Paul tells us “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,” (Philippians 1:18, ESV) and in this message we see the Apostle’s heart as he is able to rejoice in the fact that the Gospel is being proclaimed.
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Welcomed in to the courts of the King
I’ve been ushered in to Your presence
Lord, I stand on Your merciful ground
Yet with every step tread with reverence
And I’ll fall facedown
As Your glory shines around
Yes, I’ll fall facedown
As Your glory shines around
Who is there in the heavens like You?
And upon the earth, who’s Your equal?
You are far above, You’re the highest of heights
We are bowing down to exalt You
So let Your glory shine around
Let Your glory shine around
King of glory, here be found
King of glory
Facedown - Matt Redman
This last month has been a time of reflection for me on the call God has placed on my life and how I respond to Him when things look impossible. He is the King of Glory and He is to be glorified and magnified above everything. Today I will worship Him and remain faithful to Him because He is faithful and because He is the one holding me (and not me hanging on to Him). He is the one working in me and causing this faithfulness I now have, and He will complete it on the Day of Christ Jesus. I don’t want any other choice in my life, I want to bring glory to the One who rescued me from the pit, I will fall facedown as His glory shines around.
Love in Christ
Jeff
Today starts the three days Christians have set apart to worship our Lord’s resurrection. Our Faith hinges upon this one fact - He lives! This event is a call to worship Christ Jesus our Lord, worship through the death, burial and a glorious resurrection (not a resuscitation).
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55, ESV)
Will you worship? I urge you brothers and sisters to set apart time each day privately and worship our God in each of these aspects for what He has done:
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-58, ESV)
Let worship be the fuel for mission’s flame
We’re going with a passion for Your name
We’re going for we care about Your praise
Send us out
Let worship be the heart of mission’s aim
To see the nations recognise Your fame
‘Til every tribe and tongue voices Your praise
Send us out
You should be the praise of every tongue
You should be the joy of every heart
But until the fullness of Your kingdom comes
Until that final revelation dawns
Send us out
Every tribe, every tongue
Every creature in the heavens and the earth
Every heart, every soul
Will sing Your praise, will sing Your praise
Every note, every strain
Every melody will be for You alone
Every harmony that flows from every tongue
Will sing Your praise, will sing Your praise
Will sing Your praise, will sing Your praise
Mission’s Flame - Matt Redman
Yesterday I was listening to the Face Down CD from Matt Redman and this song drew me into worship of the one true and living God. It is by His grace and for His glory alone that we can spread His good news! So today, let this song set our heart’s focus on the mission we are on.
Lord send us out!
We come to this passage in Philippians ”And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Philippians 1:14, ESV) Where Paul says my chains have caused others to become much more bold [lit. "abundantly bold"] to speak the word [logos] without fear.
The Church has the truth of the Word of God. We are not to apologize for the truth but we are to speak it in love. Here is a newsflash for you - the world will hate you when you tell them the truth from the Word of God but we have no other option other than speaking the truth in love.
Fear is the opposite of faith and has no place in a believers life. This message is about speaking the Word blodly and without fear.
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John tells us “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.” (1 John 2:7, ESV). This old/new commandment is a commandment to love the brethren which in turns shows we love God which in turns shows that we are truly Christians and to love God means to keep His commandments!
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”” (John 14:21, ESV)
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10, ESV)
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14, ESV)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (John 13:34-35, ESV)
It is so easy to forget that we are commanded to love the brothers and it is a true test to see if we are of the faith. Love of the brethren furthers the Gospel, makes a clear biblical witness to a lost world and brings assurance to the believer. What more could you ask for?
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In Flock we are studying What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever and the 9 Marks Ministry. The lesson from chapter 13 was Biblical Church Leadership. We looked at some of the biblical passages that describe elders and leaders in general. Get the message here:
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“My Imprisonment is for Christ” Paul says “What is yours for?”
“So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”
(Philippians 1:13, ESV)
We looked at this wonderful passage in Philippians and talked about suffering for the Gospel. We also looked at God’s providence in the lives of Paul, Joseph and ourselves. Great message that needs to continue to be retold time and time again. May the Lord continue to use our suffering to advance His Gospel.
In Christ
Jeff
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Discipleship is sometimes considered a “second tier” in the minds of some believers. It is considered for the “zealous” and “fanatical” rather than what it really is - a true Christ follower! We addressed this issue Sunday with the passage from 1 John 2:6 and as I was looking for the right picture for this post I ran across this quote on Amazon and thought it was appropriate on this issue (I haven’t read the book - yet 
).
”When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” With these words, in The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave powerful voice to the millions of Christians who believe personal sacrifice is an essential component of faith.” (Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian, was an exemplar of sacrificial faith: he opposed the Nazis from the first and was eventually imprisoned in Buchenwald and hung by the Gestapo in 1945)**
This is the very thought that John tells us when he says ”whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6, ESV) To walk as Christ walked is to live, not by rules, but by an example. It is to follow Him, to be His disciple. This discipleship is personal, active and costly. Jesus said “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8, ESV) and in 1 John 2:5-6 discipleship is in view as we are told that true believers will imitate Christ.
*Photo courtesy of Themishmash **Quote from Amazon Book Page
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In Flock we are studying What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever and the 9 Marks Ministry. The lesson from chapter 12 was on Biblical Discipleship and Growth. It says that we should be working toward church growth as it is prescribed in the Bible. That means growing members, not just numbers. Some people today think that a person can be a “baby Christian” for a whole lifetime. Growth is treated as an optional extra for zealous disciples. But growth is a sign of life. If a tree is alive, it grows. If an animal is alive, it grows. Being alive means growing, and growing means increasing and advancing, at least until death intercedes. This is true discipleship and growth.
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