Have you been born again?

Amen, brothers and sisters, I invite you to open your Bibles in the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Philemon. It's just before the Epistle to the Hebrews. And welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. It's a blessing and a pleasure to be here with you all and just so that we can hear from the Lord and just hear from his word. May the Lord help us to grow in the likeness of Christ as we approach these scriptures and as the Lord speaks to our hearts.

Before we start the reading, let's just pray. Father, we come before you, Lord, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You know our needy, Lord, we are poor indeed. There's nothing in us that would call your attention, Lord. If you do not speak to our hearts, we'll be lost.

I do need you. My brothers and my sisters need you, Lord. Our friends need you. Help me and help all of us to approach your word with reverence. Lord, speak to us that which is according to truth, Lord, according to your word alone.

Help me, Lord, and bless all of us. Please forgive me and forgive us for our sins, everything that we've done, Lord, even today that was not pleasing to you. Please forgive us and be with us, Lord, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. So brethren, the epistle of the apostle Paul to Philemon, we'll read the whole epistle.

Let's start from verse one. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Afia, Archipos, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

Verse 8. Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul, the aged, and also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I appeal to you for my son Onesimus. whom I have begotten while in my chains. Verse 11, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back.

You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent, I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion as it were, but voluntary. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes you anything, Put that on my account.

I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay, not to mention that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord. Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you do even more than I say.

But meanwhile, you also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers, I shall be granted to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow labors. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Brothers and sisters, if you'll help me just to pray one more time to the Lord, and we'll start.

Father, please help me and help us, Lord. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. So brothers and sisters, we started. So last week, we saw a little bit of the verses from verse four to seven, and we tried to understand how we can give joy to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We started the first seminar a few weeks ago, in which we addressed the importance of the local church in our lives, when we saw that Paul is addressing not just Philemon, but the church in his house, Arctus, Athia, and the church in his house.

So he's addressing other people as well, and we saw how important the local church is for our lives. We saw that we are to give encouragement to one another, to reason with one another, that we are to pray with one another. We saw those things a few weeks ago and we addressed last week, as I said, about the rejoicing in the Lord and how we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, can give reason to one another to rejoice in the Lord. We see that the Apostle Paul, when he's writing this letter, he's telling Philemon, I've heard things about you, of your faith and love toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints. And this brings joys to my heart, for we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

So we see that Paul is addressing a brother in Christ, probably saved with his own ministry, because Paul would tell him in this letter, as we read, that Philemon owns his own life, probably a ritual of salvation in Christ through the ministry of the Apostle Paul. So we have three main characters in this letter, which is Philemon, to whom the letter is addressed. We have Paul, the one who is writing the letter, and Timothy as well, Paul mainly. And we have Onesimus, the one on behalf of whom Paul is writing the letter. So we have those three main characters and today Lord William will see on the verses that we'll be addressing that they are all in the same boat.

So we see now that Paul is now a believer in Christ, we see now that Onesimus is a believer in Christ, and we see that Philemon is a believer in Christ. And as we see a little bit of the life of the Apostle Paul and we address a few things, may the Lord help us. to understand that we are all in the same boat, and by the grace of God, the Lord has saved us. But before we address that, I just want to ask you a question. Have you been born again?

Has the Lord changed your heart? The one whom you hated before, which was God, now do you love him? The sin that you loved before, now do you hate? Has any change happened in your heart? We saw last week, Apo, the faith of Philemon.

Is your faith vain? Is it empty? It's just words that come out of your mouth but has no reality in your heart. Has anything changed? Has anything become better and new for you?

Have you become a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ? Because salvation, through salvation in Christ Jesus, change the person. They become new, a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their heart is changed. Their spirit is made alive.

And we see that with the testimony of brothers and sisters in Christ. As we're speaking with some brothers about a brother in Christ, and he was sharing his testimony with us. And throughout the morning, he was sharing his testimony with us. He told us, look, I'm not who I used to be. I'm not who I used to be.

Is that the case with you? Is that the case with me? Do we remain the same? Do we love the same things that we loved before? Do we still hate the same things that we hated before?

Do we have joy in the things of the Lord? Do we love the Lord? Do we love one another? And that's the main question. Are we born again?

As the Lord Jesus Christ, when approaching Nicodemus, will tell us, I tell you, do not marvel that I told you, you must be born again. Most assuredly, the one who is born again is the one who sees the kingdom of God. And that's the question that we need to wrestle, and may the Lord help us to realize that as we approach these scriptures, and as we see our former life, may the Lord help us to ponder, is there any change in my heart? Is there any change in my living? Is there any change in my affections?

Do I indeed love? Do I indeed desire Christ? Do I indeed desire the blessing of my brother and sister? So what is in here? What is in your heart and what is in my heart?

Because we can only give joy to our brothers and sisters in Christ if we indeed are born again, if we indeed have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what I want to address with you when we see verses Verses eight until verse 11. Let's read verse eight to verse 11. It says, after Paul shares his prayer with Philemon and his joy and consolation in his love, he says, therefore, in light of what was said before, in light of your love and what brings joy to my heart, in light of that, though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you, what is fitting? Yet for love's sake, I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul the aged, and years has passed now, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Just pay attention to this word, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains. Look what he says, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. So Paul in verse eight, he says, therefore, in light of what I said before, because of the love and the joy that I have had because what you have shown to us brothers and sisters by your faith and your love, and that brought joy to my heart. So therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you in what is fitting, yet for love's sake, knowing that you, Philemon, will listen to me, because it's shown to brothers and sisters in Christ that you belong to him.

And there's no need for me to come to you with commands or with a harsh word. It's done in love, but I can appeal to you as a brother in Christ, because I have had much joy and consolation in your love. So I appeal to you for love's sake. And he says, being such a one as Paul, the aged. So now Paul, who had the authority as an apostle, he would say in some of his epistles when he's writing, he says, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.

He was given authority as an apostle of Christ to proclaim the things of the Lord. He had authority over brothers and sisters in Christ given by the Lord. And the church, it respected Paul. a different case in the Church of Corinth in his first letter and his address in the church. But we see that the church respected the apostle Paul.

It was giving him authority to proclaim the things of Christ and to say things related to the kingdom of God. But his credential was not just because he was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. His credentials were carried in his own body. He'll tell us, and we'll go there, Lord, reading 2 Corinthians chapter 11, You say about his credentials that he carries in his own body, that he could boast in that, that he was beaten because of the gospel of Christ, that many things had happened to him. He was put in prison because of the gospel of Christ.

So as I said, our faith should be carried in our actions. What I could proclaim is that indeed was in my heart. Am I willing going through the things that I need to go as a Christian? And do I carry the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ in my body as the Apostle Paul did? Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 11.

We'll see a little bit of that before we start on the main topic. So 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Look what the Apostle will tell us. As I said, he had authority as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and his credentials were the marks that were left in his body as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in verse 22, when he's speaking to the church at Corinth, and about others who would boast, are they Hebrews?

So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

Now pay attention. Are they ministers of Christ? He says, I speak as a fool. I am law. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often, from the Jews five times I received four stripes minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was torn. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been in the deep, in journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weirdness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirsting, fasting often. in cold and nakedness, besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the church.

So we see that the Apostle Paul, more than the credition as Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was bringing the marks of Christ in his own body. And the question comes again. Are we born again? Have we come to that place in which we are willing to suffer for Christ's sake? Now we see and we see how the Apostle Paul is now, and we'll address that a little bit more later on.

But how was he? He says, and now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. That was his situation at that moment. Now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. But who was the former Paul?

Who was Paul before? When he's addressing Philemon, he says, look, I'm addressing you on behalf of Onesimus, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. Like you and me, the Apostle Paul was unprofitable before. The unprofitableness of Onesimus was our own unprofitableness before the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the Scriptures will tell us.

It's not just Onesimus that was unprofitable. Paul was unprofitable, I was unprofitable, you were unprofitable. We see that in the Scriptures. When Paul is addressing the Romans, he'll say, chapter three, he says, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands.

He says, there is none who seeks after God. They all have turned aside. They have all together become unprofitable. If you tell us there is no one good, no one who does good. No, not one.

That unprofitableness that we had before Christ is that we're not able to do anything good. That is the heart of man. So kids, that is the heart of those who are without the Lord Jesus Christ. So children, without Christ, that's your heart, a heart of unprofitableness. If you are without Christ, that's your heart, a heart of unprofitableness.

That's the man who is dead in their sins and trespasses. There is nothing good in you and nothing good that you can produce. There is no one who does good. No, not one, the scriptures will tell us. In Genesis chapter six, we'll see the testimony of the scriptures.

The Lord will tell us in chapter six, verse five, that then the Lord saw that the weakness, the weakness of man was great in the earth, that every intent of the thoughts of the heart of man was only evil continually. That is the state of the heart of each and every person without the Lord Jesus Christ. The intentions of the thoughts of our hearts were only evil continually. There is nothing good in us. And we know that that happened because of what happened in the Garden of Eden, that separation between man and God, when Adam and Eve fell into sin.

And we see that that brought alienation between God and man and separation between God and man. So man who was alive is now dead. The promise and what the Lord told the man and the warning that the Lord gave the man, it indeed happened. He said, in the day that you eat from the fruit, you shall surely die. And man died indeed spiritually.

So now everyone who is born into this world is born dead in their sins and trespasses. They have no life in themselves. They have no desire for those things that are pleasing to the Lord. They have no desire for God himself. There's no one who seeks after God.

No, not one. That was the state of our hearts. That is the state of your heart if you are without Christ right now. There is nothing good that we can produce. You may try.

Nothing good will come out of it because of the corruption of sin, the sin that is in us. It's not just Genesis chapter six. We see the Psalm 51 when David himself coming in repentance before the Lord because of the sin that he had committed. He said, behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. I was born in this way.

I was in such a state that I had no other option. And the Scripture tells us in Psalm 58, Chapter 3, that people, the wicked, when they are born, they go astray. They go astray as soon as they are born. As soon as they are out of the womb, they go astray. They are estranged in the womb and they go astray as soon as they are born.

Speaking lies. That's the heart of each and every one before the Lord Jesus Christ. that was the heart of the Apostle Paul. There is nothing good in me. There is nothing good in you.

And that's why the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ is manifested. The only one who can save us from the situation in which we are. We are like Lazarus. We were like Lazarus, dead in our sins and trespasses. We see Lazarus as a picture of what happens to us spiritually when we come into this world.

So brothers and sisters, as we speak about those things, may the Lord bring to your mind your former life. There was none good, no one who does good. And may the Lord bring to your life the things that you did before Christ, the things that you enjoyed before Christ, the things that would lift your heart up before you had the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you see that, and as we approach the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, may your rejoicing abound in the Savior. Because He has delivered us, not just from the wrath to come.

He has delivered us from ourselves. He has delivered you from yourself. He has delivered me from myself, from the sin that is still within me. From the power of sin, and will come a day in which He will deliver us from the presence of sin fully. So that's the state of the heart of man.

It's a heart that has no joy in the things of the Lord. It's a heart that always wants to do that which is not pleasing to the Lord. It's always inclined to do what is evil. It's always inclined to do what is selfish. It's always inclined to do what is not pleasing to the Lord.

And yet we still found ourselves doing those things. I find myself doing those things day in and day out. And the question is, is there any change in our hearts? And when I ask this question, is there any change in your heart? Have you been saved again?

Have you been born again? When I ask this question, it's not for you to look and to have confidence in the things that the Lord is doing in your life. But as you see the despair on your own life, as you see that you're dealing with a lot of sins, you have a glimpse of the work of God in your life. And then may the Lord help you to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the one who is doing that work in you. We see that you must be born again.

A change of heart must happen. That's what the Scriptures will tell us. Ezekiel will tell us that he'll give us a new spirit. He'll give us a new heart. He'll take out the heart of flesh, the heart of stone, and will give us a heart of flesh.

Things need to change. Our position before Christ, and your position if you are without Christ, is this. Can an empty open change his skin? Can a leopard change his spots? If that's possible, then you can change our ways.

You who are so used to do evil. That's impossible. Even Job chapter 14, the scriptures tell us, who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? And the answer is no one. There is nothing we can do to improve our lives.

There's no steps that we should follow to improve our lives. It's a change of heart. And that happens when the Lord comes and open our eyes to seeing the scriptures, the truth of the word of God. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 36. So who then can be saved?

And praise God that with men, it's impossible. With God, all things are possible. Ezekiel chapter 36. Look what it says in verse 25. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you.

and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I'll take the heart of stone out of your heart of flesh, out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statute and you will keep my judgments and do them.

So we see that we must be born again. We must be begotten by the word of God. And that's what the apostle Paul says. When he's addressing Philemon, he says, I'm appealing to you on behalf of Lord Jesus, whom I have begotten while in my chains. And that change of heart, that begottenness happened through the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It's only through the gospel that a change of heart comes about. So let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter four, and we'll see that's only through the gospel. And when Paul's addressing the Corinthians, he'll bring this idea that it's only through the gospel that the change comes about. 2 Corinthians chapter four, verse 15. God.

Oh, actually, 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Sorry, brethren. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. It says in verse 15, for though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ, you have, in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel.

So those are the means which God uses to bring salvation to His people. Someone who is dead in sin and trespasses, when they hear the gospel of Christ and the Spirit of God comes in power and applies that to the heart of that person, they are begotten, they are born again. They are made alive by the Spirit of God. And that's why the Lord Jesus Christ, when approaching Nicodemus, says that you must be born of the Spirit. The one who is born of the flesh is flesh.

The one who is born of the Spirit is spirit. The one who is born of God is not the one who is born according to the will of the flesh, but it's according to the will of God himself. And that's the word of God that has come to us and that has opened our eyes and hearts to see the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the beauty of our Savior. So brother and sister, who are you before Christ? And how did you come to know the Lord Jesus Christ?

Remember that season when God opened your eyes to see the beauty of Christ and how things start to become new in your life. Sometimes I'll tell the brothers and sisters, I don't know the day that the Lord saved me. I don't know. I cannot point to a day. I remember the season when everything started to become new.

And I was driving today, and I was trying to remember those things. And I spoke with the brothers and sisters last week about using a song that was part of that season that the Lord used in that season for me. And I put that song that I was driving here, trying to remember that season in which the Lord opened my eyes to see the beauty of Christ and my need for the Savior. For some of you, it was in an instant, as it was with the Apostle Paul. For some of you, it was a season, as it was with me.

But yet the Lord has opened your eyes. Remember the state in which you were. In that state in which the wrath of God was upon you. In that state that if you were to be in that state now and die in that state, you would face the one who is holy, holy, holy as we sang today. If there is anyone here, and children, without the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no hope.

we'll face the creator of all things. And to live in the state that we're living before is just a proclamation that we have not been changed by the gospel of Christ. You know them by their fruits. What is in here? What is in there?

So the gospel is what comes and what changed the hearts of people. And that's why we are to proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul tell us that gospel is the power of God unto salvation. And we see the state in which we were and the state in which we are now. So the hearts are changed.

You're given new life. And that's why the Apostle Paul said, pay attention on those words. He says, now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And he says about Onesimus, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. And praise God for the buts and the nows of the scriptures.

We see that in Romans chapter five. That for a righteous man, someone may scarcely die. Maybe for a good man, someone may even dare to die, but God. Demonstrate His love towards us while we're still seeing as Christ died for us. Let's go to Ephesians chapter two as well.

And we see the buts of God and the hope that we have in the word of God. And that's why the scripture is sufficient. The scripture is inspired by God. in each and every part of it. Each and every word has a meaning and has importance, even the buts.

Remember when Paul would tell us that we speak about the seed, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, not the seeds with S? A small change, a small area making a difference, at least in the English language. I don't know. in Greek or in Hebrew, but we know that a small word, a small letter would change the whole meaning of it. It would bring the light of the gospel of Christ.

Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2. Look, it will bring us the idea of our previous life. Who were we before Christ? It says in verse 1, and you, brother, sister, he made alive. He brought life into you.

He made you alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. That's who you were, former, prior to Christ, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Verse three, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, because there's no one good, no one who does good, no, not one, no one who seeks after God. Our own desire was to please what is in here, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Now look, verse four, but God.

But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. and raise us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Look what it says. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Have you been born again? Are you walking in the pathway that the Lord has prepared for you to walk as he brought you into the kingdom of Christ? What is in your heart?

What is in my heart? Has the gospel of Christ changed us in such a way? Remember that it's the gospel and it's the gospel only. It was with the apostle Paul. It was with the church in Corinth, as we just read, through the gospel.

I've begotten you through the gospel. It was with the apostle Paul himself. Come to Galatians chapter one. And look what the apostle will say, and you will see the power of the gospel for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He says in verse 11 of Galatians chapter one, but I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

For I neither received it from men, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. The gospel came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries, in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace to reveal his Son in me, through the gospel that was revealed to me, not by man, but by God himself, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, and then he go on.

Say that he didn't go to Jerusalem straight away. The gospel was what changed the church at Corinth. The gospel was what changed the life of the Apostle Paul. The gospel. is what changed our lives.

Let's go to Colossians. And as we read Colossians chapter... Colossians chapter one. So it says in verse, sorry brothers, try to find. Sorry brothers and sisters, I don't know if it's colloquial, I'm sorry.

But we see that it is the gospel that saves us and we can apply what we saw in Corinthians to us. We are begotten by God through the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There's no other way, there's no other message that will save people. There's no need for us to appease the heart of men because it's the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. As I said, there was a change in the heart of the apostle Paul.

There's a change in the heart of someone who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see that change of heart when we go to Ezekiel chapter 11. And we see that the change of heart needs to happen. As I asked before, have your desires changed? The things that you once hate, do you now love?

The things that you once loved, do you now hate? It says in verse 11, on chapter 11 of Ezekiel, It says in verse 19, then I'll give them one heart and I'll put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them and they shall be my people and I'll be their God. What we just read in chapter 36 as well. Now it says, but as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads. There's a change of heart for those now who come to Christ.

Because as for of those who are still following the desires of their hearts, implying that if you belong to Christ, you are not following that anymore. But there are some who remain following the desires of their own hearts, and they have to deal with that. So there's a change of heart. As I said, we must be born again, and to be born again is to have a heart that is changed. So when we think of our former conduct, how easy to live before the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when I ask, is there any change in my heart? Have you been born again? Have I been born again? Have we come to that place in which you're not profitable? And that profitableness is not a profitableness of pride, and it's a profitableness of, it's in humbleness.

You're profitable. It's a humble profitableness. I don't know if I can say that. I don't know if it's the right word. But it's a humble profitableness.

When the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ comes and saves a person, remember that Paul would tell Philemon, Onesimus, who was once unprofitable to you, is now both profitable to you and to me. There is a change. There is a big change. He was good for nothing. Now he's good for many things.

He's ministering to me on your behalf. And I wanted to keep him with me so that he would keep ministering to me on your behalf. So there was a change in his heart. He now became profitable. But that profitableness is in humility.

Remember the parable that the Lord Jesus Christ will tell us of the servant in Luke chapter 17? And then he says towards the end, when you've done everything that you're asked by God, by your master, You just need to say, oh, I'm profitable servant that I am. I've just done what I was supposed to do. So your state of profitableness now is a state in humbleness, where you know that the Lord, by his grace, is working in your life. And the things that you do by the grace of God, it's what you ought to do.

It's what you want to do, but it's God working in you. So praise God for that. And may the Lord help us to be in that state of humbleness and saying, Lord, there's nothing good for me. And anything that you ask me to do, it's by your grace and your power. And when I do those things, Lord, by your grace and your power, I'm just doing what is required of me.

Your profitableness is in that place of humbleness in which you don't see yourself as profitable. Yes, others may see, but you don't see yourself as profitable because you know the sin that is still within you. A brother in Christ and a sister just shared a song with us in the Telegram group. And that's the battle of the Christian life. There are scenes that we call, Lord, I want to grow more in your likeness.

And we have those times of distress in which sin is still here and we deal with that. And the Lord is showing us that it's my grace. It's my grace that is bringing you along the way. And by the grace of God, may others see what is in us. You see them and know them by their fruits.

And as we approach the Lord, may we not look to the fruits, but to the one who can bring the fruits in our hearts, so that we may become profitable in humbleness, recognizing that our profitableness is nothing. It's only doing what is required of us to do. And it's God working in us by his grace. Let's go back to Philemon. So he doesn't use his credentials.

For love's sake, he appeals to him. He said, being such a one as Paul, the aged many years have passed and now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. We saw last week when we read about Philemon, there is a life of faith and love. So the life of the one who is born again is a life of humble profitableness. is a life of love that is expressed in humble profitableness by serving the church, serving the brothers and sisters and those around us, recognizing that we are just doing what is due to us, and that is the power of God working in us.

It's a life of love. As we saw last week, that we have faith that is given to us as we start our pilgrimage in the Lord, and we follow those steps in which we come to brotherly kindness and brotherly love, as Peter would tell us in his epistle. It's a life of love and we said that faith is active. It's a life of love as we walk in humble profitableness by serving brothers and sisters in Christ with a willingness to suffer for Christ's sake. And why do I say a willingness to suffer for Christ's sake?

Now just think about the apostle Paul. was once persecuting the church. We saw what he told us in Galatians chapter one. Let's go to Acts chapter seven, and we'll see, when Stephen was dying, we'll see what happened. First time that the apostle Paul is mentioned.

Verse 57 of chapter seven. And we speak about the one who is born again is the one who loves, in a spirit of humble profitableness, with a willingness to suffer for Christ. Look what it says. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. So verse 58 again, they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Let's come to chapter eight, verse one. Now Saul was consainting to his death. At that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. Verse three, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

The life of the Christian is a complete difference. It's the opposite of what it used to be. That's why the Apostle Paul, he said, he addressed, he says, and now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. From someone who was persecuting the brothers and sisters, from someone who was putting those of the way in prison, is now in prison for the sake of the gospel of Christ. He says at the beginning of this letter, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

And we see it's a complete change from unprofitableness to profitableness. From persecuting the church now to being someone who's in prison for the sake of the gospel of Christ. Who's willing to suffer and to be beaten because he was encountered by God. He became to know God because he was known by God himself. And we know what happened when he was on the road and the Lord Jesus Christ came and struck him to the ground.

There was a big change in his life and in his heart. That the people were praising God when they heard that the one who was persecuting the church is now the one who is on our side. And we see the grace of the gospel of Christ changing hearts. If it has not changed your heart, if it has not changed my heart, we may have it here, but that's it. We need to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge.

in which everything is changed, in which we are being conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ. But to be conformed like Christ, to grow in holiness, first and foremost, it's need that we are born again. We cannot get into that spiritual life unless we are made alive by the gospel of Christ. So we see it's a complete change from who the Apostle Paul was and who he became in the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, it's a life of love.

love toward the Lord Jesus, toward the saints, as we serve one another and as we serve Christ in a humble profitableness, with a willingness to suffer for Christ, it's a whole change. And that because by faith, we saw that all things are loss. We call all things rubbish for the excellency of the glory of Christ. That is the goal of the Christian life, to know the Lord Jesus, and we sang this song When we have a glimpse of the glory of Christ, the things of this world will grow strangely dim. Sin remain in me, sin remain in you.

I deal with sin each and every day of my life. I was sharing with a sister yesterday my selfishness one more time. I deal with that each and every day of my life. But praise be to God, we are to set our eyes in the Lord Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews will tell us that we should run this race, laying aside the sin that so easily ensnares us.

looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Our eyes are to be set on the Lord Jesus Christ so that we can live a life of love that is expressed in humble profitableness as we serve the Lord and one another with a desire and a willingness to suffer for Christ if that's what he wants. And that's only possible by faith. We see that everything is nothing compared to the beauty of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's go to Philippians chapter three.

Brother and sister, I want to encourage you. The Lord saved you from your sins, from the wrath to come. Now look to Christ and see all the blessings that you have in your Savior. Look to the Lord Jesus and see the salvation that you have in Christ Jesus. Look to the Lord Jesus and see what you have in Him, the peace that you have with God.

And as you look to Him, rejoice and count everything as loss, as nothing, as rubbish compared to the glory of our Savior. He says in verse seven, let's go from verse three. For we are the circumcision, worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. We are circumcised in the heart. That's a work done by God himself.

Verse four, though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. He says, circumcise the ape of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews concerning the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him. and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

So brothers and sisters in Christ, there is nothing that compares to the glory of Christ Jesus. And a few years ago, we were sharing about what the Apostle Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians, that we with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed. And we see there that God himself is comparing the old covenant with the new one and saying that there was a glory there that was passing away because of the glory that exceeds, that surpasses that, which is the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of the Christian is a life that has been changed, but it's a life that is not yet completely changed. The Apostle Paul tells us, not that I have attained to the resurrection from the dead, not that I now am free from sin, but he says, I am already perfected.

He goes on to say, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. He says, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, forgetting my former life, forgetting the way that I used to live, the things that I used to like, the things that I used to, that I was displacing to the Lord, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, in light of this, let us as many as are mature have this mind, And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Let's go to second Corinthians. It says in chapter three, look what it says in verse nine.

For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect because of the glory that excels. For what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look sadly at the end of what was passing away. but their minds were blinded.

For until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is their spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed to the same image, from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord.

Being born again doesn't mean that we are changed completely. We still wrestle with those things that are in us. But there is a change in the heart. There is a change of affection. There is a change of desires.

There is a change of worldview. There is a change of perception. Now you see the one who you couldn't see. Remember when the Lord Jesus Christ was risen from the dead. And one of the woman came to him and couldn't realize that it was the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then when he said, and her eyes were open. It's the Lord doing the work. We're not completely changed yet, but we're becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you feel tempted, brothers and sisters, to run back to your former life or do things that you used to do before, look to the Lord and sing of Jesus Christ. And as you see the glory of Christ and what He has done for you, and you compare that with what your heart Many times we'll try to seek because it's pleasing to the flesh, and when you see the glory of Christ, the desire for that will just fade away.

Because the glory of Christ exceeds, excels. Now we have a new King that moves our heart. It used to be us, it used to be someone else, but now Christ is the one ruling. And he's shaping these hearts into his image. He's given you a new heart.

He's given me a new heart, brother and sister. And he's changing it more and more and more. Things have changed from what they used to be. But they're not yet what they will be one day. And as we are in that process in which we're becoming the one who are the opposite, and I spoke a while, a few weeks ago, a few months ago, that we are becoming someone that we were not before.

And that process of becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ is a painful one. It's a change of heart. It's painful for the flesh. It's needed. That's why patience in tribulation is needed, and the Lord is changing, is shaping us more into the image of Christ.

We had a former thing, but now, but now our lives have been changed. But now we are walking direction of the glory of Christ. But now we are pursuing that which is pleasing to God as he works in us. Though I might be very bold in Christ to commend you what is fit, yet for love's sake, I'd rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I put you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while you might change.

The gospel came to me, once was unprofitable to you, but now it's profitable to you and to me. And as we think where the Lord has saved us from, let's rejoice in our walking in love, as we serve one another in humble profitableness, recognizing that the work is the Lord's, not mine. with a willingness to suffer for Him if that's His will. As we look by faith to Christ, and as we compare Him with all the other things, we see that the other things are vain, are lost. And let's pursue the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Because that's your place, Christian, that's my place. The Lord has saved you, has placed you in the kingdom of His Son, so that you may know Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's pursue the knowledge of Christ, and children that can be a reality for you. If you understand your position now, you may think that you do a lot of good things, that you may do a lot of things that are pleasing to your father and to your mother, but the Lord knows your hearts. God knows what is in there.

God knows that you are dead in sin and trespasses, that without Christ, you are living a life that is not worth to believe. But in Christ Jesus, we have everything that we need, the forgiveness of our sins. That's why the scripture tells us, repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you repent and believe in Christ, a new heart is given. And things become new.

And you see the glory of Christ, as I've never seen before. May you heard many things from your parents in speaking to you about Christ and about the things of the Lord. May that become a reality in your heart if it's not yet. May the Lord open your eyes to see the truth of the gospel of Christ. If there's anyone here who does not know Christ, may that be the reality in your heart as well.

It was the reality of many here, and I can attest that, that I've seen the fruits of the work of God in the lives of many. I've received of that, and I've seen others receiving of that, of this love of God. So may that be a reality in your heart if it's not yet. And brother and sister, one more time, the Lord has saved you. Pursue the knowledge of Christ.

Pursue to know Christ. Pursue the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that's how we ought to live our lives. We don't know how to live that way. May God allow us and grant us the grace that is needed, both to will and to do of this good pleasure of His.

This is His will, that we know the Son, that we believe in the one whom He has sent. So may the Lord help us to pursue that which is pleasing to Him, the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the one who has changed you and the one who will still change you by His Spirit. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord. I thank you for your grace and your mercy.

Even in my stumbling in my speech and everything, Lord, I just thank you for all things. You are gracious. I just pray that that which was according to truth, Lord, will be planted in my heart, in the heart of my brothers and sisters, in the heart of those who do not know you yet in Christ. Lord, you have granted us so much. If we think who we used to be, Lord, and the things that we desired, and the things that we did, that many of my brothers and sisters would be ashamed to bring things to clarity and share with another Lord because things that were not even worth to mention, Lord.

but we thank you for your mercy. Your mercy that is the reason that we are not consumed. Your mercy that is the reason that we are here now, Lord. Your mercy and your grace that brought us to this place, to this moment right now, in which things have changed. But you, Lord, you are merciful to us.

Lord, as we ponder in these things, as we ponder, Lord, the day that you brought life to our hearts, as we ponder, Lord, even our Christian walk, how you have brought us here now, how you have protected us, Lord, from ourselves many times, many times that have been merciful to us, Lord, The many times that Your grace abounded over sin. The many times, Lord, that You did not allow us to be in despair when we had our sins over our head. Moments that were too heavy to bear, Lord, and You have given us a breath through the gospel of Christ. I thank you for the life of my brothers and sisters. Those that I can witness, Lord, and I see the change.

Those that teach me with their walk with you, Lord, how I should walk. Those that teach me with their love for one another. Those that teach me with their respect for your word, Lord. Those that teach me, Lord, for their care for one another. those that teach me, Lord, for their consideration for the church and their high view of the bride of Christ.

Thank you. These that these brothers and sisters show to me and to many around them, it's your work in their lives. Prior to that, Lord, they had no desire in their things. Prior to that, they would not seek to do what is pleasing to you. It has changed, Lord.

It's not yet what they want it to be. But it will come a day, Lord, that that reality will be complete. Where sin will be no more. That we'll be able to love one another without any hindrance. To love you, Lord, with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

To worship you, Lord, in spirit and in truth, without any hindrance. As we await for that moment in which we'll be fully changed, help us to walk, look into the Lord Jesus as you transform us more into his image. Please forgive us for our sins, Lord, one more time. Thank you for your great gospel, which is your power unto salvation. And Lord, may you save many more.

May many more experience, Lord, this change of life in Christ Jesus. May we love you more. May we hate our sins more. May we serve you more. Let us be for you, Lord, and for you alone.

In Jesus' name, amen.