May 8, 2016
Scripture:
Read Revelation 21:23, and ch. 22:5. The Lord is the light of the world. He went through that hour of darkness to bring light to us. The people were trying to put out His light. However, God would not allow that to happen. It is often hard to see that light in the world today. But one day, He will be all the light that we need.
Hymn 327 - When mothers of Salem their children brought to Jesus
Prayer
Proverbs 3: 9,10; 27,28; 14-18
We are told honour the Lord with our substance. What is our substance, or first fruits? It’s what we have or get. The Children of Israel were to give the best of the first fruits of their harvest to the Lord. To us, it is a picture of honouring the Lord with our substance. We can use what we have for Him in different ways. The Lord gave us everything we have. Gardening is a good example: you may have planted the seeds, but the Lord sends the rain, the sun, and allows those seeds to grow. We can share with others, respond to a need, or extend hospitality, and by these things we will honour the Lord with our substance.
There were two sisters who both received a chocolate bar. They didn’t get candy very often, so this was a special treat. One of the sisters shared her chocolate bar with others in her family, but the other hid her chocolate bar, planning to eat by herself at a special time. The first girl was blessed for her unselfishness. The other sister, however, never got to eat her chocolate bar, because when she came back to it, it was infested with ants. This is just a small example of how we could use our substance to honour the Lord.
Vv. 27 & 28 refer to borrowing something from someone. Let’s say you borrowed one dollar from someone. If that person then needed this one dollar and came to you, you should return it if you can. You shouldn’t hold it back from him.
We could connect this also with helping someone if it is in our power to do so. We can just sit and watch as someone else does their job. But if we have the power to help them, we should get up and do the work with them.
We can also find an example in driving. So many people on the road are busy, and too focused on what they need to do to help. They won’t let another driver turn in in front of them. But if they did, traffic could then continue, and they would have a blessing for helping someone.
The Philippians helped the apostle Paul by sending him a gift. Paul did not necessarily need the gift, but the Philippians were blessed for what they had done.
We can ask the Lord to open our eyes to show us how to be a help to those around us. God has given us the strength and time to do so.
Back in vv. 13 & 14, we find the the wisdom from God’s Word, gained by studying and reading it, is better than silver, gold, or even rubies. Rubies are a very costly gem. God’s Word is more valuable than costly gems. The world does a lot to gain earthly riches, but the gain you get from studying God’s Word is more than all their riches.
The man who finds wisdom is happy. Not the kind of happy you feel when you win a game, but the joy of the things found in God’s Word. To know His love and His care puts joy into our hearts.
There was a farmer who lived in a valley and who was very rich. He was happy with all his property and riches, and felt that he had done quite well for himself. One day, he was riding on his horse through his farm when he came upon one of his hired hands, Hans. He was sitting down for lunch, and was thanking the Lord for what he had to eat. The farmer greeted him and asked him what he was doing.
“I was just thanking the Lord for my meal”, Hans replied.
The farmer was a little shocked over that because he thought Hans lunch was nothing to thank anyone for: it was so small. As the two men talked, Hans told the farmer of a dream he had the night before. The message of the dream was this: tonight, the richest man in the valley will die.
As the two men parted, the farmer was feeling a bit uneasy. He knew that of all the people that lived in the valley, he was the richest. At home he felt as if he had a headache, and by evening he felt worse so they called for the doctor. The doctor couldn’t find anything that was obviously wrong, but he decided to stay the night just in case the farmer began to feel even worse. By dawn, though, the doctor decided that he would be all right. He was just about to leave when someone knocked on the door. The man at the door brought the message that late that night Hans had suddenly fallen sick and died.
The richest man in the valley wasn’t the farmer with all his great riches. It was the hired hand Hans, who knew the Lord as his Saviour, and could rejoice in his salvation.
So, we can learn to use our substance for the Lord, and it is God’s Word that is the true riches. We will find God’s Word to be a source of blessing and joy when we lay hold on it.
Philippians 3:16-21
Paul talked about running earlier in this chapter, but he switches to walking in verse 16. Walking “by the same rule” means going on in the same truth together. It’s easy to stray from the path of truth that God has given, but Paul encourages us to walk in “the same steps” (DT). Imagine a marching band; it would just be wrong if one band member was out of step. Are we in step with other believers? Are we occupied with the same things, the things of eternity?
Paul called the Philippians “brethren” here, and we see more terms of endearment at the beginning of chapter 4. He deeply loved these believers, and felt a bond with them. Besides walking in step, a marching band walks in rank—all in line. We have walked with some that have broken rank, and left us. 1 Chronicles 13:33, 38 shows us some Israelites that could keep rank. Why can’t we?
Verse 18 gives us some enemies, not of Christ, but of the cross of Christ. The cross is offensive to the world, but for us it marks the death of the old man. These people seem to be just professors of Christianity, not possessors. They say they love Christ, but they love the world, too. How these folks affected the Apostle! Our path is narrow, and you can fall off either side; either being too legal, or too liberal. We must walk as Christ would have us walk and has given us the path for. These people don’t have Christ as their Object, and sadly their end is destruction.
When we got saved, we changed our citizenship. We are now heavenly, and are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Therefore, we look for our Saviour’s return. He’s come once already (as we saw in chapter 2), but will come again. When He does, we will leave this earth, and get new bodies. These “bodies of humiliation” (DT) will be conformed to be like Christ’s glorious body. If it’s good enough for Him, it’s good enough for us! The Lord left His glory, and came down to earth in humiliation. It’s just the opposite for us!
Chapter 4 verse 1 exhorts us to “therefore” stand fast. In Ephesians we had the “sit, walk, stand” outline. Here in Philippians we have “run, walk, stand”. We need to be steadfast and faithful in following the the Lord, not wavering or waffling. This encourages us to not just be professing Christians, but to be real. May we be!
Hymn 149 - Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
Prayer