Philippians 3:1-9

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1Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. 2Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. 7But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

This is one of Paul's most profound writings. He is sharing His experience, strength and hope in finding Jesus. He sets forth a biographical sketch of his religious life and it is impressive! He did everything just right, keeping every last letter of the law as he understood it and was most zealous about it. What he is saying is "There is no one you can find who had better religious credentials than I have." But he views all of these accomplishments as a pile of manure when compared to knowing Jesus as Messiah and Lord. You heard it right. MANURE. That's the word used for what is translated "rubbish" here and "dung" elsewhere.

Paul was doing his best to be righteous before God-to do, do, do! But when he found Jesus (or, when Jesus found him on the road to Damascus), he came to realize that Messiah Jesus has already done all that is needed to be done to be righteous before God and invites all those who are 'weary and heavy-laden' with do, do, do, to come to Him and He will give you rest. Like Paul we tend to want to do, do, do, but with Jesus it is DONE. Through His righteousness we can become righteous by faith.

In Paul's zeal to be righteous, he was a good religious Jew who was looking for God's Messiah (God's Christ) to show up someday. He can be truly called a follower and seeker of the Messiah or you might even say that PAUL WAS A CHRISTIAN. THEN JESUS APPREHENDED HIM! Think of it! Paul, being a seeker and follower of the Christ could have been called a Messianic or a Christian, then he met Jesus who claimed to be the Christ he was looking for all along.

This is why I shy away from being called a "Christian" or putting myself in the position of defending the religious system called Christianity. My own experience is that I was a Christian, having grown up in the culture and faith of Christianity, yet that was not transforming in my life. I did not experience spiritual transformation until Jesus apprehended me. Then I became a follower of Jesus. This would be no different than a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Jew, Mormon or agnostic. These are all cultural traditions and faiths. No matter what cultural background you find yourself, you can be a follower of Jesus. Once Jesus gets hold of your heart (apprehends you), you are transformed and become a new person. HOWEVER, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE CONVERTED OUT OF YOUR CULTURAL BACKGROUND. I know many Jewish followers of Jesus or Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Baptist or whatever followers of Jesus. Once you see Jesus in this way, you don't have to argue and debate religion with anybody. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no one who ever lived to be compared with Jesus! You don't have to feel compelled to "convert" someone from one religious system to another. If you are going to do anything, introduce people to Jesus. Lift Him up and all men will be drawn to Him. I have come to realize that even Jesus doesn't want to become a Christian. He wants to be Lord, Savior and friend. You see, it really is JESUS PLUS NOTHING.

Philippians 2:25-30

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25But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; 26because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

Apparently, Epaphroditus had been sent to Paul by the believers in Philippi to come to the aid of Paul. While attending to Paul, Epaphroditus became deathly ill. Now, Paul wants to send him back to the Philippians to see how they are and to show them that he is well, too. Paul identifies Epaphroditus as "my brother", "fellow worker", and "fellow soldier", a man who was in sync with Paul and Timothy in every way. He is held up as one who ought to be held high and received with joy.

As I read this scene I have many thoughts about how we should be acting today. First-we must be about networking people from one city to another. We tend to be so self-focused that we ignore the fact that there are many like-minded believers throughout the world. Whenever you connect one follower of Jesus with another, you have not only bound them together but you have empowered both in the process. The only thing that matters is what happens "life on life"-our relationships with one another in the fellowship of Jesus.

Second-we must be about using all our travels to connect with the fellowship of Jesus elsewhere. With all the travel that we do in our world it's a shame to miss out on the dynamic blessings that could happen as we meet one another or focus on gathering together in the name of Jesus. Instead of blowing in and out of town (which I've done so many times in the past), I am planning ahead and seeking out what family members are there in the city. I want to meet them and do a two-way-they be an encouragement and blessing to me or I may be a blessing to them. What you will find is that your visit is so appreciated. I see this as one of the most significant ways of loving other disciples wherever you go.

Third-we must be careful to joyfully honor and respect those who are giving their time to minister to others. There are so few who have been released to give of their time. They could use your affirmation and encouragement. And when you affirm and encourage them, you will attract others who seek to be released.

Again, this paragraph demonstrates the tight relationships of the few who were used by God to turn the world upside down! Paul, Silas and Timothy spent only a little over three weeks in another Greek city, Thessolanica, and from this visit the Thessalonians were so positively affected that they in turn had a major impact throughout all of Asia Minor.

So, the early disciples used Jesus' methodology of the power of the few and changed their world, having an indelible impact on their culture. Today, most disciples ignore Jesus' methodology of the power of the few and seek to charm and win the masses, having little impact upon our culture. GO FIGURE. Do it Jesus' way with the power of the few and change your world or do it the "modern" way with the pseudo-power of the masses and have little or no mark on society.

Philippians 2:14-18

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14Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

While working out your own salvation as God is already at work in you for the willing and the doing of His good work, you must be careful not to get caught up into murmurings and disputings. Murmurings remind me of the grumbling of the children of Israel against God and Moses when wandering through the wilderness. Murmurings is a moral rebellion against God. Disputings is an intellectual rebellion against God and His leadership. These two issues mentioned here aren't so rare within a fellowship of believers. Unfortunately this kind of thing is most common and so hurtful and disruptive within the fellowship.

I have served as senior pastor of three churches over a 27 year period-from as small as 400 people to as large as 10,000 and the same is true at all levels. There is a constant murmuring and complaining within most fellowships which is a perpetual simmering of negativity which can only serve evil purposes. These little seemingly "harmless" actions can cause major damage.

So, we are urged to refrain from murmurings and disputings, and if we do, we will prove ourselves to be 4 things:

1. You will prove to be blameless and innocent-not being a target for criticism.

2. You will prove to be children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

3. You will prove yourself able to appear as lights in this world of darkness

4. You will prove to be able to hold fast the word of life.

Think of it. All of this-blameless, innocent, above reproach (counteracting a crooked and perverse generation), shining as lights in the world of darkness, and being able to hold fast the word of life-is all greatly affected by your murmurings and disputings.

Over the years I've heard the murmurings and disputings of one person for over 30 years. He has followed me in every ministry I've endeavored. He has relentlessly shown up to nearly every good thing I've endeavored to accomplish. I can't seem to get rid of him! His name is ANONYMOUS. He sends me notes and emails, always complaining about something or arguing with me over something I did or said. I used to listen to him and his messages dragged me down. I've changed my tactics in handling the ANONYMOUS notes and emails. I read them, consider the truth contained within them and then I pray that God will either change their hearts or move them along to bother another ministry.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, those believers in the fellowship of Jesus who DO NOT murmur and complain are responsible for a most wonderful testimony of God's grace in this unfair world and His light in this frightening world of darkness. So, is the application here to WATCH YOUR MOUTH AND MIND? No, I think the application of this passage is to WATCH YOUR HEART.

To me, those who are caught up in the snipping and sniping within the fellowship are dealing with the things that just don't matter in comparison with the joy we can share now and when Christ returns. This is what is being said here by Paul and Timothy-IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER, SO SHUT IT UP AND SHUT IT DOWN!

Philippians 2:19-24

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19But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22But you know of his proven worth that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. 23Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

Personal letters such as Philippians gives so much insight into the inner-workings of the ministry. Note three things here:

1. Paul's genuine and passionate concern for the believers in Philippi. This is a constant throughout with the New Testament letters and books that are written to the believers in Rome, or Corinth or Galatia or Ephesus. Is it any wonder that the men who turned the world upside down did it, because their love for one another was in such stark contrast to the world's ways of doing life? When Jesus commanded them to love one another, He noted that this would be a unique distinction that will be noticed by the world. And, in the Lord's prayer in John 17, Jesus was all about being united in His love. With all of our fractured world of comparisons marked by the variety of world religions and the variety of denominations within Christianity, we have lost our way in being one and loving one another. We tend to love our own kind. We need a heavy dose of "otherness" that the early disciples practiced.

2. Paul feels he only has a few who are of "kindred spirit" who will have the same concern for the Philippian believers as he. Over the last 3 and a half years my learning curve has been perpendicular, to say the least. However, the most vital thing I've come to realize is that it takes so long for people to "get it", meaning how to walk with Jesus and with one another how to BE THE CHURCH of Jesus--to be a revolutionary. I was agonizing over this to the point of complaining about it to a friend of mine. He didn't miss a beat and came right back at me and said, "But it only takes a few!" (My friend is way ahead of me in understanding how the revolution of Jesus works.) Jesus was never discouraged with a few. In fact, Jesus purposefully began His ministry with just three fishermen. He didn't challenge them to start a revolution that would change the world, but invited them to BE TOGETHER with Him. Although Jesus spoke to large crowds from time to time, it was clearly not in His revolutionary strategy to work with the masses. He was all about "life on life" training of His disciples who would go on to turn the world upside down. Paul is not complaining, but stating a fact. Timothy is the only one he knew who "got it" enough to make the visit to the Philippians and be an encouragement to them.

3. Those who left Paul and Timothy's fellowship are said to be seeking after their own interests, not those of Jesus. They were disqualified because they were too busy seeking after their own interests and not those of Jesus. This, of all things in our lives right now, is the one that breaks my heart the most. It's the wonderful people who claim to love Jesus, but are too caught up in their own interests-too busy to participate in the things of Jesus and to be with a few. When you're too busy seeking after your own interests and not the things of Jesus, then being a spectator at the best show in town is all you need.

So, how do you stack up with these 3 observations? Do you have a genuine concern for other believers? Are you participating with a few who are stubbornly supporting one another in this Jesus journey? Are you too caught up in seeking after your own interests and not the interests of Jesus?

Jesus is looking for a few revolutionaries who are willing to follow Him and Him alone, will give themselves to others and who will make their primary interests the things of Jesus over their own. Will you apply for the job?

Philippians 2:12-13

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE. 12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. These two verses are a dynamic duo for walking the walk! Verse 12 will scare you to death! "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Most people read this, stop and shudder a bit. "Work out your own salvation." What does that mean? Well, it doesn't mean that you have to work hard enough to earn your salvation. That would be totally contrary to everything taught throughout Scripture. There are two ways of thinking about this: 1. I am to "work out" into my life-into my behavior-the salvation work of God that is on the inside of my heart. I have His salvation inside. Now I must work it out into my lifestyle. 2. I am to "work out" my salvation to its completion. In other words, I am to stubbornly remain obedient in working my salvation into my lifestyle until the end. Then, it says, "with fear and trembling." This simply means that this is a serious matter and must be carefully and cautiously worked out into my life. Note that to NOT work it out would be to be a spectator among the fellowship or maybe a 'secret service' believer rather than being a participator in the process or working it out. God's salvation is a supernatural work in my life, but He expects me to complete His work of salvation by working it out into my life. This proves that it is the real thing! Verse 13 will empower you beyond yourself! Now, if you read on to this verse, you will get the entire context of your walk with Jesus, "for it is God who is at work in you, both to the willing and working for His good pleasure." Through this salvation process, God is already at work IN YOU personally to bring about the willing and the doing of the "working out" your salvation into your life. So, isn't this a bit contradictory? In verse 12 it is saying that I am to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling and in verse 13 it says that God is already at work in me to work it out. So which is it? Do I work it out into my life or does God do it? This is the classic question of the walk of faith. Think about it-THE WALK OF FAITH. The WALK (that's what you do) of FAITH (that's what God does). It's the same balance throughout the Scriptures-100% from God and 100% from man! Now, don't get too haughty about your percentage. God' 100% is so much more than yours! But I am to do all that I can do BY FAITH that God will do all that He can do in working out my own salvation into my life and my behavior. Think of it! By faith Noah built a boat. If Noah had built the ark like most believers live by faith, that boat would have never been built. Noah had to work very hard, building that ark. But he did his best (his 100%) by faith that God was already at work (His 100%). This principle is everywhere you look! My favorite is found in the miracles of Jesus. Jesus involved His disciples in filling the waterpots at the wedding and pouring out the wine; Jesus is the one who changed the water into wine. At the death and burial of Lazarus, Jesus showed up 4 days after his death. Then he asked where they laid him, had them move away the stone from the tomb and take off the grave-clothes, but only Jesus could resurrect Lazarus from the dead. YOU DO THE POSSIBLE BY FAITH THAT GOD WILL BE ALREADY AT WORK DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE. That's the principle and it is still that way today in your life. This principle is all summed up in these words: 20"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20). That's it! Each day I am to work out the supernatural work of God that He has performed in my heart, knowing that He is already at work inside me to empower the willing and the doing. He is already working in me. It's a supernatural partnership with the God of gods. I must do all that I can do-my best, by faith that God is doing what He can do (His best) in my life. Now if that doesn't motivate you, then you may already be in need of the local mortuary and don't know it. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."