. He says, now, what do you think of this brother? He said, oh, he's a lovely friend. Something to that effect. Why do we find Thanksgiving mentioning connection with prayer? You know, it is a similar thought.
Like rejoice so in other words, many times difficulties might so preoccupied our mind that we cannot rejoice in the Lord.
Research period said times in our lives, haven't we? Well then, we're not occupied with these problems in a spiritual way. You should be able to still rejoice in the Lord, but also when it comes to anxiety. What a wonderful thing that is to count your blessings. Name them one by one that he might have said.
And thank the Lord for those things that you can thank Him for. And there will be always reasons for thankfulness. And if we mix our prayers in that way, if I may use that expression, not just bring the concerns before the Lord, but also remember those things for which we can be thankful, you know, that will help us to not get over occupied.
00:50:17
With things that do require prayer and supplication.
That's a very be thankful always. That's a very important point. Is it in connection even with prayer? We we look, we look on and we pray for certain difficulties, certain problems and we pray about it and we come to the Lord about it. But what about looking back at all that has been done for us? Are we thanking him? And I always think of that in A at a prayer meeting says.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication.
And and supplication is really getting into the presence of a supplicating, pressing God for our need. But then it says.
We're Thanksgiving. Oh, what has he done for me already? What is he doing? What has he done for the ones we've been praying for many things. So we thank him with that. I I've always enjoyed this verse in that sense.
With Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.
Just come as a giver or come as a as a as one said as an accumulator. But what about giving God praise for the things that he is I hasn't done already. I think that's really good to remember that. What's the next step following that Charles Peace is not anxious for anything in in in verse six. We bring it to the Lord regardless of what it is in a matter of prayer and we supplicate. We give thanks. There are many things to give thanks for making our request.
God now what's the next step waiting for the answer and what does God give us on the basis of verse six In verse seven, while we're waiting for the answer, instead of wondering is he going to answer my prayer or is he not? I wonder what he's going to do. It says the peace of God will pass, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
It's just a perfect leading from verse 6 into verse 7.
How long ago did your father go to be with the Lord? I recall that the night before he went to be with the Lord, he was in Chatham. And he gave us one of the most lovely words I've ever heard on Philippians 4 and verse 8. And it stuck with me, one of the dearest brothers I've ever met in my life. And that is in chapter 3 and verse 13.
The apostle says, forgetting those things that are behind.
Now, of course, that's not our former condition. We really need to remember that we were once without God and without hope that we were ruined in sin. We need to remember that. But what is he talking about when he says forgetting those things which are behind? He's talking about past attainments, things that that the flesh could glory in, that we could take pride in. So the Lord doesn't want us to think in that way, but.
He does want us to think on these things, verse eight. He wants us to go forward spiritually and to consider these things that that have such quality and to think on these things. But past attainments. Let's leave it with the Lord forgetting those things behind. Who do we see? What do we see in that verse you just mentioned? And finally, brethren, in verse 8.
Whatsoever things are true.
Who do we see in this?
You go down through that verse, you can read in every clause of that verse Christ.
The perfections of that blessed One who has done it all for us. Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, beautiful. As I read this verse many times and I can only think of one man, the Lord Jesus Christ, that's all I can think of. I can't see myself there.
I can't see some of my brother in there, but I can see Christ there. And so he says, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Meditate upon the blessed Savior Himself. And there we see it all, do we not?
Get back to the 11TH chapter of Matthew. Why? The Lord says come, Then He says take, and then he says learn.
And then there's two words he mentions. Peace and rest unto our souls learneth me.