In our Bible survey, we get to part two of the Book of Philippians. Two weeks ago, we dealt with Acts 16, 12 to 40, as the first mission to Europe was launched in response to the Macedonian call. And Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke crossed into Europe, and here Philippi was planted the first church on European soil. And not only Lydia and her household, but also the jailer, the Philippian jailer, and his household converted, making the first converts in Europe in answer to the Macedonian call. Philippi, we looked last week at chapter 1 and 2, and today we'll be looking at chapter 3 and 4. The church at Philippi was not only the first church established by Paul in Europe on his second missionary journey, but this is a church named after King Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, and it is on the plains outside Philippi that the Roman Republic was destroyed, defeated, as Mark Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi, and that was where the Roman Empire was born. Philippi is a Roman colony on the strategic road between Europe and Asia. It's the great Ignatian highway, as they called it, between East and West. So, very strategic town, very strategic Roman colony. The people here were Roman citizens. This is the strategic gateway to Europe. This is an epistle of joy in many ways. And we've looked in the first two chapters at suffering and submission, experience and examples. Now we're getting to salvation and sanctification. We're dealing with exhortation. Foundations have been laid. And as we enter into chapter 3, the first thing we see is that the Apostle Paul warns, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation. Now, this is not speaking against Canaan's man's best friend. The term dogs here is specifically used to refer to the Judaizers, the false prophets, because of their barking and biting and backstabbing, and they were boasters. And so they're described as dogs because of how dogs might be barking at you when you're trying to move. They might be coming out running and wanting to bite your ankle, especially if you're a postman. And it's the barking, biting, boasting side that they used the term dogs. That's why when you read in Revelation that outside of the New Jerusalem are the dogs, it's by no means being that no dogs are allowed in heaven, that's not true. It's that speaking about, it was a term used for specifically those of the mutilation, those who, the Judaizers were the main enemies of Paul and Luke and throughout the books of Galatians and Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians, the prison epistles. And also in the Book of Acts, you can see continually the battlers against the Judaizers, those who want to drag you back to the Law of Moses, those who want to drag you back to the insignificant, comparatively old, now abolished, expired ritual of the old covenant, which is only a shadow pointing to the reality in Christ, which they were trying to drag everyone back to. A major theme is joy, which is repeated 16 times in this short book of four chapters, but also you read of the gospel nine times. And we read in chapter 1 verse 5 of fellowship in the gospel. In chapter 1 verse 16, defense of the gospel. In chapter 1 verse 27, that we must walk worthy of the gospel, and that we need to strive for the faith of the gospel. Also in chapter 1 verse 27. Chapter 2 verse 22 speaks about our service in the gospel. Chapter 4 verse 3, our labor in the gospel. And in chapter 4 verse 15 speaks about the beginning of the gospel. meaning the beginning of the gospel work in their area of Philippi. But they were part of Paul at that time. So, right at the beginning of chapter 3, as he starts to deal with salvation, he warns him about the false prophets. Wherever Paul goes, these Judaizers, these false teachers, these false brethren, these false shepherds, come along and they try to pervert the gospel and lead people away from the purity of the gospel and undermine the foundations of the gospel. And so, Paul, in warning against these legalists, he says, verse 3, So, the Judaizers are contending for an abolished, man-centered, fleshly form of ritual which is meant to them to mean everything for salvation. But Paul is calling them to a Christ-centered, spiritual relationship. That it's not the circumcision of the flesh, it's a circumcision of the heart. It is spiritual circumcision, which is another word for repentance. That is what marks you out as the true Israel of God. He says they are of the synagogue of Satan. They are the false. They are dogs. They are not part of the family of God. They are not the real Israel. They are just those who say they are. But as Jesus said in John 8, You are your father the devil. Here's a murderer and a liar from the beginning. And so in verse 4, although I might also have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he has confidence in the flesh, I have more so. In other words, saying I've got a better pedigree. then these Judaizers. These Judaizers are coming to you and they're saying that they have got the real way of salvation. You've got to observe the Saturday Sabbath, not the Sunday, first day of the week, Lord's Day, in remembrance that the Lord has risen from the dead on the first day of the week. No, we've got to go back to the seventh day Sabbath of the Jews. You've got to go back to the law of Moses. You've got to go back to circumcision. Paul says, I've got more reason to boast in the flesh than they do. He gives us pedigree. I was, verse 5, circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and concerning the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Concerning righteousness which is in the law, blameless. So, he gives some of his background, some of his pedigree. According to this, he is much higher than the average Judaizer out there in terms of the old covenant law which is now abolished, which was the shadow which points to Christ, which is now forfolding Christ. And he says in verse 7, But what things were gained to me, these I've counted loss for Christ. Yet I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as rubbish. Many translations say, dung, refuse. I count them something repulsive to be cast away. All these things are to me absolute rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him and having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ. I will not have any faith in my own attainment. All my faith is in the attainment of Christ. It's not a man-centered message I'm preaching. They're preaching a man-centered message. They're preaching a legalistic message. They're preaching something that you can attain and boast of. No. We are pointing to Christ, to His atonement, and we gain it by faith alone. and our boasting is in Christ. It's not of ourselves, but of Christ. And so, he is giving a positive proclamation of the pursuit of Christ. Salvation is not based upon my works, it's based upon His grace. It's not my attainment, it's His atonement. And he said, I'll no longer have self-confidence, but I'm now going to have Christ-confidence. And this is an important part of chapter three of Philippians. The false teachers desire you to be in despair. They promise you prosperity, they promise you healing, they promise you all kinds of great things, that you're going to be better than the others, but instead you find that the relationship is abusive, and it's feeling orientated, and it's all about exploitation, and self-seeking, and self-serving, and it leads to so much pride. And those who are proclaiming the way of what they say is prosperity, and power seeking, actually in the end it becomes just nothing but rubbish. It's leading you away from Christ. It's puffing up the flesh and the flesh profits nothing. And so in verse 9 he says of chapter 3, being found in him not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God through faith. Now we're not saved by faith. We are saved by Christ's merits and by his atonement, by his sacrifice, by his propitiation, by his blood sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, received by faith. Our faith doesn't save us. It is Christ who saves us, but we receive that salvation by faith. An important distinction. that no man may boast. This is what we saw in Ephesians chapter 2. And so our relationship is important, not our religion. because the Apostle Paul is pointing out that that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and a fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. This is not some empty religion. This isn't about ritual. This isn't about some outward circumcision. This is an inward circumcision. It's a real personal knowledge of Christ, not a knowledge about Christ, where it can be a merely mental knowledge. Like you could say, Yes, I know about Julius Caesar, I've read about Julius Caesar, but I don't have any relationship with Julius Caesar. I believe he existed, I've read maybe some of the Gallic Wars, or maybe Shakespeare's book on Julius Caesar, but that's not the same thing as knowing him. You know about him, and there's a lot of people who know about God, and know about Christ, but they don't know him personally. And the Apostle Paul has a personal, intimate, real relationship with Jesus Christ. He knows him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. And so we see here in these important verses Justification, sanctification, glorification. I have been saved. I am being saved. I will be saved. The past tense, present tense, and future tense of salvation. I have been saved. Justified. Just as if I'd never sinned. Because of what He has done. I am being saved by the power of His resurrection working within me. Now, there's a sanctification process going on through suffering. and by the power of the Holy Spirit, one day I will be saved. Glorification, when I'll be separated from even the very presence of sin. And you can see here, in this chapter 3 of Philippians, also a striving for the Gospel, a perseverance of the saints. If by any means, this is verse 11 of chapter 3, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead, not that I've already attained, or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold on that for which Christ Jesus has also lay hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press forward towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And so here you can see perseverance as saints is not me lying on a couch saying, well, God's going to do all the work. I lay hold of him because he has laid hold of me. I'm striving for the faith of the gospel. I'm pressing onwards. I'm pressing upwards. I'm going forward. I'm not giving up. One thing I do, forgetting all those things which are behind, I press on towards that which is ahead for me. Verse 14, I press towards the goal for the prize, the upward call of God and Christ Jesus. It's the picture here of a race. When you're running a race, you can't afford to look around, look behind, see where the others are in relation to you. You've got to strain every muscle, keep focused, keep looking, keep straight ahead. You can't afford to be distracted by anything anyone else is doing, by the crowds in the stands, by the people on the side, whether they're shouting, barking, whatever, or the people behind you. You're putting every single ounce of energy and focus into the race, pressing towards the goal. And that's the picture that the Apostle Paul is giving us here. You see in here full salvation, justification, sanctification, glorification. You see discipleship and perseverance. Onward. Upward. Further. Deeper. Higher. Not giving up. Keeping on, keeping on. Persevering to the end. This is the picture. Now some people when they think of sanctification they're thinking of idea of being faultless. No, we don't get perfection this side of the grave, this side of heaven. It's not about perfection. It's about direction. Sanctification is a process. I am being saved. I'm being delivered from the power of sin progressively. It's not perfection. It's not complete. That we're only going to get at the goal, at the finish line, at the point where we are welcomed into heaven with, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord. And so, the earthly runners may be racing for a wreath of glory, or these days the gold medal, but then they were wearing a wreath, but we are going for a heavenly crown, for a heavenly reward. And therefore, this is a much longer race. This is not just a short distance sprint. We're talking about a lifelong mountain marathon course. Verse 15, Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise God will reveal even this to you. Now this verse 15 is actually a bit of an ironic, almost sarcastic comment that the Apostle Paul is giving to those who think they are mature. the context he's speaking about those who who think they're mature and they think that they're above everyone else because they are holding to this legalistic Judaism of well you know we worship on the Saturday will we don't do it in the Sunday will we are back to the law of most all we are the circumcised and we are better than the others because we keep it to this or that point of the law and he says therefore let us as many as are mature Have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Because the whole message is, have the mind of Christ. That was the main message in chapter 2 of Philippians. Christ himself, even though he is God, he thought not robbery should be equal with God, but he emptied himself of his privileges. And he came down, he endured even the death on a cross. The humility of the God of the universe, the eternal judge, allowed himself to go through the mockery of an unjust child. enduring false accusations, untold suffering. Here's the giver of life, the creator, the eternal judge, abused in this way. We must have the same mind of Christ. Although he was God, he didn't try to obtain equality to God as he was born as a man. He went through the humblest of births, into the humblest of families, in the humblest of circumstances. There wasn't even a room in born in a stable in a cave amongst the farm animals, and he even went to the most humiliating, degrading criminal's death on a cross. Let us have the same mind as Christ. So he's saying this idea of trying to exalt ourselves and lift ourselves up and puff ourselves up and boast of our achievements, he says, beware of the dogs. They're barking and they're biting and they're boasting. We're not interested in that. Let us have the same mind as Christ. And so you get this Ironic, almost sarcastic term to those who think they're mature. Bronger brothers. Verse 16. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already obtained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. That is, the mind of Christ. It's not saying we've all got to be conformed in a sense of organizational unity. Many have tried to say that we've got to have organizational unity. Roman Catholic Church, World Council of Churches. They try an organizational unity. But we, in the evangelical world, are trying to rather have the same attitude, the same mind, to work together for the fulfillment of the Great Commission, even though we have different denominational identities and backgrounds and convictions. It's not to say we've all got to think exactly the same in terms of church government, modes of baptism, how or why we are exercising the gift of the spirit, and which gift of the spirit, and tongues, and all the other things that seem to divide, we can have different opinions on a whole range of things. But let's keep the main thing the main thing. Our highest priority is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbor as ourself, to have the right attitude, to not try to be boastful, but to think of others as better than ourselves, and to live a life of service and sacrifice to God and to his people, and to seek to fulfill the Great Commission. These are the big things. Let's keep focused on the big picture. And Paul Wrigley, yes, some people have wrong motives, But I'm glad just that Christ is being preached. And he tries to continually bring people back. Keep focused on what really matters. Live your life in the light of eternity, the mind of Christ. And so, verse 17, chapter 3, verse 17, Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, so that you have, and you have from us, a pattern. As the Apostles taught and as the Apostles walked, we have an example and we have education of teaching. And so the Apostles' teaching and the Apostles' examples should lead us. Don't worry about these dogs who come along barking, biting, and boasting, and these people who try to get you into legalism and divert you from the grace of Christ and keep you from the main thing. No. Keep focused. Follow the Apostles' doctrine. Follow the Apostles' teaching. And by that, he's not talking about somebody who pops along today and calls himself an Apostle. The Apostles, capital A with apostolic authority, were the people chosen by Christ personally. With the exception of Judas, who of course disgraced himself and was replaced by Paul. And again, there you've got a difference of church opinion, because if you hold to the idea of Episcopalianism, then the fact that the church had the authority to choose who the replacement for Judas, the disgraced traitor, was, and therefore they chose by lot the 12th Apostle, but others of us would look and say, but no, it doesn't seem that he was the replacement. Jesus chose Saul of Tarsus to become Paul the Apostle, and he was the 12th Apostle. I mean, when it comes to the names of 12 Apostles are written in heaven in the New Jerusalem, I mean, whose name do you think will be there? Considering that a lot of our New Testament is written by the Apostle Paul, it should seem to us that Paul is the one that has been chosen. But of course there are churches that will disagree on this point. Who's the 12th Apostle? We all know it's not Judas, but is it the one chosen by the church or is it Paul who is chosen by Christ? But the Apostles with apostolic authority who were the foundations that Christ was building his church on, the apostles teaching and the examples and the sacrifices, they were eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ. No person today can have the same apostolic authority as was given to those original apostles. So when you've got people today walk around calling themselves bishops and apostles and prophets and so on, that's very presumptuous and it's actually extremely dangerous, because many of them are claiming an authority equal to the original apostles, which is absolutely impossible. You have us for our pattern, and you have our teaching. In verse 18 of chapter 3, For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even with weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is actually in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able to subdue all things to himself." And so, here, Paul is making it crystal clear, we have a walk, we have a warfare, We have a work, we have a witness. There are those who are enemies of Christ. And who's he talking about? It's the same theme as you get in Galatians, Hebrews, The Gospel of Luke, Book of Acts. These are the Judaizers. These people who are the persecutors, the ones who are stoning, falsely accusing, trying to destroy, just as they were the ones who organized for the crucifixion of Christ, they organized for the persecution of the Church, the enemies of the cross of Christ. They're trying to drag you back to the Law of Moses. They're trying to draw you back to the Saturday Sabbath. They're trying to take you away from the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. They want you to go back to the Hebrew names only. but even the names that we have for the Lord. Here's the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus comes from Yeshua, from the Hebrew, and Christ comes from Christos, from the Greek. So we've got a Hebrew and a Greek name right there, and the New Testament is being revealed in Greek. The Lord wants to be worshipped by every tribe and language and tongue, as we see in the Book of Revelation. And they are trying to make you all into little Jews and all trying to take you back to the law. And that's been abolished. That is the shadow that was just pointing to Christ. Christ is reality. And so he says here, as he said in Galatians, they are the enemies of Christ. May they be, in the words of Galatians 1, anathema. May they be condemned to hell. We present you another gospel. And you can see their fruit. Jesus said you should judge a prophet by looking at his fruit. You can see the teachers. What is the end? Verse 19. The end is their destruction. The God is their belly. They are fleshy. They are worldly. They glory in what they should be ashamed of. And so right here we can see that we must know our enemy. We must know his tactics. We must know our enemy's weapons. And we must know our weapons. And we must obey our commanding officer. Because we're in a spiritual war and the people are trying to destroy the very foundations of the faith and the very direction of the gospel. Keep the main thing the main thing. Our authority is God's Word, the Bible. Our salvation is through Christ, symbolized in the cross of Christ, his blood. Our work is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Our priorities are loving God and loving our neighbour as ourself. Let the main thing be the main thing. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. Don't be distracted by all these legalistic nonsenses that they're trying to drag you into one way or the other. Verse 20, for our citizenship is in heaven. Now he's speaking to the people of Philippi. They're very proud that they're Roman citizens. And in fact, Philippi is a colony of Romans. He's saying, yes, you may be citizens of Rome, and you might be part of this colony of Rome in Philippi, but we're also citizens of heaven, the kingdom of heaven. And we have a home in heaven too. We, the church, are a colony of heaven here on earth as well. And so he's trying to get them to understand we have a dual citizenship. We have, in some ways, dual responsibilities. Well, of course, our Krishna responsibility always supersedes whatever our citizenship requirements on earth may say. And there are times when we have to say we must obey God rather than man. So that's Chapter 3. Then we get to Chapter 4, where the main emphasis is sanctification. Chapter 4 verse 1, Therefore my beloved brethren, my longed for brethren, my joy and my crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved. There's so many expressions of affection and endearment for the Philippians. Paul had a great relationship with the church in Philippi. This was, in many ways, you could say his favorite church. They are his joy and they are his crown. Why his crown? Because there will be a crown for those who win souls. Those who win souls are wise. There's a crown for the shepherd. There's a shepherd's crown. So to Paul, in many ways, this is his crowning glory or joy. That's where the words come back from right to here, to this chapter, to this verse. Because as Philippians, it's the joy and the crown of Paul. So we need to understand what we are working for and that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And therefore they must stand fast in the faith. They must stand fast in the Lord. They are not to be distracted, not to be discouraged, not to be deviated, not to be in any way turned back. They must be tossed to and fro as though they're built on the sand. They must be founded on the rock of God's word and therefore they must endure and stand fast. And standing fast is also a military term. It's an order. When there's an enemy rushing in and attacking, and you've got to stand fast, dug in, whether you've got your spear ready there to absorb the impact of them, whether it's with sword or shield, you're there to stand fast and to hold the line, to not give in, to not give way, to not let the enemy pass. We are to stand fast in the gospel. We will not budge. We will not bend. We will not be defeated. We are not turning back. And then, Verse 2, you suddenly get, I implore Iodia and I implore Scythia to be of the same mind in Christ. Now these are two church leaders, they're deaconesses, two women in whose homes the church seems to meet at times. And now they're being urged, I urge you then, true companions, Help these women who labored with me in the gospel with Clemens also. So these are people who've co-labored with Paul. And also with the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life. He's not questioning their salvation. These are fellow workers. Their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, but they are at odds with one another. There's some kind of division. There's some kind of conflict. And so he's urging them to actually be of the same mind. What's the same mind? It doesn't mean I've got to agree with one another, but the same mind as Christ. It's Christ's mind that we have. It's not that we've got to agree to some earthly formula, but that we have the same ideas as Christ, who could humble himself to such an extent that he could humble himself to a human birth in a humble, lowly family, third class citizens of an occupied part of the Roman Empire, and born to a hard life in a carpenter's home, and yet he could even go all the way to a disgraceful criminal's death on the cross. And what are we fighting for? My pride? My rights? Have the same mind of Christ. In other words, sometimes we can just leave things in God's hands. And then he goes back to rejoicing, verse 4. Rejoice not always, again I say rejoice. Now why has he suddenly jumped into that after talking about this conflict? Because he's mentioned the Book of Life. Rejoice that your names are written in the Book of Life. Is your name written in the Book of Life? It's not so important if your name is written in the church registry, but is it written in the Book of Life? And so in spite of conflict, in spite of adversity, in spite of hunger and suffering, we can rejoice. We can rejoice in all conditions and all circumstances. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand." In other words, being aware, living in the presence of Christ. In the Middle Ages, one of the greatest devotional books was The Practice of the Presence of Christ. And this is so much of what we've got to do these days. The Middle Ages church understood the practice of the presence of Christ, meditating on the presence of Christ. And the stories of Saint Christopher, for example, he has this man who's responsible to help people across the raging river. And he gets this young child late at night and he's got to carry him across. And as he's carrying him across, the weight is so great and he realizes he's carrying the weight of the world. It's actually the Lord who's come in disguise. This was a common theme throughout the Middle Ages, Christians, for about a thousand years. Christians were aware that you must entertain strangers, because some have entertained angels unaware. We've got to be hospitable to strangers. We've got to be kind to the poor, because Christ could be coming to us in disguise. He could be coming amongst the least and the poorest. Whatever you did unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you did unto me. Treat these people as though it was Christ. And so this is the whole point of, let your gentleness be known to all men, the Lord is at hand. Verse six, so in Philippians chapter four and verse four, rejoice not always, again I say rejoice, and now verse six, be anxious to nothing. Don't worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. In other words, don't worry about anything, pray about everything. And the God of peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. When we live in joy, the result is peace. Attitude is everything. Attitude makes all the difference. Life is only about 10% what happens to us. It's about 90% how we react to it. You have people who have everything going for them and they're miserable. You have other people, it seems like everything's against them, but they're joyful. What's the difference? the actions, not what others are doing or what's happening to them. It's how they choose to respond. We can choose to respond in a godly, Christ-honoring, biblical way or not. And then you get one of these greatest of all verses in the Bible. Philippians 4 verse 8, Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there's any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on such things. This is such a call to live a higher life, a better life. Despite being mocked, and imprisoned, and shipwrecked, and beaten, and stoned, and blinded, and even bitten by a snake on Isle of Malta, the Apostle Paul could say rejoice not always, and again I say rejoice. I can suffer, I can be abound and abased, I can do all things through Christ to strengthen me. I can be thankful in all circumstances. And so, what you're seeing here is reject the world's way. Reject the lies of the world, whatever things are true. Reject the worldliness of the world, whatever things are noble. Reject the injustice of the world, whatever things are just. Reject the impure, whatever things are pure. Whatever things are lovely, reject the ugly things the world is pushing. Whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, reject the bad news of the world. Take the things that are of good report. Yes, there's the bad news of the world, but where's the good news from God? And if there's any virtue, oh, how the world loves to revel in the filth and the dirt and the squalor and the scandals and the evil. and the dishonest and the lies and the treachery, but we are told, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there's any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. In other words, to hell with Hollywood, and to hell with all the secular humanist perversion and propaganda. Switch off, unplug, discard the world's media. We've got a more excellent way. We have a more excellent example in Christ. Why would we want to waste our time and get ourselves into misery and depression by focusing on all the rubbish of the world? As Paul says, he counts all these things as done, to be thrown away. It's nothing that we want. We need to focus on examples of excellence, examples of excellence in history, examples of excellence in art, in architecture, in literature, poetry, music, and law. That's why in a Reformation society we try to focus on victorious Christians who changed the world, the greatest century of missions, the greatest century of Reformation. We want to focus on the cathedrals, we want to focus on the greatest musicals ever produced, Handel's Messiah, Bach's Matthew's Passion, Steiner's Crucifixion. Why should we go to the low and worthless things of the world. Not just second rates, many of them don't even deserve to be tenth rates. They are so low in comparison to the greatness of what God has done. So we should be lifting up people to excellence, and this is why wherever Christianity has gone, it has produced the greatest architecture, like in the cathedrals, the greatest literature, the greatest poetry, the greatest music, the greatest art, and we should be focusing on the more praiseworthy and excellent things. reject the lies and the deception and the falsehoods of the world. First line, chapter 4 verse 9, The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. In other words, apostolic teaching, apostolic example. That's what we need to focus on. And notice, when the Apostle Paul went to Newtown, there was either a revival or a riot. There wasn't apathy. He either ended up in prison and beaten, or he ended up seeing a new church planted, and people went to Christ. But today, you look at what goes on in the name of the Church, and how the world loves a lot of it, and praises it, and you can see what's of God, of the Word, and which is of the world, and not of God. Right thinking and right attitudes are preparation for purposeful action. We don't just have right thinking to have right thinking. That's not the end in itself. The right thinking is to lead to purposeful action, to fulfill the Great Commission, to seek first the Kingdom of God. And therefore, we must have the right attitudes and we must have the right thinking by meditating on examples of excellence, and that'll lead us to trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Verse 10 of chapter 4, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, and that now at last your care for me has flourished again, although you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. What's he talking about? The gift that was brought by Paphroditus, the financial support to him. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. The Apostle Paul says, it's not that I'm happy because of the money you brought me, because of the alleviation of suffering that that brings about, because I can have more food, and better things, and maybe medicines, because he's suffering illness. But he's rejoicing because it shows good fruit in them, and because God will reward them, and because it shows a maturity and a generosity in him that he's rejoicing, because they are his joy and crown. He's happy more for their sake than for his own, that they have been generous. because he's learned to be happy within plenty on poverty. Verse 11. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I've learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere in all things I've learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Now, that verse, Philippians 4 verse 13, it's a great memory verse. We often quote it. It's often quoted in the sense of, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, in terms of running the race, passing the test, enduring the mountain hikes, getting through the Great Commission course, whatever it may be. And I certainly quote that many a time when I was in my military training, especially in basics, when it seemed like I couldn't take any more. The main context is in terms of suffering, that you can be hungry, You can suffer, you can be in prison, but you can be singing in the prison cell. And it's this book of Philippians that I know as a new Christian and as a young missionary and a young soldier, I turned to Philippians probably more than any other. And I must say, whether I was literally hungry, tired, cold, wet, soaking, shivering with fever, under malaria, whatever it was, in Nuba Mountains or on the border on Angola or Mozambique, Again and again, this passage, these passages, these verses kept coming back, and I can do all things through Christ to strengthen Jesus, written in the context of suffering, not just in terms of academic achievement or something like that. Verse 14, nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress. He's commending him. This is quite an unusual letter because in Philippians you see no condemnation or rebuke the Philippians. They've been praised, they've been encouraged, they've been warned of dangers, but there's nothing that suggests a reproaching of them. They are doing well, but he still gives them warnings to be careful. Verse 15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel When I departed Macedonia no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. The only supporting church it seems that Paul ever had was Philippians. He might have been sent out from Antioch but they didn't seem to continue supporting him. Philippians is the one church that continued to help. For even Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek that fruit may abound to your count. Indeed, I have all and abound. I'm full, having received from the papyrus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable surplus, well-pleasing to God. Giving, generosity, can be an act of worship to God. which is why in many churches they have offerings and they have a time of offering and plates or bowls or baskets are passed around. I've never engaged in that, in fact in the 41 years I've been in Mishmi I've never taken up an offering. And it's not that I think it's wrong or not appropriate. It is appropriate in many churches. But as a mission, we've worked on the faith mission principle of Hudson Taylor. Freely receive, freely, freely give. And so while I think it's perfectly acceptable for a church congregation to have offerings and to have it as part of the worship service, reminding people it is an act of worship, But we'd rather have everything completely free will, because as a faith mission, so many people, when they look at missions or ministries, they think money, because that's what the people speak about and emphasize so much. I'd rather that not be a distraction, but that we just focus on keeping the main thing the main thing. Focusing on the Gospel, doing the Lord's work, doing what we can in accordance with what we have. and not making a big thing about support. Paul does talk about it, but there is a place for that. And then he goes in verse 19, chapter 4 verse 19, In other words, he's praying for the Lord to reward them. He can't give them anything back. He's in prison in Rome. This is a prison epistle, but he's praying that the Lord will reward them. And in fact, nobody can out-give God. That is a fact. And then he ends with this benediction. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. This is where the sola soli deo gloria comes from. The fifth sola of the Reformation. Everything must be done to the glory of God alone. The most excellent of all. inspires excellence. And if we worship a God who is excellent, then we should be aiming to do excellent things, which is why the most excellent art and music and literature and architecture has been produced by Christians in honor of Christ. And that's what solidaire gloria means. We seek to be excellent in what we write or do or plant or build. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those of Caesar's household. Now here, again, he hints to the fact that people have been won to Christ, even in Rome, even in the palace of Caesar himself. In Caesar and near his household, maybe relatives, certainly some of the palace guards have been converted to Christ. His chains have been for the good. So the whole emphasis here is the joy of the Lord is my strength. which is also Nehemiah 8, verse 10. We should travel on Christ's errands. We should suffer in Christ's service. We should proclaim Christ's gospel. We should declare Christ's lordship in all areas of life. We should teach Christ's message. Knowing you, Paul is saying to the Philippians, brings me joy. But knowing God brings all joy at all times, in all circumstances. So what we've seen here, is redemption, righteousness, resurrection, and responsibility. Redemption. God is working it in, and you must work your salvation out. There's righteousness, not our own righteousness, but His righteousness, chapter 3, verse 9. Not our righteousness, His righteousness. So, in the beginning you read about redemption, then you're reading about righteousness, and then the resurrection. Know Him and the power of His resurrection. Chapter 3, verse 10. And then the rest is on responsibility, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press towards a goal for the prize of upward goal, the call of God and cross trees. Chapter 3, verses 13 to 14. So here you have the mind of Christ, the knowledge of Christ, the peace of Christ, the power of Christ, the pre-eminence of Christ is in Philippians. Chapter 1 deals with suffering, Chapter 2 with submission, Chapter 3 with salvation, Chapter 4 with sanctification. The beginning is about experience and examples, and the last part of Philippians is the exhortation. And therefore, the call to us is to have integrity, to be humble, to be positive, to remember what really matters, and to be content to learn to be content in all circumstances and all conditions. Press on. Reach forward. Never, ever give up. Never give in. Never go back. Keep on keeping on. Personally, I run the race of faith. Keep the faith. Fight the good fight of faith. Let us pray. Lord God, we want to thank and praise you for who you are, for what you do, for the privilege we have of being your servants and your soldiers, being your sons and daughters, being rescued from the kingdom of darkness, being part of your kingdom, seeking first the kingdom, making disciples, teaching obedience. Help us, Lord God, to make your great commission our supreme ambition. Help us to keep keeping on. Help us to persevere, to never give up, and to never give in. We thank you that we could do all things through Christ who strengthens us. In Jesus' name. Amen.