June the 17th, 1973, in Richmond, Virginia.
Ministry is being given to Brother Stephen Kong.
The opportunity of being together.
And as we look to him, we trust
that he will not fail us.
May we read from the book of Acts,
chapter 16, verse 6.
Acts, chapter 16, verse 6.
And having passed through Phrygia and the Galatian
country, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit
to speak a word in Asia, having come
down to Mysere, they attempted to go to
Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not
allow them.
And having passed by Mysere, they descended to
Troas.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the
night.
There was a certain Macedonian man standing and
beseeching him and saying, Pass over into Macedonia
and help us.
And when he had seen the vision, immediately
we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding
that the Lord had called us to announce
to them the glad tidings.
Having sailed therefore away from Troas, we went
in a straight course to Samos, Phrygia, and
on a morrow to Neapolis.
And things prophetified, which is the first city
of that part of Macedonia, a colony.
And we were staying in that city certain
days.
And on the Sabbath day, we went outside
the gate by the river, where it was
the custom for prayer to be.
And we sat down and spoke to the
women who had assembled.
And a certain woman by name Lydia, a
seller of purple of the city of Caetera,
who worshipped God's word, whose heart the Lord
opened to attend to the things spoken by
Paul.
And when she had been baptized and her
house, she besought us saying, If ye have
just need to be faithful to the Lord,
come into my house and abide there.
And she constrained us.
The letter to the Philippians, chapter one, just
part of one verse.
Chapter one, verse 21, the first part.
For, for me to live, is Christ.
For me to live is Christ.
Of all the letters Paul wrote to the
churches, the letter to the Philippians is the
most intimate letter he wrote to a church.
In writing this letter, he was able to
open his heart without any reservation, without any
fear of misunderstanding.
He was able to just pour out what
is deep in his heart to that church
that loved him so much and which he
loved so much.
I think it is a most satisfying experience
if you are able to open your heart
to some people without any fear.
You know, that is a tragedy in this
world.
We are not able.
We are afraid to open our hearts to
one another.
Not because we do not have the need.
Not because we do not want to.
But because we are afraid.
If we shall open our hearts to anybody,
we are open to misunderstanding.
We are giving ourselves away.
And people can take hold of what we
have said and turn against us.
And for this reason we become all very
wise.
We try to be very polite.
We try to be very diplomatic.
We try to say a lot without saying
anything.
And that is the way in this world.
And of course, we know this is very
unsatisfying.
Deep down in our heart we know how
satisfying it will be if we can open
our hearts to one another.
We can trust one another.
We can believe one another.
And we know we can trust one another
without any fear, any reservation.
And this was the case between Paul and
the church in Philippi.
And for this reason this letter to the
Philippines has a very unique place in the
Bible.
There in this letter Paul was able to
share with these saints in Philippi his secret.
You know there are actually two letters in
the New Testament.
Two letters written by Paul that reveal Paul.
One is the second letter to the Corinthians
and the other is the letter to the
Philippines.
But there is a difference between these two
letters.
In the second letter to the Corinthians Paul,
in a sense, revealed himself to the Corinthians.
But he was forced to do that.
But in the letter to the Philippines he
voluntarily and willingly did it.
In the second letter to the Corinthians he
revealed himself more as a servant of the
Lord, as a minister of Jesus Christ.
In other words, it was his ministry being
questioned.
His ministry being challenged.
And because of that he was forced to
reveal himself as a minister of Jesus Christ.
But in the letter to the Philippines he
was not trying to reveal what his ministry
was.
He was revealing what his life was.
Not the ministry, but the person.
Not the work, but the man.
So if we want to know Paul as
a man of God we have to read
the letter to the Philippines.
Because there he opens up to us his
secret of life as a man of God.
So I do hope that probably this time
when we are fellowshipping together we may be
able to share something, receive something from him
of that secret.
Now first of all I think tonight we
will go into some background because I think
this will help us in our understanding.
The Philippi was a Roman colony.
You know the city Philippi was founded by
Philip, the king of Macedonia, father of Alexander
the Great.
He founded this city Philippi in 368 B
.C., before Christ.
Why?
Because Philippi was so located that it had
a strategic value for the communication between the
east and the west.
The road from the east to the west
passed through Philippi.
There was a range of hills and at
that place there was a pass, there was
a bridge.
So Philippi had a very strategic place in
the west.
And when the Romans conquered the world at
that time they made Philippi a Roman colony.
And you find in the book of Acts
that we have just read Philippi a Roman
colony.
Now what is a Roman colony?
The Roman colony is an invention.
A very clever invention of the Romans.
Why?
Because they conquered the whole world at that
time.
Their territory spread wide and broad.
And the Romans in order to govern such
a big empire they built roads to connect
all these places.
So the Romans were famous for their roads.
But with only roads was not sufficient.
So along the roads at strategic points of
these roads they built colonies.
Now but a Roman colony is very different
from the sense of colony in the modern
sense.
Now in the modern sense we think of
colonies say some country they colonized an uncivilized
place.
And that is a colony.
No, in the Roman sense it is entirely
different.
In the Roman sense that was the way
they established a colony.
When they found that there was a strategic
point on the Roman road they were set
a colony there.
And the way they did it was they
were sent out approximately 300 families.
Families of veteran soldiers.
People who had fought for the Roman Empire.
People who had done something for the Empire.
And as a reward in one sense they
were sent out about 300 veteran soldiers with
their families.
And they were sent them to that strategic
point.
And there they were set up a Roman
colony.
In that colony everything was Roman.
It was a small Rome.
A miniature of Rome.
The language they used in that colony was
the Roman language.
The dress they dressed themselves was the Roman
dress.
The customs that were kept were the Roman
customs.
And even the magistrates were called by Roman
names.
Everything was Roman.
It was just a tiny Rome in some
part of the world.
And being a Roman colony those who were
the colonies they were Roman.
They were so proud of themselves being Roman
they refused to change what it was their
pride to be Roman.
Now that was a Roman colony.
And whenever something happened one colony will reinforce
the other colony very quickly because of the
roads that connect these colonies.
And that was the way the Romans ruled
their Empire.
Now brothers and sisters it is for this
reason you find Paul in writing the letter
to the Philippians he mentioned this matter that
our citizenship is in heaven.
In other words we are heavenly colonies on
earth.
God is establishing his kingdom on earth.
And how does he control his kingdom?
By establishing his colonies here and there.
And even though we are colonized in Richmond,
Virginia this is a heavenly colony.
This is a small heaven.
This is a small kingdom of God here.
And brothers and sisters as if Paul reminds
us now don't forget that those Roman colonies
they were so proud of themselves being Roman
they refused to be diluted they refused to
be changed.
It was their pride.
How about us?
We are colonies heavenly colonies on earth.
We are representing heaven.
We are representing the kingdom of God on
earth.
But are we proud of our citizenship being
in heaven?
Or do we try to hide our citizenship?
Or are we trying to imitate?
Trying to copy?
Trying to squeeze ourselves to the mold of
this world?
Or are we here to maintain that heavenly
position that heavenly manner that heavenly language that
heavenly atmosphere?
And this is what is behind the letter
to the Philippians.
In other words, Paul was trying to counsel
them and encourage them now don't be discouraged.
You are a heavenly colony.
Maintain your color.
Don't be afraid.
And brothers and sisters in the strategy of
God He will establish a colony here and
a colony there.
And that is what the church really is.
A church here, a church there.
In different localities.
In different places.
Why?
Strategically located to bring the kingdom of God
to this earth.
Paul moved into Philippi.
It was not planned by Paul.
You know, after Paul had revisited Phrygian and
Galatian countries during his first missionary trip Barnabas
and Paul they went through these Galatian countries.
And then during his second trip he revisited
these churches.
And after he finished visiting them he was
traveling west.
But in his heart he was thinking of
south.
And that is Asia.
Now Asia here is not Asia as a
continent.
It is Asia as a Roman province.
Asia at that time was a Roman province.
Very densely populated.
So after Paul had finished his trip through
the Phrygian and Galatian countries he was thinking
of going to Asia to preach the gospel.
But strangely the Holy Spirit forbade him to
go to Asia.
And being forbidden to go to Asia naturally
he lit his eyes towards the north.
Bithynia.
It was another Roman province densely populated.
The need was great there.
So he was thinking of going to Bithynia
to preach the gospel and again the Spirit
of Jesus forbidden him.
So he had to travel straight west until
he came to Tuas.
And Tuas was a city by the side
of the sea.
Of the Aegean Sea.
So he came to Tuas that is to
say he came to the end of his
road.
Because beyond that will be the sea.
And it was that night God gave him
a vision.
A dream.
And he saw a vision of Macedonia was
calling him for help.
Come over and help us.
And the next morning when he began to
share his dream, his vision with his fellow
travelers and at that time of course we
know there was Silas there there was Timothy
there and also there was Luke there.
Because the beloved physician Luke joined them at
Tuas.
If you read carefully the book of Acts
you will find this is where the we
began.
Instead of they, the we began.
In other words Luke was there included.
So when he shared his vision, his dream
with his fellow travelers with his fellow companions
we all decided.
We all saw that it was the Lord.
The Lord was calling us to go over
the sea into Macedonia.
Brothers and sisters you know this is a
very important move of the Holy Spirit.
Why?
Because this was the first time the gospel
was brought to Europe.
Macedonia was Europe.
Before that time the gospel was more or
less confined to Asia as a continent.
And certainly the gospel had not been preached
to all Asia.
There were many places where the gospel was
still not preached.
For instance Asia the Roman province.
This near the Roman province.
These were the places that Paul was thinking
of going and preaching the gospel.
But the Holy Spirit did not allow him
to do that.
Not because there was no need.
But because God had his own timing.
Later on you will find Paul would spend
three years in Ephesus.
Ephesus was the capital, the center of Asia
as a Roman province.
In other words God had his own timing.
Not because of the need.
But because God's strategy.
God's timing.
You know sometimes we are guided purely by
need.
If we are guided by need you will
find very often the needs are so great.
How can you fulfill all the needs?
It's very difficult to decide.
But if we are governed by God by
the direction, the guidance of the Holy Spirit
then the problem is solved.
It is just God's timing.
So instead of allowing Paul to work in
Asia God sent Paul overseas to Europe.
And the gospel was brought to Europe.
It was the initiation of the Holy Spirit.
Not human planning.
How important it is when we come to
God's work when we come to the things
of God that it should be initiated by
God not planned by man.
And this move to Europe was God's plan.
So Paul and his fellow travelers they came
to Philippi that Roman colony.
First city in Macedonia.
In that colony probably there were not many
Jews because it was so Roman.
In many cities you will find the Jews
had synagogue.
But in Philippi that important city that Roman
colony there was no synagogue.
Now according to Jewish customs if you have
ten men of leisure ten Jewish men of
leisure you can have a synagogue.
Now by men of leisure doesn't mean that
men that do not do any work.
It simply means that men who have who
are willing to devote some time for Judaism.
And in the city of Philippi there wasn't
even ten Jewish men of leisure in that
city.
And because of that there was no synagogue.
Only the Jewish women.
They went outside the gate of the city
by the river to pray together.
There was a women's prayer group.
And very often you'll find the women they
are more interested in spiritual things than the
men.
The men probably are so busy with their
business and there are not even ten men
of leisure.
But the women would like to worship the
Lord the women would like to pray to
the Lord so there was a women's prayer
meeting.
A women's prayer group outside the city by
the river.
So after Paul entered into Philippi as it
was his custom he always inquired.
Whenever he went he would go to the
synagogue first.
Because in his time it was to the
Jews first and then to the Greeks.
But there was no synagogue.
So as he inquired around well he learned
that there was a women's prayer group by
the river side.
So he went to join the women's prayer
group.
He went there.
And as he was there he preached Christ
to these women.
Not only the Jewish women but in that
prayer group there were Gentiles too.
Probably proselytes.
You know during Paul's time there were quite
a number of Gentiles became proselytes.
They were attracted to Judaism because of the
purity simplicity of worship.
Some may be full proselytes.
They even were circumcised.
But others may be proselytes of the gate.
In other words they just accepted the teaching
of Judaism without going through all the rituals.
Now we do not know but at least
you'll find in that prayer group, women's prayer
group there were Gentile women there.
Probably half proselytes.
And when Paul was preaching Christ to this
group strangely enough God opened the heart of
one woman by the name of Lydia.
Now Lydia was from Tyre.
And you know Tyre was in Asia.
Was in the Roman province of Asia.
Now you remember in the book of Revelation
the Lord sent seven letters to the seven
churches in Asia.
And one of the churches in Asia is
the church in Tyre.
So this woman came from Tyre.
She came to Philippi.
Why?
Probably on business.
Because she was a business woman.
She was a trader of purple.
Now during those days purple were the most
expensive cloth during those days.
Only the very rich the noble there they
were purple.
And this Lydia was a trader.
Was a business woman seller of purple.
In other words she must be a very
wealthy woman.
She was like a merchant princess.
And the Lord opened her heart.
And she accepted the Lord.
She was baptized in her house.
In other words the whole household of Lydia
turned to the Lord.
And after she turned to the Lord she
constrained Paul and his companions to move to
their home.
He said if you believe that I really
trust in the Lord then you have to
accept my love and my hospitality.
Now that was how it first started.
You know brothers and sisters when you think
of spiritual things God's mind is higher than
human mind.
We were saying out here the Holy Spirit
guided Paul to Europe.
Now certainly he wanted the Europeans to be
saved.
The saints were saved.
The first convert was an Asian.
Now if he wanted to save a nation
why not go to Asia?
He forbade Paul to go to Asia.
And yet when he led Paul into Philippi
the first one saved was an Asian.
How do you explain that?
We cannot explain.
We cannot explain the move of the Holy
Spirit.
His mind is higher than our mind and
his ways are higher than our ways.
We can only bow and worship him because
he is God.
He is God.
The Father and Lady did that.
He did that.
So the first convert, the first believer in
the city of Philippi was Lydia and her
household, Asians.
Then Paul continued to attend that prayer group
because he was still trying to help these
women to know the Lord.
And as he was going to that prayer
group a slave girl possessed by an
evil spirit, a diviner, followed Paul.
Every day she would follow Paul and the
companions as they were going to the prayer
group and she would cry out on the
street and say, now these people came from
God and they were telling you the salvation.
As if even the devil was helping preaching
the gospel.
Actually the devil was trying to confuse the
issue.
So after a few days Paul's spirit was
disturbed.
God does not need any help from the
devil.
And when the evil spirit seems to be
helping, actually he was trying to distort, to
confuse the whole issue.
So finally Paul, when he was disturbing his
spirit, he turned back and in the name
of the Lord Jesus cast the evil spirit
out.
And the slave girl was free.
But her master saw that their chance of
making money was lost.
Why?
Because this slave girl had the spirit of
Pythia or Python.
Now Python is a Greek God.
A Greek God, the revealer of sins.
So evidently with this evil spirit she was
able to tell fortunes.
She was able to reveal secrets.
And through that her master got lots of
profits.
And when the evil spirit was cast out,
the profit was ended.
May we say the second one who was
delivered in the city of Philippi was a
Greek.
She was not a Roman.
Because Python was a Greek God.
So evidently this girl was a Greek.
The first one was an Asian.
The second one was a Greek.
You know that that is the way of
God.
Now how about the third one?
Then you find because of this these masters
of the slaves, seeing that their profit was
finished, they began to arouse, stir up the
mob.
Saying that these men were Jews, they came
to proclaim something that we Romans could not
accept.
See?
A Roman colony.
We were Romans.
We cannot change.
Now these are Jews.
They are telling something that we Romans ought
not to do.
And because of that Paul and Cyrus were
taken.
And they were beaten.
And they were put in the dungeon.
Brothers and sisters, without being questioned.
Without being judged.
The Roman law was supposed to be a
just law.
And yet here you find Paul and Cyrus,
they were beaten.
And they were insulted in the dungeon.
But the life of God, the life of
Christ, was so ascendant in them at midnight
they began to sing, to pray, and to
pray.
Usually when it was dark at midnight you
felt your pain more.
Because everything was so quiet.
There was no distraction.
But here you find the life of Christ
was so ascendant in these two men.
Instead of moaning and groaning and murmuring, they
were singing, praying, and praying.
And as they were doing that there was
an earthquake.
A shake.
All the doors of the jail were open.
And suddenly the jailer woke up.
And he saw the doors open.
He thought all the prisoners had escaped.
So he was going to commit suicide.
And Paul cried out, we are all here.
Now it is again very strange.
If the doors of the prison were open,
the prisoners surely would have taken the opportunity
of escaping.
But nobody escaped.
Why?
They were all listening.
They forgot they were in prison.
So the jailer came in.
He saw the act of God.
And even a Roman jailer void of conscience,
he fell before these two men and said,
what shall I do?
And they told him, believe on the Lord
Jesus.
You shall be saved and your house.
And he took Paul.
He believed.
And his house opened.
He took Paul to his own home, washed
their wounds, and set the table and served
them.
And his whole house was full of joy.
Now here you find the third one was
a Roman.
Why?
Because all the petty officers in the Roman
government usually come from the middle class of
the Roman citizens.
So here you find a Roman.
Now the church in Philippi was formed by
God saving people out of Asia, Asian, Greek
and Roman.
It started out as an international.
But of course, it is not international because
when all these nationals were brought into the
body of Christ, they were a new creation.
Neither Jews nor Gentiles.
The wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ
is it reaches every nation.
Whether you are an Asian, whether you are
Greek, or whether you are Roman, the gospel
of Jesus Christ reaches every nation.
And here you find a demonstration in the
city of Philippi.
The church in Philippi was made up of
different nationals.
And yet, when they come together, there was
neither Jews nor Gentiles.
It is Christ.
Look at these three men, three persons.
Lydia was a wealthy woman.
She had religious background.
Not only an Asian background, but Jewish background,
because she might be apostolate.
Her social status was pretty high because she
was a woman of wealth.
But the slave girl, she had no status
whatsoever.
No status.
And here you'll find the Roman gather.
He, she, was, he, was, probably in the
middle class.
So here you'll find people of different social
status.
And yet God is able to save people
of all status and put them together as
one.
Neither barbarians nor citizens.
Neither born men nor freemen.
Neither Jews nor Gentiles.
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision.
But Christ is everything and He is in
all.
Now that is the meaning of the church.
And in the very beginning you'll find it
is demonstrated in the church in Philippi.
Not only out of different nationals but out
of different social status.
But when God put them together there is
no more these status.
They are all one in Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters.
And dear brothers and sisters, this is what
the church is.
And from the very beginning of that church
you'll find love is expressed in practical ways.
Lydia after she believed in the Lord Jesus,
immediately she started to serve.
The gaoler after she trusted the Lord, he
immediately started to serve.
He washed the wounds of Paul and Pilate.
And served them at the temple.
And you know, the church in Philippi had
a good beginning.
A marvelous beginning.
In other words, it started right.
And because of that you'll find this church
was with Paul throughout his life.
In Paul's letter to the Philippians, when many
years later he wrote from the Roman prison,
he said from the very first day up
to now you have been in fellowship with
me with the gospel.
They are of one mind, one heart with
Paul in the gospel.
And no wonder, Paul loved that church so
much.
And they loved Paul very, very much.
Now that was the beginning.
We mentioned in the very beginning that in
this letter to the Philippians Paul opened his
heart.
Now what was the occasion?
Paul came to Rome as a prisoner.
Even though he was allowed certain liberties.
He was allowed to live in his own
rank apartment.
He was allowed to receive visitors.
And yet he was a prisoner in Rome.
He was not free.
He was always attached to a Roman guard.
Came to a Roman guard 24 hours a
day.
And the church in Philippi heard about this.
So they sent a man one among them,
Epaphroditus.
They sent Epaphroditus from Macedonia to Italy, to
Rome.
Not only to bring a gift to Paul.
Because Paul was in prison he must be
in need.
So they thought of him.
Not only they prayed with him in spirit
but they ministered to him in practical ways.
So they sent a gift to Paul to
supply his need.
But more than that.
When they sent Epaphroditus with the gift to
Paul they sent Epaphroditus to Rome to serve
Paul instead of them.
In other words they were not able to
serve Paul while he was in prison.
So they sent Epaphroditus there as their representative.
Not only to bring the money there but
to stay there and serve Paul as a
servant.
Now you see the love there.
The love of the church in Philippi towards
Paul.
They really loved him.
They wanted to do everything they could to
relieve his suffering.
They even sent a person there to serve
him.
And you know traveling during those days was
very difficult.
Not like today.
You can take an airplane and in an
hour or two, a few hours you are
there.
But traveling in those days was very very
difficult.
Probably he had to travel through land and
through sea.
And there were all kinds of dangers.
So after Epaphroditus arrived at Rome, he was
sick even almost until death.
Probably because of the danger of the traveling
you know.
He arrived but he was so sick he
almost died.
So when Paul saw the situation you know
when a person was sick naturally he would
be thinking of his own home right?
Of his own people.
So naturally Epaphroditus when he was sick, naturally
he would be thinking of his people in
Philippi.
And Paul was such a person.
He was never one who only thought of
himself.
He was so considerate.
He was always thinking of other people.
For himself of course.
It would be nice in Philippi.
Not big problem.
But some problem.
And Paul used this opportunity to help them
solve that problem.
And lastly which is actually the most important
point.
And that is they loved Paul so much.
And Paul loved them so much.
So Paul wanted to share his secrets with
them in fullness.
And that's why we say this letter to
the Philippines is so important.
Because there Paul is opening his heart and
tells us his secret of life.
As you read the letter to the Philippines
I believe you will be struck by the
content in that letter.
Think of Paul's environment.
He was a prisoner in Rome.
And more than that an unwilling prisoner actually.
Why?
Because he was forced by the Jews to
appeal to Caesar.
The Jews wanted to murder him.
And even the Roman magistrate, the Roman government,
the Roman governors were trying to please the
Jews.
And Paul was forced to say I appeal
to Caesar.
As a Roman citizen he had the right
to appeal to Caesar.
In other words to be judged by Caesar
himself.
But in doing that to the Jews it
might look as if he was accusing his
own brethren.
Opposing his own brethren in the flesh.
So this was something Paul was forced to
do and he was most unwilling to do.
So when he arrived Rome, you remember, immediately
he gathered those elders of the synagogue together
and told them that he was forced to
do that.
It wasn't that he had anything against the
Jews.
Against his own brethren.
He was an unwilling prisoner.
But he was forced to do that.
So you know the condition of his mind,
of his heart.
And while he was in Rome as a
prisoner, though he was given certain liberty and
yet he was attached by chain to a
Roman god 24 hours a day.
He was never alone.
Always a Roman god was chained to with
him.
And the Roman gods took turns.
So the whole procuring, the whole imperial gods
heard the gospel because they took turns guiding
him.
You know and being together they cannot help
but hear him.
But from the human sense, if you have
no privacy wasn't that a great suffering?
Absolutely no privacy.
Not only he did not have liberty but
he had no privacy.
And furthermore while he was in Rome, he
was still able to receive visitors and preach
the gospel.
But certain Jewish Christians, when they saw Paul
was preaching the pure gospel of grace out
of jealousy, they became very zealous to preach
the gospel of the law and grace.
And by doing that they were in conflict
with Paul.
And they added suffering to it.
Because Paul thought it was a distorted gospel.
And then of course he thought of all
the churches.
His heart was with them.
They had their problems.
And yet he could not help them personally.
Because he was bound.
Brothers and sisters, when you think of all
these things, you know Paul was in a
very bad situation.
Humanly speaking.
Can you think of any situation that you
might be in?
Any circumstance that you may be in?
Worse than Paul's situation.
Well friend, we are in a situation like
that.
Even less than that.
What will be our reaction?
What will be our manner of life?
Probably we will begin to moan and groan
and then murmur and even rebel.
Why God allow all these things to happen
to me?
I haven't done anything wrong.
On the contrary, I'm serving the Lord with
all my heart.
And I got into all these problems and
he, he doesn't, he doesn't, he doesn't relieve
my problems.
Solve my problems.
Allow me to be changed here.
And yet you'll find in the letters to
the Philippines there was such an ascendancy in
spirit.
The situation was there.
It hasn't changed.
But Paul rose above the situation.
He did not live under.
He always lived.
Brothers and sisters, God does not, has not
promised.
As Sister Flint wrote, God has not promised.
God always believes.
God has not promised that.
It's not because you are the Lord.
Therefore your whole situation environment will be so
rosy and smooth.
There will be no problem.
There will be no difficulty.
God will solve every problem immediately or without
allowing any problem to come to your life.
God has not promised that.
Probably your situation will get worse.
Because He has delivered you out of the
power of darkness and has translated you into
the kingdom of the Son of God's love.
So you'll find the enemy is out for
you, looking for you.
But how are we going to live here
on earth?
What is the secret of life?
How can we live above and not underneath?
Paul tells us the secret.
He said, for me to live is...
If anybody can live by his own willpower,
by his dynamic personality, by his own strength,
by his own knowledge, by his own determination,
that man will be Paul.
Because Paul was actually a genius.
You may look at Paul from every direction
and he was a genius, no doubt.
No doubt a genius.
Even before he was converted, when he was
full of process, you'll find that he was
a man of leadership.
Of leadership.
Even though he was young and he had
already advanced more than his contemporaries in Judaism.
He was on his way up.
Way up to be THE Pharisee.
He was a man with will, with power,
with strength, with talent.
If any man can live by his willpower,
by his dynamic personality, by his strength, by
his knowledge, certainly that man will be Paul.
But did he live that way?
Could he live that way?
You'll read Romans chapter 7 and he himself
confessed that he couldn't.
To will is with me, but to do
is not with me.
I know it.
I'm determined to do it and yet I
cannot.
I have tried and tried enough but until
one day he said, O wretched man that
I am.
Who can deliver me from this body of
death?
It's a revelation to Paul.
You know sometimes we think of Paul in
such a way.
Now some people ask me this question actually.
They said after Paul was converted on the
road of Damascus, did he have any problem
like we have?
He seemed to be such a marvelous Christian.
As if after the revelation on the road
of Damascus he was just going ahead victoriously
and there was no defeat in his life.
Not so.
You'll read Romans chapter 7.
He was just like us.
After we are saved, we know that we
shall follow the Lord.
We know we shall please the Lord.
We know we should do everything glorifying the
Lord so we start out to live it.
Now I'm a Christian.
I'm going to live a life like Christ.
With good intention.
With strong determination.
I'm going to live like Christ.
Because this is what a Christian is.
This is what a Christian ought to be.
So we try.
We all try.
Try our best.
Try again and again.
Brothers and sisters, until one day we realize
that to live like Christ is impossible.
It is not for any man to live
like Christ.
There is only one man who can live
like Christ and that is Christ.
Even Paul cannot live that.
Now if Paul cannot live that, can you?
Can you?
Can I?
Recently I was asked a question, but I
didn't have time to answer.
Somebody asked a question when I was in
a conference two weeks ago.
The question was Paul had a strong will.
Therefore he could be a victorious Christian.
Suppose a person without such a strong will,
can he overcome?
As if everything depends upon our will, you
know.
But Paul himself said, to will is unique
but to do is not unique.
It's not a matter of willpower.
It's not a matter of determination.
It's not a matter of your knowledge.
It's not a matter of your strength.
Sooner or later you will discover that your
strength, your knowledge, your willpower, your determination are
not able to compete with the law of
things and of God.
You cannot live like Christ.
Nobody can.
I think it is a great revelation.
When Paul said, Oh wretched man that I
am.
Will we call ourselves a wretched man?
If anybody is to call you a wretched
man you will argue with them.
You will say, Why do you call me
that?
Am I not better than that?
But one day Paul began to see he
is a wretched man.
Brothers and sisters, before you believed in the
Lord Jesus, you did not feel so wretched.
You could do anything you liked, even some
pleasures of sin.
But after you are saved and you want
to serve the Lord, you want to follow
the Lord, you love the Lord, you want
to please Him.
Brothers and sisters, when you try to please
Him, follow Him, you begin to discover it
is a very wretched life.
But you are caught.
If you know that beforehand probably you will
cry in the first place.
You won't become a Christian in the first
place.
But now there is no way back.
No way back.
But you know, in our spiritual life you
will come to a day when you will
begin to realize how wretched you are.
You know, some people today feel that Christian
life is just a singing life, is just
a laughing life.
You have to laugh all the time, you
have to show a face that is round
all the time.
Then you are a good Christian.
Well, thank God for that.
God will let you have that maybe for
half a year.
But after that, probably you will begin to
grow wretched.
I'm afraid.
Actually, when you are growing wretched, you are
glowing in the Lord.
You may think you are going backwards.
Why is it when I first believe in
the Lord I can sing all the time?
I'm so happy.
But why is it I'm so wretched today?
Brother and sister, you're growing.
You begin to see that for you to
live and by live to you now means
only one thing.
It is not just to live on earth.
No.
For you to live means only one thing
and that is to live to the glory
of God.
To live like Christ.
For me to live is Christ.
That is the only way.
Christ is not only our purpose, our goal.
He is our way.
Our way to that goal, to that purpose.
We all try to live it and we
become wretched.
Then the revelation comes.
Oh, wretched man that I am.
Who can deliver me from this body of
death?
And you know this verse has a background.
Paul was thinking of a Roman punishment.
If a person murders another person the Roman
punishment was to tie the cloth of the
murderer to the murderer face to face, body
to body, hands to hands, feet to feet
and just tie them together and let the
decayed corpse, the poison of the decayed corpse,
gradually poison the living person and put him
to death.
That was a Roman punishment and Paul was
thinking of that.
Oh, wretched man that I am.
Who can deliver me from this body of
death?
I am tied to a cloth.
I cannot get away from it.
It is poisoning me.
It is corrupting me.
And who is that cloth?
Yourself.
How can you get away from it?
And brothers and sisters, it is at that
point that the positive side of the revelation
comes.
I am crucified with Christ.
No longer live I but Christ who lives
in me.
And I now live in the flesh.
I live by faith.
The faith of the Son of God who
loves me and gave himself to me.
You see, that revelation came in two parts.
One is negative and one is positive.
The negative is to see, oh, wretched man
that I am.
I can never make it.
I better give up.
And the positive side is he has already
made it.
I am crucified with Christ.
Who can deliver me from this wretched man?
I am crucified with Christ.
He has.
When he was crucified on the cross, I
was there.
He did it.
So now, who is here?
It is not I who lives.
It is Christ who lives in me.
I now live in the flesh.
I am still in the flesh.
Living in the flesh.
That is, in this body.
But it is by faith.
I do not live by sight.
If I look, it may be I.
But I live by faith.
I am crucified with Christ.
It is Christ who lives in me.
And brothers and sisters, pause it.
Thank God.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In other words, for me to live is
another person.
God has never meant that we shall live
by ourselves.
God wants us to live.
But to live is not me.
It is Christ.
How often we try to live.
The more we try, the more wretched we
are.
And all the time, as if the Lord
is trying to tell us, you don't need
to live.
You have already died.
I am living.
I will live if you are only nothing.
For me to live is Christ.
Not for me to live is to be
like Christ.
Not for me to live will be Christ.
But for me to live is Christ.
God has all we need to do is
to believe and to act.
It is Christ.
So the secret of Paul's life as a
Christian, as a man of God is Christ.
His secret is not that he knows some
secret formula.
You know, sometimes we are always seeking for
some secret formula.
Especially with Chinese medicine.
It's always secret formula.
We are not looking for secret formula.
No.
But the secret is a living person.
Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is an open
secret.
It is yours.
It is mine.
We all have this secret.
The only thing is to realize that this
is Christ.
And if we really realize this, know that
it is Christ.
Is there any wonder that Paul was able
to live above his conditions?
No wonder.
This is natural.
What else can you live?
This is the only way to live.
Brothers and sisters, here you'll find Christianity is
not giving us a standard and put us
under law.
The bondage of law.
Christianity is to give us Christ as a
standard as well as the way for that
standard.
It is Christ.
So this is Paul's secret.
So I do hope that as we start
with the letters to the Philippines as Paul
shares himself with us that we can really
get hold of that secret.
It is Christ.
Can we have some praise?