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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Job (Program #2) – The Trials of Job (1)

The Old Testament book of Job tells the story of a man whom God allowed to be touched and even damaged by Satan himself. The natural or even religious thought would say that this must have been because of God’s judgment upon Job due to some some sin or failure at his part. But let’s consider for a moment what the Bible has to say about this man, Job. In chapter 1:6-8, “Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them…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.” It’s remarkable isn’t it? For not only does the Bible reveal that Job was not a sinful man, quite the opposite it says that he was perfect and upright; and one in whom God even boasts of his goodness. So the age old question persists – Why then did God allow Satan to strip this righteous man of his possessions, his family, his health and even his most prized attainment, his integrity? That’s the subject not just of our program today but really this entire life study of the book of Job.

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Job (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

Without question, one of the truly mysterious books of the entire Bible is the Old Testament book of Job. This Old Testament book tells a story of a righteous and godly man who seeks God’s upright ways diligently. And who, as the story begins seems to have God’s fullest blessing as a result – great possessions, wonderful prosperous family, immeasurable wealth and a person who has the respect and esteem of all who know him. But suddenly tragedy strikes this one and bit by bit his wealth, his possessions, even his family, his good name and eventually even his health are stripped away. Job’s friends are mystified, ask Job what has befallen as they engage in lengthy and eloquent debate all centered around one key question, what horrible sin or mistake must Job have committed to bring upon himself such judgment from the righteous God. Well this is the natural common typical understanding of this book and perhaps we’ve read it and pondered these same questions. And really the Bible is quite interesting as it does not give us a direct answer to this. But the real hidden, rich and wealth and meaning in this book will startle and surprise you as we prepare to open it up in these coming days on the life study of the Bible.

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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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Esther (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

In the Old Testament, Esther is a sweet book covering the essential subject of the secret care and the open salvation of the hiding God in Israel’s captivity. God is omnipresent and also omnipotent yet He is hiding. Nobody knows where He is. Don’t miss out on this sweet and wonderful picture in Esther of God’s care for His people in captivity.

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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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Ezra (Program #4) – The Need for Ezras—Those Skilled in the Word of God

Ezra and Nehemiah are the recovery books of the Bible. That’s because they talk about the recovery of Israel, God’s people, in the Old Testament back to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon. Today we are going to see the crucial need in this recovery for Ezra and many that would follow his pattern today.

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