Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
A Study in Philippians Week 04
Remember the themes of Philippians are: 1) the gospel; 2) unity in the Body of Christ and 3) living joyfully in Christ.
The Verses
Verse 1 “Therefore…” This is Paul’s logical conclusion from what he has been saying. The sentence, stripped of its modifiers, is: “Therefore, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord.”
How is that?
First, focus on the gospel and the gospel alone.
Second, be humble, as Christ was humble. Notice that Christ’s humility did not keep Him from expressing the difference between those who loved the Lord and those who loved themselves.
Third, be unified, with no arguing or complaining.
Fourth, put your confidence in Jesus, not in the world.
Fifth, keep on keeping on, even when keeping on is tough.
2-9: Agree with each other in the Lord; rejoice in the Lord; relax and focus on the good things.
10-23 Here Paul expounds on the benefits of having an attitude of gratitude.
Notice how often Paul speaks of the Lord as the reason for our behavior.
Remember in 2:9-11 Paul tells us that every knee will bow and evrery tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The word, Lord, is a disignation of ultimate authority.
The late, great S.M. Lockridge, former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California expresed the Lordship of Jesus this way:
My King
My King was born King.
The Bible says my King is a seven-way king.
He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king....He's the King of Israel; that's a national King....He's the King of Righteousness....He's the King of the Ages.....He's the King of Heaven....He's the King of Glory....He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords
That's my King.
Well....I wonder, if you know Him?
David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.”
My King is a sovereign King.
No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supplies. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings
He's enduringly strong....He's entirely sincere....He's eternally steadfast....He's immortally graceful....He's imperially powerful....He's impartially merciful!
Do you know Him?
He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world.
He's God's Son....He's a sinner's Savior....He's the centerpiece of civilization....He stands alone in Himself....He's august....He's unique....He's unparalleled....He's unprecedented.... He’s Supreme…He’s preeminent…He's the loftiest idea in literature....He's the highest personality in philosophy....He's the supreme problem in higher criticism....He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology....He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion....He's the miracle of the age.... He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him....He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Savior...... I wonder if you know Him today?
He's the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously…He supplies strength for the weak....He's available for the tempted and the tried....He sympathizes and He saves....He strengthens and sustains....He guards and He guides....He heals the sick....He cleanses lepers....He forgives sinners....He discharges debtors....He delivers captives....He defends the feeble....He blesses the young....He serves the unfortunate....He regards the aged....He rewards the diligent....and He beautifies the meek.
Is that the King you know today?
Well, my King is the key to knowledge....He's the wellspring to wisdom....He's the doorway of deliverance....He's the pathway of peace....He's the roadway of righteousness ....He's the highway of holiness....He's the gateway of glory....... He’s the master of the mighty…He’s the captain of the conquerors…He’s the head of the heros…He’s the leader of the legislators…He’s the overseer of the overcomers…He’s the governor of governors…He’s the Prince of princes…He’s the King of kings…and He’s the Lord of lords.
Do you know Him?
Well....His office is manifold....His promise is sure....His light is matchless....His goodness is limitless....His mercy is everlasting....His love never changes....His word is enough....His grace is sufficient....His reign is righteous....and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable....He's incomprehensible....He's invincible....He's irresistible.
The heavens of Heaven cannot contain Him…let alone a man explain Him.
You can't get Him out of your mind....You can't get Him off of your hands....You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him.
The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him....Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him....The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree....Herod couldn't kill Him....Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him.
That's my King.
He always has been…and He always will be…He had no predecessor…He’ll have no successor…There was nobody before Him…and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him…and He’s not going to resign.
"Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory...."
All the power belongs to my King.
You may talk about black power, white power, green power…but it’s God’s power.
Thine is the power…and the glory!
We’re trying to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His.
Yes, Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory forever and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever and ever, and ever…How long is that? And ever...and ever... and ever, and ever… and when you get through with all the forevers, then.... AMEN!....AMEN!
by Dr. S.M. Lockridge
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
A Study in Philippians Week 03
Remember the themes of Philippians are: 1) the gospel; 2) unity in the Body of Christ and 3) living joyfully in Christ.
The Verses
1-6 Paul repeats what he has written in 2:18…that we should be happy and satisfied in our relationship with God in Christ.
In verse 2, Paul warns against those who pervert the gospel by requiring physical signs of “sanctification.”
Circumcision was a ritual intended by the Jews to show identity with Yahweh (God.). But Paul says such outward signs are not needed because Christ is our circumcision. He insists that belonging to Christ is a spiritual matter (verse 3).
Paul gives his testimony in verses 4 & 5 of what he was before coming to Christ He totally rejects the idea of any kind of legalism leading to righteousness.
7-11 Verse 7 finds Paul refuting his own attempt to satisfy the law by realizing that it was all worth no more than the scum at the bottom of the dumpster.
Nothing we can do compares with actually knowing Christ through faith. This leads to a
righteousness quite unrelated to deeds, but totally resting in realizing the power of Christ’s
resurrection from the dead.
12-16 Paul admits his imperfection, even as a Christian, but determines to press on to “take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
So…for what has Christ taken hold of you?
Verse 13 says forget the past. You can’t change it and feeling all mully-grubby about it does no good at all. As the old Youth Musical says, “Yesterday has come and gone. Tomorrow hasn’t yet arrived. The only thing we have is now.”
Live in the now for Christ while anticipating the marvelous goal set before you of Heaven and an eternity with Christ in the very presence of the God-head.
The prize is not given out for our good behavior. It is given out because of our faith in Christ Jesus. The prize is not a crown, but a heavenly presence of Christ Jesus.
Thinking like this is a sign of maturity in Christ.
17-21 Following Paul’s example does not mean doing the things that he does, it means living in, through and for Christ Jesus.
The cross of Christ is not popular with the world. The world of Islam rejects it entirely. Most of the secular world not only rejects it, but exhibits strong animosity toward it…hating the very thought of it.
Verse 20 teaches us that we are note even citizens of this world. We are in it, but not a part of it. We are living here, but it is not our home. Our citizenship is (not will be) in Heaven.
We can rejoice that our bodies will be transformed! No more infirmities, no more heart attacks, no more arthritis, no more cancer! We will be like Christ and our bodies, whatever form the take, will be GLORIOUS!
All of this is possible when, and only when, we place all of our faith and trust in the finished work of Christ Jesus at the cross of Calvary and His resurrection. We do this by realizing our sin (Romans 3:23); repenting of our sin (Acts 17:30); and appropriating John 3:16 for our personal selves.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A Study in Philippians Week 2
Back in I Corinthians we saw Paul leaning heavily on the theme of unity in the Body of Christ. In Philippians we find the same theme, coupled with following Christ’s example of humility.
The Verses
01. 1-11 Unity begins and ends with Christ (the Greek word for Messiah). He is our example and He is the one who can make us brave, strong, happy and kind-hearted.
Paul exhorts the Philippians to make him happy by being unified (agree, in verse 2) We in the church should act as one person with only one purpose.
So many people make up rules for the church, try to take the church in so many different “socially relevant” directions and use the church as their sphere of influence. Paul asks us to be single minded, and that single-mindedness must be only for the gospel.
Verses 6-11 seem to come from a song. Maybe its one of the songs he was singing
when the prison doors flew open when he and Silas were in prison.
02. 12-18 God has provided our salvation from the power, presence and consequences of our sin, and we should live like we’ve been saved.
Suppose you fell from a cliff and were doomed to die when you hit the ground. Suppose that a little more than half-way down someone lassoed you and kept you from falling to the ground. What emotions and feelings would you have? Would you show gratitude? Would you feel relief? Would you recognize your second chance at life?
All of these should be a part of our response to the GRACE God has poured out on us in Christ.
Verse 14 addresses one of the important things we must give up to achieve unity in the body: grumbling. Grumbling is all about not getting one’s own way.
Our obedience should not come from knowing the “rules,” or from self-righteousness, but from a confidence that Gospel has provided so rich a salvation.
That confidence should make us lights in this world. Remember the words of Jesus: “Ye are the light of the world…”? Well here Paul reiterates that thought.
Paul reminds us not to be afraid of death, but to relish it and find happiness in it (verse 17). If that seems strange, then we may need to re-evaluate our position in Christ or our understanding of what He has done for us.
03. 19-30 In verse 21 Paul reiterates that we should not be self-seekers. (See also I Corinthians 13).
Verses 25-30 Epaphroditus belonged to the group of Christians at Philippi. The
Christians at Philippi had sent him to Rome. He had brought gifts from them to Paul.
(See chapter 4:18.) Epaphroditus had been very ill while he was at Rome. But God
had made him well again.
Verse 30 Epaphroditus could help Paul because he was at Rome with Paul. He was helping on
behalf of all the Christians at Philippi.
Monday, June 06, 2011
SENT TO ME BY A FRIEND:
His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you 'know' what the Bible means?
The son replied, "I do know!"
"Okay," said his father. "What does the Bible mean?"
"That's easy, Daddy..." the young boy replied excitedly," It stands for 'Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.'
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There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country.
"Is there anything breakable in here?" asked the postal clerk.
"Only the Ten Commandments." answered the lady.
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"Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world.There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."
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A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter.
Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read:"I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses."
When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.."
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There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program.. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets."
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While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage.
The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... "Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust."
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A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question, "Boys and girls, what do we know about God?"
A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.
"Really? How do you know?" the teacher asked.
"You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven... "
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A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump.
"Reverend," said the young man, "I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip."
The minister chuckled, "I know what you mean. It's the same in my business."
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People want the front of the bus, the back of the church, and the center of attention.
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Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about.
The daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt."
Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about.
He said "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."
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The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play.
"Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."
During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."
At that moment, the substitute organist played "The Star Spangled Banner."
And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Saturday, June 04, 2011
A Study in Philippians Week 1
Philippians 1 1-30
DEFINING GRACE
We know that Jesus was executed by the Romans on a cross. We also know that it was the Jewish leaders who put such pressure on the Romans that they had to respond by executing Jesus.
What we usually miss is the personal responsibility we bear for His dying on the cross.
If we had not sinned, His death would have been unnecessary.
The truth is, I killed Jesus.
The Jews were only the “tools” God used to accomplish His work of grace for me.
If a Jew is accused of killing Christ, you should respond by telling him/her that I, Joe Scoggins, killed Jesus.
I betray Him daily, and I do it even in acts of love for Him.
One might think that at some point He would tire of trying to get me to be what He wants me to be and just walk away from our relationship.
But He does not.
Every moment of every day He remembers His covenant with me and pours His grace out on me.
INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS
Ten miles inland from the harbor city of Neapolis was Philippi, one of the principle cities of Macedonia and was historically famous in the annals of both Greece and Rome.
It was founded by and named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.
Philippi was best known for the battle that took place there in 42 B.C. between the Second Triumvirate (Octavius, Antonius, and Lepidus) and the republicans of Rome under Brutus and Cassius, which resulted in the defeat and death of the latter. After the victory, Octavius made Philippi a colony (cf. Acts 16:12).
Philippi considered itself as being an entirely Roman city. Its citizens were Roman citizens who enjoyed all the rights and privileges of such: exemption from scourging, from arrest except in extreme cases, and the right to appeal to the emperor.
The official language was Latin.
From our point of interest, Philippi is the first place in Europe where the gospel was preached.
The story of the founding of the church at Philippi is told by Luke in Acts 16:11-40.
Apparently, the Jewish population of Philippi was so small that they did not even have a synagogue in which to worship, only a “place where prayer was customarily made” by the riverside.
Paul and Timothy were in prison together when the letter to the church at Philippi was written.
Numerous references to the prison experience are noted in Philippians.
The letter is a description of what the Christian’s life should look like.
The Verses
1-2 Paul prays for the believers who live in Philippi. His prayer was not for physical comforts, but for their depth of love for the gospel and knowledge of it.
“…filled with fruit and righteousness”…refers to winning people to Christ with the gospel, which brings praise and glory to God.
3-11 What had happened to Paul? He had been charged with preaching the gospel, which was not allowed.
Freedom of religion was not a part of Rome’s rule. They would not have understood: “Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion…or preventing the free exercise thereof.” (First amendment to The Constitution of the United States of America.”
Most of our politicians today don’t understand it either.
12-26 Paul used his circumstance (not a pretty one) to promote the good news of eternal life through
Christ’s finished work at the cross of Calvary and His resurrection (in other words, the gospel).
His theme is the joy we should exhibit because of Christ, not because of our circumstances.
In verse 15, he reveals the folly of “philosophical” or “theosophical” preaching.
We have only one message: Christ crucified, buried and resurrected for the remission of sin and for the
gain of eternal life with Him.
27-30 Paul’s continual emphasis in this section is that we should conduct ourselves in a manner that would bring honor to the gospel.
We should emphasize the joy of the gospel in our lives without fear (“…perfect love casteth out fear.” I John 4:18).
We are to fight against enemies of the good news. The believers at Philippi were in trouble because
they were Christ’s people. Paul was also in trouble for the same reason. So they were in the same
‘fight’.
In some countries today, you go to prison (or worse) for being a Christian. If that happens to us (and it
might some day soon), it should be a source of joy for us for the sake of the gospel.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GOSPEL.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
AND YOU THOUGHT BLACKBERRIES WERE FOR EATING!
When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter.
I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grand kids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way.
I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.
That was before one of my grand kids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world..
My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.
The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.
I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating." You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light.. Then if I made a right turn instead.
Well, it was not a good relationship..
When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.
To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings..
The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store.
You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them in with me.
Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered,
No, but I do toot a lot."
P.S. I know some of you are not over 50 . Us senior citizens don't need anymore gadgets. The tv remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle.
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