It’s time to make a decision to passionately follow Christ! It’s time to put our offensive team on the fields and to make some ground for our Lord and Saviour. We have taken stock of what God has done for us and  learn’t how to prepare our defenses against sin. Now we need to actively, with purpose, seek to extend God’s kingdom.

Isaiah 43 reminds us how precious we are to God (vs.4) and how he will be with us in every situation we find ourselves (vs.2). The passage goes on to say in verse 10 that we are God’s witnesses and servants who He has chosen, and that our task is to know Him and understand Him.

Think for a minute about why verse 10 is significant. God is asking us to witness for Him by believing in Him and understanding Him. If we as Christians focus on God and understanding Him, the side effects are so potent in our witness to others. We become people who are in tune with the one true God. We will become more discerning, more loving, more faithful, more humble, more honest and more like the people we need to be in this world.

In order to witness in this world it will take a commitment from us – a commitment to seek God above all else. To put all our resources into knowing him more.

In my personal experience I have found the following helpful in drawing near to God:

1. Daily time alone with God – find a place and time in the day when you can read God’s Word and pray without interuption;
2. Involve yourself in a Church – don’t just attend to gain, but rather choose to serve and love others with the gifts God has blessed you with;
3. Be bold – don’t be afraid to trust God! He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

My challenge to you is to trust in God, be corageous, and live each day with a love for Christ that will serve as the perfect witness to the world we live in. You will be amazed at what God can do through a willing, trusting and corageous heart.

Isaiah 43

1 But now, this is what the Lord says— 
he who created you, O Jacob, 
he who formed you, O Israel: 
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; 
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, 
I will be with you; 
and when you pass through the rivers, 
they will not sweep over you. 
When you walk through the fire, 
you will not be burned; 
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord, your God, 
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; 
I give Egypt for your ransom, 
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, 
and because I love you, 
I will give men in exchange for you, 
and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; 
I will bring your children from the east 
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ 
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ 
Bring my sons from afar 
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name, 
whom I created for my glory, 
whom I formed and made.”
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, 
who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together 
and the peoples assemble. 
Which of them foretold this 
and proclaimed to us the former things? 
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, 
so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, 
“and my servant whom I have chosen, 
so that you may know and believe me 
and understand that I am he. 
Before me no god was formed, 
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord, 
and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— 
I, and not some foreign god among you. 
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he. 
No one can deliver out of my hand. 
When I act, who can reverse it?”

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Phillipians 2: 1-11

Imitating Christ’s Humility
If 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, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
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 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Christs humility is described for us in this passage and we are asked to follow this example because of our love for Him.
The challenge here is to become completely focused on the things of God that our our selfish desire becomes non existent. Particularly difficult when the world around us is continually seeking to serve itself.
Becoming humble like Jesus would lead us to a place where our hearts are moved by God’s heart and would inevitably lead us to serving others. Just as Christ took on the very nature of a servant.
So this is an attitude of the heart that directly opposes the world view we live in. Therefore it is important to acknowledge and use the power of prayer here. Continually pray for God’s guidance in your life,  ask Him to guide and lead you, ask Him to share His heart with you.
I love the prayer that John Piper gives us:

“Lord, work so deeply in my heart that I am freed from the bondage of self-centeredness and given the disposition to look not only to my own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
A tough call, but what better way to be felt by the world than to go against its selfish principles. The world will stand by in amazement as God heals the broken-hearted, the sick and lame and the hurting souls that plague this planet.
You cannot help people unless your concern is for the people.Concern for people comes through a humble attitude.

The depth of healing that this world needs can only come from God, who works through a humble heart.

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Politeuesthe!! Here is a greek word that we really need to understand. Paul is using it here to show the phillipian christians how to live their lives.
Our passage today is Phillipians 1: 27: 30

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.

This portion of scripture encourages us to walk in a way that is worthy of the gospel. You see Paul’s suffering for the gospel is for the sake of the gospel. To see the gospel working out in peoples lives. Even though Paul finds joy through his suffering, the purpose of suffering is to see Jesus Christ glorified. Therefore it is important to note that Paul’s encouragement in Phillipians chapter 1 is to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. In other words:

• To overflow with love (vs 9)
• To live pure and blameless lives (vs 10)

The encouragement is not to suffer but should this lifestyle bring suffering, then suffer in the knowledge that it is for the gospel of Christ – and this will bring you joy.

Politeuesthe means to behave as citizens worthy [of the gospel of Christ]. The keyword in this definition is ‘citizens’. A citizen is member of a town, a city, a nation and we are members of God’s kingdom.

A citizens lives by the law of the land, supports the land and it’s people and ultimately is united with the other citizens of the land to a common desire and purpose.

Our citizenship in Christ’s kingdom should lead us to live a life worthy of the gospel. A life that calls us to behave as citizens of a most holy, wonderful, glorious, mighty Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Our citizenship approach that Paul asks of us here, would mean that we obey the law of Christ, live for the body of Christ and be focused on God’s plan rather than our own. That way we will experience joy as we see God’s plan work out and advance in the lives of people all over this world.

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Today we start a study on the book of Phillipians. This book is full of joy, in fact, joy is mentioned sixteen times in the four chapters. I am excited to get into this study because sometimes we miss out on the joy of being a Christian. Hopefully this book will help us to experience joy. The Life Application Study Bible has a great definition for joy “Joy is the quiet, confident assurance of God’s love and work in our lives – that He will be there no matter what!”

Please read Phillipians 1: 1 – 11 and we will specifically focus on verses 9 – 11.
Chapter 1 expresses the thanks that Pauls has for being in fellowship with the phillipian church. He excited to see God’s good work come to completition inside each person in the church (vs. 6). Paul then concludes the introduction with a prayer for those whom he is writing to.

1 Phillipians 1: 9-11

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.

Paul shares with us two very important ways in which we should pour out our love for God.

Knowledge

The greek word for knowledge here is Epignosis which means to have a decisive knowledge of God. In other words we should read God’s word and decisively apply it to our lives.

We are asked to make decisions about the word of God, not to sit back and accept any old silly notion. Thats a trait of a weak person and we are called to be like God who is not weak. We are asked to decisively learn about God, to test His word until it makes sense to us, to know God’s word to such an extent that it becomes our word.

That way we stand by it because it makes sense to us, it is our decision – because we have started to think the way that God thinks – because He has become our teacher who is imparting His wisdom to us.

Don’t follow the bible and don’t follow God because you have to. Follow Him because you want to, because you have decided to.

Remember Free Will – God gave you that – You need to exercise that in your faith. Freely choose to live for Him, by His word and you will never be embarrassed about your belief, never feel pressured into Godless living. Because it was your decision.

Discernment

The word discern here is a verb “dokimazo” which means to put to the test and then to accept as tested. To actively test and accept as tested would mean to have no doubt in the truth of something. It is no longer a grey area, no longer a stumbling stone to you, no longer a conversation stopper with a non-christian, no longer an obstacle to you getting to know God more.

Every discerning action is helpful in bringing you to a better understanding of God. One at a time your discernment will grow and improve as God works in you as you work out, test and approve the things of God. Your perceptions then will be based around the truth of God’s word.

Neither knowledge or discernment can improve in your Christian walk unless you read God’s word. You need to read and study the bible. It is the life line for you as a christian. Nothing else will help you grow.

READ GOD’s WORD – thats all I am asking!!

• Knowledge is the decision
• Discernment is the action

Both lead to a lifestyle that will show the world God’s hearts

If you would like to listen to a sermon about this click here

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Are you a decisive Christian? Are you proactive or reactive in your faith?

Daniel is a great example of a man who was proactive is his faith. My challenge to you this week is to focus on the first six chapters of Daniel (just one a day!). As you read the book of Daniel you will find the following proactive nature of Daniel.

1. Daniel spent time with God regularly. This gave him a better understanding of who God is and what pleases God.
2. Daniel made decisions that pleased God. He was not concerned with earthly treasure but rather with the blessings of God.
3. Daniel’s testimony of God, through the way he lived and the decisions he made, always pointed people toward God.

The problem with most Christians today is that we are reactive in our decision making and our understanding of God. Our knowledge of God’s word is limited because we choose to spend small amounts of time reading and studying His word. Daniel chose to spend time with God. Moses always set up a tent while he was in the desert where he would meet with God.

We need to spend time with God more. So we can get to know Him, His likes and His dislikes, the way He thinks and what is important to Him. We need to set up our own ‘tent.’ away from the distractions of this world, where we spend time focusing on God and His word. This tent may be your study, the bedroom or a time in the day that is dedicated to God. Whatever it is, it should enable you to focus on God so that He can spend quality time with you.

With this better understanding of God that you will gain because of your focused time with Him, you will learn how to make better decisions. Decisions that please God!

As you read through Daniel, make sure you take note of the way that every time God is pleased with Daniel, God blesses Daniel. In fact, it seems that whenever God is pleased he blesses that which pleases Him.

Finally, the end result of God’s will in action is made abundantly clear in these chapters. God is glorified! Even in the lives of the unsaved and unrighteous.

Therefore a pro-active Christian lifestyle means to get to know God better so that we can make decisions that please God and not those around us. Those decisions ultimately will lead to God being pleased with us. Which means that God can pour His blessing into our lives. His blessing in our lives is an opportunity to tell others of His goodness. Which brings Him glory.

If your desire is to please God. Then the depth of your knowledge of God is directly associated with your ability to make decisions that please God.

So how often do you spend time with God?

Just you and Him, so He can show you what pleases Him!

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