JESUS OUR MASTER
Philippians 1:1-18
HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF, SLAVE OR FREE
V:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul saw himself as a servant of Jesus. We know we are disciples by our
relationship with Jesus. The question is do you see yourself as a servant?
We cannot be good disciples unless we see ourselves as servants.
Jesus set the example for a servant. He said. I did not come to be served,
I came to serve. I am a servant of all.
Matthew 20:28
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.\”
Service requires a sacrifice of time and resources for someone other than yourself.
We should serve God gladly for what His Son has done for us.
1 Peter 2:18
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect,
A disciple means a follower of Jesus.
You can serve without being a disciple. But you can’t be a disciple without
service.
1 Peter 2:18
To this, you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
NIV
A servant looks after the interest of his master. The second thing we have to
see is Jesus as our master. We are not the master of our souls. We are not
the masters of our destination. We cannot determine what tomorrow will
be like. But Jesus is the master of our days.
Every Christian needs the support of other Christians. We need to support
each other in the ministry. Throughout Paul’s ministry, he had the companionship
of other brothers in Christ. Timothy serve with Paul after being baptized by him
Acts 16:1-3
Where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area.
True friendships are cultivated over time. Paul attached himself to Timothy and
trained him in the ministry. Timothy became Paul’s traveling companion. God
called us to the ministry to work with other brothers and sisters in Christ. After
creating Adam, God said it is not good for man to be alone. We were designed to
have a need for companionship. Everyone has been given the talents and skills to
work alongside others in the ministry.
THANKS, AND PRAYERS FOR CHURCH MEMBERS
V:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
We ought to have an attitude of thankfulness for those who serve in the ministry.
All of us bless each other with our time gifts and talents. For that reason, we ought to
always be in prayer for one another. We have a choice to find joy in the presence of
each other. No one is perfect. But joy overlooks imperfections.
We are all partners with Christ. He ascended back into Heaven and left us with the
commission to make disciples. He even guaranteed our success with the promise that
we would do greater things than He did on earth.
Again Paul relates that it was Jesus who began a good work in us. It is Jesus that will
ensure the completion of His work through us. The Work will not be complete until
Jesus comes back for His Church.
SHARE THE GRACE OF GOD TOGETHER
V:7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God\’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
It is good for brothers and sisters in Christ to think about each other, pray for
success and well-being, and to encourage with kind words. Paul was in prison in
Rome for preaching the Gospel when he wrote to the Philippians. No matter how
difficult our circumstances are, it is good for us to think of others in love. When we
consider that God has favored us with like-minded believers who share the mission
of the Gospel, we realize that we are part of an organization in Jesus that changes
the world. We must also consider that our current conditions are part of God’s plan
to grow us in the ministry.
LOVE, THE KEY TO THE GOSPEL
V:9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.
A key element in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is love. Without love, the Gospel becomes
burdensome and loses its importance in our lives. Without love for Jesus we will
not take the time to study His Word. Without love, we will not submit to the guidance
and direction of the Holy Spirit. Without love, the Gospel takes a back seat.
Another key element is the knowledge of the Word. Gaining knowledge of the word is
much more than reading the Word. If you want to know the Word you must spend
time researching the Word. The Word of God was not written in our language,
in our time, or our culture. Those who translated the Word from Greek and
Hebrew couldn’t consider how word meanings in English change over time.
Our perceptions of what a verse means are colored by our sinful flesh and worldly
desires. We tend to reject that which does not meet our standards. We tend to
interpret a word buy our experiences
GOD TROUBLES YOU TO GROWTH
V:12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Paul was no stranger to trouble. From the beginning of his ministry, he was rejected by the Jewish hierarchy. He was chased out of most cities where he preached the
Gospel by those who opposed Jesus as Lord and Savior. He was trained by the best
Jewish teachers of the Law. As long as Paul followed the Jewish interpretation of
the Law and their traditions, he was ok with the establishment. The moment Paul
started preaching to Jesus, he was a marked man for persecution and death.
Paul was the author of 13 of the 26 books of The New Testament.
The books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were
written while he was under house arrest in Rome before his execution.
Paul recognized that what he went through was for the advancement of the Gospel.
Some of the trials and tribulations we go through are because God has designed
them. Listen to what Jesus said about Paul;
Acts 9:15-16
But the Lord said to Ananias, \”Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.\”
Paul’s best work was due to his suffering for the Lord. You and I can do some
serious praying when we are in trouble, when we have an illness that aspirin
wants to handle, and when we can\’t see our way out of a situation. That’s when we
can focus on our weaknesses and God’s power.
When God has done a miracle in our lives. Our testimonies are strengthened.
God uses trouble to get our attention and get us ready to serve Him.
We know the value of trusting and serving God when has done the impossible
in our lives.
Are you ever encouraged when you see someone faithfully serving in spite of
the misery they are facing? When those around you see you trusting God
in troubled situations they are encouraged. You make a statement about who
you serve when your daily walk praises God. You don\’t have to convince
anyone who you serve, just put God in your normal conversation.
IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT YOU DO
V:15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice.
Don’t worry about the backstabbers, they have a purpose. Don’t worry about the
liars, they have a purpose. Don\’t worry about the troublemakers, they have
a purpose. When you claim Jesus as your Savior, expect someone to oppose
your beliefs. When you stand for the righteousness of God, expect someone
to preach lies and deceptions. They have a purpose. Paul said you ought to
know your purpose.
Since God is in control and your purpose is His mission, you will be successful.
It does not matter what people say about you. What matters is your preaching
Jesus. God will not judge you by what others did to you, but by what you did
for others.
