Well, this morning we are looking at... Philippians, and we are moving on to the section verses 27 through 30. And you had opportunity, hopefully, to read those verses. And now we're going to focus in more on them. Specifically this morning, the phrase in verse 27, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Paul has given his account of what it is to live as Christ, right? He says to live as Christ, to die is gain in verse 21. Christ is everything to him so that even in the midst of his imprisonment and the ridicule that he has received from some believers, Paul said he rejoices because Christ is exalted, that the gospel is being proclaimed and Christ is constantly being exalted in his body, whether it is by life or by death, he knows that Christ will be exalted. He shares his desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. But he chooses by the leading of the Holy Spirit, as we learned last time, to stay on in order to encourage the disciples and the saints at Philippi. All of this is born out of his love for Christ. And out of his love for Christ builds this love that he has for others. And so as we looked last time of joy, Jesus others than you, that is really Paul's heart, is Jesus first and others second, and he himself comes last. But now he begins to challenge the believers at Philippi. He's challenging his readers here. And he wants them to do likewise. He wants them to follow his pattern, his example. And as he says that a couple different times in the book of Philippians of following his example, here Paul now begins to challenge these believers, his readers, to do likewise. Now, I remember back in the days when I played football, Oftentimes, practices would be drills that we would do during practice time. And so there would be different dummies that would be laid out, and you'd run through those and things like that. And normally, the coach or a player would would demonstrate the drill. Well this particular time it was a drill that we were doing and it required running backwards and running side to side and hitting one pad and then running backwards and then turning to run full speed. And so the coach is demonstrating this drill for us and as he's running backwards he loses his balance and he falls, right? He falls and he rolls up and he gets back up and he's still going backwards and he turns and runs and he says, now do it exactly like that except for don't fall. So anyway, the first guy that does the drill, one of the players, you would probably consider him to be the clown of the team. So he goes out, and he does exactly as the coach did. He hits a pad, and he begins to run backwards. He falls, he does a somersault out of it, runs backwards, and he says, do exactly like I just did, only don't fall. And so, following the example of those over us. Paul desires us to follow his example, and we need to understand that even in the midst of life, falling does happen. It's not that we don't fail. It's not that we don't fall in our lives as Christians. We do fall, we do sin, but it is what we do with that when it happens. Do we get back up? Do we come in repentance? Do we move forward? Do we forget what lies behind and press on toward the upper call of Christ? And so what we don't want is people following me. Don't follow me in my failures, but follow me as I strive to follow Christ. That's the desire. That's the desire of anyone who is discipling another believer. The desire of the discipler is that they would set a pattern for the disciple to follow. And that pattern would be one that is following after Christ. Follow me as I strive to follow Jesus Christ. That we know was the apostle's desire. And even though Paul knew that he was not perfect, right? He even tells us that in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15 where he's writing to Timothy and he makes this statement to him. He said it is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners among whom I am the foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life. That when we do fall, do we leave an example of what it is to come back in repentance? Do we leave an example of what it is to seek forgiveness and to strive to be more like Christ? What is the example that we leave? And so here in Philippians, Paul is exhorting his readers to put into practice this gospel of Jesus Christ. So that as we live out the gospel, we become stable in our faith. That's his whole desire is that we would become stable in our faith. In fact, the title of this sermon, and this is just part one, is Stability in the Gospel. Stability in the gospel. And this morning we're gonna look at stability in the gospel is a commitment that lasts forever. It is a commitment to the fellowship and a commitment that is fit for the gospel. forever fellowship and fit. Paul's account of his mission that served to advance the gospel and exalt Christ even though he was in chains is the basis of his authority here to challenge his readers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. It is not just his apostleship that he is showing his authority, but it's because He himself is a follower of Christ in the same way. He himself desires to conduct himself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. And so he's exhorting us, his readers, to do the same. That even in the face of opposition. Now the link to this passage between the Apostle Paul and the Philippians is the same link between the Apostle Paul and us. And here's the link. The link is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so, we desire to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel, and this gospel is the link between us and Paul. we follow the same gospel. The same gospel that we read in our scripture is the same gospel that Paul preached. It should be the same gospel. However, we know, according to Jude, if you turn over to Jude right before Revelation, there's only one chapter, in verse three, Jude says this, beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. So what is Jude saying? He's saying, listen, beloved, I was wanting to write to you and talk about our common salvation, to talk to you about the gospel that we have in common with one another. But he said, but now I feel the necessity to appeal to you to contend for this gospel. Why? Because certain persons, verse 4, have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. That this gospel that Paul is preaching, this gospel that Jude says that we must contend for, is this gospel that the Reformation had to set straight back in the 1500s. It is this gospel that false teachers have snuck in and they continue to preach a gospel that is a false gospel. And we wanna look at this gospel, this gospel that the reformers reestablished in the five solas that we have on these banners behind me. the five solas, that our authority is found in Scripture alone. And Scripture alone is that which proclaims that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to God be the glory alone. So we hold to Scripture alone as our authority, and we know that Scripture teaches us concerning salvation, concerning the gospel, that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to God be the glory alone. Paul puts it in simple terms if we turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the apostle writes these words beginning in verse 1. He says, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and which also you stand. by which also you are saved." So here's this gospel. Paul says that I preached that you have received, that you stand in it by this gospel that you are saved by, that if you hold fast the word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain. And then he says, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received. And here it is, the Gospel, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, and then He appeared to many others. And so here, in simple terms, Paul gives us the Gospel. And so when we come back here to verse 27, when Paul says, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, it is this gospel that we must understand. We must understand the gospel because it is this gospel, as I said earlier, that links us to the Apostle Paul. It is this gospel that comes from the scriptures that we must contend for, that we believe. Now Paul here in verse 27 doesn't give us a list. He doesn't impose a long list of rules for the believers to live by. But what he presents is the person of Jesus Christ, right? He presents the person of Christ. He says here in verse 27, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, of Christ. You see, it is Christ. The gospel is about Christ. It's his story. Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8, he says, therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. It was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. Verse 10, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel for which Paul said he was appointed a preacher and a teacher. And here's this gospel. It was granted in Christ Jesus in eternity past. Meaning before time began. That this gospel is a story of Christ. It was granted in Christ from all eternity. That before time began, Jesus Christ existed as the second person of the Trinity. Right? He was in existence in fellowship with the Father. All things were created by Him. John chapter 1 verse 3. All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. And then when you jump over to Colossians 1, in verse 16, we see, we read, for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through Him and for Him. All things were created by Him. All things were created for Him, including you and I. Including you and I. But because sin has entered into the world through Adam, Romans chapter 5, and as a result, we are all sinners. Sin came to all men, Romans 5, Romans 3.23 says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What was the requirement? Well, Jesus tells us what the requirement was in Matthew chapter five, verse 48, when he says, you shall be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Perfection is the requirement. And there's not a single one of us who is perfect. There's not a single one of us who measures up to the requirement. We are sinners. So therefore, Jesus needed to come down to earth in the likeness of our sinful flesh, except he was without sin, right? He was born of the Virgin. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was not conceived by man. So therefore, Jesus in his humanity looked like sinful flesh, but he was sinless. He was without sin. He needed to come down as one of us without sin. And he grew up as a baby into an adult, perfectly living like his father is perfect. Right? Jesus perfectly lived like His Father, who is perfect. And so He accomplishes this perfection. Therefore, He was the perfect sacrifice. And so He died for our sins according to the scriptures. That's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, that He died for us according to the scriptures. What does it mean that He died? What does it mean that he died? Obviously it means physical death. We know that Jesus physically died. We know that he was taken down from the cross. No life in his body. He was placed in a tomb. So we know that there was physical death, but also there was spiritual death. There was a separation that took place between Jesus and the Father. That's why Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because there was a separation as he took our sin upon himself. And so here is this spiritual death, which was the wages of our sin, right? Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death. Not just physical death, but a separation from God. But we seldom see the agony of his soul, which caused him to cry out in Luke chapter 22, right? We seldom see the agony of his soul. Jesus was not crying out in agony to the point of death because of the cross. He was crying out in agony because of the cup. Listen to what he says in verse 42. Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. And now an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. So here is Jesus' prayer, and we know the Father hears him, and the Father sends an angel to strengthen Jesus in this time. And Jesus being in agony, he was praying very fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground. And he rose from prayer and he came to the disciples and he found them sleeping from sorrow. And so here is this agony that Jesus was experiencing in the garden. In Hebrews chapter five and in verse seven. We read these words from the writer of Hebrews. He said, in the days of his flesh, speaking of Jesus. So in the days of Jesus' flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the one able to save him from death. So here's Jesus who is praying. He's talking about this point in time in the garden when he's praying in agony and in tears to the one who can save him from this death. And he was heard because of his piety. The Son was heard. Jesus was heard. But we need to understand that Jesus went on to say, Lord, not your will, not my will, sorry, not my will, but yours be done. And we know that it was a will of the Father that Jesus would die this excruciating death on the cross. Excruciating death is the agony of the cup of the Father's fierce wrath. Herman Witsius, he wrote the book, The Economy of the Covenants, and in volume one, he writes this. This exceeding trouble and agony did not arise only from the sympathy of the soul with the body, nor from the mere horror of impending death. It was something else that afflicted the soul of Christ, namely, his bearing the sins, not of one, but of all who belong to God. He had beheld the awful tribunal of God before which he was presently to appear in order to pay what he took not away. He saw the judge himself, armed with all the terrors of his incomprehensible vengeance, the law brandishing all the thunders of its curses, the devil and all the powers of darkness, with all the gates of hell just ready to pour in upon his soul. In a word, he saw justice itself and all its inexorable rigor, to which he was now to make full satisfaction. He saw the face of his dearest father, without darting a single ray of favor upon him, but rather against the sins of mankind which he had undertaken to atone for. And whithersoever he turned, not the least glimpse of relief appeared for him, either in heaven or on earth, till with resolution and constancy he had acquitted himself in combat." These are the things. which not without reason struck Christ with terror and amazement, and forced Him, His groans, His sighs, and His tears. It was the fierce wrath of God for my sin. My sin that the Father imputed to Jesus' account. Jesus was sinless. He was perfect. And He took it all. All of this Jesus did for the expiation, for the satisfaction of our sins. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 4 says He was buried. He died and He was buried. And that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. And he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. You know what that means? Redemption accomplished. Because Jesus was raised from the dead. The appeasing of the wrath of God was satisfied. My sins were paid for in full. And the sins of every person who would trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is paid for in full. The moment you trust in Christ because Jesus took those sins upon himself and he appeased the wrath of God. He satisfied God. Our sins were expiated. They were taken care of. He was buried and he was raised. Redemption accomplished. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21, God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. That God imputed our sin to the account of Jesus. The one who knew no sin became sin for us in that he took our sins upon himself and he paid the penalty of those sins. in order that we might become the righteousness of God in him. That the perfect life that Jesus lived, God now imputes to the accounts of those who trust in Jesus Christ. The great exchange, my sin for his righteousness. My sin for his righteousness. How amazing is the gospel. Salvation begins with us trusting in Jesus Christ, right? John 1, 12, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. And in John 5, verse 24, truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has passed out of death into life, right? He is not condemned, he's passed out of death into life, he has not come under judgment, That's a paraphrase of 524. We need to understand that salvation, justification, happens at the moment that we trust in Christ. And a part of our salvation is sanctification, is sanctification. We are justified. We are a new creation, right? 2 Corinthians 5.17, right? If anyone is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation. The old things pass away. Behold, new things have come. We are this new creation. God has given us a new heart. He's given us a new spirit. Ezekiel 36. Hebrews 10.14 says, for by one offering Jesus has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Those who are being sanctified. You see what he says here? Here's a part of the gospel. It's sanctification and he says, for by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Meaning that I am being sanctified by God. That's the picture here. Sanctification is not a result of me surrendering to Christ, right? I surrender my life to Christ, that brings justification. Sanctification is not a result of me surrendering to Christ. It is mine by design. God designed this, that we will be sanctified, right? In 2 Corinthians 3, in verse 18, Right? Here we see the Apostle Paul writing these words when he says, but we with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who is doing this work of sanctifying us, changing us into the image of Jesus Christ. And then in Romans chapter eight, right? Romans 8, and in a verse that we all know, is that God works together all things for good, right? We know that God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. And what is God's purpose? Verse 29, for those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. God has designed it that we become conformed into the image of Christ. God has designed it. Therefore, verse 30, and those whom he predestined, he also called. And these whom he called, he also justified. And these whom he justified, he also glorified. God sees it as a done deal. He doesn't even put sanctification in there in the middle, which comes between justification and glorification. Why? Because God's design is that you and I are sanctified. That's his design. We are a new creature. We are a new creation created in Christ Jesus, right? Four good works that God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them. God prepared them beforehand that we would walk in them. Understand that this aspect of sanctification is a part of the gospel. It is a part of the gospel. It is the person Jesus Christ. It's a transaction, our sin for his righteousness. And we're gonna see more of this as we continue. Stability in the gospel begins with a commitment forever. Forever. Paul says here in Philippians 1.27, only, only conduct yourselves. The word only. The word only is monoun. It means always or only. It has an emphasis that it's above all. What Paul is saying is only and always. You could just say it that way. Only and always conduct yourselves. Only and always. That the only thing you should be about is conducting yourself. You should always be about conducting yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel. And this is who we are in Christ Jesus. There is one essential thing for the Christian, right? There is one salvation. There is only one way. There is only one truth. There is only one life. Right? John 14, six, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the only way to the Father. There is only one name by which we can be saved, and that is Jesus Christ. Acts chapter four, verse 12. This has always been the plan. This is the only plan. It's always and only the gospel of Jesus Christ. Always and only. And not just only. But it's always. It never changes. Because God is immutable. God never changes. That means that we will not come to judgment and all of a sudden God looks at us and says, oh, didn't you get the memo? I changed it. You now have to come through Mary. Or, didn't you get the memo? I changed it. Now you have to produce your own good works. You have to do it yourself in order to be saved. Or, all you need is to be baptized with water. Didn't you get that? It never changes. It never changes. It's never gonna change. It's been the gospel that Paul preached. It is the gospel that Jesus lived out and gave us. It is the gospel that was designed from eternity past by God. It is the gospel that has been handed down to the saints that came through the reformers that has come to us today. It is the gospel that is found in his word. Hebrews chapter seven, verse 25, it says, therefore, he is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. Do you see that? He, as always, right? He is able to save forever those who draw near because he always lives to give intercession. Jesus is interceding on our behalf. In Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse 11, The author writes, every priest stands daily, ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But Jesus, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, there it is, all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool at his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. He has perfected for all time. It doesn't change. It is always the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is forever. Only and forever we are to conduct ourselves, he says, in a manner worthy of the gospel. Now we come here to fellowship through this one phrase, this one word. In a manner, we're the conduct yourselves in a manner. Conduct yourselves in a manner. That's one word in the Greek. It is the word, polytusethe. Polytusethe. It literally means to be citizens. It comes from the word polis. meaning to take an active part in the affairs of the state. To take an active part in the affairs of the state. In the Greek, it has the idea of a partnership or a fellowship that is formed with a view to having people attain to the highest of all human good. So the citizen is to develop his gifts and his potential, not in isolation, but in cooperation as a part of the community. It's a cooperation that I develop my gifts, right? My potential as a part of the community. So it is in this community that a person is able to maximize then his abilities, not by himself. He needs the others to come alongside him, to maximize his abilities. And what he's trying to maximize in his abilities is not for himself, but it is for the community and for the good of the community. That's the idea of this word. Am I about this in my church? I must ask that. Is that the desire of my heart? That I come to the body of Christ in order to maximize the giftings, to order to maximize the potential, what God has in me. And the only way for that to be maximized is through you. And as we gather together, what we are doing is we are encouraging and exhorting one another in our giftedness, in our potential, in our abilities. And it's not for the sake of me, and it's not just for the sake of you, but it's for the sake of the whole community of believers. That's what he's talking about here. That's what he's talking about. Is that my desire? Am I about this in my church? What distracts us, right? What distracts us from this fellowship? We just, we walk into a room and we're on our phone, right? And we're constantly texting or constantly looking at things online and so we have the phone. That way we don't have to socialize, right? We don't have to socialize. We don't have to fellowship. And so the phone gets in the way, entertainment gets in the way, right? My watch gets in the way because I begin to look and think, well, golly, he's still preaching, right? And so time constrains us. We need to get rid of the things that hinder this fellowship, this citizenship that we have as fellow believers in Christ. Because to be a Christian in community is a permanent obligation. It's not just something we do on Sundays and Wednesday nights. To be a Christian is something that we are about every single moment of every single day. And I need you. We need each other in this to pray for, to encourage, to come alongside. And we haven't been able to do that. We haven't really been the church because we haven't had the opportunity to gather. And here in a couple of weeks, we're gonna have that opportunity. Let me ask you, do you miss it? Do you miss the opportunity? How much have we taken it for granted? And maybe God has used this time to move in our own hearts, to burn within us a new desire of what it is to come together, what it is to be the church, to be citizens of heaven, which is the church. Philippi was a Roman colony. They took their citizenship seriously. They lived for the betterment of their community and for the betterment of Rome. And so Paul is challenging them on their citizenship. He wants them to see that they are not just citizens of Rome, but they are citizens of heaven, right? He even writes that in verse 20. He says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to refer to that later on. And he wants them to understand that their citizenship is not just here on earth in Rome, but they are citizens of heaven. Citizenship not only brings rights and privileges, right? My citizenship in this nation brings rights and privileges. I have the right and the freedoms that I have. I have the rights of protection by the government, by the nation. So I have all these rights and privileges, but also with it includes duties and responsibilities. I have the duty of striving to make my, My nation better. My community better. I have the duty of voting. I have the duty of paying taxes. I have the responsibility of these things that we must take seriously. And what I believe Paul is doing here is he's referring not just to the citizenship in Rome. He's referring to the citizenship in heaven. I think he's referring to both. I really do. I think he's referring to both here. There are those who think he's just talking about citizenship of Rome. There are those who think he's just talking about citizenship of heaven. But I think he's talking about both because it is in both that we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. Right? I must do that in my citizenship in my nation. I must do that in my citizenship in the church. Right? And so here is this picture. And so notice what he writes in chapter two, verse 14. He says, do all things without grumbling or disputing, so that, what? You will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God, above reproach, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world. Right? Our conduct, our fellowship. It's not to be out of grumbling and disputing with one another, but our Our conduct must be such that we appear as lights, that our citizenship in the church is so brilliant that it's lights to the world. It is a light to the world, it's a light to our nation in which we are citizens of. And so what does Paul, or what does our fellowship in church communicate to the world? That's what we must ask ourselves. What does Aurora think of our church? What do they say? And maybe they don't say it in front of you, but you hear different things. What do they say? And so what do we do to change that? What do we do to make it be that which is brilliant, that which is lights shining among the community of Aurora? that they see that there's a difference, that our citizenship, we take seriously of our citizenship in our nation, in our community, but it comes out of our citizenship in heaven, our desire to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. That's what he goes to, that all of this is fit for the gospel, fit. Right? And so he says, again, verse 27, only always conduct yourselves as citizens of heaven and of the USA in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Fit, worthy. The word worthy is axios. It means worthily or in a manner worthy of or of like value. It means to be fit or worthy. And so it has the meaning of fitting in accord with, in this case, fitting to the gospel. So that we have this, we are fitting to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so Paul is giving these exhortations that will follow. This is one exhortation of conducting ourselves, and he continues with some more exhortations. He's demanding that we have the right manner of life to be in accord with the gospel of Christ. That's the whole desire, that we are in accord with the gospel of Christ. He uses this over in Colossians chapter one and verse 10. He says, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. He uses it again in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 12 where he writes, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. That we are worthy of the God who calls us into his kingdom and glory through the gospel. And in chapter four, verse one of Ephesians, Paul writes, I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. That it's not just your ministry, it's not just what you bring, it's that you've been called as a son and a daughter. You're a son and a daughter of the King, and that you come walking in a manner worthy of what it is to be the son of the Father, to be the daughter of the Father, to be the son of the King, to be the daughter of the King. That we walk in a way that's worthy of that, that's consistent with that. That's how we are to live our lives. We are to live them in consistency with the gospel of Christ. to be consistent with Christ first and foremost, right? He's the goal. Christ is the goal of the gospel. God is conforming us into the image of Christ. John says in 1 John 3 verse 2, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. But we know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. That's the goal, is to be like Christ here in the process of our sanctification, which we will be like Him in glorification when we come home. Paul speaks of this in Philippians chapter two. He says, do nothing out of selfishness, verse three, or empty conceit. But with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves, which is also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of man, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." This is what we're called to. This is what we're called to in the gospel, to be like Jesus, to be like Jesus. When we think of the gospel, right? In the gospel, I have received mercy. Do I show mercy? Do I show mercy? In the gospel, I have been given grace. Do I bestow grace? Do I bestow grace to others, especially to the church? I have received forgiveness in abundance. Do I abundantly forgive? Are you overwhelmed yet? Are you overwhelmed? Listen to what Peter writes in 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, in verse 11. Peter says, beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Does that finish you off? I mean, I begin to think, I can't do this. How in the world am I capable of doing this? I mean, let alone, I can't even figure out how to get dressed for church. And on top of that, I am called to conduct myself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. To pull myself up by the bootstraps is an impossibility. I can't do it. And there are those who will just say, just do it. And I say, I can't, because it's impossible. It's impossible without the gospel. It's impossible without the gospel of Christ, because I need Jesus daily. You need Jesus daily. Listen to what Peter said in chapter one, in 1 Peter 1, verses one and two. He says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Look at what he says, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ. Listen, look at what he says first, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that it is the Spirit of Christ who dwells in me, right? It is the Spirit of Christ who dwells in me that's changing me and conforming me into the image of Christ from glory to glory. as 2 Corinthians 3.18 says, that I'm being changed into the image of Christ through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in order to, he goes on to say, to obey Jesus Christ, right, to walk in obedience. But notice what he says, and be sprinkled with his blood, meaning that when I fail, I'm forgiven. Did you hear that? To obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled in His blood means that I still live in this flesh. I still have this battle that's raging on of my flesh, of Satan and his demons, of this world that are striving to trip me up, of striving to beset me, of striving to cause me to stumble and fall. but I'm covered by the blood of Christ. That means that I can pick myself up in repentance, that I come to Him and say, God, I can't do this. I can't do this. Thank you that you've given me of your Holy Spirit. Thank you that your Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf. Thank you that Jesus constantly lives to give intercession for the saints because I desperately need Jesus in my life. I desperately need the Spirit in my life in order for this to take place. that grace and peace would be mine in the fullest measure, right? That's the gospel. that I find grace and peace in the fullest measure in Christ. It's Christ in me. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. Even in the midst of this dark world where we are not only battling the flesh and Satan and the world, but we also face persecution. We also face struggles. We haven't seen the persecution to the extent that many other areas in our world have seen it. but it is even in the midst of that. I want to close as we finish our time, 2 Corinthians chapter one. I want you to see these words from the Apostle Paul. Apostle Paul verse eight says this. For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction, which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. Did you hear what Paul just said? The affliction that came upon them in Asia, that the burden was so excessively beyond their strength that Paul says they despaired even of life. They despaired even of life. This is the Apostle Paul, despairing of life. We don't know what the trial was, but obviously it was so severe that this apostle who endured beatings, whippings, stoning, shipwreck, imprisonment, is now despairing of life itself. Notice what he says in chapter four of 2 Corinthians verse eight. He says, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. perplexed, but not despairing. So what happened? What happened from chapter one, verse eight, to chapter four, verse eight, in the apostle's life? What is it? What truth does he know? Because somewhere he understands this important truth. Well, let's look, verse nine of chapter one. So he despairs even of life. Then verse nine, indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. The gospel, the resurrection. You see that? Who delivered us from so great a peril of death and will deliver us. He on whom we have set our hope He will yet deliver us. And then he says, you also joining and helping us through your prayers so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. Do you see the importance of prayer? Here Paul is talking about the gospel and the importance of prayer. He's talking about the gospel, conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. He's talking about the fellowship. He's talking about the fellowship of believers who are committed to praying for one another. And that is essential, that we are praying for one another because there's going to be days of despairing in our lives. And we need to be praying for one another. We need to be encouraging one another and exhorting one another in the gospel of Jesus Christ that we would conduct ourselves according to the gospel of Christ, the resurrection that comes. Listen, look what he writes in chapter four, verse 16. He says, therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day, for momentary light affliction, now he calls it momentary and light affliction, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. That while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. He's talking about the gospel. He's talking about the gospel. He's talking about his life in Christ. He knows where the power is. He knows where he can find his strength in the midst of despairing. It is in the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead, guaranteeing our resurrection, guaranteeing that we too will be saved. He knows the truth of the gospel. And the truth of the gospel promises resurrection to eternal life. The truth of the gospel defeats despair. The truth of the gospel defeats death. And therefore, it brings hope and it brings joy in our lives. We are not left to ourselves, but because of the gospel, we have Jesus Christ in us through his Holy Spirit, and both of them, right, are interceding on our behalf. Hebrews 7 and Romans chapter 8, we see that they are interceding on our behalf, praying God's will be done. And what is God's will for us? The gospel, that we would be like Jesus. we would be like Jesus. There's stability in the gospel. That's where we find truth. That's where we find our stability. And it is the gospel that is forever. It is the gospel that brings us into fellowship. It is the gospel that makes us fit for glory, for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Father.