Philippians Part 1 Philippians Part 3

Philippians 2: 5-8

Good Morning,
It has been awhile since I wrote last . We left off at versus 3&4. In versus five through eight of Philippians chapter two we have the great passage of Scripture known as the "Kinosis" or self-emptying passage. In these versus we read:" Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,... he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on the cross!" This sums up the attitude Jesus had while on earth. He felt that although He could do anything He wanted, He would live as you and me. He did not have to be the center of attention and actually sought to be in the background--telling people not to tell anyone that he healed them. However, because of His uniqueness many were drawn to Him. I wonder what is our desire. Yes, each of us has gifts and abilities given to us by God,but do we have the same attitude as Christ? Do we need people to know that we have done something or are we perfectly happy for someone else to get the praise? These are questions that will go to the very way we will serve the Lord. If we become servants like Jesus then it won't matter if we are the center of attention, in fact, we will want Him to get all the praise. We will serve with humility and see the great things the Lord can accomplish through us. May we be like Christ and allow Our Father to use us as He did His Son.

Blessings on You,

Philippians 2: 9-11

Good Morning,
We now see the results of a servant's heart before the Lord. We read:" Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,...". Servant hood is not something the world really seeks after in this age. We would much rather be leaders; and yet, in order to be an effective leader we need first of all to be a servant. Christ the greatest example of this was willing to be a servant and submit to His Father's will. He did not want to experience the physical pain of the cross, but knew this was the way the Father ordained that we would receive salvation. Not only did He submit to dying on the cross; but because of His willingness, He was exalted above everyone on earth, in heaven and under the earth. What an amazing truth. In order for us to be exalted before the Father we must be willing to be His servant. We may not always understand, however, we must always be ready to submit and serve. May we always be willing to put our needs aside and fulfill the will of Our Father. Then and only then will we experience the same type of reward that Jesus experienced; life eternal with Our Father.
Blessings on You,

Philippians 2: 12&13

Good Morning,
In these verses we see that salvation has a definite beginning, but is also a process that takes place through our entire life. Verses twelve and thirteen read: "Therefore my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,..." It appears hear that there is a sense in which works come into play in salvation. This is true, but not in the act of salvation as we know that it is through faith and a gift from God, not of works lest any man should boast". James was accused of the same problem when he said:" faith without works is dead". Again he was not referring to the act of salvation which is all of God but the process and results of salvation. Paul here is talking about that once we are saved we are "new creations, old things pass away, behold all things become new". We can no longer say we are Christians and live the same way we always have. There should and is a change. We desire to obey Christ as the passage says, which means our wills are affected. We must choose between sin and what is good in Christ's eyes. When Paul says work out your salvation, he is really saying continue " to strive for the high prize in Christ Jesus". We should never be satisfied with our relationship, but always doing more to draw closer to Him. May we work each day to put of the old self and draw closer and closer to Christ. This is only accomplished by our willingness to let Christ have complete control of our lives. May the Lord bless you in your lifelong struggle to be like Him.
Blessings on You,

Philippians 2: 14-16

Good Morning,
Paul this morning talks about how we should live in this world. He writes:" Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe,...that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." One of the things that destroy the moral of a church is when we begin to argue and complain over things that really are not that significant. Churches today have split over what color to paint the sanctuary, order of a service, how we dress, styles of music and many more. Paul is saying the world acts this way and in order for him and in our case the Lord to be happy with us, we should be different. As long as things do not violate God's word we need to be flexible and try to find the good in everything. We are to be like stars that shine in the universe, which means they never stop shining. I am aware that there are things that at times we may not agree with as we gather together; however, if it is a preference and not violating Scripture what we need to do is find the good in it and praise the Lord for that. Paul says the world will stand up a take notice of those actions. I know that we are different and have different likes and dislikes, but if we all work together for the Lord then we will see Him change our hearts and those around us and do great things for His honor and glory. Let's be the shining stars amidst a dark world.
Blessings on You,

Philippians 2: 17-18

Good Morning,

Many times Christianity today is portrayed as an easy, carefree way of life. However, when we look at what Paul writes in Philippians a whole new picture appears. He writes:" But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, ...you too should be glad and rejoice with me." Paul is really saying that he expects to die a martyrs death, but that this is alright with him. He goes further and says that they, the Philippians should rejoice with him when it happen because he is doing it because of their faith in God. I wonder if we would be able to say the same thing today; that we expect to be persecuted and even die because of the faith we have in Christ. Granted all of us probably have experienced some type of persecution, but nothing that even remotely comes close to death. In the present we may not sense this will ever happen, but is our faith strong enough to become sacrifices for the Lord. In order for this to be true, we need to develop a relationship with Him that is strong and consistent.
This will only happen if we are in His word and apply it to our lives. It is not enough to say that we would be strong enough, but we must know in our hearts that He is more important than anything else in our lives. If this is true, our lives will take on a whole new meaning. Everything will be compared to the Lord's desires and not ours. I pray that all of us could say as Paul does that if necessary I am willing to give my life for what I believe. Let's begin now preparing for the days ahead whatever they may bring.
Blessings on You,

Philippians 2: 19-24

Good Morning,
Paul now tells the Philippians that he is planning to send them Timothy, one whom he has chosen himself. He writes:" I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon,... I have none else like him, who takes a general interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself...". Paul makes a very pointed statement here about the Philippians. In the beginning of the letter he shares how they have taken care of him better than any other church, however, now he says that they think of themselves and not Christ. The Philippians were a great giving church and yet it seems that they were not doing all that the Lord intended. Looking at this statement in light of our own lives, I wonder if what we do is because it directly affects us and maybe not Christ. Are we more concerned about what we do rather than what the Lord wants us to do? Are we more wrapped up in our world then the mission the Lord has called us to perform? Only you can answer that question truthfully. This is why he sends Timothy, to get them back to where they belong, and that is doing what Christ desires. The Lord has given us His word, men and women of God to challenge us, authors of books and friends to constantly remind us to do what the Lord wants and not necessarily what we want. May we heed their direction and find ourselves in the center of His will.

Blessings on You,

Philippians 3: 1

Good Morning,
In Philippians 3: 1 we read:" Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." Here we see Paul doing the same thing that Peter does and that is reminding his writers of some truths they already know. Oftentimes we find ourselves constantly trying to find something new from God's word. I think this is commendable and very helpful in our growth. However, let us never forget the basic truths that sometimes we either take for granted or really do not practice in our lives. Paul was concerned that the Philippians may have forgotten or are not practicing the things he preached to them earlier in his ministry. We all have a tendency to forget and need reminded of things from time to time. Besides, some of the most profound truths in Scripture are those we hear over and over and find new meanings each time we review them. A.W. Tozer said that it is not the things that I don't know about Scripture that bothers me, it is the things I do know and have not put into practice. May we strive to learn as much as possible from God's word, but always review and practice those truths that we know so well.
Blessings on you,

Philippians 3: 2 and 3

Good Morning,
In versus 2&3 we read these words: "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil... for it is we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh." Paul is contrasting two types of people. Those who believe you are saved by the law and works, namely the Jews, and those who are saved by grace and the death of Jesus Christ. He was warning them to be careful and not be fooled into going back to salvation by works. These individuals were Jews who would go after young Christians and try and convince them that what they did was wrong and the true way to please God was through the law and works. It was working and Paul was concerned that many would be drawn into this trap. The same happens today. People think that they must do something in order for it to be real. Whether it be Baptism, going to church, giving money to charities or being good to people. They feel the more good they do will in the end make the difference. We must remain true to Scripture and proclaim that Jesus paid it all on the Cross and what we must do is accept His perfect sacrifice and then live for Him. The cults today are very good at tapping into the work oriented mentality of our culture. That is why they are growing so quickly. However, we have the truth and if we proclaim it in the power of the Holy Spirit, God says He will do the rest. Let's not get caught up in what people want to hear, but proclaim the simple truth,"saved by grace."
Blessings on you,
Pastor Hengle