Philippians: What is Your Approach to Defending Your Faith in Christ?Our lifestyle can lead others to eternity.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES An Online Christian Church Teaching the Word of God RORY CLARK Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries, an online Christian Church teaching the Word of God verse-by-verse to the hearers the Lord provides. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. No matter where you are in the world, thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON What is Your Approach to Defending Your Faith in Christ?
LESSON INTRODUCTION
Today we begin our study of the final passage of Philippians, Chapter 1, a short but powerful passage concerning our responsibility as Christians to “contend for the faith.” What exactly does it mean to “contend for the faith?” We’ll get formal instruction in today’s passage.
OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION
Let’s hear some music!
As believers in Christ, it can never be far from our minds that God has an enemy. Because the Lord has an enemy, Christians have an enemy. Here’s the enemy’s desire, revealed to us by God in Isaiah, Chapter 14, Verses 12 to 14…
ISAIAH 14:12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, O son of the dawn (a reference to Satan)! You have been cut down to the earth…you who have weakened the nations!”
ISAIAH 14:13 “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the third heaven…I will raise my throne above the stars of God (the angels in the second heaven) … and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north (in the first heaven…the atmosphere surrounding the earth).’”
ISAIAH 14:14 “‘I (Satan) will ascend above the heights of the clouds (to take over the function of God)…I will make myself like the Most High.’”
Satan, the counterfeiter, has spoken. He is willing to be “like” the Most High God until he has to die for someone. He wants the glory without the Cross. Here’s June Murphy to remind us what the Lord did for us in the face of Satan’s resistance in her song I WILL.
MUSIC - OPENING SONG Let’s Hear the Singing of the Lord’s Praises
I WILL June Murphy
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful to You Heavenly Father for providing us with the absolute truth of the Word of God…
Father, thank you for the constant reminders that as Christians we are in a spiritual warfare…we know, through Your Word, we have an enemy…and even though the enemy can’t lure us away from You onto his team, he can (with your permission) disrupt our metal serenity for periods of time…thank you for reminding us that You have overcome the world and that You regularly deliver us from evil…
…as we study the lesson today, help us to assess the places in our lives where we make room for the enemy to infiltrate us…remind us of the enemy’s insidious nature…the gradual ways he introduces harm into our lives…and prepare us to defend our faith not only with others, but also inside ourselves, so the enemy can neither establish nor maintain a stronghold within us…
…we ask these things through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen. TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON What is Your Approach to Defending Your Faith in Christ?
LESSON PART ONE
We continue our study of Philippians, Chapter 1 at the third passage of the chapter. Let’s hear what the apostle Paul has to say in Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 27 to 30. He instructs his friends in Philippi to…
PHILIPPIANS 1:27 …conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I (Paul) come and see you or whether I remain absent from you, I will hear you are standing firm in one spirit…with one mind…striving together for the faith of the gospel…
PHILIPPIANS 1:28 …in no way being alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them and a sign of salvation for you…and that mindset is a provision from God the Father.
PHILIPPIANS 1:29 For to you believers in Christ it has been granted…for Christ’s sake…not only to believe in Jesus Christ, but also to suffer for His sake…
PHILIPPIANS 1:30 …experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Believers in Christ are in FELLOWSHIP with the Lord because we are in union with Him. He placed us into that union at the moment of our salvation through the baptism of God the Holy Spirit. We went from being an unbeliever who rejects a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ to being a believer who accepts a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, which is the exact thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ, He describes this union with Him as SALVATION. It’s the first phase in the Lord’s plan for all mankind. When the Lord moves us from unbeliever to believer in Christ, we are described as “saved.”
Once we are SAVED, we move to the second phase in the Lord’s plan for all mankind. It’s called SANCTIFICATION. Whereas SALVATION is a one-time decision with a result that stands finished forever, SANCTIFICATION is progressive. God the Holy Spirit takes over the responsibility to move us from spiritual immaturity to spiritual maturity, and we advance to the extent that we respond to the prompting of the Spirit. Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 29 says…
ROMANS 8:29 For those whom God the Father foreknew (that’s believers in Christ) … He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (by God the Holy Spirit)… During the SANCTIFICATION phase of God’s plan for us, God the Holy Spirit decreases the power of sin in our lives, and increases the power of righteousness, holiness, and godliness in our lives. The Spirit is the One who “cleans up our acts” because we don’t have the power to do it ourselves.
We didn’t have the power to save ourselves, and we don’t have the power to live righteously. Thank God for His divine power in our lives. Paul says it well in Second Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verse 10…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 12:10 I (Paul) am content…with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties for Christ’s sake…for when I am weak, then I am strong.
That’s JOY regardless of circumstances.
When we count on the Lord, things work out for us! Why is Paul content? Why should we be content? Because when we are weak…when our human power no longer works…the power of Christ takes over. His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.
Next, as we believers in Christ grow spiritually, it is only fitting that we would participate in the FURTHERANCE of the gospel of Jesus Christ, sharing it with everyone we meet. That’s what we learned in the second passage of Philippians, Chapter 1.
Finally, as believers in Christ, we are soldiers in the spiritual battle who are defending the FAITH. The Lord’s half-brother Jude articulates it well in Jude, Chapter 1, Verse 3…
JUDE 1:3 Beloved (divinely loved believers in Christ) … while I (Jude) was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH which was once and for all time handed down to the saints (believers in Christ).
In his biblical letter, Jude is encouraging us to “contend for the faith” during the SANCTIFICATION portion of our lives… spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ while simultaneously defending the faith against false teachers who seek to pervert the simple truth of the gospel.
So as believers in Christ we are in FELLOWSHIP with our Lord (placed into this fellowship BY the Lord) … we glory in the FURTHERANCE of the gospel of Jesus Christ (by sharing it with others in every divine appointment given to us by God) … and we defend the FAITH against those who seek to rob others of salvation and mental serenity with deception (others like Satan, his world system of thought, and the flesh resident in all of us).
Christians…are you ALWAYS prepared to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone you meet? Are you sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with friends and family members?
Now, perhaps more than ever, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a necessary elixir for what ails the human race. In First Timothy, Chapter 4, Verse 1 the apostle Paul reminds his protégé Timothy…
FIRST TIMOTHY 4:1 God the Holy Spirit explicitly says that in later times (which means in every generation)…some believers in Christ will fall away from the faith…paying attention to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons…
The doctrines of demons are deceptive teachings inspired by Satan and distributed through the fallen angels and through unbelievers, intended to lead believers in Christ away from the Christian faith into lasciviousness (loose living) and asceticism (self-denial) as religious methods of appearing “more spiritual” to the Lord.
Through the Word of God, the Lord has given His believers the truth to share with those who are deceived. In First Timothy, Chapter 1, Verse 11 the apostle Paul says…
FIRST TIMOTHY 1:11 …(we are wary of false teachers and false teaching, and we live) according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, Jesus Christ, the gospel with which I (Paul) have been entrusted.
Paul continues in First Timothy, Chapter 6, Verse 20…
FIRST TIMOTHY 6:20 O Timothy…guard what has been entrusted to you (the gospel of Jesus Christ)… and avoid worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” (by false teachers)—
In addition, Timothy is encouraged to enlist others to share the gospel of Jesus Christ…Second Timothy, Chapter 2, Verse 2…
SECOND TIMOTHY 2:2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses…(the gospel of Jesus Christ)…entrust these (truths) to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Why? Because of Second Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 4…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 10:4 …for the weapons of our spiritual warfare are not of the flesh…but the weapons of our spiritual warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
“Fortresses” are deeply engrained lies promoted by Satan and his kingdom of death and darkness. It’s sad to hear parents say, “I don’t really care what my kids believe as long as they believe something!” I wonder what their kids will think of this pathetic parental instruction when they are in the Lake of Fire for all eternity for believing parental advice instead of the gospel message.
When we return from the break we’ll request an offering, and then we’ll hear the messages of this third passage of Philippians, Chapter 1 by studying it verse-by-verse.
FIVE-MINUTE BREAK HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT Steven Curtis Chapman
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON What is Your Approach to Defending Your Faith in Christ?
OFFERING INTRODUCTION
We’re counting on you to keep Barah Ministries going with your financial gifts. We appreciate your faithful giving to the ministry. Let’s listen to Deacon Denny Goodall present one of his always inspiring offering messages.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
SECOND TIMOTHY 4:2 …preach the Word of God…be ready to preach in season and out of season…be ready to reprove, to rebuke, and to exhort with great patience and instruction.
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU Instrumental Version
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON What is Your Approach to Defending Your Faith in Christ?
LESSON PART TWO
Welcome back!
Let’s take a look, verse-by-verse ,at the messages of the third passage in Philippians, Chapter 1 beginning at Verse 27. Paul encourages the believers at Philippi to…
PHILIPPIANS 1:27 …conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I (Paul) come and see you or whether I remain absent from you, I will hear that you are standing firm in one spirit…with one mind…striving together for the faith of the gospel…
Paul said this same thing in another way in a different prison epistle…Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 1…
EPHESIANS 4:1 Therefore I (Paul)…the prisoner of the Lord…implore you believers in Christ to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called by God (to create a lifestyle that accurately reflects your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ) …
In Colossians, Chapter 1, Verse 10 Paul said it this way…
COLOSSIAN 1:10 …when you walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, you please Him in all respects… displaying the fruit of the Spirit in every good work…and increasing in the knowledge of God…
One of the most effective ways to defend the faith is by constructing a lifestyle that is an accurate reflection of our relationship with the Lord.
Turn them over to the Lord
Respect the office if you can’t respect the man
As a believer in Christ, you were created to live a righteous, holy, and godly life. As you work ON your life instead of just IN your life, in your quiet moments of
reflection, what are the things in your life that don’t reflect Your Savior?
Paul is recommending to his friends at Philippi a single-minded adherence to the lifestyle our Lord recommends.
Of course, there are always threats to unity thanks to the enemy of God. As we progress in our study of this letter, we’ll see in chapter four that there was division in the Philippian church. Unity is a key to JOY. Disunity is destructive.
Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 28 to 30…
PHILIPPIANS 1:28 …in no way be alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them and a sign of salvation for you…and that is a mindset provision from God the Father.
PHILIPPIANS 1:29 For to you believers in Christ it has been granted…for Christ’s sake…not only to believe in Jesus Christ…but also to suffer for His sake…
PHILIPPIANS 1:30 …experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
As believers in Christ, we welcome opposition! We expect it, because the Lord tells us to expect it. John, Chapter 15, Verses
JOHN 15:18 “If the world hates you, and it does, know it hated Me before it hated you.”
JOHN 15:19 “If, for the sake of argument, you were of the world, the world would love its own…but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
JOHN 15:20 “Remember the Word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, and they did, they will also persecute you…”
Becoming a believer in Christ does not put us on “easy street.” We are subject to attack from Satan’s kingdom of death and darkness. The Lord warns us in John, Chapter 16, Verse 33…
JOHN 16:33 “These things I (the Lord Jesus Christ) have spoken to you believers in Christ so that in union with Me you may have peace. IN THE WORLD YOU HAVE TRIBULATION…but take courage…I have overcome the world.”
Paul warns his protégé Timothy and us believers in Christ in Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verse 12…
SECOND TIMOTHY 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Tribulation in our lives is a gift because it makes us tough. When the crises come, as inevitably they will, we believers in Christ stand strong in the power of our God. Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 3 exhorts us to…
HEBREWS 12:3 Begin thinking of such a Person…the Lord Jesus Christ…who has endured much worse hostility by sinners against Himself…so that you believers in Christ will not grow weary…fainting in your souls.
The message? As you defend the faith, don’t lose heart.
Sometimes it’s shocking where the opposition comes from, because it usually comes from those closest to you…especially other Christians! After the shock comes the hurt. Deep hurt. Hurt you never expected. Hurt that saps your power. That’s when we count on the Lord’s power to deliver us, and He ALWAYS delivers us. Psalm 23, Verse 5…
PSALM 23:5 Lord…you prepare a feast before me in the presence of my enemies…
The last thing your enemies want to see is you prospering. Yet the Lord always brings it to pass.
What is Paul saying in the first chapter of Philippians to his friends who are believers in Christ at first century Philippi?
FIRST PASSAGE
“It’s great to be in fellowship with you.”
SECOND PASSAGE
“Thanks to all of you for all you are doing and for all you have done to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
THIRD PASSAGE
“Let’s be mindful to defend the faith against false teachers and their false teaching in the power of God the Holy Spirit, not in our own power.”
As you reflect on the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, these are the three things you will see in your mind’s eye. It’s the Lord reminding us how to think as Christians…FELLOWSHIP…FURTHERANCE…AND FAITH.
We are in fellowship with God and with each other…we are always looking to share the gospel message…and we always defend our faith in the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and until the day of eternity.
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race
The next ten minutes could be the ten most important minutes of your life. You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life. We want you to know that…
GOD WANTS YOU! He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.
The Fifth Dimension is a world famous American vocal group from the 1960’s and 1970’s. For those too young to remember them, scurry off to You Tube and type in “The Fifth Dimension - Aquarius Let the Sunshine In.” Then sit back and enjoy a great song.
Next, type in “The Fifth Dimension – This Is Your Life” and listen to these chilling lyrics…
This is your life you’re living And it’s the only one you’ve got It’s your life you’re giving Don’t you think it’s time you asked yourself for what?
This is your life…not a game that you play…it’s your life…
On the day of your physical birth the Lord (God the Son) gifted you with the same life He gifted to Adam, whom the Lord made the federal head of the human race. Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 7…
GENESIS 2:7 Then the Lord (God the Son…Yahweh) formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives…and the man became a living being.
Our parents do not give us life. They each participate in giving us birth. God the Son gives us the gift of life by breathing human life into us…the moment when biological life meets soul life from God.
What will you do with the gift? So many squander the gift and fail to make the most important decisions of their lives. This gospel message is an invitation for you to stop, right now, right this minute, right where you are, to make the most important decision of your life.
Perhaps you don’t know you were born with a problem. You were born in a state of sin. Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12 says…
ROMANS 5:12 …through one man…Adam…sin entered into the world…and spiritual death entered the world through his sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned.
It’s not your fault you were born in a state of sin, but IT IS YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE.
Who says so? The Lord says so in His Word…the Bible…the inerrant Canon of Scripture. First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…
Luckily a “state” is a temporary condition. The Lord…Jesus…the Christ (the Messiah) knew He would do something for us that we could not do for ourselves. He fulfilled God the Father’s plan by taking our sin problem upon Himself.
The gospel message you are about to hear is the Lord’s message to you, informing you how He took care of your sin problem. What He wants you to do is to accept His plan for your salvation.
There is nothing for you to DO to take advantage of God’s plan for your salvation. You cannot save yourself. In fact, anything you do to save yourself is an interference with God’s plan for you.
Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 4 says you CAN'T work for salvation…
ROMANS 4:4 Now to the one who works for salvation, his wage for his work is not credited to his account as a favor from the grace of God, but his wage is credited as what is due for the work.
Yet your hardest work is not perfect enough save you. It’s best to take the Lord’s advice on how to be saved.
RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT, RIGHT NOW, you can make a one-time decision and be saved for all time. In John, Chapter 14, Verse 6… JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to the doubting apostle Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (of the gospel message in the Word of God) … and I am the resurrection life (eternal life) … and no one comes to God the Father in heaven but through believing in Me.”
Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31 exhorts…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God…you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4 tell you about the One who saves you…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3 For I (the apostle Paul) delivered to all of you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for your sins according to the Old Testament Scriptures…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 …and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…
The only perfectly satisfactory payment for your sin in the eyes of God the Father is what the Lord Jesus Christ did to pay for your sins with His blood at the Cross.
In John, Chapter 3, Verse 36 the Lord provides an invitation and a warning…
JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
Your soul, once born, never dies. It is eternal. You have the free will to make a choice where your soul spends eternity. You can believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and spend eternity in heaven with Him when you close your eyes in this life, or you can spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, commonly known as hell, a very real place with very real, eternal consequences. Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 40 to 42…
MATTHEW 13:40 …just as tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
MATTHEW 13:41 The Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) will send forth His elect angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks (unbelievers)…and those who practice lawlessness (unbelievers)…
MATTHEW 13:42 …and the elect angels will throw unbelievers into the Lake of Fire…and in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (for all eternity).
What’s your choice? Do you choose an eternal relationship with the Eternal God or would you prefer to work at saving yourself? Put your pride aside and take the free gift of salvation. In John, Chapter 6, Verse 37, the Lord says…
JOHN 6:37b …the ones who come to Me…to believe in Me…I will certainly not cast out into the outer darkness…the Lake of Fire.
There aren’t many sure things in life. Your salvation is one of them. Simply BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race
CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION
Let’s close with music!
We’ll wrap this lesson with a rap from Ira Lee. Thanks to Monica Miller for pointing this song out. It’s called TRUTH AIN’T BLASPHEMY, and it gives us an amazing amount of food for thought in less than five minutes. If you dance to it while you’re listening to it, that’s okay, but please…listen closely to the words.
MUSIC - CLOSING SONG Let’s Hear the Singing of the Lord’s Praises
TRUTH AIN’T BLASPHEMY Ira Lee
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Almighty God and Father…
Thank you for equipping us to defend our faith in You and in Your plan for our lives…thank you for giving us zero tolerance for those who spread false information about You through the poison of religion and through their own self-righteousness, a manufactured righteousness completely devoid of power…
…as we go back into the world, remind us to enjoy the fellowship we have with like-minded believers who are self-aware and emotionally intelligent about their own deficiencies…who realize that deficiencies are the reason we need You…and who are always sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ without regard for how people choose to accept it or reject it…we continue in the face of resistance to reflect your unconditional love to everyone we meet…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
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