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Philippians 1:1,6 -Source Of My Joy- Pastor Rick Beaudry 2026-07-12
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Philippians chapter one verses one through six. Would you please stand with me as we read God's holy word together? Philippians chapter one verses one through six. Paul and Timothy as the servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace be unto you and peace from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making requests with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you for your holy word. And Lord, as we're here to worship you, we're here to study your word, we're here to fellowship, to break bread together, and to encourage one another, to hug one another, and and listen, and speak, and and speak the things of the Lord. And so Lord, we pray that by the end of this day, that we're so incredibly refreshed and that we we experience a little taste of heaven, what it's gonna be like to be in your presence, Lord. And and so Lord, we know that you inhabit the praise of your people, that you're here with us now. You've never left us. The Holy Spirit within each of us, and also collectively, corporately as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Lord, we just pray that you pour out your Holy Spirit afresh upon us, and that we gain that victory, Lord. That we be overcomers. That we overcome the world, the flesh, the devil. That we overcome the places within our mind where we've practiced, where we've habitually gone, that brings us down. And Lord, that we could overcome those places, that we could walk in that newness of life and and not succumb, Lord, to hurtful memories, things that things that hurt so deeply. But instead, Lord, to get the victory, to live the life of the spirit, to be able to rejoice in the Lord, and to overcome these things, Lord. Help us, Lord, we pray. Equip and strengthen us. Help us to glean from this book. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Would you please be seated? The the epistle to the church of Philippi was written by the apostle Paul from a Roman prison in sixty two AD. The city of Philippi is located in the northern end of the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey where there is a port city called Kabbalah, which is the Annapolis of Acts chapter 16 verse 11. Philippi is located about 10 miles inland, in the district of Macedonia. The city was named after Philip of Macedon. This is Alexander the Great's father Philip of Macedon. And, who seized the city in March, it became a Roman colony in forty two BC. So this particular city at the time of the apostle Paul is Roman dominant. A lot of, like Bremerton, a lot of, retired veterans, retired people that served in the Roman army and, who are now, you know, in retirement here. And, very few Jews were there. So now you've got, Paul and Silas, a couple Jews, with Timothy, a half Jew, half Greek. And then, doctor Luke is gonna catch up with them in verse 12 of Acts 16. And, and watch how the pronouns change from they in his in his describing to we. So, Luke is the writer of the gospel of Luke, but also, we'll see in the book of Acts in chapter 16 that he joined up with Paul and Silas and Timotheus, in the planting of this church. And in the subsequent second missionary journey, the apostle Paul, he'd be in there. So that's something to check out. And and so the apostle Paul and Sisius planted this church at about fifty two AD, ten years earlier, while on Paul's second missionary journey. And if you look in chapter 15 toward the end, Paul and Barnabas were wanting to go. In Acts 13, the in Antioch of Iconium, the elders that were there, the the prophets and teachers, it says, they were gathered together in prayer. And as they're gathered together in prayer, the Holy Spirit said now this is where these guys can hear now. They can hear the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, he that has ears to hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, you know, let him hear. At the beginning of Acts, they didn't hear. They couldn't hear. At least they didn't know they could hear. So when, the twelfth person of the disciples, Judas, betrayed the Lord. Peter, you know, is instructed to wait. There's a ten day waiting period for Pentecost. Jesus walked upon the planet with them for forty days after his resurrection, and so he ascended from Bethany there up to the father. And and a 120 are gathered together in the upper room waiting for the promise of the father of the holy spirit to be poured out. And, the holy spirit was already given, to the disciples, and Jesus breathed on them and received you the holy spirit. So they're waiting there, and Peter's thinking, hey, wait a minute. We need 12. According to the scriptures, there's 12 apostles. And so you notice that they take an Old Testament way of discerning God's will of casting dice of the maybe, the black and the white. And so you you pray and you ask the Lord, which one is it? And the the lot fell. They were casting lots. The lot fell upon Matthias. And so Matthias became, the 12. And, little did they know the apostle Paul quite possibly is a an apostle born out of due time. And so he re he he meets all the requirements of being an apostle. But interestingly, the church after Pentecost begins to hear in their prayer meetings, and they're getting bolder, and now they're getting in sync with listening to the Holy Spirit. You and I have the Holy Spirit to help us discern and to hear as we read God's word, and as we pray, and as we commit ourselves unto the Lord. So in Acts 13, the teachers and the prophets there in at at Antioch of Iconium, and they're praying, and the Holy Spirit said, and they're hearing, separate unto me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereof I've called them. And at that point in chapter 13, Barnabas had the leadership role. Saul was subservient. The god used Barnabas to go chase after Saul, Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul. The rest of the guys were all afraid of him because he was a hitman for all those years, and, they knew his reputation. So in chapter nine, the lord saved him, And, Paul spends three years in the Desert Of Arabia near Damascus being schooled in the things of the Lord. And then later, Barnabas went and saw them out and all, began to introduce them to the other, apostles and all. But in chapter 13, it's full blown. This is a first missionary journey, and now Barnabas and Saul are going out on their first missionary journey. And, one of the things that happened on this missionary journey in chapter 14 is Barnabas and Saul were deified by those in the area of Lystra and Iconium and and Derby and all. And they said the the voice of gods has come down here, you know, Jupiter and all. And and Paul says, no. No. No. No. No. We're like men of like we're men of like passions as you. You know, don't do this. And Jupiter and Mercury and all, no. No. No. And worship God. And so the priests were coming down there to worship him because Paul was able to take a guy that, was sick and and lame at his feet and and knew that he had faith, perceived that he had enough faith and said, stand up and and walk. And the guy stood up and walked and everything. And so now they're gonna deify him, and then they go from deifying him in chapter 14 to stoning Paul. So Paul is stoned at Lystra, and and they have supposed him to be dead, and they're standing around him. And and then Paul gets up, and what's he do? He goes right back in to Derbe, Iconium, and Lystra, sharing the gospel. And so Barnabas and Paul, they experienced that experience, miraculous things happening. And then in chapter 15, there's an occasion where James, the brother of our Lord, as he's one of the leaders within the church, and Paul has some questions about Gentiles being circumcised and the issue of circumcision. And Peter is also there. There's like a there's like a a meeting of the minds of the leadership. And they determined that, why put a burden upon the Gentiles that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear, as Peter's saying, the burden of keeping the law? And so for the sake of fellowship, they came to an agreement that, well, just encourage the Gentiles. They don't need to be circumcised, but they, should abstain from, fornication. They should abstain from, meat that's bloody and that's been offered unto idols and all because that would hinder the fellowship that they would, you know, want to experience with with Jews. And so Peter had experienced at the house of Cornelius in chapter 10 great fellowship with the Gentiles. But when some of the heavies came down from Jerusalem to check it all out, you know, Peter went back over to the Jewish side, and Paul challenged him to his face that, hey, what are you doing? You know? Don't do that. There's no dis you know, distance there. So now, as they come out of chapter 15, Barnabas and Saul, Saul and Barnabas, Saul takes the lead now. They determine, hey, let's go visit all the churches that we were at previously, and, go see how they're doing. And, Barnabas, whose name means son of consolation, he's an encourager, a real encourager. And, Barnabas has said, well, I wanna take, John Mark, my nephew, with us. And Paul said, no. And it says there was a great contention. So at times, you and I might face contention. We might face disagreement. Here, these great, great spiritual men are contending over bringing John Mark with them. And they're fighting over, and it's getting so heavy that they depart company. Imagine that. And so Barnabas takes John Mark and sails to Cyprus where he's from and all, moves in a different direction. And Saul says, well, I'll take Silas. So now they have Silas, and then he when he gets over here to the area of Macedonia of Derby, Timotheus is there in chapter one. We'll see here. And Tim Timothy has a mother that's a Jewess and a father that's a Greek. And so as he's gonna come with Paul and assist on this missionary journey, it's important that when they are around Jews that, Timothy be circumcised. So Timothy was circumcised for the sake of of of so they don't stumble the Jews. Now the Gentiles weren't didn't need to be, circumcised. But anyway, getting this team together. So the team is getting together for the second missionary journey, and and so here we go in chapter one verse one. So Paul and Timotheus, the servants, so how he's describes himself as a a servant, a doulos, the greatest among you be the servant of all. Jesus came not to to be ministered unto, but to minister. It's a servant, and to minister and to give us life a ransom for many. So the privilege of Paul and Timothy to be servants of Jesus Christ. Are you a servant of Jesus Christ? Does the Lord call you my servant, as he does Job and Moses and many others? It's a blessing when you know that you belong to the Lord and that your life's in sync with his, that you're living according to his plan and purpose for your life, you know who you are serving. To all the saints, you're either a saint or you're a sinner. You're in one camp or the other. There's no in betweeners. You're either a saint or a sinner. Nobody's almost pregnant. Nobody's almost saved. A seeker, as people like to call them. You're a saint or a sinner. A saint means that you're set apart from the world. You're set apart. You're holy. God sees you already as holy. He sees you as already the work is already completed in your life. So to all the saints in Christ Jesus, and that's a key phrase we saw, in the book of Ephesians being in Christ, in the boat, in the beloved, in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. The word bishop here is the Greek word presbyratos, and, speaks of overseers with the bishops and the deacons. The deacons are like Philip and, Stephen, who we saw in Acts chapter six, who are ministering to some of the material needs of the Hellenistic widows, there in the distribution of food and clothing and things like that. The church was under fire and was was poor and all. And the disciples, determined, the apostle determined that it wasn't wise use of their time to be providing for the ministration of things, but to raise up, you know, seven guys, follow the holy spirit and and, to be able to do this ministration. And we will give ourselves wholly to the word of God and to prayer. So the bishops, their name is synonymous with overseers, same function. Also, presbytos in the plural. You the other another word is elder. These are elders. And in our world today, people think that the church has to have a board of elders that are business people that follow Church Incorporated. That may be true for part of the business structure and all, but people miss out on the fact that elders are pastors. They are overseers. They're meeting the spiritual needs. If you want me to have elders, you need the church to grow. I would welcome help. Spiritual overseers to help. But with how small our church is, we don't need three pastors on staff. Do you see what I'm saying? So if we ever move in that direction, we're gonna teach you that an elder is synonymous with the Latin with a pastor. It's not somebody that's rich in our community and we can get a lot of money from if we put them on the board. Okay? Not gonna happen. Or they can own the church and fire the pastor and you know how board run churches are. And we don't want that that secular mindset or a board run thing. Because I have I have no desire to to be kicked out, you know. I'd be kicked out already if I had a board, you know. Long time ago, guys were trying to I've And I've had boards in the past of elders and stuff and it didn't work out for me. So all of us get to serve the Lord as servants, as doulas, as deacons, and the spiritual overseers of the church. So let me go over it again, just so you understand, because I know in our community, one of the things they say about Calvary Bremertons, oh, he doesn't have any elders. Bishop is an overseer. In Acts twenty twenty eight, they were shepherding, doing the work of a shepherd. Jesus said to Peter, feed my sheep. In Acts twenty seventeen, they were elders. They were bishops. They were overseers. And as I said, in the Latin, that's where we get our word pastor. And so, when we're in Ephesians four, the function of a pastor is to feed the sheep, to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry. If I look at Peter in John 20, the Lord Jesus is saying to John 21, the Lord Jesus is saying to Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep. Tend my sheep. Feed my lambs. Now I don't care who has a title in this community. Are they feeding the sheep? Who's feeding the sheep? Who's gonna take them from Genesis to Revelation? The full counsel of God. That's what I'm gonna answer to God for according to Acts chapter 20. Their blood is not on my hands because we've ceased not night and day with tears, Paul said, to bring the full counsel of God. And so Paul, ten years later, he's able to write and they do have overseers and they have deacons who are serving the Lord. We have people here without the title who are serving in these capacities. We don't pass out titles, but there are deacons. People showed up to set up the picnic this morning. You know? And, there's people that try to provide spiritual oversight, here in the fellowship to help and assist me and keep help us all stay on track spiritually because we're under attack with a lot of deception in this time in which we're living. And a lot of you came in from churches where you were not taught God's word. And I don't care if you've been Christian thirty years, you were not taught God's word. So a lot of what we teach here is like pin your ears to the wall, and those of you that hang in there, you're growing. Others of you, you you've been taught a lot of different things, and it's like a sifting through it. But one thing about it is when you go through the Bible, the Bible clears all these things up. You know? The Bible fixes all these different things. So there you go. Then he says verse two, grace be unto you and peace from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. So grace is God's unmerited favor. God's riches at Christ's expense, an acronym. And peace, shalom in the Hebrew. You'd reach a home. You'd reach a a dwelling, and you'd say, shalom, peace. May peace be upon this. Where's this peace come from? From God our father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. So you're living in a time where the Romans and the and the Greeks had all different types of gods out there, a myriad of different false gods, but none of them are God the father. And you and I have our God describing himself as our father, God the father, Abba Papa, this relationship we can have with him. And then the second person of the Trinity from the Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord. He's king of kings. He's lord of lords, and that's where I put my confidences in him that, he spoiled all principalities and powers. He triumphed over them. A whole lot of pretenders today that are acting like they're in charge, but, ultimately, you and I need to know and remind ourselves that Jesus is Lord of all. So the source of joy is confidence in Jesus. The theme of this book is joy. Rejoicing is the theme of this book. And so whether you're in prison or not in prison, whether you don't have any money or have money, whether you're sick or healthy or whatever, Paul is bringing us to an understanding and a confidence that the byproduct of a deep, rich relationship with Jesus is joy. And we live in a time, you and I, where people are succumbing to great, great discouragement and depression. And I believe there's a heightened moving and working of demonic spirits that are oppressing people who call themselves Christians, who may or may not be. And and there's no doubt about it. The more that you wanna serve the Lord, the bigger target you become, the greater resistance that's gonna come against your life. And one of the tools the enemy uses that he used against the apostle Paul, who's alluding to and showing us how we can rejoice was depression. He despaired of his life at times. You could reach a point of almost suicide where where you're so discouraged. And David in Psalm 42 said, why art thou cast down my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? And then he begins to teach us how we can overcome that. Because once we're in that place of depression, it doesn't mean that we there you know, all of us go through these things, but don't stay there. There's a way out, and that that way out is Jesus. That way out is fixing our mind upon him and not staying there. And so Paul despaired of life, but he taught himself that he shouldn't trust in himself, but in God who raises the dead. So although he saw this sentence of death upon himself and this battle against him and this opposition everywhere he went, And at times, you know, as he as we said in chapter 14, he was stoned. Well, when he gets to chapter 17, he's in Mars Hill. And the people there at Mars Hill are all the intellectuals, the philosophers, the doctors, and all. And, you know, he is Saul of Tarsus, would exceed them all, with a human intellect. He's a brilliant, brilliant Jew. And he said concerning his contemporaries, he exceeded them all. So he's raised at Tarsus, a college town. He's well, you know, understood with a he has a great understanding of Greek, Roman, and Jewish, and Egyptian, and all the different types of cultures and all. And he's raised at the foot of Gamaliel, so tutored, you know, in all the best of all. And so he said, concerning concerning my contemporaries, I exceeded them all. He says, all that was attained, kinda like Moses when Moses was in Egypt, when he was when he was an eloquent speaker and be in school to be the next pharaoh and all. Paul said, I counted all as dung, all as refuse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. He didn't know Jesus. And it was all for nothing, all that intellect. So when he's in Acts 17, when he's on Mars Hill, and the city's wholly given over to idols and all in Athens, he's he's grieved in his heart. And so he tries to launch off with a hook to hook them that he would present the unknown god. And, and he's he's preaching, and as he's trying to reach these folks, they're not responding. Who is this babbler? And they begin to make fun of him. And then he reaches into the the Epicurean philosophers and try and quote some of the Epicurean philosophers to, again, to try and connect and to segue into preaching the gospel. But it wasn't it wasn't very successful, let's say. So then in chapter 18, where is he at? Now he's in Corinth. And in Corinth, it's a wicked city. A really, really wicked city. So Paul, you and I, hey, Lord, really, you want me to go into Corinth? Well, I got I got stoned when I was at Lystra in chapter 14. In chapter 16 that we're studying about Philippians, he's back at Lystra. So if you have experiences of things like that in your life, it could be that you're very apprehensive and paranoid and, oh my gosh, I'm gonna get stoned again. I'm gonna get beat up again. Oh, I'm gonna get rejected again. And and so in chapter 18 of the book of Acts, the Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul and he said, Paul, I have many people in this city. What? In this wicked city, you've got many people? This is the most wicked city in the whole region. Yeah. I've got many people here. Where sin where sin does abound Paul, grace does much more abound. Super abounding grace. I've got a lot of people here. So Paul spends 18 months establishing the church of Corinth there. And, you know, in the church of Corinth for eighteen months, he spent there in Acts chapter 18. And and so here we are in chapter 16, and Paul now is going to be speaking of the confidence from our past. That we can have joy, and we can have confidence from our past and experience this joy. So he says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. So he's looking back ten years earlier, and he's thanking God for each one. Do you thank God for each one that you've gotten to know in the body of Christ? Do you thank the Lord for the people the Lord's brought into your life at different seasons and different times? I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, for you all making requests notice with joy. Where's Paul now? He's not in a Philippian jail. He's in a Roman prison, and he's awaiting trial and execution possibly. Right? In '62, it would be it would be execution. And, so the second time in prison in the Roman prison and all. And, these prison epistles, Paul's, you know, let the folks know, hey, this is all this all isn't for nothing. There there's a purpose in everything we've gone through. And don't allow the circumstances, don't allow the past pain and the past things you've gone through to to weight you down to the point that you succumb to discouragement and depression, and and miss out on the joy of the Lord, which is our strength, you know. And as I said, depending on the circumstances of our life, all of us go through times of discouragement, despair, and maybe depression. But that's not where we're supposed to stay. And I really wanna exhort you heavily. Paul did not turn to doctor Luke and say, do you have a pill? Do you have a pill, doc? Is there a pill that I can take that'll make me not remember any of these circumstances that God ordained for me to go through to learn and become like Jesus who is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief? Jesus suffered greatly and he was a man of sorrows. Not always up. Jesus wept. Right? And you and I, as we get to know him, Paul said, in Philippians three ten, he's gonna say that the gist of his life, the crux of his life, the goal of his life, that I might know him. That's that's that's the goal of my life. I just wanna get to know Jesus. That's what I want. And I want to experience the power of his resurrection. And he says, and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. Would you would you add that last part? The fellowship of his sufferings? Come on. I want the bless me club. I don't wanna go down there. So Paul, with being beaten and shipwrecked and stoned and and opposition wherever he went and all the he's just like you and I. It hurts. These are marks upon his body, the stigmata, the cross of Christ filling up the sufferings of Christ. It hurts. But does it paralyze you? Does it neutralize you? Does it keep you from smiling? Does it keep you from singing? Does it keep you from experiencing the very depths of the Christian experience, the Christian life of knowing Jesus? And my frustration has been over the years, I want so much for us collectively to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And I want that more than anything as we worship, as we study, as we live out our Christian lives. And in many cases, I feel like I'm hamstringed as a pastor because I have so many people that I deal with who are either into psychology or taking therapeutic messages, feel good messages, and the pharmaceuticals. And I can't reach you. I I can't get past that. Now the gospel is powerful. If you're an unbeliever, I have more confidence that I can reach you. But as a believer, you claiming to be a believer, it's like you're saying, your Jesus is not enough for me. Your brand of Christianity is just not enough. We we are experiencing things the world has never experienced before. Do you believe that's true? You don't think Paul and the people in Philippi and Rome and the 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman Empire, you don't think they experienced the heartache that we experience? I wanna suggest to you the difference is we have, and this is part of human nature, we are obsessed with self. We are introspective. We are looking within. And Paul said, in me that is my flesh dwells no good thing. If you look within for too long, you're gonna get depressed. You gotta get your eyes off of yourself and onto Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith. And when you do that, you're going to experience joy. You're gonna experience the truth of who you are. You're gonna walk by faith instead of feelings. God may never reconcile in your mind why these things happen to you. You you think he owes you an explanation for some reason. He doesn't. He's requires that you and I walk by faith. His ways are not our ways. They're past finding out. How are we ever going to understand, you know, the ways of an infinite God? And so one day, we'll know even as we are known when we see him face to face. But in the present tense, we need to view the past in in a optimistic, in a in a attitude of faith that rather than, oh, the Lord allowed that terrible thing to happen to me. Wow. Look at what the Lord got me through. Yeah. God allowed it, but he got you through it. And he'll get you through it again, Paul. He got you through the stoning at Lystra. You don't need to be overwhelmed with fear now moving forward because if God's done with you, he's already gonna take you home. If you're not home, then he's not done with you. So don't fear them that can kill your body, but fear him who not only can kill your body but cast your soul into hell. Have a reverential awe and a fear of God. Don't succumb to the lies and the intimidation of the wicked one who seeks to destroy you in your mind and steal the joy that that's ours. I had a a stepdad, one of my mom's husbands, and when I was first a new Christian, man, I was carrying the burden of all these unbelievers. I was so loaded down as I'd look at my mom and Duane and and just like, I can't reach them. How are we gonna reach them? And he said to me, he goes, if your Christianity, your Jesus, you know, were to make me as bummed out as you look, I want no part of it. And I was I was not filled with the joy of the Lord around there. I was I was I was was working. I was working it. I was working it. I was grieved. It just broke my heart. And, not that I wanna be running around as pastor Smiley all the time. There's times where where we do grieve, where things do get to us, where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem cause he could see what was coming. He could see what was gonna happen there. And so always in every prayer, making making requests with joy. So every time the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance the saints of Philippi, Paul would start to pray. So maybe you have a church fellowship in Hawaii or in San Diego or, somewhere else we're used to attend, and every time the Lord brings to remembrance that season in your life, you're just overwhelmed with joy. What great fellowship we had in Hawaii. What great fellowship we had in San Diego. What great fellowship we had, wherever it may be, where we were brand new believers, we used to praise the Lord, serve the Lord, and started getting married and having kids and growing our families. And what a great season that was. And every remembrance of them, your hearts just flooded with joy. Paul's looking at that ten years earlier, man, when this church was being planted. I remember the Riverside. I remember Lydia. I remember all these people. What a joy. What a blessing. Every time, Paul's heart would be leaping with joy, flooded with joy as he thought of the faithfulness of God in saving each one. What greater blessing is there than watching God save somebody in your midst? Watching a brand new believer get it, you know, and how exciting that is. He remembered how the Holy Spirit directed him to them ten years earlier in Acts 16 verse seven. Forbidding him, the Holy Spirit was forbidding Paul and this missionary team to preach in Asia and Bithynia, driving him toward Troas. Then giving him a vision of a Macedonian man saying, come over into Macedonia and help us. And so the Holy Spirit's forbidding him at that time to go be preaching in Asia Minor, but but directing him with a vision of a man in Macedonia, maybe it was Luke, maybe it's doctor Luke. I don't know. But there's someone saying, come over here. Come over to Philippi. Come to the region of Macedonia. And Paul's reminded of that to come help us. So one door shuts, but another door opens, and joy would fill Paul's heart when he thought of the first Sabbath day in Philippi. And as I said in Acts 16, you'll see how Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, how he transitions from they and him to we. So now, and in verse 12, he he says it's a chief city. It's like he's boasting of his own city. This is my hometown, Philippi, a chief city in the area of Macedonia. And and so that first Sabbath day, there isn't enough Jews there to go to the synagogue as they said. So they're gonna go down the riverside. What drew them to the riverside? There's a woman prayer meeting. So you don't have a contingent of men, strong men being leaders within this city, spiritual leaders. But you've got some women. And Lydia, she's a business woman, a seller of purple fabric from Thyatira, which was famous for this. And and she was she was seeking the Lord, but didn't come to know the Lord just as yet. And so this prayer meeting down near the river, the apostle Paul and Silas and Timotheus and Luke, they go there. And Paul begins to share the gospel, and Lydia believes, and she's baptized in her whole household. You know? And this is just the beginning. You know? There there's gonna be more coming to faith. And so what joy, what blessing to think about that step of faith that you take, and you're not sure whether or not these people are gonna receive you or not. You're not sure if they're gonna pick up rocks and stone you again, or or what they're gonna do. But the blessing of watching the Holy Spirit having already gone before you, one man sows another waters and God brings the increase, and their hearts are prepped. Their hearts are ready. And so you and I, as we approach a trip that we might be taking, you know, a a missionary journey, we pray ahead of time. Lord, give me open doors. Give me opportunities to share the glorious good news of your coming kingdom. Lord, there's people out there discouraged, depressed, and hurting. And Lord, let us present the joy of the Lord. Let us present the rejoicing that's ours in a risen savior that's overcome the world, the flesh, you know, and the devil. We have good news. It's good news. Prophecy is good news. It's not doom and gloom. Jesus is coming again to establish his church, and you and I should be equipped and ready to provide for people the the hope that is ours as people are losing hope, you know, in the world around them. So Paul rejoiced with the angels of heaven as he baptized Lydia and her household. The memory of her constraining them to stay at her house filled Paul's heart with joy, even while in a Roman prison. Ten years later, Paul still marveled at how God saved them. Paul's heart flooded with joy when he remembered the demon possessed slave girl, Acts sixteen sixteen through 18. So Paul and Silas are walking along, there sees two men that have this this young lady, and she's demon possessed. And in that demon possession, she's able to be a psychic. She's a soothsayer. She can, with that power of the demon, she can, lie to people or try and get people to think that they know the future. Let me read your palm, you know, that sort of thing. And, so this demon possessed slave girl, whom these two owners, they made a lot of money off of her because of her ability, her demonic ability to, deceive people. And, he saw her victimized, this psychic, this slave, to men and to Satan to be set free in the name of Jesus Christ. So Paul's heart, after a few days of this, Paul's heart was stirred within him, and he commanded the demon to come out of this unbelieving demon possessed, psyche. This past week, we had a a phone call from Pamela, and a dear friend of hers was being accused of being demon possessed. And her son, who claimed to be a believer, was coming over with a priest the next day or two, and Pamela's already made friends with her neighbor across the street. And her neighbor across the street, her name is Mary. You could pray for her. Mary is, has to stay in a wheelchair, and she's not able to have all the freedom that she once had. So her son and and daughter are overseeing her, but her son goes to church and is going to school to be something or other at this church he goes to. And and so he says, I'm gonna bring over a and she suffers with depression. Pamela had said that. The lady had suffered with depression throughout her life, but she's a believer. And some of us as believers will will suffer. That might be part of what Paul's tent stake. He a messenger of Satan that was buffeting him. Headaches, really bad headaches and things that can affect your equilibrium, that can affect your, you know, your frame of mind. Unable to even sleep and all. When you have sleeplessness, that affects everything else with the chemistry of your brain and everything. And so, and that can happen. That's that doesn't mean she's a defeated Christian and demon possessed. And so the son was getting a priest and the priest was gonna come over and and exorcise this demon that was in her. And Pamela called me and Kathy and says, the other night and says, what do I do? What do I do? You know, what's going on here? And I said, well, first off, is she a believer? Yeah. She's a believer. Well, she can't be demon possessed and can't happen. And so I had her go to Matthew 12 where the religious leaders accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. And Jesus said, how can Satan cast out Satan? A house divided against itself can't stand. Well, there's a lot of Protestant churches. In this particular church, I don't wanna say its name because we have one in our community. They have what's called deliverance ministries. And in these churches, these protestant churches, in their deliverance ministry, I might be accused of having a demon of chocolate obsession, you know? Or the demon of obesity, you know? And it's not, you know, I'm putting that food down my mouth, but it's not my fault. I'm dem I got a demon, the demon of chocolate, and and I can't stop. And and so they make up a demon for every little which way, and now we need help to somebody to get rid of that demon of anger, that demon of this, that demon of that. And, man, they make a lot of money off their, I told Pamela to check out to see if they have deliverance ministries at that church, and she said, yeah, they do. And, it was kinda strange that the son would reach out to a a Catholic priest to come and do this, you know, and you're thinking the exorcist and all that, and take the holy water and throw it on him, sizzling and all that. And, bad memories. But but in any event, as we ministered on to Pamela, then she ministered on to Mary. Mary was confident in reading Matthew 12. She boldly said to her son, I am a Christian. I cannot be demonically possessed. The Holy Spirit's in me. And, so back off. And he did. That priest didn't come over and she had confidence. And so think of the fellowship of Pamela and Mary now. They're gonna meet couple two, three times a week and just read God's word together as Mary's a sit in. And so what what a blessing as Pamela was used of God to bless us here, and then now she's moved to Las Vegas area. And she's only been there a short period of time and she's already ministering to folks there. And so I hope I hope Mary's son gets on track. I hope he finds a bible teaching church if truly he's serious about wanting to serve the Lord. And so what a blessing that is. But this little girl, this young gal, she needs to be set free, and the apostle Paul at a certain point in Acts 16 there, he he lets her know, lets these guys know that this demon possessed slave girl, he's gonna deliver. And so he did, and and it it created a huge fervor in that city as these two guys went to the magistrates and began to complain about these Paul and Silas that had come there, it took away their their ability to make money, just like the silversmiths in in Ephesus when the apostle Paul was being used to the Lord, people come to Christ, and they weren't getting into greatest Diana of the Ephesians, basically two hours, chanting and chanting and chanting. You you affect people's pocketbook. You affect their ability to use religion to deceive people and make money off of it. They're gonna come out swinging. They're gonna come out angry. So they grabbed hold of Paul and Silas, and they brought him for the magistrates. They stripped him. They beat him, and then they gave him over to what we know as the Philippian jailer. And they went into the jail Paul and Silas having been beaten for just delivering a young girl, a slave girl, being demon possessed. I mean, it's crazy. You go into a park to pray. You go in front of abortion clinic to pray. You're wanting to save lives and you're arrested, you know, in Canada. How how absurd. You share the gospel with people who are living lifestyles of sin, and you give them a confidence that in first Corinthians six, and such were some of you, and you prove and you show that no matter where you are in that list in first Corinthians six, that you can be washed, that you can be sanctified, that you can be justified, that you can be delivered. Now Now we're talking about an unbeliever, living a lifestyle of an unbeliever. They can be delivered from the world of flesh to the devil. They can be delivered from the power of sin that's, taken hold of them as they practice sin. And so whether you're practicing adulter in the world, God can save you and make you pure. Whether you're a practicing liar or a thief or lesbian, homosexual, covetous, whatever you are in that list, and such were some of you, but you are washed. Aren't you so thankful that your past lifestyle, that it doesn't have any bearing on who you are today in Christ Jesus? If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, all things have become new. But check this out. You as a Christian mom and dad, you might get in trouble if you try to convince your son or daughter who are confused now about their gender, you can get in trouble for trying to convince them, no, you're born a boy, you're a boy. You're born a girl, you're a girl. Or deliverance ministries, from the standpoint of of, trying to save people out of out of these lifestyles. And so, we don't have a deliverance ministry for Christians. The holy spirit's the word salvation means deliverance and healing. If you're saved, you're delivered. You're delivered from the past penalty of sin. You're being delivered, Romans six, from the power of sin, sin shall not have dominion over you. It's a choice you make. You may have been a slave once before, but you're not a slave now. You've been set free. He came to set the captives free. And in the future tense, you're saved from the very presence of sin in the future as God completes this work that he's begun. Paul's heart was flooded with joy each time he thought of the Philippian jailer. The night God brought the house down with praise. So Paul and Silas are there. Their feet are put in stocks. The magistrates, the courts, all the heavies, you know, told the jailer to keep them. And, and then you know the story. These prisoners, they've heard a lot of crying. They've heard a lot of whining. They've heard a lot of maybe you've heard a lot of whining. They've heard a lot of complaining, but they never ever heard two beaten prisoners at midnight begin to rejoice and sing unto God. It was incongruous. It was an oxymoron. It was crazy. What's up with these guys? This is nuts. And they were mesmerized. They were captivated. God got their attention and and the holy spirit began to move upon each of them. And then an earthquake happened. And when the earthquake shook the place, the chains came off of all the prisoners. They're bringing the house down. And the Philippian jailer, he awakened, and he had his knife. He's ready to kill himself. And Paul says, no. No. No. Don't do that. Everybody's still here. Nobody's left, including us. And the Philippian jailer's just blown away, like, how could that be? This goes against, you know, human behavior. Your greatest instinct is survival. Your greatest instinct is self preservation. Why are all you still why do you all still remain here? Because of the rejoicing. Because of the joy of the Lord. They've never seen that quality of life, that quality of the spirit. Whole lot of us have seen falsehoods. We've seen the clown shows. We've seen the hype with the lights and the smoke and the appeals and But how many of us have really tasted and seen that the Lord is good? And experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of his resurrection, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If we look at the fruit of the spirit, which is love, and then the adjectives describing that love in Galatians five of joy, peace, meekness, self control, long suffering. These are the qualities of a spirit filled Christian. And that's the goal of a pastor. The goal is to get the people spirit filled. Because my job is so easy when you're spirit filled. It's the holy spirit covering you, speaking to you, helping you, helping you to grow. All I'm to do is to feed you the word of God, and then the Holy Spirit brings the word of God to your understanding, and you grow some more. And once you've once you've tasted that, you don't go for the bologna sandwiches anymore. And if you brought bologna to the picnic, that's alright. That's right. Some bologna's good. Or PBJ's, they're wonderful. But I'm amazed at how preyed upon these predators, the way they prey upon people and their vulnerabilities and their ignorance and taking advantage of people. For what? For money. Making merchandise of people like that little slave girl. It breaks my heart because there's so much more that God has for us. And so you think I'm crazy for a lot of things over the last few years that I stand against, particularly deception. There was a season where I had to stand really firm against the psychotropic drugs. And I went to the pastors, and I began to ask the pastors at a pastor's meeting, you know, what are you guys doing about this? They claim there's a serotonin imbalance, and you know, and I ask questions. I say, well, what kind of chemistry is created when I worship the Lord? What kind of bursting in my head happens when I get my eyes off myself and begin to worship Jesus? Somebody strap me in. Somebody strap me in and tell me because all I know is that when I'm filled with the holy spirit and I begin to worship the lord, it's a totally different ballgame than to be looking within and going over the bills and anxious and worried and all that. And why why do I wanna neutralize myself and watch my spouse or a family member go through horrific physical ordeal, and I never even shed one tear. Because I'm past feeling now. I'm numb. I've been numbed by pharmaceuticals. Now, how am I ever gonna get a person like that to sing with their whole heart unto Jesus? How are we ever gonna set them free? And the pastors told me, you're not a doctor. You just preach the gospel. Why? Because the pastors and the pastor's wives were on them. It was a trend in the church a few years ago. Then later, the pharmaceutical companies admitted, we have no way of determining serotonin levels. It's all subjective. It's not physiological. We just made a lot of money off it. And the churches were duped. Why? Because the churches were preyed upon because the people didn't know the joy of the Lord. Why? Because they weren't being taught the word of God, they weren't being fed, they were preyed upon. And the last thing I wanted was to succumb to those lies and give in to these lies and miss out on what God has for me. I don't care how dark it is outside. I don't care how many days a year it rains. I don't care how oppressive it is. I can be imprisoned, I can be whipped and beaten, and I can overcome because I'm gonna worship my Jesus. And if that's not our Christianity, we should pack it in and go somewhere else. Quit playing games. We either have a god like that or we don't. What are they gonna do during the tribulation period? What kind of sorcery are they gonna bring to the people who can't cope? What kind of pharmaceuticals? In Revelation eighteen twenty three, the rich men, the globalists, the pharmaceutical companies, through their sorcery, they deceive the nations. What kind of sorcery? What kind of occult belief system mixed with drugs? You and I, we we don't want demons deceiving our minds. We don't wanna invite demons in to deceive. We have the holy spirit. His heart's flooded with joy. The quality of life of being in jail, being hit. He brought the house down with praise. The men, the jailers, family, all one to Christ. Look at that. The Philippian jailer was gonna kill himself. Paul tells him to stop. Paul shares the the gospel with him as the guy cries out, what must I do to be saved? And Paul said, go knock on 40 doors, do 15 push ups, write me a check for a $100, and come back and I'll tell you what's next. That's religion. Religion makes a system where you get in their system and the priests, the pastors, whoever they think they are, they keep you from the true riches which is found in Christ. And they give you a bunch of dog and pony shows and things to jump through to try and alleviate that pain, that gnawing that's inside of you. When Christ, getting to know Jesus, sets the captives free. But they they don't need they don't want that because that would ruin their business model. So you come here and you pay us and we'll pray for your relatives in purgatory. And if you come long enough and pay enough, we'll get them out of hell, or we'll get them out of purgatory before they go to hell. And we'll those of you that just can't stop sinning, we'll we'll give us some money and we'll give you indulgences. We'll let you go out and out on the town and indulge yourself. And we'll check with the man upstairs and make sure it's okay that that we'll intercede for you, you know. Huge religious, deceptive means of trying to alleviate guilt in the minds of the people. And Martin Luther, who's a priest and a lawyer, he's steeped in this religious intoxication, and he's going up the stairs on his knees. And the Lord reaches down and gives him ears to hear, the just shall live by faith. And Martin Luther, he's transformed, understanding justification just as if I've never sinned is by grace through faith alone. Not through religious exercises, Not through trying to keep the law. Trying to perform. It's believing. So what must I do to be saved? The Philippian jailer cries out. Paul said, one word, believe. Believe. And not only you, but your whole household. And so the Philippian jailer, he takes and he believes, and then he he begins to wash the wounds of Paul and Silas and brings them home to his house, and his whole family gets saved. Ain't that amazing? Look at the rejoicing in that. Look at you're looking back ten years to when it happened, and your mind is not going back to Lystra that you got stoned and how unfair that was. Your mind's not going back to and magnifying, boy, I got beat, man. I got beat so bad there. That one guy, he hit me six times straight. You know? That isn't what you're advertising. That isn't what you're focused on. You're focused on people got saved. And the Lord put a song in our heart, and the Lord elevated us above those circumstances, above the pain that we are experiencing. Because I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. In Philippians two twenty. Right? We're gonna get there. You're already crucified. You're living that life of the resurrection that he prays about in Philippians three ten. You're there already. It's a life of resurrection. It's a quality of life that other prisoners that are there, they've never seen anything like that. And they've done all the drugs. They've done all the alcohol. They've done all the sinning to try and fill the pain and the emptiness within their heart that God made in each of us that only Jesus can fill. Only Jesus can satisfy. So these guys are honest about their condition. They've never seen something like this. This isn't phony Christianity. This isn't the channel forty Christian television station with the big hair and all the makeup, you know, running and everything. This is real. Remember those days? Do they still do that? God, was crazy back when they do that stuff. Crazy. Embarrassing. You know, you tell people you're a Christian, they're like, Yeah. When I get home from a party, we turn the TV on and those crazy Christians around there. We get stoned just so we can watch and laugh at them. That's my friends told me. That's what they thought of Christians. How embarrassing. So the rejoicing, the memory of the stripes and the beating, paled in comparison. The rejoicing that took place in our hearts. Jesus said, I say unto you that likewise, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents more than over 99 just persons which need no repentance. Has God been faithful in your life? Is your confidence in him? Will he bring the house down through you? Will he lose the chains of bitterness? Will he lose the chains of discouragement? Allow God to work within the prison he has placed you in. It wasn't an accident that Paul and Silas were going to prison. God placed them there. It's not an accident that that you're sick. It's not an accident. A lot of these things that you face, this adversity you face your whole life, it's not an accident. God ordained for you to raise a prodigal child. God ordained for you to come out of The home you were raised in wasn't an accident. God knew you could reach a whole lot of people with similar circumstances, with similar backgrounds. In the same way he saved you, he can save to the uttermost. Allow God to set you free in your mind and in your heart. Are you a prisoner in your own mind? The devil condemning you? Telling you you can't trust God. Look how he failed you in the past. Look how he failed you when you were a child. Look how he failed you in that first marriage. Look how he failed you. How can you have joy? How can you rejoice? How can you trust God when? That's what the devil does. He reminds you of your past. But Paul's looking back ten years and he say, man, I'm rejoicing. Look what God did in spite of all that the devil tried to do to stop us. Isaiah twenty six three says, thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. Why? Because he trusts in thee. Keep your mind stayed on Jesus, and he'll keep you in perfect peace. Don't put your eyes on the wind and the waves, Peter. You'll sink. Keep your eyes on me. You can walk on water. Rejoice in the Lord, oh ye righteous, for praise is calmly for the upright. Psalm thirty three one. Praise the Lord with the harp. Sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of 10 strings. Sing unto him a new song. Play skillfully with a loud noise. For the word of the Lord is right and all his works are done in truth. One of the things we tried to do when we had the Roxy was have just nights of worship. Just nights where we praise and worship the Lord no matter what kind of baggage you're carrying. You know, just leave it outside and come on in. Let's just worship the Lord. Let's get our eyes off of ourselves, you know, and onto Jesus. And I read some commentary about Forrest Frank at the Tacoma Dome the other night, and people were doing just that. They were just worshiping, praising the Lord. He has a lyrical content and a focus upon Jesus. And boy, how uplifting that is. How amazing it is when we as the body of Christ come together and put our trust in the Lord, our confidence in him. The source of joy is confidence in Jesus. Confidence from our past. Secondly, confidence for the present. You have confidence for the present. No matter what you're facing now, is your confidence in Jesus. You will experience joy if it is. For your fellowship, verse five, in the gospel from the first day until now. So Paul's heart flooded with joy as he thought of the faithfulness of God in sending Epaphroditus, a saint from Philippi, who brought a gift to the apostle Paul. So the apostle Paul, he couldn't always make tents. He couldn't always, you know, underwrite his own ministry and the ministry of others as an itinerant pastor, pat you know, planting churches. There were times where he received offering, he received support from other churches that that he labored in. The workmans worthy of his hire, Jesus said. And and so a contribution was delivered by Epaphroditus. So the Philippian church shared in the gospel by supporting Paul financially. Paul rejoiced in the faithfulness of God in meeting his needs. And he's gonna describe in chapter four, but my God is able to provide all of your needs. Boy, I have to look at needs versus wants. I got a whole lot of things I want. And if I'm honest with you, when I look to my past, as a pastor here in this community, I went bankrupt. God didn't provide for me. I lost four buildings to foreclosure. I had bill collectors. I had it it was it was a demonic storm. The worst day, the worst season. I had five people close to me die at the same time that could have helped me. God removed anybody that could help me. So for me, looking back and having confidence in God for joy, in the present tense, can I trust him? Do I have confidence in the present tense based upon what happened in the past? I hear cliches where God guides, he provides. Well, what about when he doesn't? What about when he takes it all down, allows the devil to take it down? Well, now I have to go to Job and I have to say the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Naked came I in the world, naked I'm gonna go. The Lord giveth, Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name I can't reconcile it. I don't understand it. I wasn't dealing fentanyl. I wasn't asking people for money. I wasn't a criminal as far as I know. So what do I do? I trust the Lord. I rejoice. I take it day by day. And I say, you know what? He met my needs. We we got our we got our motor home working the other day and I moved it over onto our property and we lived in that for ten years. God met our needs. God met our needs so that we could continue to pastor this church on very little money, very few people. I think we had 10 people when we came over here. After we had a day where we had 200 adults and 86 kids. And everything was cranking forward. The momentum was moving forward all the time. Well, what happens when it stops? And you can't get it going again. You spend ten years living in a camper in your daughter's yard. And you humble yourself each and every day. And you look at the bigger picture, I get to go teach the bible tonight. The devil didn't win. He can beat on me, beat on me, beat on me, but my wife and I, we we settled it within our hearts. We're in God's will and we're gonna serve the Lord. So when it says, but my God shall supply all your needs, he supplied all of our needs. He gives us health, he gives us fellowship, joy, he gives us a body of believers who will listen and wanna study God's word. But the the imposing upon God, my idea of provision may not be God's idea of provision for me. Paul said, with food and raiment, there would be content. Food and raiment? Food and shelter? Yeah. He gave you shelter, that that motor home, ten years. You went from a 3,500 square foot house that you lived in for seventeen years. You never lived in anything but a house your whole life, and now you're living in a 350 square foot, moldy, unhealthy RV. Really, Rick? You're gonna promote a God like that? You're gonna stand there and say he's gonna provide? That he's a God you can rejoice in and praise and worship? Why would he do that to you? If he did that to you, would he do something like that to me? Paul's not thinking like that. He's not going there. He's looking at in spite of all the adversity, Jesus always comes through. Let your life be without covetousness because he's promised he'll never leave you nor forsake you. You had Jesus, Rick and Cathy. Yeah. We had Jesus. And he kept our marriage together. And he gave us kids and he's given us grandkids and he's allowed us to continue serving him, is a huge privilege. But the way everybody measures their life, no, you're not gonna be able to measure your life that way. You're gonna have to be able to say, well, know, I was beaten. The devil tried to take us out. He tried to take us down. But God was so faithful. He got us through it. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with me. You know? He didn't deliver me from it. No. He caused me to go through it, and he continues to teach me to grow, to mature. Rick, you're never gonna understand the why. It doesn't make sense. So just trust me. I have my reasons. And so we learn to live day by day, don't we? We learn to trust the Lord day by day and savor the moment, savor the time that we get to spend with our with our with our childhood sweetheart. James, the love of his life, the Lord took her home this year. Linda, her her husband, God took him home. I get to thank the Lord every day for another day to be with Kathy. But I'm not guaranteed tomorrow. I don't know what tomorrow holds. But I'm not gonna whine about the past and miss out on today, the great day we're gonna have with grandkids and friends and family and church family. Because that would pull all you down. It would pull all of us down if the pastor couldn't overcome those kinda things in their life. He's got to overcome. He's to be an example of an overcomer. He's gotta have joy in his heart. He's gotta be willing to be a fool for Christ's sake. Paul's heart flooded as he thought of the faithfulness of God in providing for him. His confidence in Jesus Christ to supply all of his needs for the furtherance of the gospel never wavered. He enjoyed continual fellowship with God and with men. The word fellowship is the Greek koinonia, speaks of communion, contribution, becoming one, sharing the things of Jesus Christ with one another. Are you presently confident Jesus will supply all of your needs for what he has called you to do? God provided a fifth wheel this year. Now we've got a nice bedroom, we've got a bath, we've got a kitchen with slide outs, and we've got a little living room that the grandkids come over and hang out and and two TVs, and Kathy's got her her whole thing going again, developing a garden, flowers everywhere, no more coughing, healthy. We made it. We made it. We got through that trial. We're in a new season. Who knows what God has next, but God is faithful. We can trust him. He's always been there. Whole lot of people abandon you. Whole lot of people bail on you when when you go through something like that. You're like a leper. They they can't they they can't understand what's happening. It must be your evil. We gotta get away from you because if that's catchy, we don't wanna catch it. And then other people gravitate toward you because they're people of sorrow. They've been through lots of sorrow and they recognize the pain and they understand, they empathize. To them, it's not strange. To them, their life has been filled with a lots of circumstances and things that don't make sense. But it's that faith you have in Jesus. It's that rejoicing and joy and that indomitable spirit within you that refuses to give up, refuses to compromise, refuses to give into the world to make life easier. You've come too far to give up now. Let your conversation, Hebrews thirteen five, or manner of life, be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he has said, will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Hasn't the fellowship been from the first day until now? Hasn't it been sweet that Jesus is your portion forever? He's promised he'll never leave you nor forsake you. Jesus was in that RV with us. Jesus was there the day Bill died of a massive heart attack. Boom. Gone. Kathy's dad. Jesus was there when Marlene got dementia, Kathy's mom, and we couldn't be there to nurse her through it. Jesus was with us when my mom died thereafter, when my sister died, when my best friend Andy died, all happening at the same time with all the banging on the door of repossession of vehicles and cars and everything, the lawyers, the appraisers, the realtors, all of it. And one of the lawyers said to me, Rick, it's almost over. I said, what do you mean? She goes, well, you're in the throes of bankruptcy. Once that's finalized, it's over. You get to start over. She's right. They all began to leave me alone, and we got to regroup. We got to find out that the Lord is is there even though there's no pastor I can talk to that that can explain it to me. And then COVID hit. And then I had I had no doubt in my mind what to do. I know exactly what to do because I'd already been through it. I'd already been lied to and deceived by the wicked one. And once I came to understand what had happened, how the state lied and all that other stuff, I didn't understand why God didn't offend me, but I understood how the wicked one can lie to people and take advantage of them and get them to take their eyes off of Jesus. It was simple. I knew the devil's playbook by then. It was easy. Do you think maybe some of what I went through prepared me for the season of COVID? So that I have discernment? So I let go of the world and be able to value what's really important that nobody could take from me? Fear not little flock for it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. In Luke 12, Jesus said, are not five sparrows sold for 2 farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, for you're more value than many sparrows. What's interesting about Luke's account here that Jesus is saying, are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? In Matthew's account, in Matthew ten, two sparrows are sold for one farthing. You get two for one. One farthing gets you two sparrows. Two farthings, we throw one in for free. You get a fifth one for free. Worthless. They're worthless. But not one of them falls to the ground without your heavenly father knowing. Not one hair of your head falls out of your head without your heavenly father knowing. That was number 28. You're down to you're down to 28 hairs now, Rick. Number 28 just fell out. He knows each one. He knows the way that I take, Job said. And then when he stride me, I'll come forth as gold. I love Job. I love his struggle, and I love his victorious spirit, his optimism, his his indomitable spirit. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. He knows the way that I take. I don't know where he's taken me, but he knows the way. And when he's tried me, I'm gonna come forth as gold. I love in chapter 19 where he says, I know that my you don't know a whole lot, but this one thing I do know, I know that my redeemer lives. And he shall stand on the latter day upon the earth. And though after worms destroy this skin, yet in my body shall I see God. He believes in a resurrection. That was Toby, wasn't it? A resurrected Lord. Toby knows too. He knows too. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings is perfected praise. The source of joy is confidence in Jesus. Confidence from our past. Confidence for the present. And thirdly and finally, confidence for the future. Are you confidence of the future? Do you have confidence? Being confident of this very thing. Verse six, that he that has begun a good work in you, that he's gonna perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Do you have confidence in that? Look back to where you were saved, and you got started in that marriage. We got saved, and then we got married, and we're 21 years old. And all those changes that were taking place. And forty five years later, we're still serving Jesus, walking with Jesus, and we we didn't have a clue at the time where where he was taking us what we're gonna do. But man, he's brought us this far. He's gonna finish that work. He's not gonna throw me aside like I'm a worthless piece of trash, you know. God God plays for keeps. He he purchased me with his blood. I'm blood bought. It was his idea to save me. I I wasn't looking to be saved. He saved me, intervened. He revealed himself, and he gave me a wife. My childhood sweetheart, he saved her later, and she's really saved. My wife is really, really saved. Can you say that? Do you know that? Maybe you're married to a spouse that's really not saved. Mine's saved. I know that I know that I know that woman's saved because she wouldn't have lasted forty five years with me if she wasn't. She wouldn't have lasted the first year. She tells me every now and then it's like that Disney ride, Uncle Toad's wild ride or whatever, you know? Confidence for the future. Being confident in this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The day of Jesus Christ is the rapture. That's what that is. Confident, having been persuaded from God's faithfulness in the past to save you, his faithfulness in the present to preserve you. He's preserved me. He's given me good health. He's given me a function in the body. He's given me purpose in life. He's provided all the food. I I've never lacked a meal. All that time, all that crate never lacked a meal. Eat good. I'm gonna eat good today. And a lot of laughter. You know, I'm finding out that Kathy's actually starting to think I'm pretty funny. I'm actually I'm actually starting to get her to laugh more. I mean, she said, oh, you just think you're funny, you're not funny. Now she's actually laughing at my jokes. What's up? It's taking a long time. Little Isaiah says to me, papa, what was your first job? And I said, well, I I used to do newspapers. I I did newspapers for a while, honey. And and I was, how old were you, papa? And I said, I was about sixth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade. And well, what came after that? Well, I used to go catch the golf balls that the golfers hit over the fence, and I'd run back to them and sell them to them for a 0.25. And, I'd stand there and and do that. What happened after that? And, I said, well, honey, after that, I got my big break. And Kathy started laughing because after that I became a janitor. And she laughed. I got her to laugh. But when I got that janitor job, I was loved by the guy that gave me the job. And I cherish my grandma helped me get a job at a Anthony's Fish Grill on La Mesa and be a busboy and a dishwasher, and I cherish those jobs. I cherish how God provided for me and helped me through a very dark and difficult time in my life. And I had so many people that God sent into my life, to help me, to just be kind and allow me to work, allow me to win their love and their their favor and and their respect. From God's faithfulness in the past to save you, his faithfulness in the presence to preserve you, are you confident he will perfect you? That God will finish what he started? In Romans five verse 10, for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, the day of Christ, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. And he that has this hope in him, this confidence, he that has this hope, the hope of what? The hope of the rapture. The hope of Jesus coming again in that day of Christ for you and I, that we're gonna be perfected. We're gonna have our new glorified bodies, and all the mistakes, and all the sins, and all the warts, and all the bad things that Rick did, they're just a past. There there is no record. No record of wrong. It's all gone. East to the West. And I got a new glorified body. You, a new glorified body. Perfected in him. No longer struggling in Romans seven. The things I wanna do, I don't do. The things I don't wanna do, I do. You're living in chapter eight. You're living in chapter eight, the life of the spirit. Confident that all things are working together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. That neither height nor depth nor principality nor power nor things present or things to come that nothing can ever separate you and I from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the master potter, and we're the clay, and he's making you and I into a beautiful vase, a vessel of honor. God is transforming and changing you and I, that when we see him, we're gonna be like him. Yes. We're gonna know even as we are known. For we now see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. God sees the finish you and I. We're his poema. We're his workmanship, his work of art. Jesus said, you didn't choose me, but I chose you and ordained that you bring forth fruit, and that your fruit would remain. And you're my sheep, and my sheep hear my voice, and I know them. And my sheep, they follow me. You have ears to hear. God has chosen you, and he's not letting go. No man's gonna ever be able, nothing's gonna ever be able to pluck you out of God's hand to separate you from God's love. God's gonna perfect. God's gonna complete that work that he's begun in us. And boy, that's cause for rejoicing, isn't it? I can't trust in Elon Musk. That Neuralink, it's not gonna work. There's nobody else I can trust in. And I love that my life is whittled down to that, that my life is simplified in that Jesus who said destroy this temple in three days, I'll raise it up. That he was crucified, buried. He raised himself from the dead, proving that he's God. And the immutability of God, it's impossible for God to lie. He's promised me that he's coming again. He's promised me that he's gonna complete this work that he's begun to me. He's not gonna abandon me. He's not gonna abandon you. Jesus will never divorce you. You are the bride of Christ. You're the apple of his eye. You're the the object of his love. The one he loves. The one he gave himself for. And he's begun a work in you. And he's gonna complete that work. And you can rejoice. Let the rejoicing start now. Let's pray. Father, thank you. Thank you for the day that we're having, Lord. And we pray now, that you would bless, that you pour out your Holy Spirit, that you would help our love to be real, to be genuine without wax, that we minister one to another. Thank you for all the food, the time of fellowship, the prayers, the love. Thank you for being our savior. Thank you for being the great physician. And Lord, we just commit this this rest of this day, the picnic and all into your hands. And before we go, Lord, we pray just as the apostle Paul and Silas and Timotheus as they went down to the river, the riverside with Lydia there and her family. Lord, we pray that if there's anyone here today that doesn't know you, that father you would open that door, that they'd have ears to hear, that they respond to your love. That Lord, we have the privilege and the blessing of watching them be saved by you, and the privilege and the blessing of baptizing them today. So bless, we pray now. Anyone here this morning, you don't know Jesus, you don't have a relationship with Jesus, but you want to. You can be listening on Facebook, you can be shouting your heart screaming, I want Jesus. I'm tired of being sick and tired. I want the quality of life, the life of the spirit, the life of the apostle Paul and Silas and so many others who faced adversity, and yet rose above it because of the Holy Spirit, put in a song in their heart, a song in the night, a song when when when things seem so bleak and dark, but God shines ever brighter. His voice ever louder than the lies of the wicked one. Anyone here this morning? Just lift your hand up. We wanna pray for you. The bible says, as many as received him, to them gave heed the power to become the sons of God, even of them that believe in his name. Do you believe? Do you trust? Do you deposit your trust? Your complete trust in his finished work, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, and soon return? Is that your heart? Is God flooding you with joy? There's joy in heaven among the angels when just one sinner repents. When one turns from their sin and cries out to God, God be merciful to me a sinner. What must I do to be saved? Believe. Anyone here this morning, just lift your hand up. We wanna lead you in prayer. Father, thank you for the saints. Thank you for the saints that you've done here today. Lord, we pray evermore that our lives bear fruit, that we would have the blessing of leading many to Christ, telling them our testimony of who we were before we knew you, before you revealed yourself to us. And Lord, if you can change us, if you can transform and change us, you can transform and change anyone. Keep that work going, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
About This Podcast
Calvary Chapel Bremerton - Sunday Service
Listen to Rick Beaudry, Pastor of Calvary Chapel Bremerton, teach the Word of God cover to cover, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. Be edified and built up in your faith with solid Bible teaching. New episodes on Mondays in the Pacific Standard Timezone.
