 Philippians chapter 4. We're going to look at the first five verses this evening. We'll begin reading at verse 1 and I'll read all five verses and we'll get into our study. Philippians chapter 4 verse 1, therefore my beloved and longed for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord beloved. I implore Yodia and I implore Sintike. To be of the same mind in the Lord and I urge you also, true companion, help those, help these women who labored with me in the gospel with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Now as we're entering into the last chapter of the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul is concluding his letter with a series of exhortations. We're going to be seeing this, but you're going to see that he gives at least nine words or nine exhortations. He exhorts them to endurance, to unity, to peacemaking, to joy and gentleness, to prayer, meditation, imitation, and faithful giving. Tonight we're going to spend time looking at a few of those. We're going to look at endurance and unity, peacemaking, joy, and gentleness. We'll be seeing those in these five verses before us. So as we begin in verse 1, notice how he begins. He says, therefore my beloved and longed for brethren, my joy and crown. Notice how he's speaking of them. They're his beloved longed for brethren. They are also his joy. They are also his crown. In other words, they're dear to him. That's the reason why he speaks of them as being beloved. When you look in the Bible, and we just saw a testimony a moment ago of what Marco was sharing as he had gone through his accident, and there he is in the hospital, and he's supposed to be in critical condition, but all these people are showing up to see him, and the nurses are asking him, is this a police officer? Is this a firefighter? Because those are the ones who normally get all this attention, and the response is, no, these are my brothers and sisters in the Lord. That's what Paul is talking about when he speaks of him being beloved. He's saying, you're dear to me. Christians love one another. That is the premiere evidence of being born again. That is something that I reiterate because it's a one thing that I think a lot of times people forget about. We need to remember that knowledge of the things of the Lord and growing in knowledge is an important thing. Of course, we ought to be students of the Word of God. Even as a writer of Hebrews says, some of you aren't growing up. You're children, you're still needing milk when you ought to be partaking in meat. Well, of course, we're to be maturing in the things of the Lord, taking time to read, to study, to grow, and to gain understanding and to spend time receiving the information of the things that can help us to grow in the things of the Lord. But like Paul says, knowledge puffs up. You can gain so much information that you become proud of what you know. But he went on to say, but love builds up. So when you gain information concerning God, it's always so that God can do a work in your life. He wants us to understand that as his children, we are dearly loved and we ought to love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples. Jesus said, if you love one another. And so that's the mark of a believer that always has been. In 1 John chapter 3, verse 10, John said, this is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. And so the Lord has called us to demonstrate that we truly belong to him by the love we have for one another, by the concern we have for one another. That's what demonstrates that we really have a knowledge of God. It isn't the accumulation of information. It isn't spending a lot of time trying to find certain nuances in certain prophetic books and being able to speak concerning those things. It's having the simple ability to look somebody in the face and say, I love you without shame, without embarrassment. It's the ability just to care for somebody that you may not know that well or maybe not at all. To have that kind of concern, that kind of love that comes from God. Ephesians 5, 2 says, live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God. Don't love once in a while and don't love only those who love you. Live a life of love. And so when he's speaking concerning the fact that they are greatly loved, he also says they're longed for. He says to them, you are my beloved and my longed for brethren. That word longed is an obvious word. It speaks of being yearned for. What are you saying? I'm saying I miss you. I yearn to see you along for you. I've gone on ministry trips now for many, many years. I am not one who enjoys traveling. I have had friends, even staff members, when I've said that to them who are surprised. You don't like to travel? The answer is no. I really don't. I've traveled for many, many years. Spent many, many hours on airplanes and traveled to many countries. It isn't something that I look forward to for a lot of reasons, not just the hassle that you have in airports. You know, just coming home last week, I was involved in a pastor's leader conference in Houston, Texas. And we're getting on the plane to fly from Hobby Airport in Houston. We had to take a small plane from Hobby to Dallas. And from Dallas, we were going to fly into John Wayne. And while we're there, our flight is delayed. And they're telling us that we're going to have to spend the night there in Texas. And we're not going to be able to get home until the next day. And I'm not a real happy camper about that. I've spent enough time in Texas for a lifetime in those four days. I wanted to go home. And so we had to get a flight on another plane. And our luggage arrived on Wednesday. We got home on Sunday. And it's just one of those things. And so when people say, do you enjoy the travel? The answer is no. I enjoy the ministry that is the product of the travel. But it isn't a whole lot of fun to climb on a plane and fly 17 hours to go to Israel. I love it when I get there. But 17 hours on a plane is a long time. People get ripe about the eighth hour. It can be quite a treat. But one of the things that is most about traveling that is most important to me is when I leave my wife and my family. When I leave them, I have a longing, not just for my bed and not just for my house. I have a longing to see my family. There's a yearning in me. I miss my wife. I've been with Raul. Raul and I have been together on many trips. And he teased me one time because I was, he's sitting next to me and we're traveling. And we'd been gone for several days and we're traveling and a movie comes on and it's about a guy's love for his wife. And as I'm watching this movie, tears start coming down my eyes. And you don't want to cry in front of Raul. You just don't want to, you know. So naturally he teases David, he's crying, he's crying for his wife, you know, that's Raul. Such a cry, baby, that guy, he cries. But you want to know something? I long to see the one I love. And Paul is simply saying that. You can look at the apostle Paul and read his writings. The apostle Peter speaking of Paul on one occasion says his writings are very difficult to understand. And indeed they are. I kind of am amazed at the fact that the letters we read and we have to have commentators tell us what he meant. We're just letters that he wrote to a church that everybody in the church would understand. But we have to sit down with the Greek and we have to look at commentators and history and what did he actually mean and what context. When this was simply a letter that he would write and yet the apostle Peter says, man's writing's pretty tough to understand. Without the Holy Spirit you're not going to understand it. But this is a man that you could look at as being simply an intellectual when in reality this is a man with the tremendous love. And he loved the Philippians and he speaks of them in that way. He says that they are long for. He's saying, I wish I could be with you. It's not enough for me to send you a message. I want to see you face to face. It's like what he said to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8 where he says affectionately longing for you. We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives because you had become dear to us. I wanted to give you a message but I wanted to live that message. If I wanted I could give you notes but I want to give you not only my notes, I want to give you my heart. When I share with pastors at pastors conferences, I have often said that to the church, to the pastors, I've said don't give them just your notes. You can hand them commentaries. You need to give them more than that. Give them your life. Give them your heart. Let them know they're loved. Let them know they're cared for. And that's what he says here. You're longed for. He also says you're my joy. Well, you're my joy because of your faith. You're my joy because of your affection. He was confident that they had a relationship with the Lord and that they were growing in their faith and love towards him. He was confident that they knew the teachings of the gospel, that they were walking worthy of the Christian faith. And like John said in third John 4, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth while the apostle Paul would say the same. Every pastor rejoices when the church is doing well. When the church is walking in the truth of the gospel. Because every church has a reputation. This church has a reputation. And you are spoken of wherever this radio ministry goes. And it goes nationwide. And on the internet, it goes even further internationally. We get letters from various countries. From the African continent. From India. And people who are listening to the radio ministry or the archived messages. And so you have a reputation. You may not be aware of. And through this small city of Chino and surrounding areas. You have a reputation. When people know what fellowship you go to. You represent your church. And the way you act. The things you say. All of those things put together are the testimony. And so Paul speaks about that. And he says, you give me great joy because of your faith and because of the affection that you have. And then he says, you are my crown. Now in other words, you're a crown to me in the day of rewards. Why? How could they be a crown to him? Because you have been brought to faith through my ministry. You are converted to Christ. Your salvation is the greatest ornament that I could possibly wear. And so he's blessed to know that they who have gotten saved under his ministry represent the Lord so well. And so what does he say? Well he says, stand fast in the Lord. He says, rooted and grounded. Build up and sustained by him. Remain strong in the Lord's grace. In the Lord's power. In the Lord's spirit. Remember that Jesus is your sure foundation. Remain strongly standing in him. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah chapter 40 verses 28 through 31. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord. The creator of the ends of the earth. Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. And to those who have no might, he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary. And the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. He says, you're standing fast. Stand fast, he says, in the Lord. Now what is the reason that I'm to stand fast in? In the Lord. Because I anticipate being with him. I look forward to spending time with him. Now he had spoken earlier in this letter here in chapter 3 and verses 18 and 19. And he had said, many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, they're the enemies of the cross of Christ. Whose end is destruction. Whose God is their belly. Whose glory is in their shame. He says, who set their mind on earthly things. He said, and so your lives are to be filled with an anticipation of being with the Lord. That you'll be ultimately transformed when you're in heaven. And that's the thing that motivates us, isn't it? That knowledge that one day we're going to see him face to face and that God is by his wonderful Holy Spirit and through his word transforming us from the inside out. There was a time when you might have tried to please God in the way that you saw him by trying to take hold of the Bible, the things that he might have said, perhaps in the commandments and to try and live by them. Or maybe you were one who read the Sermon on the Mount and you thought to yourself, that's something I'd like to do. I'd like to live by the Sermon on the Mount. Now that's writing that's on the outside. But what the Bible speaks about is the writing that is on the inside. What God does is he takes his word and he writes it on the tablets of your heart. So the things that you do are motivated not by external things, but rather from internal things. And the reason that you begin to live for the Lord and all is not simply because you're hoping to somehow gain cosmic brownie points with him. That if I do these things he's going to owe me something. There's a scripture that says who is first given to him where God owes him something in return. Quite obviously everything I have has been given to me by the Lord. Not a single thing that I have is something I earned on my own. In any way, shape or form. I can't in any way say that what I am or what I have has been done specifically by me. Everything I have has been inherited from somebody else. My name, my body build, the color of my hair and my eyes, the language that I speak, the way that I think, my brain, my intellect, my communicative skills. Everything has been given to me through inheritance. Everything. I didn't create myself in other words. And the same is true with you. Everything I have has been given to me by someone else. And it would be foolish for me to think I did it for myself. I didn't. I received everything. All the gifts, abilities, they come from someplace else. And in ministry they come from God. God has given to us an ability by his powerful Holy Spirit. And so we hand those things over to the Lord. And we dedicate those things. And beyond that, when he gave to us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we now have his spirit within us giving us the ability to live for him. We have his word that is written on the tablets of our heart, which is actually giving us an internal motivation to live a life that is pleasing to him. And so what we do is we read the word and we discover that Jesus has made a promise that he's going to return for us. And so we live in such a way as to prepare ourselves to be with him. The way that my son Joseph's beautiful wife Karina just in August prepared herself to meet her husband. And we have a picture on my Facebook page of Joseph's wedding when his beautiful little bride came through the back door. And Joseph is looking in this picture into the back as she's walking in. And it was one of those moments that I think is really great that a picture was taken of him and it's clear enough for you to see the tears in his eyes as he sees Karina walking towards him and realizes his life was ruined from now on. No, from this day forward it shall never be the same. I had told him, I said baby, I said when your little girl, I call her his little girl, I said when your little girl walks through that door, I said look at her closely because that's one of those moments that you need to have as a snapshot in your mind. Because the picture I carry on my iPhone and the picture I carry in my wallet of Marie is the picture of her when she came walking to me when I saw her when we got married. I carry that with me everywhere. I have it on my iPhone so when I open up my phone there's this beautiful picture of my bride and it keeps me aware of her you see. There's this anticipation. There's this preparation. There's this desire. And that's what he's speaking about. You have that for Jesus Christ. So you live in such a way to be prepared for when he comes. And so there's this promise. The promise of being with the Lord in heaven is the motivation that we have to live for him as we wait. And so Paul exhorts the reader, stand fast. Stand fast in the Lord. He's encouraging endurance because the Christian life is a marathon. It's not just a sprint. He's saying don't begin the race only to drop out before completing it. Hold on to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hold completely to him. Now as he's going on verse two it's interesting what he says here. In light of living in anticipation of being with the Lord. In light of being aware of the fact that when Christ is in your life there's this love that you have. It's interesting what he now writes. Now I want you to guys to think about this for a minute. And it may not be obvious at first, but let me make it as obvious as it is. Letters that were written, letter to the Philippians. I want you to think for a moment about this. It was what is called a general letter. It's a general letter. There are letters that are written to individuals. But there are general letters written to the church. Now what would happen would be that a letter would arrive to the church of Philippi. The church would be called to assembly. And the pastor would say we just received a letter from Paul. And we're going to read it to the whole church. Now you know this church. This church is like every other church. There are those who come to church once in a while. There are those who come to church every time the door is open and everything in between. But if you hear there's going to be something special, people normally will make every effort to be there. And so when you're told Paul has delivered a letter. We have a letter from Paul. The church would gather together. So the body gets together. All the members are together in a location. And here comes the pastor and he says I'll read this letter because it's to us. And so he's literally been reading from what we would call chapter one verse one. And as he's reading this letter you have all of these people seated listening to the letter being read. I mean that's what's happening. He's reading the letter because it's a letter. He's not stopping and saying and he's reading the letter. And so think about that for a minute. And then think of this. As the letter is being written he says read the pastor reads therefore my beloved and longed for brethren my joy and crown so stand fast in the Lord. I implore you odia and I implore Sintiqi to be of the same mind in the Lord. How do you think you odia and Sintiqi felt about that at that moment. Now a lot of people like their names being mentioned from the pulpit I promise you. But not in that context because he's busting them. He's saying you guys have been fighting and the whole church knows about it. That's what he's speaking about. There has been a problem between these two ladies you odia and Sintiqi everybody knows about it. And now the pastors reading this letter is like you said I implore Mike and I implore you know Dave get along in the Lord. Oh how embarrassing is that. Couldn't you have used a different name I'd have known who you were talking about. And so that's what you have here. Now if they really believe this is what makes it practical that Jesus is returning they need to live in unity. And evidence that we're saved is our willingness to put aside our personal differences and seek the common goal of reaching people for Jesus Christ to put away the things that just don't matter. We bite and we devour one another. But the word says if you bite and devour one another be careful that you're not consumed one of another. People like to talk about other people but the best place to do that is on your knees when you're bringing their names up to God. The other day somebody approached one of my relatives just last week. And they were talking and somebody said that they were Christians so my relative said oh I am too. They don't know each other these two. And so the person says to my relative what church do you go to. I go to Calvary Chapel Chino Valley came the response. Oh really David Rosales. Yes I listen to him on the radio. I go to such and so church. Oh really that's great. Yeah I heard a rumor about him. Now they're telling that to my relative. I heard a rumor about him. And so my relative looks. Oh really. Yeah I forget what the rumor was there's so many. And so something briefly was said. And my relative who is very dear to me and loves me very much says you need to know we're related. I love it. I love it when things like that happen. Because all of a sudden that rumor was oh it's probably not true that kind of attitude. You know there is always someone willing to gossip. And somebody willing to listen. And instead of having our eyes on things that matter we put them on silly rumors that are untrue. But undermine the work of the spirit in the body of Christ. It's we're called sheep by Jesus Christ. Now sheep of course are not the scariest thing in the world that I mean if you were walking in a in an alley late at night and you heard something behind a trash can. And you put a light on it it's a sheep. Would you get scared. No I'd be thinking barbecue. I wouldn't be thinking anything. Now if it's a rottweiler I've got another thought coming. Right. I mean sheep are not the scariest things to be around. But they can bite. And some sheep are mean. And they bite hard. And sometimes they're so willing to do destruction that it causes tremendous dishonor to the name of Jesus Christ. Who prayed. Read John seventeen Jesus is high priestly prayer that they may be one. That the world may know that you sent me. In other words that they may be one so the world may be one. If you have a unity. For the things that please God. It's a tremendous testimony. To those who are outside of the family. But why would I want to be part of a family that choose one another up. Where's the power of the Holy Spirit and all of that. Where's the love of God. In the heart of somebody. Whose greatest joy is tearing down people and so Paul says. Talk to you Odea. And talk to Sintaki. That they be of the same mind in the Lord. These obviously were well known women perhaps even leaders in the body of Christ. And they were called to the carpet. By the apostle Paul in a letter to the Philippians. Now when he says that they be of the same mind in the Lord. In other words that they may take their minds off of themselves. And put them back on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now how are they going to do that well we already saw it. They're supposed to take their minds it says in verse nineteen that some set their mind on earthly things there in chapter three that they take their minds off of earthly things. And they're supposed to see themselves for what they are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now it's interesting how Paul exhorts a coworker to help these to respond to his appeal. He's saying I want you to work the work of a peacemaker. Rather than ignoring or encouraging strife. Mediate. Bring it to a Christian resolution. He's saying please bring peace in the body of Christ. Seek a way to reconcile. Now going on in verse three. He says I urge you also true companion help these women who labored with me in the gospel with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. And so this coworker left unnamed. Is basically a mature believer who's asked to help these women to settle their differences. He speaks about the book of life. That's the ultimate reason they should be working at unity. This is the book that has recorded within it those who have received life from the Lord. And so he says these are people who are saved their names are there. Encourage them to live in such a way as it brings honor to God. And then in verse four he says rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice. That's something I have to be reminded of. A few years ago. We're in an airport we're in Ontario. And our flight was canceled but they didn't tell us. So Marie and I were on our way across our nation. Got up early went to the airport. I'm sitting there waiting for the loading you know calling for us to board the plane. And so I'm looking at the board and I noticed as I'm looking at the board. That our flight is not listed. And as I'm looking at this I'm thinking we should be boarding by now because the flight leaves at such and so time and they usually board us and I'm thinking that. So Marie and I are looking at each other and then I look around in the waiting room and there's only like three or four of us there and this should be a full flight and I'm beginning to wonder something's going on here. And so I go up to the desk. And I say I'm supposed to be on loading at this gate and we're supposed to be going oh your flight was canceled. I said oh really. I said I didn't read it it wasn't posted. Oh sorry. You're going to have to fly. You can't fly this flight's canceled you'll have to go down stairs. Now we're in Ontario. Now I was not happy. I won't lie to you. I was not happy. Marie Marie is real quiet because she knows I'm not happy. So we walk on down we go to the complaint place. Must be the most beautiful place to work I have to be honest with you. And I'm walking up and as I'm walking up I'm thinking I don't know what we're going to do. We've got to get to this place here I was supposed to know and I'm I'm griping to Jesus I'm complaining to the Lord about it. And so we get to the desk and I say we're supposed to be on this flight. And it was canceled we weren't notified I don't know what we're going to do. The woman looks at me she says that flight is now going to fly out of Los Angeles. I'm thinking LA. I mean the reason I came to Ontario is I did not want to go to LA. Now we're going to fly but I'm just standing there like this I'm not saying anything I'm just looking at her and I'm it's all going on in my mind LA kill her just kill her. And I'm looking at her and I'm thinking and I said LA. She said yeah you're going to need to go out of LA there's another flight that's going to go in two and a half hours and I'm thinking I'm going to have to call somebody to pick me up can we make it there I'm supposed to be there for this thing and I'm real frustrated and she says you have any idea I handed her my oh David Rosales are you Pastor David Rosales I listen to you on the radio all the time and I go yeah praise the Lord all of a sudden the spirit came on me and God just convicted me to see you hypocrite you were so mad now all of a sudden praise God the halo comes up come on your flash is right there good thing that was years ago I've never had another outburst like that rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice but you don't understand my circumstances Paul was in the Mamertine prison I mentioned to you this morning those who were with us that the prison cell he was in was about 12 feet underground the way to get into that cell was through a hole in the ceiling I've been in the Mamertine prison I've seen the cells that people like Paul and others were in unbelievable cells that were carved out of the rock no windows and it was just a flat floor that was ice cold with a hole in the ceiling the size of a manhole cover and they would drop whatever provisions for the prisoner whether it would be blankets or food or whether it would be to take the waste out they would have them in this prison cell sometimes shackled to a wall with manacles and that was what Paul was living in in conditions that are beyond inhumane and yet the key word as I told you when we began this particular letter the key word is rejoice and joy in all of his circumstances this is a man who who tells the Romans my greatest desire is to take the name of Jesus and preach it in a place where his name has never been mentioned this is a man who has at least three recorded missionary journeys in the book of Acts a man who goes from place to place place to place with all of his energy with all of his love and desire to preach the gospel a man who has beaten severely many times who has shipwrecked who almost died in several occasions and now he's there in a jail cell and he's saying rejoice rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice I don't think I know anybody on a personal level who's ever gone through more pain than the apostle Paul and yet he has earned the right to tell me to rejoice he has because this is a man who knows what he's talking about he's the guy who's saying even though I am shackled here to a guard the word of God hasn't been chained and I've been able to minister and share his goodness with whomever's been in this jail cell with me and so he is saying you need to rejoice because no circumstance should really dictate the joy that we have rejoice because his grace is sufficient rejoice because his blood has cleansed us from all sin rejoice because you've been saved it's like what the psalmist said in psalm 64 verse 10 let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him let all the upright in heart praise him it's like what Paul told us in Galatians 5 22 and 23 the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self control against such things there is no law when the holy spirit really begins to saturate you the joy of the spirit pours out of you rejoicing the Lord and then he says verse 5 let your gentleness be known to all men why the Lord is at hand gentleness speaks of good will speaks of fairness moderation even generosity may it be known by all this is revealed in the way that you live he's saying your testimony should be pure because it's seen by everybody in times of trouble in times of persecution the way you respond is going to be viewed by everybody and if you say you love the Lord and God's in control and you go out of control in front of everybody you're undermining your own ministry so let your gentleness be known let your moderation be known let people know what you're lying why he says the Lord is at hand C.S. Lewis said if you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next it is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one it's because he hasn't come yet and I've got a lot to do I've got a lot of things I want to gain a lot of things I want to go a lot of places young lady was saying recently I know this isn't right but I really hope he doesn't come too soon because I want to see my kids grow up and get married I understand the sentiment I do but I also realize that every day that Jesus doesn't come it's another day of pain for somebody it's another day where somebody gets murdered somebody gets raped somebody gets robbed somebody gets cancer somebody has a heart that's broken somebody gets in an accident somebody suffers something terrible every day that Jesus doesn't return there are many millions who are going through terrible pain so I'm trying to learn to say come quickly Lord Jesus the Lord is at hand and so we live in anticipation of being with him aware that perhaps he won't come today but I'll live as if he is and as I do that then tomorrow I do it again James 5 8 says be patient and establish your hearts the coming of the Lord draws near so be strong wait and soon he'll be here and then people will see that we were really serious about our faith in Jesus Christ