SPEAKER_00: This is Act sixteen, verses eleven to twenty-five.
SPEAKER_00: So, setting sail from Tras, we made a direct voyage to Samanthrace, and the following day to Nepalis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
SPEAKER_00: We remained in this city some days, and on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
SPEAKER_00: One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul, and after she was baptized and her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay, and she prevailed upon us.
SPEAKER_00: As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune telling.
SPEAKER_00: She followed Paul and us, crying out, These men are servants of the most high God who proclaimed to you the way of salvation.
SPEAKER_00: And this she kept doing for many days.
SPEAKER_00: Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.
SPEAKER_00: And it came out that very hour.
SPEAKER_00: But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the marketplace before the rulers.
SPEAKER_00: And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.
SPEAKER_00: They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.
SPEAKER_00: The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.
SPEAKER_00: And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
SPEAKER_00: Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stalks.
SPEAKER_00: About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
SPEAKER_00: And Sue reads God's word.
SPEAKER_02: So if you've got a Bible or open it on your phone, we'll be looking at that together.
SPEAKER_02: If you get the context wrong, it can be disastrous.
SPEAKER_02: So, for example, um two ladies took themselves off for a coffee into a new cafe that had just opened around the corner from them, and they did so in their pajamas.
SPEAKER_02: Uh the owner took uh umbrage at this and decided to bar them.
SPEAKER_02: They got the context completely wrong.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know, the owner thought that that wasn't appropriate for her new establishment, and so she sent them out.
SPEAKER_02: And that was enough to make headline news one of the radio stations that I listen to as I drive around Dublin.
SPEAKER_02: But if you get the context wrong, it can be disastrous.
SPEAKER_02: Now, as uh has already been said this morning, what we're doing today and next week as we look at this little section from Acts is really just setting the context for the book of Philippians.
SPEAKER_02: You're going to turn in a couple of weeks' time as a church to consider this letter written by Paul to the Philippian church.
SPEAKER_02: And what we're doing this morning really is just uh beginning to set that context.
SPEAKER_02: We don't want to find ourselves in an uncomfortable position when it comes to reading the book of Philippians.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we want to be able to stay there and to enjoy everything that it has to offer.
SPEAKER_02: So we're setting the context to make sure that we understand it properly.
SPEAKER_02: And we're going to see three things this morning as we look at Acts chapter 16 together.
SPEAKER_02: It might, however, be helpful for you to know that this is the section we're we're looking at particularly this morning, this is a first in the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_02: Um, just by the way, before we look at those three points, um I find it very interesting actually in Acts 16, verse 6 and 7, that not once, but twice we find Paul, Silas and his team, being prevented from going into a certain area or actually speaking about the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: And it's Jesus who, Paul says, actually did this.
SPEAKER_02: He prevented them from going into certain areas.
SPEAKER_02: Um, until we find him in verse uh 9 and 10 in um one of the little ports, having been disallowed from or chucked out of certain areas, um, encountering a vision.
SPEAKER_02: And what we find in verse 10 actually is the first mention in the book of Acts of the word we, which means that the author of the book of Acts has joined Paul at this stage.
SPEAKER_02: His name's Luke.
SPEAKER_02: But it's also a first, and this is so important for us to see, given the question that I want us to consider.
SPEAKER_02: This is so important for us to see because he was prevented from entering into certain areas that he had already been in in order to do something which was world-changing.
SPEAKER_02: We find him having been barred from certain parts of Asia only to be sent into, for the very first time, what are you looking at?
SPEAKER_02: For the very first time into Europe.
SPEAKER_02: This is world-changing.
SPEAKER_02: John Stott, many of you may know, he was a prolific speaker, author, church leader of the last century, but he says this about what we're looking at this morning.
SPEAKER_02: The most notable feature of Paul's second missionary journey is that during it, the good seed of the gospel was now for the first time planted in Europe.
SPEAKER_02: The invasion of Europe was not in the mind of Paul, as I've just said, but it was evidently in the mind of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And with the benefit of hindsight, now listen to this.
SPEAKER_02: Knowing that Europe became the first Christian continent and was until fairly recently the main base for missionary outreach to the rest of the world, we can see that what's actually happening here, what we're looking at this morning, is an epoch-making development in the history of the church.
SPEAKER_02: So, what does it look like when the gospel comes to a region, to a city, to a community with power?
SPEAKER_02: How do you know that the authority of the gospel has actually taken hold?
SPEAKER_02: And I think we'll find many encouragements as we consider that question this morning.
SPEAKER_02: So, three things we'll see as we set the context for your study later in the month as to what actually happens, what is an epoch-making moment like when the gospel takes hold in any region, um, city, or community.
SPEAKER_02: What do we find?
SPEAKER_02: Well, firstly, here's what we should be praying for.
SPEAKER_02: Here's what we should see.
SPEAKER_02: Firstly, we see that all sorts, all different types of people are brought together.
SPEAKER_02: This is something that the world tries so hard to achieve and finds it so difficult, in fact nearly impossible to sustain.
SPEAKER_02: Different people being brought together into a new relationship with God, which has which has a material difference in the way they see other people.
SPEAKER_02: Here is why the gospel is such good news.
SPEAKER_02: Because it brings all sorts of different types of people together, actually, to live for the sake of one another.
SPEAKER_02: So we have Lydia, for example.
SPEAKER_02: If you want to have a look in the Bible with me, we find her in verse 14, chapter 16, verse 14.
SPEAKER_02: We have Lydia.
SPEAKER_02: Um, socially, there's there's great differences socially, we see in this passage.
SPEAKER_02: Lydia is, we're told, um, actually a seller of purple linen, purple cloth.
SPEAKER_02: Which means, I mean, why would Luke include such a detail as this?
SPEAKER_02: This is an eyewitness event.
SPEAKER_02: This actually did happen.
SPEAKER_02: We're recording, we're looking at history here, not myth.
SPEAKER_02: Um, and the fact that she's the seller of purple cloth means that most likely she was actually quite a very successful businesswoman.
SPEAKER_02: Socially, she was at the top of the pile.
SPEAKER_02: We're told that she's from Thayatra, uh, which was actually in Asia where Paul had been prevented to go into just a few weeks or months previously.
SPEAKER_02: And she actually had traveled from Thaatra from Asia to Philippi, which we're told is a leading colony, a leading Roman colony.
SPEAKER_02: So a very prosperous city.
SPEAKER_02: Here we have Lydia, a cosmopolitan, successful businesswoman, because purple cloth normally was only worn by those who lived in the court or around uh royalty.
SPEAKER_02: It's still the royal colour today, purple.
SPEAKER_02: So she most likely was an incredibly successful businesswoman.
SPEAKER_02: And we see actually um she's quite per persuasive towards the end of uh verse 15, where she prevailed upon us.
SPEAKER_02: So she obviously had considerable skills at negotiating and um brokering business deals and stuff.
SPEAKER_02: She was an incredibly successful woman.
SPEAKER_02: She's at the top of the pile.
SPEAKER_02: But then the very next person we see, um, Sarah mentioned this in her prayers.
SPEAKER_02: The very next person we see is someone at the very bottom of the pile.
SPEAKER_02: This is uh another lady, another girl, but she doesn't possess anything.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, she is possessed by others.
SPEAKER_02: She is owned, um, she's a slave girl, owned, and she is under the influence of an evil spirit.
SPEAKER_02: You could not get any more diametrically opposed.
SPEAKER_02: And some people may laugh at that today, right?
SPEAKER_02: You read this, you I've just said to you, this is history, this is this is fact.
SPEAKER_02: Some people may laugh at the fact, you know, we're we're still dealing with demon possession, but I don't think we'd be so wise to laugh too quickly.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, in in many ways, as you read through the um pages of of the Bible, of the New Testament, even in particular, you find that actually this is a wonderful little picture of, in a sense, what happens to anyone who calls themselves a Christian today.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the way in which, and we'll come on to this in the second point, but the way in which the Bible often talks about us as Christians is um having been moved from one dominion to another.
SPEAKER_02: Having been moved from under the influence of one ruler to being brought under the influence of another ruler, having been brought under the uh brought from the influence of a demonic, um uh an evil ruler who only wants to crush us to being brought into the rule of a kind, gracious king who only wants to see us flourish.
SPEAKER_02: That's the way in which the Bible talks about us.
SPEAKER_02: And so what we see here is the gospel taking hold dramatically and bringing all sorts of different types of people together, socially, culturally.
SPEAKER_02: Again, you know, you could you could look at it economically.
SPEAKER_02: So Lydia was um from Asia, culturally, ethnically, cosmopolitan.
SPEAKER_02: The slave girl, no known origin.
SPEAKER_02: And in no way able to influence anyone.
SPEAKER_02: And if we were to go on, I'll not steal Ben's thunder, he's gonna look at this next week, but um, the jailer, he's gonna look at that with you next week.
SPEAKER_02: Some of you will be familiar with that story.
SPEAKER_02: But the jailer, who was most likely Italian and a retired soldier, we see them all being brought together.
SPEAKER_02: What we find when the gospel entered Europe, epoch making, what we find is that it has a universal appeal and a mighty unifying effect.
SPEAKER_02: And that's so important.
SPEAKER_02: Remember context when we're thinking about the letter to the Philippians.
SPEAKER_02: It's so important because when you get into Philippians, you're going to find many appeals being made by Paul to be of one mind.
SPEAKER_02: Right?
SPEAKER_02: To stand together, united one with another.
SPEAKER_02: To go over and above laying down your life for the sake of people who are unlike you.
SPEAKER_02: You're going to find that over and over again.
SPEAKER_02: And that, Paul says, I think Acts shows us, and Paul says, is where you're going to find the true power of God at work today.
SPEAKER_02: You know, we can, and sometimes it still does, work spectacularly.
SPEAKER_02: That's what the book of Acts really is filled with, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02: But as you travel on through the New Testament, when you get into the letters, like Philippians, what you find is that spectacular element begins to diminish.
SPEAKER_02: And the normal Christian life is where the power of God is actually on display for all the world to see today.
SPEAKER_02: So a group of people like this gathering together on a morning such as today, coming from all different parts of the world.
SPEAKER_02: What can you expect to hear?
SPEAKER_02: Well, you're going to be told, look, since Jesus Christ laid down his life for you, go ahead, do it for one another.
SPEAKER_02: Stand firm, be of one purpose, share the same mind.
SPEAKER_02: And that, I imagine, in a place like that, is it like this, is challenging.
SPEAKER_02: But this is where you're going to see epoch-making Christianity at work.
SPEAKER_02: This is where the world is going to look on and be amazed at what God is doing.
SPEAKER_02: And I, for one, and I think obviously you've turned up this morning too, you must as well want to be part of that.
SPEAKER_02: Our stories, individual stories, being caught up into God's great story.
SPEAKER_02: Where your life matters and what you do for others counts.
SPEAKER_02: Not just for here and now, but will echo in eternity.
SPEAKER_02: This is where you're going to see the true power of God being worked out.
SPEAKER_02: What we find here is different types of people being brought together.
SPEAKER_02: Epoch-making Christianity.
SPEAKER_02: But secondly, the second thing we find is as different types of people are being brought together, this actually causes an uproar in the world and society.
SPEAKER_02: Particularly because it exposes the greed and self-interest that drives so much of the world.
SPEAKER_02: That's what we find next, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02: Because not everybody was jumping for joy about what was going on here, right?
SPEAKER_02: And this is an important point.
SPEAKER_02: We'll come back to it in a moment.
SPEAKER_02: Not everybody actually thinks this is a wonderful thing that the church has just been planted in Europe, particularly the owners of the slave girl.
SPEAKER_02: So if you pick it up with me in verse 16, we can see that once they realized that the um uh the intervention of the Holy Spirit had actually robbed them from their income, they are outraged.
SPEAKER_02: And so they get Paul and Silas and they drag them before the uh the people of the city.
SPEAKER_02: They throw them into the marketplace and begin hurling accusations at them.
SPEAKER_02: And many commentators have suggested that what they say about Paul and Silas is very telling as to what the gospel was actually doing in that city.
SPEAKER_02: So, what is it that they say about Paul and Silas?
SPEAKER_02: Um, they bring them before the magistrates, if you look at verse 20, and they say, Um, these men are Jews.
SPEAKER_02: Now that was partly true, but it wasn't the whole truth.
SPEAKER_02: Because obviously they were um they were following Christ now.
SPEAKER_02: Their identity had moved.
SPEAKER_02: Uh and it may be actually when you get into Philippians, that is why Paul spends so much time talking about his autobiography.
SPEAKER_02: You'll see that especially in chapter three.
SPEAKER_02: He said they say, these guys, these Jews, are disturbing our city.
SPEAKER_02: Which is exactly the opposite from what they actually were doing.
SPEAKER_02: Because they hadn't caused any more havoc than already was there.
SPEAKER_02: They hadn't brought disorder, they had brought order.
SPEAKER_02: Right?
SPEAKER_02: Perhaps the last thing they say is most accurate.
SPEAKER_02: They advocate customs.
SPEAKER_02: Look at verse 21.
SPEAKER_02: They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.
SPEAKER_02: Because they were saying that Jesus is Lord.
SPEAKER_02: He is the only true, universal king, and not Caesar.
SPEAKER_02: But this is so important for us to see because actually many commentators say what we have here is the um the version of the gospel according to that city, the um narrative that shaped the lives of the people in that city.
SPEAKER_02: And it did not unite, it forced people apart, it siloed them and segregated them.
SPEAKER_02: So they point out differences.
SPEAKER_02: They say, These men are Jews.
SPEAKER_02: There is a certain xenophobia at work here.
SPEAKER_02: You know, these these we tolerate them, but but we really don't want them.
SPEAKER_02: Uh it was it was a city that was built for the success of some and to the disadvantage of others.
SPEAKER_02: They're throwing our city into disorder.
SPEAKER_02: Well, what were they doing?
SPEAKER_02: They're actually bringing relief and freedom to people.
SPEAKER_02: But that annoyed the people who were using others to make money.
SPEAKER_02: And it was sanctioned, we see, as he as they appealed to the Romans, it was sanctioned by the state.
SPEAKER_02: Reinforced.
SPEAKER_02: There's the the narrative that shaped the people's lives in Philippi, where uh they were segregated, some got rich, while others were kept poor, and all of this was sanctioned by the state.
SPEAKER_02: And again, this is so important for us to know whenever we come into Philippians.
SPEAKER_02: Because what we actually see Paul doing in Philippi, in in the in the letter to the Philippians, is giving the Philippians a brand new identity.
SPEAKER_02: One that transcends the narratives of the city in which they lived, a brand new identity.
SPEAKER_02: So he talks about these Philippians as being partners together with him in the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: Their citizenship is no longer here, but in heaven.
SPEAKER_02: And we wait we await a savior from there.
SPEAKER_02: Your names, he says to the Philippians, are now written in the book of life.
SPEAKER_02: Doesn't matter what other ledger you may appear in on the sit in on in the city, your names now are written in the book of life.
SPEAKER_02: And unless the Philippi grasp what Paul is doing by preaching the gospel in such a way to um to undo the narrative that was shaping them as they lived in that city, the church was going to be in trouble.
SPEAKER_02: Threats, opposition, persecution was going to pull the church apart.
SPEAKER_02: What they needed to know, what you need to know, is that if you're going to not simply um survive as a Christian, if you're going to thrive as a Christian in a context perhaps similar to this, then you too need the gospel to sink in to your heart at the level of your identity as well.
SPEAKER_02: So it speaks to you and changes the way you think about who you are, what God is doing, and how you fit into his great and eternal purposes.
SPEAKER_02: We never see when we come to the book of Acts, we never see the gospel simply being spoken into a vacuum.
SPEAKER_02: Do you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02: We never see the gospel coming into a culture which is um neutral or or even mildly objective.
SPEAKER_02: At every turn in the gospel, what we see in sorry, in in the book of Acts, what we see is the gospel coming into different cultures and challenging challenging them in different ways.
SPEAKER_02: And particularly when it comes to the the Philippians, I think what you will see, what you need to see, is that as you gather together week by week, as you meet in your community groups and gather together in city life.
SPEAKER_02: What you're actually doing is growing in yourself and encouraging in one another a brand new identity.
SPEAKER_02: One that shapes how you engage with everything that you encounter in your life, how you engage with people who are different than you, how you engage with what uh the world holds up as being really truly important.
SPEAKER_02: How you engage with your priorities when it comes to your time and your finances.
SPEAKER_02: Philippians is going to change all of that for you.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe you won't want to come back and listen.
SPEAKER_02: But this is bringing order where there was only disorder.
SPEAKER_02: This is bringing freedom where there was only restrictions.
SPEAKER_02: This is bringing life, actually, where there only was death.
SPEAKER_02: And I, for one, and I presume all of you here because you're here this morning, want to be part of that.
SPEAKER_02: So we see that it brings different types of people together.
SPEAKER_02: We see that in doing so, um, it doesn't please everyone because it causes uproar in certain parts of society.
SPEAKER_02: Which brings us to our last point, and we've got to combine these two because what we need to see, and you'll know probably where I'm going if you're keeping up with what I've said so far, is that thirdly, the freedom, the relief, the hope that some people enjoyed only came at the cost, pain, and sacrifice of others.
SPEAKER_02: Epoch making Christianity.
SPEAKER_02: People who carry the gospel valued it above all things and considered their lives not to be that important at all.
SPEAKER_02: So that just some, some others might be able to step into the kingdom of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: And so the relief and the freedom and the hope that some came to enjoy only happened at the cost, the pain and sacrifice of those who already knew it.
SPEAKER_02: Because the magistrates, well, they agree with the rest of the city, don't they?
SPEAKER_02: Verse 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.
SPEAKER_02: And when they had inflicted, look at this, many blows.
SPEAKER_02: They threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
SPEAKER_02: Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks, threw them into the deepest, darkest prison, thinking that that actually would contain the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: Now you'll find out next week what happens to that.
SPEAKER_02: Where again the gospel comes with great power and much authority to change people's lives.
SPEAKER_02: But look, you know, it is wonderful, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02: Lydia, right, found this great freedom.
SPEAKER_02: So that unlike the people in her city, the city where she was at, what is she like?
SPEAKER_02: Well, she's incredibly generous.
SPEAKER_02: She says in verse 15, after she was baptized in her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay with me.
SPEAKER_02: She is open, she's generous, rather than being greedy and self-interested.
SPEAKER_02: And she prevailed upon them.
SPEAKER_02: But she's open and generous, she'd find freedom.
SPEAKER_02: Clearly, the slave girl would find much relief, plagued by a spirit that was crushing her spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Released from the bondage of those who were using her only to make money for themselves, finds great relief.
SPEAKER_02: And hope.
SPEAKER_02: Hope that is indestructible and eternal.
SPEAKER_02: It's wonderful, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02: It is great.
SPEAKER_02: And you need to hold on to that.
SPEAKER_02: Because that's why you're here, and that is what you have to offer.
SPEAKER_02: But you also need to know at the very same time that that is most likely going to cost you.
SPEAKER_02: It will be painful.
SPEAKER_02: And you will be asked to sacrifice so that others might live.
SPEAKER_02: But what is this life?
SPEAKER_02: The fleeting moment compared to the eternal destiny of the people that you're speaking to.
SPEAKER_02: Isn't it a small thing for you to offer them eternal life, even though they may reject you or shun you or or laugh at you and to ride you?
SPEAKER_02: I don't think any of us are going to be stripped and beaten with rods in the marketplace.
SPEAKER_02: Although it may feel like that sometimes.
SPEAKER_02: And I don't know about you, but when it comes to this whole suffering thing, I mean I can find any number of excuses as to why I shouldn't, right?
SPEAKER_02: You know, nobody of us here wants to suffer.
SPEAKER_02: My latest one is, well, you know, surely it would be rather embarrassing to suffer, wouldn't it?
SPEAKER_02: And uh and it would make me as a Christian look like a bit of a loser.
SPEAKER_02: But not according to Paul.
SPEAKER_02: Not according to here.
SPEAKER_02: Because as we as we heard just at the very end of the reading in verse 25, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.
SPEAKER_02: They didn't feel like losers.
SPEAKER_02: And indeed, in um in Philippians, let me just go there um briefly as we as we bring things to a close.
SPEAKER_02: But in Philippians, we find that that Paul doesn't point to his successes as a Christian.
SPEAKER_02: He actually takes joy in his sufferings.
SPEAKER_02: How out of step Paul is with our version of Christianity today when he writes words like this.
SPEAKER_02: For it has been granted to you, that is to the Philippians.
SPEAKER_02: Now you're ready, it has been granted to you for the sake of Christ, that you should not only believe on him, but also suffer for his sake.
SPEAKER_02: What?
SPEAKER_02: As if that's a gift.
SPEAKER_02: It has been granted to you, it has been given to you not only to believe in Christ, I'll take that, but it has been granted to you not only to believe, but also to suffer for him.
SPEAKER_02: And then he goes on through the letter and he gives you examples.
SPEAKER_02: You know, he says, Look, this is where you knew I was at and where I am still at.
SPEAKER_02: He says in verse 30, chapter 1 and verse 30, he says, Look, you know that I um it has been granted to you not only to believe, but to suffer for his sake, as you're engaged in the same conflict you saw I had, and now here that I still have.
SPEAKER_02: If relief, if freedom and relief and hope are to come to others, Paul knew what that meant.
SPEAKER_02: What about us?
SPEAKER_02: And he gives examples.
SPEAKER_02: My favorite example in the letter is the guy called Aphyroditus.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, not simply because I like actually just saying his name, but um, for what Paul says about him, and so he goes on in chapter two to say um that Apaphroditus had been so kind to him and had gone to the point where he nearly died in order to help Paul.
SPEAKER_02: Uh Paul says in chapter two, verse twenty-seven, indeed, he was ill, near to death.
SPEAKER_02: But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
SPEAKER_02: And so Epaphroditus was from Philippi, and he says, I am more than eager therefore to send him back, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.
SPEAKER_02: Now listen.
SPEAKER_02: So receive him in the Lord with all joy.
SPEAKER_02: Who do you hold up in City Church Dublin?
SPEAKER_02: Who's the hero of the faith in here?
SPEAKER_02: Paul points to Apaphroditus as the one who had suffered near to the point of death.
SPEAKER_02: There's the hero of the faith.
SPEAKER_02: And he says, So receive him the Lord with all joy and honour such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what is lacking in your service to me.
SPEAKER_02: Honour such men and women as these.
SPEAKER_02: So it brings all sorts of different types of people together.
SPEAKER_02: It causes cities and communities to respond in opposition.
SPEAKER_02: And it drives the gospel deeper into all of our hearts because we realize that that freedom, relief, and hope comes to others only at the cost, pain, and sacrifice of ourselves.
SPEAKER_02: Now, I I would struggle actually to say what I've said to end each point thus far.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know about you, you know you're all here this morning, but I want to be part of that.
SPEAKER_02: We need God's grace to take his word to help us see what is of true value and worth.
SPEAKER_02: The eternal gospel about his son, risen from the dead, who has brought in a new dominion of freedom, relief, and hope for all people, so that we might walk in a way that pleases him and be the people that Paul is writing to in Philippians.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to this week's sermon.
SPEAKER_01: If you found this helpful or want to know more about City Church Dublin, please visit our website found in the link below.