Brother Gary Sunday Night 4/20/14

Brother Gary Sunday Night 4/20/14

By the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we can be made every whit whole.  Jesus asked the man, “Wilt thou be whole.”  We serve a God that can help us be whole in every way.  He can bring us up to His standard.

I began reading the story “The Hollow Man” last night and it affected me so that I dreamed of how hollow my life was.  I was headed down the broad road, so hollow and God in His mercy helped me to allow Him to get my compass set right.

Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Anything the Gospel has cost me, we are blessed for having sold it and found the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no sorrow of the world in my heart.  What I gave up in sin I am so glad that I gave it up.  I just wish I would have gotten my eyes opened sooner.

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

We need to keep it real that Christ must be in preeminence in our life.  The beauty that He has for us, the beauty of bearing one another’s burdens, of being burdened to pray as God leads us, as He is already working.

What I have learned in living is that yes, we suffer some losses.  May God help us to have a balance to realize the losses we suffer and what we receive are nothing in comparison of what sin takes from people. 

People look at us and think, “They live a rigid life.”  We don’t.  We live a full and wonderful life.  We go wherever we want to go and have wonderful food to eat and wonderful food to drink.  When I think of what alcohol has cost our family, dear church, the grief, the heartache.  Most of you know that I had an older brother that was killed because of alcohol.  You wouldn’t be able to bear to read the story that would be written about his children. 

No one needs to tell me about what the gospel has cost us.  We have been so blessed to be saved.  Paul so well said it, “We all have lost some things because we chose to serve God but we have also gained some things.”

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Isn’t it wonderful to be rid of sin, the rags of self righteousness, and the rags we wore that were messed up because of a life of sin?  Jesus put on our sins and wore them for us that we may be made free and pure through the blood of the Lamb.

Whatever our challenge is, to be challenged is life.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that with faith in God we can be more than a conqueror in every situation?  Even when you are going through the most severe time and testing you can stay true to God because our example stayed true to God and did not lose His focus even when He was on the cross.

The heart cry of Paul was “That I may know Him.”  Oh that I may know Him.  Oh that He knows me. 

The power of His resurrection:  When I think of that tomb, they did their best to seal it and hired guards.  They did everything to try to make it secure.  When God chose for Jesus to resurrect, there was not enough sealing in the world to hold Him there.

When I think of His power to us, there will be occasions when we all will feel lukewarmness trying to hold us.  The grip of fear or injustice: oh the power of His resurrection, rising up above it to enjoy life with Him. 

The fellowship of His sufferings:  When I think of Him, one of the little boys of the congregation came to me and told me that there was a bully in His class.  Jesus understands being bullied.  When you and I feel that someone is putting pressure on us, fellowship His sufferings.  Don’t allow the compass to stick or your focus to be lost. 

He bought victory, healing, and freedom for me and left us the example, on the cross He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

His faithfulness to our soul is a marvelous thing.  He brings us to where we are to be and we enjoy being there and then He comes again and says, “Come up a little higher.  Son or daughter I want you to learn a little here or there.  I want you to excel in edification…”

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Don’t pack yesterday. 

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The key is pressing.  We all are called to press, press forward to the prize.  Have a goal and press toward the goal.  “On to the goal keep pressing.”

Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

“This is the mind that I want you to have, if you get otherwise minded, God will reveal this unto you.”

Php 3:16  Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Php 3:17  Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

It is wonderful to have examples to follow.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Thank God for the cross and for everyone that has a great appreciation for the cross.

Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Php 3:20  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Our conversation is in heaven:  what a challenging thought, not only our words, but our actions and our deeds.

Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.