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Philippians There is no fear in death
Week 37 Day 1
Reading: Philippians 1:21-24 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” NIV
Thought: At some points in your life this statement will be true for you, it is certainly true for all those who have been made martyrs for Christ; it is the point at which you find total fulfilment and purpose in God with full reverence for life and no fear of death. This becomes more real to us as we journey in faith; as our relationship with God deepens; as we align ourselves with the thoughts of Christ on the evening in Gethsemane when He prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Mat26:39). We no longer need fear death because we know the promise of resurrection in Christ, for to die is to be with Christ in his Lordship separated from all kinds of fear and wrapped in the assurance that God is with us. It is the will of God that we live in order to complete the good works He has prepared for us, that we may have life and to the full. It is Christ who lives in us, living for the will of God, to live as Christ in both practice and representation. There is no need to fear death, for if we die we have only to gain, so with fearless faith live out the gospel in your life and do all as unto Christ in love for Him and others.
Prayer: Lord, while I am in this place make me of good courage to strive for Your kingdom, and that I would live my life with passionate conviction as a witness of Your glory. With my life I praise You.
But encouragement in life
Day 2
Reading: Philippians 2:1-8 “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” NIV
Thought: How amazing it is that our Lord, the King of kings clothed with eternal heavenly robes, came as a humble servant. The very fact that God could and would humble Himself is remarkable! Though He was above all, made Himself the lowest and served others; He was first and yet made Himself the last, in order to reach the lost; choosing to become like one of those who He had created in His own image. If this is how far Christ was willing to go in His act of humility, how are we not to do the same if not more so if we are His servants? Let us then be encouraged by Jesus to have the same love, service and humility towards one another. Let us have this encouragement that He is with us in the participation with the Spirit, who was given to us to live inside us always, therefore we are not scared of anything in this world, for the Spirit Himself resides with us and will graciously fulfil all our needs. Let us show honour towards one another and doing so may you know the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Lord, teach me the humility with which You humbled Yourself from God to man. Teach me to reach people in love through humility, and reach out to them with Your Spirit.
For our God is great
Day 3
Reading: Philippians 2:9-13 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” NIV
Thought: Having humbled Himself to the lowest place, it pleased God to raise Christ into the highest place, His original place, glorified above all; in knowing humanity at his lowest, in paying the sacrifice of atonement, The Father makes Him judge over the whole creation, to whom all men will bow the knee and confess that He is Lord. When we have confirmed our salvation we acknowledge this to be true, both with heart and head, knowing that God is with us working to our good and that is even more testimony of His glory. We work our salvation out by continuously surrendering areas of our lives to Christ’s Lordship, learning to deepen our trust and dependency on God. For when we live the life He gives us we exalt Him more so. Put your trust in Him, He will not disappoint, He will not fail, He will not change, He will not lie. He will deliver, He will provide, He will save; and all of this for your good out of his great love.
Prayer: Lord, now even more so, guide me, help me, encourage me and teach me to trust you more every day and see you as you are, the great exalted Lord Jesus.
And His mercy knows no limits
Day 4
Reading: Philippians 2:25-30 “But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see
him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honour people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.” NIV
Thought: This passage is one of the few lengthy opportunities Paul takes to speak of the people working with him, and it turns into quite an important one. Epaphroditus came to Paul to deliver messages of the church in Philippi, but he arrived very ill, though we have no specific details on his condition we know that he could have died from it. But God healed him from that illness. It was by the mercy and grace of God that Epaphroditus was healed, and by which we also are so, for our God in His abounding love does provide healing, even if not always the way we expect or ask for. Our God gets to the heart of the issue and responds with an answer that solves the problem. He will provide out of the abundance of His grace to bind us up in all our brokenness, so ask and be willing to receive His answer knowing whatever our desires, that He is a good merciful God. So when you pray, do not try to manipulate God with complimentary language in attempt to appease Him, do not pray long prayers to make yourself appear more worthy, this is not a God that blesses out of guilt or favouritism. Simply pray the deepest, strongest, and most honest prayer you have, it doesn't have to be words, it doesn't have to sound like religious language, but it must be true to who you are because He already knows you.
Prayer: Lord, pray for me. Since He set us free
Day 5
Reading: Philippians 3:8; 13-14 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” NIV
Thought: It would be too easy to focus on the negative here, that what we have suffered and lost in the cause of Jesus is rubbish, few of us look at the work we have and think it was rubbish, Paul is not saying that they are rubbish. What Paul is saying is that compared to Jesus, all things are rubbish; nothing compares to Jesus, He is the greatest prize in all history. Paul glimpsed the value of Jesus and the Gospel, like an athlete that eyes the gold medal and spends his days training for that prize, so Paul runs this race forgetting the start, forgetting the days gone and striving on for this great and awesome prize. Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, change me, lift up radicals in Your name, let me be radical. Let me be one who runs the race and ends well, let me be one that does not fall before the finish but keeps my vision firmly on the wonderful prize, Jesus.
And made us glorious citizens
Day 6
Reading: Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” NIV
Thought: A part of the ending procedures of the world is the glorification of the saints, whereas we have covered justification before, glorification is quite different. Justification is being justified and would generally only apply in the course of life and when standing before the throne of Christ, yet to live eternally in heaven we must inherit one vital thing; an eternal body. We already have an eternal spirit, but the flesh does not last forever, not until it is glorified. Our body is transformed to be like His resurrected glorified body, (picture Him on the Mount of Transfiguration, shining white clothes and face). In reality how this would look otherwise is anyone's guess, but don't expect heaven to be full of old men and women! The disciples were so inspired by the resurrected Jesus that they eagerly went to their deaths so they could be with Him and like Him. Notice the word Paul uses to speak of our position there, "citizenship", a citizen as Paul understood it as a Roman had all rights and complete freedom within that kingdom, so shall it be with us. What a wonderful hope! Especially for those of us with aging bodies!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for this wonderful and exciting blessing of being a citizen in your kingdom and the promise of transformation; help me to live in this assurance.
According to His riches in glory
Day 7
Reading: Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.� NIV
Thought: Prosperity theology and poverty theology would make us believe that God wants us to be rich and poor respectively, neither of these is correct. God will fulfil all our needs, not all our wants. If it is necessary that we should be rich in order to spread the Gospel in expensive ways and places then that need will be fulfilled. If it is necessary that we be poor in order to reach the poor that need will be fulfilled. If we want to go on mission work and it is by the calling of the Lord that we are following then all financial provision will be allocated for you. So often we bicker and get bitter when we see resources we believe God wants somewhere else not go where we want them. Is not our faith in God to provide where He wills? You might not be able to live with a great wealth of provision for each day, but there will always be enough so long as God has placed you there and is not calling you somewhere else. Be aware, it is not necessarily your need that is directly provided for, though it will be due to matter of course, but it is the need of the Gospel for which you live which is being provided for, for which you are an ambassador of. If you are living in step with the Gospel and the call of God then all your needs (those which God recognizes are truly needs) will be provided for and have already been provided for. Remember He has ordered "good works which He prepared beforehand" (Eph2:10), the work has been decided and He has already arranged for the providence necessary to support you in it. Therefore whatever God has placed on your heart to do, do it without fear but with encouragement, get your eyes off of what you feel others should be doing and get your eyes on your calling; having already been equipped for it, both physically and spiritually.
Prayer: Lord, provide for us by Your grace and teach me to depend on you alone.