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45 Song number 245 as our first song the old account was settled. Let's all stand together for this first song if you're able Song number two hundred and forty five the old account was settled all together nice and strong on that first verse There was a time on earth When in the book of him an old account was standing for sins yet unforgiveness My name was at the top and many things below I went into the keeper and settled long ago long ago long ago Yes, the old account was settled long ago hallelujah and the records clear today When the old account was settled long ago The old account was large and growing every day For I was always sitting and never tried to pay But when I looked ahead and saw such pain and woe I said that I would settle I settled long ago long ago long ago Yes, the old account was settled long ago hallelujah and the records clear today When the old account was settled long ago When in that happy home my Savior's home above I'll sing redemptive story and praise him for his love I'll not forget that book with pages white as snow Because I came and settled and settled long ago long ago long ago Yes, the old account was settled long ago hallelujah Oh For he washed my sins away when the old account was settled long ago Oh Sinner trust the Lord be cleansed of all your sin for the sea half provided For you to enter in and then if you should live a hundred years below Up there, you'll not regret it. You settled long ago long ago Yes, the old account was settled long ago My sins away when the old account was settled long ago Amen wonderful scene. Let's start up our service with a word of prayer Your Lord God Heavenly Father. I thank you for giving us this day This time that we have to come here to your house Lord to hear the preaching of your word And I thank you for our pastor who preaches To us week in and week out where the things that he preaches are popular or not Lord, and I thank you Of course first and foremost for our salvation Lord And I thank you for those that were saved out there today as such you please bless this service as we're here tonight I said you please fill pastor with your spirit as he preaches your word. They may preach boldly and Effectively Lord and that he may edify us by your word and I said you would please give us your spirit also Lord Then we may have ears to hear in Jesus name. I pray amen All right, you may be seated Please turn your songbooks to song number one hundred and fifty two Song number one hundred and fifty two security Song number one hundred and fifty two all together on that first verse More secure is no one ever Than the loved ones of the Savior not yon star on high abiding nor the bird in homeness I Got his own doth tend and nourish in his holy courts, they flourish like a father Kind he spares them in his loving Arms he bears them neither life nor death can ever from the Lord his children sever for his love and deep compassion Comfort them in Tribulation little flock to joy then yield thee Jacob's God will ever shield thee rest secure with this defender at his will all foes surrender What he takes or what he gives us shows the father's love so Precious we may trust his purpose Holy tears his children's welfare solely All right, great seeing thank you for being here this evening just a few announcements here before we sing our next song Which will be song number 100 day by day song number 100 in your songbooks Just a few announcements. Of course Our services are as follow Sunday morning at 1030 Sunday evening at 5 p.m And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock You see there at the bottom we have the fall program schedule today was the catered birthday breakfast for all of those in October Happy birthday to you all and then next week. We have the fall family photos. So make sure you bring your family and We'll have pictures at 945 and so be here nice and early to get your photos taken with your family And then we'll get you we'll give you your photo the following week. And so just keep that in mind Following week after that's pumpkin Sunday. Then we have the pie baking contest We'll get you the rules to that as the closer we get to the date there and then on October 9th. We also have Along with the fall family photos. We have the Christmas program Practices that's when they begin if you have any questions about that. You can see brother Maury lemons He's gonna be heading up and the Christmas Play team there and so he'll have all those answers for you Ladies prayer meeting coming up and cookie exchange on Saturday, October 29th be sure to keep track of all your points Okay So all three services going so many once a week bringing a first or second time visitor third time visitor Make sure you keep track of those and then next week. We're gonna pass out the quarter sheets You're gonna be able to fill that out. Of course. We're using the honor system here All right and then we'll be make sure to keep track of that and then we'll announce all the winners on the 22nd for the annual Thanksgiving banquet and then you have the rewards there at the bottom No food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee No loitering in the foyer fellowship hall during the preaching service And of course quiet time is from 3 p.m. To 4 15 throughout the whole building Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service Let's go ahead and take some Sony numbers for this past week any salvations from Monday to Thursday salvations from Monday to Thursday How about Friday and Saturdays salvations for Friday and Saturday three for Riverside to anybody else Anybody else? Okay. How about this afternoon salvations for this afternoon? Or okay one one for the hikes team anybody else going once two for brother Morris team Did I miss anybody going once twice thrice? Okay, keep up the great work on soul winning at this time. You can we're not playing the piano yet brother Eric We got a little bit of family time. I'm gonna talk about a couple things before we get into the next song. So brother Mark if you could hit that You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Song number 100 day by day Is our third song song number 100 All together on that first verse day by day And with each passing moment Strength I find to meet my trials here Trusting in my father's wise bestowment I've no cause for worry or for fear He who saw his kind beyond all measure Gives unto each day what he deems best Lovingly it's part of pain and pleasure Mingling toil with peace and rest Every day the Lord himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour All my cares he fame would bear and cheer me He whose name is counselor and power The protection of his child and treasure Is a charge that on himself he laid As I gaze thy strength shall be in measure This the pledge to me he made Help me then in every tribulation So to trust thy promises, O Lord That I lose not faith's sweet consolation Offered me within thy holy Word Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting Ere to take as from a father's hand One by one the day's the moment's fleeting Till I reach the promised land Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time the ushers will come forth to collect the offering. And you can turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter number four. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. We're in Philippians chapter number four tonight. Philippians chapter number four in the Bible reads, Therefore my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so longed for in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Eudias and beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord, and I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the Gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein ye were also careful but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I could do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, notwithstanding ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, which I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Ephrataudias the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your needs according to the riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus, the brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, thank you for the church you've given us, Lord, and for the people within this church. And we thank you for pastor, Lord, we pray that you bless him and fill him with your spirit, Lord, as he preaches your word tonight and that we have ears to hear and that we are receptive to the preaching of your word, Lord. And just bless the service, every aspect of it, and bless the prayer and fellowship to follow, Lord. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. Now this is taking place in verse 21 of chapter 3. He's talking about the resurrection. He says, Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like into his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Now this is explicitly talking about the resurrection, that one day we will resurrect. I talked about that this morning, the matter of glorification and receiving a new body. And then he says, Therefore, because of the fact that God will change our vile body, because there's going to be a resurrection, it's for that reason that we should stand fast in the Lord. In other words, this is essentially what the Apostle Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 15, where he says, Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. And of course, that is also in context of the resurrection. So when we think about the resurrection, we think about the fact that we're going to get glorified bodies. We think of the fact that our body is going to be transfigured and become glorious, absent of sin. A lot of interesting things about that particular doctrine, right? But what it should do, it should move us to be persistent and determined in the Christian life. And one of the reasons why God reiterates and teaches so much about the resurrection is because he wants it to be a motivation for us to stay in the service of the Lord. You understand? You know, a lot of Christians, unfortunately, they quit the Christian life sometimes. And I don't mean they quit believing in God or quit believing in the Bible. You know, they're saved, but they just stop serving him. They stop making him the most important thing in their lives. They get out of church, they stop reading the Bible. They begin living carnal lives, and it's essentially the opposite of what we see here. They're not standing fast in the Lord. And you say, why is that? Well, because the Christian life isn't easy. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Amen? If the Christian life as serving God was easy, then every Christian after salvation would automatically sign up and get involved in the work of the Lord. But it's not easy. There are difficulties. The Christian life is not a bed of roses. No, it's very fulfilling, and there are times of peace. There's times of great joy and fulfillment in the Christian life. To be honest with you, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I mean, the Christian life is the greatest life to live. It's a blessing. There's so many benefits to the Christian life. And you know, the Bible tells us that God loads us daily with benefits. He tells us that the blessing of the Lord and maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow to it. I mean, there's no comparison to what we receive in the Lord here in the Christian life compared to what the world has to offer. We esteem the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the pleasures of sin for a season. This is the attitude that we should have as Christians. And so that should motivate us to stand fast in the Lord. Knowing full well that there's an end to all these things should motivate us to stick it out. To be in this thing for the long haul, to keep winning souls to Christ, to keep leading your families, being in church, reading your Bible, serving the Lord, being a blessing to others when it's difficult, when it's easy, when it's hard, we should always stand fast in the Lord. And notice he says in verse number one, he says, My brother and dealer beloved and longed for my joy and crown. So a lot of times the Apostle Paul refers to his converts as crowns. Now why is that? Well, because crowns in the Bible are essentially referring to rewards. And crowns are also significant of authority. And we know that some of the rewards that we're going to get in the millennial reign is to reign over the nations. And so part of getting those rewards is winning people to Christ. Teaching people about righteousness, winning people to Christ. And he's telling them there, stand fast in the Lord, don't quit, keep going forward. And this is a message that we need today in 2022. And throughout the ages, telling Christians don't quit. If it gets hard in your marriage, don't quit. If it gets hard with child rearing, don't quit. If it gets hard at your job, don't quit. If it gets hard in church, don't quit. If persecution comes to our church, don't quit. Don't be a little sissy and just quit. Don't throw in the towel, stick it out. Be steadfast, unmovable. Listen to this. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. God wants us to labor as we're fighting, labor as we're going through tribulation, labor as we suffer sometimes. He wants us to do both. And of course there's a lot of benefits to that. We become stronger as Christians, but we also are able to endure the hardships of life and earn rewards because of it. So he says, therefore, make sure you're standing fast in the Lord. Now, verse two and three is kind of a funny little passage, okay? I'm going to explain to you why. He says in verse number two, I beseech Eodias and beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also true yoke, fellow, help those women which labor with me in the gospel with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Now you say, why is that funny? Well, Eodias and Syntyche are women in the church. And the implication here is that they're not getting along. So he's like, I'm begging Eodias and I'm begging Syntyche that they just be of the same mind in the Lord. And if I were to speculate what's going on here, there's probably some conflict between these women in church. I don't know how that would happen, of course. That's weird. Women fighting in church, that's kind of weird. Is this only something that happened in first century AD or is this common or what? Of course it's common. And look, the Bible specifically tells us that they are women whose names are written in the book of life, which is another way of saying what? That they're saved. So it's not like they're wicked people. They're not reprobates or anything like that. They're just women who are fighting in the church, I guess. And you say, why does the apostle Paul bring this up? Is there a lot of ladies in this church? Quite possibly because when you read in the book of Acts and specifically chapter 16 where the church at Philippi was started, you see that he comes to Philippi and there's a group of women who are praying together. And he kind of joins himself to that group there. So there's already women believers there, female believers there at Philippi. And of course we don't know what the church at Philippi is comprised of. If it's predominantly female with a couple males, we don't know. But from the looks of Acts chapter 16, it looks like there's a lot of women in the church there. Not a problem. That's a good thing. They're believers. They're praying together. They might have been praying for someone to start a church there. And of course the apostle Paul joins with them. He gets arrested. And then through that ordeal, he ends up preaching the gospel to the Philippian jailer, which is where we get our famous sowning passage. What must I do to be saved? And they said unto them, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. So he gets the Philippian jailer saved. He gets his household saved. A lot of people are getting saved there. But it looks like maybe there's just a lot of ladies in the church. And you say, is this applicable to us today? Of course. Sometimes not just ladies, sometimes men who act like ladies sometimes, they get in conflicts and they start fighting one another or whatever for dumb reasons. This is why in the book of Philippians, he's constantly emphasizing the importance of what? Unity. Having unity in the church. And what does unity mean? It's you putting your differences aside. Let us have differences with the world because the world is different from us. The world's ideologies are different. Let them be that way. Let us have conflict with them, but there should be no conflict in the local New Testament church. We should have unity in the church. And you know what? If you have differences with someone else in church, put those aside for the sake of the work. For the sake of attending church, you're like, well, so-and-so offended me. Yeah, but you probably offended someone else though. So, I mean, what's up? You know, you're going to offend someone and that other person is going to have someone else that offends them. That's just the way life is. And you know what? There's a commandment in the Bible, multiple commandments in the Bible to forgive one another. And we wouldn't know the joy of forgiving and of being forgiven if there wasn't conflict. Understand? So take advantage of the conflicts to exercise your Christianity to forgive and to enjoy the pleasure of being forgiven, the privilege of being forgiven. So he tells them, you know, hey guys, you know, Iodias and Syntyche, tell them they need to get along. Tell them they need to be of one mind. And obviously it's a big deal if he has to write about it. He's like calling them out by name. Okay. It's like, let's just give an example. Let's say I'm going to use my wife for an example. I'll use the staff wives, for example, so I don't offend anybody else in their church. Let's say my wife Sarah and Vanessa are just like fighting. You know, they're just constantly bickering at each other. They're fighting. They're not of the same mind. And one's like, my husband's better than your husband. And he's like, well, my husband can lift more than you. And then he's like, well, my husband's taller than your husband. You know, it's just like kind of going back and forth. And they're just bickering over nonsensical things. This would be like, you know, you know, the Lord coming and saying, Hey, tell Vanessa and Sarah to be of the same mind. Okay. And not start strife. You know, be of unity. Get along. Grow up. Amen. Amen. You know, be adults about situations. Don't be little high school girls and have cliques and bicker and fight with one another. Okay. Be of the same mind. Be of the same mind. And look, it looks like Eodias and Syntyche, you know, even though they're not getting along, these are people who are actually laboring in the church. They're soul winners. People who know how to preach the gospel. He says, I entreat the also true yoke fellow, help those women, which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other, my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. He's like, he's telling the other believers in the church, help these ladies to get along. Okay. And that's what I'm trying to do tonight. I'm trying to help the ladies in our church to get along. And I don't think there's any conflict. You know, if there was, it's probably going to end tonight. Okay. But, you know, for future reference, if there's ever a conflict between you and someone, some other lady in our church, you know, grow up, walk in the spirit, go make it right. Get along. Don't fight. This isn't high school. This isn't junior high. You know, well, you know, they offended someone that I love. Okay, then let them deal with that. Okay. Don't be like someone who's just taking a dog by the ears by getting involved in someone else's business either. Okay. And so, you know, he's telling them this. And of course, as I mentioned in verse three, the letter in verse three, he says, whose names are in the book of life. Now, let me just make a couple of comments about that particular phrase there. As I mentioned, when it, when it's stating that, it's basically saying that they're saved. And let me explain something. When we talk about the book of life, when the Bible talks about the book of life, we often see it scattered throughout the Bible, but more specifically in the book of Revelation, you know, people have this misconception that when someone gets saved, they are automatically written in the book of life thereafter. And that's the common teaching amongst Baptist churches and Christians. As soon as someone gets saved, it's like, I mean, we have, we sing a song, right? There's a new name written down in glory. It's a great song, but it's just not necessarily accurate. Okay. This is actually the way it works. Okay. Every human being's name actually starts off in the book of life. Okay. So every human being that has ever lived starts off already written in the book of life. You say, how can that be? Well, because God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It's like God's act of faith and humanity hoping that they actually get saved. The only time they are blotted out, because the Bible doesn't record about, doesn't record anybody being written in the book of life and only records people being blotted out, which indicates that they started off at the book of life. When they die and go to hell without Christ, they are blotted out of the book of life. Or if they become a reprobate this side of eternity, they're blotted out of the book of life. So people are blotted out for different reasons. Number one, they die without Christ. Number two, they become a reprobate this side of eternity and then they're blotted out. Number three, they blaspheme the Holy Ghost, become a reprobate, get blotted out. Number four, they take from or they add to or remove from God's word their blood out of the book of life. Okay. And number five, I don't know what number I'm on. This one is actually more so for the end times when they take the mark of the beast. They're automatically blotted out of the book of life. Okay. Now, if you're saved today, you don't have to worry about ever getting blotted out because essentially once you get saved, your name is permanently embedded within its registry. You understand? You're permanently registered in the book of life. It can never be removed thereafter. And look, this basically coincides with what Roman 7 teaches regarding children. You see, children when they're born, it's very much that they have like original sin. And that's why they baptize babies because they claim like if a baby doesn't get baptized and they die, they go to hell, which is complete heresy. Okay. What the Bible actually teaches is that a child from the time that they're born to the time that they're slain by the law, by the commandment, they're essentially, their spirit is still alive. Okay. In other words, if they were to die in that innocent state, they would automatically go to heaven even though they have not yet received the gospel because they don't understand the gospel. Okay. But they reach an age of accountability. Don't ask me what that number is because the Bible doesn't tell us. Everyone always tells me like, what age is that? It's like it's different for everyone. Okay. It's when someone recognizes that they're sinner before God, that they've committed sins against God, that they deserve hell, they have these understandings, then the law slays them. And at that point, their spirit becomes dead and trespasses and sin. Okay. And then they need their spirit to be quickened or brought back to life. And that happens when they believe on Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God comes to regenerate their dead spirit, brings it to life and now they're saved. Okay. But their name remains in the book of life even when their spirit is slain. So their name starts off in the book of life. When their spirit is slain, it stays in the book of life. Until the bitter end. Because God's hope is that that person, that child when they grow up, will one day believe on Jesus Christ and therefore the name could never be removed thereafter. Okay. But obviously we live in a real world where unfortunately people are blotted out when they die or even previous to that. Okay. And so, you know, you say, well, how do I know if someone is blotted out of the book of life? Well, you know, right? How do I know if someone is blotted out of the book of life? Well, you know, reprobates, sodomites, false prophets. Okay. These are individuals who have been blotted out of the book of life. Okay. You say name a few. Okay. You know, Joe Olsteen, blotted out. Okay. Rick Warren, blotted out. John MacArthur, blotted out. Okay. Why? Because they purposely teach a false gospel which is an indicator that they are a false prophet which means that they've been blotted out of the book of life. So that's what that means there. He says whose names are written in the book of life or whose names are in the book of life. Excuse me. That's referring to the fact that they're saved. Verse number four says rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. So this is a great commandment here that sometimes Christians overlook and often they overlook this because they think that, you know, the Christian life is just hard. It's just boring. It's just like you just go to church. You got to read your Bible. It's just like they make Bruce a good boy type of attitude. Whereas the Bible actually says rejoice in the Lord. And again, I say rejoice. What does it mean to rejoice? It means to be happy. It means to have joy. So this is actually a command of the Lord. Now look, where's Paul writing this from? Prison. And he's telling the people who are not in prison, hey, you need to rejoice. Now, if there's anyone who could talk, it's the apostle Paul during his time. Yes, we have to because this guy's rejoicing and he's in prison. He's on house arrest or whatever. He's restricted from going out, coming in, but he's telling us to rejoice. And it says this, rejoice in the Lord. Does it say rejoice in your finances, rejoice in your resources, rejoice in your nice car, rejoice in, you know, the things of this world, the possessions of this world. Be happy when you're able to add this new addition to your vehicle or when you're able to get a raise. You know, these are things to be happy about, but the Bible specifically says we should rejoice in the Lord because what if all those things are taken away from us? You better learn to rejoice in the Lord. And you say, well, how do I rejoice in the Lord? I'm depressed, how do I rejoice in the Lord? Tell me. Well, one, you can thank God and rejoice over the fact that you're saved because if you're saved, you have eternal life, you're going to heaven, you know, your worst day here is still because that's like, that's all they're going to get. Whereas you, you have eternity, you have heaven, you have millennial rain, you have a new earth. I mean, we have God as our God, you understand? And so rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. And look, I'm not saying that this comes easy all the time. There's times of mourning, difficulty, trial, weeping, you know, times where we're just sad and these are appropriate things. These are appropriate emotions for humans, specifically Christians to have, of course. But in general, we should be a happy people, okay? Don't be a stick in the mud. When you come to church, smile. When you come to church, laugh a little bit. I want doctrine. Give me doctrine, you know, sing sad songs. You know, we need to get serious about this. I'm all for being serious about the things of the Lord, but I'm for you also showing your teeth and smiling and showing people that you're rejoicing in the Lord. And again, I say rejoice. And look, I'm not saying that this comes easy all the time. Look, God even laughs, my friend, okay? Even God has a sense of humor. I know why he's amen-ing because there's a... I'm not gonna tell you what he's laughing at, okay? He laughs at the calamity of the wicked, okay? That's why Moses is amen-ing, okay? Because he knows what it's about. What I'm saying is that, you know, you should be able to have a good time. And you know what? I'm not this kind of Christian where it's just like, it's just all work and no fun because folks, I love laughing. I love having a good time. I love rejoicing. I love being with the brethren. I like just rejoicing in the work of the Lord in church because it is a joy to be a Christian. We don't need drugs. We don't need alcohol. We don't need, you know, the things of this world to make us happy. There's people who are like that. There's all kind of Christians just like, you know, what do you mean you don't have alcohol in your wedding? How are you going to have fun? Apple cider? That's fun, my friends. Hey, I'm looking forward to the Thanksgiving banquet, my friends. That's when we have like 50 bottles of apple cider. Sparkling cider. We're just drinking sparkling cider all night long. That's fun. I enjoy sitting next to my brethren, eating, talking, fellowshipping, dressing up, just having a good time because that's what God wants. The Christian life, that's what it's about as well. It's about you having a good time. Okay? Don't be a stick in the mud and just like, no, you guys laugh too much. Well, you just don't laugh enough. Okay? And I'm going to live longer than you. Now, obviously, there's times when we need to be serious. There's times when, you know, I'm throwing someone out. We got to be serious, you know. There's times when I'm just ripping someone because they just serve me. Yeah, obviously, those times, you know, that's what it's about. And so he says there, rejoice in the Lord. When? Always. And again, I say rejoice. And obviously, that was said before even in chapter three and verse one. He says, finally, my brother rejoiced in the Lord. Look at verse five. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. What is he saying? You know, let your temperance, let your self-control, let your conduct essentially be made known unto all men. May people see that you can rejoice, you can be well in unity, you're getting along. Be an example to the believers. Now, verse six is a great verse, verse six and seven, because it is the formula by which we can avoid anxiety, care. And let me just say this. We live in a world where people are literally paralyzed by anxiety. Okay? You get anxiety attacks. You get panic attacks. You become so worried that they're just paralyzed. I mean, this is a thing. Okay? They get social anxiety. You know, I'm sure there's people who come to our church and they just, so many people are just like, you know, you just like don't know, like, should I go into the church? I'm not gonna go into the church. Okay, there's so many people. Oh, man, they're looking at me. I gotta go. You know, it's just like, anxiety is very foreign to me. When I get there, I'm just like, let's get this party started, you know? I thrive with big groups. I love when there's people and noise and all that, I love that stuff. But there's other people who are on the opposite side who are just like major introverts who suffer from a lot of anxiety, okay? And, you know, they have social anxiety or they experience some sort of traumatic thing in their life that has made them anxious, where if they think about something, they get nervous, they begin to tremble, you know, they have all these physical outward manifestations of their anxiety. You know, these are things that although can be tied to that which is physical, okay, you know, like a physical ailment, but sometimes it's just a matter of how you're thinking. It's the way you think, okay? And I'm not saying that if you have anxiety, like, you only have to do this, okay? Because sometimes anxiety is the panic attacks and all those things are a health issue. You know, like too much caffeine. You're like, I don't know why I have so much anxiety as you're pounding like four bangs, amen? You know, you got four cups of coffee, you're drinking something that's basically the equivalent to Coke or something, crack or whatever, and you're just like, I don't know why I'm feeling this way and I'm just trembling. It's just like, whoa, you know, you're kind of OD-ing on caffeine, my friend. I'm like, actually, why? You need to just chill out on the caffeine ministry there and maybe your anxiety will go down a little bit and you're just like, you know, you're just... That could be it, you know? Or your body's just reacting to no physical activity as well. Sometimes that could be the case. And, you know, I'm for physical activity and I remove all my anxiety and I remove all excuses in our church for that because I even put a gym here in the back where you can get some physical activity in to deal with your anxiety, amen? You know, go do some squats, some deadlifts, some bench press or, you know, God gave you two legs. You can use that to go run or something. You know, obviously we needed... Look, we're mind, body and spirit. So when we have like an issue, we got to view it from those three specific things and see, okay, you know, should I cut it down to four monsters? Should I cut it down to only two? Should I, you know... Probably, yeah, you know. Or it's like, am I not getting enough physical activity? Should I go exercise? Do I need to go run? Do I need to go lift weights? Do I need to do something, play a sport or whatever it may be? But once you've done all that and you're still kind of suffering, it's probably just like a mental thing. You're guilty of, listen to this, overthinking. Okay, and we all deal with that one time or another. We overthink some things. Let's give an extreme example. It's just like you have a conversation with someone and then you leave that conversation and then you overthink, should I have said that? What is that person going to think? Oh man, they're probably thinking, you know, and then you just go into this whole... And then I was the person you spoke to and I was like... But sometimes people suffer from overthinking. And what I mean by overthinking, I mean imaginations. You allow your imaginations to run wild, okay? And conjure up these scenarios that just don't exist at all, okay? Let me say this. This is a weakness, my friend, because as a Christian, we need to be able to control our thoughts. The Bible says to gird up the loins of our mind. The Bible tells us to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Understand? This is what we should do as Christians. Now look, I'm not saying that once you do that you're no longer going to be an introvert because, you know, it's okay to be an introvert. Introverts, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with being an extrovert or introvert. That's the way God wired you. That's another indicator that I'm still struggling with this anxiety or whatever. You know, sometimes people are just wired that way. But when it begins to paralyze you and impede you from just living a normal life where you're having 10,000 conversations in your mind before entering into the church, because there's a greeter there. It's just like, I don't remember his name. What if he gets mad if I don't, should I call him brother? What if he's not saved? Those are all these thoughts or whatever. And Glenn doesn't even care. You know, Glenn's there, he's just like, he's like, when's this guy going to come in, you know? Overthinking, my friends. We need to control the way we think and not overly think. You know what we should think overly is the Bible. Think about the Bible. Think about the word of God, that which is necessary, that which feeds the mind and the soul. Not overthink things that are just not real. Okay? But here's a good way that if you feel like you're being, you have so much anxiety, you're worried about the future, you're worried about, you know, whatever it may be that's causing you this anxiety or this panic, here's a good formula for you to use. Look what it says in verse six. First and foremost, he says, be careful for nothing. What is careful? You're full of care. Now you say that's easier said than done. Of course it is. But it's a command of God. But and everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. So this is what God wants us to do when we're overly anxious, when we're worried, full of care. God says pray. Let that be a reminder to pray. Okay? He says prayer supplication, but listen to this, with thanksgiving. So let me just give you an example, because, you know, there's times in my life when I struggled with anxiety and, you know, there's times when it was just like really bad and it was almost debilitating. And, you know, I had to just pray and say, Lord, first of all, thank you for this. Thank you for this difficulty. Thank you for this emotion, because it's moving me, it's making me want to pray and I need to pray more. And so thank you for this problem to which you have the solution for. Now, Lord, give me the peace that passeth understanding, because that's what he says in verse number seven. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Now, why does it say a peace that passeth understanding? Well, because the world, you know, describes peace as having peace because something has changed in your life. Because you got a new car or your bank account is full or you have X, Y, and Z. That's how, that's the peace of this world. Whereas the Bible gives a peace that passeth understanding where you can have that peace, even though nothing has changed. The greeter is the same greeter outside the door. It's the same people coming to church. It's the same situation. Your problems haven't changed. They haven't gone away. Your circumstances haven't changed, but yet you feel peace, okay? And I don't really know how to describe this particular feeling. I've experienced it many times in my life when I've prayed this, where it's just like the world is just falling apart around you and then you're just cool about it. Well, I got the peace of God right now and I don't, you know, I'm not really losing it right now. I don't have anxiety. I'm not worried. I don't feel full of care. And obviously this isn't the only thing, you know, the Bible tells us to cast our care upon him for he cared for you. And sometimes it's just a matter of learning. Listen to this. Listen to me closely, okay? You need to learn how to pray to God. And you say, what do you mean by that? Like, do I have to say the Lord's prayer the longer you walk with God, the more you realize how transparent you can just be with God. I'll just be honest with you. Like, I'm saying you can talk to God and say, Lord, I'm frustrated. I'm mad. I'm angry. I'm even mad at some of the things that you're doing right now that I feel like you're allowing or because you've allowed this into my life. I'm frustrated. I know it's wrong for me to be frustrated, but I'm just telling you this is how I feel, you know, and I'm scared or I have anxiety. You know, it's not changed. It's like you're just talking to God. Sometimes prayer is too mechanical for people. Like, Lord, thank you for being my Savior and fix this. Amen. You know, God actually wants us to put some emotion in our prayer. You know, God actually wants you to pray like he's actually there. Oh, the Lord is at hand. Isn't that what the verse says there? So he actually wants you to talk to him not like, oh, heavenly Father, God and God alone. He doesn't need you to speak to him in King James language. He needs you to talk to him in your language with your heart. You need to pour out your heart into the Lord and say, I'm sad right now. I'm depressed. I'm discouraged. I feel like trash right now. And you know, this is what I'm going through, Lord. Give me the peace, the passive understanding. I know that you love me, but you know what? I just don't feel it right now. I'll just be honest with you. I'm going to believe that you do, but you know, I'll just be honest. You don't really feel like you love me right now. You said, isn't that like irreverential? No, it's not. It's you just being real with God because here's the thing. Let me let you in on a little secret. He already knows that that's how you feel. He's like, I'm not going to tell God that because I don't want him to think. I don't want him to know about how I really feel. Okay, Adam. Not this Adam, sorry. He's thinking that he can hide from God or something. And that's how your emotions are. It's like you're hiding your emotions from God and God's like, I already know it. Just be transparent with God. You will grow leaps and bounds in your walk with God once you start learning how to pray like that. And I'm not saying just be like all flipping with God. I'm just saying just be honest with him. He knows exactly how you are. He knows the words in your heart. He knows exactly how angry you get, how sad you are, how depressed, how anxious. He knows all these things. You know, when I pray, especially these imprecatory prayers, I'm like, Lord, I'll kill this dude. Go away with him. What's the hold up? I'm a little impatient right now and I just let him know how I feel. And then you know what happens after that? I feel just that much better. Okay. And so prayer and supplication with thanksgiving is not this mechanical prayer. It's just like you actually got to pray and spend time with the Lord. And look, let me just say this, is that obviously the model of praying is often on our knees with our eyes closed, but it doesn't have to be that way. You can walk and pray, drive and pray. Don't close your eyes when you're driving though. You know, because then you're going to open your eyes and you're actually going to be there in the presence of God, you know what I mean? By faith, yeah. You know, just pray. When you're at work and you're going through a difficult time, you're going through a difficult time when you're at work and you're going through a difficult time, whisper a prayer. You know, you're having problems at work, you have this implacable customer or something, you know, pray. Pray for everything. Just ask God, talk to God, and tell him like, I need peace. Like nothing's changing, so because nothing's changing, I need you to just give me peace. And the Bible says that that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind stayed on thee because he trusted in me. The Bible says. Listen, let's not raise a generation of just anxious Christians. Of just careful Christians, full of care. We need to raise a generation of Christians who just like walk with God. Who know how to pray. They know how to get a hold of God. You understand? They can go home and pray in faith, knowing full well that God is listening to them. You know? And just ask God. Look, it doesn't even have to be about anything spiritual either, folks. Even the physical things of this world, God is concerned with us. He wants us to, he wants to know, he wants to know or he wants us to hear him say, excuse me, he wants us. He wants to hear us say the things that we want in this life. You say like what? Anything. Anything. Lord, I want a mango. I can't find mangoes when I go to the, I've gone, you know, I can't find this. Help me find a mango, please. He said, that's silly. Yeah, that's why you'll never get it. That's why you'll never find it. I'll get the mango. You know what? You laugh, but I'm being dead serious, my friends. Because God is even concerned with even the littlest of things. You know, my wife would tell me that, you know, they used to ask their mom, Mom, we want coconuts. And she would say, we even got money for coconuts. So you guys got to pray for coconuts. They pray for coconuts. And I'd say, you know what? God's concerned with even answering the smallest of prayers, because he wants to increase our faith in him. He wants us to pray with all prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. And look, if you're praying, Lord, change this, but he never does, then just say, okay, at least give me the peace of God, though, to pass up understanding. So then, as you're praying, Lord, change this, but he never does, then just say, okay, at least give me the peace of God, though, because you're not bothered. You can sleep at night. People are like, how's that going? Same, but I'm cool, though, you know. I don't feel anxious about it. I'm not worried about it or anything. I have the peace of God to pass with understanding. I'm doing fine. Because sometimes there's trials in our life that God doesn't want to remove from us, because it's just making us better Christians. Well, how? Well, it's causing you to pray more, right? You know, it's causing you to seek the Lord more. It's causing you to read the Bible more, et cetera. It's running rampant on Christians nowadays, where they just can't function as a Christian because they're just so debilitated by anxiety or stress or just being worried and full of care. We shouldn't be this way. The formula's right here, okay? He says in verse eight, oh, by the way, verse eight is also something else that you need to do in order not to be anxious. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, okay, so get rid of all your news outlets. Get rid of Fox News, MSNBC, all of the talk radio or YouTube, you know, conspiracy people out there who are just constantly giving you all this bad news. Obviously, whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are honest. Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think upon these things. What is it saying? Most people are just anxious just because they watch too much stupid things, too many stupid things. They're just constantly watching the news, constantly keeping up with everything that's going on, constantly worried. It's just like, just don't watch it. Think upon the right things and you won't be suffering from anxiety. People suffer from anxiety of something that they read on the news that will never happen to them. There's people in other states that suffer from the anxiety of everything that's happening in California. They're just like electric cars and news on this and they're just like, and here I am in California getting sued, but I'm good. I'm just like, whatever. I have the peace of God, the passive understanding. But why are people in other states stressing about what's going on here? I'll tell you why, because they're constantly on the news, constantly on the latest conspiracy theory. That stuff will stress you out and cause anxiety. Then you can't sleep at night. That's all you can talk about. Think about the right things. Think about the Bible. Think about your family. Think about funny jokes. Think about memes. Those things are sometimes true, amen. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen me do and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again wherein ye were faithful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. He says I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Now verse 13 is often a verse that liberals like to use for like everything. It's just like, I want to be a millionaire. I can do all things through Christ with strength. I often use it in the most unbiblical way, right? Whereas in context, what he's referring to is I can suffer hunger and I can be full because I can do all things through Christ. I can do both through Christ. I can serve God when there is lacking, when I'm lacking resources, but I can also serve God when I have resources because I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, okay? He says in verse number 14, now the reason he says that is because I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I know how to be hungry. I know how to fast. I know how to eat. I can do both. God's taking care of me. He's encouraging them to give because people need to learn how to be hungry. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. I can do both. He said this was not a gift and he says in verse number 14, not withstanding ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now communicate, the way it's being used here is not necessarily we would use it today. When we think of communicate today we think about words, right? But, to communicate would mean to transmit something and in the Bible when you study that term communicate 6 if you would let me just show you an example of this Galatians chapter number 6 Galatians 6 and verse number 6 says let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things okay and then he says be not deceived God is not mocked for what sort of a man so if that's all he also read we say look if you're being taught God's Word you should communicate resources to the one who's teaching you the Word of God and don't be deceived God's not mocked if you're sowing to spiritual things you're gonna reap spiritual things understand so we see there how the word communicate is being used it's being used in in regards to monetary things you understand money offerings etc go back to Philippians and apparently the church at Philippi communicated with the Apostle Paul in his affliction when he was going through a tough time maybe there was he was suffering need they saw that as an opportunity they gave to that and they helped him verse 15 naive Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving but ye only for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity excuse me not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account so he's kind of bragging on him he's telling like you know when I started off there's like no church that supported me with money financially he's like you guys are the only ones who actually like gave to the work here and helped me and he's the reason he's saying that is because he's like I desire a gift and he's not saying like I desire a gift like you to give me a gift he says I desire a gift that may abound to your account because when we give to the work of the Lord we actually get fruit we get rewards on our account this is why you know the Bible tells us that we should give to others and give to Christians especially those who are doing the work of God you know in fact I was just talking my wife this week you know we want to start supporting some missionaries as a church you know obviously we got our own mission work going on but you know what I want to start looking for some missionaries doing some work because I want to communicate to their service you know so we can get fruit abounding to our account amen and I'm sure there's missionaries out there that are doing well and they don't need it but you know what we want to give to them because we want to have fruit that abounds to our account and I'm sure it'll be a blessing to them and you know obviously it's not gonna be hard to look for missionaries because missionaries nowadays they kind of suck okay but you know there's some missionaries out there that actually do good and and they're out there soul winning they're out there preaching the gospel and I'm not just referring to missionaries that are in the new IFP there's even old IFP missionaries quite a bit of them who actually do the work of God they're soul winning they're not afraid of using that term soul winning they show the souls that they've won I think that's great okay and so you know we want to do that the way the Philippians did to the Apostle Paul he says in verse 18 but I have all and abound I am full having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you an odor of a sweet smell sacrifice acceptable while pleasing to God but listen to this my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus now here's a good way to interpret that you can never outgive God never do it so I want to be a blessing to someone in our church okay but just remember this you will never be able to outgive God whatever amount that you give to that person however much of a blessing you are to them God will double that to your account whether immediately or even thereafter and I'm known of many stories I've seen it personally in my life I've seen it with my wife where you know we were a blessing to someone and it's just like we got that immediately returned double triple sometimes okay and it's just a way of like increasing our faith that we can never just outgive God and it's God just showing us like when you give when you lend to someone you're actually lending unto who the Lord okay and God is not a delinquent you will pay back and many times over too okay he shall supply all your needs I've not seen the righteous forsaken nor seed begging bread now unto now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever amen salute every saying in Christ Jesus the brethren which are with me greet you all the Saints salute you chiefly they that are of Caesars household the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all a men so it's pretty interesting in verse 22 you know he's saying like everyone's saluting you here chiefly they that are of Caesars household that means he's winning people to Christ in Rome he's like by the way those in Rome say hi who's those of Caesars household you know we don't know if he's referring to like maybe the people who are working there or family but apparently he was preaching the gospel to some people there and they're just like hey tell them those people in Philippi we said hi I mean that's pretty encouraging to those at Philippi and I'm sure there's a Philippi are thinking you know what I'm glad I invested resources to this man's work because look at the great work that he's doing okay and so that is it what a great book here at the book of Philippians and the great takeaway that we can get from the book of Philippians is how important the gospel is how important it is for us to have unity in the church how important it is for us to know how to commune with God to pray right beware of false prophets as well as we saw in chapter 3 and also to communicate to depart to to to transmit resources to those who are doing the work of God all right so let's pray and then brother John's gonna come up and sing a song after he's done I'll come up and then we're gonna break into groups and we're gonna we're gonna pray together about 10 to 15 minutes don't worry if you go and pray for five minutes that's fine don't don't think like you know man who's watching me like it's like I'm already done praying but there's still more people praying like and then you just kind of like get up and you start like moving away and you pray as long as you want okay and so let's pray and then John will come up let's pray father we thank you so much for your word we're so thankful for the book of Philippians what a great book and great reminders here help us to be a people who pray who depend on you Lord and who pour our hearts unto you of how we really feel inside Lord and the needs that we have done I pray that you would help us as your people as we gather together tonight to pray you would bless our effort to come to you Lord and we're coming to you in faith please show yourself strong on our behalf and increase our faith in you we love you we thank you pray these things in Jesus name amen please turn your songbooks to song number 175 song number 175 it's just like his great love song number 175 all together nice and strong on that first verse a friend I have called Jesus whose love is strong and true and never fails our tears tried no matter what I do I've sinned against this love of his but when I now to confessing all my guilt to him the sin clouds rolled away it's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away it's just like Jesus to keep me day by day it's just like Jesus all along the way it's just like his great love sometimes the clouds of trouble be dim the sky above I cannot see my Savior's face I doubt his wondrous love but he from heaven's mercy see my despair in pity first the clouds between and shows me he is there it's just like Jesus roll the clouds away it's just like Jesus to keep me day by day it's just like Jesus all along the way it's just like his great love when sorrows clouds or take me and break upon my head when life seems worse than useless and I were better dead I take my grief to Jesus then in vain for heavily hope he gives that cheers like sunshine after rain it's just like Jesus roll the clouds away it's just like Jesus to keep me day by day it's just like Jesus all along the way it's just like his great love oh I could sing forever love divine of all his care and tenderness for this for life of mine his love is in an overall waves obey when Jesus whispers peace be still and rolls the clouds away it's just like Jesus roll the clouds away to keep me day by day it's just like Jesus all along the way it's just like his great love amen wonderful singing we have a baptism we'll sing another song turn to song number 41 song number 41 sweet by and by song number 41 all together on that first verse there's a land that is fairer than day and by faith we can see in afar over the way to prepare us a dwelling place there in the sweet by and by we shall meet on that beautiful shore in the sweet by and by we shall meet on that beautiful shore all right we have a baptist i get to baptize my mom tonight all right uh mom thank you all right let's pray and then we'll be dismissed into groups all right so go ahead you get with your family or pick someone in the church and help those who have social anxiety please you know don't let them come to you you go to them all right if you know they're a little shy let's pray father we thank you so much for your word we're so thankful for the book of philippians lord and everything that we've learned i pray father god that you bless our prayer meeting tonight and thank you for allowing me to baptize my mother i'm so thankful that she got saved and may you bless us as we continue the work of the lord here at first works baptist church in jesus name we pray amen