Verse-by-verse through Philippians (2:3-2:5)

If you have your Bible I would invite you to turn with me to the book of Philippians, chapter 2. We’re going to begin in verse 3. This morning we come to a section of Scripture that we tend to isolate from the surrounding text. We’ve talked about how even though chapter and verse divisions are helpful in finding certain passages, they do tend to make us draw divisions between texts when they shouldn’t be divided. And in fact in some Bibles, not only are there chapter and verse divisions, they have also separated paragraphs from each other. And yes all these are helpful, but there is also a danger we risk in that they have a tendency to interrupt the flow of thought. Our mind sees these divisions and it says, “OK, these are two separate ideas. Don’t consider them together.” And the text we will be examining today is one of those places where it’s almost like we take and we draw a line before verse 5 and after verse 11, and we pluck out those verses and we say, “This section is strictly a proof-text of the humanity and the deity of Christ. This passage has nothing at all to do with the verses around it.” Now don’t get me wrong. This section does indeed display for us the fact that Christ IS God and yet He became man. But there is more than that. Paul did not just drop everything and launch into a doxology of the dual natures of Christ. There was a reason—besides being led by the Holy Spirit—there was a reason he gives us this glimpse into the fact that Christ became man.

So, starting with verse 3, reading through verse 11, and we will obviously not get all the way through this today. Philippians 2:3-11—Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If you notice, verses 3, 4, and 5 all talk about the same thing: Verse 3, we are to submit ourselves to others. We are to value that other person as being greater than our own selves and we are to submit appropriately. Paul wrote a whole section about that in Ephesians 5. Wives, submit to your husbands; husbands, love your wives; children, obey your parents; fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath; servants, obey your masters; masters, don’t beat your servants. In Romans 12:9-10, he says, Let love be without hypocrisy. Despise what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. These people had seen one man after another plot and scheme and do all kinds of dastardly things in order to become the Caesar. And Paul was seeing somewhat the same thing happen in this church at Philippi. There were some who had forgotten that it ain't about ME! And whatever this was that was going on, it was starting to pull the brethren apart. And so Paul has to write to these people and say, “Stop! You need to quit thinking that you are #! And instead think of the other person as being #1!”

Then in verse 4, he says that we are to consider other peoples’ needs as being more important than our own. Want to know one reason the economy is in the tank right now? Because people got so caught up in something called…MORE. People making $40,000 a year—not even middle class anymore—buying $250,000-$300,000 homes that they can't afford. Because the focus in this country is on SELF. Get everything you can while you can. And you can turn on the TV and find preachers preaching the same thing—get all you can and then go get more. Have your “Best Life Now!” NO!! So Paul is building here. He’s telling them, “Put other people center stage.” And it’s a back-and-forth thing. We are all to look out for one another. I look out for you, you look out for me, and we both look out for somebody else. And consider the other person’s interests before your own. You’ve got enough? Good. Somebody else is in need—go help them. Because if you are a child of God, He will provide. Matthew 6:25-34—“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?...for all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In other words, do the will of the Father, and He will take care of you. You may not drive around in a brand new BMW. But so what? It’s a car. And if you’ve got a car period—be glad. Does it get you back and forth? Yes? Good. Is your life any less because your car is a few years old? If God has given you what you need, then go help others.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus… Did Jesus do anything through selfish ambition? Matthew 11:29—“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart…” Did Jesus ever look out for His own interests? John 5:30—“My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” Hmmmm…let’s do some math here:

1. Jesus never did anything out of selfish ambition or conceit.
2. Jesus did not look out for His own interests.
3. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

What do you suppose the apostle is trying to tell us? “This is what Christ was like—now you be the same way!” In fact, if we were to read this literally, he’s not so much saying Let this mind be in you… as he is saying HAVE this mind in you! Another way to say it is, Have this mindset! It is in the imperative mood, therefore it is a command. It’s not just a suggestion; it’s not just a good idea. It is a command. Also, it is in the present tense. Basically, it’s a command to continue thinking like this. Always keep having this mindset!

Let nothing be done out of selfish ambition or conceit…Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Jesus never do anything out of selfish ambition or conceit. In fact, every chance He got to humble Himself—he took it. When He came into Jerusalem, did He come charging in on a strong white stallion? What did He ride in on? This of course to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9—Behold, your king is coming to you, He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey. When He spoke the Beatitudes, what were they? “Blessed are the…” self-confident? “Blessed are…” those who are self-motivated, and always seeking to get ahead? NO!! “Blessed are the meek…blessed are the poor in spirit…blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” (Matthew 5:3-6). And we will see in a couple weeks that He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.

But for now, let’s flip back a few books to Matthew 4:5. Jesus has just finished fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. Nothing to eat, nothing to drink for 40 days, 40 nights. And we read in verses 5-7, Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, and, In their hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'" That’s kind of an odd way to reply, isn't it? But consider, what was Satan tempting Him with? “Show the world you are the Son of God! Let Your angels come and rescue you, and all the world will see who You are!” Now, if Jesus had done this, what could He have avoided about 3 years later? “Show the world You are the Son of God, they’ll believe it, and you won’t have to go to the cross!” Satan is tempting Christ with the desire to show Himself to be the Son of God, and to receive the applause and admiration of the people--and avoid having to go to the cross.

Which brings us to Matthew 16:13-17--When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." Consider the contrast here. Satan wanted Jesus to show Himself to EVERYBODY so they could see with their own eyes—but Jesus says to Peter, “You are blessed because you haven't seen this with your eyes--this was shown to you by My Father.” Then skip down to Matthew 16:21-23--From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Wow! In just a few short verses, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona!...Get thee behind Me, Satan, you are an offense to Me!”

But you see, Jesus did not come just to receive the praises of men. He didn’t come just to heal the sick and raise the dead and cleanse the lepers. He could have done that from Heaven! He didn’t come to have men say what a wonderful teacher He was. He came to do the will of the Father. And the will of the Father was for the Son to rescue us from Hell by paying for our sins on the cross. Luke 19:10—“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 1st Timothy 1:15—This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Question: If I stole something from you. And the only way to settle things was for you to die. I stole from you, thus I owed you a debt, and the only way for me to have that debt wiped out would be for you to die. Add to this the fact that I never liked you. I hated you from the moment I was born, and I thought I was the most important person who ever lived, and that the world existed to meet my needs. Not only did I steal, but I killed, I lied, I was an adulterer, I slandered your name every chance I had, and I laughed when people made jokes about you. Would you still be willing to die so that my debt to you could be paid? Jesus did! Now, that’s not the kind of thing you can place under the label of “selfish ambition.” Christ came to die so that He could pay the debt we all owed to God for the times we despised Him, lied to Him, blasphemed Him, and laughed while people mocked Him. Listen to Romans 5:6-9, and I'm gonna kinda paraphrase it—When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Christ did not die for “good people.” That sentence doesn’t even make sense because there is no such thing as a “good person.” In due time Christ died for the ungodly. Rarely will a person die for a righteous man; for an upright and honorable man someone might be brave enough to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. And how were we saved from God’s wrath? Because Jesus took that wrath upon Himself as He died on the cross. He drank the cup of God’s wrath so we don’t have to. Let nothing be done out of selfish ambition or conceit…Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Was Jesus God? Was He Lord? In fact, He was Lord even as He was being born. Listen to what was announced to the Shepherds on that night, Luke 2:10-11—“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Christ the what? OK, so if Christ is Lord, and was Lord even as He walked the earth, could He not have demanded that He be given anything He asked for from anybody? And do you know why? Because it all belonged to Him anyway! The donkey He asked for, so He could ride into Jerusalem? He didn’t have to ask for it! He could have said, “That’s MY donkey, I need it NOW!” Psalm 24:1—The earth belongs to YHVH, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Jesus would have been well within His rights to demand that donkey. Because the donkey belong to Him anyway!

But…even though Jesus would have been completely justified in demanding anything and everything He wanted—He didn’t!! He did not exercise His rights as God; in fact He set them aside. Now, I need to be careful what I'm about to say next. Because if I don’t say it right, I run the risk of committing blasphemy. Jesus did not come to earth to be glorified as God. Slow down! I'm not trying to be controversial here, or start some new theology. And I'm not saying that while He walked the earth He wasn’t God—I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is this: that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; Son of Man, Son of God, God the Son; came for one reason and one reason only, John 17:4—“I have glorified You"--the Father--"here on earth; I have finished the work You have given Me to do.” Did He come to save sinners? Yes. Did He come to heal and raise the dead and all that other stuff? Yes. But those were simply means to the end, which was this—that God be glorified here on earth as He is in Heaven. But, while He did not demand people worship Him, He did accept worship from people. Matthew 2:2—“Where is He that has been born King of the Jews, for we have seen His star and have come to worship Him.” This was, of course, when the wise men came from the east. Trivia: How many wise men were there? We don’t know. Were they kings? NO! Were they at the manger? NO! Of course we also read about many people that Jesus healed who fell down and worshipped Him.

He needed that donkey. But did He take that donkey? No. He needed a place where He and His disciples could have Passover the night before He was crucified. Did He just walk up to someone and demand, “Hey I need your upper room! Give it to Me or else!” No. As long as we are in Matthew, let’s flip to chapter 20. And in Matthew 20, we have an example of two men who were a bit too ambitious. Of course it didn’t help that they had dear old mom pushing them along. James and John—two apostles, brothers—their mother asks the Lord Jesus that they may sit on His right hand and on His left. Then in Matthew 20:25-28, He tells them, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

You know all those times in the gospels where the mob is trying to catch Jesus, to throw Him off a cliff, or they take up stones to stone Him? The reason He escaped was not a matter of self-preservation. The reason He escaped was so He could make it to the cross. Now, let me ask you this: If you had a choice between being thrown off a cliff, or crushed under boulders (which is what happened when they stoned someone)—or being crucified. Which would you pick? “Hmm. If I'm thrown off a cliff, I die pretty quick. If they stone Me, one good blow and my skull is crushed and I'm dead. No, I’d rather be beaten and scourged and have My flesh ripped off My body and have nails driven through My hands and feet and have thorns jabbed into My forehead!” Talk about looking out for the interests of others! He was willing to go through all that—for a bunch of people who were desperately wicked from the moment they were born! He didn’t do it because He saw any kind of good in us. He didn’t do it because we had done enough “good things” and earned enough smiley faces and gold stars and brownie points.

In fact, he did it for just the opposite reason. He died for us because we hated Him! He came because the Father sent Him. He came to show us the love of God toward sinful people, and to redeem those sinful people by His blood. Because the Father told him to. Isaiah 53:10—But YHVH was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of YHVH will prosper in His hand. It was the will of the Father for the Son to be crushed under the Father’s wrath to spare us from an eternity in Hell. So, to finish up. Let nothing be done out of selfish ambition—trying to get ahead and be the center of attention. Let each one look out for the interests of others—I help you, you help me, and we all help each other. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. In other words, before we think that we are so wonderful because we have given up some earthly comfort or putting our own “rights” aside—consider that Jesus put aside even more to come and spill His blood for us.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

"Stop the Terrorist Memorial" blogburst (7/29/09)

Memorial Project still helping the hijacker fix his disguise



After denying for 4 years that the Crescent of Embrace memorial to Flight 93 will contain 44 inscribed memorial panels (equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists) the Memorial Project has announced a new design that appears to collapse three of the panels into one:


Artist's depiction of the slightly altered design for the Sacred Ground Plaza.

[If you are a newcomer, the Plaza sits in the position of the star on architect Paul Murdoch's giant Islamic crescent and star flag. They call the giant crescent a broken circle now, but the unbroken part of the circle--what symbolically remains standing in the wake of 9/11--is completely unchanged. It is still a giant Islamic-shaped crescent, still pointing to Mecca.]

The focus of the Plaza is the two part Memorial Wall that follows the path of Flight 93 down to the crash site. As before, the lower section of wall contains 40 memorial panels, inscribed with the names of the 40 heroes. Instead of being small translucent panels set into the wall, they will now be 8 foot tall slabs. Nice.

The symbolically significant change is in the separate upper section of Memorial Wall that will be inscribed with the 9/11 date. In the original design, this separate upper section of wall contained three additional inscribed memorial panels:


Elevation view from original Sacred Ground Plaza design PDF.

The wall on the left is designated: “WALL WITH INSCRIBED NAMES ON FOLDED BAND OF TRANSLUCENT MARBLE.” The opening between the two sections of wall is marked “TRAIL,” and the wall on the right is designated: “WALL WITH INSCRIBED DATE.”

The three translucent panels inscribed with the 9/11 date were a problem because further up the flight path, at the upper crescent tip (where Flight 93 symbolically breaks the circle, turning it into the giant Islamic shaped crescent), sits one more inscribed translucent memorial panel:


At the end of the Entry Portal Walkway sits a huge glass panel that dedicates the entire site. In the original design, this brought the total number of inscribed translucent memorial panels on the flight path to 44, with the number of "extra" blocks matching the number of Islamic hijackers on Flight 93.

The enabling legislation for the Flight 93 Memorial specifically bars the Park Service from memorializing the enemy, but architect Paul Murdoch has other ideas. He doesn't just include them in some kind of can't-we-all-just-get-along multiculturalist fantasy. He depicts them as triumphant warriors, placing the capstone of his terrorist memorializing block count at the exact point where, in Murdoch's description, the terrorists' circle-breaking, crescent-creating feat is achieved. They explode through our peaceful circle, then die along with their victims. The capstone block commemorating this glorious martyrdom will be inscribed: “A field of honor forever.”

The Memorial Project is okay with all of this, but thanks to our blogbursts, too many people OUTSIDE of the Project also know about the terrorist memorializing block count, so they decided to fix up architect Paul Murdoch’s disguise, telling a caller two years ago that they were going to turn the three panels with the 9/11 date into one large panel. That would change the memorial block count from 44 to 42. Here is Mountain Goat's report on that 2007 phone call:

The gentleman did add, that the translucent blocks are actually white marble, and that the one with Sept. 11 inscribed on it will be one block, although it will be roughly the length three of the other blocks would have been.

This seems to be the change that is depicted in the new design image, though we will have to see the construction drawings to be sure. (An FOIA request for the recently completed construction drawings was submitted to the Park Service earlier this month.)


Primping Murdoch’s disguise does not stop his terrorist-memorializing plot, but only helps him to get away with it

The Park Service assumes that the 44 blocks were a coincidence and that by eliminating the coincidence it has eliminated the problem, but the 44 blocks were not a coincidence and changing the number of blocks to 42 does nothing alter the terrorist memorializing intent. Also, because the Park Service has been trying NOT to see Murdoch is up to, they left other terrorist memorializing features of the inscribed panels completely intact.

Notice, for instance, that the separate upper section of memorial wall, inscribed with the 9/11 date, is centered on the centerline of the giant crescent:


The trail that divides the Memorial Wall into two parts is marked in purple. The section of wall with the 9/11 date is marked in aqua.

You can see just by looking that the upper section of wall is centered on the center line of the crescent. That is the exact position of the star on an Islamic crescent and star flag. Thus the 9/11 date goes to the star on the Islamic flag. The date goes to the terrorists.

Changing the number of panels used to inscribe the 9/11 date does nothing to alter this terrorist memorializing feature. Not that Murdoch really cares whether the Park Service executes his design with proper Islamic precision.


To Murdoch, it is the plan that matters

Murdoch made clear from the beginning that it is the plan that matters, not whether the memorial is actually built exactly to his specifications. We can tell that he fully expected at least one of his terrorist memorializing features to be caught and stopped because he left provision for his “mistake” to be easily corrected. This was the so called “40 Memorial Groves." There were supposed to be one for each of the 40 infidel heroes, but Murdoch's site-plan only shows 38 groves:



Why 38? Try to figure it out for yourself, then look here. As usual, Murdoch provides multiply redundant proof of intent, once you figure out what he is up to.

Notice that Murdoch left room for two more Memorial Groves, one at each end. But just as the 38 Groves “mistake” is easy to fix, it will also be easy to un-fix it later. Indeed, failure to follow Murdoch's exact design is not a bug. It is a feature.

Islamic fundamentalists have been citing control of the al-Aqsa mosque as a grounds for waging war against Israel since the founding of the modern Jewish state. If we fail to be true to the glorious design of Murdoch's terrorist memorial mosque, that will just be one more reason for Murdoch's co-religionists to conquer The Great Satan, so that this death-penalty insult can first be avenged ("It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land" 8.67), then corrected.

Murdoch has not admitted to being Muslim (never mind a fundamentalist Muslim), but he HAS demonstrably designed an al Qaeda sympathizing memorial to Flight 93, all according to the established principles of proper mosque design (chapter 5), so there is no doubt of his ambition. Anyone who tries to sneak an al Qaeda memorial onto the Flight 93 crash site IS al Qaeda.

In 2005, the Park Service helped Murdoch hide his giant crescent by calling it a broken circle instead (as Murdoch had described it all along). Now the Park Service is helping to disguise yet another of Murdoch's terrorist memorializing design features, but without even acknowledging this time that the changes are in response to anything troublesome about the original design.

So tell us Park Service: if there never were 44 memorial panels on the flight path, as you have been telling the press for almost four years, why did you change the number of panels? And do you really think it is wise to help a hijacker improve his disguise?


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Quick Question #3

Quick Question for Jehovah's Witnesses:

If John 1:1 is supposed to be translated "...and the Word was A God" because there is no definite article before θεος, the why doesn't the NWT translate Philippians 2:6 as saying "...who, although he was existing in A God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to A God" since there is no definite article before θεος in either instance of the word in THAT verse?

50 Answers to 50 Mormon Answers to 50 Anti-Mormon Questions (Answers 29-30)

Tower To Truth Question:

29. Since the Word of Wisdom teaches us to abstain from alcohol, why did Paul encourage Timothy to drink wine for the stomach? (1 _Tim. 5:23).

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FAIR Answer:

In Timothy's day, water was often not safe to drink. (Historically, it is interesting that the temperance movement opposing alcohol only took off in the United States once relatively clean water supplies were available to most people—prior to that, alcohol mixed with water was a necessary way of keeping water drinkable.)

The Word of Wisdom was given to modern saints as protection against "the designs of conspiring men in the last days." Certainly we don't have to look far to see such conspiracy against the health of customers at work today in tobacco companies or street drug dealers.

This shows why modern revelation is so important—what was dangerous for us in the modern age (cigarette manufacturers, illicit drugs, alcohol marketing, etc.) may need different advice from God than that given 2000 years ago where dying from dysentery transmitted by contaminated water was a far bigger risk than dying of cirrhosis or stomach cancer.

A related question which Christian critics ought to ask themselves might be, "Since we know now that alcohol—including wine—can cause gastritis, ulcers, or stomach bleeding why did Paul (a prophet!) tell Timothy to use it?"

This is a lot like earlier questions about Joseph Smith or Brigham Young expressing a false, though popular, opinion about scientific matters. Paul isn't any less an apostle because he expressed a false idea about the benefits of alcohol on stomach problems.

To learn more: Wine for the stomach and the Word of Wisdom

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Tower To Truth Quesion:

30. If obeying the Word of Wisdom—which tells us to abstain from coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco—is important for our exaltation, why did Jesus say that there is nothing that can enter a man to make him defiled (Mark 7:15)?

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FAIR Answer:

The Word of Wisdom says nothing about such substances "defiling us." Members believe it is important to obey the Word of Wisdom because God has commanded us not to do something, and we have promised not to do it. We should keep our promises to God.

The Jews promised not to eat pork, and so it was a sin for them to eat pork—not because pork contaminates or "defiles" them, but because disobedience (that which comes OUT of us, as Jesus said) shows we do not love and trust God.

The underlying principle here is obedience to God, not the Word of Wisdom, per se.

To learn more: Word of Wisdom

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My Responses:

Once again, we see FAIR questioning Paul's qualifications to be an apostle by saying he didn't know what he was writing about. A related question which Christian critics ought to ask themselves might be, "Since we know now that alcohol—including wine—can cause gastritis, ulcers, or stomach bleeding why did Paul (a prophet!) tell Timothy to use it?" Notice the smugness and condescension they use in pointing out that--gasp! a prophet!!--told Timothy to do something that would harm him!! Then, once they have adequately dumbed-down the apostle, they can boost Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to his level, since there was nothing too special about Paul. Hence their assertion, This is a lot like earlier questions about Joseph Smith or Brigham Young expressing a false, though popular, opinion about scientific matters. Paul isn't any less an apostle because he expressed a false idea about the benefits of alcohol on stomach problems.

But, again, FAIR shows that they don't really like to actually read the passage of Scripture in question. They would just as soon just kinda skim over it and give it a cursory glance rather than actually learn what it says. Notice, then what Paul tells Timothy: No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.The word "little" is the Greek όλιγος (oligos). We get words like oligohydramnios (ask your OB/GYN). It refers to a very small amount. And can be related to a measure thus: "of number: multitude, quantity, or size; of time: short; of degree or intensity: light, slight." Paul tells Timothy to drink "a little wine." He's not telling Timothy to chug a fifth of Mogen David™ at every meal. Whether the connotation is a small amount of wine, or if it is weak wine, or if it is for a short time, one thing is for certain: Paul is telling him to "go easy on it."

But, let's go ahead and address the question of thy stomach's sake. The word translated "stomach" is the Greek στόμαχος (stomachos). A nearly exact transliteration into English gives us "stomach." And if we consider that many times the Bible refers to the inward parts using many different references: the heart, the bowels, the kidneys. If you have a Bible that has marginal notes, you may often find that when the OT refers to the heart, the marginal note may say something like "lit., kidneys." So to say that this was Paul giving a prescription strictly this for Timothy's stomach may not be the best rendering. Whatever the ailment was, it was, nonetheless, affecting his "inward parts."

Keeping that in mind, consider that at the time wine was used as a type of analgesic. If you recall, as Jesus hung on the cross, they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not (Mark 15:23). If you have a headache, you take an aspirin. If you are having surgery, they give you Versed and some other drugs to knock you out. So, to wrap this puppy up, Paul was telling Timothy, "If you're sick, don't drink the nasty water that Ephesus is noted for. Drink a little bit of wine, and see if that helps take the edge off the pain."

Now, as far as their claim that The Word of Wisdom was given to modern saints as protection against "the designs of conspiring men in the last days." Certainly we don't have to look far to see such conspiracy against the health of customers at work today in tobacco companies or street drug dealers. I would assume they are also lumping beer and liquor companies in with the tobacco companies and drug dealers. If so, they have thrown Joseph Smith under the bus. After all, a cursory study of Mormon history will show you that Joseph Smith not only authorized and distributed liquor licenses, but also set up a bar in his house and drank wine and beer himself.

So, moving on to "Answer 30." This nonsense about The Jews promised not to eat pork, and so it was a sin for them to eat pork... Uh, wrong! It was not a matter of the Jews "promising" to not eat pork. It was a matter of God commanding them to not eat pork. Leviticus 11:7--"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you."

But here's the thing: The Word of Wisdom says, in the last four verses,

And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

OK, I'm no rocket surgeon, but it seems as though there is more than a little bit of a threat in there.If the "destroying angel...shall not slay" those who keep the WoW--what does that say about those who do not keep it? What's all this about "It's more about obedience to God, not the Word of Wisdom?" Didn't the WoW come from God? And if it did, and one disobeys it, are they not disobeying God? And doesn't that, in fact, mean that whatever goes into the person defiles them?

And what does that say about their view of Scripture, especially Acts 10, where God tells Peter "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:10). Again, it all comes down to who you are going to trust more: God, or Joseph Smith.

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (2:2-2:4)

Paul is reminding these believers that they have been given the gift of believing in Christ and yes even suffering for Christ. Therefore, he tells them, don’t just let that gift sit on a shelf. Don’t just pack it away and forget it. He’s saying “You all are one in Christ—act like it.” There had apparently been some friction in this part of the body. In chapter 1 we read that some were preaching Christ—not so that they could glorify God, but rather out of selfish ambition. Yes, they were preaching the true Christ, but not for the right reasons. Paul’s response? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Somehow, somewhere, this church that had supported him so much with so many gifts had started to get a little off track, and had lost their focus. So Paul writes to them in order to remind them to take their eyes off of themselves and set their eyes on Christ and on building up the body.

And in Philippians 2:2, he pours out his heart to them to make his joy complete. Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. All these sound very much the same but they're actually not repeating one another. They actually work together to show how the complete person is to act:

• The mind—be like-minded.
• The heart—having the same love.
• The soul—being of one accord.
• The spirit—of one mind.

So let’s take these one at a time. Be of the same mind. It’s one of those Greek words that how you define it depends on the context. Kinda like the phrase, “wrap it up.” If you buy someone a Christmas present, and you say you're going to “wrap it up”— you're going to cover it with fancy paper. But if somebody is going on talking for a long time, and someone asks them to “wrap it up,” it means, basically, “Let’s finish here!” And in the same way, the word for “minded” depends on if you're talking to one person or a group. And in fact there are several places where the word is used twice in the same verse, in both ways. And, BTW, this word is used 12 times in 8 verses in Philippians—more than any other book of the NT.

If the word is being used in reference to a group, it means, “to be of the same mind i.e. to be agreed together, to cherish the same views, to be harmonious.” If there is a group of believers, our mind should be set on Christ. But if we’ve all got different ideas about how things should be run and so on, and if we take these ideas and run in different directions, what’s going to happen to that body? It’s gonna be split. Now, we’re always going to have different opinions about some things. We’re human. But if all we ever think about is how different we all are from each other, we’re not putting our focus on the One we should be focusing on. We’re taking our gaze off of Christ, and we’re putting it on others and how we disagree, and Paul is saying, “Don’t do that!” Romans 12:16-18 (NASB)—Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind—that’s one of those times where this same word for “mind” is used in two different ways—but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation…If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

If we remember that Paul had been in the custody of the Roman government for quite some time now, and he had seen how ordered they were. When it cam to efficiency, the Roman army was a model for centuries to come. They would always march in step, they kept regular guard, very scheduled, very disciplined, very precise in everything they did. And all for one goal—the glory of Rome. So it had to kind of grieve Paul somewhat that this church in Philippi—a city under Roman control, with a Roman culture—there were some who were marching to their own beat, if you will. He’s saying, “Don’t keep thinking about what you want. You should all think on one thing.” And what should that one thing be? Fulfill my joy by being like-minded.

Fulfill my joy by...Having the same love. What should be the number one action a group of believers should be known for? As much as we must have faith in Christ and repent of our sins, we are commanded to love one another. 2nd Thessalonians 1:3—We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. 1st John 3:14—We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. And of course these are simply echoing the command Jesus gave us in John 15:12—“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” We can know every word of Scripture. We can doo all kinds of “good things.” We can sing in the choir and teach and preach and do all kinds of “churchy” things.

But what is the one thing we must all have? 1st Corinthians 13:1-3—Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. That’s not just a flowery little poem to read at a wedding. That’s a command. But, are we to love only the brethren? Matthew 5:44-47—“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?” In other words, every person has it in them to love people that agree with them. But WE are commanded to love people who DO NOT agree with us. I could go on all day, but I think we get the idea. Fulfill my joy by...having the same love.

Fulfill my joy by...Being of one accord, of one mind. Of one accord. This is one of those words that only happens once in the whole NT. So many times we focus on the big words, “We see this word used 500 times in the NT.” But I think the ones that you only find once are a lot more interesting. Because many times they are words that didn’t exist until then. This is one of those words; Paul had to create it. We have words like that in English. If you asked your secretary 20 years ago to “Google” something, you would probably have a lawsuit on your hands. The Greek word is συμψυχος (sympsychos). It literally means “having united souls.” To not just “get along” with each other. Not just tolerate each other. “Aw great. It’s what’s-his-face again. I guess I ought to say ‘hi’ to him.” But to be so together that calling the other person “brother” should be as natural as if you came from the same mom and dad. Because we do have the same Father. Do we not? Of one accord.

Of one mind. Literally, “thinking the one thing.” You know doggone good and well that there a lot of people sitting in churches everywhere thinking the same thing—“When is this gonna end? We gotta beat the crowd to Shoney’s.” In chapter 4 Paul gives us a glimpse of what he’s talking about. In Philippians 4:2-3, we read about one of the disagreements that led Paul to write this letter. I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. Here were two women who had helped Paul greatly in spreading the gospel and they were having a dust-up about something. We don’t know what it is; Paul doesn’t let us in on any more than that. First he pleads with these women to patch things up. Whatever it is they're fussing about, he says, basically, “Knock it off and set your mind on Christ.” But then he turns his gaze toward the reader and he says, “Help these women stay focused. And not only them, but there are so many others who have been such great help to me. God knows who they are. Help them too.” Fulfill my joy by...being of one accord, of one mind.

So, to wrap up these first two verses. If our consolation for living in this miserable world is that we will see Christ in the next; if we take comfort in the love we have as brethren; if we have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit; if we have any compassion and mercy whatsoever—then let us keep our minds on Christ, love one another as Christ loved us, and let our souls be one and let us think the one thing. And by doing so, make our joy complete.

Philippians 2:3-4--Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. We don’t like to hear stuff like that do we? What’s all this talk about thinking about others more then ourselves? That word translated “selfish ambition.” The KJV says, “strife.” Ironically, it is the same word Paul uses in Philippians 1:16, talking about those who preach Christ from selfish ambition. This is how one source describes έριθεία (epitheia): “It is used of those who run for office, courting popular applause by trickery; it is derived from a word that means ‘working for hire’ or ‘a hireling.’ In the NT…a desire to put one's self forward, a partisan and divisive spirit.” Basically he’s saying “Don’t do something just to be popular and draw a big crowd. Don’t divide the brethren just to make yourself look better.”

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind. Don’t be puffed up. Romans 12:3—For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. There are some who like to go around bragging that they had some “mountain top experience” and that if you don’t have that same experience, that you're not spiritual enough. These are people who think way too much of themselves and their “experience.” Listen to what Paul told the Romans: God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. My faith isn't any more special than your faith. Your faith isn't any more special than anybody else’s faith. Nobody else’s faith is any more special than your faith. If you have faith it was given to you by God.

But in lowliness of mind let each esteem others as better than himself. Oooh! No! I don’t want to! I'm important! It’s all about me!!! Capital “M”. Capital “E”. Capital “ME”. It’s all about MY best life now! It’s about being a better ME. It’s all about MY purpose, and why I’M here! No, it ain't! It ain't about me. It ain't about you. It ain't about your best life or your purpose. Let each esteem others as better than himself. The word translated “esteem” is ήγομαι (hegomai). It literally means “to lead” and it also means “to consider; to think.” You want to know how to translate this phrase literally? Let others lead you. Think of others as being more important than you are. Appoint the other person as your commander. In other words, let go of your royal scepter and give it to somebody else. And while you're at it, put their needs ahead of your own. You can “look out for #1” if you want to. Just remember that you ain't #1!

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Don’t gobble up all you can and let others do without. That’s not Christian love. You got all these clowns on TV going around telling you to get all you can, confession is possession, “Money Comin!” and all this other nonsense. And that if you want Gawd to bless you financially, you got to “sow a seed” into the ministry of one of these snakes. These are people that set their minds on things of the earth.

We are to set our minds on things above, and on the needs of others. James, the brother of our Lord Jesus, said it best in James 2:14-17—If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. How many times do we do that? We hear of a brother or sister in need. We have the thing they need. Or we have the time it would take to help them. But what do we say? “I'll pray for ya.” It’s kinda like a code for saying, “I really hope someone else helps because I’ve got tickets for the ballgame, and I really don’t want to miss it.” Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. In other words, don’t just believe. Believe and act on it. That whole verse in James is about love. How it doesn’t just look out for its own interests, but rejoices when others rejoice.

And we are gonna see next week how Christ came to show us how to do just that. We think we give up so much when we follow Him. We’re gonna see starting next week how much He gave up so we CAN follow Him. If you think about it, we give up the things we shouldn’t be doing in the first place. Some people think of themselves as being so wonderful because they gave up this sin or that sin. We don’t give up sin. God gives us the strength to overcome it. But we will still have faults. We will not be prefect. And because we still have our faults, we are to help others who are going through the same thing. Galatians 6:1—Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Think about somebody finding a bag of money and giving it back. “Oh, that’s so wonderful.” No, that’s just the thing we’re supposed to do. But we will see next week that when we give up some sin, we don’t give up nearly anything considering what Christ laid aside to come here.

Welcome, Emily Frances Schlueter!

Ingrid Schlueter, host of Slice of Laodicea and The Hope Blog (formerly Hope In Laodicea), gave birth July 22 to a 7 lb, 7 oz. little girl. Please pray for Ingrid, her husband Tom, their son Sam, and new daughter Emily, that God would continue to use them for His glory!!

Sam writes at The Hope Blog:

This is Sam, Ingrid’s son, writing on my mom’s behalf. She’d like to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and encouragement over the last 8 months. I’m here in the room with her now, and she says the following:

The Lord has been so merciful and good to us and the baby. Emily is doing very well. They just took me to see her get her first bath in the nursery, and they let me hold her! Due to medication, I hadn’t been able to see her or hold her til this afternoon. I had forgotten how soft baby’s skin really is. She’s absolutely beautiful (of course I would think that), with dark hair like Tom, and a mouth like William’s. I’m so excited to get to know this new little Schlueter. Thanks again, everyone! Love, Ingrid

When a nation turns its back on God--Romans 1:18-32

The message I preached this past Sunday, on the heels of the Episcopal church's continued slide into the spiritual abyss.

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When many people think of the restraining hand of God, they think that by holding them back from fulfilling their every desire, God is simply getting in the way of their good time. When in fact, by restraining them, He is actually doing them a favor. Just like when you parents go running after your child so they don’t run out into the road. You're not trying to keep them from having a good time; you are keeping them from getting killed. And when God holds us back from doing all the things we want to do, He is keeping us from doing something that would bring a far greater punishment. But when the people rebel against such restraint, God pulls back His hand and allow those people to fall as deeply as they want. There are stages—it is a downward spiral; some people call it “circling the drain”—that a nation goes through when they tell God they don’t want any part of Him, they want God to go away and leave them alone—and He says, “OK.”

Romans 1:18-32—18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

C.S. Lewis once said, “The last experience of the sinner is the horrible enslavement of the freedom he desired.” Think about that: people become slaves to freedom. In this country, we think slavery was wiped out after the Civil War. Satan would like you to believe that. But whether you know it or not, we are all slaves. And there are really only two masters we can serve. We can serve Christ. Or we can serve Satan. That’s it. We are either a slave to our own desires and wants. Or we devote our lives to serving the Lord Jesus Christ who bought us with His blood. But it’s not just as individuals that we serve our master, whoever it may be. Even a nation, serves one of those two masters. And right now in this country, there is a war being fought over who we as a nation will serve. The real war is not over in Iraq or Afghanistan. The real war is going on right here inside of each and every person. And it will decide the fate of this country. Because sometimes little by little, sometimes by great leaps, this nation is turning towards serving Satan.

And what happens to that nation that decides they no longer want to be servants of Almighty God? What happens to that nation that wants the freedom to indulge in every sin and every vice they can imagine? They become the objects of God’s wrath. And they experience “the horrible enslavement of the freedom they desire.” But you see, when we think of God’s wrath, we think of things being destroyed. And cities being wiped out.

• Not long after God created man, He was sorry He ever created the lot of us.So He sent a flood, and wiped out the whole human race, except for 8 people.
• Not long after that, men built a tower in the land of Babel, to worship angels and stars.So God destroyed the tower, confused their languages, and scattered them abroad.
• Not long after that, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were filled with homosexual lust, and all other kinds of sexual perversion.So God rained down fire on these cities and destroyed them.
• Not long after that, as Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Law that would guide us to Christ, the people at the bottom of the mountain were having a drunken orgy, worshipping their golden calf.So God opened up the earth and swallowed them alive.

I think you get the idea. Time after time, man rebels against God. And time after time, God pours out His wrath and destroys them. If you want to see this pattern displayed over and over again, read the book of Judges. But sometimes, God shows His wrath by giving the people everything they want. In the book of Numbers, in chapter 11, we read about the people of Israel who had been in the desert for forty years. And God had fed them every single day. Every night at sunset, all they had to do was go out, gather up the manna, and they eat for the next day. But, are we humans ever satisfied with what we have? Being the selfish creatures we are, always want more. So the people cried out to Moses, “We miss the onions and the garlic and the melons we enjoyed freely in Egypt!” They had forgotten that in order to “enjoy them freely,” they had to suffer under the yoke of bondage to Pharaoh. So God told Moses to gather the people together; and that day the people gathered. And all of a sudden here come all these quail—all the meat they could want. And in Numbers 11:31-33--And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten bushels…While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. In other words, while they were still chewing, the meat turned to poison in their mouths, and they died. They got what they wanted. God gave them what they wanted. Be careful what you wish for.

So many times we read about God actively displaying His power and His wrath with fire and destruction and death. But God displays His wrath in an even more severe manner—a manner which brings about consequences that are, eternally speaking, even more devastating and destructive. I'm talking about when a nation turns its back on God…and He turns His back on that nation. In His wrath, God does not always simply wipe people out. Sometimes, He will just let them have what they want. And let IT destroy them. Look at Romans 1:18-20. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. There is nothing living that does not believe there is something greater than they are. There is no living creature that does not believe they were created. But in the foolishness of wisdom, they forget that truth. Isaiah 1:3-4—“The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider…They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.”

We like to think of the human mind as a great thing. But in fact it is also a not-so-good thing. Because it allows us to come up with methods of explaining things in such a way that we can leave Almighty God completely out of it. You young folks may be learning in school—or will learn in school—about a little thing called “evolution.” It’s a fairy tale that says that monkeys turned into men, and that lizards turned into birds. That’s one way that people who are too smart for their own good can explain how we got here without having to believe in God, and without having to think that they will one day be accountable to Him.

And because they do not want to stop living a life filled with ungodliness, they suppress the truth, and they toss it under the couch and forget about it. Or they come up with something else to worship, some other “god” that is more to their liking. Romans 1:22-23. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Many people don’t like the image of God they read about in Scripture, so they make up a “god” that suits their liking. They don’t like to think that God would send people to an eternal, fiery Hell. So, they think of God as being like them, with all their faults, and having a human sense of “fairness.” If you drive down Cumberland, go under Alcoa Hwy, just a little ways down Kingston Pike you can find all kinds of places where people come together to worship the “god” they have created in their own mind. Mormons. Christian Science—which is not Christian, nor is it Science. Seventh-Day Adventists. Unitarian-Universalists. All these cults which ignore the truth of Scripture and invent, a “god” that allows them to live however they want to live—without any eternal consequences.

They say something like, “Well, the god I worship would never send anybody to a fiery Hell.” Yeah, probably not. But that’s because they don’t worship the true God. But when they stand before Him, they can tell Him all about what they don’t believe. It may surprise you to learn that it’s not just these cults that believe such rubbish. It may surprise you to learn that the majority of Americans believe that Jesus sinned, that there is no such thing as Hell, and that we can be “good enough” to “deserve” salvation. It may surprise you to hear such things—then again, it may not. And every day in this country—this country where nearly 90% of people claim to be “born-again Christians” simply because they were born in a Christian nation—every day this country slips closer and closer to incurring the wrath of God.

But God won’t necessarily pour out His wrath by raining fire and brimstone on us. He may simply just let us have what we want. Romans 1:24-25. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. The “creature” that we serve in place of the Creator is our own flesh. We don’t want to be told what to do; we don’t want to live by a bunch of commandments; and He says, “OK. Don’t obey My commandments. See where it gets you.” God takes His hand off, just a bit, and gives us a little more freedom. So we get what we saw in the 1960’s, when so many people threw off any kind of restraint and gave up their bodies to the worship of the flesh. They called it “Free Love.” How many of y’all know it ain't free?

And when you have so much sex, what is the natural result of sex? It’s called “a baby.” But what if you don’t want to be tied down with a baby? What if you don’t want to give up the lifestyle and the partying and all the fun you're having? And what if you don’t want to go through the nine months of gaining weight and stretch marks and labor and all that other stuff that goes along with pregnancy. Well, you have to kill that child. So, directly on the heels of the 1960’s and the sexual revolution, the Supreme Court made it legal to kill your child while that child was still in the womb, and they legalized child murder. And called it “abortion.” And then along came disco, with its emphasis on sleeping with as many people as you could. And all the while, the people in this country grow more and more infatuated with more and more sexual gratification.

And especially today, if someone wants to go into the music business, if they want to sell any records, they have to make music videos. And what do they have to have in their music videos? A lot of sex. So this nation, where so many people claim to be “Christians,” and so many people who say they're going to heaven when they die—even while they are living a life that is filled with all kinds of things that are opposed to God—this nation continues to turn more and more away from God. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man…Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness to dishonor their bodies.

But for some people, normal sex won’t do. And so, in Romans 1:26-27—For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. Back around 1981, doctors began to notice a strange condition occurring in some of their patients. A strange new virus was discovered. And this virus was unlike any other that they had ever seen, because this virus reproduced itself using the patient’s own genetic material and weaved itself into the patient’s DNA. Not only that, it also used the body’s own immune system to help it avoid destruction and help it spread. They came up with a name for this virus. They called it the Human Immunodeficiency Virus—HIV for short. And the collection of symptoms that spelled the end for anyone with this virus was being referred to as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome—AIDS.

The militant homosexual crowd blamed the spread of AIDS on the government. It wasn’t the government that caused the spread of AIDS. It was men having unprotected sex with other men they had never met before and knew nothing about that caused the disease to spread. But they didn’t want to hear that. They want to blame somebody else other than themselves. "Oh, it's not our fault we got this disease!! No, that can't be! It has to be somebody else's fault!!" They don’t want to accept the fact that maybe, just maybe, the reason they have such a disease is because it’s their own fault. Nah, can't be. Has to be somebody else’s fault. Because in this country, we have become so numb to sin that we think it’s normal. So we get shows like Will & Grace, Queer Eye For the Straight Guy. All these shows celebrating what God calls an abomination. Even in many so-called “churches,” there is an acceptance of homosexuality as being normal and even celebrated.

I remember Ellen DeGenerate—I mean, DeGeneres—when she “came out,” told the world, “I thank God I'm gay!” God didn’t make her gay. And God certainly is not happy with her being a practicing lesbian. But, in this country, “coming out” as a lesbian is far more acceptable and far more celebrated than “coming out” as a Christian. Just ask Kirk Cameron how many offers he’s gotten since he got saved. A nation’s acceptance and tolerance of homosexuality as being “normal” is one of the hallmarks of a nation that is about to go under. When powerful nations and empires crumbled into dust, one thing they had in common was rampant homosexuality. Jude 7—Sodom and Gomorrah…having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Do you want to know how powerful homosexual lust is? I was listening to a sermon preached by John MacArthur, one of the finest preachers of the last 50 years. He shared the following: “There was a man named Halpern, who was the coroner for the city of New York and he did [between] 26 or 28 thousand autopsies in his day. He said he can look at a corpse that had been murdered and tell you whether a homosexual killed that person by the multiple wounds. [He said] ‘There's something about the passions of that kind of involvement that are not explicable.’” Another example: the night before the city of Sodom was destroyed, the men of Sodom saw two angels, in the shape of men enter into Lot’s house. They called for Lot to bring out the men, “Bring them out so that we may know them!”…sexually. Lot refused, and the men of the city were about to break down the door when the angels grabbed Lot, pulled him into the house, and in Genesis 19:11—they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness…so that they became weary trying to find the door. Even after they were blinded, they were still consumed by their lust to have those men. You might even say they were blinded by their lust.

Bringing that story up to date—even after everybody knows that the number one way that AIDS is spread is by men having sex with men, these men are still driven by their lust to commit what is an abomination. God gave them up to uncleanness to dishonor their bodies. God gave them up to vile passions.

Then verses 28-31. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful... God gives them up to uncleanness. He says, “You want it? There you go! Have at it!” He gives them up to vile passion. He says, “Oh, you want that too? There you go! Have at it!” Finally, He gives them over to a debased mind. The KJV calls it a reprobate mind. The NASB says He gives them over to a depraved mind. It is a mind that is tested and rejected. In the Greek it is a play on words. Even as they tested God and did not approve of Him, God handed them over to a mind which He has tested and rejected. When a nation rejects God, God rejects that nation. When a nation turns its back on God, God turns His back on that nation. Friends, it is truly better to have never known the truth of God, than to know His truth and turn away from it. Because when He turns His back on one nation, He turns His face to another. And He may even cause that second nation to conquer, and rule, and reign over the first.

If you want an example, I give you September 11, 2001. What happened that day was devastatingly tragic. But as tragic as it was, we deserved worse. Because those attacks revealed the true character of this nation. In the weeks following the attacks, you couldn’t find an empty pew anywhere. This nation, that had spent the last 30 or more years indulging their lusts and fulfilling every wickedness they could imagine—and all of a sudden, the cry goes us—“O God, save us!” People started buying American flags and Bibles, and they filled up churches and started taking their kids back to church and doing all these religious things...

But what has happened since then? Romans 1:32. …knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. If anything, this country has gotten even worse. Some people say that 9/11 was a "wake-up call." And it was. Problem is, we hit the snooze button and went back to sleep. The church in America—the church in America—is rapidly rejecting the truth of Scripture. People don’t want to hear truth anymore. So God gives us over to uselessness.

And suddenly, a man like Joel Osteen gains a huge following by preaching a bunch of watered-down nonsense, by not preaching about sin and repentance, by his unwillingness to preach the truth about the cross, and by preaching a name-it-and-claim-it philosophy. We also get someone like Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose-Driven Life, joining his church with Islamic groups, and saying that “Christians and Muslims must work together for the greater good.” I'm sorry. Did I miss something? Is there something greater than the gospel of Jesus Christ? Something greater that requires us to forget what the Bible says about how we are to not be yoked with unbelievers? This same man has also, openly, endorsed a book like “The Shack”—which is one of the most blasphemous books to come out in the last 5 years, but can be found on the shelves of “Christian” bookstores. And now we have elected a president who will do whatever it takes to make sure as many women as possible can kill their child any time during their pregnancy—or even in the days after they give birth. God gave this nation up to uncleanness. He gave this nation up to vile passions. And He has given this nation over to a mind that is useless concerning the things of God.

I shudder to think of the possible consequences. Because when those consequences come, they will make 9/11 look pale in comparison. When lawlessness is the norm; when the police are overwhelmed; when murder and robbery and rape go unpunished and unprosecuted; when the criminal element in this country runs the streets, and there is no one and nothing to protect the innocent—then the people will cry out, “O God, save us!” And He won’t. He won’t even hear their cry. He will have given the people what they want.

So, what can we do to stop this? First, pray. 1st Timothy 2:1-2—Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Pray that our president would open his eyes and see the truth about abortion. Pray that God would give Him the wisdom and the heart to lead this nation in righteousness. Pray that God would give him the wisdom to see that a nation must be allowed to worship Almighty God without restriction.

Second, respect authority. Romans 13:1-4—Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. One of the most popular shows in the history of cable TV was The Sopranos. The Sopranos. Think about that. A show where the Mafia were the good guys and the police were the bad guys. And as you sat their watching, you were hoping that the Mafia gets away with murder. Of course, in movies, TV shows, music videos, it’s always the police that are the bad guys, and the pimp, the drug dealer, the guy that holds up the bank—they're the good guys. People in this country approve of those who kill and steal and who sell women’s bodies. And they hate those whose job it is to arrest such people. But when somebody does something to them, who do they call first? …knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Once the people throw off the shackles of the laws of men, it isn't long until they throw off any sense of conscience and restraint, and everyone does what is right in their own eyes as they did at the end of the book of Judges.

I'll close with some more words from Dr. MacArthur: “Your prayer and mine has to be that God would raise up faithful preachers and people who would proclaim His Word across this land. Pray for this generation of young men that God will call and shape and send, pray for pastors everywhere. Pray for us Christians to be bold. There's only one solution and that's the truth...the truth by which God saves, by which God sanctifies, and if this nation will respond and listen to His truth, God will open the flood gates. We might be the greatest recovery story in history. But there's no other way than that people listen to God and walk in His ways.”

Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony

The Institute for Religious Research has posted at its website the text of the audio used during the Mormon Temple Endowment ceremony. If you ever talk to a Mormon, and they tell you that "The LDS church doesn't teach such-and-such," here is proof that they do.

For instance, they like to say that the Mormon church does not teach Adam-God. However, think about what happens on the "Sixth Day" in the Endowment:

ELOHIM: Jehovah, see the earth that we have formed. There is no man to till and take care of it. We are here to form man in our own likeness and in our own image.

JEHOVAH: We will do so, Elohim.

(The youthful body of Adam who appears to be sleeping, is shown from the shoulders up.)

ELOHIM: Jehovah, man is now organized, and we will put into him his spirit, the breath of life, that he may become a living soul.

(Adam stirs, and begins to sit up.)

ELOHIM: Jehovah, is it good for man to be alone?

JEHOVAH: It is not good for man to be alone, Elohim.

ELOHIM: We will cause a deep sleep to come upon this man whom we have formed, and we will take from his side a rib from which we will form a woman to be a companion and help meet for him.

(Adam lays his head upon the ground as he looses consciousness.)

NARRATOR: Brethren and sisters, this is Michael, who helped form the earth. When he awakens from the sleep which Elohim and Jehovah have caused to come upon him, he will be known as Adam, and having forgotten all, will have become a little child. Brethren, close your eyes as if you were asleep.

Now, if we use a little logic to recall that

if a=b

and

if b=c

then a=c

Apply this to LDS theology:

if Adam=Michael

and

if Michael=one of the "Gods" that formed and organized the earth

then Adam=God.

Question: Is Obama hiding something?

Answer: Does the sun rise in the east?

From True Discernment:

On January 21st, 2009, his very first day in office, Barack Obama implemented and signed into law Executive Order 13489.

For those of you who can’t take the time to read it. here is the section that applies:

“Sec.2

Notice Of Intent To Disclose Presidential Records

When the Archivist provides notice to the incumbent and former Presidents of his intent to disclose Presidential records pursuant to section 1270.46 of the NARA regulations, the Archivist, using any guidelines provided by the incumbent and former Presidents, shall identify any specific materials, the disclosure of which he believes may raise a substantial question of executive privilege.”

Now for all of you who commented on our previous articles that we were no more that right-wing nut jobs, that this thing about Obama’s birth certificate was a non-issue, and those of you who tried to shift the focus of the stories, doesn’t this strike you as just a little odd?

That the first order of business Obama took care of on day one of his Presidency was to sign off on an Executive Order that states that only the records he chooses to be made public will be released?

This is the subject that was at the absolute top of his agenda?

If this isn’t proof that Obama is hiding something, I don’t know what is

Go to True Discernment to read more. You won't need coffee. The article is enough to open anybody's eyes to the truth.

Quick Question #2

Yet another post blatantly ripping off Keith Walker's "Quick Questions" from Evidence Ministries.

Quick Question for Mormons:

In John 3:6, Jesus said "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." So, if God the Father has a body of flesh and bone, how could He beget "spirit children"?

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (1:29-2:2)

Don’t you just love these chapter and verse divisions? If someone asks, “Where does it say that in the Bible?” We can just say, “Well, in Romans 3:11 it says…” We can just flip-turn-pick it out. But that’s not how these were written. Paul and James and Peter didn’t sit down with their scribes and say, “Ok, let’s start chapter 2 of this letter.” If you were to guess, when were chapters and verses added? Actually, books of the Bible were divided into chapters in the year 1227. Then in 1551 a man named Robert Stephanus divided the NT into chapters and verse. But the first Bible to be completely divided into chapters and verses was Stephanus’ version of the Latin Vulgate in 1555; the Geneva Bible in 1560 was the first English Bible to have chapter/verse NT. The reason I tell you all of this is, sometimes these divisions get in the way. When one of these writers was just flowing. The Holy Spirit was carrying them along in this just wonderful train of thought. There are some parts of Paul’s letters where the whole chapter is one long sentence. And we kinda lose the flow.

This is one of those places. To really get a grasp of what Paul is talking about—well, what’s the first word of chapter 2? Therefore. And the question you must always ask yourself is, “What is the ‘Therefore’—there for?” It refers back to what was written immediately before. So we would have to start with chapter 1 verse 29—For it has been granted to you… Which refers to the previous sentence, verse 27, Only let your conduct be worthy… OK, so that goes back to the sentence before that, and so on and so on. So we would have to go back to almost the very beginning of this letter to see where this train of thought begins. But we’re not going to do that. We’re going to start with chapter 1, verse 29, and use that as a springboard into chapter 2. In this letter, Paul is encouraging these believers to continue in their faithful conduct, in their striving together for the gospel, and to not be afraid when people mock them and ridicule them, and even throw them in prison for the sake of the gospel. Philippians 1:29--For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. In the very earliest days of the church, in the first year or so, the Roman government really didn’t have a problem with Christians. In fact, there was actually a vote in the Roman senate to officially recognize Christ as a god.

But eventually, Nero reached the throne, and basically declared war on Christians, imprisoning them and torturing and killing them. And it was under Nero that Paul and Peter were put to death. In fact a fellow by the name of Tertullian wrote, “Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine, particularly then when after subduing all the east, he exercised his cruelty against all at Rome. We glory in having such a man the leader in our punishment. For whoever knows him can understand that nothing was condemned by Nero unless it was something of great excellence.” So even though Festus and Felix and all these other Roman magistrates who examined Paul had found no fault in him, by the time he got to Nero he had been counted worthy by God to die for the name of Christ and I think in Philippians 1:29-30 it almost seems as though he has had some foreshadowing that he knows he’s going to die at Rome. And he tells these Philippian believers that it has been granted on behalf of Christ to suffer for His sake. And what did Jesus tell us in the last of His beatitudes? Matthew 5:11-12—“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Philippians 1:29-2:2--Because it has been granted to you to suffer for Christ, therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, [being] of one mind. Let’s break down verse 1 for a minute. Paul lists 4 things in this verse that should be a hallmark of any church: consolation in Christ; comfort of love; fellowship of the Spirit; affection and mercy. Let’s take these one at a time.

First, Consolation in Christ. This is almost a no-brainer, but it’s not. Is it easy to follow Christ? Can it be frustrating at times? You see this stuff we’re wrapped in? What’s it called? Flesh. Does our flesh like to take orders? Romans 8:7-8 (NASB)—the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God—WHY?—it does not subject itself to the law of God—WHY?—it is not even able to do so. Our flesh does not want to be bossed around. If anybody has kids, do we have to teach kids to be disobedient? That’s just children being who they are. And this flesh certainly does not want to be uncomfortable. Kid disobeys, knows he has punishment coming—do they ‘fess up and say, “Yep, dad, I did it!” NO! Because they know they're gonna get a whoopin’. And once we come to know Christ as Lord, our flesh doesn’t change a whole lot. Our mind, our spirit, our will—yes, they are being molded and conformed to the mind of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, and the will of the Father. But does our flesh stop wanting what it wants?

And it’s hard, day after day, to wake up and go out into the world, and be bombarded with sounds and images and all the filth that this world throws at us. And once in a while, this little voice comes sneaking up saying, “Hey, wouldn’t it be easier to just give up? It’s not worth it!” And it’s so easy to console ourselves with the things of this world. But our consolation is in Christ. We know that if we persevere until the end; if we keep on keepin’ on; if we remain faithful to the end, as we read in James 1:12—Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. That is our consolation in Christ.

Then there is the Comfort of Love. Shouldn’t love be comfortable? There’s an old song from back in the ‘70’s called “Love Hurts.” There was another one called “Love Stinks.” And in fact I can—unfortunately—recall many songs that sing about how rotten love really is. But that’s because we stupid humans have no idea what love really is. We think of love as this mushy-squishy feeling we get, this mishmash of emotion and feelings and all this other stuff, and if that other person stops making us feel all mushy-squishy, then we just move on. But that’s human love. We’re talking about God’s love—the love we as Christians are to have for one another. The Greek word is άγαπή (agape). One source defines it as “The love of God toward Christ; the love of Christ toward men.” Did God the Father love His Son? John 3:35—“The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” Did Christ love us enough to give His life for us? John 15:13—“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” Should we have that kind of love for each other? John 15:17—“These things I command you, that you love one another.” Love should be comfortable. If love isn't comfortable, then it may not be love. It may be φιλέω (phileo), but it sure doesn’t sound like άγαπή.

If we’re afraid to share a prayer request with a brother or a sister because we know that they may go telling someone and start a whole gossip chain—is there really love there? If we’re afraid that that brother or sister is gonna go telling everybody what we share with them—I understand why people give unspoken prayer requests. But should we? Should we be afraid to share our burdens with a brother? How does the apostle Paul describe love? 1st Corinthians 13:4-6 (ESV)—Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And if we were to add to God’s word, which I wouldn’t recommend, we could say love is comfortable. Consolation in Christ; Comfort in Love.

Then Fellowship of the Spirit. Fellowship = “Participation. The share which a person has in something.” Is there more than one Holy Spirit? Is not the same Holy Spirit given to all who believe? All believers have the same Spirit within us, and that same Spirit is building us up into one body—not one body over here, one body over there, but one whole body, covering the whole earth. And while we all partake of this same Holy Spirit, He gives different abilities to each member. We are all members of one Body. We are all separate and distinct from one another, we all have different functions—yet we are one. 1st Corinthians 12:7-11—But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit…But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

That word “manifestation”—don’t let that confuse you. There are some who say that this “proves” that the Holy Spirit is just a “manifestation” of God—people like TD Jakes. Don’t believe them. I often use the following quote from Jim McClarty as my own: “I'm not a Greek scholar, but I know how to listen to people who are.” The word “manifest” does not mean the same thing as “make.” “Manifest” or “manifestation” comes from the Greek word that means “to bring forth into the light, cause to shine, shed light, to become evident.” What it means is, the fact that the Holy Spirit is within us is made apparent, is made evident, is shone forth, differently in each believer, but for the building up of all believers. Whether it’s by wisdom, by knowledge, or by one of the other gifts, it’s the same Spirit working in each one, giving us the privilege of participating in His work.

Some people don’t like the gift they were given by the Spirit. They have the gift of mercy; they want the spirit of prophecy. Tough luck. The Spirit gives to each according to what? As HE wills. Not as WE will. So, Consolation in Christ; Comfort of Love; Fellowship of the Spirit. Finally, Affection and Mercy.

Affection. The heart. The deep part of a person’s emotions. The place where compassion comes from. The part of a person that we use to relate to others in a kind and loving manner. Sometimes it is referred to as “bowels of mercy.” It doesn’t mean…you know.....bowels. In Matthew 15:18—“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Proverbs 23:6-7 (NASB)—Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, or desire his delicacies; for as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you. Here, Paul is telling us to set our hearts on doing good for one another, loving one another, seeking the bext for one another.

Mercy. How much did God forgive us? Did He forgive juuuust a little bit? He forgave us of everything we have done to offend Him. And how high was the price tag for that forgiveness? It was pretty steep; about $3 BILLION DOLLARS. If someone else does us wrong, how much is that really worth? A nickel. Maybe. Should we forgive that person? Matthew 6:14-15—“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” What did God show us when He forgave our sins? Mercy. And what does a person need to have in order to forgive another person? Mercy. 2nd Corinthians 1:3—Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Colossians 3:12-13—Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. If someone does you wrong—and I know how hard it is to let it go, because what are we talking about? Our flesh. Our pride. Somebody did something to me; I'm going to do something to them. Except we never just “get even.” We “get even—and then some.” That’s not the mark of a Christian. If a person smites you on one cheek, what do we do? Mercy.

So we take these things. Consolation in Christ—we say, “You know, following Christ isn’t easy. There are things that my flesh wants to do but my spirit says, 'NO' and there’s always this war going on inside me.” But we rest in the comfort that Christ is our reward, and as Paul would say in his second letter to Timothy, I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Comfort in Love—We love the brethren, they love us, we strive together no matter our differences and we proclaim the name of Christ, and we love Him, because He first loved us. Fellowship in the Spirit—we take the gift the Holy Spirit has given us, we use it to edify, strengthen the brethren and build up the body of Christ. 1st Peter 2:5—you also…are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Affection and Mercy—we have compassion for one another, we are ready to help one another, and we continually seek good for others.

If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy. A better way to say this would be “Cause my joy to abound and be completely full” or even “Fill up my joy as much as it can and make it complete!” It’s the word that is used when speaking about Christ fulfilling prophecies. When He fulfilled these prophecies, He made them complete, and nothing more had to be done for the prophecy to be realized. It’s the word Luke used in Acts 2:2 to describe how the Holy Spirit filled the upper room. And here, Paul is saying that if they have these 4 things—and notice, it was not a “to-do” list, it was a “to-be” list. These things were more inward than outward, because you can't express affection if you don’t have affection. You cannot show mercy unless you have mercy. You cannot exercise a gift from the Holy Spirit that you do not have. He’s saying, “If you have ANY of these things, I beg you, make my joy complete and make it overflow!”

And next week we will see how these Philippians were to use those inward traits to fill his heart with all gladness and joy. And how could they do that? By being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, [being] of one mind. These all kinda sound the same, but they're different. So we’ll get to that next week.