Author: looking2jesus13

Bound Together in Christ

Bible Reading: Philippians 2:1-8

Colossians 2:1-2, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”

Note the four-fold occurrence of the phrase “if any” in verse 1.  The Greek grammar is such that it could be translated: “if, and it is so,” or “since.” Paul was inviting his readers to take spiritual inventory, directing their thoughts to Christ and the benefits they mutually enjoy in their common identity in Him.

Positionally speaking, God has made us one in Christ. The practical implications of this are a call to do everything necessary and possible to maintain that unity. This unity of spirit is an incredibly important thing. So much so that Paul elsewhere spoke of the need to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). We do that, as we are all commonly led by the Spirit and forthrightly pursue those attitudes and actions that work to resolve differences and promote unity.

Now, if these two verses are to be fulfilled in us, we are going to have to change some things.  By faith, we need to understand and appreciate how truly blessed we are!  We need to praise God and thank Him for all that He has done for us.  But beyond that we need to value our community.  We need to invest ourselves in it.  We need to be fully enjoined in it, realizing that church is not just something we go to, but something we are.  We need to value that unity that reflects that which exists within the Triune God.  We need to love one another according to Christ’s example, actively pursuing opportunities to show love and practice forbearance and forgiveness.  Such love means exercising our spiritual gifts for the building up of the body in the common pursuit of Christ-like maturity.  It means doing your part, pulling your weight, and being a team player.

The book “The Boys in the Boat,” by author Daniel James Brown, tells the story of the University of Washington eight-oared crew team which represented the US in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  Team members came from lower middle-class families and had to earn their way through school through the depths of the Depression.  In those days, the competition between schools was fierce and the spectators were many.  Coaches were relentless in preparing their teams to compete and win. 

In the book, you read about the importance of the synchronization of the eight rowers as they responded to the commands of the coxswain.  The coxswain was in the back of the boat, yelling out the command.  The rowers sat one behind another on either side of the boat.  They each needed to listen carefully to the coxswain.  They needed to row according to his command, keeping in sync with their fellow oar men. 

This is a wonderful analogy of what God intends for a local church.  Jesus is the Lord of His church.  He speaks to us by the Spirit through the Word.  And the Spirit leads us on a Christ-ward course.  He yells out the commands.  And he bids us to work in harmony with one another.  It will do the boat no good at all, if one oar man decides that he won’t listen to the coxswain.  It will do the church no good at all, if one of its members heads off in the flesh to cause division and strife.  No, they all need to be pulling together.  They all need to “keep in step with the Spirit.”  They all need to be actively working together by doing their part in using their own spiritual gifts in serving the body of Christ.

OUR GOD HAS MADE US ONE

Our God has made us one —
In Him our hearts unite.
When we, His children, share His love,
Our joy is His delight.

Our God has made us one —
His glory is displayed.
For as we build each other up
Our love becomes His praise.

Our God has made us one —
In sorrow and in joy;
We share the cross of Christ, our Lord,
In Him we now rejoice.

Our God has made us one —
One Church to bear His name;
One body and one Bride of Christ,
And with Him we shall reign

Common Cause

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:19-30

Philippians 1:27, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”

A wedding in a graveyard and how it came to be…

My friends, Mike and Lynda, have been caretakers of Greenwood cemetery in Astoria, Oregon for decades.  Established in 1891, the 30-acre cemetery lies on a knoll overlooking Young’s Bay and offers a beautiful panoramic view of the valley and surrounding hills.  Hundreds of headstones mark the graves of generations of those who have departed this life. 

Mike and Lynda have been our friends for many years, having attended the church where I pastored.  They love Jesus and have faithfully served Him in countless ways, one of which has been the discipling young men and women.  Amongst those has been a young lady by the name of Anna Davis, whose family also attended our church.  Since her young teens, Anna has been serving Jesus through the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship.  She’s shared the gospel with hundreds of children, and even on the other side of the world on two trips she made to Uganda with our ministry teams.

When the time came for Anna to head off to college, she attended Frontier School of the Bible in Wyoming.  As sometimes happens in such situations, she met a young man there by the name of Logan.  Both share a love for Jesus and a desire to serve Him in full-time ministry.  One thing led to another—as they say—and they were engaged to be married.  Mike and Lynda did their premarital counseling, so it was altogether fitting for Mike and Lynda to host the ceremony and for Mike to conduct the service.

So, on a late September afternoon, we were all gathered there on that sunny day in that beautiful setting to witness the joyous event.  I was soaking it all in as I was gathered there with the others, many of whom are my friends.  Surveying the beauty of the surroundings, I couldn’t help but think of the glory of the One who created it all.  The blueness of the bay and the greenness of the trees set against the cloudless sky was such a perfect backdrop for the main event.  When the time came, and in keeping with the processional music, Anna made her way across the temporary carpet in her beautiful white wedding gown.  Anna had once said that she intended to never wear a dress, so I commented before my prayer how Logan was able to do a miracle in getting Anna to do that! 

It took a miracle to put the stars in place, and to divide the lands from the sea, and to create all we see.  It took a miracle to bring those two together as He did, both from so far away and from their differing backgrounds.  Indeed, God is the best matchmaker! They both love Jesus.  They both long to serve Him.  The God who created all things made the two into one on that day, and it was a joyous occasion.

As I glanced to the right, I couldn’t help but notice the headstones that were scattered across the green fields.  A wedding in a graveyard.  The celebration of a new life together, in a setting that reminds us all of the brevity of our lives.  To be bound in one spirit and mind, “striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,” is to expend our lives in a noble and worthy cause.  It is as C. T. Studd once wrote:

Only one life, twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

A Matter of Life of Death

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:19-30

Philippians 1:21-24, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two.  My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”

My last week began with a wedding in a graveyard and ended with me leading a funeral in a ghost town.  I’ll describe, in a future post, the circumstances which led to the former event.  So today let’s talk ghost towns.  There are about 200 ghost towns in Oregon, the most of any state in the country.  They are according to one of five different classifications, depending on how “ghostly” they now are as compared to their past.  The town of the location of the funeral service is classified as a class D ghost town since it still has a handful of residents.

In the late 1800s, the town was said to be a “thriving little trade center” and once boasted of a population of nearly 1000 souls.  The completion of a railroad in the 1920s led to its eventual demise.  Although long ago weather worn of paint, many of the homes still stand.  The main surviving commercial building, the community center, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

I was there in that community center on Saturday to lead a memorial service for one of our hospice patients.  She had died weeks before, having peacefully passed into the Lord’s presence with her beloved husband by her side.  Not so many days before that, we’d prayed together for a peaceful departure, having talked about the glories of heaven and of being with Jesus.  She was ready to go.

So, we were all gathered there for her service–her husband, siblings, children, and grandchildren and a few locals.  I commented how unique it was to lead a service in such a place.  Adorning the walls of the center are so many pictures, wonderfully framed and situated so as to tell the town’s history.  It was her and her husband who framed and put them all there.  For years, the town hosted an Oyster Feed which fed hundreds of folks.  She had played an integral role in those.  From her kitchen window, she could look across the highway to the community center.  Whenever she saw anyone stopping, she’d rush over to talk with them about the history of her beloved little town.  It was a nice service for a dear woman, and I couldn’t help but think of how she’d left her mark on her community in a unique way. 

In our passage, the Apostle Paul was addressing matters pertaining to life and death, as is summarized in verse 21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  He was uncertain to what his future held.  Some five years later, he would write, “The time for my departure has come” (2 Timothy 4:6).  But as he wrote to the Philippians, with a decision in his case still pending, he doesn’t know for sure what will happen.  And he wrote of how he was “hard pressed from both directions” (Philippians 1:23).

The advantage to dying was to be with Christ, something he deemed to be “far better” (Philippians 1:23).  He yearned to be in the presence of Jesus.  On the other hand, the advantage of remaining on in the flesh was his ability to engage in “fruitful labor” (Philippians 1:22), which would have been of benefit to the Philippians themselves (Philippians 1:24).

Nothing mattered more to the Apostle Paul than Jesus.  To die was to be with Him.  To live was to serve Him.  What a wonderful perspective!   A ghost town is a fitting metaphor when it comes to this world, for it is “passing away along with its desires” (1 John 2:17).  “During the time of your stay upon earth” (1 Peter 1:17, NASB), you’ve the opportunity to do things, as you love Jesus by serving others, that will outlive you.  Either way, with your eyes and heart set on Jesus, you’ll be in a good place, in both life and in death!

GIVE ME JESUS

Take the world, but give me Jesus,
all its joys are but a name;
but his love abides forever,
through eternal years the same.

Refrain:
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
pledge of endless life above!

Take the world, but give me Jesus,
sweetest comfort of my soul;
with the Savior watching o’er me,
I can sing, though thunders roll. [Refrain]

Take the world, but give me Jesus;
in his cross my trust shall be
till with clearer, brighter vision
face to face my Lord I see.

The Good in the Bad

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:12-18

Philippians 1:12-18, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.  And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.  Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.  Yes, and I will rejoice.”

I came across this helpful quote from Chuck Swindoll years ago: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

We have little or no control over our circumstances or of what others say or do, but we can control our attitude.  And a healthy attitude can radically affect our spiritual and emotional well-being and dictate, to some extent, our usefulness to God.  An attitude is a way of thinking, a good attitude is one that is well-founded on the God of hope, borne in us by the Spirit, and instructed and encouraged to us by the Word of God. 

Paul was a man full of faith and hope in Jesus, writing to the Philippians from jail.  His positive attitude was essential to his positive response.  This was not the first imprisonment of the Apostle Paul.  In fact, back when Paul first brought the gospel to Philippi, a riot ensued, and he and Silas were locked up in a prison.  Remember that?  And what happened on that occasion?  Paul and Silas were “praying and singing praise to God” (Acts 16:25).  And the prisoners were listening to them.  Then God caused a great earthquake.  And the jailer, terrified because he himself would be executed if he were to lose his prisoners—was ready to take his own life.  But Paul shared the gospel with him, and he and his whole family were saved!  Now our text says that Paul’s later imprisonment worked out for the “greater progress of the gospel,” but what was true in this later case was also true in the first.

So, Paul was locked up in jail again.  The man who had thrice journeyed afar, bearing the gospel message, was imprisoned.  But hope, well-founded on the God of Hope, the God with whom nothing is impossible, is not constrained or deterred by challenging circumstances. How did Paul’s circumstances work for the “greater progress of the gospel?”  Because of his imprisonment, Paul was able to reach people with the gospel who would have been otherwise beyond reach (Philippians 1:13; 4:22).  Because of his imprisonment, and specifically because of his godly and courageous response to it, others had “far more courage to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14).  Though some were taking advantage of his situation, envious of Paul as they were, Paul nonetheless rejoiced in that the gospel was being preached through them, despite their suspect motivations (Philippians 1:18).  In addition, Paul’s imprisonment provided an opportunity for the Philippian believers to express their loving concern for Paul (Philippians 4:18).  Much of these positives would have been impossible if Paul would have spent his time bemoaning his circumstances, or if he had allowed his troubles to dictate his attitude.  Hope made the difference!

Optimism is defined as an “inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.”  According to this definition, Paul was an optimist, and for good reason.  It was his walk with Jesus that made him so.  It was because his hope was set on God, and he well knew what God could do.  What about you?  How’s your attitude?  As Thomas Brooks once said, “A man full of hope will be full of action.”  And he will not be deterred!

TRUST AND OBEY

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies
But His smile quickly drives it away

Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear
Can abide while we trust and obey
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Prayer Matters

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:7-11

Philippians 1:7-11, “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

If you’ve ever watched the show Fixer-Upper, you’ve seen how dramatic the result can be when a house is totally renovated and made to look beautiful and appealing.  But there is no more dramatic renovation than that which is done by God in saving a radically depraved sinner and transforming them into Christlikeness.  It is a work which is “to the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6), and when Jesus comes to be “glorified in his saints,” He will be “marveled at among all who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:10).  We will be awestruck by Jesus and by the work He has done in us!

The entirety of the believer’s salvation lies in the realm of the miraculous.  The believer in Christ is not a religious person, at least not in the sense in which we normally understand that term, instead he is a person who has been miraculously born again into a personal and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.  Every step he takes in his transformative journey is a “by grace” step, a step in which he must be led and empowered by the Spirit to do things he could never do on his own (John 15:5; Galatians 3:3; Philippians 3:3).  Progress is not made by trying harder to do better in his own self-effort but happens instead as the Spirit works though the Word to transform him into “(Christ’s) image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).  The call to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” would be impossible were it not for the fact that “it is God who works in you, both to will and work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 3:12-13).

Why does this matter and how is it related to devotion to prayer?  The realization of the depth of our dependence in the light of the glorious destiny to which we’ve been called, should drive us to devotion to prayer.  The things for which Paul prays in Philippians 1:9-11 are things we could never do in and of ourselves.  That love which “abounds more and more” and is instructed by truth and exercised with discernment, is not a human love improved upon, it is a love which “has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).  It is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  No amount of self-effort or religiosity can work to bear the “fruit of righteousness” in us, as it “comes through Jesus Christ” and is therefore to “the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:11).  As Jesus made clear, His fruit is born in us as we abide in Him, for apart from Him, we “can do nothing” (John 15:5).   His renovating work has this lofty goal: “so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10).  This saving work of Jesus is indeed a miracle, for His grand purpose is to progressively eradicate sin from us in every respect!  This alone put us in the place of constantly looking to God in prayer for direction and strength, for the journey is too difficult and the destination too far off for us to ever make it apart from His gracious leading and provision (Romans 7:24-25)!

D. A. Carson offers these insightful words in relation to this prayer: “This means that when Paul prays this prayer, he is praying for nothing less than revival.  He is praying that Christians might be, right now, what we ought to be, what we certainly one day will be.  The text teaches us to pray that we will test and approve for ourselves the highest and holiest things—all with a view to the day of Jesus Christ.  Even now, Paul’s prayer insists, Christians are to be holy as pardoned sinners can be this side of eternity.  And we pray toward that end.  It is in this way that Paul’s prayer for what is excellent is tied to the long view, to the day of Jesus Christ.”

JESUS, I AM RESTING, RESTING

Jesus, I am resting, resting
in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee,
as thy beauty fills my soul,
for by thy transforming power,
thou hast made me whole.

Refrain:
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of thy loving heart.

O how great thy lovingkindness,
vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous thy goodness
lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in thee, Beloved,
know what wealth of grace is thine,
know thy certainty of promise
and have made it mine. [Refrain]

God Finishes What He Starts

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:1-6

Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Years ago, Laura and I lived in the small town of Columbia City.  We’d often take walks through the neighborhood.  Around the corner from our house was the abandoned foundation that had long ago been overcome with weeds and brush.  I wondered, walking by, what had happened?  Had the builder run out of funds?  Did some unforeseen family situation halt the construction?  I never found out, but that unfinished project speaks to a common human malady.  We sometimes fail to complete the projects we start.  The landscape of human history is littered with an immeasurable number of such half-finished undertakings.  And even if they are quote unquote “finished,” they are never brought to the point of true perfection, because true perfection in any matter lies in the realm of the Divine.  On this side of heaven, things are intrinsically and inevitably mired in the effects of the curse.

Things are different with God.  God finishes what He starts.  He always does.  That was true of God in creation.  He began a work in creation which we read about in Genesis chapter 1.  Then we read in Chapter 2, verse 1, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed.”  That was true in the saving work of Jesus Christ, even as He declared from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30)!

Our verse speaks to the work that God does in the lives of those who trust in Him for salvation. God will finish the work that He starts in them. To put it another way, “Those who are truly saved will be kept saved by God and God will finish the work that He started in them.” The truth is founded on the reality of who God is. His love is such that nothing can work to separate us from it (Romans 8:37-39). His power is such that nothing can work to thwart His plans (Romans 8:31; Philippians 3:21). His wisdom is such that He can even use bad things to accomplish His good purpose (Romans 8:28-29). He is faithful to always, always, fulfill His promises and complete that which He has purposed to accomplish (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

He began a good work when He caused you to be born again (1 Corinthians 1:30).  His good work continues as the Spirit progressively transforms you into Christ’s image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).  One day, when you enter Christ’s presence, he will bring His work into completion, when He transforms your “lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:21).

You are in a race to be run with endurance.  The race knows of obstacles and detours and hardships that will likely bring you to your knees (or lay you flat out on your face in despair).  But the One who put you in the race is greater than all, and He will work to bring you safely home (2 Timothy 4:18).  You are in a good fight that must be fought.  You are threatened and confronted with Goliath-like opposition.  But your big enemies are small compared to our big God.  Through Him you are “more than (a) conqueror” (Romans 8:37).  You are His work of art (Ephesians 2:10).  Your salvation testifies to the miracle and majesty of His amazing grace.  Like a piece of clay in a potter’s hand, there are flaws to repair and necessary alterations to make.  The potter’s wheel goes round and round as He carefully works the clay.  We need never doubt the ability of the potter to bring to perfection the good work He began in us.

We face opposition, obstacles, challenges, defeats, setbacks, regrets, trials of various kinds—the path is not easy!  How important is this truth—that God will finish the work that He started in you! Steve Green had a song, “He who began a good work in you.”  Here’s some of what He said in that song:

HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK

He who started a work
Will be faithful to complete it in you

If the struggle you’re facing
Is slowly replacing your hope, with despair
Or the process is long,
And you’re losing your song In the night
You can be sure that the Lord Has His hand on you
Safe and secure He will never abandon you
You are His treasure,
And He finds His pleasure in you

He who started a work
Will be faithful to complete it in you

Participant or Spectator?

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:1-6

Philippians 1:3-5, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

There’s a big difference between spectating and participating! Bud Wilkinson, the former football coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, who later served in the President’s Physical Fitness Program, was once asked, “What contribution does professional sports make to the physical fitness of Americans?” To the surprise of no one, he answered, “Very little. A professional football game is a happening where thousands of spectators, desperately needing exercise, sit in the stands watching 22 men on the field desperately needing rest.”  That could well describe the dynamic in too many churches.  A host of spectators and relatively few participants.  But that’s not how God wants things to work.

The word translated “participation” is the Greek “koinonia,” which means “communion, fellowship, sharing in common.”  Some translations translate it that way, as with the KJV, “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.” 

One definition of our English word “participate” is simply “to have a part or share in something.”  A participation speaks of a shared interest of a group of people in a common thing.  Philippians 1:27 speaks to this spirit of this phrase: “Standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

We are not spectators with respect to the gospel.  It is not as if we are fans in the stands watching.  God has privileged us to have a part in the work, having been made to be participants by Him when we believed in the gospel and were born again.  We might not be very good participants.  We might not be giving much devotion or attention to the cause, but we are nevertheless participants because God has made us so.

We were born again through the glorious gospel to a participation in the gospel—the gospel message we heard and believed in, and by which we are being saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  We have been gifted, each one, to serve in the building up of the body that it might be brought to maturity in Christ.  Every part must do its part if the gospel ministry is to prosper.  There’s a good fight to fight.  A race to run with endurance.  It demands that we engage ourselves and do our part.  There’s a role for everyone to play.  And just as a team’s success demands teamwork, so the furtherance of the gospel requires your participation.  God has a role for you to play.  And there is no more noble cause on this planet than the cause of making the gospel known. 

Though he was not speaking of the ministry of the gospel per se, Theodore Roosevelt’s great quote speaks to how we need to wholeheartedly engage ourselves in this noble cause: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

A CHARGE TO KEEP I HAVE

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:
Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage
To do my Master’s will!

Look What He’s Done!

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:1-6

Philippians 1:1-3, “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart.”

Jesus Christ changes lives.  For those who trust in Him for salvation, He works a dramatic change.  Not only are they forgiven, but He also works to transform them in an amazing way.  He alone has the power to do that.

We’ve seen some of this in Acts chapter 16 as we considered what happened when the gospel first came to Philippi.  Philippi was in Macedonia (modern day Greece).  It was a Roman colony.  It lay on a main highway leading from east to west.  The people of that day were pagan worshippers, devoted to the false gods of nature whom they believed could do to them either good or bad.  They were also worshippers of Caesar.  They were people in darkness without God and without hope in the world.

Paul was on his 2nd missionary journey.  He and his team traveled hundreds of miles sharing the gospel.  He was joined by Silas, Timothy, and Luke.  Their original intent was to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit said no to Asia.  They intended them to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them.  Then Paul had a vision.  A “Man of Macedonia” was pleading for their help, so they headed that way.  Upon arrival, they visited a place of prayer.  A God-fearing Gentile by the name of Lydia was there.  The Lord opened her heart to respond to the gospel.  She and her household were saved.  They went on preaching the gospel.  A demon-possessed slave-girl fortune-teller was working to distract Paul in his preaching.  So, the Lord delivered that girl of her demon, and she was saved.  That caused quite a stir as her masters were then upset that they lost their source of profit.  They drug Paul and Silas to the magistrates.  Paul and Silas were arrested and beaten and imprisoned.  But then God caused an earthquake that worked to set everyone free.  The jailer, facing the penalty of execution for losing his prisoners, was about to kill himself.  But Paul intervened.  The jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?”  And Paul told him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.”  And he and his household all believed.

And this was the group with which God began the work in Philippi—a businesswoman and her household; a former slave-girl fortune-teller, and a jailer and his household.  Ordinary people like you and me.  We read in Acts 16:40 of how they all met in Lydia’s house. 

Fast-forward a decade or so.  Paul had subsequently finished that 2nd missionary journey and made another.  Along the way, he had visited the church in Philippi a couple of times.  At the time of the writing of this epistle, he was in prison.  Just like on that first visit.  Only this time he’s in Rome.  And his imprisonment is for 2 years.

And he writes to the church in Philippi.  In these first two verses, we have his greeting to the church.  Several persons or groups are mentioned: Paul, Timothy, the saints in Philippi, the overseers, and the deacons.  But the most important person mentioned is Jesus Christ.  He is referred to three times in these two verses.  In fact, Jesus Christ is referred to by name (in various ways) 51 times in the 104 verses of this epistle.   We have in this short little epistle one of the most Christ-centered of all the books of the Bible.  The entire Bible is, of course, about Jesus.  But here it’s as if Paul can’t say or write anything without referring to His Lord and Savior.  And he does so in a very personal way.

So, what do we find in this greeting?  Jesus Christ changes lives.  He took a former Christian persecutor, the Apostle Paul, and turned him around and made him to be an exemplary servant of Himself.  And Oh My, what a servant!  It is doubtful that anyone has ever had a greater influence for good in this world, besides Christ Himself, than that man.  How did it happen?  Jesus did it.

He took a group of sinners and made saints, literally “holy ones,” out of them.  He set them on a heavenly course to a place where there will be no more sin.  How did it happen?  Jesus did that.

He took an infant church, populated by a businesswoman, a former slave-girl fortuneteller, and a jailer and his household, and grew that church up so that it possessed a Biblical leadership and some degree of maturity.  How did it happen?  Jesus Christ did that.  Jesus Christ changes lives.  Do you know Him?  Have you trusted in Him for salvation? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).”

SINCE JESUS CAME INTO MY HEART

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I have sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

Refrain:
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy o’er my soul like the sea billows roll,
Since Jesus came into my heart.

Worship in a Jail Cell

Bible Reading: Acts 16:16-34

Acts 16:30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved?”

It was his job.  The authorities would bring to him the criminals, he would lock them up.  He had dealt with many prisoners over the course of his career, but never before any quite like Paul and Silas.  Their crime?  They had upset the local economy when they exorcised a demon from a fortune teller.  Her masters had profited much from her fortune telling.  When they saw that their hope of profit-making from her fortune-telling was gone, they dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace and to the chief magistrates.  Their indictment against them?  “They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice” (Acts 16:21).  The magistrates ordered them to be beaten and thrown into jail.

The jailer threw them into the “inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:24).  It was undoubtedly a cold, dark, and inhospitable place.  They had, in that setting, no earthly reason to rejoice, but that is exactly what they did.  “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25).  Their feet might have been tethered, but their hearts had long ago been set free to worship.  The jailer had never witnessed anything like that before.  Paul and Silas were men of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and utterly devoted to the task of sharing the gospel.  “The prisoners were listening to them” as they sang (Acts 16:25).  Paul and Silas had an attentive audience.  People are attentive to our response to difficult circumstances.  We are sometimes prone to grumble, but the Fount of Blessing can tune our hearts to sing His grace.  Praise amidst problems bears an alluring melody. 

God wanted Paul and Silas freed, so He caused a great earthquake.  The earthquake shook the foundations of the jailhouse, the prison doors were opened, and their chains were unfastened.  They were set free.  The jailer was roused out of his sleep.  Supposing his prisoners to be gone, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself.  The penalty for losing one’s prisoners was quite severe (Acts 12:19).  Paul realized what was happening and intervened.  He cried out with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here” (Acts 16:28).  The jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas (Acts 16:29).  “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” he asked (Acts 16:30).  It is important at this point to remember what has just transpired.  The jailer had locked them up.  He had fastened their feet with stocks.  He was trembling with fear—what would the authorities do to him?  What might these men do to him?  He had treated them harshly – as prisoners.  He feared retribution.  Had they been common prisoners, he might have had reason to fear.  But they were no ordinary prisoners—they cared more for their message than they did for themselves.   They said to the Jailer, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household’” (Acts 16:31).  And he believed, along with his whole household (Acts 16:33).

Paul and Silas had come to Philippi to proclaim the truth about Jesus.  Their efforts bore fruit in the salvation of Lydia and the fortune-teller.  Then God shook the jailhouse and left standing was the beginnings of a church.  The gospel had come to Philippi in dramatic fashion.  And the city would no longer be left without the light of the gospel shining in its darkness.  How diverse the makings of the newly birthed church: a businesswoman and her household, a slave-girl fortune-teller, and the jailer and his household!  Whether or not they had been previously acquainted, they were henceforth Spirit borne into a common union with Christ and a common bond in the Spirit.  God would add to their number.  And ten years later Paul would send them a letter—the book of Philippians.

HE LIFTED ME

In loving kindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me.

Refrain:
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me,
From shades of night to plains of light,
O praise His name, He lifted me!

He called me long before I heard,
Before my sinful heart was stirred,
But when I took Him at His word,
Forgiven He lifted me. [Refrain]

A Place of Prayer

Bible Reading: Acts 16:12-15

Acts 16:12-14, “…and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. 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.  One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

I recall on one occasion how Pastor Bob Emrich and I were especially blessed by the testimony of a pastor who approached us after one of our Bible conferences in Uganda.  He profusely thanked us for the Bible teaching, and then described how he and his friends had prayed for a long time for God to send them some help, for they severely lacked Bible training.  He then explained how they had long prayed that way until the day came when God answered by sending us across the ocean and over the hills to come to them.  He was so very thankful to God for having sent us!

We read of a similar occurrence in our passage.  Some ladies were gathered at a place of prayer by the riverside.  They did not know Jesus, as the gospel hadn’t even come yet to their region.  But we are told that one of their number was a “worshiper of God.”  They were praying, yet unaware that God had already been at work in answering their prayers by sending the Apostle Paul their way.  One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 3:20, which says, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think.”  Say a prayer.  Think a thought.  God is able to do more, even far more, even far more abundantly than we ask.  And such was their situation.  No matter how lofty their prayers, they could not have expected an answer which would unveil to them the very “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8)!  Nor could they have imagined how the seed of their prayers would be used by God to birth a church in Philippi.  Paul shared the gospel.  The Lord opened Lydia’s heart and she responded!  And in that way, God worked to birth a church in Philippi.

Jesus said, “I will build My church.” And here we read about one part of that work that He has been doing since the beginning.  These Spirit-led and empowered men were providentially led by God to go to this place and bear witness of Christ in preaching the gospel. The church is Philippi came into being by God’s doing, and was no doubt henceforth instructed and reminded one another of that, recalling with praise and thanksgiving to God for what He had done: “Remember how God led the Apostle Paul to come to us; Remember how he found Lydia at the place of prayer; Remember how she and the others responded to the gospel?” 

And note what happened in Lydia’s case.  Luke is the inspired author.  Note how he wrote about what happened.  Why and how did Lydia respond to the gospel?  She responded because the Lord opened her heart.  No mention is made of Paul’s charisma or outstanding personality or persuasion.  The attention is not drawn to any theatrics of Paul or any of his team—here’s the explanation given for Lydia’s response — “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul.”  And in that way, she was saved and a church was born in Philippi.  And it is no different today than it was back then so many years ago.  All the glory goes to God in the birth of a church or the salvation of a soul!

OPEN MY EYES, THAT I MAY SEE

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free
Silently now I wait for thee
Ready, my God, thy will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!