Effectual calling by God's super-abounding grace (Quality: Average, Incomplete)

[0:00] The text is read in the official Philippians chapter 1 and verse 3 is 7.

[0:16] The official Philippians chapter 1 and verse 3 is 7.

[0:28] The text is read in the text.

[0:56] It has just reminded me that this is one of the prison epistles of our own great apostle.

[1:10] And of his death was occasioned by the manifestation, the very sweet love manifestation of their high regard for him.

[1:28] And by his own spiritual children in the church at Philippi.

[2:08] And of this epistle to them. I want to initially make observation of the elevated and exhorted frame of spirit that the apostle Paul was in as he wrote this beautiful letter.

[2:38] You are a congressman, I am sure, with the extensions that he used. He was indeed sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

[2:56] He was divinely indulged. He was near the eternal kingdom.

[3:08] And this is how he describes his spiritual experience. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

[3:22] Now could you be happier than that? And then he continues and further exhales the wonderful blessing that the Lord has sent as a compensation to him in his inconstrated and somewhat solitary experience as a prisoner in Rome.

[3:52] He says, He says, For I am in a strait that wits too. What is this strait for?

[4:04] Having a desire to live apart and to be with Christ which is dying. Beloved friends in this congregation, has that been your portion this year?

[4:24] Has the Lord endorsed you to that I decree that you have felt an intense desire to depart and be with Christ?

[4:43] Which is the Father. Which is the Father. The preacher to the glory of God is not ignorant of this. So you may say of him that he was almost in heaven.

[5:03] In those ethereal regions with the heavens opened and the glory of God is radiating heaven.

[5:16] And he was caught up to God's throne. Oh sweet, happy, vital, lecture, spiritual experience.

[5:32] All the people of God are taught and inhabit this. That he had a persuasion and a revelation from the Lord that to abide in the flesh was more lethal for the church of God.

[5:55] Well, under those sweet, sacred and heavenly influences, he writes this epistle.

[6:09] And I just want, by the divine help and gracious God, to look at the antecedent verses before we come to the stairs.

[6:24] That is very briefly, because there are some very sacred and beautiful voice that we may elucidate.

[6:38] This one, poor and democidate, the servants of Jesus Christ. He did not just say poor, but poor and democidate.

[6:53] See the sweet love union together between the Lord's servants. Just as we feel to the Lord's servants here this night, poor and democidate.

[7:10] He did not elevate himself. They were joined together in one gracious and blessed spirit.

[7:23] All unto others. The servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are in Philippi, with the bishops and demons, to the whole of that church.

[7:39] The saints. The saints. The saints. I'm afraid of that term, saints. You say, well, I can never aspire to that title, saints.

[7:55] Well, who is a saint? A saint sinner. A redeemed God.

[8:06] A saint sinner. A saint sinner. A saint sinner. The saint. And that's for some of you. That you are washed.

[8:17] That you are sanctified. That you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

[8:31] so a saint is a redeemed sinner, a saved sinner a washed sinner justified all these dear saints of God and it is obvious in their life and conversation that the Lord has tailored them with that sweet, gracious saintly spirit and he includes the bishops and the deacons the elders, the ministers and the church officers so that this epistle is clean or he doesn't need anyone out of the Lord's people the ministers need the Lord's help the deacons need the Lord's gracious help and he shows such love to them and also to his dear people grace shines in this and then his salutation grace be unto you and peace from God our

[9:48] Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ flowing from his passion and his accomplished work priestly work of atonement the fruits of that rich atonement grace and peace I just pause to make this observation many times in the salutation of the apostle we have this very significant term grace unto you and peace be multiplied now if the

[10:52] Lord has made us gracious if he is blessed with grace he is able to double it and tread with you he can give you three times as much grace as you have today is that attractive you may come back to the preacher and say and how does the Lord effect such a glorious thing in the hearts of his dear people you know thy sweet sacred efficacious vital communion with himself they took knowledge of Peter and John that they have been with Jesus and if if you've been with Jesus the result is you have more grace and the further and greater experience of divine peace blessing and salvation and as it is my favorite yet unworthy lot to stand here in the Lord's name before you this evening and as well as the

[12:16] Sartre know this is my prayer for the dear pastor and the leader and the children of God in this block and you who are visiting ministers and friends my prayer for you is grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ then he makes this very significant and sacred observation and now I thank my God upon every remembrance of you always and every prayer of night for you all making requests with joy for your fellowship in the gospel for the first day until now so it's obvious that this church had a premier position in the heart of the apostle and that they had been a great joy to him not a grief to him

[13:41] I have said in taking the funeral service of some of their beloved members and predictor I have paid this tribute to their memory and have been able to do that I have said no they have never caused me or us one moment of pain or anxiety or grief or sorry they have been consistently from the first day until their death a source of inspiration and comfort and encouragement and joy and it is not as the tribute now

[14:42] I'm sure you wish by the grace of God to emulate such an example it's a wonderful blessing you think of what this means to a gracious pastor and deacons to have those who are a source of real joy and comfort and strength and peace to them consistently from the first day until the history so this is something to exhibit as being a fruit of the grace of God but what a fame being being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ I feel that perhaps it will be incumbent upon me to endeavor to enter a little into this valley of divinity the

[15:54] Lord begins a good work in every one of his dear people work of Christ and sometimes it is through the ministry of the gospel the Lord begins with them and how shall we describe the beginning the Lord by his flesh and spirit pulls upon the face of their souls and breathes into their souls the breath of eternal life the Holy Ghost who has quickened them and regenerated them in wells them they are brought to see their ruin and wretchedness their guilt their foul their filthy condition presently when they are stripped unempted and wounded and feel poor lost and done perishing sinners feel ready to perish the dear

[17:12] Lord Jesus is divinely revealed revealed in the gospel it may be an open redemption of his glorious person he may be revealed in his fearless name you may hear of Jesus as the poor emaciated woman did when she reached her extremity that Jesus is revealed and this takes me back to the Lord's day in the morning at home immediately the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed to your soul two things you recognize one is there is an anchor ground or a foundation to now take the anchor ground and the

[18:12] Lord gives your living hope the anchor to your soul and you just cast it in the anchor ground and love and joy and peace begin to flow into your soul a look of divine compassion from his holy countenance you feel in your soul that he loves you you remember the first time when you said to yourself I have been leaving love I cannot understand it or fathom but I have the sweetest feeling that that dear Savior the Son of God loves me with an everlasting bath and of course your heart is broken and melted and you are well that he should look with divine compassion and holy amnesty and infinite mercy and boundless grace and everlasting love upon such a poor sinful unworthy mortal all the heart of that child of

[19:44] God the wonder of it is that the Lord Jesus Christ himself by his spirit in well should now how many here will say yes blessed be God blessed be his everlasting name I know that I have an anchor that is cast within the Bible in his wish atonement in his glorious being in the everlasting love of God in the accomplished priestly work of atonement of the dear redeemer and the efficacious work of the Holy Ghost I have anger and it's within the mile all the safety and security of that soul now it is obvious that he is thinking of

[20:52] Lydia and others because when he commenced to preach there by the other side we have this most wonderful account of Lydia it is a monumental scripture really whose heart the Lord opened no noise but the vital sacred operation of the spirit in her heart now this is the new heart the heart of flesh and what opens that new heart love does it love will open your heart a living faith and the dear redeemer will open your heart with all the wonders of his love to open your heart heart you see that heart is not frigid closed to the

[22:11] Lord Jesus is open and Christ enters his word enters with divine efficacy and almighty power their heart is open wide open to the Lord Jesus is that so with any of you tonight do you feel your heart is wide open to the Lord Jesus come into my heart Lord Jesus there is room in my heart for thee sweet spirit and so this heart was open and this is where we see one term used in verse 7 namely the confirmation of the gospel what happened when the Lord failed him to proclaim the gospel there there was the confirmation of the gospel our brother has received the confirmation of the gospel in the dear one whose heart was opened to attend unto the things spoken by

[23:32] Paul see the Lord opens the heart in his doubt none always opens the heart to the Lord Jesus and so he entered and his precious trove with divine efficacy say and she attended unto the things spoken by sometimes I quote that verse in the hymnal dear Lord the ardor of thy love reproves my cold delights now thy willing footsteps move in thy delightful ways who is not the Lord friends it is done in the twinkling of the eye you might go to the sanctuary with many prayers and in the divine service it is accomplished in your heart on several occasions

[24:43] I have known and when I say known I mean by spiritual intelligence and revelation I have known the precious souls have come into the house of God to be caught in the net and you can contemplate what it must mean to the preacher the cries and moans for the Lord that his ministry would be of such a nature that that child of God would be in that neck before the service ended and on a number of occasions we have had that experience why it's in burying the saints of God and once in particular that is

[25:46] God missing their precious dust to mother earth we will say on a Thursday afternoon and in the divine service following and on one occasion the Lord put this into my heart for if they should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out and feeling the special liberty and unction of the Holy Ghost I said and as the discourse continued I said the Lord has taken his dear child home and where is the mantle formed well I believe that soul was in the neck went back into my best way sacred star and sat down in the chair and waited presently and knocked on the door

[26:52] I said come in he said I'm the one I'm the one be a blessing if some of you were in the same place you don't know young man or young woman you don't know when you go to the house of God if you have a living exercise you may be caught and if you are caught in man net you must not go home until you have before the Lord sought to magnify his name and express your desire to follow him and that's a sweet thing that may be in your home if you have a husband obviously you have the great joy of family worship or if you have a dear friend who is as a brother to you you will undoubtedly have the same family worship you now it may be that in the lesson that the word flows with almighty power into your soul and the things done your heart is opened this is what he did for

[28:17] Lydia and you see what takes place is this the love of God is so great to you and the price of redemption that the Lord paid to redeem you it is certainly to your soul that such love flows his dying love flows into your heart and you're made willing and you're not only made willing in a passive sense you have in the active sense a delight to do thy will oh my God yea thy law is within my heart so it is both passive and active that you are made with you now this soul is not all that however timid I quite expect you are timid and it's not a bad thing it's not better than being garrulous and boast and so on to be timid honest and you may be a few words never mind no you must not draw back see the

[29:38] Lord is working in your soul and thou shalt see greater things than these there are those here that will see greater things than these you have things to be fulfilled well he baptized and see the miracle in that chapter in the Acts of the Apostles how in these cases it was not only one it was their household it was so the household what do you think would you not bless God if he favored you and all your household husband and wife and every one of your children so that you say tonight I believe the Lord has put his divine grace in the heart of every one of our children what an honor do your prayers have been answered there may be much more that you long to see accomplish but say that are you parents who are coming to the end of your days and you have your children and you got a good heart that every one of them are born again what greater blessing could you really have than that and those of you who aren't parents in this congregation night now just pay me to get around from the oldest to the youngest what do you say you believe that every one has been taught by the

[31:29] Lord what a nation so the Lord makes will and he gives you an act to delight in his will it's not a matter of doing something grudgingly this is not accepted it is a matter of doing it with the greatest delight in your soul never mind your age or even your infirmities but I do not intend to prolong this only to name now the Lord performs what he begins that soul will be led on by the Lord to seek that which the ministry exhibits before ravished eyes and hearts and ears and that is the forgiveness of sins the complete deliverance and marriage to

[32:36] Christ now he will be for me the work of the Holy Ghost in this sense is irresistible it is to pray it is vital it is progressive he makes a soul ready for heaven and I remind you because of the little churches and their need he makes a young man ready for the church and for usefulness in that church he fixed him and qualifies him to be a pillar in the church of God maybe to stand in the holy offices or in his will the ministry of the everlasting gospel that he makes you men now he performs this to the day of

[33:38] Jesus Christ you may say what is this then performing it to the day of Jesus Christ it is sanctifying you holy we have laid that beautiful word and such for some of you that she had washed that she had sanctified that she had justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God he will finish the word of grace he will grant you pardon and peace he will give you to know that you have that beautiful wedding garment on your soul he will fill you with his spirit and he will make you ready for him you may say well that is it then surely glory and you see that this is something that

[34:46] I wanted to just mention to you one of the holy functions of the ministry of the spirit is to make the people of God ready for glory it's a overwhelming to think of but it is in your constant attendance and the ministry of the spirit the people of God are made ready for heaven what a sacred word it is that through that ministry you're filled for glory and there's one thing I can say to you and that is and you'll watch it you have watched it the ministry of the spirit you take a Lord's die a complete die that ministry when it comes to the end of the die the amen doesn't leave you out in the wilderness it is a subject that you safe love and that's the feeling you'll get by the time you get to the close you'll feel almost there and that's always the effect of the ministry of the spirit the land you to take home as their exercise so the Lord finishes what he begins but landing one in glory you'll say no surely that is it he will perform it until the day of

[36:34] Jesus Christ let me tell you the consummation of it it will be when at the voice of the archangel the trumpet of God you will now take on the immortal glories of the first resurrection and your glorified soul and glorified body will be united and you'll be called to the merry supper of the land and that's being performed for the day of Jesus Christ what a wonderful thing is that first resurrection it is so in corruption it is raised in glory it is so in dishonor it is raised in glory it is so in corruption it is raised in corruption it is so in weakness it is raised in error it is so a natural body it is raised a spiritual body when you think of it the miracle of it it is so in dishonor raising glory now when those in this congregation and I heard the preaching when that happy day comes think of it where we shall be called the marriage supper of the land and we appointed to feed the flock of God will have our proud rejoice in the day of

[38:36] Christ that we have not run in vain or laid in faith think of it within the Bible to have a proud rejoice now he says even as it is suitable for me to think this of you all why do I think this of you all you will know from the afternoon that this to me was the key word because I have you in my heart and if God has done that the devil and men can never take one out of your heart now I have you in thy heart from the sweetest experiences on the face of here I have you in thy heart a man cannot be a pastor unless he has this

[39:39] I have them in thy heart I believe in the year 1936 in September the Lord did that to me relative to my mother he put them in thy heart so there are no people like and it is a two way denied system the Lord puts the pastor in there I do not wish to speak of myself but I feel that there is much teaching in their sin I can so clearly remember in those very early days some of the old ones the matrons and so on in their bonnets and well taught of God and I can remember one of them calling me one

[40:43] Sunday possibly after the afternoon service and saying this to me in a most loving and gracious way she said I have received you as a servant of Jesus Christ but she said now I have received you in my pastor now that explains it I have you in my heart and he was in their hands and this is an eternal life this is something that is heavenly and divine and everlasting death makes not the slightest impression on it nothing will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord it is never lasting you in him now whilst the order of things for this dispensation will cease or the dispensation so thou cease they are neither married nor given in marriage and resurrection this is a wonderful thing for a husband and wife to be able to look on each other and feel that they are not only one in the flesh but they are one in the

[42:17] Lord Jesus and it is an eternal union in him what do you think to it you want to be numbered with these people now and through eternity so that nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord now look at the mutuality what will you say in as much as because I have you in my heart all your sake now we need to watch and what are you going to watch for prosperity but now I come to just a third stage in the heart where I love in my bonds when they have a special opportunity of manifesting their heart through him and there are two terms here and the defense and confirmation of the gospel you see there are two things with these pastments there's the confirmation in the gospel and there's the defense and it is both extraordinary and beautifully in that chapter 16 as we know next now first look at the confirmation the rise there sit down speak to them that he has now his own look at it the confirmation he went forth and preached everywhere that is where the

[44:08] Lord sent them the Lord working with them and confirming his word confirming his word with signs of him now look preach Lydia and this is the verse and when she was baptized and her household this I find so extremely attractive not only Lydia when the Lord blessed his mother he blessed all the household I don't know how many of her and they are all baptized now there's the confirmation of the gospel that my friends there are two facets there is the defense the defense of the gospel and when the apostle have cast out the spirit of divination from that poor girl and their masters were so added by this it was not long before they were brought to the magistrates and many tried to have they got them and they were thrust into the inner prison their feet made cast and misloved now you've got the two things you see you've got the confirmation and you've got the defense because it was the opposition of

[45:51] Satan well what about it does Satan think that he has achieved anything certainly hasn't Satan is non blessed why because there is a God all mighty because his purpose is right and fast because his decrees when you think of his decrees nothing can frustrate the decrees of God Satan is non blessed I suppose an unprecedented thing in prison now when you think of their bodies especially their backs must have been like a cloud field if you could have seen the dirt the skin on the back you would have looked at the pharaohs that you looked at in the cloud field you looked at their suffering must be intense think fast in a prison

[47:09] I suppose the devil thought well now I achieve something he never does never frustrate the word of God now what happened something that I like to hear God singing now at midnight they prayed and they said praise to God and the reverberations of that melody of music spread right through the prison what these that had been scared in their feet put in the stocks suffering as they are yet listen to the song praises can you hear now that shows you the defense and the confirmation of the gospel the devil is not the now there's an earth rock sometimes the preaching of the gospel is like an earth lake it molds things it overturns things things collapse the work of

[48:26] God is there the kingdom of satan or the power of satan is brought into just a ruinous heat the vile usurpers cast out and of course with this great earth way the foundations of the prison shaken the jailer immediately the stout hearted jailer thinking that the prisoners were escaped and that he comes now to the apostle all he wants to know now about salvation let us just refer to it here he awakened out of his sleep and see the prison the prison doors were open and he drew out his sword and would have killed himself supposing the prisoners had been there the poor cried with a loud voice saying you myself know about we're all here we're all here told for life and spraggling and fell down before the old sailors and all around me what must

[49:41] I do to be say devil you are non lust devil you'll be non lust your power is like you like Jesus rights the Lord God omnibitly brave and they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and my house this is what I so love and he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized in all his straight life now they are for the two things God's ministers must pass through the ministry will be confirmed signs following there will be the defense there will be the opposition of Satan but it will all turn out to the furtherance of the gospel this is the point it will work out to that furtherance of the gospel so he says and confirmation of the gospel ye all are partakers of my grace that is to say that the

[51:03] Lord favors now you take the ministry when the Lord favors his servants grace is poured into their lips and there is a communication of grace to the hearers they partake of grace which is the loving fame of God