Keep Your Eyes On Jesus
Today is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Greetings, and may God give you a great day as you live in the reality of His blessings!
Today in our text from Philippians we begin the transition to the close of this epistle. Paul begins his final greetings to those in the Church and his final words of exhortation.
This one short verse speaks of relationships, present and future blessings, and steadfastness. All this in one short verse which is intended to be a word of encouragement. Hear what Paul says, Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. Philippians 4:1
This verse speaks of relationship as Paul addressed them as “brothers and sisters.” There is an old saying which goes like this, “Family is who you choose, not who is in your blood.” The amazing thing is that this is what we see among God’s people!
I have often said that in our world today we see family members treat each other worse than they would treat a stranger. We argue, speak words of hatred, become bitter, and break off relationship, and we do this with our family members we have lived in relationship with all our lives. By contrast, we often are kinder and more compassionate with total strangers. Individuals we have no history or relationship with!
Paul calls the Philippian Christians his brothers and sisters! There is a relationship which has been created because each of us has been brought together in Christ to be joined to our heavenly Father and it is He who has declared us all to be His children. The love of Christ in our hearts is to flow out to all our “family” as we love one another. Jesus even told us that those who believe in Him are His mother and brothers and sisters.
Yet, what do we see? Often, we see the same attitudes of bitterness, backbiting, and anger displayed in the Church as conflict arises and the results is the body of Christ is divided. We are guilty of bring the attitude of the world into the Church and I know this grieves the heart of God. We, of all people, should be the first to forgive and seek reconciliation with our church family and never let anything bring division. If Christ has forgiven each one of us, should we not also forgive each other.
Paul then speaks of both present and future blessings in his life. First, those he writes to are a source of “joy” for his heart. When Paul arrived in Philippi there were not followers of Christ. He is writing to the church in that city which is the fruit of his labor. They have continued to be faithful to the Gospel and the Gospel ministry. They are growing personally in their faith, and they are sharing their faith with others and the church is growing. They are a people excited about Jesus. The love and excitement which filles their lives is spilling out to touch and draw others to Jesus. There could be no greater joy for Paul then to witness what God is doing in their lives.
Then he speak of the Philippian Christians as his “crown!” We do not have time to delve deeply into this aspect of the verse, so let me just say this, a person is saved and goes to heaven because in their heart they believe in Jesus as their Savior. Heaven and hell are determined on the basis of faith, not sin or works. If a person is saved it is because of Jesus. If a person is damned it is because they had no faith in Jesus. For the unbeliever, because they have not faith this person is cast away from God to be punished for their sins. They did not go to hell because of sin but once in hell, because of no faith, they are punished for their sins.
The believer enters the glory of heaven because of Jesus. Faith in Christ as brought forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God. The Christian is welcomed into the presence of God and blessed forever. But there is more! Once in heaven, each believer is rewarded. All that God has accomplished in them and through them is clearly known. It is then that God rewards each believer with unique blessing and glory. Paul calls the Philippians his crown for God will reward them for all accomplished through his life to bless them.
Paul then ends this short verse with the encouragement to “stand firm.” We could quickly turn to Ephesians and hear Paul speak of standing firm by putting on the Armor of God. This would be appropriate. But for us today, our focus is on simply holding onto Jesus. Stand and face the world with all its challenges by standing in the truth of who you are in Christ and the reality that He is present with you regardless of what you face in life.
I had a close friend of mine tell me recently something he through of, “God’s grip don’t slip.” I immediately though of Peter walking on the water and when he took his eyes off Jesus and saw the circumstance he was in, he began to sink. But Jesus was there to take ahold of him, lift him up, and return him to the safety of the boat.
The same is true for every child of God. Jesus is with us, just as He promised. When the challenges of life come against us, if we take our eyes off of Him, we will be overwhelmed and overcome. However, when we keep our eyes on Him, we are able to stand firm, even in the midst of the greatest storms.
To stand firm is about letting go and letting God be in charge. It is about trusting Him and following Him every day and believing He will be the One who will get you through. This is a vital truth for every believer to hold onto. And it is as we live in relationship together and brothers and sisters in Christ that we can support and encourage one another as a family who together walk the road of life God has set before us.
May you be blessed throughout your day and may you know we all stand together with our eyes focused on Jesus.
Pastor Russ
Greetings, and may God give you a great day as you live in the reality of His blessings!
Today in our text from Philippians we begin the transition to the close of this epistle. Paul begins his final greetings to those in the Church and his final words of exhortation.
This one short verse speaks of relationships, present and future blessings, and steadfastness. All this in one short verse which is intended to be a word of encouragement. Hear what Paul says, Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. Philippians 4:1
This verse speaks of relationship as Paul addressed them as “brothers and sisters.” There is an old saying which goes like this, “Family is who you choose, not who is in your blood.” The amazing thing is that this is what we see among God’s people!
I have often said that in our world today we see family members treat each other worse than they would treat a stranger. We argue, speak words of hatred, become bitter, and break off relationship, and we do this with our family members we have lived in relationship with all our lives. By contrast, we often are kinder and more compassionate with total strangers. Individuals we have no history or relationship with!
Paul calls the Philippian Christians his brothers and sisters! There is a relationship which has been created because each of us has been brought together in Christ to be joined to our heavenly Father and it is He who has declared us all to be His children. The love of Christ in our hearts is to flow out to all our “family” as we love one another. Jesus even told us that those who believe in Him are His mother and brothers and sisters.
Yet, what do we see? Often, we see the same attitudes of bitterness, backbiting, and anger displayed in the Church as conflict arises and the results is the body of Christ is divided. We are guilty of bring the attitude of the world into the Church and I know this grieves the heart of God. We, of all people, should be the first to forgive and seek reconciliation with our church family and never let anything bring division. If Christ has forgiven each one of us, should we not also forgive each other.
Paul then speaks of both present and future blessings in his life. First, those he writes to are a source of “joy” for his heart. When Paul arrived in Philippi there were not followers of Christ. He is writing to the church in that city which is the fruit of his labor. They have continued to be faithful to the Gospel and the Gospel ministry. They are growing personally in their faith, and they are sharing their faith with others and the church is growing. They are a people excited about Jesus. The love and excitement which filles their lives is spilling out to touch and draw others to Jesus. There could be no greater joy for Paul then to witness what God is doing in their lives.
Then he speak of the Philippian Christians as his “crown!” We do not have time to delve deeply into this aspect of the verse, so let me just say this, a person is saved and goes to heaven because in their heart they believe in Jesus as their Savior. Heaven and hell are determined on the basis of faith, not sin or works. If a person is saved it is because of Jesus. If a person is damned it is because they had no faith in Jesus. For the unbeliever, because they have not faith this person is cast away from God to be punished for their sins. They did not go to hell because of sin but once in hell, because of no faith, they are punished for their sins.
The believer enters the glory of heaven because of Jesus. Faith in Christ as brought forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God. The Christian is welcomed into the presence of God and blessed forever. But there is more! Once in heaven, each believer is rewarded. All that God has accomplished in them and through them is clearly known. It is then that God rewards each believer with unique blessing and glory. Paul calls the Philippians his crown for God will reward them for all accomplished through his life to bless them.
Paul then ends this short verse with the encouragement to “stand firm.” We could quickly turn to Ephesians and hear Paul speak of standing firm by putting on the Armor of God. This would be appropriate. But for us today, our focus is on simply holding onto Jesus. Stand and face the world with all its challenges by standing in the truth of who you are in Christ and the reality that He is present with you regardless of what you face in life.
I had a close friend of mine tell me recently something he through of, “God’s grip don’t slip.” I immediately though of Peter walking on the water and when he took his eyes off Jesus and saw the circumstance he was in, he began to sink. But Jesus was there to take ahold of him, lift him up, and return him to the safety of the boat.
The same is true for every child of God. Jesus is with us, just as He promised. When the challenges of life come against us, if we take our eyes off of Him, we will be overwhelmed and overcome. However, when we keep our eyes on Him, we are able to stand firm, even in the midst of the greatest storms.
To stand firm is about letting go and letting God be in charge. It is about trusting Him and following Him every day and believing He will be the One who will get you through. This is a vital truth for every believer to hold onto. And it is as we live in relationship together and brothers and sisters in Christ that we can support and encourage one another as a family who together walk the road of life God has set before us.
May you be blessed throughout your day and may you know we all stand together with our eyes focused on Jesus.
Pastor Russ
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