Sermon by Bob Bradley

Transcription

1 Sermon by Bob Bradley COPYRIGHT 2017 CAMPBELL CHAPEL FREE WILL BAPTIST CHURCH 1709 Campbell Drive * Ironton, OH 45638

2 Characteristics of Christ in Our Life Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Bob Bradley Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Philippians 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Philippians 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Paul is writing to the church here at Philippi. Paul is in jail as he writes here. He is in jail in Rome. This is one of what the Theologians call his Prison Epistles. He is writing to the church here at Philippi. When you look at Acts 16, you can see some great things that happened at Philippi. Paul comes there. The Bible says it is one of the chief cities of Macedonia. It is a colony. As I read and studied a little bit about the city of Philippi. It probably was a beautiful place. It probably would have been a great place to visit and look. It would probably would have been a great place to vacation because of all the things that were there and how it was situated and where it was situated at. It probably would have been a beautiful place. Anyways, Paul comes there. There are a few things that are very familiar to us all. Do you remember when Paul comes? We were introduced to a lady by the name of Lydia. Do you remember her? She was a seller of purple. She was from Thyatira. Do you remember her? She was down by the riverside. Paul comes down and they have church and we know they get saved. Paul baptizes them. It is just a great time there. Also, as they continue through the city of Philippi; do you remember the little girl that was possessed with the devil? Do you remember her? She comes following him around and the guys who were with him around. She continually cried, These men are the servants of the most high God. After a while Paul got fed up with it and turned around and cast the demon out of her. When she could no longer be a fortune teller her masters got upset. Paul gets put in prison. Do you remember that? They get thrown into prison. We have the story of Paul and Silas being in jail. Three weeks ago, one sang and one prayed. Do you remember that story? They had a great time. They had a great prayer meeting that night. They had a great time of worship. God came down and met with them.

3 Listen. When we will get where we need to be God will always come down and meet with us. Whether it is on a hillside, whether it is in church or wherever it is at; when we live as we should live then the Lord will be with us. He will help us. Do you know what we can do? We can worship Him wherever we are at. We can worship and praise the God of heaven. I thought the last several days, you know, I need to get more of Him. I need to get closer to Him. I need to be more aware of what He wants in my life and what He expects out of me. I need to be more aware of those things. You might say, Well, you have been doing this a long time. Listen. I have been but I still have a lot to learn. I know we all have a lot to learn. There are areas in our life that we can get closer. There are areas in our life that we can do more. Paul is writing here somewhere around 60 to 63 AD. As I said earlier, he was in prison. He was writing to the saints. The Bible says in chapter 1, to the saints in Jesus Christ and the bishops and deacons. That is who he is writing to. There are so many things here that we can learn from these writings here. We know that Epaphras had gone from the Philippian church to Rome taking Paul a gift there. We know that Epaphras got sick while he was there. Paul is writing back in this letter to make sure the people in Philippi didn t think that Epaphras had thrown in the towel and quit. He had been sick. He was very sick. Paul wanted to make sure nobody got the wrong idea as to why he had not come back. That was one of the reasons he was writing. There were two women here that could not get along. He addresses that and some different things here. However, the church at Philippi was a very strong church. As you read you will read about joy and being joyful, many different times in these four chapters in the book of Philippians. Anytime Christian people have joy then they have something going on that is right. When we have joy in hearts we are going to be praising the Lord. Do you know what else He is going to be doing? He is going to be using us for His glory. There is nothing that will get the attention of somebody that is in the world like joy will. Somebody that is joyful. Somebody that has the joy of the Lord deep down in their heart; there is nothing that will get the attention of lost people, any greater than that. Do you know why? They are in need. They don t have joy. They are miserable. Their lives are miserable. They don t know anything about joy. Paul here is talking to this church that is full of joy. They are working. They are laboring. Also, when you and I have joy in our lives and when we are living as we should be living, we will know that we have all we need to go to heaven. not only that but also, we are going to be doing everything we can, listen to the voice of God. We are going to do everything we can to teach everybody that we can about the goodness and the grace of Almighty God. That is what joy does. Joy will motivate us. Joy will stir us to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you have joy in your life and you are happy, even

4 though our world may be falling apart all around us. Every bone and every part of us may be hurting and aching. We can still yet have joy down in here. We can have joy in the inside and we know that if it all stops today, and it all ends today; we know where we are going. That is great to know. That is what joy really is. Paul visits Philippi. He establishes a church, at Philippi, on his second missionary journey. Things are doing well. The church here was doing well. They were very active. They had ministry. They were doing many things here for the Lord. That is what we should be doing as Christian people. There is nowhere for us to let up. There is not a time in life that we can say, I ve done enough or I don t need to be doing anything. There is never a time like that. Because everywhere there are people in need. Everywhere we look and we probably don t have to look any further than our own families to see people who have need of Jesus Christ. People that are lost. People that may be sick. People that are hungry. People that may need clothing or shelter. Most of the time we don t have to look any further than our own family to see that. They are everywhere. Again, so many of our children are being neglected. So many that are hurting, and needs our help. They are everywhere. We should be wanting to help. The first 4 verses here, Paul is reminding them of the characteristics or traits of Jesus Christ. Some things that was in Jesus Christ that these folks should also have in themselves. Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, The first thing he says the word if in the original writings is the word since. Since there is consolation in Jesus Christ. The word consolation means encouragement, to be comforted, exhortation, to be strengthened. These characteristics you don t have to look very far to see that Jesus Christ was someone that encouraged people. That was in Him. Not only did He encourage people but He comforted people. As I thought today, there are so many people, I couldn t name but a very small percentage of them. The people that Jesus Christ comforted while He was here. Not only did He do that, but how many times did He exhort people. How many times did he help people and exhort people? How many times did He help people and exhort people and to prop people up? How many times did He do that? Many, many times. Didn t He? Not only that but He strengthened people. This characteristic is something that you and I need. We need to be encouraging people. We need to be strengthening people. We need to be comforting people. Don t we? He is going to say here that the same mind that was in Christ, we need to have the same mind. We need to be like minded. Therefore, if Christ encouraged people, if He strengthened people, if He exhorted people and wanted to help people along then you and I should be doing the same thing.

5 I thought today, I never read in the scripture anywhere, where Jesus Christ murmured or complained. Did you ever read in the Bible anywhere where Jesus murmured or complained? It is not in there. Is it? we know He drove some people out of the temple. We know that He did those things. However, you will never read where Jesus Christ ever murmured or complained. I don t think that needs to be in us either. If we have the same mind, the mind of Christ then we won t be murmuring and complaining. Do you know what we will be doing? First of all, we will be exhorting people. We will be encouraging people. We will be strengthening people. We will be doing these things here so that people can see there is the great love of God. Again, as I said earlier, when we have joy, when we have all that we know we need to go to heaven, when we know that we have been born again, we are living in the will of God, and we know that the spirit of God is in our lives, and when we pray we know that God is listening and God answers our prayers; when we know those things then that brings joy in our life. When we have joy in our life then we are going to be doing just what Paul says, Jesus Christ was doing. He is going to be encouraging people. He is going to be comforting people. He is going to be exhorting people. He is going to be consoling people. He is going to be helping people. He is going to want to lessen and we are going to be wanting to lessen people s grief. How many times were people hurting and grieving and Jesus came along and healed someone and said some words or did some kind of miracle and lessened people s grief. He did that many times. Didn t He? You and I should be doing that. You and I, if we have the same mind that is in Christ; I can t turn water into wine. I can t turn rocks into bread. I cannot do that. However, there are things we can do to help people in times of grief. We can lesson people s grief. We can help them along. We can be an encouragement to them. Instead of knocking them down, and running over them saying, There is no use. They are no account. They are no good. Do you know what we can do? We can lessen their grief. Through their times of loss, their times of sadness; we can help them. We can lessen their grief. We can soothe them. We can cheer them up. A lot of times, all that people really needs is somebody to talk to, somebody to listen to them, somebody to encourage them just a little bit. Not everybody listens. We understand that. There are people out there do you know what Jesus didn t do when He was here. He didn t help everybody. Do you know why? Because not everybody wanted His help. He didn t change everybody s life. Not everybody s life wanted changed. You and I will never change everybody. There are people out there that are just waiting to hear from me and you. People that are hurting and people that are in times of grief, you and I can lessen that grief. We can do that in so many ways. It may not cost us a nickel. It may not cost us a dime. Or it may cost us some money. Usually what it costs us is our time just to listen to somebody, to go visit somebody, or to talk to somebody.

6 As we talked down in prayer, I believe it was about visiting people who are sick. They don t need anything. If you go visit them do you know what they will tell you? They are not hungry. Most of them are not. I m talking about in the rest homes. They don t need clothing. Most of them don t. They don t need any medications. They have it right there with them. They don t need a phone. They don t need glasses. They don t need a lot of things. Do you know what makes their day? When you go down and pull up a chair and say, Jimmy, how are you doing today? How are you doing today, Jimmy, Jane, Joe, or Carl or Fred. Do you know what they can tell you? They can tell you some things. They can teach you some things. We should have the same thoughts. Our thought process should be the same that we want to help people. We want to help them and lessen their griefs in times of trouble. Not only that but also, we should be wanting to encourage people. We should encourage people to go on. In our world today, when so many people want to quit, and throwing in the towel; we should be encouraging people, Hey, you can make it. You can do this. You can make it. You don t have to throw up your hands and quit. We know the devil is going to aggravate us. He is going to send temptation and trials. You can make it. you can do it. that is what we should be doing to people today. We should be encouraging people. We should be inspiring people to go on. The only way we can do that is if we are going on. The old saying is, Misery loves company. If you are drowning, if you are about to go under drowning, do you know what I am not going to do? I am not going to be hollering for you to help me. Amen! People that are drowning in this world and when they see us drowning and going down they are not going to be hollering for us. They are going to be looking for someone to help them. We should be encouraging people. We should want to encourage people to continue on, to work and to do things that are right. We should be inspiring them. We should be doing some great things for them. We should be trying to persuade them to get up and go again. If we will do that then we can make a difference in people s lives. Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Also, he uses the words comfort of love. As I said earlier, Christ comforted so many people while He was here. He comforted so many people, but He comforted them with His love. The word love here is agape love. It is a sacrificial love. It is a love that gives. It is a love that is selfless. It is a love that looks beyond self and looks to other people. Do you know what we should be doing today? It is hard for us to do this, but we should look beyond self. We should get beyond there should be sometime in our Christian life that we grow up to the point that we can look beyond self. We should be able to get to a place in life that we can look at people and see the needs of people, and

7 be willing to put self out of the way, and sacrifice some of our time and energy, to be able to help other people. That is what Christ did for us. Love is what stirred Christ to save you and me. His love for you and I is the very thing that caused Him, or the reason He came God so loved the world John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Love. See, we were hurting. We were dying. We were doomed. We were damned. Yet, He came. The thing is here that is what we should be doing. We should be helping everyone that we can. It doesn t matter what color they are. It doesn t matter who they are. It doesn t matter what they have done in life. We should be doing everything that we can to help them. It also uses the phrase here, fellowship of the spirit. Something happens when people gets saved. Something happens. We know that the Holy Spirit of God, when we read the book of 1 Corinthians; we know the Holy Spirit of God moves into our lives. Doesn t it? We know that. He moves into our lives. He comes in sets upon the throne of our hearts. He moves in. He takes up His abode in our lives. He does this here to comfort us. He does this to guide us. He does this to teach us and equip us that we might be witnesses for Christ. He also does something else. People that are saved today every individual that is saved today, born again today is indwelled by the same spirit. It doesn t matter if we call ourselves Baptists, Nazarene, Holy Rollers or Catholic; if we are saved I m not talking about church members. We have a lot of church members that has never been born again. We have a lot of church people who goes to church who knows nothing about the spirit of God. However, people who have been born again; we have something in common. That common denominator is the Holy Spirit. Do you know what the Holy Spirit always does? He is One that will always lead people into fellowship with people. The Holy Spirit does not cause strife, envy, pride, jealousy, and division. The Holy Spirit does not do those things. The Holy Spirit will lead us and unite us because we all have one Spirit, if we are saved, and it is just one there are not many; there is just one Holy Spirit He indwells everyone that has been born again. That same Spirit that dwells in all of us promotes unity. It promotes love. Doesn t it? isn t it great to know? Isn t it great you can go into a place that you may not know anyone, it may be somebody that you have never been around and you can talk to them for a minute or 30 seconds or whatever; you can tell when people are really filled with the Holy Ghost. Amen! That is great to know. Do you know why? We have something in common with them because we are saved, born again; the Spirit dwells within us. We can fellowship

8 with each other because of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Amen! That is what church is all about. Do you know that? To have unity, fellowship, worship and we can have that because we have got one Spirit and that Spirit lives in our lives. He does comfort. He does guide. He does teach us. He does quip us. I have said this here a million times. If we are going to do anything for Christ, it will because we allow the Holy Spirit of God to work actively and freely in our lives. It will be because He empowers us. He will teach us. If we ever do anything that is going to bring glory to God, it will be because of what He does in our lives. It goes on and says this. He talks about compassion. Compassion is something that we need. If we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God, He is dwelling on the inside of us; do you know what we will be? We will be compassionate people. I am not talking about putting up with sin. I am not talking about letting people run over us. I m not talking about any of that. However, when we see people that are in need that we can help, there will be something on the inside of us that will stir us. That is the Holy Ghost. He will stir us to want to help people. Again, Christ s compassion towards us is why you and I are saved today. Had He not had compassion towards you and me we would not be saved today. He would not have come had He not saw our need and had compassion towards us. We would not be saved today. Isn t it great we can see people in need. We may not be able to meet their needs. Many times, I have gone into hospital rooms, or different places and saw people struggling, very sick and family was all around with a lot of different things going on. It breaks your heart. Do you know what I can t do? I can t heal anybody. I can t do that. It touches you. I mean what I am going to say. When people are suffering and it doesn t touch you, I worry about where you are at with Jesus Christ. There is something bad wrong. When people are suffering. I don t care about the reason. They may have caused it. They may have brought it on themselves. However, when people are suffering and it does not touch us, it does not stir us, it does not do something on the inside of us; then I worry about where you are at with God. There is something bad wrong when people are suffering and hurting and it doesn t touch us; there is something way wrong in our lives. Compassion is a great thing and we need it. Compassion means that we have sorrow and we feel sorrow. It means pity. It means to be merciful. When you and I are saved, we will show pity. We will be merciful to people. Amen! We will be sorry and we will feel a sense of sorrow for people. It will touch us. Again, we may not able to solve their problem. Whatever they need we may not be able to help. What we can do when we feel that feeling, when that touches our heart; we can get alone somewhere and talk to the God of heaven. He can help them. We may not be able to but He can.

9 These characteristics should be in our lives: consolation, encouragement, and these things should be here, compassion and comfort. These things should be in our lives. These things should be characteristics in our lives. Let me say it this way. These things should be something that defines my life. Amen! When the world looks at us as Christian people, there are some things that should define our lives. Compassion. Amen! Consolation. Pity. A sense of mercifulness. Compassion. These things should characterize our lives. Do you know why? It is because they characterize Jesus Christ s life. Since we should have the same mind He has got then these things should characterize all our lives. Listen. Jesus loves us. He has a plan for your life if you will listen to Him. If you are here tonight and unsaved, wherever you are listening to me from tonight, maybe it is in your own home or in your car going down the road or a hospital room. I don t know where you are at but I do know that the God of heaven is able to save you. He is able to forgive you. He is able to cleanse you. Won t you come. Won t you call upon Him this evening. He loves you. He cares about you. He died for you. Come this evening. Come and pray