Philippians Part 1 Philippians Part 2

Philippians 3: 4-7

Good Morning,

Paul now begins speaking about how we should view not only our past, but also are successes. He says:"...If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:...But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." Paul explains that if anyone could boast of his past he could. He was circumcised, Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee in regard to the law, in legalistic following of the law,faultless. When we look at Paul we must realize this is a man that could speak to any Jewish issue and put many to shame. Concerning the law, if this is how you are saved he was without fault. Many in the world today try and claim what they are or have done to prove there relationship with Christ. However, when we look to Scripture all that we have done in the flesh is just that, flesh. In the eyes of the Lord it means nothing even though the world may be impressed. We must like Paul recognize that I must be willing to give up all to follow Christ and be His humble servant. Who we are and what we do cannot achieve what we need, and that is a relationship with Christ. When we recognize all must be surrendered to the Lord, then He is able to establish that relationship with us and fulfill all our desires. May we count all our achievements, successes and praise as loss, so that we may gain a relationship with Christ that is far greater.

Blessings on you,

Good Morning,

In this passage of Philippians, Paul takes his commitment to another stage. He states:" What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things.... not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ..." If anyone could boast about living a pure life it would be Paul, but he came to the realization all of us must come to and that is who we are in Christ. Just yesterday I had a conversation with someone who said that everything The Lord desires us to do, begins with a proper understanding of who we are in Christ. Paul realized that the righteousness he had was not sufficient, and only the righteousness of God will surely save him. Today we are told many things about our walk with God. We equate it to going to church, giving, being involved in ministries of the church, helping those in need and many more. All these are good, don't get me wrong, however, this is not what determines our eternity. It is God's righteousness through faith that allows us to call Him Father and feel the closeness that goes with that term. Yes, the outflow of this understanding is all the things I mentioned and much more, but; if we truly understand that it is all of God, then we can look at life more clearly through the eyes of Him. All that we have and are soon becomes secondary to who we are in Christ. Let's begin as the children of God to recognize we are all in the same position and that apart from Him we can do nothing. May today be the day we begin to live lives completely controlled by Him and for Him.
Blessings on you,

Good Morning,

I am sorry it has been so long, but my computer was down and I was unable to send out anything for several weeks.
Paul in Philippians makes an astounding statement. He writes:" I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death,... to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Paul first wants to know the power of Christ. The word here is dynamos which means great power. Paul is wanting the same kind of life changing power that Christ had which affected so many people. However, he doesn't stop there. He also believes that he must partake in an active way the same sufferings that Christ did and also die to the fleshly desires that he posseses. When looking at the life of Christ we see Him only concerned about doing His Father's will no matter what sufferings may come. Paul says that we need to be willing to experience the power of God in our lives knowing that suffering will come, but the ultimate climax to it is the Resurrection from the dead. Do we become more concerned about how we live and what we experience in this world, or are we more desirous of the resurrection to come? Paul is saying that if we are willing to put to death the fleshly desires and live in the power of God, then suffering will come with the ultimate end, resurrection to our Father. With all that is happening in the world and the distractions that take our thoughts from the Lord, we need once again to say as Paul: "I want to know Christ..." This needs to be our desire no matter what may take place in our lives.

Blessings on you,

Philippians 3: 12-14

Good Morning,

In Philippians 3: 12-14 Paul writes:" Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,...I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Paul who was able to boast of all he did in the flesh, furthers his comments on why we need to count all that as nothing. By saying that all that we accomplish in the flesh means nothing, he is really saying forget about your past and begin to focus on Him and all that He desires. Forgetting about our past accomplishments is very hard. When applying for new jobs or positions they always want to know what you did previously. The accomplishments in our past we must recognize, but also be willing to forget so we can get on with what the Lord has for us now and in the future. Paul says their is one goal that he really desires and that is to look heavenward toward the prize provided for us in Christ. Do we look at the world as an end in itself, or as a means to attain Christ? If our desires were really to attain all that Christ has for us, I wonder how much we would change. Would our status, accomplishments, material possessions or anything we hold dear, really means as much to us if all we desired was to obtain the presence of God and do His will? I look at my own life and realize how often the "things" of this world seem to determine how I think, when really what Our Father desires is more important. I would hope that all of us would rethink how we view our lives and all our accomplishments in light of our desire for an intimate relationship with Christ. If anything hinders that relationship, may we have the strength to forget about it and press harder than ever before for the prize that is ours, Christ Jesus.

Blessings on you,
Pastor Hengle