Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 2:14-16"

      Thank you all for once again taking the time to check out the message for the week. I hope that you are all doing well and are in good health. I am feeling pretty good. I just want the weather where I live to be less stormy and rainy. 

     Last week, we continued in Philippians looking into the fact that Paul wanted to make sure that those who where in the church at Philippi where being obedient to the commandments and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wanted them to know what it really meant to be saved. 

     There is something that I want to add to this that I didn't write about last week. There is a teaching that has become very prominent in the church. It makes being a Christian all about going to Heaven and not going to Hell. To be saved means that a person won't go to Hell. But, being a Christian and being saved so to speak is much more than this. Being saved means that a person decides to become a follower of Jesus. A person makes Jesus the Lord of his or her life. That means that in this life, we are committed to following what Jesus has told us to do. We follow what He said generally to all of those who have come to Him, and we follow what He has told us as individuals to do in this world. It's not all about the life to come. Being a follower of Jesus means just that. We follow His example. We do what He would do in this world. We live lives of holiness that are pleasing to the Lord. We don't seek our way, but we seek His way. 

     In verse 14 of our section today, Paul instructs the people to, "Do everything without grumbling and arguing." This is of critical importance. When I was growing up, my parents attended and were very active in a very fundamentalist church, and they sent me to this church's school. The church was very evangelistic, and they tried to get people in the community to come and hear the message of Jesus. There was one big problem. This particular church had the reputation in the community as being a church where the people couldn't get along. We went to this church until I was about 16. During those years, I can't even count the number of people who got mad and left the church. There was one church split after another. When I went there, that church had an average attendance of about 60 to 70. However, if everyone who left the church because of a dispute had stayed there, the attendance would easily have been 150 to 160 or more. The church had a bad reputation in the community, and no one really wanted to hear what it had to say. Thankfully, the Lord delivered me out of this situation. When we left this church, I was in such a state of depression I wasn't long for this earth. If the Lord Jesus hadn't brought my friend Toby into my life at about this time, I probably wouldn't even be around today. I am glad that I got to find out who Jesus really is. I have written a little about all of this before. In the future, I might get more into things. 

     When churches and Christians argue and fight with one another, it creates a bad testimony. It drives people away from the Lord. Things are supposed to be the exact opposite. We are supposed to shine as lights in this world as Paul says. People who don't know the Lord should see that we are living for Him and thus be drawn to want to know more about Jesus. 

     Jesus said it this way. He said that we are to shine as lights in the world so that people can see our good works and as a result give glory to the Father who is in Heaven. We don't ever want to do something bad that will cause someone to turn away from the Lord Jesus. 

     I believe that one of the main reasons that people don't want to come to church in my country is due to what they are seeing in many churches and with many Christians. They are seeing so many who are calling people names and acting in a hateful and a belligerent manner to others. And it is mostly due to politics. All of this drives people away. And it should not be this way. 

     Paul lays it out. We need to be living in such a way that when Jesus returns, He has good things to say about us. When Jesus returns, or when we meet Him after we die, we want to hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful servant." We don't want to be ashamed at His coming. 

     With this in mind, let all of us do good and right in this world. Let us love one another and love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us help to make this world a better place. May we do all that we can to draw others to Jesus. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am sure that many of you have heard about the tragic flooding in the state of Texas. Many have died, and many are still unaccounted for. Please pray that if someone is trapped and still alive that they will be rescued. Pray that people will get the aid and the help that they need in this situation. 

     Pray for those suffering as a result of other natural disasters. There is flooding in New Mexico, and a tropical storm hit the east coast. I know that there were storms in Taiwan and China. Please pray for all of those in harms way. 

    Continue to pray for peace in this world. Ukraine needs peace. Israel and Gaza need peace. People need to be able to access aid in an orderly and peaceful way. The remaining hostages need to be released. Keep praying for peace in Yemen, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan and it the other troubled areas of this world. 

    For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Burkina Faso and Mali. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. I hope that in the next few weeks that if my health keeps improving that I can get the new book on the Psalms posted here on the blog. More on that later. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

      I wanted to give everyone an update. I have been feeling pretty well lately. I thank the Lord, and I thank you for your prayers. I would like everyone to pray for those suffering as a result of the flooding in Texas. Pray that the Lord will be with everyone, and that aid will reach those who are in need. 

     Colossians 3:17 -- "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

     I Chronicles 16:34 -- "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."

Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 2:12-13"

      Thank you for joining me today for the weekend sermon. I am so glad to be able to post this message. We've been having a lot of bad weather where I live. I've had to go up on the roof and repair damage. Please pray that I can get all the work done, and that there won't be any more problems from all the rain and storms. I hope and pray that all of you are doing well. 

     Today, we are resuming our study in the book of Philippians. Last time, we focused on the section known as the Christ Hymn. This section shows clearly the humility of Jesus Christ. He was willing to set aside His Heavenly glory to come as a human in order to redeem the universe from the fall. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. 

     Now, chapter two takes a turn. As we've seen, Paul is away from the church at Philippi. In our first verse today, Paul urges the people to obey his teachings even more now that he is away from them as they did when he was with them. Paul gave the people his example and the teachings of the Lord Jesus about how they were to live their lives in the world. The mark that they were really getting the principles of the Lord Jesus deep within their hearts was that they were living according to the teachings and commandments of Jesus at all times. It was a consistent part of their lives. They didn't need Paul there to monitor what they were doing, they were simply willing to do what the Lord wanted them to be doing. 

     Paul goes on to tell them in the rest of verse twelve to, "Work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved." First of all, what does this verse not mean. Paul is not telling anyone that they are saved by works or by doing good deeds. We are saved by grace through faith alone. We are saved not by anything that we have done, but we are saved because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. 

     What Paul is getting at is that being saved means that we do certain things. A person who has a true possession of faith and not merely an empty profession of faith is a person who is living in such a way that it is evident that Jesus is the Lord of their life. A person who truly knows what it means to be saved is a person who is doing all that they can to love the Lord with all that they have within them, and they are doing all they can to love their neighbor as they love themselves. To be saved means that we are following the teachings and the commandments of Jesus. By doing this, we know that we have eternal life dwelling within us. We aren't saved by good works, we are saved unto good works. Good works are a natural outflowing of one who has Jesus within their heart. 

     Paul concludes our section by stating that we can only really follow the Lord and His commandments through His work within us. We have to be empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to be able to live for Jesus in this world. We can't do anything through our strength alone. We need the help of the Lord, and we must rely on the help of the Lord in all things. 

     A person who has true faith in the Lord Jesus will be a person living in such a way that it is evident that Jesus is living within their heart. We must all strive to live each day for Jesus as the Spirit gives us the power. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please keep praying that I will get to full health. 

     Continue to pray for peace. Pray for peace in Israel and Gaza and pray that the ceasefire holds between Israel and Iran. Keep praying for peace in Ukraine and Sudan. Pray for peace wherever you know that there is conflict and strife within this world. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Indonesia and Algeria. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue with our series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 John 10:30 -- " I and the Father are One."

Colossians 2:9 -- "For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 2:5-11"

    Thanks for taking time to read the message. I hope that all are well this week. I have been doing better, and I thank the Lord for that and for the opportunity to post this message. 

     Over the course of the last few weeks, we've been studying what the Lord has to teach us in the book of Philippians. Beginning last week, we started to see how important it is for believers to be people who are humble. Those who follow Christ are not to think only about themselves. They are to consider the needs of others. In fact, the text from last week instructed us to consider others more important than ourselves. 

     Just as He is in all things, Jesus is our ultimate example of what a humble life looks like lived out in this world. Paul tells us that Jesus cared about others more than He cared about Himself. He was the epitome of humility. 

     Our section of Philippians for today is known as the Christ Hymn. That is because of its poetic nature in the Greek, and it is due to the fact that many in the earliest days of the church used these words about Jesus in songs that were sung during the worship service. 

     In this section, Paul demonstrates for us the way in which Jesus was humble. First of all in verse 6, Paul unequivocally lets us know that Jesus was God. Jesus is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity who took upon Himself human flesh. He became God with us. 

     Even though Jesus was the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, He did not grasp on to that. What this means is that Jesus was willing to come to this earth and humble Himself by becoming a man. This was done out of the Lord's great love for us. He wanted to redeem us from the fall and provide forgiveness and new life for all who would call upon Him. 

     The humility of Jesus reached its full expression when He was willing to die upon the cross. He was humiliated, mocked and scorned while He was on the cross bearing our sins in His body. Yet, He was willing to do this so that we might be saved.

     Because He was willing to humble Himself and become obedient unto death, God has highly exalted the Lord Jesus and given Him a name above every name. One day, when Jesus returns in power and great glory, every eye will see Him. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

     Clearly, Jesus is our example of how to live a humble life. We are to care about others, and we are to be willing to sacrifice for others. We don't need to have our own way all the time. Life isn't all about us and having our wants and desires satisfied. Our life is to be lived under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in service to Him and to others. We truly serve the Lord and serve others when we are willing to tell others about the life changing power of a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. 

     Jesus came so that whosoever believes in Him might have abundant life. He desires that all people everywhere be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. You can come to Jesus today. I hope that you will. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray that I will get to feeling better. Thank you. 

     Pray for an end to the heatwave that is gripping large portions of the US and Canada. 

     Keep praying for peace. Pray that the ceasefire holds between Israel and Iran. Pray for peace in Gaza. Pray for the release of the hostages. 

     I am thankful that there has been some advancement toward peace in Congo. 

     Let us keep praying for peace in Ukraine, Sudan and Yemen. 

     One thing that we need to pray about is the end to a lot of foreign aid that was helping some of the poorest and sickest people in this world. Unfortunately, the government of my nation and the UK have decided to stop funding many foreign aid programs in order to spend more on weapons. Let us pray that individuals, churches and those who are extraordinarily wealthy can step up and make sure that people still get the help that they need. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Bahrain and Cambodia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 John 16:33 -- "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Matthew 5:9 -- "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 2:1-4"

      It is once again time for the sermon, and I am glad that you've taken the time to check out the message for the week. I am doing fairly well, and I thank you all for your prayers on my behalf. 

     We finished up chapter one in our study of the book of Philippians. We are going to begin chapter 2 this week looking in to what Paul is going to develop in this chapter on the subject of humility. We will see in this chapter that in all things, we are to look to the example that we have been given in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. 

     Philippians 2:1 begins by telling us, "Christ encourages you, and His love comforts you." I know that this is so true from what I've experienced in my own life. I've mentioned before that I think life is hard. I've had a lot of struggles with my health especially. It is during these times that I feel the Lord Jesus encouraging me in my spirit to keep on going and to not give up. 

     I've also experienced times in my life when I feel that people don't really care about me too much. The only one who I feel truly loved me for who I really am was my friend Toby. That is why I write about him and talk about him so much. However, the love of Jesus for me is the greatest love that there is. I know that no matter how much other people let me down in this life, Jesus loves me. He is always there for me, and I can feel His love within my spirit helping me to make it through the ups and downs of this life as I attempt as best that I can to do His will in this world. 

     Paul goes on in verse one to say to the Philippians, "God's Spirit unites you, and you are concerned for others." Those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior are united one with another through the witness of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus prayed that we all may be one. When those who are Christians work together to do the will of the Lord, that is pleasing to the Lord. Also, not always seeking our own way but being willing to join together with others is an important part of living a humble life. 

     Paul was pleased that the people were concerned about others. This is a big part of practicing humility. When we think about the things of others and not just on our own wants and desires, we are following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus who was truly the man for others. 

     In verse two, Paul goes on to tell us about what humility is like and what he wants for the Philippians. He asks them to show love for one another. He asks them to be united as if they were a single person. A humble person will be a loving person. Love seeks what is best of the other. A loving and humble person is willing to do what is best for someone else even to their own detriment. 

     In verse three we read, "Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves." Jealousy and pride are the opposites of true humility. A jealousy person is only thinking of himself because he thinks that he is more deserving of the good thing that has happened to someone else. Pride is the one of the sins that is declared in the Bible to be among the worst sins. Pride makes us think that we are better than other people, and that there are groups and classes of people that are less than us. This is so against everything that the Lord Jesus taught us. 

     We are to consider others as more important than ourselves, and Paul will tell us in verse four to care about others as much as we care about ourselves. This is in keeping with the words given to us by the Lord. Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He also told us to do unto others as we would have done to us. We all need to focus on helping others and making sure that their needs are met. We need to treat others the way that Jesus treated people. 

     Jesus is our example of humility. We will see more about this next week. Let us all be those who love the Lord and love and care about others. We are able to to this as we experience the love of Jesus and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

      Please keep praying in regard to my health. I thank the Lord that I haven't had problems with the storms so far. 

     We really need to be praying for peace this week. Iran, Gaza and Israel all need peace. People on all sides need to stop the violence. We need to seek the peaceful way of Jesus. Aid needs to reach the people of Gaza, and people need to be safe as they attempt to access aid. The remaining hostages need to be freed. We need peace in the Middle East. 

     Also, keep praying for peace in Ukraine, Sudan and Congo. 

     Please pray for an end to the disease outbreaks in the world. Pray that the measles outbreak in the US will end and that the mpox outbreak will end. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Albania and Tunisia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.