God bless you, brethren. It's a pleasure to meet you. I really appreciate the opportunity that we have to be among yourselves and to be in this church and have the opportunity to share some of the things of the work of the Lord. I'm going to go ahead and introduce myself really quick. My name is Marco Cantu. You will see the picture of my family there. That's my family. My wife is Nadie. That's her name. And we have three children, two girls and one boy. I was born in the Lord by the grace of God in 2010. And after being called to the ministry, I was ordained until 2014. Now that church is going to celebrate her 10th anniversary. The name of the church is Iglesia Bautista Gracia Soberana. That means Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. We have a good number of regular visitors, but the membership is about 15. We are in a sort of mid-sized town that the population is about 30,000, 32,000 people there. He wants me to share with you what they have in the picture, the information on the main doctrines that they stand for and they believe is not different to what this church stands for. Independent, landmark, Baptist, sovereign grace, Baptist baptism, local church, restricted communion, and premillennial. One of the activities that we try to be really constant there is the evangelism, especially door-to-door evangelism. We also try to be focused on the family, and so not only the families there at church, but also even families that are visiting with us. One of the biggest problems in our society in these days is divorce. So part of the ministry, we try to work with the marriages, with the couples, and providing some classes about that, and also to the children. Also, we try to reach out people by having, with certain frequency, services at the different homes of the members of the church to try to reach out some people in those subdivisions. Before I came here, we had the opportunity to have a very special activity that we have every year, which we call encampment, which is pretty much everybody getting together and having a good time, but also having preaching of the Word of God. Those are some of the things that we are doing, and may the Lord help us to continue doing His work. One of the things also in the ministry is that we're trying to teach our children and especially teach them how to serve. And one of the things that we're doing is teaching them music and Bible classes, obviously. We want to ask you also for your prayers. You will see a prayer request list. We do have prayer requests and needs. We need sound literature in Spanish, and especially, he has here in his list as number one, Bibles and New Testament in Spanish. Also, something that is really, really needed is the ministry of music. We also have a ministry of actually printing some sound literature. We have experienced some issues with equipment and things like that, but we are trying to print sound material. That's part of the things that we're doing. And if you are interested in knowing more about it, feel free to ask questions after the service. And you have also the board there. You want to check the information. Let's open the Word of God in Philippians chapter 1. Philippians in the New Testament, chapter 1, verse 21. We'll begin in verse 21 through verse 27. I'm going to go ahead and read it myself so that we can save some time here. So in Philippians 1, verse 21, the Word of God says, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose I would not. For I am a straight betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as it become the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Let's have a word of prayer. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity we have to be here. Thank you this afternoon. Thank you for the many of your blessings and mercies. Thank you also for this congregation of believers and the opportunity that we have to be here with them and give you glory. Thank you, Lord, also for your power shown forth through your word over us. We ask you the blessings of your word and that may be received in our hearts. We ask you this in the name of Jesus. Amen. If I have to put a title on this brief meditation, that would be the personal wishes versus the spiritual need. We can find that precisely in verse 23 where it says, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. And 24 says, Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. We're going to talk about the desires and the heart of this brother who we know had the heart of a pastor. We'll see how this minister was willing to give everything for everything to be a blessing to the Christians, to the brethren. A church that has a pastor, a minister like this is a blessed and happy church. Every church should have a pastor with a heart like this brother Paul. The Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon It is said that sort of the prime minister of that country, England, invited Spurgeon to be part of the government or part of her work team, let's put it that way. And the answer that he gave is that He didn't want to go down on what he was doing or to, I can say, degrade the work that he was doing. He was the minister, the pastor of a church, and that work was far better than what he was offered. In the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, verse 12, it says, But he that is an Hyrulean, and not the shepherd, whose own these sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. Es muy diferente un asalariado o un pastor según las escrituras. It is very, very different someone just making a salary versus a true pastor. Many may say that Paul was not a pastor, but a missionary, but he had the heart of a true pastor. So going back to our main text in verse 23 and 24, it says, For I am in a straight bed with two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. The Apostle Paul says that he got a great need and desire. This need and this burden that he had was sort of postponing his blessing to be with the Lord. And this may sound like not very much spiritual. Is it true that you really don't want to be in the presence of God, of the Lord? But let's look at that and see why he was saying that. First of all, there is no contradiction in this. Verse 21, he said, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Había definido bien claro que es mejor el cielo. He had in his mind and heart very clear that it was far better to be with the Lord. El 23 otra vez nos dice, al final casi. Verse 23 again, almost at the end of the verse, he says, which is far better, confirming. Muchísimo mejor, ¿verdad? So there is not any contradiction here in what he's saying. As a matter of fact, in other portions of the scripture, we find the apostle saying something very similar in Romans chapter 18, it says, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. So what he's saying, and that need to stay here in this world, in the flesh, if you will, is not because he's not persuaded to be with the Lord. It's not because he's confused. He knows very well what is coming. He has very clear in his mind the things that are coming and the blessings and thank God for that because allow us also to understand and to foresee that. The blessings of heaven that are coming to us, we can see those and understand those in the scripture and we can rejoice in that. I don't think any of us has any hesitation on what is coming, the blessings. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 6, the Word of God says, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. So then we can conclude that there was not any lack of conviction on the apostle Paul to be ready for heaven. But there was something else that he knew that it was necessary for them still to stay here in this world, in the flesh, if you will. So again, in our main text in verse 24, Look at that, what it says. Nevertheless, to avoid in the flesh is more needful for you. He said, it is necessary for me still to be here because of you. That's the reason we're saying that the personal wishes or the personal objectives, if you want to call it like that, is given away, and now we have the spiritual need present. We all would like to have a minister with this heart. Someone who is willing to give everything in himself. Someone that can be there to give us advice and counsel somehow. that that service and that advice will not be restricted in any way. In the gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verse 4, the word says, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it? And when he had found it, he laid it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he came home, he called together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. Every church wants and desires a minister like that. Hey, listen, we just visited a church without a pastor. The church needs a pastor with a heart. I'm very positive you have one. We really rejoice to know that you have a pastor. that you have that need covered. Sometimes when the pastor or the minister is not present among us, we may say, well, something happened. What's going on? And sometimes that church may not be even patient and may want to just remove the man of God, the pastor, among themselves. So, let's review quickly about the things and the thoughts that this brother Paul had over the Christians, the church, and the church there in Philippians. In verse 25, he says, and having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your forbearance and joy of faith. There are two things that he is ready to supply the church with. El primero que nosotros tenemos es el provecho del rebaño, dice el 25. The first that he has, he says that it should be, he says, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your forbearance and joy of faith. El mayor provecho que una iglesia puede tener de suministro The main benefit, if you will, that a church can actually have from its minister is that he teaches them. In the book of Acts 4.13, the Word says, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. that they had been with whom? With Jesus. That was his pastor. And they got great benefit about being with him, with his pastor. Now we see these men that were taught preaching with boldness. greatly committed in the faith and conviction with his Lord and Savior. They received everything from their pastor. So therefore, then, the Apostle Paul says that in that verse that we read, he says, and having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your forbearance. And the second thing is for the rejoicing. of the people of God, that's very much needed, the joy in the Lord, how we need that. And he was willing to continue marching forward and working and trying to teach and help them Get that joy in the Lord. Remember in Galatians 4, verse 13, He said, You know how through infirmity of the flesh I preach the gospel unto you at first. And my temptation, which was in my flesh, did despise not, not reject it, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What a joy and what happiness they got when they received that minister of God. They received him with joy. And then the Galatians were willing to sacrifice and to do things for the Lord. You remember the message to the church at Corinth? In 2 Corinthians 7, verse 11, we find some of the results. For behold, this selfsame thing, that ye sorrow after a godly sword, what carefulness it brought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge, in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. So those are the results of the ministry of this brother teaching and helping and advising those brethren there in that church. In our main text, in the end of verse 26, when he says that you're rejoicing maybe more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. So that's the reason that it wouldn't be in vain to still be among themselves and to be in the flesh, if you will. So we have described and seen the work of a pastor and how a good pastor with that heart is the minister of a church. Now, of course, we all would like to have a minister like that with that heart. But the passage is not done yet. It doesn't finish yet. There is something there that that pastor has to tell the brethren there. He's telling them, if you need a man of God that is dedicated and that is in much prayer and working among you, teaching the Word of God, I'll be there. He's taking the responsibility and committing to do the work. But we have the continuation of this passage, and we see something else here. We ask this question. We have always discussed and we have commented here that it is a blessing for the church to have a pastor like that and that every church wants a pastor like that. But the question is also... What does the pastor would like to see in a church? I think that's a very interesting question. What is the expectation or what now a pastor would like to see in a church? This question is not necessarily directly for you, but we have to consider this. The pastor is not going to be talking around and tell some of the members, hey, I want this from this church, but they're not willing to give that to me. But here we see that Apostle Paul is asking something to the church. I will be your pastor, but you have to stay together. In verse 27, look at that. Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ. that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. That's true, I have heard myself sometimes many, many not good comments and sometimes negative comments speaking about a man, the man of God sometimes. But you hardly hear the opposite, the pastor complaining and talking things negative about the church he's pastoring. So three things we want to say just of what we see here that the apostle is requesting the church or asking the church. You want or need a pastor that is committed to you and to do everything he can for you So now, I want a church that is committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 27. Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ. The personal testimony, if you will, of the life of a church member is very, very important and critical for a church. Someone may even say, well, even the external appearances, you know, they do not matter. It's only, you know, what we have inside. But in reality, the two things are important, inside and outside. In 2 Corinthians 3.2, it says, So this is very important, actually, and this is one of the things that the Apostle Paul is asking this church to be committed to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second thing that we see here is basically asking them to to do their duties. It doesn't matter if I am present or I am absent. We should be the same in the church or outside of the church as Christians. I almost see practically this verse 27 telling them, live up to the gospel of Christ. So we see these two things that are very, very precious. Pray for the pastor. The pastor will pray for you. Encourage your minister. He will encourage you. Amen. Do you remember that in the church we are a body? In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12, it says, Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. So, this is what should happen in the church. We all need encouragement. The minister to serve, love, teach, and the church should do the same for the pastor. May God help us to consider even our duties as we follow the Lord. God bless you. Amen.