Philippians 3:17-19
ESV
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
When I was growing up as a child and as a young adult in the
50’s - early 80’s, I could name a handful or so of truly godly people in my
life to whom I looked up to, and whom I admired for their walks of faith in
Jesus Christ. They weren’t perfect people, but they loved Jesus, and they
walked in his holiness. They took him and his Word seriously, and they believed
in the gospel as taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles.
They lived what they said they believed. They walked the
walk instead of just talking it. They knew what it was to fellowship in the
Spirit and with one another. They shared their faith with others consistently.
They prayed for guidance about decisions in their lives. They showed God’s love
to others. And, they prayed for one another, too, and encouraged and built one
another up in the faith. And, this was part of their day-to-day routine, too.
At church gatherings, they were also dead serious about the
Lord. The Word of God was taught in its fullness. Holiness was stressed
regularly, as were repentance and obedience to Christ. We often shared our
testimonies of faith with one another, not necessarily speaking of our
salvations, but of how the Lord Jesus was working in our lives every day, and
regarding what he was teaching us in our daily times with him and in his Word.
And, in this way we encouraged one another.
But, in the mid 80’s – 90’s, I began to notice a shift in
the church and in the lives of God’s people. Maybe this took place before this,
but this is when I really began to become aware of the change. Worldliness was
majorly creeping into the church as well as was big business. There didn’t seem
to be much of a distinction between the church and the world anymore.
Worship services were turned into game shows hosted by the
pastors, or they were turned into stage productions to entertain the masses
(the world). Pastors now became actors, entertainers, and clowns to keep the
people entertained, laughing, and coming back for more of the same. And, “fellowship”
was nothing more than parties, games, entertainment and food, and Jesus’ name
was barely or never even mentioned.
In fact, unless it was a Bible study or a church service
where we were supposed to talk about God, it seemed so many Christians were
uncomfortable talking about Jesus and their faith and their daily walks with
him. Conversations, instead, revolved around all the same things the world was
talking about – TV shows, movies, video or computer games, secular music,
superstars, sports, and worldly possessions, and the like.
Bible studies were no longer studies of books of the Bible,
but they were studies of books written by mere mortals (not God-breathed), and
they began to accept these authors almost equal with those who penned the
scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And, many of these authors
took/take great liberties with scripture, too. For, many of them twist and
manipulate the scriptures to teach what they want to teach.
And, what took the biggest hit of all was the gospel of our
salvation. It was diluted to a half-truth gospel where sin, repentance, judgment
and obedience are never or are rarely mentioned. Instead, the gospel message is
presented more like an invitation to make Jesus our pal, our buddy, but not our
Savior from our bondage to sin, and not our Lord (owner-master) of our lives to
whom we surrender our wills and submit to his purposes and walk in obedience to
his commands.
And, this breaks my heart. And, I do weep over the church
that has gone the way of the world, and my heart longs for true Christian
fellowship with the saints of God face to face, like I knew in my younger
years, and which I do experience on the internet, but not much in person
anymore. For, so many Christians have adopted the ways of the world, and so
many of our leaders in our churches are feeding their own appetites and are
deserting the sheep.
Philippians 3:20-21; 4:1
ESV
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
But, we can be encouraged, because this world is not our
home. Our citizenship is in heaven with God, and one day Jesus will return and
he will take us home to be with him. And, we will no longer live in a world of
sin. And the church (the saints of God), now living in adultery against her
Lord, will no longer be walking in the ways of the world, for she will have
purified herself and made herself ready for her Lord’s return before he comes
back to get her. For, this is what the scriptures teach (Rev. 19:7).
But, while we wait for our Lord’s return, what kind of
people ought we to be? What kind of lives should we be living 24/7? What can we
do to impact this world of ours for Jesus Christ and for his eternal gospel of
salvation?
We need to stand firm in the Lord and in his holiness and
righteousness. We need to be walking the walk and not just talking it. We need
to be conducting our lives in the Holy Spirit of God and not according to our
sinful flesh. And, we must be living lives which are separate (unlike,
different) from the world and not blending in with the world to be accepted.
For, the grace of God, which brings salvation, instructs
(commands) us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly (fleshly) passions
(lusts, desires), and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we
await our Lord’s return (See: Tit. 2:11-14; cf. Eph. 4:17-24).
And, we absolutely must be sharing our faith with others,
not just in sharing the gospel presentation, but sharing with others what
difference our faith makes in our lives 24/7. And, we need to be encouraging
one another in the body of Christ to live holy lives, and we do this by sharing
with them what the word of God teaches, and how it is being realized in our own
lives, and by us living the Word of God where others can see our faith as
genuine.
Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We need to rejoice in the Lord always, in good times and in
bad times. It doesn’t mean we won’t cry out to God in our suffering, but that
we will rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for the sake of the name
of Jesus. For, we can be rejoicing while tears are streaming down our cheeks,
too. For, we can be thankful to God for all his many blessings in our lives,
even when all hell is breaking loose all around us.
No matter how crazy this world of ours gets, especially from
this time forward, we don’t need to have any cause for worry. God is completely
sovereign over all of creation, and he had this all planned out according to
his purposes and will even before he formed the earth. He has a plan and a
purpose for each one of our lives, and he wants us to submit to him and his
purposes and let him work his will in our lives despite what this world of sin
throws at us, and despite Satan’s evil attacks against us.
Philippians 4:8-9 ESV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Too many professing Christians these days are filling their
minds up with the junk of this world. Daily they ingest the filth of this world
via numerous TV shows, movies, games, music, entertainment, videos, and the
like. Many of them surf the net indiscriminately, and they regularly end up
places no godly person should ever go.
Their minds are set on the flesh, and not on the Spirit of
God. But, they have desensitized themselves to the filth via regular use, and
they have bought into the cheap grace gospel which sears their consciences,
too.
But, if we are to follow Jesus Christ with our lives and to
be his true sheep, then we need to put out of our lives and minds what is
contrary to God’s moral character and what is contrary to his divine will for
our lives. And, instead we need to be filling our minds with what is godly,
holy, pure, righteous, and what is for the praise, honor and glory of God.
For, what we take into our minds goes into our hearts and it
comes out through our words, our attitudes and our behaviors. So, if we want to
be followers of Jesus, and we want to practice (in lifestyle) what is holy and
righteous and good, then we must cut out of our lives what is opposed to God’s
holiness and replace those things with what is pure and honorable. And, the God
of peace, and his peace will then be with us.
My
Jesus, I Love Thee
Hymn
lyrics by William R. Featherstone, 1864
Music
by Adoniram J. Gordon, 1876
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art
mine;
For thee all the follies of sin I
resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art
thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I love thee because thou hast first
loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's
tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on
thy brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love
Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest
me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold
on my brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
In mansions of glory and endless
delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so
bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on
my brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
*Copyright
status is public domain
Friday, January 25, 2019
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