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

     I want to thank the Lord Jesus for the opportunity to write the messages here on the blog each week. When I started doing this over a decade ago, I didn't know what to expect or how long it would last. I just decided to write things down, and then the Lord could lead people to read it if He so desired. I do want to thank all of you who keep reading the messages each week. 

     We have come to chapter four in our series going chapter by chapter and verse by verse through the book of Philippians. We finished chapter three last week focusing on the fact that one day, Jesus will return. When He does, we will receive a glorified body like unto His glorified body. I am not sure what that will all entail, but I do know that we can trust and have confidence in all that the Lord Jesus does. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

     Now, as we start chapter four, Paul states that it is his desire to come and see the people in the church at Philippi once again. It is his hope and prayer that they will keep on being faithful to the Lord. 

     Our goal in life as believers in Jesus is keep on being faithful to the Lord. We are all going to go through ups and downs in life. We will have struggles and times when it is not always easy to do what the Lord has asked us to do. However, as we are enabled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we keep pressing on. We keep doing what Jesus would have us to do. We hold fast to Him and to His word and example. 

     Paul then moves on to urge two members of the church to end their quarrelling. Euodia and Syntyche were two women who had helped Paul and Clement when they were working to establish the church in Philippi. They helped to spread the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By quarrelling with each other, they had the potential to cause divisions in the church and to be a cause of those outside of the church to not want to have anything to do with the message of Jesus that they were trying proclaim. 

     As believers, we have to make sure that we maintain a good testimony. Nothing will turn people away from wanting to hear more about Jesus than if they see those who claim to have Jesus as Lord doing the opposite of what Jesus taught and commanded His followers to do. 

     In verse four, Paul urges all to always be glad because of the Lord. That doesn't mean that we are always happy about everything that happens to us in life. What it means is that we are glad knowing that we have Jesus as our Savior, Lord, Guide and Friend. We are glad because we know that He has forgiven us and cleansed us of our sins. We our glad knowing that He has prepared a place for us, and that when we die we will go to be with Him forever. We can be glad in the knowledge that Jesus is with us always, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. 

     We can always rejoice in the Lord. And when we are glad in Him, it lets others see what a difference Jesus can make in a person's life. It is a great witness of our faith in Jesus when we are joyful in Him. So let us all love the Lord and love one another. Let us praise the Lord and be glad in what He has done for us. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am having a lot of trouble with my stomach. Please pray about this. I do want to thank the Lord that I haven't had trouble with arthritis for a long time now. 

     Please pray that the wildfires in Canada, the US and in Spain will be brought under control

     Continue to pray for peace in Ukraine. Pray for peace in Israel and Gaza, and pray for the release of the hostages. Sudan also needs our prayers for peace. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Uzbekistan and Djibouti. Pray that many will come to know about the love and forgiveness of Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue in Philippians. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Isaiah 10:1-2 -- "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey, and robbing the fatherless."

Proverbs 31:8-9 -- "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute, speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 3:17-21"

      This has been a very trying week. We had storms again, but I am pleased to report that my roof seems to be OK with the repairs I made. Time will tell. I thank you for taking time to read the sermon this week, and I hope that all of you are doing very well. 

     Last week, we looked at what Paul told us about moving forward in our walk with the Lord. We have not yet arrived. All of us, and Paul included himself, still have things that we need to work on in our lives to be more like Jesus. We keep pressing ahead doing all we can as we are aided by the Holy Spirit to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord Jesus. 

     Now, in our passage for this week, Paul urges the people to follow his example for living. He urges them not to follow after the ways of those who claim that they are believers, yet they are living in a manor that is contrary to the way of the Lord. Paul says that they are actually as a result of their behaviors enemies of the cross. He goes on to say that what they do is disgusting. Even though they may think that they are on their way to Heaven, the fact is, they are actually on the road to hell. 

     In order to more fully understand what Paul is saying here, I think we need to also look at what James had to say about this type of thing. James said that some say they have faith. That is well and good. However, if you say that you have faith in Jesus, but you don't demonstrate that through the way that you live your life, you are just deceiving yourself. A true possession of faith manifests itself in a change of life. We are transported from the darkness into light. When a person really and truly comes to faith in Jesus, that person has a change. That is what repentance means. It means to change one's mind. We change our mind and heart in regard to our old way of living, and we make the commitment to live according to the way that Jesus lived and taught us to live. 

     True faith results in following the example and teachings of Jesus. If a person claims to be a follower of Jesus but does not demonstrate that that faith is reality, that is not a person that we need to follow as an example for our lives. We need to look to those who have followed Jesus faithfully in thought, word and deed. Those are the ones who we can pattern our lives after. 

     Now, a note on all of that. Ultimately, the one who we should look to as our pattern and guide in life is Jesus. We are to keep our eyes on Him and follow Him in His way. We need to read His teachings and put them into practice in our lives. We need to love others as He has called us to do. We need to do unto others as we would have done unto us as Jesus said in the Golden Rule. He is the perfect example. He is Lord. And if He truly is our Lord, we will do what He tells us to do. His way will be a reality in our lives. 

     Paul goes on to tell us that we are citizens of Heaven. We are to follow the values of that kingdom and its king the Lord Jesus. We are waiting with eager anticipation for the day when Jesus will return and make all things new. While we are waiting, we need to be living for Him. 

     When the Lord returns, we who are His will receive a new body like unto His glorious body. We will live with Him on this earth. And He shall reign forever and forever. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that I will get to feeling better. I am doing a lot better. I know that the Lord is at work. Thank you. 

     Continue to pray for peace in this world. Ukraine needs peace. I am thankful that some aid is getting into Gaza. That area and Israel need peace, and the remaining hostages need to be freed. We also need to pray for peace in Sudan, Haiti and the other troubled areas of this world. 

     Please pray that the fires in Canada, Spain and the US will be extinguished. Pray for the safety of the firefighters. 

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

     Next week, we will start chapter four of Philippians. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Revelation 1:7 -- "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so, Amen."

Matthew 24:44 -- "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 3:12-16"

      Thank you for reading this week's message. I thank the Lord for all those who read the blog, and I hope that you all are having a very good week. 

      If you regularly read the blog, you know that we've been in a long running series studying what the Lord has to teach us from the book of Philippians. We are currently in chapter 3. 

     Last week, we saw that following the Lord Jesus and having a personal relationship with Him is the most valuable and the most important thing for time and for eternity. Everything that is apart from the Lord and what He wants for us is without value. The focus of our lives should be on serving the Lord and doing His will and following His teachings and commandments. 

     Today, we will continue in chapter 3. Verse 12 is the key verse in our passage today. It states, "I have not yet reached my goal, and I not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize." Verse 13 goes on, "My friends, I don't feel I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and struggle for what is ahead."

     Paul was a man who lived his life in such a way that he was always striving to follow Jesus to the fullest. He wanted to draw closer to Jesus and live in such a way that the Lord would be pleased with him. His whole life was centered around faithfully following Jesus. 

    Even though Paul was striving to be like Jesus everyday, he knew that he hadn't arrived. There were still things in his life that he needed to work out. He was going to keep working to be the best follower of Jesus that he could be. Why? Because Christ had taken hold of him. Jesus was everything to him. And he wanted to please Him.

     This is what our attitude needs to be. None of us have reached perfection. Sometimes we do what we shouldn't do, and many times we fail to do the things that we should. But, we must never give up. We don't want to rest on our previous spiritual experiences. We don't want to plateau spiritually so to speak and not keep going on. We want to grow in our relationship with Jesus every day so that we become more like Him. We want to be like Jesus in this world and serve others in the same way that He served. 

     Paul said that he wanted to win the prize of being called to Heaven. This was not him earning his way to Heaven. Those who are in Christ have it within themselves to want to do the will of the Lord. We persevere and strive to overcome and be like Jesus. We keep going until the day when we are called by the Lord to join Him in the place that He has prepared for those who love Him. 

     We don't want to turn to the right or to the left as we look to Jesus to guide us in the way that we should go. We want to look straight at Jesus and follow His leading and His example as we make our way through this world. We will work to overcome sin and self, and we will work to lay up treasure in heaven as we spread the message of Jesus' love to those whom we know. 

     Let each of us keep going and growing in our walk with the Lord. Let us all keep Jesus at the forefront of our lives. Amen

  Prayer Requests

     I have an important prayer request. I thought I had my roof fixed. There were a couple of rains, and there was no leaking. However, a big rain came this week, and the roof has started in again. I don't have the funds to really repair it the way it needs to be. Please pray that the Lord will provide in this matter. Thank you. 

     Now, there is something else we need to pray about. Here in the US, the president has decided to take over Washington DC. One of the things he wants to do is force those who are homeless to either go into shelter or into addiction or mental health care. If they don't, they will be incarcerated. He has also talked about moving the homeless to tent cities far outside of DC. Here is the problem. There aren't enough shelters. Funds for affordable housing are not forthcoming. Money for healthcare for the poor has been slashed. We can't just round people up and start imprisoning them for being poor and/or sick. Let us all pray that there will be a change. We need funding and services to address the problem of homelessness. We need churches to step up and help. This problem has gone on too long in this country. But just putting people in prison isn't the answer. Please pray about this.

     Let us pray for peace in the world. Ukraine needs prayers for peace. Pray for peace in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages. Pray for peace in Sudan. Haiti also needs our prayers. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Malaysia and Jordan. 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

 I John 4:19 -- "We love because He first loved us."

John 15:13 -- "Greater love has no one than this, than someone lays down His life for His friends."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 3:7-11"

      Thanks for once again coming over to view the message this week. I have had a busy week, and as always, I am glad to be able to post the message. I hope and pray that everyone is having a good week as well. 

     Today, we will once again be studying in the book of Philippians. We saw last week that Paul wanted to emphasize to the people that salvation does not come by obeying the law. We can only have forgiveness of sins and a relationship with the Lord by grace through faith. As I mentioned, Paul explicitly lays this out in Ephesians where he says we are saved by grace through faith and not by works lest anyone should have reason to boast. 

     In our passage for today, Paul says something that is truly wonderful, and that is what I want to emphasize in my remarks for this message. In verses 7-8 Paul states, "But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ." Truly powerful words.

     Paul was referring to the fact that at one time, he felt that it was of the utmost importance that he be zealous for the law. As he said, he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He felt that if he was diligent in obeying all of the law, he would then be acceptable to God. However, Paul encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. He came to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and Jesus totally and completely revolutionized his life. Paul then knew that faith in Christ is what makes a person acceptable to God. Knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him is more important than anything else in the world. 

     Now, these words have a particular meaning to me. In that first verse, Paul says what he thought was valuable he now thought of as worthless. In my case, this has something to do with some of the things that I once thought were important things. At one time, I thought having money and a nice car and a fine home were important things to obtain in life. Being thought of as an important and respected person was something that I desired. However, as I've gone through life and grown in my relationship with the Lord Jesus, I've discovered that all of those old things I once thought were important are truly worthless. The only truly valuable thing is knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him.

     Jesus told us that laying up treasure here on earth is in vain. We all should be laying up treasure in Heaven. That means building a relationship with the Lord and doing what He wants us to do here on earth to help people and make it as good a place as it can be until the day that He returns to rule and reign in power and great glory. Obtaining riches, fortune, fame and prestige are all things that are just passing away. 

     Now, I don't want to pass over the other verses in our passage for today. Paul is making clear once again that faith in Christ alone is what brings salvation. Paul wants to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection. His goal was that just as Christ has been raised, one day he too would be raised to newness of life in the world to come. 

     That is the expectation for all of those who know Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead conquering death, hell and the grave. He is the resurrection and the life. Those who put their faith and trust in Him do not need to fear death. Those who are in Christ Jesus will go to be with Him in the place that He has prepared when they die. That is not because of anything that they have done, but it is because of what Jesus has done on their behalf. We can only be made right with God through the work of Jesus on the Christ and through His glorious resurrection. It is my hope that if you have never placed your faith and trust in Jesus that you will give your life to Him today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am getting along, but I am not really feeling all that well. Please keep praying. Also, please keep praying that my area will not have in more heavy rains. Thankfully, things have been fairly calm as of late. 

     Remember to keep praying for peace. Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Sudan and Haiti all need our prayers. 

     Keep praying that aid and help will reach the poor and sick in this world. Pray that no one will die because of a lack of food or medicine. Pray that those who have will help those who are in need. 

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

    Next week, we will continue in Philippians. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.  

Verses For The Week

 Micah 7:7 -- "But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me."

Psalm 9:18 -- "For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 3:2-6"

      Thanks for reading the message. I am glad to be able to post it. I am doing some better, and I hope that you are all doing well.

     Last week, we focused on just one verse as we began our study of chapter 3 in Philippians. We focused on the fact that we need to be glad and rejoice in the fact that we belong to the Lord. In our section for today, Paul is going to switch gears and give the people in Philippi a warning. 

     In verse 2, Paul tells the people to "Watch out for those people who behave like dogs."  What is Paul speaking about? In many of the places that Paul went to to preach the Gospel, there arose opposition to his message of grace. Some believed that in order for a person to be right with God, that person had to follow the Jewish law. This was all settled at the Council of Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15. However, there will still many who said that people where saved not by faith alone but by faith plus the keeping of the law. 

     Paul wanted to make sure that people didn't fall into a false teaching. No one can be made right with God by keeping the law. No one can be made right with God through doing good deeds. As Paul will say, "We take pride in Christ Jesus." He means by this that the only way that we can be made right with God is through what Jesus has done for us. In Ephesians, Paul tells us that we are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by works lest anyone should have reason to boast. Our salvation is dependent all on the finished work of Christ on the cross and His bodily resurrection. 

     As he continues, Paul will explain that if salvation was dependent on following the law or doing good, he would have something to boast about. He was extremely diligent in keeping the law. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was firmly committed to following the Law of Moses. However, Paul knew that this meant nothing. It is only through faith in Jesus that one can be saved and forgiven. 

     Now, there is something else that we can see in the teaching of Paul in our section today. We should not go around comparing ourselves and our work to other believers. Paul is letting people know that boasting in good deeds is not the way that Jesus would want us to go. We are to follow the Lord and do His will in His way in our lives. We aren't to worry about what others are doing or what others are accomplishing. We are responsible for following the Lord as He leads us. 

     It is unfortunate that many people in churches today do not understand that they are saved by grace through faith and not by works. I see so many people who have been going to church their entire lives and they believe that they will have eternal life in heaven because they have been a good person. We will only have eternal life because of what Christ has done for us. Do not trust in your own good deeds and good works to save you from your sins. Put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and in Him alone. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am doing some better in my health. Please keep praying that the weather will straighten up in my area. Thank you. 

     Keep praying for peace in the world. Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Sudan, Cambodia and Thailand all need our prayers for peace. 

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

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