Rejoicers Aren't Quitters — Philippians 2-4

0:00 So good to be here today. It is really good to be here. And I appreciate the opportunity of being here, really do. Westlake Bible Fellowship, first heard about it, it was called North Olmsted Assembly or something like that. It was in North Olmsted.

0:24 I forget that's what they called it then. What is it called? Fellowship. Ah, cool. Yeah, I heard it from John Scott.

0:41 Was... Barbara and I had first gone to Willow Bible Chapel and then heard about this on the West Side Of Cleveland, this North Olmsted place. And then it evolved. Were you in the building that you were off the freeway there? Virtual electric.

1:00 It was a house or something? That was our second responder. Okay. Wow. Long time.

1:11 Long time. Yeah, really long time. Really long time for sure. And then I think about a lot of water going underneath the bridge or over the dam, whatever euphemistic expression you want to use, and you start thinking about how God has been so wonderful to us when think about it. How God has been extremely wonderful.

1:43 And I think to myself as Paul writes to a thank you note. He writes a thank you note to an assembly who fellowshiped with him financially and also I'm sure prayerfully. And he he went there. He was ministered to and he writes them the thank you note from prison. Now this prison isn't, you know, they didn't have a weightlifting program, they didn't have three squares a day, they didn't have they probably had a can, literal can or a bucket for their human waste, probably dark and damp and they didn't really care too much whether there was pest control or not, whatever.

2:42 And he writes from there one of the greatest epistles in terms of joy that a person could ever read. And you know what it is. Philippians. I like us to turn there if you don't mind. Philippians chapter, and if you do mind, turn there anyway.

3:05 You know, it doesn't matter if you mind or not. I'd like you to turn there because Paul in chapter four, we're going to look at chapter four and we're going to read as we progress through this little talk. But Paul makes four exhortations that we need to hear and to heed and to understand. He makes these exhortations to you and he makes em to me. He makes em, you know, and that's that's the power of the word of god.

3:41 He made them to the Philippian church but he makes them to us and we need to we need to hear these exhortations. In verses one through three, Paul exhorts us to have the same mind in the Lord. In verses four through seven, Paul exhorts us to seek the same master. And then verses eight and nine, Paul exhorts us to have the same musings. The same musing.

4:13 That's a word that's not used very often. And then verses 10 through 23, he exhorts us to have the same maturity. The same maturity. So he exhorts us in verses one through three. You know, it's really interesting.

4:31 In in chapter three when he's writing and he's giving a lot of tremendous information about himself in chapter three. I heard a guy one time preach on this on chapter three and it was powerful. It was really powerful because of the situations that he found himself in. His name was Grover Wilcox. Maybe you don't know who Grover is, his wife, Helen.

5:00 Grover and Helen. And Grover went to Wheaton College and graduated a year before Billy Graham did. And so Grover, his great desire was to go to Africa. And so as Grover prayed and worked and desired to go to Africa, God didn't send him to Africa. God sent him to Newark, New Jersey.

5:29 The only white guy in the neighborhood. And, if you know... If you knew Grover, I knew him in his... In advancing years, I mean, you know, probably in his fifties. He's silver white hair, almost translucent skin, very white and is...

5:48 In a very black neighborhood, formerly Jewish neighborhood, but as as cities go, it changed like crazy. And a lot of people would never even wanna drive through Newark or this area, Week Wake Park is where he was at, Week Wake Park, and it is nasty. We did a lot of open air meetings in Week Wake Park with Grover. And Grover started a church there and it was truly international. I mean it really was a lot of different differing type of people which is very unusual.

6:27 Grover ministered there and some people didn't like him. They didn't like him. Not in the church, but in the community. And so much so that they broke into his house one night, hauled him out of bed, and can you imagine this? And, tied him up and made his son, Peter, watch them beat him almost to death.

6:56 That happened twice. And Grover stayed. He stayed there for about forty some years, survived it both times in the hospital for a long time, both times. And and then he stayed there and kept ministering. I heard Grover preach on chapter three.

7:45 He never really shared much about those things. I I knew him because I knew him well. And Grover, just just an amazing guy. Just him and Helen. And so when Grover retired, he turned the reins of that church over to somebody else, I don't even know whom.

8:08 I don't know who who he turned it over to, except that he retired. And where do you think Rover went after his retirement? Where do you think? No. He went to Africa.

8:26 Yeah. He went to Africa. And he started about four or five different churches and about three or four different universities in Africa. Grover. And he died there.

8:41 He and his wife, Helen. Grover Wilcox. Just a just a wonderful... Rejoicers aren't quitters. This is the same tenor that Paul is writing.

8:54 In the same tenor that Paul is writing this chapter in chapter four. And we're looking at this and he... Paul is exhorting the Philippian church. He's exhorting this church who is really caring for him and thinking about him and his task that he had before him and that what he was suffering through. In fact, he writes about Epaphroditus in chapter in chapter two.

9:22 He talks about Epaphroditus and he says, because for the work of Christ he was near unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. That was Epaphroditus who was an elder in this assembly in Philippi and brought that brought that gift. And he stayed there to minister for a while and almost died doing it. Isn't that amazing? So he writes and he says to him, he tells him, he makes these exhortations to them in chapter four.

10:02 I mean, Philippians, what a what a joyful joyful joyful we adore you, right? Here we are right here with this, you know. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and longed for my joy and crown. And then the exhortation, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

10:30 Wow. He's telling us to have the same mind in our stand together in the Lord. Verse two, I beseech Eodea and Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. So these two individuals, I'm not sure exactly what their problem was, but they did have one. And they were not of the same mind, and he's telling them to be of the same mind.

11:01 Is that possible? Is that possible for for us Christians to have the same mind? And the answer is absolutely. Absolutely. The bible only knows one doctrine.

11:16 The Bible... One faith, one baptism, one Lord. Not many. One. And he's telling us to be of the same mind.

11:26 He's telling Euodia and Syptychia be the same mind. It takes work to do that, doesn't it? It takes work. You know, a lot of times when you talk to a couple about or even living it yourself about marriage, it's work. When you are in...

11:46 When with... You know, all of a sudden you're together, we've only just begun to live wanting to kill each other. Not careful about their feelings, you know. It takes work to do this. And the same goes with us Christians.

12:11 The same goes with us Christians. Being of the same mind, of really having the same mind and really this... Actually the same love, really ministering. Stand fast in the Lord. Be of the same mind.

12:29 He's telling them. So this is this is something of which we really have to we have to focus on. You know some somebody in our assembly years ago, there was an assembly that had a marriage group get together. You know what they called it? It takes three.

12:54 That was the name of the group. It takes three. And they had a little logo, husband and wife to the Lord. And it takes three for us to have good marriages and a good relation. And the focus has to be on Jesus.

13:15 In the Lord. That's what exactly it has to be. So you selflessly give, you give of yourself. You don't think of yourself. And he's later gonna tell us about this.

14:12 And that's a that's... By the way, that's the... That is the realistic appraisal. We are so taught in our culture of self esteem, of, you know, we've gotta look out for number one. Robert Rimmer wrote a book one time, Looking Out for Number One.

14:31 It was on the New York Times bestseller, you know. We need to assert, We need to look out for number one. Actually, the Bible doesn't say that. Bible says exactly the opposite. Look out for the other person.

14:45 Look out for them, care for them, minister to them at your own expense. And this is what he is telling him. This is what it means to stand fast in the Lord. Because when we look at the Lord we realize what he has done in terms of his humility and his care. And can you top that?

15:14 Can you top his humility? No way. No way can you top that. I can't top it, neither can you. Nobody can top it.

15:27 That's why Paul gives us his example. The Lord Jesus in terms of his humility. We are to stand fast together in the Lord. We're both beggars telling each other where to find bread, right? And that's the bread of life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

15:44 And so then he tells us, notice how he moves from our stand together in the Lord to our service in the Lord. And then he says in verse three, And I intrigued you also, true yoke fellow. Help those women who labored with me in the gospel with Clement also and with my other fellows, fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Wow. I often think to myself, even in Christianity we've got, don't know how do you call it, the famous, the famous Christians, you know.

16:26 The guys that, oh yeah, that guy's a famous Christian. And I think of guys who labor and minister, women who labor and minister, and men who labor and minister that nobody knows about except God. And they don't care to be known. Nobody will write a biography about him. Doesn't matter.

16:56 They serve him. And that is the most... That's... That is that is so powerful. I remember one time coming up from World Trade Towers.

17:07 I was... I went there early to recon New York City and especially the the Lower Manhattan where the financial district was. And I I came in on a subway into the World Trade Towers. And as I came up the four banks, double wide, four banks of escalators, and they were jammed with people. I mean, jammed with people.

17:35 I came up and there was, as you know, if you know anything about the World Trade Towers, they had some windows, and the light was breaking right on where you come off the escalator. Four stories. Right? So we're talking, you're riding there, and you're going, man, this is taking a long time because it's a long distance. And you come...

17:57 I came up, and there is this lady. She's a black woman, hunched over, worn by ears, and standing there with a bag that you'd get at the grocery store, it's one of those plastic things, and reaching in and handing literature. And people, the suits, the the high powered financial people just walking by, not giving her another thought, maybe one one would stop out of the hundreds that passed and take one of those, but she just stood there. And she would hand it and hand it. I always think of that verse she had done what she could.

18:42 She had done what she could, and that light broke in on her. I mean, literally, it was like a spotlight. And I I was... I stood there and talked with her, and she blessed my soul. She was so kind, so gentle, so loving, so wonderful.

19:01 I mean, it was amazing. We had like a little... She revived me. I was like renewed standing there talking to this woman who just consistently did this. And I think she did it day after day, month after month.

19:16 I don't know where she was on 09/11. I don't know. Maybe she was at her post in that in that World Trade Towers. I don't know. But it was a blessing to me.

19:30 She had done... And just like this... Like these ladies here. You're just like these ladies here. I entreat you also, true yokefella.

19:41 Help those women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also and the other my fellow workers whose names are written in the book of life. That's where I want to be known. I want to be known in heaven. I want to help populate heaven. That's what I want to do.

20:01 I want to also deprive hell. And that that would be that would be good enough for me. That would be good enough for me because we're talking about the one who saves us. Right? We're not talking about anything else.

20:17 We're talking about the one who saves us. And that's the Lord Jesus. And he tells us to have the same mind, have the same mind in our stand and in our service. And not only does Paul exhort us to have the same mind, but he also exhorts us to have to seek the same master. Look at verses four through seven.

21:01 But notice what he says, seeking the same master in our attitude. Isn't attitude everything? I played high school and college basketball, and I tell you what, I worked very hard because I'm not very good. I really am not. No natural talent here.

21:20 And I saw guys who had all the talent in the world, and they were so gifted talent wise and didn't work. And I saw that in the open air too, guys who had the gift of gab and didn't really give it all to the Lord. They didn't last very long in preaching in the open air. They didn't do that. We have to seek the same master in terms of our attitude.

21:50 We are... And I hate to say it this way, actually, I don't hate to say it this way. I wanna be very genuine with you. We are nothing. In fact, that's exactly what Jesus said to us.

22:03 Without me, you can do nothing. I am a child of the king for sure, but it's not because I did anything, it's because he made me that. He made me that. And that is the that is the beauty and our attitude has... Notice what he says in verses four and five, rejoice in the Lord always.

22:31 Now, I'm I'm goofy enough. I I really am. I'm I'm goofy enough just to think that that's what he means. Rejoice in the Lord always. I tell you what, I disobey this.

22:50 I do. I think about woe is me. I think about the issues that I face. How come this, how come that, woe is me, instead of thanking him and rejoicing in him. I have a whole different perspective sometimes and it's very...

23:13 It's based off of a selfish perspective. My perspective sometimes is not the right perspective. He is telling me to have the right perspective by rejoicing in the in the Lord always. And if you see this as a little tidbit on terms of how to interpret the word of God, how do you interpret the Bible, if you see something mentioned, in terms of like a command call, if you see it again in the book, in the Bible, you'd be going, yeah, he really means it. If you see it in the same book, he really means it.

23:52 If you see it in the same chapter, wow, he is really asking you to pay attention to this. If you see it in the same verse, he's like going, hey, listen up, Rejoice in the Lord always and again. I say rejoice. Rejoicers aren't quitters. We quit on God all the time, don't we?

24:23 We act like atheists sometimes. We wonder where God is. In fact, we sometimes as Christians don't even give God a thought. Sometimes we don't. He is telling us to not rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.

24:42 And the question comes to my mind is why? Why should I do this? Because my heart is fixed on the one who created the universe. The one who is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere at one time. And he is with me.

25:03 If I've received Jesus as my personal savior, the Bible says that God indwells the believer. So I'm never alone. I'm never by myself. Never. I am never.

25:19 I mean, he's with me. Isn't this fantastic? This is revolutionary. He tells us throughout the scriptures over and over. I am with you.

25:31 I will never leave you nor ever forsake you. So we may boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man could do unto me. I will not fear that. How many of us how many of us forget God?

26:01 Yeah. We do. We're we're in the same boat. That's a mistake. That is a mistake.

26:13 Not because he's gonna put the hammer on us, but because we're forgetting the greatest lover of our soul. No one will love you more than him. No one. And then he tells us, notice what he says in verse five, let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

26:34 Literally, let your gentleness and forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. The Lord's at hand. If I if I said I said, Mary Meng is at hand. You're not thinking she's coming twenty minutes from now.

27:00 You're not thinking that at all. If I'm announcing in a game and I said, bye, This is exactly what he is telling us. The Lord's here. The Lord is here. Would you please understand something?

27:30 When you... He's here now. He's here now. He's also in dwelling the believer. He is at hand.

27:39 He is right here. He's ready to act. He's ready to do. He's ready to hear. Our God is here and he's not silent.

27:48 Our God is here and he wants to minister to us. This is what I love about being a Christian. I tell people about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. I have one. I want to deepen it, of course, but the Lord is at hand.

28:11 So he tells me to rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice, let your gentleness and forbearance be made known unto all men. The lord is at hand and so that's my attitude. That's that's where I have to have this attitude all the time. Isaiah put it beautifully. Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.

28:36 Because in the Lord God, Jehovah is everlasting strength. Isaiah twenty six three and four. And this is powerful. This is so powerful. This is revolutionary.

28:51 This this changes my whole attitude towards God, towards man, towards my life, towards the way things are happening in my life. And then not only tells us to seek the master in terms of our attitude, but also in our anxiousness. He has commanded... I like the King James on this because he is commanding you to be anxious. Oh my, really?

29:34 So you can be anxious, but for what? Nothing. Be anxious for nothing. I love the way the King James puts that. Be anxious for nothing.

29:50 Nothing. You have nothing to be anxious about. Be anxious about nothing. So when you wrestle, you go on that mat. You wrestle it, right?

29:59 No, he is. He is. You go up to that mat and this guy's state champion 16 times in a row. He's not real good at the grades. But, you know, he's like, you know, a professional wrestler now.

30:12 He's gonna gouge your eyes. You're nervous. You know? Be anxious for nothing. Serious.

30:19 Be anxious for nothing. And the Lord will do it. Notice what he says, be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, let your... With...

30:37 Excuse me, I always... That prepositional phrase with thanksgiving, that always kills me because I I, you know, why why does he put that there? Let your request be known unto men. Prayer and thanksgiving. Prayer and thanksgiving.

30:58 I I in everything. Right? Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. What are we saying? What are we saying when we thank him?

31:11 What's what's going on with that? Well, you know, you're going to name it and claim it, Chris. That's really what it is. It's name it and claim it. No, it's not.

31:21 It's not name it and claim it. It is one of those things when we are thanking the god of the universe for hearing us. Thanking the god of the universe who can work in our lives and wants to work in our lives. Do we understand that? We're acting like God's some gumball machine and if I say it correctly, put the quarter in with the nice phraseology, King James preferred, and then you put that in there and you pull it out and God's got to respond.

31:54 No, I have a relationship with a God, a living God who knows me better than anybody else. He knows my limits. He knows everything about me and I can come to him and I can ask him for anything and everything. Notice what he says. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known...

32:24 With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Oh, have to understand, Chris. I'm I want a theological pie, man, right there, ready to go. I really do. Banana cream, you know, or something like that, you know.

32:42 Oh, Chris, you know, I I never pray for myself. You know, that's what I want. I'm going, I'm I must be the worst Christian on the planet because I'm praying for me all the time. I'm asking God, would you help me to do this? Would you help me to do that?

33:02 My brother-in-law was telling me, he says, you know something? I wish in America people would understand that they need God and that they need him moment by moment. That's exactly what Paul is saying. Everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. Hey, I want to ask you a question.

33:45 And I know you go through deep waters. Some of you have gone and are going through deep waters. What would you like to tell him? What would you like to ask of him? And haven't.

34:18 He is telling us in everything. Let your request be made known unto God in everything. Don't let... Don't buy the cultural bill of goods that people are trying to sell us in this world, that God is just for the hard things. He's just for the hard things.

34:46 You gotta you gotta control and do your own thing. You gotta do it yourself. Just, you know, but if the hard... The really hard stuff, then let God have control of that. Let, you know, tell God about it.

35:01 Let God do it. He's not telling us that folks. He is saying in the quote unquote ease everything. In everything. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your...

35:41 Through Christ Jesus. There's no price on peace except the price of Jesus on the cross. He, peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives it, give I unto you. Peace I give unto you.

36:06 This is what you desire. Just to rest in your soul. When I trusted Christ as my personal savior, you know how it was? I I can only explain it this way. I have to show you.

36:18 I'm... I... 03/22/1971, I asked Jesus to be my savior in the basement of Dave Weibel, his family's basement. He led me to Christ. I was 18 freshman at Lakeland Community College, played basketball.

36:32 Man, talk about turmoil in the heart. It was just like this. Because the war was over. The war on the inside was over. I had no idea how I was gonna get to heaven.

36:54 Nobody could tell me and then till Dave told me and I trusted Christ as my savior and the war was over. What's the war going on in your heart? Right this very moment. When you trust in Christ and then we continually lean on him. So then he...

37:14 So he tells us this, you know, we have the same mind in the Lord to seek the same master and then also have the same musing. Look at verses eight and nine. Finally, my brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. So I guess that means turn off the TV. Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall garrison around your heart.

38:02 Wow. That's exactly what verse seven means. It garrisons around. He protects your heart. He protects your life.

38:13 He does that. You know, I I don't know how you're looking at the climate that we're looking at today, political climate in The United States. But I just want you to know something. We're watching a takeover, and we're watching godlessness dominate. That's what we're watching.

38:32 I hate to say it, but that's That is so true. We're watching godlessness dominate on all quarters. We're watching the manipulation of people, we're watching the manipulation of the masses, etcetera, etcetera. And you have to... It has to disturb you.

38:53 If you're not being disturbed by what's taking place in the world today, some... Where do where do you live? I want to live next to you. Because this is this is... It's right here.

39:08 How long will they... And I I predicted this years and years and decades ago that the next persecution for the church in America will be the taxation of five zero one c three tax exempt organizations like this place, like the Ezekiel project, like like the ministry you want to have taxation of it. Will it come in our lifetime? Would you think that you were going to have this kind of stuff in your lifetime today? What's taking place today?

39:41 In your lifetime? Well, that's for China. No, that's for that's for Cuba. No, that's for this Soviet Union. This is...

39:51 No, that was for Russia and then the Soviet Union. No, that was for Poland. That was for Hungary. That was for all the... And this is what's taking place here in The United States.

40:03 It's happening to us right now. Our joy cannot be in the constitution. Our joy has to be in Jesus. Our focus can't be on the political ramifications or if we get this certain guy in and president or sweep the congress or whatever. We can't have...

40:26 We gotta fixate on Jesus Christ. He's gonna be... And I think sometimes the Lord allows us to go through these things, so he's gonna say, pay attention to me. Pay attention to me. Now, are ramifications.

41:40 Musing on something. I think about it, I think about it, not daydream about it, but I think about it and I give it a lot of thought. That's musing. That's why we go to the amusement park. Amusement park.

41:54 We don't think about anything. We just go down the 60 foot cliff, you know, and think that's fun. You know, our lungs and heart in our mouths and then coming out of it and hopefully we, you know, we're so thankful we didn't die on that roller coaster. You know, all these kinds... I love roller coasters, Boy, you gotta be...

42:16 I like that kind of stuff. I go to Cedar Point and I watch... What's that one they call the dragster? It's so funny. People are going to me.

42:27 Sit... I go in and pay the money just to watch those guys. I am serious. I sit there and they got little stands and then all they're all joking, know, and I'm never going on that thing, never. You can pay me money, I'm not doing it.

42:43 You know, you go, you're going 200 miles an hour, then you go and slingshot up this thing and you're at... What goes up must come down. Like that. And then it's over and you go, woah, that was fantastic. You're not thinking that when you're sitting there, when it's going...

43:02 It's so fun, know, people are looking at it. All of a sudden they realize they're about to be launched and they're doing this. They're doing the sign of the cross, you know, sprinkling holy water on themselves, you know. They're doing all this and their eyes are, that's the price of admission. That is the price of admission.

43:25 I go, you gotta be not amusement. They're not thinking about it. They're just plain not thinking about it. He wants us to think about stuff and to think about him, to think about whatever is lovely, good report, virtue, praise, honest, true, pure. Think on these things.

43:49 That's what he wants from us, to muse. Same mind, same master, same musing, and then also the same maturity. And we see that in verses 10 to 23 of which we will not expound time. But just some highlighted verse... Verses here.

44:09 I like what he says and he's writing this letter, endearing letter to these people who have given, not that I speak in respect of want, verse 11, for I've learned in whatever state I am in this to be content. I have to tell you something. One of the greatest gifts that God ever gave me besides the Lord Jesus Christ is my wife. That woman is content. How did you like how do you like...

44:42 You know, we never bought a house until we went to Michigan. Who can buy a house in New York, in California, in Chicago? Are you kidding me? How'd you like this house? I liked it.

44:55 How'd you like that house? I liked it. How'd you like this? I liked it. Contentment.

45:02 Just absolute contentment. And I think to myself, why? Because she's a young lady content in Jesus. We're just passing through. We're just a passing through.

45:47 How to win friends and influence people, you know, and he was talking about how to get there, you know, be, you know, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I'm going, yeah, man. I'm gonna be the best basketball player that ever lived. I'm gonna be all GCC, Greater Cleveland Conference. I'm gonna be all this, all that kind of stuff, and I wrote that out every day for a year and a half.

46:07 I will be the best. I will be, you know, I can do all things through Christ, his strength. He doesn't... What he is talking about if he asks of you to do something, and he has in this chapter. He gives you the strength to do it.

46:26 Whatever he asks of you, he gives you the power and the strength to do it. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, even sitting in this jail. God will see me through. God will strengthen me through. God will do this.

46:48 Another verse and close with this, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. We look at that verse and we say to ourselves, sometimes our need... I'll never forget Ironside one time said, the great preacher, Ironside, Harry Ironside once said that my God shall supply all your needs and know, we think of financial and this kind of stuff but he felt that he had a need to be destitute for a little bit. And god's supply that need for him. So he would look greater towards Jesus.

48:10 How can we say thank you? Sometimes our circumstances are screaming at us and telling us to be selfless or selfish and thinking of ourselves, but help us to think of you. Help us to rejoice always. And we ask these things lord. Protect us as we go today.

48:45 Bless today And protect us as we go home. And we ask you Lord for your hand on this. And we ask these things in Jesus's name. Amen.