All right, we can set our hymnals to the side, and please take your Bibles and open up to Philippians chapter one, while the little ones are dismissed to go to their class with Mrs. Shore, the crush. Philippians chapter one, and our text is kind of all over, so we'll start there, but we'll go to different passages in the book of Philippians. Again, thank you for your prayers and hard work this past week. We're very thankful for what God did in our lives, in the lives of those that we minister to. You know, it's interesting when you put a lot of effort into something and there's not high attendance and you can still say it didn't really matter because it didn't. I mean, I don't think any of us were really thinking about attendance in our ministry this past week, that God was working. And, you know, we're happy with that. We didn't have to look back with regret and say, you know, I wish we had done more as far as trying to get the word out. We did more than we've ever done before as far as doing that. So we're thankful for what God did. And we saw, I think, on Thursday night a little bit of the blessing of God just for our labor as we had kind of unusual attendance on Thursday night and those that came. And to have the one mom that was there with her child come. So there's a lot that we could just thank the Lord for. But thank you for all your hard work, all your prayer, an effort that went into this past week. I want to begin this morning, as we'll catch up to where we were at last week when we left off, by a verse that really stood out to me. I always thought with being born again, and you think about that term, where is that in the Bible? I would automatically say John chapter 3. If you'd asked me, is it anywhere else in the Bible? I probably would have said, I don't know. It is actually in the Bible in another place, 1 Peter 1 verse 23. It says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, Adam's seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. And verse 24 is speaking about Adam's seed is death. I mean, Adam's seed, physical seed, is just life, you know, 70 years. If you get more than that, God's just grace to you, but the average is 70 years, and that's very temporary. So Adam's seed is temporary, but, verse 25, but the word of the Lord endureth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. So we're born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. We're born again by the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever. So there's people that we meet. I met a guy this morning. It was quite early this morning. He was walking, I was walking, and I prayed before I got to him, God, if you give me an opportunity to speak to him, I'll speak to him. And he stopped, stood there, talked to him for 20 minutes. But I looked at him, and I gave him, by God's grace, a gospel confrontation. Because I understand, as I stand there looking at this man, that if he dies without Christ, because he made statements like this, I hope there is a God. I hope I find out, you know, there is. He's really an atheist in his heart, but I hope there is. And I looked him in the eye and I said, look, I said, to hear you say that is kind of sad to me, because your hope that there is means nothing in life and in eternity, it'll mean hell. Because what he's saying is, I hope there's a God, but he's not hoping in life and looking in the Word of God and finding out about Jesus Christ and getting saved. But I understand, as I look at that man, he needs to be born again. How important is the Gospel that somebody that we look at has to be born again and without that everlasting life, that they'll die and they'll go to a lake of fire for all eternity. And it doesn't matter this morning if they don't believe in it. because God said it. It doesn't go away because they think, well, I'm fine. No. So they need Christ. And so again, how important is that message? So that's why last week we looked at the message, the primacy of the gospel. The fact is, in our lives, and let me say this, don't disassociate the gospel from Jesus Christ. The gospel is Jesus Christ. He is the living word. The word of the gospel and Christ are basically inseparable. But the primacy of the gospel is the idea that in my life what should be most important in my day-to-day and in my week this week and in my week next week is the gospel. Because for all eternity, that is really what matters. And Paul, as you look at the life of Paul, you read through the New Testament, what you find again and again, you'll keep coming across this. If not, I said last week, the word gospel is in our Bible 111 times. But the idea of the Gospel is in the Word of God from beginning to end. The Gospel really is the summary of the Word of God. How important that ought to be, the primacy of the Gospel. And it was, we mentioned, in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. His life was about the Gospel. As we look at the Apostle Paul, what was his life about? It's about the Gospel. And so we find him in prison, writing the book of Philippians from prison, and as he's writing, the theme, they say, of Philippians is joy, but I mean, I find one of the prime subjects of Philippians is the Gospel. That everything Paul was doing as he suffered was the Gospel. So again, we're going to, let's pray, and then we'll catch up to where we are. in the message from last week, and then we'll go on from there. So let's pray. Father, I'm thankful for the Word of God, and I'm thankful for the Spirit of God. And this morning, as I speak, I just pray that, Lord, you would speak, please, to our hearts. I pray, Father, challenge us with the message of truth from the Word of God, the importance of the Gospel. And so, Lord, help it to be clear. I pray, give us ears to hear. This morning, I pray that Satan would in no way hinder this meeting, that, Lord, he'd not have any ability to do that because, God, you're so good and you're so powerful. And, Father, you're so able to speak to any heart and every heart. And Lord, we're just before you now asking that Lord Jesus Christ would reign in this service, that He reign in our hearts. And God, that you'd be glorified now as we look at the Word. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Alright, so last week as we looked at it, point number one was we have no fellowship without the Gospel. Why is the Gospel so important? Because outside of the Gospel this morning, there's no reason for you or I to be here. There's churches today that have nothing to do with the gospel. They're together, but it's a social club. It's vain, it's empty, it's there just to, I guess, be with one another, no different from any other group. But what binds us together as a believing church is the gospel. As Paul said to the Philippians in verse 5 of chapter 1, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. And speaking about, I thank my God, every member of you, I enjoy praying for you, I'm burdened to pray for you because you're my brother, my sister in Christ, because we have fellowship in the gospel. My family just enjoyed a family reunion, my dad's side of the family, out in Colorado. You go to a family reunion because that's your family, your blood related to those people, and so there's a reason that you're there. You don't go if you're not a necessary part of that family, unless you're a close friend or something, they invite you to come along, because that's not your family. This morning, as we gather together, our fellowship is around Christ. You might be here as a visitor, and that's fine, but I can say this this morning by the authority of the Word of God, that your relationship with us this morning is not the same as somebody that's born again into the family of God. Because we're not a brother in Christ. We're not a sister in Christ. unless you have been bought with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we want that for you, we want that for everybody. I mean, what did God, this whole community was full of born-again people that are part of the family of God. But apart from the Gospel, there is no fellowship. How important is that this morning? If we live our lives and think about it, we could go day after day after day after day without the Gospel, but listen, set the Gospel aside and pretty soon, and what you're finding, is that there is no longer a church because the gospel has gone away and that which birthed people into the family of God is no longer being put out. And so Paul rejoiced in the gospel. Why? Because that brought fellowship. I mentioned last week Brother Washer, about the song they sing down south in the United States, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been... I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by the blood, join our ears with Jesus as we travel this side. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. Why? Because that is a family. See, if in your heart you think, well, I wish that I had more family, that relationship, it's in Christ. I mean, a believing family is actually stronger than a lot of physical families because God has put that there. But you don't have that without the gospel. I've got to hurry on or we're not going to get to the new points today. What would be a gospel defender and establisher? Paul said in verse 7, Even as it is meet for me to thank this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. He's saying, I praise God, because here I am, I'm in prison, but I praise God, you're standing up and you're fighting for the Gospel. I praise God that you're establishing the Gospel. And like an attorney that would defend the innocence of the Lord Jesus Christ and would condemn the guilt of the world, that's our privilege to stand and defend it. To stand for Jesus, to stand against the ungodliness. The confirmation is the idea of establishment. It's what the Bible speaks about when it says we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. Be ye reconciled to God. That I have part as a believer of helping somebody to get saved and ratifying that covenant relationship between them and the Lord Jesus Christ. The peace treaty that has already been signed by God just needs to be signed by that person. that I could plead with them to say, sign your name to that. Let that be established in your life. And then as they get saved, further establishing them by God's grace in the faith. That's important. Again, if the gospel is not important, then we lose the defense of the gospel. The world says, I don't believe it, I don't buy it. And Christians say, well, I guess I don't really care. But we ought to care because of the primacy of the gospel. We ought to stand up and say, hey, it's not okay because eternity is at stake and the glory of God is at stake. And so we're seeking to establish that and defend that. And then we ended last week with we are to suffer for the gospel. Verse 12 says, But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out, rather, unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. And so here Paul's in prison, and you think, he's writing this letter back to the church at Philippi, and they're thinking, Paul, share with us your burdens, and he's saying, listen, I don't want you to be burdened about the fact that I'm over here in prison. No, wait a second, it's fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, and he's saying, listen, the main purpose of my life for Christ is being done. So it doesn't matter that I'm in prison. Because God's work is going forward. It's what Paul said as he was, as he's before King Agrippa, as in Acts 26 and verse 27. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Agrippa said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. And Paul's standing in the Colosseum at Caesarea on the sea. He's looking at those bleachers that are there and the thousands of people that are sitting in front of him as he stands before King Agrippa. And Agrippa says, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Paul says, hey, I will to God that everybody here was saved. And just like me, except for these bonds. And Paul goes, look, you know, I don't really care about the fact that I'm bound here. He's not giving a defense of himself and saying, I should be set free and let me go. He's standing up for the gospel. You know, it's a very sad thing today to think there's people like that, that say that almost without persuading me. I had a guy two weeks ago or three weeks ago, Kyle, actually it was about four weeks ago, I think, that I was witnessing to down at Princess Street Gardens. Witnessed to him for an hour and 15 minutes. He was very atheistic. As I sat down with him, I said to him, I said, if I can persuade you that there is a God, will you seek after Him? Because he's an atheist. You know, when I got done in our conversation, he said, you've almost convinced me. Because he admitted, my life's empty. There's no point to my life. And I told him about Eddie, and how Eddie had gotten saved, and how Eddie had everything, but he didn't have Christ. And when he found Christ, then he didn't need anything, because he had everything. I told him about that, and he said those same words, almost. But you know what it's like? It's like a bride that's killed on her wedding day. Almost. I saw a story this past week of a, I didn't read it, but I saw the title, there's a picture of this woman, she's in a helicopter, it's her wedding day, and the helicopter went down and she died. How sad is that? That's a heartbreaking story for us to read and to think about, or to read about somebody that had a C-section scheduled, an emergency C-section to save a baby, and the day of the C-section the baby dies. That's a very sad thing. What is that? That's almost. See, it's a very sad thing today to think there's people that are so close, it's like the hand is on the doorknob to heaven, but they just won't turn it and take that step of faith and receive Jesus Christ. And though their hand is on the doorknob, they'll be cast into the devil's hell as surely as somebody that is the furthest away from Christ as can be. Because it almost doesn't matter. But to go back to our point, Paul, he's in prison, he's suffering for the gospel, and he's like, you know, it doesn't matter that I'm suffering, what matters is this, because this is so important that people understand the gospel. And so we'll continue on, we'll see where we get today in our study. And so the fourth thing here, and continuing on this morning, is we need to be bold for the gospel. Paul's suffering for the Gospel, because of that, it's being talked about. It's being talked about in the community by different individuals, because there's people that are aware of the fact that, of what is taking place. Certainly the enemies of God are aware of it, as the Jews chased Paul out of Jerusalem, and Paul is going to Rome, and Paul's in Rome, and so they're aware of it, despising what Paul's standing for. On the other hand, there's believers that are aware of it, and defending Paul, and praying for Paul. And so, because of what they... heard about Paul, there was a motivation that was taking place. I want to just share with you some things that are taking place currently with regard to suffering. I shared with our church, I think, was it three weeks ago today or three, two, I think it's two weeks ago, all right, so three Sundays ago, Tim and Luda Smith had their service broken into. They're in an Islamic country. It's a home church that they have and knock on the door, you know, and who's the pastor, what's going on? And Tim just saying, you know, and then just. being a fellowship of people that are friends there at their house. We don't know what that's like, do we? Are we scared this morning that somebody is going to come and knock on the miner's door and say, listen church, you can't be here anymore worshiping God. We're not afraid of that today because that's not happening in Britain, but it's happening there. Tim Smith has a good friend, Pastor Rivers, in this same area, different nation. He went to visit him just a few weeks back. Pastor Rivers, as far as I know, is still today under house arrest from last Sunday. Last Sunday, his meeting, they came into and they said, tell us who the pastor is. And the pastor is going to get a minimum of 15 days in prison. And everybody there refused to say who the pastor was. And so they took Pastor Rivers, who he is a pastor. It was his house they were at. They put him under house arrest, armed house arrest, with a wife that's eight months pregnant. Why? for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? For the sake of the gospel. Do we know what that's like this morning? We can't even really identify with that. I mean, that seems so distant, so foreign. I mean, it almost seems like a Bible story to say that that is taking place today. Then I got an email from a friend of mine that's in Russia. and he said, he's way up north in Siberia, and he said, one of my co-workers that used to be here, he's now in a different area, he got a phone call this past week, and the call, he was told to go for an immigration meeting at a certain location. The guy didn't give his full name. He didn't, and I'll just read you a list of things about it. The address had nothing to do with the Department of Immigration. He called after official office hours. He called from a cell phone, not from an office number. The missionary tried to call him back. He didn't answer the phone. The man told him they didn't need to bring any documents, passports, or anything. The address is right around the corner from a detention center where they hold people awaiting trial. He didn't give an office number or a way of meeting him at the address he gave. And so their house is under just lockdown for the next 48 hours. He talked to two attorneys. The attorney said, no, don't go meet him. If he does call again, say, you know, I'm going to threaten to take you to court over the fact that you're going outside of official ways of dealing with Russian citizens or people that have a right of abode in Russia. Wow. I mean, do you really know what that's like? I mean, we listened to that this morning, and we ought to listen to that and say, you know, I ought to be bold for Christ. We don't face anything like that here. We have great liberty to speak about God. We ought to be so bold for Christ. Why? Because others are suffering. Verse 14 says, and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. It was like before this there had been a timidity in their hearts, a fear of what will happen if, what if, you know, this person stands up for God, what if, what if, what if, but they look at Paul and they see the testimony of the Apostle Paul and they say, look, Paul can stand to that extent for God, you know what, I can too. I'm going to be bold for God. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3.14, But if you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye. Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. Matthew 5, 12. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. See, God's people have had to suffer, and suffer, and suffer, and suffer, and suffer, and here we are in our modern day Christianity, we kind of have this idea that it's not fair if we suffer. It's not right if we suffer, and the government ought to protect us, and the government ought to stand up for us, and the government ought to give us all these religious liberties, and all these religious freedoms. But because the persecution, which by the way, persecution to us is somebody laughing. Persecution to us is somebody not talking to us. Persecution to us is somebody that gets angry at us because we spoke to them or had the boldness to knock on their door and tell them about Jesus Christ and try to make a difference in their life and try to keep them from going to the fires of hell for their sin. To us, that's persecution if they don't like that. You think about it today, we have to look at these people and say, you know, why am I coward? Why do I lack boldness to stand for God when there's others like this, like Paul, that are suffering for God? We ought to be bold for the gospel because the enemy is boldly against Jesus. Verse 15 and 16. says, some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. And so here's Paul, Paul's in prison, and you got people over here that are despising Christ, hating Christ, and saying, see what happens to somebody that serves God, that's where he deserves to be, and I'm so against the Christ that Paul preached, But this is taking place because over here you've got a man that's willing to suffer for Christ, willing to stand for Christ, and is identifying with Christ. So the enemies of God are very boldly against God. Let me ask you, when's the last time a conversation, like the Bible speaks about right there, one preached Christ of contention, took place because of your evangelism? Because the Gospel went forth from you that there was a counter-Gospel given of somebody against God, against Christ, speaking out against Christ because of the stand that you were taking. And I think this takes place when we take a stand for the Lord, period. When we stand for the Gospel, this happens. You may not hear about it. Several months ago, when we got our new van here, we tinted the windows, had the film put up on the windows, and the man I went to, I went the day before and then I went back the next day, but after we talked, I gave him a track and spoke very briefly with him. I can't remember if I said anything to him about God or anything like that. I just really gave him a track and invited him to visit our church. Well, the next day, he said to me, he said, you know, an interesting thing happened. As I took, I got, I collected, and I want to be careful about this. I've been convicted about this even as I put this in my notes. We use the term partner pretty freely in our society. And by God's grace, I want to start saying partner in fornication. Because that's what it is. I think we can dumb down sin for what sin is. And so that's what it was. I mean, there was a partner in fornication that got in the car with this man, and he had this tract in his hand. You know what it started? It was a conversation of really disagreement about God and that. He said, we had a very interesting discussion because of that. You know, those opportunities, and by the way, the next day as I was in there, they were both in there working together, and I had a great opportunity to share the gospel with them. But you know, that ought to be taking place. If we're standing for God as we ought to stand as a church, those conversations ought to be taking place in our community as people are saying, I despise that, I'm against that. Because that's, as we'll see tonight, this really parallels with the message tonight in John chapter 15, where the passage that Jesus says, look, if they hate me, they're going to hate you. If they accept me, they're going to accept you. It's the passage we're in tonight. But that ought to be taking place. The enemy is bold against God, so we ought to stand up boldly for God. And because of our love for our fellow soldiers, verse 17, says, so Christ is being preached, and I rejoice, one's not preaching Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds, in verse 17, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. I mean, Paul had gloves on. Paul was just, I mean, he was a fighter. Here he is in prison, and he's standing for God. He's going to stand for God unto death. He's going to die for the faith. We ought to look at that today and say, you know what? It says in verse 17, but the other of love, knowing that I'm set for the defense of the gospel, I have to look at Paul's suffering and I say, you know what? Do I even begin to love God the way that I ought to love God? Shouldn't that stir us to think what others have done for the Lord Jesus Christ? Acts 15, 25. The Jerusalem church is sending out some servants to encourage the new churches that were being started. And it says, they sent chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the men they sent were Judas and Silas. Paul and Silas were in prison. Judas, I'm not sure who Judas is. Okay, what Judas that is. But think about that statement. If I was today, you know, I need somebody to send to the church that is over there. And so today what I'm looking for is volunteers, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'd have to sit down. When have I risked my life for the Lord Jesus Christ? When have I willingly put my life in jeopardy for Christ? It used to be common because it used to be when men and women left for the foreign field, they were leaving for places of disease. They were leaving for places where they had to cross the open seas. Like I talked about, I think last week I mentioned William Borden. William Borden died even on his way to the mission field. He died for Christ. I mean, look in the past, we have men like David Brainerd that died at an early age, what was it, maybe tuberculosis or something like that, that he got because his body was so run down, because he was so burdened about the American Indians and taking the Gospel to them. We've got men like Eric Little, great Olympian, great Scottish runner that died in a prisoner of war camp in China, because rather than leave the people, he stayed. He died of a tumor, but he died serving God. You know, you've got people like Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Ed McCauley. And then imagine standing in the presence of God. And again, in my message tonight, you'll hear something similar to this. But imagine standing there, and you've got Paul, and you've got Eric Little, and you've got Ed McCauley, and you've got Nate Saint, and then you're standing there. And I don't know about you, but I look at it and say, God, I'm not worthy to stand in their presence. Men that hazarded their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ, we ought to be bold today and say, God, others have done so much for you. It's what we looked at last week. Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not send the flood? Is this foul world a friend to grace to help me unto God? Sure, I must fight if I would reign. Increase my courage, Lord. But I think there's a general idea of, I don't really want to suffer for Christ. It's what we looked at last week. It costs too much, but, you know, when we look, and here's the point, when we look at those that are suffering, we need to suffer for Christ, but when we look at those that suffer, we ought to say, look, I'm going to be bold for the gospel. I'm going to stop hiding. I mean, why look somebody in the face that's on their way to hell and care what they think instead of what my God thinks? I ought to look them in the eye and say, you know what? There's a message I need to tell you. And even if it's tough, the Spirit of God gives us grace to fight and stand for the Lord. We need to be bold for the gospel because others are suffering. And then we need to live as becometh the gospel. Verse 27 says, only let your conversation, lifestyle, be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Our lifestyle, what we do, what we say, where we go, how we live, It ought to be something that is a wonderful package for the Gospel. Just imagine getting a present and the present is wrapped horribly. And it's filthy. And it's so nasty that even if in that present was a beautiful treasure that you don't want it, you despise it because you can't get past the filth to get into it. That's the idea, isn't it? Is that Paul saying, look, wrap the gospel beautifully, wrap the gospel in a package that as it is seen that it's desirable that somebody would actually look at that and say, you know what, that's got to have something wonderful in it. That's got to have a treasure in it because it's so beautifully presented. There ought not this morning to be anything about our lives that somebody would look at and say, you know what, I don't want the gospel because of you. I don't want your Christ because of you. I'm not even interested in God to hate. It's because of you because you're not living in a way that becomes the gospel. And so this morning, live as we come at the gospel because dirty water isn't appealing. It's not appealing. We went hiking recently south of here, down by Moffat. Have you been to the Grey Maristale? Anybody? It's the fifth largest waterfall in Britain. It's beautiful. Oh, it's beautiful. You get down there by Moffat, it's like you're in the highlands. I mean, it's just huge. The borders, hills down there are huge. But we're walking and hiking. We're talking at some point about drinking water out of the river. And you don't drink water. I knew this from going to Colorado as a kid. Even though a mountain stream looks gorgeous, it looks beautiful, you don't drink water below where animals graze. Because the filth, even though you may not see it, the contamination, even though you may not see it, of those animals could kill you. It has disease. I've drunk water in the wild before, but I was out in the boundary waters of the United States between Wisconsin and Minnesota and Canada, and all these lakes that are up there, and in the middle of the lake, you know, we're dipping water out of the lake and drinking it, because out there it's pure, pure water. But see, if there's any defilement upstream, the water is defiled. The water is defiled. James 3 verse 10 says, Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. And really they can't be. Doth the fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Is it possible for me today to have defilement in my life and to put out pure water? It's impossible. And I can put it this way, you can't sanctify your sin. See, being a Christian, being a believer, doesn't sanctify the unholiness that's in my life. Never. I can't have sin in my life and sanctify it. But guess what? That sin in my life unsanctifies me. It's what he's saying, you can't have sweet water and bitter. Listen, clean water doesn't make dirty water pure, does it? But dirty water makes clean water impure. And so today, if you want to start in a good place, when you think about the Gospel, the Bible says, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, and our world needs it. But if I have sin in my life, then that which is coming out of me is corrupt, because I have corrupted it. See, Jesus said, Be ye holy, for I am holy. Sanctification is not an aside. Sanctification is not a hope. Sanctification is an absolute necessity for the saving of men's souls because we have to have a pure walk with God to be able to give a powerful gospel. And so we need that, because dirty water is not appealing. Nobody wants to drink dirty water. Isaiah 52, 11 says, Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from fence, touch no unclean thing, go ye out of the midst of her, be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Those that served God ceremonially and spiritually had to be clean. God didn't make exceptions. And so they had to set aside the defilement. So this morning, we need to live as we come at the gospel because dirty water isn't appealing. And secondly, because dirty vessels aren't desirable vessels. 2 Timothy 2 verse 20 says, but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these dishonorable vessels, he shall be a vessel unto honor sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work. What God desires this morning is that he would look down and go, I'm so glad I've got you on the shelf that I don't have to cleanse and purify and sanctify, that you're there, prepared, ready, so that if somebody comes, I can just say, here, I've got a cup of water that I want to give to you, and you think about it, we're passing day after day after day after day, people that need the Lord, and it could be that somebody's coming along our path that has been seeking God, has been asking God, got them thirsty, God, I need a drink, and then their paths cross. And God, if I could, I hesitate to put it this way, but God doesn't have time to say, oh, your paths are crossing, now I've got to sanctify you, I've got to cleanse you, I've got to purify you so that I could use you. God needs a vessel that's coming along that's a pure vessel. How many times have you gone to the shelf to get out a cup and you pull out a cup and there's something nasty in it, you look at that and say, I don't want to drink out of that. It might be so nasty that you think, man, I'm not even thirsty anymore. You know, there's people that are looking for a drink from God, and it doesn't help when a vessel comes by that is not prepared. And so the Word of God goes on to say this about being a sanctified vessel. It says, free also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. that God says, hey, set aside that sin, that youthful lust, those things that defile, and get righteousness, and get holiness, and get purity in your life, because there's people that are going to be damned. Because there's a church that is unclean. Because there's believers that are unclean. There's believers that are still in their sin, when they ought to be sanctified, they ought to be holy because of the gospel. And can I say this this morning, if the only reason that you ever thought about in your life for being holy was for this one reason right here of the fact of the gospel, it's reason enough. See, there's a whole list in the Bible of other reasons why we ought to live holy lives, but shouldn't it be enough to think that that person could die and go to hell? It might be a family member, it might be a relative, it might be a neighbor that looks at my life and says, that's a hypocrite, that's no such thing as somebody that says, God loves me and died for me, but lives like that. And if that's the way a Christian is, I don't want it. See, it's a very scary thing to think. You know, some could be damned. because I didn't live as become at the gospel. So Paul says with Liz, let your conversation be as it become at the gospel. And he goes on to apply that specifically to unity. And that's the last point here this morning. is we need to unite around the gospel. We need to unite around the gospel. Verse 27, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. You say, I want to hear that you are united for Christ. That you're standing together. I mean, the strongest church that we could be this morning is a church that is united around Christ. A church that is united around truth. You know, nothing hurts a team more than just unity. Some of you have been on sports teams and such. I played a lot of volleyball when I was in college and high school. But nothing hurts a team like this unity. I mean, if you've got guys that are arguing at each other, bickering with each other, and you're trying to accomplish something, it's not going to work. The best thing is for that team to unite. This morning, the saying is divide and conquer. Satan's aware of that this morning. Satan would like nothing better than to cause division. Satan would like nothing better than to drive apart, but God wants us to unite together for the sake of the gospel. And so, God's Spirit, God's Holy Spirit, he says, is not divided. I want you to strive together for the faith of the gospel because God's Holy Spirit is not divided. It says, in one spirit. We had this morning verses about the Spirit of God bearing witness with our spirit, our human spirit, that we're a child of God. There's other scripture like that. 1 Corinthians 12, 13, for by one spirit are we all baptized in one body, have been all made to drink into one spirit. 1 Corinthians 6, 17, but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. This morning in Christ, when we got saved, we are united. We talked about born again by the Word of God, but when we're born again, we're given God's Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in me is the same as in Pastor Washer. The Holy Spirit in me is the same as in any believer that is here today, and the Holy Spirit of God is not divided. And so Paul commands us, be not drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Don't be controlled or led of alcohol, but do be controlled and led of God's Spirit. And so this morning, as the Spirit of God is uniting us, there ought to be that synchronization taking place. Because we're looking at the same person leading us. Back when I was in high school, I had the privilege of being briefly, long story, I won't share it, but in the Minneapolis Youth Symphony. In that, we had a conductor. What do you think the conductor would think if I decided to add a trombone solo to whatever piece that we're playing? That wouldn't be good because the conductor's up there and he's directing one way, and so if I start doing my own thing and the violins start doing their own thing, and every group starts doing their own thing, all of a sudden you have disunity, you have a mess. But if everybody keeps their eyes on the conductor as that conductor is leading, then what do you have? You have great unity. Listen, in a marriage, if both of you have your eyes on Christ, you have great unity. In a church, if all of us have our eyes on Christ and the Holy Spirit, we have great unity. Because we're all looking at the conductor saying, you know, that's what the conductor says. He's the one leading. He's the one guiding. You know, is God going to, you know, here he is directing us, is he going to direct you differently from me? No. Same conductor. And so there ought to be great unity. One spirit, and because Christ's mind is known, in one spirit, and then it says also, with one mind. See, today, what unites us again is not just the Holy Spirit, but we have the mind of Christ. I don't remember, when I was growing up, sometimes we'd have a substitute teacher, but any teacher, I don't remember a teacher ever saying, you know, today what I'd like to do is just, you know, you come up here and teach and I'll go sit down. And maybe a kid gets up there and he's not good at math. And so he says, you know, math is stupid. I don't think we need to learn math anymore. And two plus two is not four. It can't be eight or whatever. The teacher is the one that sets the standard, says this is what it is. The student doesn't do that. And so this morning, as we think about the mind of Christ, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2.16, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. See, does anybody here today have the opportunity to stand in front of God and to let God know what needs to be done? No. But He is the one that has the authority to say to us today, this is my mind on it. This is my leading on it. That He has the authority today. And so Paul, with regard to unity, spoke about that like-mindedness in Christ. Philippians 2, 19-21. It says, But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like-minded, okay, there's that word, who would naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. I find some comfort in the fact that Paul didn't have a whole list of people that he looked at and said, you know, they're like-minded. Because it seems very difficult today to find people that are like-minded with Christ that just have the burden of Christ and the passion of Christ and the desire to see God above all else glorified. But what united Paul and Timothy is he looked at Timothy and he said, Praise God, I've got somebody like-minded. You know what he's seeking? He's not seeking his own, but the things that be of Christ. Today, what would unite us more than anything is all of us get the burden and say, You know what? Our eyes are on Christ. We've got the mind of Christ. Not what we desire, but what Christ desires, and the unity of that, especially when it comes to the gospel, because we need each other's help to promote the gospel, as it says, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Again, I'm just going to apply this generally, not to our church in particular. I praise God for what we've done this past year with regard to the gospel as a church. But I would say a lot of churches, the vast majority of churches, don't know what it is to strive together for the faith of the gospel. That if you were to write that over the door, this church is striving together for the faith of the gospel, you'd have to say, is this really true? Are we doing outreach? Are we doing evangelism? Have we forgotten the reason of our existence? But what a precious thing it is where there's a church that is burdened, that is looking at it and saying, you know what, pastor, we need to do more for the gospel. We got to do more to get the word of God out. We got to do more before it's too late, because pastor, these people, if they die without Christ, they'll spend eternity in hell. Pastor, we need to do more. 4th Philippians 2, 22, Paul spoke about Timothy. He said, you know the proof of him, that as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Paul said in chapter four, verse three, I entreat thee also, true yoke fellows, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, with other my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. He said, these are the guys that, and there's a whole list there, fellow laborers. I mean, there's a whole list of women and men that stood with Paul for the sake of the gospel. He said, praise God for them, because He needed them. D.L. Moody, think about D.L. Moody, the great evangelist that God used. But when you think D.L. Moody, whose other name comes into your mind? Iversenke. I was saying he just ended up at a Moody meeting in Chicago, and Moody met him and knew of him, and basically, I think within a week or something, said, I think you need to pray about traveling with me. Well, he was like an insurance salesman or something. I mean, he had a job! But he gave it up. He and his wife actually said goodbye to their children, I think for a year the first time. So they could go to Europe over here. By the way, you have to thank God that he did that, because the Gospel so powerfully impacted this nation under Moody in the late 1800s that a lot of the Christian organizations came out of it. But Moody had a psyche. You think of the name Charles Finney, and you may not have other names associated with that as quickly in your mind, but if you've read anything about Charles Finney, you might think of Daniel Nash and Abel Carey. Father Nash, as he was called. I mean, these two guys would go and they would knock on a door and get a room someplace. And for days before Finney came, days, they would fast and they would pray. They'd just be on their faces before God. I read stories in preparation of looking at this that a woman that rented to them said, came to Finney and said, I'm worried about these guys. All they've done is they've not eaten any food or anything or taken any food. They've just been on their face crying out. I mean, they had prayer warriors. I've been in a church where a pastor preached. He preached for two hours and it seemed like it was just a couple of minutes. The longest service I've ever been in, I've heard a man preach. But what he said as he was preaching, he said, you know, I've got guys up in my church in Michigan that when I preach, they're there in Michigan at the same time as I'm preaching no matter where I'm at, and they're praying for me as I preach. Was it Moody? No, Spurgeon? Had the boiler room? The room down in the church where the men of God were on their knees before God, seeking His face, seeking His power, and praying. See, it's not going to get done. There's no such thing as a one-man show when it comes to the gospel and the power of the gospel and getting it done. I praise God again for our church and the unity that we have around the gospel. And I praise God that this church, as a missions church, has prayer support all around the world. We've got people that are involved in this. But that's important. And it's worth striving together for the faith of the Gospel. But can I say this about that? It's not compromise. There's a movement in the States called Together for the Gospel. And it kind of is this idea, and I don't want to stand in judgment upon it, because I don't know a lot about it, but it's kind of like this. There's nothing more important than the Gospel, so we're going to set aside differences so that we can agree together in the Gospel. And that's not what the Word of God is teaching. He's already said one mind and one spirit. Christ's mind is the Spirit of God leading. So there's no such thing as compromise in that. Unity does not mean accepting somebody else's sin. Unity, the Bible way, is confronting somebody's sin so that they can deal with it, so they can get right with God, so they can be united again. That's biblical unity. And see, that's what we need when it comes to the gospel. So let me ask you again this morning, how important is the gospel to you? Can we look today at people on their way to hell, just not care? Or do we look at it and go, wow, God, the gospel, they need the gospel, it's so important. You know, if it isn't important, we wouldn't be here. There's no reason to be here, there's no fellowship here. Okay? So, the gospel is what's brought us together, it's put me as part of the family. If it isn't important, the gospel has no defender and ratifier. And so again, today, in your heart, when's the last time you stood up for the gospel? When you establish the gospel, confirm the gospel in somebody's life, again, that needs to be our heart. If it isn't important, then why does God ask us to suffer for it? I mean, that's what He said, isn't He? He said, we read it even this morning, in chapter 1, unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake. Was that only the privilege of the Philippians? Or is it today our privilege as well? If it isn't important, when other believers are suffering, like we read about, and I've shared some stories, and again, we don't know everything that's taking place, but when they're suffering, we'll be silent instead of bold. It's not important. You know, they're dying for it, but it's not important. If it's not important, we can live like the devil because it doesn't matter. If our life takes people to hell, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that my water is tainted. It doesn't matter that my cup is defiled. It doesn't matter, or does it, this morning. If it isn't important, then we don't need God's mind, we don't need God's Spirit. But I know you know the truth this morning. It is all important. It's all important. So what have you done? See, we can walk away from this message today and we can go, well, okay, whatever. Or we can walk away from this message saying, you know what, God, by your grace, the gospel needs to be the primary thing in my life. That's where purpose comes in Christianity. That's where purpose comes in church. That's where, God, you're glorified. That's why Jesus Christ died. How important this morning is the gospel to you. Let's pray. Father, I just pray that the Spirit of God would take the truth of the Word of God deep into our hearts. Father, in my own heart, I'm convinced that the Gospel ought to be of primary importance. And Father, I understand we've got to rest, we've got to relax, we've got to do other things. And there's times where, Father, the Word of God says, you give your beloved sleep. We thank you for sleep. But Father, how can we sleep when people are on their way to hell? How can we just party through life, and Father, never a concern, never a change of lifestyle, never a change to get right so that we can better serve God with the Gospel. Father, our complacency is damning people to hell. And Father, they're not being damned because of our complacency, they're being damned for their sin, but they're not being warned because our life doesn't care. And I just pray, Spirit of God, speak to hearts. God, give us grace to care. Give us grace to be burdened. And so God, take your word deep into our hearts just now. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.