Philippians 4:8-23 Content in All Circumstances - Even in Rome

The speaker mentions that they will be leaving the book of Philippians and starting on Colossians next week. They discuss the city of Colossae and its importance. They emphasize the importance of thinking about true, honorable, pure, lovely, and commendable things. They talk about the significance of the Arish tense in the Bible and how it relates to Paul's teachings. They express gratitude for the support and concern of the Philippian believers. They mention the gift brought by Epaphroditus and the importance of true friendship. Well, good morning. Good morning. Philippians today, sad time. Philippians is a great book. And we're going to miss it. But next Sunday, Brother Jack's going to start in Colossians. And we don't know how long it's going to take him to get it introduced and the first chapter done. It may take three weeks. If it does, it's okay. Neither one of us are going anywhere. And we're not in a hurry. So that's the advantage of being retired. But you'll be interested now in that you need to read the book of Colossians. Paul never went to Colossae. They'd never seen him, not in person. But it shows his concern for all the churches that he went to a place that he had not been. And there were other places too. The three great cities at that time were Hierapolis and Laodicea and Colossae. All very important. And over time, the Hierapolis and Laodicea gained strength and Colossae lost a lot of its strength. And so it's an interesting city. You'll want to read the book and then listen as he kind of tells you a little bit more about Colossae. So we'll look forward to that. Now it is 10 o'clock. And all of you there, I want you to somewhere about 20 minutes till, just kind of wave at me and let me know that that's what time it is because I may not pay any attention to it. I have a bad habit. I always look at the clock and then forget it. So that creates a lot of interest for people who never know when I'm going to quit. So Randy's still riding me because when I preached 830 service here back, I went overtime. He said he asked me if he could have some of the time I took. But they didn't agree to that. But we're going to reluctantly leave Philippians and the fourth chapter. And I think I want to read this just in case we don't get through. We'll at least have read it. So then my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. That's what we did last week. I want to go back to part of that so I'm going to not read it. We skipped verses 8 and 9 last week. And these are two of the most important verses because it's dealing with what we think about. And what we think about matters. If we think about something long enough, we're probably going to do it. If not, we're going to not be able to quit thinking about it. And by the way, if you're thinking about things you don't want to think about, it's like a TV set. Change channels. You can't turn your brain off, but you can change channels. So if something's on television and I don't like it, well, I'll find another channel I like. Well, get in the Word of God in prayer and just change the channels. It'll help you control your thinking. But in verses 8 and 9, he says, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any moral excellence and if there's any praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Do what you have first learned of me and received from me and heard from me and seen in me. Four things. We'll look at them briefly in just a moment. And the God of peace will be with you. We need to watch what we think about. Protect. It goes back to Ephesians or Paul says, don't give Satan a foothold. You don't need to be thinking about things that are not honest and true and lovely and worthy and praiseworthy. You need to focus on that which is true. Of course, we know that the Bible is God's Word and it is truth. And there are a lot of interesting things about the Bible. You know, a textbook that I learned when I was in high school over 70 years ago, has to be revised every once in a while because what was taught as science, even math 70 years ago is not taught now because they've learned some new things. But the only book that doesn't have to do that is the Bible. It's 2000 years old, but it contains everything we need to know today. And that's where we're going to find our strength. That's where we're going to find our satisfaction. That's where our joy will be found. It leads us into a relationship with God, which is the greatest relationship of all. And so truth is in the Word of God. So we need to need to dwell on those things. Our thoughts and actions are inevitably connected. And if we dwell on the wrong things, then worry and anxiety and care are the result of dwelling on the wrong things. So here's God's instruction for victory over worry and anxiety. Whatever is true. John 8, 31 and 32 said, If you've continued My Word, you're really My disciples. You will know the truth. The truth will set you free. The Holy Spirit uses God's Word to place eternal truth in our lives. These are the great principles of life. Love, compassion, integrity, faith, devotion. These are the great truths of life. So concentrate on what is true. Whatever is honorable and just. This speaks of things that are worthy of respect. What things are respectable. We must focus on whatever is worthy of praise and adoration. One of the problems with our society today is we're praising the wrong things. We're promoting the wrong thoughts. I mean, who would ever have thought that they would be telling our kindergarten students in California and probably elsewhere that they don't know what sex they are because of their physical sex, but they're old enough to know what gender they are. Now, let me ask you a question. You can't vote till you're 18, but a six-year-old is able to tell what gender he is? Now go figure. I mean, who would ever have thought we'd be doing it? And, of course, I was interested. I think we, I guess I know, most of you heard my message on transgenderism. You know, the whole thing is a hoax. And, you know, it has very little to do with anatomy and everything to do with social ideas and political agendas. Think on things that are true. Things that you know to be true. The Holy Spirit uses God's Word to place eternal truth in our lives, and He will lead us properly. So concentrate on whatever is true, whatever is honorable and just. Those are things that are worthy of respect. We must think in harmony with God's standards of righteousness. We don't want to follow the way of the world. Whatever is pure. Purity refers to moral purity, and this is significant because the culture in which Christianity was born was one in which moral impurity dominated the culture. Illicit sexual relations abounded and even encouraged, were even encouraged in pagan gods, worship of pagan gods, and believers were to think about pure things and not become involved in impure thinking. Something that is pure is morally clean and undefiled. That must be the object of our thinking. Whatever is lovely. The Greek word there means pleasing, winsome, beautiful. We're to think about things that reach down in our hearts and really resound to the Spirit of God that is in us. Whatever is lovely. Whatever is commendable. That refers to things that are highly regarded, considered valuable in the world. Things like kindness and courtesy and respect for others. Think on those things. And then he gives a final word. He says, if there's any moral excellence, if there's any praiseworthy, dwell on these things. And do what you have learned, received, and heard, and seen in me. Now, the interesting thing about those four things that Paul says there in verse 9, is they're all in the Arish tense. Now remember, I've told you many times the tenses of the Bible are very significant. The Arish tense, we have no equivalent to it in the English language. The closest thing would probably be the past perfect tense. But the Arish tense means something happened at a point in time, and it still stands true as having happened, and it's still having an impact on our lives. It happened here, but it's still true here. That's the Arish tense. So Paul is saying, look, these are the things you saw from me, and these are the things you need to do. What you saw and heard and felt, all the things that I showed you and taught to you, you need to focus on that. And the result is a worry-free life of devotion and commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul begins with thanking the Philippians, and actually the book of Philippians is just one great thank you note. He is so grateful for these Philippian believers. He not only is grateful for them, he had been rejoicing because of it. And their support and concern was so meaningful to the Apostle Paul. They prayed for him. They sent gifts to him. They sent people to help him in the ministry. The entire epistle is his gratitude to this amazing church. Remember this church in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2, and this is the only one Jesus doesn't have a complaint about. I mean, this is a good church doing the right things. And Paul has such a deeply personal relationship with them. Even though he had not received a gift from them in about ten years, he knew that they still loved him and prayed for him and supported him. You know, sometimes absence indicates disinterest, but sometimes it doesn't. Well, he hadn't heard from them in a long time, but he knew that they thought about him and prayed for him. Don't you have friends? We have one or two friends at least, probably more. Now, we don't ever see each other, but seldom. But when we get together, it's like we've never been apart. You just sort of pick up where you left off. That's kind of what Paul's doing. He hadn't heard from them in a while, but they just sort of picked up where they left off. And remember that Epaphroditus had brought a gift to Paul, and that was what prompted him to write this letter in the first place. And so real friendship can stand the test of silence, and that's very, very important. A lack of attention is not necessarily evidence of a lack of concern. And in this, he talks about the fact that they had been unable to send a gift to him before. Now, I don't know exactly what that means. Maybe it meant that they were not in a position physically to do that. Maybe they didn't know where the problems that he was in had not gotten a word from. We don't really know what that means. But we know that he was aware that they had not had the opportunity to contribute to him. So he says it here that he knew that they were unable to send a gift. I'm not sure all that that means. But it says that he knows, when he gets talking about it, he knows how to have little and he knows how to have plenty. Now, you have to understand, the Apostle Paul was raised in a very rich and aristocratic family. We would say he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I mean, he had everything he needed when he was growing up. So he knew how to have abundance. He knew how to respond when he had plenty. After he got saved, he knew what it was to be hungry. Maybe not to have a place to live. He began to suffer deprivation and poverty. So he said, I know how to have little and I know how to have plenty. He knew from experience. It's a word that indicates he had personal knowledge of this situation. Sometimes he didn't have enough clothing. A lot of things he learned after he began to be persecuted as a believer and as a preacher of the gospel. He understood. He knew how to be humiliated in poverty and he knew how to celebrate with everything he needed. He knew how to do both of those things. Now, we're not sure how the Philippian church abounded. It may have been like Paul's description of the churches in Macedonia, 1 Corinthians 8. He talks about them. He said, during a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I can testify that according to their ability and even beyond their ability of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints. That's the gifts of the church at Jerusalem that Paul delivered. And not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God's will. Maybe it's like that. Maybe they gave out of their poverty. Or maybe it was a church that had more than enough. But in verse 10, he says, I rejoiced in the Lord because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned but lacked opportunity to show it. He doesn't say how he knew that or how they didn't know about or did not have an opportunity. He said, I don't say this out of need. I've learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little. I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances, I've learned the secret of being content. Whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or need, I'm able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship. Now, in verse 13, he says, I'm able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In other words, he's in a pretty tough situation right now. This is a verse that he's in the toughest point of pressure under the harshest conditions, but he still had victory in Christ. And that's the point of this whole chapter. He revealed how to handle life at its best. He was writing as a man utterly content in spite of severe circumstances. He knew how to rejoice. In every circumstance, he was free. In spite of all that, he was free from anxiety and worry because his heart was guarded by the peace of God and the God of peace. That's the point he's making. What a great example it is for our disconnected culture that we live in and all the things that divide us and separate us and create chaos in our lives. A contented person rests comfortably in the sovereignty of God. We can't explain everything, but we can trust the Father. He was unmoved by the pressures of poverty or riches. By living in the power of God and forgetful of himself and focus on the well-being of others, he simply did not consider himself at all or his circumstances. He's not speaking of self-sufficiency. He's talking about Christ-sufficiency. Christ transmitted strength and power to Paul. By the way, that's the greatest picture of God's power. You think about how do we know how powerful God is? Well, thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, hydrogen bombs, a lot of things show power. But what Paul is saying, and we get over this and don't think about it enough, what God is saying is that the greatest picture of God's power is not what we observe in nature. It's the example of the power of God as the example of his ability to plant himself in the lives of believers, causing every believer to rise above circumstances, above brokenness, above all the things of life and have victory and conquest in the midst of all of it. That's his greatest power. We may not be in dire poverty, but it's doubtful that many of us are also in excess riches. And what he's saying is it doesn't matter. The power of Christ in you makes you content in whatever your circumstances are. Your peace is not conditioned upon what your circumstances are. It's the greatest picture of the transformation of lives through the power of redemption is the greatest picture of the power of God we could possibly experience. Paul compliments them for their gift that he had just received in Rome by Epiphanius. The church was not a rich church, but they were generous, and they endeavored to meet his needs. And he told them in verse 14, you did well partnering with me in my hardship. In fact, verse 15 tells us they were the only church that stayed with him when he was in Thessalonica up in Macedonia. You were the one church. They were a generous church. So he reminded them, what I preached 45 minutes too long here a while back, that he didn't need their gift, but he was excited because they were being blessed by the gift they gave to him. Verse 17, even in Thessalonica, verse 16, you sent gifts for my needs several times, not that I seek a gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. I received everything in full. I have abundance. I am fully supplied. Having received from Epiphanius what you provided, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. He compliments them, and then he reminds them that everything they've given to him, they're going to receive back because of the incredible mercies of God. In fact, he reminds them, he said, you gave, the church in Macedonia, he said, they gave out of their poverty, but he gave back out of his riches. You see, we give out of whatever we can, but God gives out of his riches. He's not limited at all. He can provide whatever we need, and not many of us may realize that. But you know, you just can't out-give God. Mary Crowley, who started Home Interiors, very wealthy, very generous lady, used to wear two shovels about her neck, two little shovels, one small and one big. And she said, I'll explain, that the small shovel is what I do when I give to God, the big shovel is what he does when he gives back to me. God gives out of his riches. Nothing's too big for him. Nothing too hard for him. And we may not have experienced that because we may not have given sacrificially and watched him provide. I can tell you this, over our 68 years of marriage, we have always faithfully given at least a tithe to the church. Now we do that, but we have gotten older, we have more funds, so we give to other things, like the seminary, which all of you ought to be a part of that, like evangelists. Michael Gott spends four to six months a year over in Ukraine. He's there now in the middle of the war in Jan. We contribute to him, and on and on. Students Standing Strong, Terry Ann Thompson's ministry in elementary, junior high and high schools, they take advantage of the equal access law, and since everything is student-led, nobody but the students teach the classes. They're thriving with clubs all over. We give to Students Standing Strong. You can give to more things. We've always been faithful. There were times when we didn't have enough money to tithe. Sometimes people say, well, I just don't have enough money to do that. Well, the times that we have given when we didn't think we really could afford to, God has always replenished it. We never could in our early years make ends meet on paper. I mean, we put everything down on paper that we needed, and we could never pay all those bills, but we always did. I'll give you a quick example, and it's a foolish one for you because it involves $10. We were in Iredell, Pastor and First Baptist, and it was time for us to pay our tithe. Well, our tithe was $10. We had $10.25 in the bank, so we talked about it. We decided, well, we've got $10, so we ought to give it. So we gave it to the church. Next week, we got an envelope in the mail from Oklahoma. It looked like a doctor's office. We thought, oh, no, what doctor do we owe in Oklahoma? We opened it, and there was a check for $10. He had been traveling, lost his billfold in a restroom in some city down in southeast Texas, and Carol Ann's dad was in the first mail department at Dow Chemicals, so he traveled, interviewed students at all the colleges, possible Dow employees. He found the billfold. So he called the guy, and the guy said, oh, what can I do? And all the money was still there. Nothing was gone. The money was there, the credit cards, and the doctor said, well, how can I repay you for this? He said, well, Carol Ann's dad said, well, I don't need anything, but I have a son-in-law and a daughter who are in Southwestern Seminary. If you want to do something, send it to them. So he sent us $10. Now you say, oh, that was a coincidence. No, I want to tell you, after 68 years, that's happened every time we gave at a time when we really didn't have the money, but we did. And you just can't out-give God. And so he's spotlighting that. He said, I'm happy about your gift, not because I needed something, but because you're getting interest added to your account. That's what Jesus talked about in Matthew 6, which says, lay up treasures in heaven. And that's a very, very important thing. It's really sad that many of us seldom trust God enough to test His resources. We don't know whether God can do something or not because we never have tested it. Well, here's the point. God does not need our gifts, but we need to give it. We need to give it. When we give out of our poverty, sacrificially, God will give out of His riches. We don't give just because He multiplies it. We give because He's our Savior. He's our Lord. And we love Him for what He's done for us. So Paul, this entire letter is a thank you note from the Apostle Paul. And he concludes this letter by sending greetings to all the people that are in the church, from himself and those with him. And then we come to the most amazing verse anywhere in the Bible. Verse 22. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. Now, there have always been people in every generation who have refused to lower their ideals because of the low life of their circumstances. If you find it hard to be true to the ideals which are highest and best, if your work brings you in contact with people who scoff at God and purity and life, if you're troubled to give up the struggle for uprightness of character, then you need to hear this verse. This message comes from the saints in Caesar's household. Now, saint is from the Greek word holy, so it really means holy one. And that's the word that is applied to the New Testament believers. They're referred to as saints in Scripture. It's one of the most frequently used words of the Apostle Paul to describe followers of Jesus. In the New Testament, it was used to designate all followers of Jesus, whether weak or strong, undeveloped or mature. It carries with it the idea of consecration. The disciples of Jesus were called saints because of their acceptance of him as Savior and Lord. They separated themselves from all other leaders for their lives and were devoted and consecrated to his cause. It doesn't mean moral and spiritual perfection. Saints in Caesar's household. Well, they were saints of courage. Imagine being a believer in Nero's household. It took a lot of courage for them to stand up for Christ in the emperor's home. And Nero, without a doubt, his name is synonymous with cruelty, violence, evil. Imagine what his household would be like. You see, the household referred to all of those who were in his, the nobles and the employees. Everybody in his employ, everybody who worked for Caesar, were in this household. And it took a lot of courage, a rare kind of courage for a servant to believe something contrary to what his master taught. They were saints of unusual courage. They were saints of conviction. They had deep convictions about God, about Christ, about God's will for their lives. They lived these convictions and they lived close to God. They believed God would help them and strengthen them, and they lived in constant touch with him. You probably have never heard of a little spider that lives in South America. I don't know how it's supposed to be pronounced, but I grew up on phonics, so I can try. Argyroneta, Argyroneta articuita. Now, hard to say. It's a unique spider. In fact, it is the only spider of the genus Argyroneta. That species only has one kind of spider, just one. And the strange thing about this spider is that it has... And by the way, you can go online and just put bubble spider in South America. It'll tell you all about it. The strange little spider has the power of forming a bubble about itself. And it can remain for hours far beneath the surface. And when the spider comes to the surface, it is found to be perfectly dry. But it's been underwater all that time. Well, living far underwater, that spider breathed the air from above. These saints, deep in conviction, breathed the air of heaven, though the air of Caesar's household was polluted and unfit to breathe. They drew their breath and their strength from heaven. They were saints, not only of conviction, but of consistent faithfulness. You can imagine them trying to figure out how to worship together. We know the catacombs and caves in Rome where many times they met. Maybe they slipped away to one of those caves or into one of the believers' homes. And they worshipped the Lord and praised the Lord. And they worshipped and studied together. But in contact with God, they received inspiration and strength that allowed them to be stronger than their opposition and more courageous than their circumstances. They were saints in Caesar's household. Amazing. It was in an unusual place. The imperial family was composed of princes, nobles, servants, soldiers, and the emperor. Paul may have led many of them to Christ. We know he led many of the soldiers to Christ. All of those in Caesar's household were numbered among the members of the Church of Rome. They were all in church together. This was one of the last places where you'd expect to find saints. With all the darkness and superstition and wickedness of Nero's palace, the gospel of Christ took root and produced remarkable fruit in Caesar's household. Amazing. There are no conditions over which the power of Christ cannot triumph. Spiritual life is not developed as easily in some circumstances as others, but it can be produced and enjoyed even in the court of a pagan emperor. What a tribute that is to the power of the gospel. He has true witnesses in the very center of evil saints in Caesar's household. Unusual. Remarkable verse. When I was a teenage boy, my dad, I'll never forget, preached a sermon called Saints in Caesar's Household. I did a book years ago, compiled a book of about 50 sermons, and part of them had all the presidents of southern Baptist entities put a sermon in there and so on, different groups. Then I had a place for our family. I printed that sermon in that book that my daddy wrote, Saints in Caesar's Household. A genuine Christian may be tempted to lower standards because he's in an unfavorable circumstance, but a genuine Christian, though living in a very hostile situation, is not part of it. He's separated from it. The last book of the Bible has an eloquent testimony of a noble group who live pure lives in the midst of uncleanness. It's in the letters to the seven churches when he said, you have few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes and will walk with men white because they are worthy. It was hard being a Christian in Sardis too, but Jesus himself looked it over and he said, they're going to walk with men white because they have not compromised themselves. It was an unusual place, but it was a needed place. That's where the gospel is most desperately needed. Where heathenism and godlessness are most firmly entrenched, the true disciple is most eager to have the gospel proclaimed. When the world is at its worst, the church ought to be at its best. That's what we have to offer. The most able messengers that we send as missionaries ought to be to the darkest places. Saints in Caesar's household. What a picture. The Apostle Paul is a prisoner sending greetings from Caesar's household. Oh, goodness. You know, I was preaching a funeral last year and my cell phone went off right in the middle of my sermon. And if I forget, that's been on all time. I'm surprised this is now going off, so I'm turning it off now. There won't be further disruption here. But Caesar's household would be the center. They would be an unusual influence. Loyal witnesses would mean more to the cause of Christ coming out of Caesar's household than in any other circle of need in the imperial city. What a testimony. And that verse has been a huge encouragement for evangelism over the years and continues to be. These saints reveal the providence of God. God does move in mysterious ways. The beginnings of Christianity were humble connections. They weren't among those who had greater important positions. Jesus used fishermen and tax collectors and the like. And here the gospel was planted in Caesar's palace, not in the hearts of the nobles and officials, but in the lives of those who served Caesar. God's ways are mysterious. His providence is strange. But it's a blessed thing. Do you know... It's 22 minutes till, so I'm going to chase a rabbit. Do you know how we got our first church? When my dad was pastor in Bay City, Texas, First Baptist Church, when I was a boy, there was a furniture company in Bay City, Texas owned by the Andersons. My best friend down there was a boy named Justice Anderson. His wife Mary Ann were one of our best missionaries in Argentina for many, many years. We visited them there one time, had a great visit. Justice was pastor down in Franklin, Texas. Now because of our ties, he had me come down and speak to the Sweetheart Banquet for the kids in Franklin, Texas. Probably Franklin is about 10 miles out of Hearn and Hearn is about 20 miles out of College Station, Bryan College Station area. So it's down there A&M. Down where the kids think you say A&M after your prayers instead of Amen. Anyway, he was pastoring First Baptist of Franklin. I did a Sweetheart Banquet for him. I preached down there in a revival at First Baptist Franklin. Now get this, Franklin, Texas. Franklin, Texas is a tiny town. They had a sheriff who lived in the jail who was Church of Christ, but his wife was a member of First Baptist. So then they created some interesting things. I could chase some more rabbits there. But nevertheless, Justice is in Franklin and he had a big dog. This is really interesting, isn't it? I can see you leaning forward just a little bit. He had a big dog that nearly kills a neighbor's little dog. So he and the neighbor have that little dog in the car and they're on their way to Bryan to the only veterinarian anywhere around whose name... well, his name is not important. His name was Cargill. But Justice Anderson and that neighbor took that little dog to Howard Cargill who was a deacon at the Saints Rest Baptist Church in Steepholla Community, Bryan, Texas, Route 3. And while they were talking and while Howard was fixing up the dog, Justice told him, Hey, if y'all ever need a preacher, I've got someone I'd like to recommend to you. That was all that was said. Months later, Steepholla needed a pastor. So they called Justice Anderson. Who did you want to recommend to us? Now, go figure. How did a big dog nearly killing a little dog end up in a recommendation to be pastor of a church? That was the connection. And they never heard anybody else. I didn't know. They never had a committee. Howard Cargill was the son of George Cargill who was a godfather of the community, a rancher. And he was chairman of the deacons. And I found out when I read my own biography, I did not know this until I read my own biography, that they didn't have a pulpit committee. George Cargill was the pulpit committee. And he called my dad in Houston right after Carol Ann and I married maybe the same week and wanted me to come preach. If you ever call, it's Steepholla. Dad said, well, he's on his honeymoon, and then he's got two revivals. There's going to be three weeks taken up. He'll be preaching revivals. George Cargill said, well, we'll wait. We can have the DOM somebody preach. So they waited. I preached. After the evening service, they voted. And Carol Ann and I left for my roommate in college's wedding in Borger, Texas. We left about 10 o'clock at night out of Brine to drive all the way to Borger, Texas. We made it. And I got a telegram a few days later that said, unanimous call to church, letter to follow. Never got the letter. Don't know what it said. But six weeks later, I was pastor of Steepholla. That's sort of been the way it's been. When I went to Kansas City, I didn't know anybody in Kansas City. I never had a resume. I didn't get a resume until I was at the Sunday school board. Trustees said, we don't want to consider anybody that doesn't have a resume. I said, well, I don't want to be considered and I don't have a resume. And I didn't get given one. They called me anyway. But anyway, when I was in Kansas City then, in Kansas City there was a man who was a very close friend of my dad named J.T. Elliff. Think Tom Elliff, Bill Elliff, Jim Elliff. Tom Elliff's one-time president of the foreign mission board. I mean, close personal friend. And so J.T. had recommended me to Redbridge Baptist Chapel, the mission of the founding church of Redbridge Baptist Chapel. He needed a mission pastor. His letter went something like this. I do not know this young man. I have never heard him speak. But he comes from good stock. And he has a great wife. She said, and he has a great wife. So anyway, Luther Dyer, who was the pastor there, called me. He said, we have over 50 recommendations, but I'm calling you to see if you would be interested in coming up to Kansas City. Now, long story, we did go to Kansas City. But the point is, our calls to churches, indeed even going to the Sunday school board, were strange. Only God could orchestrate it. Circumstances here and there are little things. You wouldn't pay any attention to a dog getting beat up in Franklin, Texas. But the result was I went to pastor and she followed me to the church. You wouldn't think that a letter that said, I don't know this guy, but he has a good family, would end up in church. But we ended up in Kansas City. God, His sovereignty, His providence is absolutely amazing. And we don't know where it's going to lead. Do you know that's why we don't get our rewards when we die? Do you know that for us? We're not going to get our regards until after we're resurrected and stand before Christ. Why don't we get them when we die? Because they're still going on. There are thousands of people I've preached to over the nation and around the world in the last 60 years. And the chain of people being saved and sharing the Gospel, and other people being saved, it's still going on. They don't know what my rewards are going to be yet. God knows, but He's not telling. It's the mystery of the providence of God. My dad used to say this, and then they wrote a Gospel song about it. He said it a long time before they wrote the song. You can't always trace God, but you can always trust Him. The sovereignty of God. These saints showed the incredible providence of God that moves in mysterious ways. We know this much. God's grace and His providence never place us where His grace cannot keep us. He can solve every problem. He can bear every burden. Bring glory out of adverse circumstances and seeming defeat. It's the providence of God. We can trust Him. These saints reveal the purpose of the Gospel. The purpose of the Gospel is to save men so that they can save others. So they can share the Gospel and present the Gospel. We're to be used of God in helping to reach others. These saints reveal that purpose truly. They dared to do right. They dared to live right. They dared to obey Christ, to risk their lives so that the Gospel might be spread to others. And the power of example. These saints show us the power of example. How Paul's heart must have rejoiced as he beheld these faithful saints in Caesar's household. Here was a real functioning underground in Caesar's palace. Caesar didn't believe it, but he had an underground that did and that shared it. They desired to live in opposition to the teachings of the emperor in his very household. And succeeding generations have been immeasurably blessed by this simple statement, saints in Caesar's household. Surely they became discouraged sometimes. Maybe they wondered if it was even worth it. They wondered if it was worthwhile to sacrifice, suffer, face death. They may have wondered if anyone would ever know what they were doing. They were wondering if anybody would ever know the Gospel that they were sharing. Little did they know that the mighty impact that they were making on the apostle Paul still less could they have conceived of being indelibly inscribed in the Word of God to inspire and bless the hearts of believers to Jesus. They had no idea of that. But they trusted the providence of God and they give us a great example. And you didn't wave at me when it was 22, but that's okay because I'm almost through. You may wonder sometimes if it's really worth it. I have a favorite sermon that I preach out of Malachi 3. Does it pay to serve God? You might wonder that sometimes. Just know the tremendous example and the power that your life reveals. No example of right living is ever lost, but ever and always it has its effect. When difficulties surmount, circumstances attack you, conditions frighten you, listen to this old man, the apostle Paul, a prisoner about to die. He says, the saints in Caesar's household salute you. They paid the price. Note the power of their example and the worthwhileness of their testimony. And then he ends, we expect this, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. That's how he ends it. Great reminder of several things. One is we all ought to be grateful for what we have. Others have a lot less than we do. Truthfully, by any world standard, everyone in this room is rich. There are workers who work in countries around this world that maybe make a few pennies a day for working. We're struggling to get by in the most menial of jobs on the lowest wage, $1.20 an hour. We are so blessed and we need to trust God. But bear in mind that all of this is written in the context of a faithful church that God approved of. And the offering at the church in Philippi when I sent through Epaphroditus to Rome for the Apostle Paul, that offering, according to what we just read, was a pleasing aroma and acceptable unto God. Every one of us ought to live lives that is a pleasing aroma and acceptable to God. Then we will receive well done. Not just by talking and not just by determining we'd like to do something and not just by saying we believe something. I always think when people say, well, I believe this and I believe that. Well, the devils believe everything that's right. Paul later says that they not only believe, they tremble. But they're not saved. Everything we do ought to be a pleasing aroma, acceptable to God. Charles Sheldon's book that he wrote back in the 1880's focused on the question, what would Jesus do in His steps? You know the book. If you haven't read that, by the way, it's a great book. There is a new version of it that's modern, but don't waste your time reading that. Go back and get the original. The new one is not that bad, but this one is spectacular. It's the story of a church that made a commitment that everything we do, we're first going to ask, what would Jesus do? That would be a good question for us. What would Jesus do? We want to please Him. So Paul has given us an example of rejoicing in all circumstances. Not complaining, but rejoicing. Contentment that outlives any barrier, opposition, or discomfort we may face. Gratitude. The joy of being grateful. Gratitude is just a great attitude. I mean, Caroline always thanks me for our meals, even when we're at home. When we eat out, she thanks me for the meals. Why? Because gratitude is a great attitude. You want to know a secret to a long marriage? Be grateful. Give each other the benefit of the doubt. Don't complain about everything. If your wife does something, your husband does something that displeases you, don't get all bent out of shape. Just be grateful for what you have. And when things are gone, be grateful for what you had. Don't dwell in misery of what you lost, but remember what you had. Gratitude. Well, it's another day, another lesson. It's too late to go any longer. God bless you. Next Sunday, the book of Colossians. Do your homework. It's not three or four chapters, so you can do that. We'll start with Brother Jack next Sunday. Pray for our pastor. He's going to try to preach next Sunday. His voice is back temporarily. He just doesn't know how long it will be back. So he's put it off because he has talked enough to know that it doesn't last long enough to preach. So we're hoping he'll be ready next Sunday. And I just thank you all for letting Brother Jack and me to have an opportunity to present lessons to you every week. I never thought that I would like to teach a Sunday school class, but I really am enjoying it. You're a blessing. Thank you. Father, thank You. We love You. We bless You. Thank You for this class. And thank You, Lord, that You've given us Your Word that tells us how we can grow old and still be grateful. How we can age and face limitations and still have joy. So we rejoice in the fact that this is a day that You have made for us, and we are glad about it. Thank You. In Jesus' name, amen.