(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. All right, we're there in Philippians chapter number one, and of course this morning we are beginning a brand new sermon series entitled Rejoice, and it's really a Bible study. It's a verse-by-verse study through the book of Philippians. We're gonna spend the next several months, really through the summer, looking at this small book of Philippians. The book of Philippians is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi. It's only four chapters, but there's so much in this book that we're gonna take our time and go through it, and we're gonna look at every truth that we can possibly learn from this book, and I'm glad you're here this morning. The best time to be in church, really every Sunday is good to be in church, but the best time to be in church is right at the beginning of a new sermon series or a new Bible study, because you get to start right with us, and I want to encourage you to be faithful to church over the summer. I realize that you need to take vacations and things like that, and I appreciate that, but if you are able to, I'd encourage you to stick with us as we study the book of Philippians. It'd be good if you could be here for every service in the book of Philippians and study and learn the book of Philippians with us. We're gonna look at a portion of chapter one this morning, and it will just begin here in verse number one. The Bible says, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always and every prayer of mine for you all. And I want you to notice, we're gonna come back to verses one through three here in a minute, but here in verse four it says, always and every prayer of mine for you all. I want you to notice the next few words. It says, making request with joy. Making request with joy. And I want you to notice the word joy there. This is the first time the word joy is mentioned in the book of Philippians, pretty early into the book, only four verses into the book of Philippians, but it's not the last time that the book of joy is mentioned in the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians really is a book of joy. It is a book of joy, and I would say this, it is a book of Jesus. And what it is, it's actually about the joy that can be found in Jesus. And we're gonna notice that. I want you to make note of the fact as we begin our study in Philippians that the word joy and rejoice, the series is called Rejoice, because this is a word that is emphasized throughout this book. Notice there in, you're there in Philippians chapter 1, skip down to verse number 25, just real quickly. We're gonna go through the whole chapter, but just by way of introduction. Notice verse 25. It says, in having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for the furtherance, notice the words, and joy of faith. The word joy appears in this book six times. It's only four chapters long, but in those four chapters, the Apostle Paul uses the word joy six different times. However, there's another word that is similar that is used throughout this book as well. Look down at verse number 18, Philippians chapter 1 and verse 18. The Bible says this, what then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, notice these words, and I therein do rejoice, yea and will rejoice. Not only is the word joy found six times in these four chapters, but the word rejoice appears ten times in the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians is four chapters long, and yet six different times, the Apostle Paul brings up this idea of joy, and ten times he brings up this idea of rejoice. Here in Philippians 1 18, he says, I therein do rejoice, yea and I will rejoice. I'd like you to flip over just real quickly, just by way of introduction, and look over at chapter number three. I'm not gonna show you all ten references to rejoice. We'll walk through the book over the next several weeks and months, but I'd like you notice chapter three and verse one, it says, finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. If you flip over to chapter four, and look at verse four, we have probably the most famous reference to rejoicing in the book of Philippians, and in maybe the whole Bible, we just sang a song that was based off of this verse. Philippians 4 and verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. This book is really a book of joy. It's a book of learning to find joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word joy is defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness. Joy is the feeling of joy, satisfaction, happiness, unity. These are all things that the Apostle Paul brings up in this book, and then rejoice means to show joy, to show happiness, to show delight. In this book, as we begin this study, I want you to understand the context. It's about learning to have joy in your life. I don't know if you pay attention to the news, but this is a world that we live in that is a very unhappy world. It's a very unjoyful world. It's a world with a lot of chaos and a lot of hurt, but the Bible says that we can find joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a book of joy. It's a book of Jesus. It's a book of the joy that can be found in Jesus. Now you may be here this morning you say, well pastor, you don't know me and you don't know what I'm going through, and if you knew what I was going through, you would understand why I look the way I look. You know, maybe rejoice is not really a word that could be applied to you. Your face has not learned to show joy yet, and you would say you would understand my attitude. You would understand my spirit. You would understand my lack of joy if you understood the circumstances I'm in. What's interesting to me is that the Apostle Paul writes this very positive book, and look, if you've studied the Epistle of the Apostle Paul, you know that some of his writings are pretty negative. When he writes the book to the church at Corinth, he's correcting them for all sorts of sins they've allowed into the church. When he writes the book of Galatians to the church in Galatia, he is talking to them about the heresy that they've fallen for, and he begins by talking about who hath bewitched you and doubting the fact that they're even safe. But when Paul begins the book of Philippians, he begins with this idea of joy, and all through the book he writes about joy. Here's the interesting thing that I want you to understand. When Paul penned the book of Philippians, he penned it in a prison cell. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 18. Notice, excuse me, chapter 1 and verse 7. Philippians 1 and verse 7. Notice what he says. He says, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, and as much as both. Notice these words, in my bonds. The word bond is something that binds you, something that fastens you, something that confines you, something that holds you together. I want you to notice, and we'll see it as we move through the book. The Apostle Paul is writing this letter from prison, and what we learn is that joy in Jesus can be realized even in the worst of circumstances. Joy in Christ is not based off our circumstances, is not based off what we're going through, it is based upon the one that we find our joy from. And this book really is a book to teach us how to rejoice. Now we're going to spend the next several months dissecting this amazing book of the Bible, but for today what I'd like for us to do is to take a close look at the first 11 verses of this chapter, and I'd like you to notice, and I want to encourage you to take some notes, especially you're here as we begin this new Bible study. If you start taking notes now, at the end of this sermon series you'll have handwritten notes through the entire book of Philippians. You can type it up and sell it as a commentary or something, I don't know, but you can have it for yourself as a personal study of the book of Philippians, and we're going to look at and we're going to dissect the first 11 verses together this morning, and what I want you to notice, and if you'd like to take notes on the back of your course of the week there's a place for you to write down some notes, and I would encourage some of you maybe just go buy a dollar 99 cent notebook and you know grab one of our free Verity Baptist Church pens and just have a notebook full of notes from the book of Philippians over the next several weeks for you. It'll help you as you study this idea. In the first 11 verses of this chapter I'd like you to notice that we have three sets of three. There are three threes that the Apostle Paul mentions in the first 11 verses, and I want to point this out to you and we'll move through them as quickly as we can. The first one will be fairly quick and it is the three pairs of partners. In the introductory statements of this book, and we'll move through it quickly, we see three pairs of partners. Notice verse one, Paul says Paul and Timotheus. That's our first pair of partners there. He says Paul and Timotheus, the servant of Jesus Christ, and I don't want to take too much time on this. We've got other stuff I'd like to cover this morning, but I want you to notice that we have Paul and Timotheus there. We've got the mentor and the mentored. In 2nd Timothy chapter 2 and verse 2, you don't have to turn there, the Bible says this, and these things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. You know the Bible teaches that we all need people that are investing into us spiritually and we also eventually need to be investing into others spiritually. We have this relationship we see here with Paul and Timothy, not only Paul and Timothy but Paul and Titus and Paul and Philemon and Paul and all sorts of different men. The Bible tells us in the book of Titus that the aged women should teach the younger women how to love their husbands and love their childrens and be keepers at home. The Bible teaches this idea that we are to be investing in others and having others invest into us. I would put it this way or I've heard it put this way, every Paul needs a Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul. We have this mentor and this mentor and the question I have for you this morning is this, who's your Paul? Who's your Paul? Is there anybody in your life, is there anybody in your life that you have allowed, is there anybody in your life that you have looked to, maybe somebody that's older physically, maybe someone that's older spiritually, maybe something that's older in the faith or just further along in life, is there anybody that you've attached yourself to and said hey I just want I just want to learn a little bit, I just want to have somebody in my life. You say well I don't have anybody in my life that I'm kind of looking for, you men. You say I don't have any man in my life that's maybe further along that I'm kind of looking for or looking to and get advice from in regards to how to have a good marriage and how to be a good father and the question I would have for you, if you don't why not? I mean do you think you do you think you're infallible? You think oh I just got this all figured out. Look we were not created to live on an island by ourselves. You need every man in this room, every lady in this room needs somebody who's a little further ahead of them that they can look for for some advice. You need a Paul. I mean I have Paul's in my life. My wife and I specifically look for people who have been in the ministry maybe further than we have or more successful than we have who've had maybe raised their children and their children are grown and they're adults and they're certainly Lord. We've looked towards people and said that's the results we want in life. Let's look at those people. Why reinvent the wheel? Find a Paul. Say well where can I find a Paul? Well that's why God gave you a local New Testament church. God gave you a church that you could be around some people that are heading in the same direction you're heading, that are going the same direction you'd like to go, that are raising their children and having marriages and having careers and having success, that you'd like to have success and look you stick around church long enough someone will come up alongside you and put their arm around you and say let's walk through life together. Everybody needs a Paul but let me just say this. Once you've been here for a while, once you've matured a little bit, once we've helped you with your marriage and helped you with your children and helped you with your maturity and helped you with your career, don't you forget Timothy to find a Timothy. Every Paul needs a Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul and Paul here begins we see this first pair he says Paul and Timothy is the servants of Jesus Christ. He said and the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. But I want you to notice secondly not only do we see the pair of Paul and Timothy but we see another pair here in verse 1 he says Paul and Timothy is the servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Not only do we see Paul the mentor and Timothy the mentor but we see the bishop or the overseer and we see the deacons or the servants. Notice that there is a spiritual leadership authority structure within the church and the Apostle Paul acknowledges the bishops and the deacons and this is by the way this is a good place to start when it comes to trying to find somebody to help you and coach you and counsel you in life. Then I want you to notice in verse 2 we see our third pair. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We have God the Father and we have the Lord Jesus Christ. We have God the Father and we have God the Son. It's interesting because right just a little while ago when I said hey some of you men need to find somebody to follow get yourself under the authority of somebody you say well who should I get under the authority of? Well God gave you a church, God gave you a pastor, God gave you a bishop, God has given you deacons, God's given you teachers, God's given you Paul's, God's given you people. You got to find somebody and maybe submit yourself under that authority and say hey I'm a Timothy and I'm looking for a Paul and some of you guys kind of bucked at that. I don't need nobody. It's interesting to me because the Lord Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh yet lovingly submitted unto the authority of God the Father. And here's all here's all I'm telling you if it's good enough for Jesus it's good enough for you. If it's good enough for Jesus it's good enough for me. So we see these three pairs of partners Paul and Timothy bishops and deacons and the God the Father and God the Son. God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Then I'd like you to notice secondly this morning we have these three sets of threes these three threes in this first 11 verses first we see the three pairs of partners that went pretty fast the next two won't go as fast all right so don't get excited think we're gonna make it early to hometown buffet. First we see the three pairs of partners secondly I'd like you to notice the Apostle Paul brings up three pivotal days notice there in verse three I thank my God upon every remembrance of you always and every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy we're gonna come back to that in a minute notice verse five for your fellowship in the gospel I want you to notice these words in fact if you don't mind underlining or writing in your Bible I want to encourage you to underline these words from the first day you see those words first day underline those two words first day from the first day until now the Apostle Paul begins by speaking to this church at Philippi and his mind goes back to that first day and I won't take the time to take you there this morning but at some point during this series we'll go back to Acts chapter 16 and look at when the Apostle Paul first showed up in the city of Philippi and how he started this church of the Philippians the church that he's now writing to but Paul brings up in this letter three pivot pivotal days three very important days three important days in the life of the church of Philippi and in the life of every believer he says for your fellowship in the gospel he says from the first day until now and I'd like you to keep your place there in the book of Philippians that's our text for this morning and go with maybe what to the book of 1st John towards the end of the New Testament if you start at the very last book the book of Revelation and you head backwards you'll have the book of Revelation Jude 3rd John 2nd John 1st John Revelation Jude 3rd John 2nd John 1st John when you get to 1st John do me a favor and put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave 1st John and we're going to come back to it throughout the sermon so I'd like you to be able to get there quickly 1st John chapter number 5 1st John chapter number 5 the Apostle Paul says not only are there these three pairs of partners but he says there's these three pivotal days he says from the first day he says for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now you say what is that first day because these three days that the Apostle Paul brings up they're pivotal days not just for the church of Philippi but for every church and for every believer you say what's the first day the first day is the day of salvation the first day is the day you got saved hey it's a wonderful thing to know that you can know that you're saved 1st John 5 and verse 13 you know the verses but let's look at them together 1st John 5 13 says this these things have I written unto you here we have John referring to the back to the Bible he says these things have I written unto you and he's referring to the Word of God he's referring to the scriptures he's referring to the Bible he says these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God don't miss this that ye may know that ye have eternal life isn't it good that you can know that you're saved it's a wonderful thing that we can know that we are saved it's a wonderful thing look you know the Bible says that God gave us one of the reasons that God gave us the Bible these things have I written unto you he says that ye may know hey it's not something you have to hope that you make it there is not something that you have to wonder about is that something that you have to you're just kind of hoping that things work out that way no no no the Bible says that you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven the Bible says that you can have that assurance that you are saved that first day is the day of salvation now let me say this you may not remember the date that you got saved you may not remember the day that you got saved but you should remember getting saved you should remember a time in which you believed on Christ and called upon him for salvation keep your place there in 1st John we're gonna come back to it go with me to the book of 2nd Corinthians chapter number 6 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 and from the beginning of the New Testament you have Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1st Corinthians 2nd Corinthians Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1st Corinthians 2nd Corinthians when I was a little kid in church we would sing this song and we would all be sitting there we sing this song it was on a Monday somebody touched me and if you if you remember getting saved on a Monday you to stand up at that point it was on a Monday somebody touched me it was on a Monday somebody touched me must have been the hand of the Lord and then we sing it was on a Tuesday somebody touched me and we sing it was on a Wednesday somebody touched me and if you remember the day that you got saved whether Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday you'd get up at that point and then we'd go through all those days and at the end for everybody who didn't remember the day we were saying it was on a some day somebody touched me it was on a some day somebody touched me it was on a some day somebody touched me must have been the hand of the Lord hey I I'll tell you this morning I don't remember the day I got saved I don't remember the date I got saved I don't remember whether it was a son I'm pretty sure it was a Sunday I'm not sure if it was a Sunday or a Wednesday I know it was sometime after church I remember as a little boy you're going to my dad and telling him I didn't want to go to hell and he took a Bible and showed me that Jesus loved me and he died on the cross for my sins and that even as a little boy my sins that condemned me to hell but Jesus could pay my sins and give me eternal life I remember bowing my head and asking Jesus to save me hey I'm thankful that there's that Sunday you can know that you were saved you gotta know you're safe this morning Paul brings up that first day that most important day that day of salvation you gotta know maybe you don't know the day some of you are blessed you you you you know the date you know the day you know the anniversary and praise the Lord for it but even if you don't know you ought to know that it was some day and I called upon Christ to save me let me say this maybe you're here this morning you say I don't remember getting saved in fact I don't really know what you're talking about faster I'm not sure if I died today I'm not sure that I'd go to heaven let me tell you something if I died today right now if I drop dead right now hopefully that doesn't happen that probably freak everybody out if I drop dead right now I know for sure if I died today I'd go straight to heaven you say that sounds kind of arrogant well here's the thing it has nothing to do with me it's not not cuz I'm a pastor of a church not cuz I live a good life not cuz I do anything for for for for God or anyone else is because one day Jesus washed my sins away because one day I called upon Christ in faith for salvation and let me just say this you're here this morning you say well I don't if we sang that song right now I couldn't get up on a Monday and I couldn't get up on a Tuesday and I couldn't get up on a Sunday I'm not even sure that I'm safe hey let me tell you something if you don't remember getting saved then today is the day today is the day that you can be saved second Corinthians chapter 6 verse 2 the Bible says this for he's saying I've heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of salvation have I suckered thee second Corinthians 6 to notice the last part of the verse it says behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of salvation you say I'm not sure that I'm saved this morning when should I get saved today well maybe I'll do it next week you don't know that you'll live to next week tomorrow's not promised to you you know the one of the worst things that could happen to somebody is to come to a church like this where where there's maybe a hundred people sitting in this room that could take the Bible and show you how you can know for sure you're on your way to heaven and for you to walk out this door lost and on your way to hell one of the worst things that could happen is for you to come to church like this and have your wife be safe and have your children be saved and you just choose not to get saved and choose not to believe and choose not to call upon Christ for salvation and one day be eternally sent to hell when you could have been saved Paul says I remember the first day Paul says I remember that first day and I won't take the time to have you go there but he says I remember that first day when I went out to that prayer meeting out outside the city where prayer was want to be made and I met that very pushy business lady named Lydia and she got saved I remember that demon-possessed girl in Philippi they got saved and everybody got real upset because we cast the demon out of her he said I remember being in prison in the in the jail there with that very famous Philippian jailer and the earthquake shook and the doors open and he he went to kill himself because he thought we'd all ran away and I said do thee no harm and and he said what must I do to be saved he said I remember the first day as he begins this letter to this beloved church he says I remember the day you got saved I remember the first day you came to Christ and here's what I'm telling you if you're here this morning you're not saved don't leave here today without getting saved I don't know how to do it we'd love to show you you talk to me you talk to one of the staff guys here we'll we'll find somebody we'll get a man to talk with a man we'll get a lady to talk with a lady we'll get a lady to talk with with with kids with the permission of their children but let me say with the permission their parents but let me tell you something don't leave here unsure that you're saved the most important day for the church of Philippi the most important church day for the any member of Verity Baptist Church for the most important day of any men of anybody that that that has lived is that day you say it's the day that I was born no it's the day that you were born again Paul brings up these three pivotal days he says the first day what was it the day of salvation aren't you notice he brings up another day go back to keep your place in first John go back to Philippians chapter 1 he brings up the first day and then he says this in verse 6 he says being confident of this very thing that he which has begun a new work in you will perform it notice these words until the day here's our second day until the day of Jesus Christ he says I remember the first day but he said I'm oh I'm also looking forward to the last day he says until the day of Jesus Christ you said what's the day of Jesus Christ well let me show you that you're there in Philippians go go past Colossians into the books of first and second Thessalonians go to second Thessalonians chapter number two Philippians Colossians first Thessalonians second Thessalonians chapter number two Paul brings up the first day that's the day of salvation then he brings up the last day the day of Jesus Christ you say what is that well the day of Jesus Christ or the day of Christ is a reference to the rapture this is a day that Jesus Christ resurrects all believers and raptures those that remain in our life and we are caught up in the heavens to be with him for all of eternity second Thessalonians chapter 2 look at verse 1 second Thessalonians 2 1 he says now we beseech you brethren notice these words by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ people often refer to this as the second coming of Christ or the second advent of Christ he said by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and notice what happens at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him when Jesus returns we are gathered together with him this is a reference to the rapture now there is a false doctrine out there called the pre-tribulation rapture that says that we're all gathered secretly at some other point and Jesus returns at some other point that are separate from each other but that's not what the Bible teaches the Bible says now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the gathering together unto him these are all this is the same event that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by sword nor by letter as from us notice as that the day of Christ is at hand you say what's the day of Christ is the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him and the Apostle Paul says being confident of this very thing that he which have begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ you say he brings up these three pit of pivotal days he brings up the first day that's the day of salvation then he brings up the last day you say what's the last day the last day he's referring to here it's the day of our resurrection the day of our rapture you say why is it the last day it's not the last day that you'll exist it's not the last day you'll spend eternity with Jesus Christ but it is the last day in which God finishes the work that he begun in you notice again there in in Philippians chapter 1 being confident of this very thing that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ see the day of the rapture is when God finalizes his purchase of your salvation if you're saved this morning your spirit has been quickened your soul has been redeemed but you still live in this corruptible flesh your flesh has not yet been regenerated your flesh has not yet been renewed but the Bible says that there's coming a day the day of Christ when this corruptible will put on in corruption this mortal will put on immortality and at that point God will have perfected us will have completed us we will be completely regenerated body soul and spirit the Apostle Paul brings up this day and by the way that's what we're preaching about tonight when we talk about the new man we're talking about your spirit being quickened and this new man that's created in you at the day of salvation but Paul says not only was there the first day but then he says there's the last day the day of Jesus Christ the day when he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ go to 1st John if you would if you kept your place in 1st John continue to keep your place there and go to 1st John chapter 3 the day that we meet and stand before Christ should be a day that motivates us I brought this up recently in a sermon brother Oliver brought it up as well in his Wednesday night sermon this last week that one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ that day should be a motivation for us we should all live our lives in anticipation of the judgment seat of Christ that we will one day stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be judged for the things that were done in our bodies whether good or bad 1st John chapter 3 and verse 1 notice what John says he says behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God that's the first day that's salvation therefore the world know this not because it knew him not behold now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear that's the last day that's the day of Christ we shall be like him that's the perfecting the resurrection of our bodies for we shall see him as he is then he says this in verse 3 and every man that hath this hope what hope the hope of the resurrection the hope of that last day the hope of the day of Jesus Christ when he completes his work in us he says and every man that hath this hope in him purify himself even as he is pure you say why why does somebody who has the hope of seeing Jesus Christ one day why do they purify themselves here's why because you ought to be living your life and I should be living my life in anticipation for the day that we meet Christ and anticipation for the day that we stand at the judgment seat of Christ that we are judged by the Lord Jesus Christ the book of Revelation calls him the amen Jesus is the amen the word amen is a word that it means the affirmative some you may hear some of these men at our church say amen every once in a while and what that means is that they agree that they are affirming what's being said and I appreciate it when I preach and the men say amen but you know more than having another man amen me I hope that one day the amen says amen to my life into your life Paul brings up these three pivotal days he says these three very important days he says the first day the first day is a day of your salvation are you saved this morning then he brings up the last day the day in which God fulfills the work he completes the work that he has begun in you go back to Philippians if you would Philippians chapter 1 let me show you the third day you say pastor I've already read ahead while you were preaching and I don't see a third day you're smart is how are you I saw the first day and I saw the day of Christ and I've already read ahead I don't see the third day what's there you just missed it it's sandwiched in between the first day and the last day notice Philippians chapter 1 verse 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day notice these two words until now you say what is what it what's that now that's today see you have the first day the day of your salvation then you have the last day verse 6 being confident to this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ that's the last day but between the first day and the last day you have today you have now you have the current day see the first day is the day that God began to work on you the last day is the day that God finishes his work in you you say what's today the day that God's working on you go to Ephesians if you would just right before the book of Philippians you have the book of Ephesians Ephesians chapter number two see we have the first day of salvation the last day of the rapture and we have the current day today the day that God is working on you anybody ever tell you you're a piece of work well the truth is you are and I am too God's at work in me and God's at work in you now salvation is a gift salvation is not something you earn you don't work for it that's why some of you're like well I understand how somebody can know they're saved if I if I have to live a good life and go to church and get baptized or repent of my sins and try to how could I know if I'm saved how could I know if I'm doing enough works well the thing is you could never know if you're doing enough works if that's what you're basing salvation on but salvation is not a works salvation is a gift Jesus paid for it on the cross he offers it to all of us freely all you have to do is receive it accept it believe it call upon him to be saved salvation is not of works Ephesians 2 verses 8 & 9 say this for by grace are you saved through faith it doesn't say you're saved by your baptism does save you're saved through your church attendance it doesn't say you're saved because you live a good life it doesn't say you're saved because you quit smoking or quit drinking or quit whatever you quit he says for my grace are you saved through faith and that the word of that there is referring to being saved he says and that not of yourselves you don't save yourselves you say why it is the gift of God and because it's a gift not of works you don't earn it you don't work for it why lest any man should boast and by the way when people tell you oh I know I'm on my way to heaven well what gives you that confidence you're on your way to heaven oh cuz I you know I used to be a real bad person and I repent of that you know what they're doing they're boasting they're bragging the Bible says not of works lest any man should boast but I want you to notice that though salvation is not of works salvation is not of works meaning you don't have to work to be safe the day you got saved God did begin a work in you notice for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast notice verse 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works as God hath before ordained that we should walk in him see we have the first day the day of salvation the day that God began his work in you and we have the last day the day of the rapture the day that he will complete his work in you but then we have the current day today now today is the day that God is working in your life today is the day that God is working on you to make you more like his son go to Romans if you would if you go backwards you have Ephesians Galatians 2nd 1st Corinthians Romans you go backwards from where you're at Ephesians Galatians 2nd Corinthians 1st Corinthians Romans Romans chapter number 8 I'm reading a book right now by James clear called atomic atomic atomic habits and that book he he says this I thought it was interesting he says we do not change by snapping our fingers and deciding to be someone entirely new we change bit by bit day by day habit by habit look you're not you're not gonna maybe you're here this morning you say pastor you know if you knew my circumstances if you knew the way that my life was if you knew how messed up I've messed things up and my marriage is all messed up and my children are all messed up and all my relationships in my career if you knew all of that you'd you'd understand why I don't have joy and look this book is for you this series is for you joy is not found in your circumstances joy is found in the Lord Jesus Christ but let me tell you something God wants to work in you you don't snap a finger you don't come to church one time and say well there that should have solved it no it is a work that God does in you a continuous work day by day bit by bit Romans 8 29 says this for when he did for know for whom he did for know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren you say what's the work that God began to do with me he began to take you and to conform you to the image of his son you're like a piece of stone and God is is the stone carver and he has a hammer and a chisel and he's taking your image and he's starting to chisel away at it and remove the imperfections and remove all of the excess and remove all of the sin and remove all of the world you say what's he trying to get me to be like he's predestinated you to be conformed to the image of his son what the first day was the day of salvation the first day was the day that God gave you everlasting life and the last day it's a day of the rapture the day that God gives your body a resurrected eternal body and the day that the redemptive process is complete and you are fulfilled in Christ for all of eternity but let me tell you something Jesus did not just come to give you everlasting life and eternal life yes he came to give you eternal life but he also wants to give you an abundant life he doesn't just want to give you a life he wants to make you he wants to make you better at life it's how can my life get better your marriage will get better when you become more like Christ your parenting will get better when you become more like Christ you'll be better at work and you'll be better at your job you'll be better with your emotions and you'll be better with your depression you'll be better with whatever habits you're dealing with and addictions you're dealing with when you become more like Christ see God is at work in you to make you like Christ he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren God's working on you are you allowing him God's working on you are you listening God's working on a we we do not change by snapping our fingers and deciding to be someone entirely new we change bit by bit day by day habit by habit the Apostle Paul brings up these three sets of threes we first saw the three pairs of partners Paul the mentor and Timothy the mentor Bishop the bishops the overseers and deacons and servants God the Father and God the Son then he brings up these three pivotal days the first day the first day is the day of your salvation I hope you're saved this morning and if you're not I hope you'll allow today to be that first day you allow us to show you from the Bible how you can know for sure you're on your way to heaven because these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life then there's the last day the day in which God will complete the work that he has begun in you but then there's today now the work that God's doing in you the Bible says that we are co-laborers together with God God wants to work with you to work on you well you love not like you notice thirdly this morning not only do we see the three pairs of partners in the three pivotal days but we see thirdly this morning the three prayer requests you go back to Philippians chapter 1 and look at verse 3 notice what the Apostle Paul says he says I think my God upon every remembrance of you always and every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy by the way in the Christian life this is where it should all begin with prayer by the way this is how church of Philippi started he went out to where prayer was want to be made he says always and every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now being confident of this very thing which he has which I've begun a good work and you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ notice verse 7 even as it is me the word meet means suitable even it is as it is me for me to think this of you all notice Paul says to this church at Philippi he says because I have you in my heart the book of Philippians is a letter that Paul wrote it's about joy and it's about Jesus and it's about the joy that we can be found in Jesus but may I say this as well the book of Philippians is really a love letter not a love letter like the silly things you wrote your girlfriend or your wife or whatever this is a love letter among friends as you read through the book of Philippians you begin to see that Paul really loves these people I mean he says always in every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy we just recently had a team leaders ministry meeting here at our church and we've got team leaders and men and women that have chosen to help us here in the ministry and the care of our church family and what is one of the things that I was trying to get across to them is that we have to love our people always and every prayer of mine for you making for you all making requests with joy notice how Paul loved people I believe one of the reasons that Paul was such an impactful person is because he loved people even as it is me for me to think of you all because I have you in my heart and as much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel you're all partakers of my grace for God is my record how notice he says how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ then he says this in verse 4 he says in verse 3 he says I think my God upon every remembrance of you always and every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy then in verse verses 5 and 6 he talks about the fact that God's doing a work in them and that God is doing this work from the first day to the last day through today then he talks about the fact that he loves them he says that I have you in my heart and how I greatly I long after you all but then in verse 9 he goes back to this idea of prayer and he says and this I pray and we're about to see Paul's three prayer requests for these believers in Philippi just like we have a prayer sheet and we've got communication cards and you put in a prayer request and turn it in and we put it on prayer sheet and pray for it on Wednesday night here we have the the Apostle Paul's prayer requests he said he's telling the church of Philippi he says he says I think my God upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy and then in verse 9 he says and this I pray and he's about to give us his three prayer requests for the church of Philippi and by the way these three prayer requests coincide with the work that God is wanting to do in you and in me and in every believer you say what are they this this really should be the prayer that we have for every believer this should be the prayer you have for your children this should be the prayer you have for your spiritual children you say what is it I mean notice I mean the Apostle Paul is a great man of God arguably other than Lord Jesus Christ the greatest Christian who ever lived for sure the greatest missionary soul winner church planter that ever lived the man that penned most of the New Testament he's about to tell us how he prays for people that he loves he says the people that I greatly longed for after you all he says I I have you in my heart he says let me tell you how I pray for you he says and this I pray number one he says that your love may abound he says I pray that your love may abound yet more and more you know the Bible emphasizes two loves in our lives or two directions for our love in our lives go to the book of Matthew if you would keep replacing Philippians we're coming back to it Matthew chapter 22 should be fairly easy to find the first book first book in the New Testament Matthew chapter 22 you know that God emphasizes two loves or two directions of love you say what are they Matthew 22 verse 36 Matthew 22 verse 36 somebody asked Jesus Matthew 22 verse 36 they said master which is a great commandment in the law what's the big one Jesus what's the if there's one I'm gonna fulfill what is it Jesus said unto him thou shalt love the Lord by God with all our heart with all thy soul with all thy mind he says this is the first and great commandment look up here for a minute God says he wants us to love Bible says he wants us to love God that's a vertical love we love God vertically when the Bible talks about love or the direction of life you say how should my love go it should go vertically towards God thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul with all thy mind this is the first and great commandment notice verse 39 the second is like unto it thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself look up here for a minute God says I want you to love vertically but I also want you to love horizontally you know I want you to love vertically love the Lord thy God love towards God with all your heart with all your soul with all your might but he said I also want you to love vertically he said I want you to love your neighbor as yourself on these two commandments saying all the law and the prophets you will fulfill Jesus you'll fulfill every law every commandment everything that God wants you to do you'll fulfill it if you can love in these two directions love vertically and love horizontally by the way let me say this you cannot love vertically you cannot love God vertically if you are not loving your neighbor horizontally I mean read the book of 1st John Bible says don't don't say you love God while you while you hate your brother you cannot love vertically if you're aren't loving horizontally you can't love God if you're not loving your neighbor and by the way let me say this you cannot properly love horizontally until you are properly loving vertically you can't love God while you're not loving your neighbor and you can't properly love your neighbor while you're not loving God see both of these connect they coincide with each other this is a promise some people have in their marriages people show up to church like this is that I'm having problems my marriage is we need counseling and they're like we don't understand why I'm having so much problems our marriage we're trying so hard we're trying so hard to love each other and we're trying so hard the problem is that you've forgotten that you cannot love vertically so you you cannot love horizontally till you've loved vertically you look you say how can I be the best parent for my kid love God with all your heart no no all of my kids with all my heart I'll make my kids you know my main emphasis you will destroy your children you'll make an idol out of your children and you will destroy them you said no I'll be the best parent when I put my kids first you will be the best parent when you put God first you'll be the best husband you'll be the best wife you'll be the best everything in your life see you cannot love others properly so you first love God properly and you cannot love God till you're loving others properly so the Apostle Paul says you know what I pray for I pray that your love may abound more and more he said I pray that you learn to love God with all your heart and you to learn to love your neighbor as yourself he said I want you to love he says my prayer request for you is that your love may abound now I want you to notice his second request go back to Philippians chapter 1 he says and this I pray he says that your love may abound yet more and more and then he says this and he says more and more then he says this in knowledge Paul says you don't know what I pray for I pray that your love may abound and I pray that your knowledge may increase I pray that your love may abound and I pray that your knowledge may increase go to 2nd Peter if you would 2nd Peter chapter 3 we're almost done we're gonna be done about 5 to 10 minutes all right we'll do this quickly 2nd Peter chapter 3 keep your plate if you kept your place there in 1st John and you just go backwards from 1st John you got 2nd Peter 2nd Peter chapter 3 once you get there keep your finger right there in 2nd Peter we're gonna leave it we're gonna come back to it 2nd Peter chapter 3 once you notice what the Bible says the Bible says this but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ you cannot grow you cannot mature you cannot change without knowledge you understand that your life cannot get better till you learn to get better at life you said my life's a mess I can't get it better because you're doing the same things you've been doing well doing the same things that got you into the mess you're in are not going to get you out nothing will change if nothing changes well I'm just keep doing say I'm just gonna keep treating my my wife the way I've been treating her I'm gonna keep treating my husband the way I've been treating I'm gonna keep treating my children the way I've been treating I'm gonna keep treating my it'll also I've been tree I understand why it's not working you need more knowledge. You need to learn something. Paul says, you know what I pray for? I pray that your love would abound and that your knowledge would increase. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let him be glory both now and forever. Amen. Keep your place right there in Second Peter. Go back to Romans, if you would, if you kept your place in Romans. Romans chapter number 12, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Keep your place in Second Peter and in Romans, Romans chapter 12. You say, how do we change? How do we get better? You learn, you learn. This is why we tell people you ought to read the Bible. And by the way, we tell people you should read the Bible, and then I tell people, and after you read the Bible, you should read books. You should read other books. You say, why? Because look, the only thing you know is what you know. And until you get somebody to teach you something different, you're not gonna be able to change. Paul says, my hope is that you would grow knowledge by what you say. Well, why do you guys go to so many passages? You're telling us to go to this passage, that passage, underline this, and take notes, and this and that. You say, why? Because the only way for you to get better, the only way for you to get better, is for you to increase in knowledge. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, Romans 12, 1, by the mercies of God, that you present your body as a living sacrifice. Holy, accept them to God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world. Don't miss it, but be ye transformed. You say, that's what I want. I want my life to be transformed. I want my marriage to be transformed. I want my relationship with my children and my career and my health to be transformed. Okay, here's how it goes. But be ye transformed. How do you do it? By the renewing of your mind. Something has to change up here. I don't wanna go to that church. They're just gonna try to brainwash me. Some of you need your brains to be washed. You've been thinking the wrong things. You've been thinking the wrong way. You need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul says, you know what I pray for? I pray that your love may abound and that your knowledge may increase, because you cannot grow or mature or change without knowledge. By the way, let me just say this. Keep your place right there in Romans. Go back to 2 Peter. There's a reason why, there's a divine order here. There's a reason why he brought up love first, because he says, we need love and grace before knowledge. That's why 2 Peter 3 18 says, but grow in grace first and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You say, why? Here's why. Because the Bible says that knowledge puffeth up. See, knowledge without love gets you into trouble. You know what knowledge without love does? Knowledge without love gets these independent fundamental Baptists, new fundamental Baptists, extreme fundamental Baptists, to talk about all these crazy things about reprobates and about, you know, you know, all these crazy things. You talk about, you say, well pastors, don't you believe those things? I believe every crazy thing the Bible teaches, I believe it. I love it. But you know, I don't just stand up in front of a bunch of unsaved people or new Christians and just start talking about random things that they don't understand, trying to show off how extreme I am. You know what your problem is? You have knowledge without grace. You have knowledge without love. You'd rather show off how extreme you are than care about the maturity of somebody that may not understand what you're talking about. He says, I pray that your love would abound and then your knowledge, because knowledge without love, growing in knowledge without grace, is dangerous. Because you get puffed up and arrogant. We talk about all these extreme things, but yeah, but you're talking about it with people that they don't even understand what you're talking about. You're just offending them. It's one of the reasons why at Very Vibes of the Church, I have you guys turn to all the passages, like you say, well you preach some extreme things, but you know that I don't preach extreme things without showing you from the Bible where it comes. I don't just start rambling off all these extreme things without proving it from the Bible. You say, why? Because you don't need to take my word for it, you need to take God's word for it. He says that your knowledge would increase, because knowledge puffed up. He says, I want your love to abound. He says, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I want you to notice, thirdly, his third prayer request here. Go back to Philippians chapter 1. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge, then he says this, and in all judgment. He says, my three prayer requests for you are this, that your love may abound, that your knowledge may increase, and that your judgment may expand. See, proper judgment would keep you from saying stupid, extreme things that may be correct and true in front of people that don't understand that. You may have, having knowledge and having judgment are not the same thing. Having knowledge and having discernment are not the same thing. He says, I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. He says, that ye may approve things that are excellent. Look, the only way to get, to do this is, the only way to approve things that are excellent is to do it with proper judgment or discernment. Notice, he says, that ye may. He says, this is what I want from you. That ye may be sincere. The word sincere means authentic, real on the inside. Then he says, also and without offense. What's offense? A sin. That's being holy on the outside. Look, you can be holy on the outside and not be real on the inside. It's called hypocrisy. And you can be, say, I love the Lord on the inside, but I'm just living a worldly life on the outside. That's all, that's just called being worldly. Paul says, I want you to be sincere and without offense. Notice, notice how it brings it all together. To the day of Christ. He said, this is what I pray for you, because this is what I want for you. To the day of Christ, to the day that God is done working in you, I pray these things, that your love may abound, that your knowledge may increase, that your judgment may expand, that you would love God and love your neighbor, that you would increase in knowledge, because the only way to be transformed is through the renewing of your mind, but that you would add judgment and discernment to that, that you may approve things that are excellent and make better decisions, make wise decisions, because you cannot get better at life. Your life cannot get better till you get better at life. You have to start making better decisions. You have to start making better choices. You say, well, how do I do that when your knowledge increases? Well, what will motivate me to do that when your love abounds? Romans 12, if you would, if you kept your place there. Notice the Apostle Paul's pretty much making the same arguments. Romans 12, 1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, holy, acceptable to God. That's without offense, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Notice, that you may prove. In Philippians 1, 10, he said that you may approve things that are excellent. In Romans 12, 2, he says that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You know that God, Jesus, did not just come to give you eternal life, he also came to give you abundant life. You know that Jesus did not just come to give you life, he came to make you better at life. You know that God has a will for your life? He has a good and acceptable and perfect will for you. And he began that work, he began that work on the day you got saved. And you'll finish that work on the day of Christ. And today, he's at work in you. And like the Apostle Paul, we should all be praying that we would all abound in love, that we would all abound in knowledge, that we would all abound in judgment. Why? Because we could love more, we could know more, we can make better choices. And we could prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. See, you need love to keep the knowledge in check, and you need the knowledge to have better judgment, and you need the judgment to make better choices. And the truth is this, that nothing changes until something changes. Philippians 1 verse 11, we'll finish right here. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and the praise of God. When you allow God to work on you, when you allow God to work in you, when you allow God to work with you, here's what will happen. You'll be filled with the fruits of righteousness, and your life will give glory and praise to God. And we're going to pick it up right here next week in our new study, Rejoice, Philippians chapter 1 verse 12. Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for this letter that Paul wrote to the Church of Philippi, and we could see the expression of love that he had for these people. We see how much he loved them, how much he cared for them, and how he so wanted God's work to be accomplished in them. And Lord, I think of this dear church, Verity Baptist Church, I hope these dear people know how much my wife and I love them, how we pray for them, how we think of them, how we so want all of them to be saved, and we all are looking forward to that day that God will accomplish his work, but we're very interested in today, this day. Lord, I pray for this church, like the Apostle prayed for the church in Philippi, that they would abound in love, that they would increase in knowledge, that they would gain judgment, that they would allow your perfect work to be done in their lives. We love you. We thank you for salvation, which is free, and we thank you for the work that you're doing in all of us. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray, amen.