Sunday, July 21, 2013,
4:30 p.m. – the song “Should I Not Preach
Jesus” was playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Philippians 1 (ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%201&version=ESV
Partnership in the
Gospel
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.
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. 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. 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.
Paul, along with Timothy, thanked God for the saints in
Jesus Christ at Philippi because of their partnership in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. A partner is a cohort and/or a coworker who has joined with others in a
united (team) effort (struggle, labor) toward some type of common purpose, goal
and/or objective. In this case they were coworkers with Paul and Timothy in all
that was a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This began at the moment they
believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives, it appears, and
it continued at least through the time of the writing of this letter to the
saints. They not only believed in Jesus Christ, and gave their lives to him in
surrender to his will for their lives, but they were also committed to the
purpose of seeing others come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Yet, not only were they partakers with Paul and Timothy in
the gospel of Christ with regard to their faith in Jesus Christ, and their
commitment to the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but they were also
partakers with Paul in his imprisonment. In other words, they must have prayed
for and encouraged him, ministered to his needs, and stood by him and supported
him, etc., perhaps even in the face of their own encounters with great
opposition, rejection and persecution. That’s dedication! And, because of this,
Paul was confident of their continued faith, perseverance, commitment and
determination in their walks of faith, and in their partnership in the gospel
of Jesus Christ, which he knew to be the work of Christ/God within them, and that
only Christ Jesus could and would bring it to completion on the day when he
returns. And, so he encouraged them in this manner.
When we read the word of God, we do not read it merely to
gather knowledge or historical facts, or so we can debate theology, or so we
can show how much we know about the Bible. That would be futile! No, we read
the word of God because it is the living, breathing and life-giving word of
God, and because this is where God speaks his heart to us. He encourages,
instructs, counsels and directs us in the way we should go through his word.
So, what I get from this is not just an understanding of
Paul’s letter to the saints in Philippi, but what I believe are God’s words of
encouragement for us, his saints, today. I believe he wants to encourage those
of us who have committed our lives to him, and to his gospel, to not get
discouraged or disheartened when we face opposition, persecution and/or
rejection for the sake of the gospel, or when we don’t always see the evidence
of the fruit of our partnership in the gospel. He wants us to know that it is
Christ who began this work in us, and it is he who will continue it in us until
the day he comes back to take us to be with him forever. So, we rest in him. As
well, we are encouraged here to persevere in our faith in allowing Christ Jesus
to grow us, mature us, and increase his love within us, coupled with much knowledge
and discernment (very important), so that, in Christ, we will walk in purity
and in the fullness of his righteousness until the day he comes back for us, to
God’s glory.
Advancement through
Persecution
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…
Yes,
and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the
Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager
expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full
courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by
death. 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. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with
you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have
ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
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,
and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them
of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been
granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him
but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had
and now hear that I still have.
If we read the beginning of the book of Acts, in particular,
we will see how the gospel of Jesus Christ was not hindered, but it actually
spread through times when the church suffered great persecution. I think
sometimes that the church here in the USA could stand some persecution in order
to get the church off their couches of complacency into being compelled of the
Spirit of God to get the message of the gospel out to as many as possible
before Christ returns.
I find great encouragement in Paul’s (of the Spirit) words
here, especially during times when I suffer rejection, opposition and/or
persecution for the sake of being a servant of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I
can tell you that I probably would not be doing what I do nearly every day in
sharing the word of God on the internet had I not gone through times of great
suffering for my testimony for Jesus Christ. The suffering, though at one time
in my life I let it defeat me, has actually worked to strengthen my resolve to
obey my Lord, to follow him, to do what he has called me to do, and to share
his gospel. So, it has served for the advancement of the gospel, and I hope
will be for your encouragement, as well.
Should I Not Preach
Jesus
An Original Work / July 4, 2013
Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13
Woe to me should I not
preach Jesus.
I’m compelled to
preach the full gospel.
I make myself a slave
to ev’ryone
To win their hearts to
Christ.
All this I do for my
Lord Jesus,
And for the sake of
His Name;
Do it for the sake of
His gospel,
So that I, its
blessings gain.
Scripture notates the
sins of others;
Written down for us as
examples
To keep us from
setting our hearts
On evil as did those
of old.
Do not worship other
gods of man;
Do not give your
hearts to them;
Not partake in
immorality.
Do not test your Lord
and King.
So, be careful if you
think you are
Standing firm in your
faith in Jesus.
God has given his word
to warn us,
So through faith we
will not fall.
No temptation has
o’ertaken you
Except what is
commonplace.
God is faithful to not
let you be
Tempted past what you
can bear.
He gives the way of
escape.
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