WWUTT 020 Friday Review

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This week we've been talking mostly about attitude. In particular, do everything without grumbling or disputing, as it says in Philippians 2 .14.
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Today we want to summarize everything that we have been talking about over the course of the week in a five -point review so that we can have an attitude that is a reflection of being a child of God when we understand the text.
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This is When We Understand the Text. My name is Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you once again for being along with me as we study from the book of Philippians.
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Today we come to the end of chapter two, and this brings us to the halfway point of our study of this book.
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It took us 20 episodes, but it certainly has been a delight for me to read through the scriptures with you, and I hope that you have been enjoying this as well.
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Now we have been encouraging folks to email us with their questions, because in the last third of the program we always take a question from a listener and answer that question.
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If this has meant something to you and you have a testimony that you would like to share, we'd like to hear from you as well.
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You know, some of the emails that we receive with When We Understand the Text, I don't keep them to myself. We actually share them with the congregation in our church, because this is a ministry that was born out of a local church, and so we want to be able to share in this joy with you.
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And so if you have a testimony that you would like to share, consider emailing your testimony as well, and our email address can be found at our website www .utt
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.com. You'll see the latest episode there on the right side of the page, and the email address is right underneath that.
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And again, if you have any questions that you want to ask, either about something that you've heard in this broadcast or in one of our
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What videos, submit your question there, and perhaps we will answer it on this broadcast.
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Today's question, I want to actually come back to the question that I answered yesterday. It came from Beth in Louisiana.
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She asked, What are some things that a woman can do in service to the church that's better than what a man can do in giving glory to God?
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And I felt like I kind of rushed the end of my answer yesterday because I try to keep things to time. I want to kind of come back and review those answers again today, at least in the last third of this broadcast.
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So that's the question that I'm going to answer again. But today, why don't we start in Philippians chapter two, verse 14, right where we started off at the beginning of the week and go to the end of the chapter.
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First, let's open up with prayer. Our heavenly father, we thank you so much for calling us your children.
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And we know that through Christ, we have received adoption has sons and daughters.
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Lord, it is a delight and it is a joy. And I pray that we do rejoice in these things, getting to know the will of the father by what we read in your word.
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So guide us in these things, teach us more about what it means to do all things without grumbling or disputing so that we might shine as stars in a dark world.
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And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Philippians two 14 do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life so that in the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
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Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith,
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I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
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I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
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For I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare for they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
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But you know, Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel.
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I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me.
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And I trust in the Lord that shortly, I myself will be able to come also. I have thought it necessary to send you
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Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need.
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For he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.
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Indeed, he was ill near to death, but God had mercy on him and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
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I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again and that I may be less anxious.
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So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
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Man, even in these in these verses here, verses 14 through 30, as we've been reading this, I'm just overjoyed again at all of these charges to be joyful and how
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Paul expresses his joy. I need these reminders to be joyful constantly in the
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Lord. So anyway, I just wanted to share that. However, off topic that might have been. It's not off topic. It's right here.
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It's in the text. We go back to the first verse that we started with, Philippians 2, 14, as we draw out five points over everything that we've talked about this week to review our text, our study.
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And point number one is simply what we read there in Philippians 2, 14. Do everything without grumbling or disputing.
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And I really don't know what I need to add to that. There's not much commentary that needs to go with that.
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It's just a reminder that we constantly need do everything without grumbling or disputing.
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If you read it in the NIV, it says do everything without complaining or arguing. Both commands are applicable.
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Both are things that we need to obey and follow as Christians. If we have attitudes that are constantly complaining and arguing about things and with people, if we constantly have this attitude that is grumbling and disputing, then when it comes time for us to call a person out for their sin and give them the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are less likely to want to listen to us because we're a person that is cynical.
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We just complain and argue about everything. So of course, I mean, they're going to take calling out their sin as something critical.
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Of course, it's critical. It's necessary. It is necessary to have to do so. A person will come to know that they need the gospel.
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They need Jesus Christ. If they're not aware of their sin, they cannot call Christ their savior because he's not saved them from anything if they don't know that they are a sinner in need of a savior.
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And so when it comes time for us to call them out for their sin and give them the gospel, they're not going to listen because they're going to go, you complain and argue about everything else.
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You're constantly grumbling and disputing about things. So of course, now you're just directing that at me.
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And this also is important within the body of Christ. If you're hanging out with brothers and sisters in Christ, and the few of you get together and just argue about stuff and just complain about things or grumble and dispute, then you are not going to be able to correct one another when that time occurs.
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And that's going to that's one of the jobs in the body of Christ to be able to admonish one another. And to admonish somebody means to correct with goodwill.
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When you try to admonish someone in the body of Christ that you typically grumble and dispute with, they're not going to want to listen to you because they know you as somebody who complains and argues all the time.
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So now, of course, you're just directing that complaining toward them, and they will not consider your intentions as genuine.
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But we show ourselves to be more selfless when we do everything without grumbling or disputing, because that attitude to complain about our circumstances comes from our selfish flesh.
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And we cannot be selfish. We have been called and Paul has just said for us to be selfless.
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Philippians two, three, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves.
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And we reflect that we consider others needs ahead of our own when we do things without grumbling or disputing, when we are not reacting from our flesh, but we are we are responding according to the spirit of God.
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All right. So that's point number one. I don't know that I can summarize any of that better than that.
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It just comes down to an attitude that is spiritual instead of an attitude that is fleshly.
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Do everything without grumbling or disputing. Point number one. Here's point number two.
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Show yourself to be completely fulfilled in Christ. And this goes with point number one.
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OK, when we grumble and dispute, when we complain and argue, we display that we are somehow unfulfilled, that there is something that is lacking in our joy in Christ.
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And it is that area that is lacking that causes us to complain and argue. Something about our selfish desires has not been met.
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And so we'll complain about about the expectation that we had that wasn't met up to.
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We complain about it. We argue about it. We dispute about it. OK, all of these things tend to suggest that there is something about Christ that has not completely fulfilled us.
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This, again, becomes difficult for us to preach the gospel when people know that we complain and argue about things.
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So obviously there's something about Christ, whether they specifically identify this or not. There will be something in their consciousness that will not be able to receive what it is that you share with them about the gospel, because if they see that you complain and argue all the time, clearly this
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Christ that you claim that you worship is not as fulfilling as you say that he is, because there's stuff about life that you complain and argue about.
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OK, so we must show ourselves to be completely fulfilled in Christ by doing all things without grumbling or disputing.
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We show that we are blameless and innocent. We show blamelessness and innocence.
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So there is nothing that we can be accused of when we come and share the gospel. It is coming with a pure heart.
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We are children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom we are to shine as lights in the world.
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And that leads me to our third point. OK, so number one, do everything without grumbling or disputing.
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Number two, show yourself to be completely fulfilled in Christ. Number three, shine as lights in the world in a crooked and depraved generation.
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We have been set apart. We have been called out, called to be a holy people, a holy nation.
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As Peter talks about in First Peter chapter two, we must shine as lights in a crooked and depraved generation.
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We must let our good deeds shine before men. Our righteousness must shine before them.
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And as we read in Romans chapter three, verses 21 and 22, this righteousness does not come from us.
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It is imputed. It is an imputed righteousness that comes from Christ Jesus.
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Now, we have this wrong understanding sometimes that good deeds are to be done in secret.
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Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
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And he's merely challenging the intentions of the heart when he says that. Are you contributing charitably to one another to get something out of it?
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Is it supposed to benefit you somehow? Are you out to receive praise and acclaim from others because you're such a nice person?
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Jesus says, I tell you, they have already received their reward. If praise from others is what you want, you've got it and you ain't getting anything else, right?
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So again, Jesus is challenging the intentions of the heart. He is not saying, do all your good deeds secretly and don't let anyone see them.
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That's not what he is saying. On the contrary, because he said previously in chapter five, let your light shine before men.
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You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives a light to all in the house in the same way.
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Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your father who is in heaven.
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So it is absolutely necessary for us to do good things and let others see that.
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In fact, we read in Romans chapter 12, outdo one another in showing honor.
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Not that we should be competitive, but here in the church, we can encourage one another to do good things for other people.
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Peter also says, this is second Peter chapter two, verse 12 live such good lives among the pagans that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify
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God on the day of visitation. You know, when the apostle Paul goes through the armor of God in Ephesians chapter six, he mentions the breastplate of righteousness.
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Well, what, what, you know, that's not just a protection as you do your good deeds before men, nobody will be able to accuse you of anything wrong.
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All right. And as Paul has said in Philippians chapter two, uh, be without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.
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So it's not only a protection, but it is also a statement because, uh, like, like take, for example, if you wear a
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Jersey of your favorite team, don't you have the team logo right there on the, on the chest or a Superman shirt.
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There's a better example. You know, a Superman shirt, the logo is right there. Center stage on the chest.
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And we wear a breastplate of righteousness in the same way. Our righteous deeds center mass right there on our chest being seen by other people.
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We should display our righteousness before others. But again, it is a righteousness that does not come from us.
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It comes from Christ. It has been given to us by Christ Jesus.
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And so let your good deeds shine before men. We must shine as lights in the world in a crooked and depraved generation.
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We don't follow Christ in some kind of secret faith. This is a faith that is to be proclaimed.
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It is to be known. It is to be spoken about. All right. Number four.
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And I tell you what here, when I, uh, I'm not going to play the, uh, the same, what video that I played yesterday, even though I'm going to answer questions related to what, uh, women can do better than a man can do in giving glory to God.
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I think I'm going to play the video on, um, uh, the one that I did about the
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St. Francis of Assisi quote, preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words. It is necessary to use words.
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And so we absolutely should use words when we preach the gospel. So that's the video I'm going to play coming up here in just a moment.
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Again, we don't follow in a secret faith. This is a faith that needs to be proclaimed. It needs to be known.
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The gospel means good news. Word gospel means good news and news must be shared.
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So let's share it. Okay. So anyway, that was my third point, shine as lights in the world in a crooked and depraved generation.
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Here's the fourth point. As we summarize everything that we've read this week, correct one another with gentleness and doing so for their benefit.
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Matthew 18, 20 was a verse that we talked about earlier in the week. Jesus has given authority to his church to determine whether or not a person is truly repentant and has received the forgiveness of Christ.
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And we saw the, uh, we looked at the model for discipline that we're supposed to follow in Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 through 20.
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Essentially everyone that is a member of a church has been given the church's corporate endorsement that the salvation that they are under and are growing in is legit.
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When a person has to be removed from a church treated as a Gentile or a tax collector is Jesus says in Matthew 18, or in other words, not one of us, then it has been determined by the church that they're not on the path of righteousness by removing a person from a church.
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They are receiving what would be like a taste of hell. We are told in second Thessalonians three, not to treat such a person as an enemy, but to warn them as a brother by being removed from the fellowship have nothing to do with them.
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The scriptures say so that they would have an experience of what health feels like a, just a minor taste of that separated from God and from his people from all eternity.
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Hopefully that being separated from the church will drive them to repentance. They will desire forgiveness and restoration to the body of Christ.
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And once the church has determined that they are truly repentant, they should be restored.
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So we should correct one another with gentleness and we do this for their benefit. All right, not so we can show ourselves to be smarter than them or whatever reason that we would have for disciplining somebody else with selfish motives, but we do this for their benefit.
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And the apostle Paul talked about sending Timothy to the Philippians in Philippians chapter two, verses 19 through 24, because he will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
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He says that in verse 20. And so as we admonish one another and encourage one another in the body of Christ, we must be concerned for one another's welfare.
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Here's the fifth point. It is both a joy and a sorrow to lose a brother or sister in Christ to death.
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Paul had previously said, uh, I am hard pressed between the two, whether to leave you and go be with Christ or remain here with you for your benefit.
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My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
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So while it is better for a person to die and go be with the Lord, it is also a sorrow because we have lost a fellow
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Saint, somebody who has been growing with us and encouraging and admonishing us in the
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Lord. And so to lose somebody to death, they have actually, uh, God has actually removed from us a blessing.
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And so there is a sorrow there, and we are reminded of our mortality and that the wages of sin is death.
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We still experience death in this life because of sin. Fortunately in Christ Jesus, we do not have to know the sting of death.
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We do not know it is something permanent, but we will be delivered from death in Christ, raised to eternal life.
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And we become heirs of the kingdom of God. Yet, as we, as we experience in this life, the loss of brothers and sisters in Christ, it is both a joy because they get to go be with the
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Lord and also a sorrow because we no longer have the blessing of them in this life.
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And Paul has kind of talked about that related to a relationship with Epaphroditus there in Philippians 2, 25 through 30.
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So that's a summary of everything that we've looked at over the course of this week. Catch up on the broadcast because they're there at our website, www .utt
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.com. Subscribe on iTunes or through Podbean, which is our podcast provider.
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God, thank you for bringing us to these scriptures today and keep us meditating on this. Keep us obedient to this and submissive to God's word.
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We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. A popular quote about sharing the gospel goes like this.
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Preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words. The quote is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.
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It was even the inspiration behind an award -winning gospel music album. First of all, there is no record that St.
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Francis ever said this. Secondly, it isn't biblical. The quote is often used to argue that actions are the primary tool for sharing the gospel, while words are merely a backup.
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But that's not the gospel. The word gospel means good news. It must be declared.
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In Matthew 28, when Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and make more disciples, he told them to teach.
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And that's exactly what they did. In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, the disciples went into Jerusalem and did what?
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Made sure everyone saw them miming the gospel? No, they went in and verbally preached about the events concerning Christ's death and resurrection.
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And 3 ,000 people were baptized that day. In Romans 10, the apostle Paul tells the church to confess with their mouths.
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He writes, how will they believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
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So the quote is true in the sense that it is necessary to use words, but false if the quote is being used to say that our actions are all the gospel we need.
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The gospel of Jesus Christ is history, a message that must be spoken. Our actions affirm that we truly believe in what we speak.
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So live a life of godliness. Yes, thank you, Smitty. And that's when we understand the text.
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So we come back to the question that was asked of me yesterday. And just to recap, this comes from Beth in Hammond, Louisiana, and she said, we love your videos and use them in our home to teach our kids.
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In your video entitled, Women are to be silent, you mentioned that there are things a woman can do that a man cannot.
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Can you elaborate on that a little bit more? What are some things that I can tell my girls that they can do to glorify
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God that men cannot do? And personally, I'd like to know myself what I can do. So I gave three suggestions yesterday.
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And to understand the context appropriately, I hope that you either listen to yesterday's broadcast or would go back and listen to it.
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So I don't have to rehash the context back out again. But here were the three suggestions that I gave.
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Here are three things that a woman can do better than what a man can do. Number one, she can be a mother.
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That is not a burden. That is a blessing for a woman to be able to achieve motherhood.
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And even if it is not the calling of a woman to ever get married or be a mother, I think that she can still be a mother in the sense that women have also been called to mentor one another in a church.
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And I'll get to that here in just a moment. But number one, she can be a mother. And that is something that a woman can do that a man cannot do.
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And the things that a woman will experience as a mother rolls up into praise to God.
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And she is able to experience joy in the Lord in ways that a man cannot experience.
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And so those are things that a woman can do within the church and even in the ways that God has made her and designed her in the roles that he has called her to call her for, called her to that.
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These are things that she can experience and enjoy that a man cannot enjoy in the
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Lord. She can be a mother. I can probably also tie into that. Number one, she can be a woman. That's something that that a woman can do that a man cannot.
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And unfortunately, in this culture, that needs to be stated. All right. So number two. All right.
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Here's the number two thing here. She can show humility and submissiveness in a way that a man simply cannot do now.
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Now, let me clarify this a little bit better. Yesterday, I tied this in with Ephesians 521, which says submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.
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This means that a woman will need to submit to the role that God has called a man to do.
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This does not mean that all women submit to all men. That is not what that means. But a woman does need to submit to realizing that there are certain roles within a church that God has called a man to do specifically being a pastor, an elder, a deacon.
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These are roles specifically for men. Paul has said in First Timothy chapter two,
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I do not permit a woman to have authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain silent.
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It is a role that a man has been called to fulfill. So a woman can show humility in the sense that she submits to that role.
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And that's something that she can do in a way that a man cannot do as well. Furthermore, since we've all been called to submit to one another out of reverence to Christ, the woman becomes the best example in a church of submissiveness, especially in the way that she has been called to submit to a role that God has designed a man for.
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So she can better show and be an example of true submissiveness in a way, in a totality, in a fulfillment that a man cannot do as well.
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Okay. Are you tracking with me? Do you understand that there? So again, she shows humility and submissiveness in a way that a man simply cannot show even in a church.
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Okay. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ means that a man has to submit to realizing there are certain roles that God has called a woman to do that a man cannot do.
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And there are certain roles that God has called a man to do that a woman cannot do. And we submit to realizing that these roles are for men and women respectively.
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Okay. Following me, tracking with me there. Let's keep going. Here's point number three that I mentioned yesterday. She can be a mentor to other women.
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And this follows the Titus chapter two model of discipleship that should be going on in a church.
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Older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good.
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And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self -controlled, pure working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
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And so in the way that a woman follows in with these respective roles, God's word will not be reviled.
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She is following the role that God has designed her for. So women can be a mentor to other women and can teach women things that another man cannot teach a woman to do.
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That is the Titus two model that we see of older men mentoring younger men and older women mentoring younger women.
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Okay. One of the suggestions that I did not include is that a woman can teach children.
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Why did I not include that as a suggestion of something that a woman can do better than a man? The reason why is this because a man can do that as well as a woman.
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Plus a man should be doing that. I think that we have this general attitude that Sunday school teachers are supposed to be women.
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I do not follow with that. I think that there are men in the church that should be teaching our children as well and setting examples for them.
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So that is why I did not include that as something that a woman can do better than a man. But I hope that those suggestions are good for you,
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Beth. And I elaborated on that a little bit better today. Join me next week as we jump into the second half of our study of Philippians.
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You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. Our ministry was born out of a local church and we rely on the contributions of our viewers and our listeners to keep this ministry going.
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Give with card or check at our website www .tt .com. Join us again next week as we continue our study through Philippians, rejoicing in God's truth when we understand the text.