Sayre Woods Bible Church

Read and meditate on Philippians 2:1-4 today…

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Unity in the church is such a challenge. I have been a pastor long enough to know that when you take a bunch of different people with different perspectives and stick them together in a single organization, there will be disagreements, hurt feelings, hidden agendas, and outright conflict. Just go to a church business meeting :>). Of course, unity is a challenge wherever you go. We can’t achieve unity in the church for the same reason we can’t achieve unity in a nation, a community, or even a family. At our core, we are selfish. We want our own way. We hate to yield to others. And we want our needs met first and foremost.

But of all the organizations on earth, the church should be different. We have the resources to achieve unity. Paul lists them in the first verse of chapter two…encouragement from being united with Christ, comfort from his love, fellowship with the Spirit, tenderness and compassion. Our relationship with Christ is to fulfill us, fill us, change us, encourage us, soften our hearts. If it doesn’t, then the problem is really not with other people (though we like to blame them) but with us.

Unity is built on a common purpose. Like-minded, the same love, one in spirit and purpose. The secret to unity is not to try to get everyone to like each other. That will never happen. The secret to unity is to get everyone headed in the same direction. A football team focused together on the same goal (winning the championship) will unite together despite their differences and disagreements along the way. If the goal is big enough, it will eventually override personal preferences and interpersonal problems. Thus, the problem in churches is not personal disagreements as much as it is the lack of a common goal. The Great Commandment and Great Commission are made secondary to something else.

And unity is built on humility. In order for the common purpose to be achieved, I must be willing to set aside my own personal agenda. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit… As someone once said, “It is amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.” But in humility consider others better than yourselves. Raise your view of others. Be willing to take the back seat. Or in football language, stop caring about your own stats and concentrate on how you can make the team better.

Such unity is difficult to achieve. Even when it is achieved, it is often a momentary thing. But the taste of it is enough to make us hunger for it more. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1).

Lord, bring unity to SWBC. May we catch a glimpse of Your purpose for our body. May we set aside our differences and preferences, may we humble ourselves enough, to work together for Your glory and the advancement of Your kingdom.

Read and meditate on Philippians 1:27-30 today…

²⁷Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Paul didn’t know what was going to happen to him in Rome. But regardless of whether he lived, died, or remained in prison, Paul wanted the Philippians to stand together in one spirit contending for the gospel. The unity of believers and the living out the gospel of Jesus Christ were the two primary concerns on Paul’s mind.

I think of the situation in our own nation. We do not know what is going to happen in the next five to ten years. It seems as if our country is drifting further and further away from God, from morality, from liberty, from common sense. It’s almost as if Paul would say the same thing to us today…Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel…

Live like followers of Christ. Redeem the time. Reject sin. Show compassion. Share the good news. Stop focusing on trivial matters and keep your eyes on what really matters. Spend less time worrying and more time praying.

Stand firm in one spirit. Be unified. Put aside minor differences and remember your common bond in Christ. Work together. Encourage one another. Be the body of Christ. Do not give in to fear.

Then Paul makes a statement that knocks the slates out from underneath me…For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for him…

God has graced us with the gift of salvation and with the gift of suffering. “God, can You take the second one back? I don’t really need that. I would prefer something else.” I do all I can to avoid suffering yet God says that it is not only a part of His plan but also a gift to me. How can that be? Pain is always bad, isn’t it?

I remember reading a book by Dr. Paul Brand, Pain: the Gift Nobody Wants. Dr. Brand spent most of his life working with leprosy patients who had lost the ability to feel pain. What sounds like a great thing is actually a living nightmare. A life without pain is a life without sensation, a life unaware of danger, a life that does not know limits, that does not know when or how to stop. Though pain is unpleasant and undesired, it is life’s best teacher. Without it, we would actually suffer more.

Think of physical exercise. A good physical trainer will push your body through pain. Why? For your greater good. “No pain, no gain.” To get physically stronger, there is no way around pain. You have to push yourself, sweat, stretch and tear your muscles, so that they form stronger and more fit. A trainer who takes you through this would be considered cruel…unless you saw the goal…unless you knew that the temporary pain was working toward a greater good.

Spiritual exercise is the same process. And it works toward a greater good. God allows, even gives, difficulty to us to purify us from trivial pursuits, unite us with others, develop compassion within us, and form us into the image of Christ.

Lord, I have a hard time thanking you for pain, for difficulty. Help me to trust You. Help me to see the greater good in the midst of the unpleasant episodes of life.

Read and meditate on Philippians 1:12-26 today…

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. ¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

¹⁵It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

Paul is imprisoned in Rome. He awaits trial before good ol’ insane emperor Nero. On the human level, his life, his plans, his desires have all been interrupted. Yet somehow he continues to rejoice. What’s up with that?

The only way that Paul could get through his circumstances with joy was by looking at the bigger picture. He saw his individual story as part of the grander story of God’s redemption. Two words keep reoccurring in Philippians chapter one–”chains” (1:7,13,14,17) and “gospel” (1:5,7,12,17,27). Paul saw his chains in connection with the gospel–the good news of God’s salvation through the person and work of Jesus Christ. That is why he rejoiced…and continued to rejoice.

Is it possible that every thing we go through in life has a higher purpose? That the creator of the Universe is also the author of of a grand epic poem in which we play a vital part?That all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)? That even in the difficult episodes of life God is working to change us into the image of Christ, use us in the lives of others, and prepare us for the eternal weight of glory?

It really is an act of faith to see life in this way. And, though I wish it were not necessarily true, suffering and difficulty are often the means by which we come to see life in this way. It is the fire that purifies the gold.

Paul rejoiced because the very thing that interrupted his life (his chains) became an opportunity for others to hear about Jesus (the emperor’s guard), for believers to grow bolder in their faith, and for his own faith to be purified and strengthened.Paul could now say, For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul said to himself daily, “Whatever happens in this trial, whatever motives people have in attacking me or supporting me, whether by life or by death, I want Christ to be magnified in me.”

Whoa. I am a long way from that kind of faith. Thankfully God knows my frame and leads me at His pace. I simply must follow Him day by day, walking in step with His Spirit.

Lord, it is hard for me to transcend my own life, my own problems, to see Your plan. It is hard for me to give up my own comfort to follow after You. I feel weak. I trust that in this weakness, You will make me strong.

Read and meditate on Philippians 1:7-11 today…

⁷It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

I just preached on this passage this past Sunday so I can’t think of too much else to say. Anyone else have some thoughts?

As I re-read and meditated on the passage, the one phrase that did hit me was “that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (that’s the New King James).

Increasing love is tied to greater knowledge and discernment. They go hand-in-hand. I can know more without loving but I really can’t love more with increasing in my knowledge and discernment. Why? Because love is hard!

It is easy to say, “Love more.” Hard to do. Not only because we are selfish but because love is not always cut and dry. How do you love a child who is consistently disobeying? How do you love a teenager experimenting with drugs or sexual immorality? How do you love a spouse who is neglectful and hurtful? Love is doing that which is for the benefit of the other person. Sometimes what is beneficial is not easy to discern. Finding the line between mercy and discipline, forgiveness and redemptive consequences, grace and obedience, love and truth is not easy. We need wisdom, knowledge, discernment. That’s why Paul prays the way he prays…and that’s why his prayer is a good one for us to pray for ourselves and for each other.

Lord, may my love abound more and more. May I not focus on myself but instead learn to see the needs of others. May I have knowledge and discernment, based on Your Word, to know what is best for others, to know how to truly counsel, to guide, to care for those in need. May I make better choices in life. Aim for the excellent and not the mediocre. And may You continue to fill me with Your Spirit so that I can live for You in purity and sincerity until the day I see You face to face.

Read and meditate on Philippians 1:1-6 today…

¹Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: ²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Today begins our reading in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Paul wrote this letter around AD 62 while imprisoned in Rome. Despite his circumstances, Paul uses the word joy or rejoice 16x in his letter. For that reason, Philippians is often called “the book of joy” in the New Testament.

As we read through the book together, I encourage you to pass on any thoughts you have on the verses we are reading.

The first six verses of Philippians tell us right off the bat that Paul loved the Philippian believers. Every time he thought of them, a smile came to his face. They stuck by Paul and supported him through thick and thin. With all the problems and issues that Paul faced with the other churches he planted, this one was a breath of fresh air to him. A low maintenance church, so to speak. And the Philippian church cared for Paul perhaps more than any other. When they heard that Paul was in prison, they sent a member of their church, Epaphroditus, along with a financial gift to help Paul out. In those days, when travel was far from easy, this was no small thing. It was this kind of practical love that brought joy to Paul’s heart.

I thank my God every time I remember you. I can’t help but ask myself, “Do other people see me this way?” Do I bring joy to others whenever they think of me? I remember the scene from The Bucket List in which Morgan Freeman mentions to Jack Nicholsen two big questions of life, Did you have joy? and Did you bring joy to others? Pretty good questions. Actually they are tied together. Bringing joy to others brings joy to ourselves. As Proverbs 11:25 says, A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Is there someone you can encourage today? Is there someone you can thank God for?

Paul mentions a promise in verse 6 that should encourage us all. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God finishes what he starts. When we trust Christ as Savior, God immediately changes our spirit, the core of who we are. We are brought from death to life, transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God, adopted as sons, indwelt by His Spirit. Next God begins to transform our souls (our intellect, emotions, and will). He renews our minds through His truth, teaches us how to love and rejoice in Him, and brings us into situations where we have to learn to submit, surrender, and trust in Him. If you are a believer, then this is God’s curriculum for you. And it will last until the end of your life. At that point, the final change will take place as God will transform your body into a resurrection body like Jesus Christ…unaffected by sin, sickness, disease, disability, or death. This is God’s promise to you. He will complete His work in You. Those who are justified will also be glorified. Our response is to praise Him, trust Him, and allow Him to work in our lives without resisting, running, worrying, or whining.

God, thank You for salvation. Thank you for the many people in my life who have blessed me, encouraged me, supported me, loved me. May I praise Your name and be a blessing to others today.

Read and meditate on Galatians 6:1-5 today…

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. ²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, ⁵for each one should carry his own load.

The practical outworking of the fruit of the Spirit is seen in these verses. How should I respond when I see someone “caught in a sin”? Admonish? Rebuke? Gossip? Murmur? Feel good about my own perceived righteousness?

Apparently the Galatian believers, in their abandonment of grace and adherence to legalism, saw the sin of others as an opportunity to feel good about themselves and criticize/attack the one who had sinned. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other (5:15). Legalistic churches are scary places to be. You have to watch your back and protect your image. No one can see a crack in your Christian life. No one is allowed to be broken and vulnerable. The repercussions are too high.

Instead, a Spirit-filled, grace-oriented church acts differently. If someone is caught in a sin… The word “caught” literally means “overtaken.” It describes the person who falls into sin, who gets off track, who struggles with temptation but gives in. It is not describing the person who willfully, rebelliously, and blatantly pursues sin.

You who are spiritual should restore him gently. Who are the “spiritual”? The ones walking in the Spirit and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23). Only those with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the Spirit can appropriately and gently enter into the life of someone else struggling with sin. If you are struggling with a sin, overtaken by a temptation, defeated and trapped, who do you want next to you? Someone self-righteous and critical or someone with the grace and compassion of Christ?

But watch yourself… Helping someone struggling with sin can be dangerous to our own spiritual walk. To enter into their world exposes us to their temptation. For instance, helping someone struggling with pornography exposes us to the same temptation. We better be on our guard and aware of our own weaknesses. So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! (1 Corin. 10:12).

Carry each other’s burdens… Helping someone overcome temptation and sin is not easy. It will emotionally and physically drain you. It is entering into the ditch, picking them up, getting under their burden, and helping them carry it. Such ministry fulfills the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).

If anyone thinks he is something… Here is Paul’s stern warning against pride and self-righteousness. Deep down we tend to find a sick sense of satisfaction when we someone else sins. Why do you think the tabloids and Hollywood gossip shows are so popular? The faults and falls of others prop up our own insecure need for validation. “Hey, at least I am not as bad as they are!” Since we all fall short of God’s perfect righteousness, we prefer to compare ourselves to others rather than to the holiness of God. A critical spirit is evidence of an insecure, self-righteous heart.

Each one should test his own actions… In other words, quit comparing yourself to others! If God is working in your own heart and you are seeing progress, then praise God! Rejoice in that. Don’t rejoice because you perceive that you are more spiritual and/or less sinful than those around you.

For each one should carry his own load. We each have our own calling from the Lord. I can’t compare myself to you because God has created, designed, and gifted me differently. As Jesus said to Peter, when Peter was overly concerned about God’s plan for John, “That’s none of your business, Peter. You follow Me.” (loose paraphrase of John 21:22). Stop comparing and start caring.

Lord, give me Your eyes to see the needs and struggles of those around me. May I be Your hands and feet today.

Posted by Greg McKinney

Galatians 5: 19-21

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I guess it would be somewhat of a trap to say too much about these verses since Paul starts out by saying that this listing of sin’s acts are obvious.

This is a warning, as clear as any in God’s word, as to who will not be partaking in God’s coming kingdom.

I guess one of the key words here is ‘obvious.’

We all, believers and non-believers, know when we are doing/living wrongfully.  We don’t all call it sin, but we all know.  God has written his law in our hearts.

But it is not until we are ‘drawn’ by and to God, that we feel a need to do anything about it… And it’s not until we accept His gracious gift of salvation and we are set free from sin’s instinctual bondage, are we able to do anything about it.

God begins the process to make us ‘competent’ to live the way he intended…

“Thank you, Father, for drawing us to you and opening our eyes. Continue to convict us of our shortcomings…”

greg

Read and meditate on Galatians 5:16-18 today…

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

There is a battle in our hearts. Our selfish, sinful nature does not die at salvation. We are to reckon it as dead (Romans 6:11) but it still breathes within us.

Within me, there is a pull toward sin. I am prone to selfishness. I resist God’s will. I struggle with my own thoughts and emotions. I feel impulses that I do not want to feel. I think thoughts I do not want to think. And I deceive myself in the process. Blaming others, God, or my environment for my problems and struggles. As Paul would say, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Paul answers his own question. “I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7:25)

Galatians picks up on this same theme. How do we defeat the sinful nature that rages within us? We “live by the Spirit.” Is this easy? No way. Our flesh and the Spirit that indwells us are “in conflict with each other.” So is the answer to try harder? Not really. Because of the power of sin, “you do not do what you want.” Martin Luther called this the “bondage of our wills.” We are powerless against the desires of the flesh. Trying harder, in our own strength, only leads to greater frustration, despair, or the exchange of one sin pattern for another. The answer is counter-intuitive. Instead of trying harder in the flesh, we yield more to the Spirit.

What does that mean in everyday life? It means that the key to victory over sin is growing more in love with Jesus Christ. The more I desire Him, the less I desire sin. For instance, on a human level, the best defense against sexual immorality is a healthy, growing love relationship with one’s wife. The more I desire her, the less I desire the temptations of this world. I still must be diligent and vigilant but these things are motivated out of love not duty. The greatest motivation for righteousness is always love. And in Jesus Christ, we have a love that will never change or let us down.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

So each morning, my first responsibility is to connect with my Savior. Yield to Him. Listen to Him. Ask for His strength. Find a reason to rejoice in Him. Allow myself to be loved by Him. Then as I walk through the day, I continue to meditate on His Word, commune with Him in prayer, and experience His peace in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.

It is a learning process. It doesn’t happen overnight. But each day we walk in the Spirit, we establish a pattern for the next.

Lord, increase my hunger for You. Thank You for Your unending love toward me. Help me to yield to Your Spirit today.