Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 6th, 2008 No Comments »
From Fear to Faith
Philippians 4:6-7 01/06/08
You know the adage that the first step in overcoming a problem is to admit you have the problem. I would say that the first step in overcoming worry is not only to admit that you are a worrier, but to also admit that this is a serious sin against the Lord. Of course we feel justified in worrying about certain things. All parents worry about their children don’t they? Isn’t it only natural? While it is right to be concerned about your child, it is wickedness to worry about him or her. Paul says “Be anxious for nothing.” That is a universal negative. It includes not worrying about your children, your finances, your relationships, your health, your future, your circumstances, the threat of terrorism, or bodily harm. Take a sheet of paper and write at the top of that sheet – Top Three Things to Worry About. For number one write nothing. For number two write nothing, and for number three write nothing!
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Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 6th, 2008 No Comments »
Reasonable Relationships
Philippians 4:2-5 12/30/07
Apparently there had been some trouble and disharmony brewing in the church at Philippi. It didn’t seem to be anything earth shattering, but it was enough of a problem to concern Paul. All throughout this letter he hinted at the problem, but now in this section, he speaks directly to the situation he was thinking about. In chapter 1 Paul had said, “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:27) In chapter 2 he told them to be “like–minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” (Philippians 2:2) Here in chapter 4 Paul gets specific about the disharmony that exists between two women in the church. He urged them to “to be of the same mind in the Lord.” Or, as the NASB puts it, “live in harmony in the Lord.” I think we can safely say from all this, that God wants us to learn to get along with each other and be reasonable in our relationships. Are you easy to get along with, or do you make things difficult in your relationships with other believers?
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Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 30th, 2007 No Comments »
Philippians 3:20-4:1 12/16/07
In this passage Paul is making a stark contrast with the sort of persons he mentioned in the previous two verses. In verses 18-19 Paul warned about those who were enemies of the cross of Christ. These people set their mind on earthly things and their end is destruction. In contrast to them, Paul says, “our citizenship is in heaven.” Is your citizenship in heaven this morning? It would perhaps be easy to say yes to this question, but how are we to know where a person’s true citizenship is? To know where your citizenship truly is, you must consider where your mind dwells. In other words, is your mind set on earthly things or heavenly things? Do you live for this world or the next? If you live for this world only you aren’t going to heaven in the next. Your end is destruction. You don’t love and worship the true God. Your god is your sinful desires.
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Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 30th, 2007 No Comments »
Deuteronomy 8
Remembering is the key to thanksgiving and forgetfulness is the source of ingratitude. How good is your memory? If you are an old guy like me, you find it more and more difficult to remember things. But here in our passage, God commands His people to remember! There is no excuse not to remember God and all His blessings! Yet all of us, young or old, are prone to forget God. This is a very dangerous thing to do. Scripture tells us in Romans chapter one that those who forget God will stop being thankful. Those who stop being thankful become foolish and their hearts are darkened. Those who become foolish God gives over to uncleanness and vile passions. Those whom God gives over to uncleanness will be punished with God’s righteous judgment. What an awful progression! It all starts with forgetfulness.
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Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 16th, 2007 No Comments »
Philippians 3:15-19 12/09/07
Spiritual maturity is not a destination, it is a journey. Where are you right now in your spiritual journey? Are you growing in spiritual maturity? Perhaps you think you’ve arrived and are already mature. Or you could be still immature in your walk with God. You might have been a Christian for many years now, but you haven’t really changed much. On the other hand, you might feel that you haven’t changed much when others can see tremendous progress toward maturity. In verse 15 Paul says, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind.” He had just finished admitting that he had not obtained perfection – he had not yet arrived, spiritually. So he said, “I press on…I reach forward to those things which are ahead… I press toward the goal and the prize.”
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Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 16th, 2007 No Comments »
Philippians 3:12-14 12/02/07
In verse 12 Paul made an admission – a confession of sorts. He said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected.” Now of course as a believer, Paul stood accepted by God in the perfect righteousness of Christ. He was not denying the perfection of what he was in Christ by virtue of what Christ had done. Yet he did not believe in sinless perfection in this life. Paul is saying here that though he was in Christ and accepted by God because of His righteousness, he had an obligation and a desire to live a life in actual practice that pleases God. And the first step in seeking to please God is to admit that you have not arrived. While, on the one hand it is easy for some to become discouraged because of failure in the Christian life, on the other hand it is easy for some to become complacent because of past success in the Christian life.
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Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 16th, 2007 No Comments »
Knowing Christ
Philippians 3:10-11 11/25/07
Do you have a hunger to know God? Man was created to know God and fellowship with Him. So why don’t people hunger after God? One reason people aren’t hungry to know God is because they are so full of themselves and full of the world that there is no room for anything else. The average person is quite satisfied with himself and with his life as it is. Oh sure, it could be better – as in having more money, more things, or more fun. But people don’t seek after God because they are content with their lives apart from God. They don’t see God as adding anything to their lives, and even think that He might take away some things if they got too close to Him. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin said that “We cannot seriously aspire to God before we begin to become displeased with ourselves. Each of us must, then, be so stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness as to attain at least some knowledge of God.”
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Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 11th, 2007 No Comments »
Philippians 3:9 11/11/07
The Bible teaches that in order to be saved, to be accepted by God and have fellowship with Him now and for eternity, a person must be righteous – perfectly righteous. Let me say that again in case you missed it: in order to be saved, to be accepted by God and have fellowship with Him now and for eternity, you must be – perfectly righteous. We know that God Himself is perfectly righteous, that is, He speaks and acts in accordance with the purity of his own holy nature. Righteousness is an attribute of God in which He maintains what is consistent with His own character, and judges that which is opposed to it—sin. Scripture says, “Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” (Ps 97:2) And, “Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.” (Ps 119:137) God will not wink at sin, nor will He neglect to punish it. He will not lower His righteous standard, His holy laws and commandments.
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Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 7th, 2007 No Comments »
Philippians 3:4-8 11/04/07
How much are you worth? I’m talking about net worth. Many of us don’t have a clue about the actual state of our finances. It is a useful thing, from time to time, to prepare a balance sheet of your assets and liabilities. You might find out that you were worth more ~ or less than you thought. At any rate, it’s good to know where you stand. Do you know where you stand right now with God? In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel once said to King Belshazzar of Babylon, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.”
If God were to evaluate your life today, to weigh your assets against your liabilities, what do you think would be the outcome? I’ll tell what would happen – we would all have to declare bankruptcy. That is exactly what the apostle Paul does in our passage today. In terms of salvation and spiritual life, Paul at one time thought he was rich. He thought he had accumulated everything necessary and more in order to be accepted by God and enter heaven.
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Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 4th, 2007 No Comments »
Philippians 3:1-3 10/28/07
Who are the true people of God? And are you one of them? There are a multitude of groups, religions and denominations today that all claim to be the true people of God. What characteristics should we look for in order to identify God’s people? While there are a number of features we could mention that would mark out those who truly belong to God, there is one that stands out in our passage today. Without this identifying trait, the authenticity of a church or of an individual Christian is doubtful. I wonder if this trait characterizes this church? I wonder if it characterizes your own life? I’m talking about joy. Not just any kind of joy, but joy in the Lord.
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