Philippians (Program #28) – Excellent Characteristics of the Christian Life (2)

As believers in Christ we are all motivated at least to some degree to try to live the Christian life. Well this is noble and worthy desire but the Bible presents to us even a higher aspiration and that’s is not just to live a Christian life but to live a life that is the expression of Christ Himself. If you think that these two things are the same, you’ve better think again and you better stay with us for this life study program from the book of Philippians.

We need to live a life that is the expression of Christ Himself. It seems like a tall order.  It’s impossible by a human effort.  So we want to get into this.   Paul unfolded a numbers of things for us that are going to bring to light how it can be possible, because it is impossible on one hand, so we have a divine paradox.  more…

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Philippians (Program #27) – Excellent Characteristics of the Christian Life (1)

Enjoying Christ or been an enjoyer of Christ these are not terms we commonly used. But we will see today in the life study of Philippians that enjoying Christ issues in a life full of forbearance and without anxiety. Philippians 4:5-6 ” Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

There is an outward issue from this enjoyment of Christ. In these verse in chapter 4 we see the description of a glorious outward expression of the inward reality of a person who’s living and experiencing Christ. We can’t experience these excellent characteristics refer to apart from really enjoying and experiencing Christ, can we?

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Philippians (Program #26) – Thinking the Same Thing and Rejoicing in the Lord

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice.” This wonderful short refrain is loved nearly by all believers.  We might use it to comfort  suffering friends or we may declare it or even sing it aloud to help ourselves and others be more joyful in the Lord. But have you ever examine this verse in its Biblical context. We will do just that today, I hope in so doing we all will be made more joyful in the process.

In a lot of his Epistles the apostle Paul mentioned various saints by name that were important to him and had really joined themselves to his ministry. In this letter to the Philippians he mentioned two sisters (Euodias and Syntyche) in chapter 4, and these two even had co-labored with him in the gospel but we are going to find out that he wasn’t singling these two out in particularly in a very positive way.

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Job (Program #3) – The Trials of Job (2)

Job 2:1-3 say, “Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Satan, Where have you come from? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From roving the earth and going about in it. And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, though you have moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

This book of Job has been a real mystery to all those who have read it for centuries and it’s a wonderful thing to have the opportunity to explore this book from the standpoint of God’s New Testament economy. To look at this book, this Old Testament book, from the perspective of the New Testament.

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Philippians (Program #25) – Awaiting Christ for the Transfiguration of His Sufferings

What is the body of our humiliation referred to by the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:21?  Many people are trying to excessively glorified their physical body today and make it more honorable by indulging in the enjoyment of the material things. But the Bible says it’s not until the Lord comes that we would be conformed to the Body of His glory.

The believers in Philippi have been saved of course and regenerated in their spirits but there is still the need for them to care for the two others parts of their being; the soul and the body.  We will see in some greater details today.  The background of this book is that the Philippians believers were been hampered or frustrated by two different groups of people. One was the Judaizers, which Paul had called dogs in the concision in the some other very derogatory name. The other group is the group called Epicureans.  Why were these two groups so damaging?

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Philippians (Program #24) – Having the Same Mind and Walking by the Same Rule

What is your goal in life?  Time management seminars are constantly telling people to prioritized their time according to their goals. But what is God’s goal for us?  Does our goal in life match God’s goal?  Today’s life study of the Bible covers pursuing Christ in Philippians chapter 3, a marvelous and wonderful topic.

A tremendous verses Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do 1not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.”

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Philippians (Program #23) – Gaining Christ by Pursuing Him

“I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus”, Philippians 3:12 and in it the apostle Paul tells us that Christ Jesus has lay hold of us for a purpose, a specific purpose and that purpose is that we may lay hold of or gain Him.

Focus on Philippians 3:12-14 and this conveys a picture of the apostle Paul pursuing after Christ to gain Him. But this happened only after Paul had been gained by Christ. This is a wonderful picture of the Christian life, Christ gaining us beginning with our salvation for a purpose and then our life becomes fills with meaning as that purpose become for us to gain Him. This is marvelous. These three verses just crystallized the whole feeling of the apostle’s Paul’s life…

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Philippians (Program #22) – Conformed to Christ’s Death to Attain the Out-Resurrection from the Dead

“To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, If perhaps I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.”  Those were the words of apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10-11 and also the subject of our life study today.

Philippians 3, on the heart of the experience of Christ. These are very deep yet practical experiential points and on being conformed Christ death so that we may attain to a spiritual reality called the Out-Resurrection from among the dead.

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Philippians (Program #21) – Seeking to Know Christ, the Power of His Resurrection, and the Fellowship of His Sufferings

Philippians 3:8-11 for those who love the Lord Jesus and the Word of God this has to be the cherished portion of the Word.  “But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ.  And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith, To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” This portion of the Word is altogether in the realm of experience and enjoyment and certainly not one of any doctrine. This is marvelous.

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Philippians (Program #20) – To be Found in Christ

When someone comes to our home to visit us where might they find us?  Well maybe they find us preoccupied with normal daily human life, may be they find us in good pleasant behavior.  Probably they would find us in neither of these cases we would be happy, nothing sinful here, nothing immoral. But the apostle Paul was not so easily satisfied. He was desperate in earnest in his desire and aspiration to be found in Christ. And not just in the doctrinal, objective way, but that he would be found fully occupied and filled with this One, Whom he love and pursue and to lay hold of.

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