Philippians 1:1-11

The last time we consider the element that is essential to Christian Fellowship is “Having Others in Our Minds.”  Now I would like to move to the next essential as Paul described.

He said in Philippians 1:7-8 – “I Have You In My Heart.”   This takes us a little deeper into the heart of the matter.  It is possible to have people in our minds without really having them in our hearts.  Some could and should confess, “I have you on my nerves.”  Paul demonstrated sincere Christian Love.

What is Christian Love?  That is the tie that binds like no other tie.  Love is evidence of salvation (1 John 3:14).  Love is the spiritual lubrication that keeps the machinery of life running smoothly. 

Love and compassion are not simply mercy and sympathy.  They are not our identification with or even understanding and empathy.  One can do all those to the letter and not really love.  Compassion is only born in love!

How did Paul show his love?  He was suffering on their behalf.  His bonds were proof of his love (Ephesians 3:1) – “The prisoner of Jesus Christ for you gentiles.”  It was through Paul’s trials that Christianity was receiving a fair hearing before high authorities in Rome.  Paul’s love was not something he simply talked about it was something he practiced.  He considered his difficulties as opportunities for defending and confirming the gospel message.  That is something each of us should embrace.  Not looking for trouble, but out of trials manifest the heart of God.

Another Question is – “How Can Christians Learn to Practice That Kind of Love?”  I heard a man say, “I get along better with my unsaved neighbor than I do with my saved relatives.  Maybe it takes a diamond to cut a diamond, but I have just about had it.”  Hear me please, Christian Love is not something we work up, it is something that God does through us. It is in us and flows out of us.  If it is there, it will shine forth!

This was not Paul’s love being channeled through Jesus, but Jesus’ love being channeled through Paul.  (Romans 5:15 NIV) – “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”  The Key and it is an important Key is when we permit or cooperate with God to perform His “Good Work” in us, then we grow in our love for others!

Another Question is – “How Can They Know That We Are Truly Bound in Love to One Another?”  One is our concern for other believers and other people.  The believers at Philippi were so concerned about Paul that they sent Epaphroditus to check on him and Paul’s concern for them was reciprocal.  (Philippians 2:25-28).

I John 3:18 – “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

Another way, people know our love is we are willing to forgive one another.  In 1 Peter 3:18 we read, “And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity (love) shall cover a multitude of sins.”

Let me offer this illustration:  A radio quizmaster asked a contestant to tell some of his wife’s blunders. The man replied, “I cannot remember any.”  The quizmaster chided him saying, “Oh, surely you can remember something!”  The man said, “No, I really cannot. I love my wife, very much, and I just do not remember things like that.”  The world and too much of the church cannot grasp that concept.  Remember 1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV – “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”

Christians who practice love always experience Joy!  Love and Joy come as a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us.  Galatians 5:22 teaches, “The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy…”

I must pause again before taking up the third element Paul considered essential in True Christian Fellowship.  We will address it in the next devotional.

God bless you as you walk with Him today!

Philippians 1:1-11

I would like for us to begin considering three things that Paul described as being essential to True Christian Fellowship. 

He said – “I have you in my mind.”  (Philippians 1:3-6).  I believe we can agree that this is utterly amazing.  The apostle in dire straits himself was thinking of others, not himself.  He is in prison and awaiting trial in Rome.  However, his mind goes back to the city and people of Philippi.  He is focused on the believers there and those thoughts cause his level of joy to increase.

If you read Acts 16 you gain some insight as to some of the events that transpired at Philippi.  Some of the events could have caused immense sorrow rather than joy.  Paul was illegally arrested and beaten in Philippi.  He was placed in stocks and humiliated before the city.  However, those memories brought joy to his heart.  Why?  The jailer received Christ.  Lydia and her household became Christians.  A demon-possessed slave girl was set free!  Joy flooded his heart.  He made the choice to rejoice!

I believe a legitimate question for each of us is, “Am I the kind of Christian who brings Joy to my pastor’s heart when he thinks of me?”  Paul reflected on, with gratitude, their financial help (v.5).  But lest we misapply the principles and think that it is works that produce salvation, I suggest turning to Philippians 2:8-9.  Here we are not saved by good works.  Then in Philippians 1:6, we realize that the good work is Salvation.  Then back to Philippians 2:12-13, he teaches that God continues to work in us by the Holy Spirit.

I suggest to you that Salvation includes a three-fold work.  The work God does for us – Redemption.  The work God does in us – Sanctification.  The work God does through us – Service.  This work will continue until we see Jesus Christ at His return and then the work will be completed.  1 John 3:2 declares, “We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.”

It was a source of Joy for Paul to know that God was continuing to work in the lives of his fellow believers at Philippi.  The true basis for Joyful Christian Fellowship is having God work in our lives day by day. 

Let me give an inadequate but revealing illustration.  A woman went to a marriage counselor and said, “there seems to be friction in my home, and I really don’t know what the cause is.”  The counselor looked at her and said, “Friction is caused by one of two things.”  Then to illustrate he picked up two sticks of wood from his desk and said, “If one block is moving and the other is not, there will be friction.  Also, if both are moving in the opposite direction there is friction.  Which is it with you?”

The lady looked at him and replied, “I’ll have to admit I’ve been going backward in my Christian life and my husband has been growing.”  She then said, “What I need to do is get back into Fellowship with the Lord.” 

God working in our lives daily is the basis for Christian fellowship.  As He works in us, we are enabled to focus on others not just ourselves.

I fear making this study longer than I had planned but will pause here and take up the second thought in the next devotional. 

God bless you as you allow the Holy Spirit to work out the kinks in you and as you enjoy this day He has provided.  Have a Great Day!

Philippians 1:1-11 – “PAUL and Timotheus, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Jesus Christ who are at Philippi, together with the elders and deacons:² Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from our LORD Jesus Christ. ³ I give thanks to my God for your steady remembrance of me.⁴ In all my prayers for you, I make supplication with joy,⁵ For your fellowship in the gospel, from the very first day until now,⁶ Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun the good work among you, the same will continue it until the day of our LORD Jesus Christ: ⁷ And this is the right way for me to think of you all, because I have you in my heart, because through all my imprisonment and my defense and confirmation of the truth of the gospel, you have been partakers with me of grace.⁸ For God is my witness of how much I love you through the love of Jesus Christ. ⁹ And for this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all spiritual understanding:¹⁰ So that you may choose the things that are excellent; and that you may be pure and without offense in the day of Christ;¹¹ And be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and the praise of God.”

FELLOWSHIP – That is a good word!  It is a Bible word and has such a warm reception when uttered it needs to be kept in circulation as long as possible.  How many times have you heard words like these?  “Come over to the house for some fellowship.  What a golf game!  Man, did we have some good fellowship!  The fellowship after church was tremendous.  Do you need to go and wash the fellowship off your hands?”

FELLOWSHIP – The word seems to have many different meanings, yet it is worthy of our attention and consideration.  I believe that fellowship, like several other biblical words, has been misused, misunderstood, and needs to be rescued because of its immense value.

When we consider the life and situation the apostle Paul found himself, we discover some valuable truths.  Despite his circumstances as a prisoner in Rome, he was rejoicing!  The secret of his joy was ‘singleness of mind.’  He lived for Jesus and the Gospel.  In Philippians 1 Christ is mentioned eighteen times and gospel six times.  In verse 21 we read, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Sounds single-minded to me.

The question we need to answer is, “What is a Single Mind?”  Among other things, it is the attitude that declares, “It makes no difference what happens to me, so long as Jesus is glorified, and the gospel is shared with others.”  That is singleness of mind and focus. 

Paul rejoiced despite his circumstances because he believed that his circumstances strengthened the fellowship of the gospel.  The Promoted the furtherance of the gospel and it Guarded the faith of the gospel. 

FELLOWSHIP is to have commonality.  True Christian fellowship is deeper than sharing a cup of coffee, cake, cookies, a meal, a game, or shaking hands and having a conversation.  Too often, what we call fellowship is nothing more than acquaintance or friendship.  You cannot have fellowship with someone unless you have something in common with them.  The basis upon which Christian Fellowship is enjoyed and experienced is Possessing Eternal Life – (Jesus – Salvation).

Therefore, unless a person is born-again, he knows nothing of the fellowship of the gospel.  Thus, we discover in Chapter Two of Philippians the Fellowship of the Gospel, and in Chapter Three, we are introduced to the Fellowship of Suffering. 

When we share what we have with others, this is also Fellowship. (Philippians 4:15).  Therefore, Christian Fellowship is much more than having your name on a Church membership roll or attending services.  You can be close to a person physically and be light years from them spiritually.  You can also be away from someone physically and be near them spiritually.

I am going to pause here and introduce three things that the apostle Paul described as being True Christian Fellowship.

God bless you as you enjoy this day in Jesus!

Mark 11:22-24 – “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.  23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”  NKJV

Somebody asked me, “Are you going to give a Halloween devotional?”  My answer was, “NO!  I don’t do Halloween.”  I choose to focus on the LORD and His Kingdom, not the things of darkness except to expose them.  

In many ways, this text is a perplexing one that many Christians have attempted to achieve and failed miserably.  All of us face mountains from time to time and all of us would like to be able to remove those barriers that hinder our progress in life, right? 

To the people of Judah, in Jesus’ day, a mountain represented any hindrance to their progress.  Therefore, when Jesus told them they could have whatever they said and included the visual of the mountain they could readily, identify with what He was teaching.  How many actually believed Him is quite another story.

I would suggest there are some rules or serious considerations for ‘moving a mountain’ in our lives.  I believe it is important to understand the hindrance we are trying to remove or move and how it came to be. 

For example, if you have created a financial mountain through a lack of wisdom and discipline you will find it quite stubborn in its resistance to your commands to be removed.  If your mountain is physical sickness and you have maintained an unhealthy lifestyle failing to eat, exercise, and rest properly that mountain will be quite stubborn when you speak to it.  I would suggest that UNTIL you take proper steps to correct those root problems you will not be successful in removing them.

Let me give you a few simple rules regarding ‘Moving a Mountain.”

• Do Not Build The Mountain In The First Place.

God may not allow us to be mountain movers if we are continuously in the process and habit of mountain building.  Praying for the mountain to move will not work if we are, at the same time, responsible for their creation.  I have witnessed some get healed physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually when they removed resentment and bitterness from their hearts.  (The Lord removed them through repentance).  

I have witnessed financial miracles when the root of jealousy, greed, covetousness, and envy was rooted out.  I have seen lives move from struggle to spiritual peace when the bad company was eliminated from the associations.

• It Is Critical To Know That What You Are Saying Is Correct.

Jesus did not say that we were to pray and then hope that God will remove the mountain.  No, he said we are to believe and expect the mountain to be removed. 

I am reminded of the story of the woman who heard the preacher preach from this passage and there was a mountain near her house that she had to go around to get to town, so she went home and commanded the mountain to be removed.  The next morning and said, “Just as I thought, still here!”   That is expectation wrongly applied! 

Jesus said that the person who says to the mountain ‘be removed’ will get what he speaks if he does not doubt ‘in his heart.’  Therein is the rub.  We have the promises of God and proclaim and claim them but in our hearts, we doubt them.  The heart is the residence of doubt and the residence of faith.  It depends on what we allow in our hearts and minds. 

Doubt can be dealt with and overcome with knowledge.  The more I know the less I doubt.  It is valuable for us to examine our hearts and lives to see if we are creating the very mountains we are trying to remove.  If we are then we need to take steps to correct our actions.  Then, believe God’s promise that we can identify that mountain, speak to it through His authority and see it crumble before us.

I am not suggesting that whatever you say regardless, you get it.  I am saying that if you face mountains, not of your creation God has given us a promise that if we trust Him that mountain can be and will be removed!  

God bless you as you go through this day!

Proverbs10:8-12 – “The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall.  9 He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known. 10 He who winks with the eye causes trouble, but a prating fool will fall. 11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. 12 Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.”  NKJV

The foolishness of the heart is often revealed in the incessant blabber of the lips whereas the wise person desires to gain knowledge and instruction.  Walking in one’s integrity is a walk that exudes from a sense of peace and security, whereas the wicked seek shortcuts and pervert justice and wisdom.  The words from the mouth of the righteous bring peace, and hope and point to life whereas the mouth of the wicked propels toward destruction and often is accompanied by violence.

Sadly, I know some in Christendom who have taken what I call the ‘Three Money Approach’to sin.  They refuse to see it, refuse to hear it, and refuse to denounce or speak against it!  They pretend to see nothing, hear nothing, and offer no rejection of wickedness in our present world.  That approach, in my view, expresses Hate, not Love.  I know, I have made a very bold statement and desire to explain what I mean if you will afford me the opportunity.

If you recall the words of Solomon in Proverbs 13:24 we are told that the parent who refuses to discipline (the rod) hates the child.  We also read in Proverbs 10:12 that hatred stirs up strife, but Love covers offenses.  That is not a directive to ‘wink at sin’ but for forgiveness. 

In Proverbs 8:13 we are told that the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.  I would ask, “If you saw a relative or friend destroying their life would it be a demonstration of love to remain silent and allow them to continue when you could give a warning?”  Be careful that you do not come across as judgmental but use wisdom, compassion, caring, and love when you give the warning. Let the Holy Spirit make your words and attitude one of compassion, not judgment. I would suggest it could be argued that it is the opposite of love for if I see you in mortal danger and remain silent how can I argue that I am doing so out of Love?

I know many quote the passage in Proverbs 13:24 as “spare the rod and spoil the child” but it is stronger than that as you can read.  It is spare the rod (refusing proper discipline) is evidence of hate, not love, and spoiling the child is a minor thing compared to the destruction that awaits.  In Proverbs 23:13 we are told that in administering discipline to the child we prevent that child from death (spiritual and possibly natural).  This can be expanded to all relationships. 

As a Christian and a minister, I do not want to come across as all Hell Fire and Brimstone to the exclusion of Love and Grace.  But there are times when I must sound the alarm, identify sin as sin, and warn of its destruction.  If I ‘wink at sin’ and pretend it is not a big deal I open an unwanted door.  That sin, whatever it might be or however small, can then grow uninhibited into a deadly cancer in the soul and my ‘Three Monkey Approach’ only brings death and destruction. 

The Bible says that ‘faithful are the wounds of a friend’ (Proverbs 27:6). You may not like what I have to say, or I may not like being called out when wrong but if the objective is life and restoration then wound me, please!

The Three Monkey Approach creates a condition where the supposed pursuit of tolerance and acceptance becomes a death sentence.  It reduces the church to a social club rather than a spiritual hospital and rehab center.  If we genuinely Love one another, we will not be abusive, but we will not ‘wink at sin’ for the love that lives in us will overpower the desire to be accepted by all. 

If you are my friend, please NEVER ‘wink at my sin’ but let your love for me compel you to speak truth to my life.  I may not like it but if you love me, you will help me see the fallacy of my ways and lead me to the place where sins are covered.  If you allow me to continue without objection you only bring me and possibly you trouble. 

Oh God, please break our hearts over sin again!   May the Lord be with you as you go through your day!