Good morning. This morning, I do invite you to open up your Bibles to Acts 20. You can, or open your app, and you can scroll. I guess that's biblical, right? You can scroll to the verse. There you go. Scroll to the verse, to the chapter and verse. So we're in chapter 20 of Acts. Let us But as always, we do not attend to, I will least, and no one here that I think that's ever filled this purpose, tries to do this on their own terms. So let us go before the throne of grace once again. Heavenly Father, as we continue in worship of your holy name. We thank you for the word that you've given us, for the word that you have preserved for all centuries. Today we can hold in our hands copies of your word. As scribes, men have poured and even gave their lives to translate, to put on papyrus and over the years, and now we have it here on electronic devices. that we may know who Christ is, that today we may be reminded who our Savior is, that today those that do not know you may come to know you, may come to know Christ as your living God, as your Lord. So Father, we ask this morning, Sanctify your people by your word, for your word is truth. Help us to apply your word. And most of all, remind us of the gospel, because you know that we are prone to forget. In the midst of life, life's challenges and things that happen, we forget the gospel. So encourage your people here this morning through your word and the preaching of your word. May you be pleased to use me for the glory of your name and the exaltation of your only begotten son, the power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you know that One of the main things that is out there, or one way that Christians get to spend their money on, is conferences, right? There's a conference for everything and anything you can imagine. You probably get emails sent to you many times a day, many times a month. Hey, this month we have a women's conference. Next month, we have a children's conference. And by the way, in two months, we're going to have a men's conference. And then we're going to have every conference you can imagine on missions, whatever it might be. And you start seeing this constantly. And of course, pastors are not left out. This is a big moneymaker. Pastors conferences. Send them all to California, send them all to wherever, you know, the latest conferences at who the biggest name in Christendom is at the moment, and they're probably holding a conference. And the reason I mention that is because we know that there's these conferences, there's youth, anything that you can imagine, on any topic you can probably think of in Christendom. In our text this morning, we're in Acts 20, we're gonna see probably the first shepherds conference. John MacArthur was not the first one to coin that. This is the first Shepherds Conference. By the way, there's no plenary speakers. There's no breakout rooms. There's no, maybe there was Q&A, but there is no, none of this all show and A, by the way. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Book signing, thank you. No book signing or scroll signing. There's none of that. There isn't any of that. This is just simply Paul doing what we have been seeing him do throughout Acts. Encourage the brethren. And specifically, not just encourage the brethren in general, but specifically those under-shepherds that are going to be leading the local churches wherever they may find themselves. And here we see him in Miletus sending, get the Ephesian elders, bring them to me. Remember, he's on his way to Jerusalem. And there he wants to be, and there, this is what he... His heart is there, is, I want to speak to these men and bring them to me. And so we're gonna kind of get these behind the scenes. I don't know about you, but I love that. It's not often that you get to do this. I mean, just imagine there. I mean, many times we have to use our imaginations. What would it have been like to have been with Jesus, you know, speaking to them? Well, you get these moments. Would it have been Jesus to speak to the people? Well, you have a sermon on the Mount where he's just speaking. What would it have been like for Paul to address these men? Sometimes we think, hey, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask Paul. I would love to have a conversation with these men, too. with these brothers, say, what was it like to sit there and just listen to Paul speak to you, the gospel, and remind you of that gospel? And that's what we're going to get to see here. It's no gimmicks, no prices to be paid, just pure, unadulterated gospel. So my outline is very simple. It's three points, as usual. Not that it has to be, but living in a manner worthy of the gospel. That's the first point, living in a manner worthy of the gospel. Point two, is there anything more valuable than living your best life now? Is there anything more precious or valuable than living your best life now? And thirdly, no room for a half gospel. There is no room for a half gospel. All right, so those are my three points this morning. Let us read the text here as we pick up in Acts 20. Let me get my notes. So Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders. Acts 20, verse 17. Now from Miletus, he's sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them, You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks, of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself. If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. This is the first part. There's the second part, which we'll pick up in verses 28 to the end. But let us look at this first part and what Paul opens up here in speaking to the Ephesian elders. We see him, and mind you that the first point, living in manner worthy of the gospel, it reminded me of Philippians 1, verses 27 to 30. If you were in Sunday school, you heard our brother Deron speak to that point, right? That there's unity, that when I come to see you, Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether I come to see you or I'm absent, I may hear of you, that you're standing on what faith, right? That you are striving for the sake of the gospel together, that unity. Unity is important. And one of the ways that unity manifests itself in God's people is what? Is through serving. And this is one of the things that you see here. Paul takes this opportunity to remind the elders of Ephesus to show that there is absolutely no doubt in your mind why I spent almost nearly three years with you in Ephesus. I was serving the Lord and I am still serving the Lord. verb, right, that past progressive, that I'm serving, something that I did and I'm still doing to this day. This is why I'm here. This is why I called you. I'm serving the Lord. Because to serve as a Christian, to serve for the Christian is a way of life. There is no other way. It isn't compulsory. Yes, the Lord calls us to serve, but you also have the option to not serve. You've seen many of those Christians that have the gifts but don't use them, you can do that. But as Christians, should we have that posture? Of course not. It is serving, it's something that we do willingly. It is something that we do intentionally and deliberately as well. Because talk is cheap. Talk is cheap. What good would it have been for Paul to write to the Philippians and tell them everything that he told them? But hey, guess what? I don't... I don't practice it. I mean, I talk the talk, but I don't walk the walk. You probably would have been the first one saying, you hypocrite. Right? But that's not Paul's heart. Paul's heart is to always, because he knows that talk is cheap. We all know that. So if this is what you believe, then let it flesh itself out in your life as a believer. In whatever sphere you may find yourself in, that's where you want to be. Romans 12.11, do not be slothful in zeal. Think about that. Do not be slothful in zeal. Instead, and he contrasts it, be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. This is what Paul wrote to the Romans. But here's the catch. Serving is not an end in and of itself. Serving is not the ultimate goal. It's not like, well, now I'm serving. I did it. Well, why do you serve? What's the object? Who is the object for why you're serving and you do what you do? Because if serving is an end in and of itself, then you can say, okay, I did what I had to do. But the day that things get hard, what happens? Now all of a sudden you want to run in the opposite direction. But when you remember who you are serving, you are serving the Lord. You're not serving yourself. You're serving others, yes, but because you always keep in mind that you're serving the Lord first. Colossians 3.24, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. You are serving the Lord Christ. That is what Paul wrote to the Colossians. Now, if I tell you, okay, well, that's a goal. Well, to speak of serving and to not look at the one or not discuss, and take time to ponder upon the one that taught us what it looks like to serve, then we're missing the point. Because at the end of the day, I'm not here just to preach a to-do list. Perhaps right now you're thinking, oh, what can I do in Cornerstone? How can I serve in Cornerstone? What can I do? Good, I'm glad you're thinking about those things. You have to remember who you are serving first. And Christ modeled that for us in every way, did he not? Everything that He spoke is because the Father gave Him to speak. Everything that He did, He did because the Father gave it to Him to do. Christ modeled that for us in every way. You just turn to the pages of Scripture and you see that. Now, one of the interesting things, as you keep on reading in verse 19, is how did Paul serve the Lord? Because the posture of the heart is always key. You can do everything right and have the wrong heart. You can do everything right and have the wrong heart, and it doesn't account for anything. Just ask the prophets, oh Jesus, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we do this in your name? Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Get away from me, I never knew you. We did it in your name. They were doing the right things. But the Lord knew the intentions of the heart. And I think Edwin recently mentioned that. There's going to be a day when all is going to become exposed. Every single act, every single deed one day will be brought, disclosed, brought into the open before our Savior. And there's going to be many things that I thought, even from this pulpit, thinking I preached for you. And no, you didn't. I pray that that's not the case. But knowing myself, who knows? The Lord really knows my heart. I can deceive myself, just like you can as well. And that's the challenge. That is a challenge. So how do we have the proper heart? Well, Paul tells us, he says, this is how I served. I was serving the Lord, but this is how I did it. With all humility. That word humility is something that's very counterintuitive for us in our culture, isn't it? Because what are we constantly bombarded with? Kids, you or those in high school, in middle school, wherever you might find yourself in. A, self-esteem. Build up your self-esteem. Build yourselves up. It's all about you. It's everything that you can do. You're the best. You're amazing. You're all these things. I know, Lynn, you don't do that, right? At least Danny hasn't said that, but that's the reality where we find ourselves. This is the culture that we live in. Self-help books, right? Self-esteem books. Now psychologists are trying to understand, saying, hey, humility, by the way, is a good predictor. It's a good predictor for leadership. Humility? But I thought you had to be assertive. Yeah, you can be assertive, but be humble in the process. Christ was assertive. He was also gentle and lonely of heart, wasn't he? That's exactly who our Savior is. Learn from me. I am gentle and lonely of heart. In other words, you can be confident, but are you confident in your own gifts or talents that, by the way, those gifts and those talents that you have and those skill sets that you've acquired didn't even come from you? You didn't acquire them because you tried harder and you're better than anyone else. The Lord did it. I'm up here not because, oh, you're public speaking. I know a lot of people don't like public speaking. I'm not one that enjoys it. But the Lord was preparing me. I never planned on being a teacher. Never. My wife can attest to that. I never planned on being a teacher. But the Lord had me go down that path. And through that path of teaching, the Lord started preparing me. Never thought I was, and now when I became a teacher, it's like, oh, what can I do with teaching? Maybe I'll become a pastor one day. Never. But the Lord was using those to train and to build and to mold. And this is what we're looking at. So, self-esteem, help folks, all that is out the window, but humility is what Paul is saying. This is how I served among you. In other words, humility is not just a mental exercise, beloved. Humility is not something that you carry just up here. In other words, it's a good thought. It's not like when you want to go to the gym, right? Everybody wants to lose weight. It sounds good up here, but very few do it. No one wants to wake up at 5.30 in the morning. Running? Who's going to go running? Seriously? I mean, give me a game. Give me some sports game to play and I'll run because I'm not thinking about the running. The running is just a byproduct of it in order to play. But to go running? That to me is crazy. But in my mind, I know I should do it. And that's exactly what, humility can't be that. Humility can't just simply be a mental exercise. It has to be the key. It has to be present, especially in God's people. Especially those that have their hearts redeemed, that have had their hearts transformed and changed by the gospel. Is humility a hallmark in your life? Is humility something that you strive to have? Paul writes to the Ephesians and Colossians in Ephesians 4. Again, it was one, not because we planned a day run, but it was in our text this morning in Sunday school. Ephesians 4, he writes, I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. How? With all humility and gentleness. With patience. Something we all lack, don't we? But this is what he said. Live in this way. Live in a manner worthy. You've been called with all humility, gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And to the Colossians, he didn't say anything different. He tells them, put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Paul writes that to the Colossians. So you and I are not exempt. If you were right to the, I don't know what you call those from West Kendall, But if Paul were to write a letter, he wouldn't say anything different to you and to me this morning. Live your life as a believer with all humility. Seek those things. Humility is to have a heart that understands the magnitude and weight of what true humility looks like. In other words, humility ought to be for the believer what compassion is for a doctor. Think about that. Who wants to go to a doctor that doesn't, that just sees you as a patient? I mean, I know Meena, I was talking to Meena, many of you know, neurologist, and whenever you spoke to him and you bring something to him, or even Louis. Yeah, do this, here you go, on your way. Who wants to see a doctor that way? What doctor do you want to see that doesn't take the time to ask you? Mike, tell me, what's going on? It's been a year. No, we don't have time. I know the list is long, but think about this. Last time you were here was a year ago. How are you doing? How's your blood count? How are those white cell counts? What's going on? Talk to me. That's the doctor that you want to go back to. That's the doctor that you want to go see, the one that takes time to listen to what you're going through. And for us as believers, it's the same hallmark, it's the same humility. It has to be a characteristic of the believer. And where else do we capture this humility? You see it through all the pages of Scripture. But Philippians, I think, captures that very well. Paul says it in Philippians, writing to the Philippians, telling them to do nothing from selfish ambition, do nothing with conceit, but in humility. That's what he's telling the Philippians, but in humility. He contrasts that. He's saying, what's the opposite of selfish ambition? Selfless. Conceit. You're not puffed up. You're not walking around, you know, as a Christian with, you know, beating your chest as somehow it was mentioned in Sunday school, you know, that we're better than others. Now we come to Christ, but you forgot that you're still a sinner being sanctified and that you were a sinner, well, you still are a sinner, but the way the Lord found you, you were wretched and dead in your trespasses. But somehow you come to Christ and all of a sudden you're better than everybody else. You're more intellectually astute than everyone else. You have more knowledge, you went to seminary, you went to all these things, you go to all these conferences, and all of a sudden you're better than everyone. No, that's not the way it works. It's the opposite. And that particular point, in other words, you're not pompous as a believer. You're humble. That humility is that hallmark in your life. In that same paragraph, if you will, in that same thought in Philippians, Paul takes it a step further and says, now look to Christ. This humility was embodied when Christ came to earth. When Jesus left his throne to come here. That's humility. He had no business. Roy said it again earlier this morning. He could have just simply come, died, and that's it. But he didn't. What did he do? He was involved in the mess that you and I are involved in. He was dealing with lepers. He was dealing with sinners. He wasn't just aloof and say, all right, next, come in and talk to me in my office. No. He was involved and always assimilating. That's why he's a great high priest. He sympathizes with us in every way. That is not anything small. He had no business. He didn't have to sympathize with us. But he did. That should be a comfort to you and me. In all of human history, in all of existence, there has been no better example of what humility looks like than Christ himself. And you can Think on that and you can go ahead and look at it. So much more, if I give you an application, I don't even have, I was thinking, man, what application can I give? Let me give you a personal experience of when I was really humble. I mean, that doesn't exist. I mean, because the moment I give you that example of, oh, hey, by the way, there was this one moment, this one time where something happened, I was really humble when I could have been the opposite. Now I just sound like someone who's humble and proud of it, right? And that's exactly what we want to avoid. Humility is a byproduct of those that seek Christ. Humility is a byproduct. The Lord will work that in us and through us. And I'm sorry that I'm belaboring the point, but it's important for us to capture this. Because this is how Paul is telling the elders. He's telling them, this is how I walked with this kind of humility among you. Because Paul is going to leave. And we just read it. You may never see my face again. Why? As you're leading your people, as you are called to be the under-shepherds, under Christ, to lead God's flock in your local churches, may humility be a hallmark. I don't care what church you came from. If ever I stop exemplifying that or living that as an elder, as a pastor here at Cornerstone, it's in the Constitution. For those of you that are members, you read it? You can go ahead and vote to get me out. You should. Because who's going to be under the ministry of someone who's pompous? Everything to the contrary of humility. Because that is now what Paul encouraged the Ephesian elders to do or to be. It's a byproduct. At the end of the day, who's going to puff themselves up against the example of Christ? Who's going to say, hey, look at Jesus, look at his humility, and match it with mine? I don't think anyone is. The Pharisees tried. The Romans tried. Many greeted him with derision. And yet, even, and think about this, and what's even more insane is the thief on the cross, one of which, two thieves, one of which was just simply on him, mocking him on the cross. Think about that for a second. You're fully being executed now on that cross. And you get to mock. Now, granted, I don't want to say that that thief is worse, because you know what? In all fairness, I probably would have done the same thing. In all fairness, I probably would have mocked the living God, unless God would have worked in my heart to go ahead and recognize that in that moment, to say what the other thief said, which was a complete opposite, Remember me. Remember me when you get into your kingdom. I would have been the other one. Many of you probably would have been too. Zephaniah 2.3. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. Proverbs 22.4, the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. That is what it is now. What is another characteristic of a mature believer? That you're unashamed of the gospel. That you're unashamed of the gospel. Verses 20 and 21. I love how Paul says it. He says, you know, you're looking right there in those verses. How did he serve? He served with all humility, but he also says he served with tears and with trials, enduring all these plots of the Jews that we've seen, that they would go and follow him and chase him out of cities as he was preaching the gospel. From synagogue to synagogue, they would chase him out. He's saying, this is how I served. And I love it because, again, it's an example to us that Paul was a man of emotion. He was also a man of fortitude. Our brother, see we look at tears, and again, depending on the cultures that you live in, I know tears and crying can seem a little less manly, if you can put it that way, right? Men don't cry, men are strong, women are the ones that cry, yes. And though we know that data shows that yes, generally women tend to cry more than men. This is what data shows, I'm not, I'm just, studies have been done on this. But that didn't keep Paul from showing his tears. Many of you, as parents, know what that's like. Maybe you, as a child, you can remember and recall times when your parents spoke to you and implored to you with tears running down their face. Son, don't do that. Or son, consider this. Ponder upon this. You, as parents, know what that's been like. You're going down the wrong path. Please, take the time to listen to the words that I'm telling you. And you're doing so with tears. That is exactly what Paul is trying to convey here. He was emotionally invested in those elders. He was emotionally invested everywhere he went where he preached the gospel. For Paul, this is not theoretical, beloved. Paul didn't just simply speak the gospel, I'm out and I'm on my way. On the contrary, he's saying, I did it with tears. I endured the trials. Why? For the gospel. I didn't shrink back. I didn't somehow roll myself up into a ball and start sucking my thumb in a corner when life got hard. Because everybody's unashamed of the gospel when everything is going well. But all of a sudden, when adversity strikes, now you start seeing something opposite, right? Now you start seeing that's the test. That's the refining fire that puts to test those qualities, those things that you truly believe. And whatever you might be dealing with, by the way, whether you're dealing with depression as a believer, whether you're dealing with whatever, those are the things that you have to consider and say, how do you use this? Our brother Osborne just recently this morning shared one of the things. that's happening to him. Some of us would have, if all of a sudden you lost, if you lost a huge, some amount of money from your bank account, many of us would have been picking up that phone immediately. But how do you use those opportunities to preach the gospel? How do you use the adversity in your life to paint the gospel? to speak to others of that gospel, that glorious gospel. And that is what Paul is trying to proclaim. Paul was unashamed. He had, yes, he had many gears, but one of the principal gears that he had was simply pure gospel. He is about God's people, especially to those that have been called to shepherd his people, God's people, as elders. Right now he says elders, he called the elders, but later on, and we're gonna see it in the next part, he says the overseers, same office. Those overseers, right? Those bishops, the ones that are looking over, looking over. And so those are the ones that you want to see. That's the heart. Those are the men that are going to be leading God's people. It says, be unashamed to declare the gospel. 1 Thessalonians 2.4. But just as we've been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak. Not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. Every Sunday, whoever stands on this pulpit, am I going to preach the gospel? Or am I going to water it down? Or the text that I have in front of me, am I going to go ahead and somehow sidestep it to not deal with that? Because I don't want to deal with that uncomfortable topic. Everyone who stands behind a pulpit has the call to preach the gospel, to preach Christ, no matter what. You can't be ashamed of it. I can't be ashamed of it. The day that I am, again, you have your ability to go as a congregation, you can vote me out. And rightly so. You can't be ashamed. And Paul wasn't. Now, is there anything more valuable? And the next points will be quick, I promise. Is there anything more valuable than your best life now? What is everybody enjoying right now? Green break. I work in Brickell. I won't say anything else about what is seen in Brickell. It ain't wholesome. But that's what people are right now, and this is your best life, right? I mean, that's what you live for. You live to go on spring break. You live to go on these vacations. You go to, you know, this is why you saved your money up last year. This is why you're using your tax refund to go on spring break. Enjoy it. Because we're all going to end up dead anyway. Well, that's what we're seeing. And in Christendom, it's no different. The prosperity gospel is very common. I wish we could say that, you know, that's the exception and not the rule, but oftentimes it's more the rule than the exception. It's the prosperity preaching. This is where God wants you to live. He wants you to be blessed. He wants you to have, because after all, you're a child of God. You're the son and daughter of a king. But they never remind you that the son of that king, the only begotten son of that king, was crushed on a cross, wasn't he? He was crucified for our transgressions, the son of a king, the Lord Jesus. God himself taking upon himself the punishment that we deserve. That's where we need to focus ourselves. Manage your expectations. Life isn't about this happy-go-lucky, let's live our life. That's not to say that the Lord won't give you those opportunities. Yes, and use them, and praise the Lord for them. But manage your expectations. Don't think that somehow adversity is gonna see your name and just simply fly by right over. Because adversity does not discriminate. Trials do not discriminate. Much less for God's people. And Paul says, he is constrained. In other words, he is bound by the Spirit, making it clear to the elders two things. One, that he's precisely that, constrained by the Spirit. He is bound as he's heading to Jerusalem. And the second thing, he knows what the Holy Spirit is doing. He's testifying to him. The Holy Spirit is showing me everywhere I'm going to go, imprisonment and affliction awaits me. I know our brother, I'm sorry I'm gonna say this, but he's always saying, man, I don't care if Nana comes to me and tells me, you know, she saw this or Veronica, right, that this is what's gonna happen, I don't care. If I don't see it from God's word, I ain't gonna do it, right? I'm not gonna believe it. Yeah, and you know what? There's a certain level of skepticism, right? Because at the end of the day, you're just a human like me, right? I don't have any special powers and neither do you. But Paul is saying, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit is showing me. You don't have room to doubt it. I mean, think about this for a second. Paul, the Holy Spirit is showing me that imprisonment and affliction await me. Paul, at that moment, doesn't have room to doubt and say, well, is God really going to show me imprisonment and affliction? Is that really what's going to await me? Come on, Lord, really? I mean, I'm Paul. No. I mean, if the Holy Spirit is showing you can take that to the bank, it's going to happen. And we've seen that happening. And we see that happen again, and we're going to see that here in a couple of chapters. When Paul has to say, are you going to punish this way a Roman citizen? What? You're a Roman citizen? That's because he was in prison. What would await him was pure affliction. And so Paul is saying, even in light of all that, even in light of all that, there's something way more valuable. Christianity is not about God just simply pouring His wrath out upon Jesus so that you and I can kick up our feet and just coast through life. That is not what Christianity is. That is not why Jesus was crucified upon a cross. There's something way more valuable than your spring break. There's something way more valuable than the next trip that you're going to take to Europe. There's something infinitely more valuable than what you're going to ever see on this side of heaven. And that's Christ. That one day for those that believe and put their faith and trust in Him, what awaits you in eternity is far and supremely infinitely better than whatever you can experience on this side. That is why Paul is saying, this is why I count my life as nothing. This is why I don't care for my life. Because what awaits me is far better. Paul had this heart. See, Troy says, I want to go to heaven because he wants to escape this world's problems. Sorry, Troy. But the one that really wants to go to heaven says, you know what? I give my life for the gospel. I'll strive. I'll do whatever I got to do. It's hard. There is affliction. But I do it because I'm serving my Lord. And if you want me to, that's why he told the Philippians, right? I'd rather depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But I'm here with you for your benefit. And you keep on struggling along, and that same thinking, no matter what. Yes, your family might be hard, and your children might be a handful, but you keep on loving them, and you keep on pushing and persevering. Why? Because it's profitable for them, that they may come to know Christ. There's something way more valuable, and that's the fact that we have Christ. Yes, He did not count His life of any value, nor precious to myself. Philippians 3. Indeed, I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth. Think about this. Because of the surpassing worth. Value. The surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. Poo-poo. Dung. manure, however you want to call it. That's exactly what it is. I count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Paul. In the applications here, brothers and sisters, we need to have our hearts aligned with Paul's. This is who we live for. We finish the mission that the Lord called us to. All else is rubbish. All else is rubbish. Continue walking, thriving. That is why it's so important in Sunday school, right? The fellowship of the saints. You're not called to be a lone ranger because these moments will happen, but then when you can look to your right and to your left and you see your sister and you see your brother and saying, brother, how you doing? Let's go. Don't worry. We keep walking. Hey, you're limping? Don't worry. I'm limping too, but let's keep limping to the cross. We'll limp together, but we're limping to Him. That's where we have to be. That is who we want to be found in Christ. We want to be found in Him and also living for Him. And finally, no room for the gospel. No room for, excuse me, no room for half a gospel. Verses 26 and 27, Paul reminds the elders that during those three years he was with them, guess what, I didn't shrink back. He wasn't that, here you go Ali, another one for you. Right, because Ali's keeping track of all the cultural references that I do. You guys have seen that GIF, right, of Homer Simpson? The one where he all of a sudden creeps back into those bushes? You guys know what I'm talking about? Right? Those of you that use GIFs, I know everyone uses GIFs. Well, look it up. Just type in Homer Simpson. You're going to see the very famous one of him. And all of a sudden he's there and he just hides and disappears into some bushes. Right? That is not what this is. He's saying, I didn't do that. I didn't shrink back from preaching the gospel to you. I didn't shrink back from declaring to you the fullness of the gospel and the hope that you have in him. I was up front. I was clear. And so must we. Don't dilute the gospel, beloved. Dilute is just simply a nice word for saying, don't water it down. That is what Christianity has come to do for the past, I don't know, several decades now. Water it down. Don't be offensive. Don't give them the full God. Just keep it, you know. acceptable so that people can raise their hand at the end and come to Christ. There's no room for Paul. Paul is saying there's no half gospel here. It's all gospel. Do it with love. Do it with grace. Do it in a winsome way. Do it. Don't chop up the gospel conveniently just so that you can get the means to your, it's not a means to an end, just to have more people come join your church. I'd rather, I've told you this before and I'll say it again, I'd rather keep the church this size and have faithful people serving, which is what we were talking about yesterday, which some of you saw Edwin's post on Facebook, right? Just not too long ago, not too long ago, if Edwin was out of town, I had to call up another church. And you send somebody. And praise the Lord for that. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing. Praise the Lord that we had that opportunity and that ability to do so. Today, all we need to do is go into a church directory. And there's men that are able to fill this pulpit. Well, that's a testament to God's grace. That's a testament to the working of the gospel in this church. We're not perfect, yes, and there's many things that we've done, and you're gonna continue rubbing elbows, and you're gonna continue offending each other, but continue forgiving each other as well. And continue spurring each other on to good works, and loving one another in unity for the sake of the gospel. So what's my conclusion? Told you it was quick. Brother and sister, this is your encouragement today. I know for you it's like, yeah, but I'm not a pastor, I'm not an elder, so yeah, but this is for you. What's more valuable to you than Jesus and what He did for you? What can you look for that you can say, wow, you know, what Christ did for me has some competition. What can possibly compete with the one who gave His life for you and in turn gave you His righteousness so that you can stand justified before the Father What's better than that? That the day your heart stops beating and you stand before Him, there will be no wrinkle in you because Christ completed the work He promised to complete from the first day, as Paul wrote to the Philippians, from the first day until now. He will complete the work. Beloved, that ought to cause you to rejoice. Because there's no one infinitely better or that can surpass the worth of Christ. You can stand justified, reconciled before a holy God, justified to a holy God, forgiven before a holy God. That's exactly righteous before Him because of Jesus. And you can consider that here this morning. And you can take that and meditate upon that today, and meditate upon that tomorrow, and tonight, and the day after, and whenever it is. Meditate on that truth. Now, for those that don't know Christ, the good news applies to you just as much. Well, what do you mean? Yes. The good news is that there's hope for you. The good news, and I don't care how old you might be, how young you might be, the good news is that hope is for you in the gospel. It applies to you because you also can have this hope, but the catch is you have to repent. And repent is that you're agreeing with God. You're saying, yes, I am the sinner. And then the wages of my sin is death. I can't escape this. Everyone was talking about eschatology. Deron mentioned it. There is an escape clause. And the escape is Jesus. The amazing thing with the gospel is that many of us, when we get these advertisements and you want to, all of us have already been taught and trained, read the fine print. Love it, there's no fine print to read here. There's nothing that you have to struggle to try to see to try to make sense of it. This is the gospel. The good news is that those that repent and believe in Christ will be saved. Come to Him. You don't have to worry about trying to figure life out and try to get better. Christ received the due punishment. Punishment. God's wrath had your name. You were targeted with His wrath. And Christ, for those that believe, scratches your name out and replaces it with His. And then the beauty of it is that it doesn't stop there, is that now His righteousness becomes your own. Because the only way to enter the kingdom of God is to be righteous, which is something you and I don't have. But in Christ, it's yours. So come to Him. Don't worry about getting ready and prim and proper. Just come to Him. Come to the one that awaits with open arms to all who repent and believe. Just think and remember, the thief on the cross did not have an opportunity to undo what he had done. He was receiving the full punishment for what he had done on this side of heaven. That's why he was on the cross next to Christ. And all he had to do was recognize, and that's what he did. He recognized who Christ was. We like to deal with our sin that if I sin, I just need to undo it with a good act. Think about that, that thief didn't have an opportunity to undo with good acts. That was it. But he knew who Christ was. Remember me when you enter into your kingdom. And I pray that for anyone here that doesn't know Christ, that would be your plea as well. I repent. I look to you, Jesus. Forgive me. and accept me. And that, you promise He will, He will adopt you. There's no additional paperwork, there's nothing on this side of heaven. There's no loophole, there's no like, come to Him, repent and believe, and He will not cast you out. Amen? Father, I pray that you work in your people and I just pray, Lord, that you would remind us of the surpassing worth of Jesus. Of knowing Him above all else. Father, that your people would stop just playing games with the gospel. We have been flippant in many ways with the gospel in our culture. Let that not be said of your people here at Cornerstone. or of any of your children. Father, we want to be truthful. We want to preach your gospel. But Father, help us to believe the gospel first. Remind us of the gospel. We can't preach to others what we don't believe. And so I pray, Father, that your people would be comforted in knowing that their Savior loves them, cares for them, and will continue to sanctify them until their last breath, until you call them home, or until you return. May your people continue to walk faithfully in light of the gospel. And Father, if there's anyone here that doesn't know you, I pray that you would work in their hearts that the questions that they may have thought that have crossed their mind here this morning, they would follow up and ask to be honest, to see themselves the way you see them, but to also see Christ for who he is. I pray, Lord, only you can do that work. Only you can transform hearts. Only you can give faith unto life. Be pleased to do that, Father, for the glory of your name, that you may harvest souls here at Cornerstone. We ask in Christ's name. Amen.