Wednesday November 24, 2004

Mindset of a Christian ( Knight: Serving the King – Part I )

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

— Philippians 4:1-9 (NIV) —

Verse 1: Introductions
Paul starts out by addressing his brothers and he refers to them as his “joy and crown”. What does he mean by this? I think the easiest way to think of it is kind of like his “pride and joy”. Out of all the things that bring you deep contentment, can we say that our family in Christ is one of them? When we stand before our Father in heaven, what else can we bring before Him? For all eternity, there is only one thing that truly lasts. Do you know what it is? And the idea of a crown… think of how anyone would treat a crown. It something to be treated with honor and with respect. And we would wear it proudly. When was the last time you said, “this is my brother” or “this is my sister” and you can’t help but say it proudly and joyfully? Think of when parents talk about their young children… “This is my son.” Now we’re getting there.

Paul talks about standing firm in the Lord. If we stop and think for a second, how do you stand firm on something? You’ve got to place both your feet on a solid surface and keep your center of gravity directly above it. Think of a person who’s standing on solid ground, but if he’s leaning on something else, you could easily make him fall over by taking away the other support. We know that our firm foundation should be upon God. But is He the one that you plant both feet on? Do you have one foot on the ROCK and another one sliding around on the sand? You can’t just trust God partially… if you don’t trust Him fully, know that you’re only one step away from being set adrift.

Verse 2-3: Cheering each other on…
Paul is showing by example what it is that he wants from those who are joined in Christ. We are to show love and concern for them. This includes both male and female siblings in this family. We can’t just say we are only going to minister to those of the same sex. This is hard for me to say because I don’t follow this well, but I think that Paul is saying we can’t be sexist when it comes to loving your fellow christian. Not to say that we don’t show our love differently to the different genders, because men and women receive love differently. We have to help your fellow comrades, your fellow disciple of Christ. All of those saved by Jesus are written in a book of life and are also marked by their faith in Christ. Why are we supporting each other? The reason is this, each one of us should be contending for the gospel. How do we contend for something? Same thing as a contest where we compete, but in this case, we are fighting for the hearts and minds of God’s people. Not pitting man against man, but fighting to free man from sin… body, heart and soul. But as in any other contest, we need people who are going to be in our corner, cheering us on, urging us to get back up when we stumble, and to fight onward in a war, we believe that is already decidedly won. Just a matter of determining who’s on the winning side…

Verse 4-7: Training activities to reach this goal…
Rejoicing. Paul thinks this was worthy of our attention. Evidently, enough so to make him repeat himself. We might have this idea in our heads after reading this verse that we are supposed to always be happy. Like David dancing like no one’s watching… (2 Sam 6:14-16) This cannot be true. Even Jesus wept when he saw Lazarus laid out in death. We are supposed to rejoice in the Lord all the time. Rejoicing = (worship, loud, praise, celebration, joyful). How do we rejoice in Him all the time? in all situations? always is not one of those words that should be used lightly… in grief & sorry, times of trouble & tribulation, times of joy & celebration… For historical context, Paul was most likely chilling in a jailcell at the time, so he’s definitely not having the best of times.

But gnaw on this for awhile, when we take our eyes off of our situation and fix our eyes on our God, isn’t there many things to be thankful and joyful about? We have a God of mercy, love, peace, power, life, and joy. I’m sure there are more, it’s just beyond my ken to try and list them all. And this is not just any god, but your God and my God. A God that came down to meet us where we are, save us from sinful selves, and given us a new life unlike anything the world has ever imagined that is for both now and forever… Can I get an rejoiceful AMEN to that?

Gentleness. Paul is asking us to be gentle in such a manner that anyone can see it. Both christians and non-christians. Now, to my legalistic mind, this doesn’t necessarily translate to being gentle with everyone. But I do know that Jesus seems to be fiercely gentle… it seems like an oxymoron, but perhaps after walking awhile in Jesus’ sandals makes me think it more normal than anything else. The best way I can picture this is the way I hear about family pet dogs fighting off wild animals more than twice their size. It is protective and gentle, but there is a strength and fierceness in the heart of it… In more eloquent words, gentle as doves, wise as serpents. (Matt 10:16) We can afford to be gentle because God draws near. Jesus is not dead, but risen promising death’s defeat. The Holy Spirit isn’t just floating around, it’s dwelling within us, helping and guiding us. When you dwell on something like that, I think we’d all speak alot softer, cuz God has a super-big stick. Ya feel me?

Prayer, not anxiousness. Don’t let this life get to you. Pick your word of choice: disturbed, worked up, upset = anxious. And Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything”. This includes but is not limited to your job, your parents, your life, your sins, your pain, your social status, your bills, & your health. How do you stay stable through all these things that life is throwing at you? Pray. Talk to God about it. Ask God to help you out. But remember to be thankful for those blessings that God has given you, the prayers that God has answered, those hard places where God has been faithful in his promises. In other words, be gracious toward God. Don’t ask Him for things like He doesn’t want to bless you… as if He wants something, some sort of bribe from you. He wants YOU. Prayer is about remembering God in times of celebration and in times of trouble. That He’s in control, no matter what happens. And that He loves you and wants the best for you and works in you through both good situations and bad ones.

Peace, incomming. Add all these things together and you will receive the peace of God. Something beyond what this world understands. It’s not something you can simply analyze in a psych lab somewhere. And this peace is a shield for the heart and mind. So for those of us who’ve been staring at formulas too long: Rejoicing + Gentleness + Prayer => Peace => Shield for Heart & Mind.

Verse 8-9: Conclusion, things to focus on, and walking with God.
Finally. Tying it all together and nailing loose ends down. Paul puts all these things in plain Greek. For those looking to legalistically avoid things, Paul has your number. These are the things to think and focus on: “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” When you think about things that fit all of the 8 criteria outlined: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, ultimately it can only make you think about greater things. *Points skyward* and Paul repeats that he is living a life worthy of Jesus. Not to say that he is perfect, but that his walk with God is what he wants his siblings to learn. How to stay close to God, not to follow everything he does, because he’s already told them to avoid bad things, but what it is that can help each one of us walk closer with our God.

Father, this has been a long time in it’s making. I pray that You would be pleased and that I have spoken the words that Your people needed to hear. Let me not become proud in studying Your words like the Pharisees. May each word be true and Your glory be shown. Thank you for letting me learn more about You and drawing me closer to Your heart. I pray that the sheep may be fed, the lost found, and the broken restored. May we follow in His steps as You faithfully keep each promise. I ask these in name of the Great Redeemer, the one who paid the price in blood, so I would not be forever lost, Jesus. Amen.

KJV Version…

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I’m having Heidi Klum wake me up…
😀

I’m Geek and proud!
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