Philippians Episode 1

hello hello and welcome once again to everybody so glad to uh see you out this evening logged in on our midweek bible study here at cornerstone apostolic church so glad that you've joined with us tonight every week we are looking deeper into the word of the lord trying to understand and better apply the word of god to our lives so that's why that we are going through the epistles the letters written to the church we have to date completed a study of galatians and a study of ephesians we those two series now if if you're interested they are on the archive on the cac chattanooga.org website or on the app and if you want to watch those again love for you too or you could share them with someone else allow them to get a little deeper into the word of the lord it's always a joy to go into the bible to dig around it's a joy to watch as things begin to illuminate and life begins to happen and we apply the word to our lives it's such a great honor and privilege to do so i'm glad that you're with us tonight it's a it's a good thing to gather together please get your families together your loved ones co-workers get your bible notepads uh computer whatever you need and we're going to spend about a half an hour or so right now so uh i want you to hang in there hang in with us get your word out let's together look to the scriptures and and try to grow a little bit we are going to begin with prayer as we do every week a lot of things to pray for a lot of things to pray for pray for the physical uh emotional financial uh job situations whatever things going on in your life people that you know pray for those things mention them to the lord also i ask you to pray for the city of chattanooga our community also pray for the united states of america pray for our leadership pray for the upcoming election pray that god's will is accomplished pray together on on all the situations going on let's just just believe and bind together in jesus name and trust him that he'll intervene and he'll move on behalf of the prayers that we petition with tonight let's pray together jesus we do love you and honor you lord we are thankful for the power of the cross that works in our lives thank you for the blood of jesus that heals delivers that sets us free that saves us that makes a way for us thank you for that thank you for our time together tonight lord for every individual every family every home that is represented tonight in our study lord i thank you for that bless and touch each one of them lord we pray for chattanooga our community pray god your blessings upon our community lord give us revival pray for the united states of america pray lord for our leadership i pray for the upcoming election lord protect and keep us lead us lord god and let your will be done i pray for the military men and women that serve to protect our freedoms for the first responders that are constantly lord putting themselves in harm's way bless those dear god bless lord our missionaries around the globe help us tonight lord every heart let us draw closer to you we look to your word we believe that it is the power it is the lamp it leads and guides us in your name we're going to pray at jesus and believe you in your name we pray amen amen all right well um we are beginning tonight a this will end up being a two part series this tonight and next week and we're going to the book of philippians it is right after ephesians there oh wow there's a lot of history a lot of history here in um the the epistle of philippians first of all it was a letter written uh by the hand of paul to the churches that were in philippi okay now the point of this writing paul is in prison and he is writing with his close friend the one that helps him one that encourages him epi episodes he was a disciple of paul say that three times fast right and his teachings and this letter basically a lot of it was written as a note of appreciation to the people in the churches at philippi paul knew them very well he had worked with them he had interacted with them in fact if you were to study the church and the establishing of that church you would find that in the book of acts okay luke wrote about it and acts chapter 16 and note notice what happens here 16 and i'll just read these couple of verses to give us this foundation tonight as we go into the study verse 16 chapter 16 of acts verse number nine and a vision appeared to paul in the night there stood a man of macedonia and prayed him saying come over into macedonia and help us and after he had seen the vision immediately he and we endeavored to go into macedonia assuredly gathering that the lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them all right now a lot of other verses here that you can read uh please take time to do so there was a visit to paul in the night okay and uh he that's according to the to the story you read there him and timotheus they had they had gone to philippi now that's on it's on it's a coastal tell us about nine miles in from the coast but it's in a far-reaching province of rome okay it's way out away from the the big city if you will the city in fact of philippi is very interesting uh and and in past or in years before time periods before paul was there it was very fertile a lot of water a lot of the springs of philippi the springs of that area they're known as in historians paperwork in fact some historians would declare that that area around the place of philippi was littered literally with gold mines all over the place and that gold would be mined and that's the gold that would be used by the kings in that day to put into their palaces to make jewelry and so forth and so on this is philippi this is this area all right now according to historians again there's not a whole lot as far as a temple as far as religions if you will at that point there's not places of worship per se where the people gather kind of like last session we talked about in ephesus how there was a big temple there this philippi wasn't that way paul began to work there because of this vision that he had okay and he he went to the city he went to find the place to worship that was his custom he would go to a new area and he would begin to look for a place that he could go in and talk to the religious folks see what kind of beliefs and doctrines and what kind of history they had there and there really wasn't a an established place for him to go so the the story here in acts 16 uh he he went out by the river and there was a lot of water around again the springs that came up and so forth and he he found a family a lady there who was a a worker of fabric specifically the bible says that she she made purple fabric and it was used in royal families and in ceremonies and stuff in that environment paul connected there and things began to happen she invited them to come to her house and she fed them and started a a small group there if you will and that's where the church at philippi began god used paul as the preacher to go into this unchurched area at that time and to establish church all right and then long about 64 a.d give or take is when paul is in a jail cell and he he had established the work at philippine 56 or so they say and with that being said a few years had passed and now paul is writing a letter to them and we're going to pick up in philippians chapter one verse number one paul and timotheus the servants of jesus christ to all the saints in christ jesus which are at philippi with the bishops and deacons grace be unto you and peace from god our father and from the lord jesus christ verse three i thank my god upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day unto now now paul begins here like he does most of his letters and the greeting and salutation and so forth but notice who he addressed the the letter to he addressed it this was unlike any other of the letters to bishops and deacons um very important to mention that simply because it indicates to you and i that there had there was order in in the group there was structure something had been put into place by the hand of paul by timothy's by these others who work there and when when paul writes this letter to them to thank and encourage and so forth we're going to find the details he begins by by just thanking god that that the bishops and deacons the things are happening in the churches there in philippi when he thinks about this group of believers i would say according to the writing here that he would smile his heart would be happy he would be joyful because of the memories that he had there since paul had so much to do if you were with the birth the growth the maturing of that church isn't any wonder that that he was connected notice here if you continue in verse 6 being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of jesus christ even as it is meat for me to think this of you all because i have you in my heart in as much as both in my bonds and in defense and confirmation of the gospel ye all are partakers of my grace verse 8 for god is my record how greatly i long after you all in the bowels of jesus christ and this i pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment that ye may approve things that are excellent that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by jesus christ unto the glory and praise of god paul is certain he's very sure here that god had started to work in these precious folk and that if god began that work he was certainly going to complete he was going to continue it until it meets met it's its peak if you will because of this confidence he knew that they would be maturing continuously again notice he wrote to the bishops and deacons of course they passed along to the church members but he is certain that this word of encouragement to those who were in leadership to those who were working in the work who had sat if you will who had listened and learned from paul he's telling them listen god started to work and he is going to come complete it full of righteousness he says and knowing understanding the things of god i realize that you guys are constantly on the road of being developed and learning and trying and and sharing what you learn with others paul quite honestly he's acting like almost like a proud father here um bragging if you will on on his children on how good they are and how much that they've grown and matured and so forth it's it's very interesting that this letter is distinctly different from the last two that we looked at no notice in verse 12 here as he as he continues in this but i would ye should understand brethren that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel so that my bonds in christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places and many of the brethren in the lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear some indeed preach christ even of envy and strife some also of good will paul shares here with the church that he knows that the things that the brethren have done some of them have grown and possibly even superseded what paul had done there in that area he also knew that some others were simply just kind of moving along if you will just kind of holding their own notice here these are levels of maturity it's important that the bishops and deacons at that time in philippi as well as today understand that if you want to know more about god god will show you god will reveal himself to you if you want to kind of stay where you are and just tread water if you will you can do that as well but what paul is saying here is when the teacher and the leader pours themselves into you all he knows is that the outcome of it is not up to him the outcome of what's been poured into the student is completely up to how the student receives it applies it and then grows okay they're preaching the word god is blessing them they're working together things are happening paul again is trying his best to encourage to thank the philippians and to allow them to to see that he didn't just start the church and leave it but but he's in another position uh and you know things have happened in his life but he's thinking about them notice what he says to continue a bit further in verse number 18 what them notwithstanding every way whether in pretense or in truth christ is preached and i therein do rejoice yea and will rejoice for i know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and that the supply of the spirit of jesus christ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing i shall be ashamed but that with all boldness as always so now also christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death for to me to live is christ and to die is gain these are very very strong determined statements christ is preached okay that's what paul is instructed to do that's what he is teaching these deacons these bishops to do and they were following in his footsteps if you will a very secure statement he says whether it by life or death for me to live as christ and to die is gain in other words in in the words and then the meaning and and where paul was headed no matter what happens jesus gets the glory living or dying doesn't matter confidence is an understatement now again what paul is is is trying to get the church there in the philippian area what he's trying to get these guys to understand is that they started they began to hear what the revelation was to paul he's being confirmed by god moving in the situation and now they're growing he's removed in person and now he's writing to them saying i know that you guys have continued and you're moving forward and you're not fearful you're not fretting but you are deciding this is worth living for and dying for what a powerful statement can you say the same thing in 2020 this message is worth living for and worth dying for is that something that you have determined within your spirit within your heart it's just something to ponder ask ask somebody in your family there are you willing to give everything for the good news of jesus christ notice how paul paul settles if you will this he we're coming to the end of chapter 1 here but verse 23 listen to what he said for i am and a straight betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with christ which is far better nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you and having this confidence verse 25 says i know that i shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith that your rejoicing may be more abundant in jesus christ for me by coming to you again paul is between two points here he's got a desire to be with the them the church there at philippi but he has a desire as well to be with jesus christ he wants to be with the brethren because it brings such joy to him but the more that he understands their growth and maturity he's okay with even dying and going to be with jesus he it's a powerful example if you will that paul leaves for us who truly want him because knowing that dying is not the end of all things you see even in 2020 where we we live today uh there's a lot of folk that are fearful afraid of what death would bring to them they've not made their secure connection relationship with jesus christ so they're afraid and they live their life in that fear afraid of what what friends or neighbors are afraid of how their decisions or choices would be understood or or whatever the situation happens to be the fact of the matter is simple is if you're confident in your relationship with jesus christ then you already know being here with your family with the church with the church brethren is such a wonderful joyful experience but the other option is to go and be with jesus and that's what you'd rather do but you're okay with the both because at one moment things could change and you could be walking in his presence the next moment now notice here he continues in chapter 2 of philippians i'm going to read several verses here because this sets a stage all right if there be therefore any consolation in christ verse 1 says if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the spirit if any bowels of and mercies fulfill ye my joy that you may be like-minded having the same love being of one accord of one mind let nothing be done through strife or vain glory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others let this mind be in you which also which was also in christ jesus who being in the form of god thought it not robbery to be equal with god but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself became obedient unto death even the death of the cross verse 9 wherefore god also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father notice notice what paul says here consolation in christ comfort of love fellowship of the spirit bows and mercies fulfill the joy and purpose and have the same love working in one accord do not think of yourself more than you think of others don't lift yourself up to a place where you will be sorely disappointed and you will fall but rather encourage others lift others up give to them a helping hand if you will the the what he considers it what he calls it is strife and vainglory those things have no place in the kingdom and the body of christ strife striving vainglory i do this for myself and i want everybody to see me jesus was in the form of god but he became a man and walked in flesh no reputation if you will but a human now he was obedient unto death now this is very intriguing in that god took his word and made it flesh and that flesh yielded itself to the day in and day out of sinful man but jesus knew that was his place of course we realized that he was flesh and deity we realize that jesus himself he had the ability to to connect with the heavenlies and and because of in his flesh he was deity he was supreme if you will he still lived in the the flesh if you will of the body and the mind of a man knowing that he was obedient though to say i i have to do the job that i'm called to do and because of his desire to allow his flesh not to glory but to allow the power and presence of his purpose to supersede everything else notice how paul put it he was given a name that's above every name and that name that name we know it as jesus every knee is going to bow every tongue is going to confess that he's the lord because of his attitude his spirit what he decided what he yielded himself to do as man it is all in his name now every tongue every knee there's nobody that will ever bypass honoring and glory in the lord jesus paul understanding that wrote this letter to philippi telling the brethren the deacons and the bishops submit to the will and the purpose of god grow in that notice in verse 12 here chapter two wherefore my beloved as ye have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is god which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure how do you work out your salvation with fear that does not mean listen to me carefully that does not mean that you go find a place to be saved that suits you it doesn't mean that you simply decide what pattern what way what idea and then you go and yield yourself to it there's a billion ideas and there's a billion teachings and doctrines out there but if it does not follow the plan and the purpose of which every knee bow and every tongue confessing then you're going to miss the boat what paul is saying here to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling it simply means to you make up in your mind and in your spirit that you're going to believe the gospel of jesus christ and you have to work it out you have to allow the word of god to do its job in your life god has a plan for every single one of you i don't it doesn't matter your age where you're from your background your history your future your education the language you speak though those things are irrelevant when it comes to deciding and making up in your mind that you're going to serve the lord if you'll give 110 100 unto the lord god he is going to open doors and make a way for you and you are going to find and look and you'll discover salvation and what it takes for you okay we have a plan we have the purpose it's in the word of god there's no other way it's his way but you're gonna have to do this you can't let somebody simply grab your hand and pull you to it put you down and pour it in you know friend you gotta work it out okay so much so that in in the the middle of this second chapter in verse 14 do all things without murmurings and disputings that ye may be blameless and harmless the sons of god without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world what you do do that is unto the lord without complaining and and grumbling and rumbling and and backbiting and all that allow listen allow your passion for the things of god drive you allow those things to drive you into a deeper relationship with him shine as the light that god has put you in put in you and allowed you to be and to grow do that verse 25 says yet i suppose it necessary to send to you epiphanitis my brother and companion and labor and fellow soldier but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants for he longed after you all and was full of heaviness because that he had heard that he had been sick he had heard that he had been sick for indeed he was sick nigh unto death but god had mercy on him and not on him only but on me also lest i should have sorrow upon sorrow paul here ending this particular chapter he makes sure that the members of the church there understand especially those in ministry bishops and deacons he calls them that he was sending his dear friend to them okay and that this guy had almost died epiphanies he'd almost died but there was prayer made and god rose him up and now paul who can't get out of jail because he's in jail he now has all confidence and and all ability to say i want you to go dear friend and take this letter and i want you to share it with those that are in the church in philippi and when they see you they're going to know their prayers worked and when you share with them this letter and they're going to ask you questions and how i am and stuff you make sure that you let them know that when they give when they support when they pray when they work when they grow when they mature that is exactly what i wanted them to do when i started the church there in philippi i want you to understand friend as we close this session today i want to echo these words of paul to you do the work god called you to do please find out what it is discover it begin to do things and let god work through you in you to you all right and be content with the growth with the maturity don't don't find a place and then just simply sit down and wait but continue the movement and be joyful in the fact that he is revealing to you step at a time chapter at a time if you will of your life how he's working and how he's molding and how he's making you all glory and honor goes to the lord god and everything and all of your successes here man all of your failures and all your triumphs and in all your downfalls god is still god amen and he is still making a way now we're going to close the session and we're going to pray and this i want you to pray i want you to pray that god would somehow someway put a passion within your heart pray for that a passion in your heart to simply do what he's calling you to do and to be content with it and to realize all the powers in him no other name it's just his name submit yourself to it and watch as you encourage each other as the body grows and matures you're going to become a better christian and you're going to fall in love with jesus the more and more pray with me lord for your word tonight we thank you for our time together in your word lord we thank you i pray lord god for every heart and every home that sat through our study tonight that we'll sit through it in the future that'll look into the word grow deeper go deeper lord god and to study and to understanding dear jesus your principles and and your precepts that are there in the word i pray god that every one of us would desire to have a deeper passion for the things of god to understand you to comprehend your ways to joyfully submit to the things of god and to grow and to mature every day i pray lord and i plead your blood over every single one i'm going to honor and love you and thank you in advance i'm going to rejoice god as victory comes to each one of us in jesus name lord you're doing the work and for that we're thankful in your name lord amen amen