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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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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“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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”I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12, ESV)
Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (23) Online Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (21)Trials and suffering to further the Gospel is Biblical as we see in the verse above. In fact, being tried as in fire and purified, so as to remove any impurity, runs through the entire Bible. (Job 23:10; Ps 66:10-12; Pro 17:3; Isa 1:25; 48:10; 1 Pet 1:7)
So we see, it is not a matter of the chains themselves (or any other trial), but what we do in the chains that counts. We can claim to have faith all day long but when the trial comes what really comes out of our mouths? Do we act on fear or faith? Are we trusting in Christ alone or do we trust in the things of this world to get us by? (2 Cor 4:7-10)
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10, ESV)
May the Lord advance His Gospel through our suffering and afflictions…
Jeff
All Sermons in the Series “Life of Joy in Christ”
*Photo Courtesy of www.freefoto.com
In Flock we are studying What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever and the 9 Marks Ministry. This weeks lesson was on Biblical Understanding of Evangelism. What a refreshing chapter to read and hear what we have already experienced in church life in general and evangelism particularly. If you have not read What is a Healthy Church? or its big brother 9 Marks of a Healthy Church I would highly recommend them to any church or ministry seeking to be throughly biblical in thier doctrine and practice.
All Flock Classes on “What is a Healthy Church”
Flock Video:
mms://broadcast.liferecovery.tv:81/allmedia/021008SV.wmv
Flock Audio Only:
mms://broadcast.liferecovery.tv:81/allmedia/021008SA.wma
Flock Notes:
http://media.prbc.us/pdf/021008S.pdf
