Philippians (Lesson 37)

All right.

Now I bet somebody told you I'm Brother James, and this is the preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast.

Very, very happy that you tune into the program today.

It would be lonely here without you.

We'd be speaking into the air and wasting our time and wasting our breath.

But we thank God that He has put it in your heart to join us today, and I hope that God will enable me to be a blessing to you as we study together from the third chapter of the book of Philippians.

It seems like we have been in Philippians chapter 3 for a long, long time.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

I'm uh flipping the pages of my Bible here trying to uh get some sort of a notation to see how long it's been.

I don't see that, but it's quite okay.

I'm enjoying the chapter.

I hope you're enjoying the chapter.

I hope you can stay with us for the full half an hour as we study this portion of God's Word together.

I just want to go back and pick up a couple of notes from the margin of my Bible that I just didn't see any way to work in during prior broadcasts, and then we'll pick up the text with our section of materials for today.

The Bible says in Philippians 3 13, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do.

This one thing I do.

Now I don't know who said it, but I heard it said and wrote it down in my Bible.

It is better, it is better to do one thing than to attempt fifty things.

Many of us, many of us accomplish nothing because we try to accomplish too much.

Find out what God has enabled you to do, find out what God has gifted you to do, find out what God wants you to do, and devote your time and your energy to that one thing, and you'll fare much better than you would if you were trying to accomplish fifty things.

The Bible says in Psalm 27 4, one thing have I desired of the Lord.

That will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

You see what he did?

He picked one thing, he had one desire in his heart, and then he sought after that one thing.

That's Psalm 27 4.

It really matches the Philippians passage.

And then in Luke chapter 10, Luke chapter 10 and verse 42, here the Bible says, But one thing, one thing is needful.

Luke 10 · chapter mention Luke 10 · chapter mention

Now Jesus had already answered and said, Martha, Martha, thou art careful about and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful.

And Mary had chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.

So one thing done is better than fifty things attempted.

And there's a curious thing as well in that verse, Philippians 3 13.

I I've always thought it odd.

But Paul has just spent the first half of the chapter recounting his former life, and then he says, forgetting those things which are behind.

Now isn't that a curious thing?

That he just had a discussion with you about things God told him to forget that he couldn't forget.

You know, we use we use that very term in that same way in our conversation today.

Somebody somebody'll uh uh take somebody out for uh for a meal, and after the meal they will go through this little mock uh debate, this uh practiced ritual of arguing over who's going to pay for the meal, both of them secretly hoping they lose the argument.

But then uh then a man will uh man number one will pay for the meal for man number two, and man number two will say, you know, I I owe you, and man number one will say, Ah, just forget about it.

Now, he doesn't expect that man to have no memory of what has been done, but he wants that man to live without being bothered by or negatively affected by that memory.

That's how the phrase is used, or the term is used here in Philippians chapter number three.

God knows we can't erase our past life from our memory banks.

But he wants us to live in such a way that those things do not have any binding negative effect upon us.

I'm glad he said that, aren't you?

I'm glad I can forget about what I can't forget about.

God sure is good to us in so many ways.

Then another note here in verse 14, I press toward the mark for the prize, the high calling of God.

A study was done at one of our Western universities, and it was found that forty-six percent of people who die die within three months after their last birthday.

Thirty-one percent die four to six months after their last birthday.

Fifteen percent die seven to nine months after their last birthday, leaving only eight percent who die in the three months preceding their birthday.

It seems that having a goal to shoot for keeps people going.

And that's certainly a biblical truth.

All right, the Bible says in Philippians 3, verses 18 and 19, this is a parenthetical statement.

Philippians 3:18

It is our text and passage for the program today.

The Bible says in these verses, for many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

That is huge.

That is huge.

First of all, these enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit said in Philippians three eighteen, they are many.

Not a few.

Not one or two, not a handful, not a hundred.

There are many enemies of the cross of Christ.

Now when you make a statement like that, the enemies of the cross of Christ begin to criticize you for being negative and begin to speak against you for not having the proper level of tolerance and not not being all inclusive and the rest of that garbage.

They can say whatever they want about me.

I want my life to line up with the Word of God.

And the Word of God here says there are many, many enemies.

Do you have any enemies?

If your enemies are Bible preaching Christians, you're on the wrong side.

If your enemies are Bible rejecting religious people, you're on the right side.

Where are you today?

For many walk, and the whole passage is about our walk.

Some people are walking in a way that we should follow.

We are to walk in a way that pleases the Lord.

We are to walk as Jesus Christ walked, but many, many walk contrary to the Word of God.

Secondly, of these many who walk, comma, of whom I have told you often.

Now I want I want you to listen very carefully, please, please listen very carefully.

I am fully aware of the day and time in which I live.

I started preaching in nineteen seventy-seven.

In those days the opposition came from cults and members of extremely liberal groups who were Christian in name, but held to none of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.

These decades later, I am telling you that my principal opposition as a preacher of the Word of God comes not from cults who are diminishing in size, not from liberal groups who really don't care anymore what anybody preaches, they're all just wrapped up in politics.

But the criticism today comes from people who claim to be fundamental Christians and who claim to believe the Bible.

Their criticism is not leveled against men who deny the virgin birth, which they profess to believe.

Their criticism is not leveled against men who deny the deity of Christ, which they profess to believe.

Their criticism is not leveled against people who teach that one can be saved by works, while they themselves claim to believe that salvation is by grace through faith.

No, they spend their time criticizing preachers who preach all the Bible, which includes those portions of the Bible that warn against, that cry out against, that censure false teaching and false living.

That's where we are.

We have lived to see the day when people oppose what they claim to believe, and I'll show you why before we finish these two verses.

It's clear in the passage at hand.

The Bible says the Apostle Paul, serving God, ministering in the will of God, directed by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, bearing fruit by virtue of the blessing of his Savior, often, often spoke against bad living, spoke against false teachers, spoke against those whose lives were not exemplary of biblical Christianity.

He did so often, often, often as any decent minister should.

And now tell you even weeping.

Do you understand this is not a hateful man?

Do you understand this is not a man who wants to hurt people?

This is not a man who has some personality problem, some axe to grind, some overwhelming bitterness of soul and spirit.

He's just doing what a man has to do.

If he's going to represent God in a world that opposes God, if he's going to stand for truth in a world that despises truth, this is what he's got to do.

He doesn't have a choice in the matter unless he wants to become one of the enemies of the cross of Christ rather than one who ministers the truth of the cross of Christ by word and by example.

So with weeping, he often warns of those who are walking so as to be a bad example rather than walking so as to be a good example.

Now they are the enemies.

Do you understand that?

They are the enemies.

They don't have a different way of looking at things, they don't have a different way of doing things.

They are the enemies.

I understand with all this pathetic, effeminate preaching.

I understand with all this money loving, carnal compromising that goes on in Christian radio, Christian TV, Christian churches, Christian bookstores from morning noon to night, I understand you think Christians shouldn't have any enemies.

I understand that.

But you are wrong.

You are supposed to have enemies.

Who are your enemies supposed to be?

Those who do not walk in the way this book of Philippians teaches someone is supposed to walk.

Do you understand that?

Do you get that?

They are enemies.

You say, well, I go to church with they are enemies.

Well, my preacher, they are enemies.

Well, the people that were on before you on the radio, they are enemies.

If they are telling you that you can walk contrary to the word of God, contrary to the will of God, and at the same time be living as Christians whose example one should follow.

God said they're enemies.

Now notice, listen very, very carefully to what I'm about to say, because this is the key to the whole matter.

Please, please, some of you right now are so bothered because you're trying to reconcile your humanism with the Word of God.

You are trying to cling to your humanistic interpretation of Christianity, which is not Christianity, that you you're you're not listening, you're not paying attention.

Now hear what I'm about to read from the Bible.

You say, preacher?

I love Jesus.

I didn't say you didn't.

I didn't say they didn't.

My friends love Jesus.

Didn't deny that for a minute.

The Bible doesn't say they are enemies of Christ.

The Bible says they are enemies of the cross of Christ.

Did you see that?

They are enemies of the cross of Christ.

Now would you would you listen very, very carefully, please?

This book of Philippians is written to show that Jesus' death on the cross was the end result of his complete and total self denial for the benefit of others.

This book of Philippians teaches that Jesus Christ went to the cross and died, having made himself poor so he could make you rich, having made himself of no reputation, so that you could have eternal life.

This entire book of Philippians is written to show you that Jesus Christ denied self for others, that real Christian fellowship and real Christian joy comes from denying self for others, and we are to follow the example of those who are following Jesus in such a way as to deny self for others.

Got that?

Got that?

Okay, now if a minister comes along and writes a book on how you can pervert and misquote a prayer from first chronicles so you can get more stuff for yourself, he might love Christ, but he is an enemy of the cross of Christ.

If somebody builds a twenty five thousand seat megachurch and has a nationwide television ministry by twisting and perverting half verses of scripture to convince you that God wants you rich and to turn the Bible into a support book for humanistic self-love, that man might love Christ, but he is an enemy of the cross of Christ.

I am telling you what we have in our day and age is the fact that the vast majority of ministers who call themselves Christians may well indeed love Jesus, but they are preaching and teaching a Christianity that is not Christianity at all.

They are teaching self love, self exaltation, self service, self glorification, and they have turned God into man's servant and man into God's master.

And the Bible says you need to be warned, they are the enemy.

How about that?

The Bible says this.

Whose end?

That's the people, teaching you to reject the crucified, self-sacrificing others' first life that Jesus lived, whose end is destruction.

Now, this may be the destruction of the false teachers, it may be the destruction of those who follow them.

But what's the problem?

What's the problem?

Whose God is their belly?

There's your prosperity gospel.

There's your prosperity.

Prosperity doctrines.

There's your build the bigger garage, buy the bigger car, get the bigger boat, get the bigger bank account, just rub the bottle and make three wishes, and the great God of heaven will jump at your command.

They love their belly.

They are materialistic, they are physical, they are carnal.

They are not spiritually minded whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame.

Look what the Bible says.

What the Bible says.

All honor and glory should go to Jesus Christ, and we should be ashamed to give ourselves any honor and glory, because that would be to rob the only one who is worthy of honor and glory of the glory to which he is entitled.

That's what the Bible says, that's what the Bible teaches.

Now, let me ask you something.

If, if Jesus Christ deserves all the glory, and if I as a man should surrender all my glory and be ashamed of the life that I've lived and the things that I've done, who are these men coming along and telling you to exalt and magnify and glorify and lift up yourself rather than, rather than, giving all the honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, I'll tell you who they are.

They are enemies of real, true, genuine Bible Christianity.

You don't believe their end is destruction.

You watch what happens when a person who has been taught that self-love is Christianity and self-worth is Christianity doesn't get their way in a church.

You know what they'll do?

They'll destroy their testimony, they'll destroy their pastor, they'll destroy that church if they can.

You say, why would they do that?

They've been taught to worship their belly and to give themselves glory.

And if you don't go along, they will wage war against you.

You know why?

They're the enemy.

They're the enemy.

You better get that.

You better believe that because it is absolutely true.

I wish it wasn't so.

I hate to have to say these things.

I really do.

But they are absolute facts according to the word of God.

Whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame.

Now look, who mind?

What's this whole book of Philippians been about?

What you ought to have your mind upon.

Whose mind got it?

Whose mind is on earthly things.

That's what they mind.

That's what they think about.

That's what they're interested in.

Earthly things.

Now when you meet people whose preaching centers around earthly things, all of this prosperity garbage, when you meet people who would have you live as though acquiring wealth and property and possessions and play toys was the ultimate thing in life.

Do you understand that those earthly minded people are the enemies of Bible Christianity and you should heed the warning of the Word of God and stay as clear of them as you possibly can.

Now, my friend, that's what the Bible says, that's what the Bible teaches.

You don't have to follow the Word of God.

You can instead follow men who are enemies of the Word of God.

But I would urge you with all my heart to line up with the Bible and not be harmed by those who don't want biblical Christianity.

Amen.

Alright, this is the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast.

Our time is just about gone.

You may contact us in one of two ways.

By mail at 872 Glenwood Road.

That's in D Land, Florida.

D Land, Florida.

The zip code number is 32720.

And that mailing address is in the United States of America.

Or you may stop by without leaving your home and visit us on the internet at JamesKnox.com.

The men that put together, men and women that put together this website, they do a great job, they really do.

And you'll find it a real uh help and a real blessing, all kinds of materials there to help you in your Christian walk.

Now, this radio program, by the grace of God, is heard it many different times over many different radio stations, so many that we don't know when it is aired on the station you're listening to right now, but somebody there does, and they're going to tell you when the preaching of the cross radio broadcast will be heard again on this station.

We hope you'll join us then and invite a friend to listen with you.

Until that time, I'm Brother James.

May the Lord richly bless.