WWUTT 010 Friday Review

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The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian Church and told them to rejoice in all circumstances.
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And we've seen that theme of joy come up several times in our study of Philippians chapter one thus far. Today we want to do some review so that we might learn how to live is
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Christ and to die is gain when we understand the text. Welcome to when we understand the text.
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My name is Pastor Gabe and just yesterday I mentioned that today we would finish up Philippians one and then do our review.
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We're actually not going to get through all the way through the chapter this week. I thought we would, but no, I want to say one more lesson, which we'll do on Monday that will cover the remainder of Philippians chapter one.
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Still being Friday, we want to review some of the things that we've talked about over the course of the week. The bulk of our study has been done in Philippians chapter one verses 18 through 30.
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But we've spent most of that time all the way up to about verse 26. I think Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we were in that particular section of Philippians one.
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So all of our review today is going to have to do with that last third of the chapter that we have been looking at and also saving a portion of Philippians one that we'll be talking about again on Monday.
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Toward the end of this program, we will take another question from a listener and this one has to do with seventh day
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Adventism. So stay tuned. That's coming up. And if you want to submit a question to our program, you can send it through our website.
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Email is the best way to get it to us. Go to www .utt .com. You will see the email link on the right side of the page right there along with the latest podcast episode, www .utt
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.com and click on the email link to send us your question, whether it has to do with a video that you've seen from when we understand the text or something that we've said in this particular broadcast.
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Before we look at the text today, and here's what I'd like to do. We'd go through Philippians chapter one verses 19 through 30 again, that whole third of the chapter or however long that is, and then we'll go back through and summarize five points of the things that we have talked about over the course of the week in our
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Friday review. Before doing that, why don't we come to the Lord in prayer? Our great God, we thank you so much for your word and I pray that we are taking it and writing it upon our hearts that we are remembering these things.
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Even as we come away from our study, it's continuing to teach us. We've written it on our minds, on our hearts.
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We are so filled with the word of God that it becomes the very words that we speak. May all that we do be glorifying to you that with our whole lives, we are a glory to Christ Jesus so that when we die, we know that we gain, we go to be with our
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Lord whom we served in this life. Keep us steadfast in these things, oh
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God. And we pray this in Jesus name, amen. Philippians chapter one at the end of verse 18,
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Paul says, I will rejoice in all of these things. I rejoice. Yes. And I will rejoice for I know that through your prayers and through the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed.
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But that with full courage now, as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death for to me to live is
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Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me yet, which shall
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I choose? I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.
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But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith so that in me, you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.
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Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or I am absent,
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I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents.
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This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God.
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For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw that I had and now hear that I still have.
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So we want to summarize some points that we can draw out of this text that we've been reading over the course of the week in our five -point
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Friday. Five points that we want to draw from our lesson. Here's number one.
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Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds. And very simply,
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I've just quoted for you James 1, verse 2, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
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When Paul begins this section by saying, yes, I will rejoice, even though he's been thrown in prison or placed under house arrest in Rome, he is continuing to advance the gospel.
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The imperial guard has heard that he has been in prison because he preached the gospel. The brothers in Christ have been emboldened hearing about Paul's testimony.
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So in all of these things, Paul continues to rejoice. Even though there are people that are causing rivalry with him, they're still preaching the gospel.
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And so in all ways, the gospel goes out and Paul is rejoicing in these things. So if Paul can rejoice in his trials, which are much more severe than what
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I'm going through now in my life and what I've faced even in the past several years combined,
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I've not faced anything to the degree that Paul has faced. So if he can rejoice in all of his trials,
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I need to rejoice in all of mine. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
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And Peter talks about this as well. When we read in 1 Peter 4, verse 12, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice in so far as you share
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Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
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So in everything that we face, in every trial that we go through, no matter what it is, because of various kinds, right?
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So whether you're talking about bad traffic, that's a trial and you still need to glory in God, even though you might have to sit in a long commute.
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In all things, we rejoice in Christ Jesus because it produces perseverance and strengthens our faith.
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So that was point number one, count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds. Point number two,
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God will deliver us from our trials, but that doesn't mean that we won't go through them.
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In fact, this is something that I'm going to be talking about on Sunday, because as I said, I think I mentioned this earlier, but we're studying through the book of Romans right now in our sermon series.
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And we're starting in Romans chapter five this weekend, where Paul says, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
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Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
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Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope.
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And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
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So we go through the things that we go through in this life because it's accomplishing something. It is growing us more and more in the faith, in our trust of God.
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We rely more and more in the hope of his promises, knowing that nothing in this world can satisfy, but only
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Christ and his promises can satisfy. Whereas a person who is not in Christ has no hope in anything in this world and nothing satisfies.
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All of our experiences terminate on the experience. Okay? If a person enjoys a great meal with friends, some good fellowship, a great conversation and some good food.
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Yeah, it was fun and it might create a lasting memory, but that's all. They don't take anything from that experience that is eternal or long lasting.
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Whereas we in the body of Christ who are in Christ, any and all experiences have eternal and lasting value.
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And even when we go through a struggle that we are in right now, whether it is a minor struggle or something major that's going on in our lives, all of these things develop perseverance, character and hope and focus us more and more on that eternal kingdom and the eternal promises of God.
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All right. Is this, is this making sense? Okay. So God will deliver us from our trials in all of the things that we experience in this world.
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We ultimately will be delivered into his eternal and peaceful kingdom. But that doesn't mean that we won't go through them.
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We should go through them because it produces something. It produces something of eternal and lasting value.
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We must go through this because it's growing us more in holiness and more in the image of Christ.
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Nobody should ever think that just because they became a Christian that life is going to get easier.
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It's infuriating whenever I hear a pastor or somebody say, Hey, come to Jesus and life gets easy.
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No. As a matter of fact, Jesus said his way was the hard way. Remember what he said in the sermon on the
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Mount that broad is the way that leads to destruction and many are going to find that way because it's the easy way.
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Narrow is the gate that leads to life. So Jesus even saying there that the narrow gate, that's the hard road.
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The narrow road is the hard road. So God will use the trials that we go through to produce something of eternal value.
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So we do have a trial that we are supposed to face right now, but it's producing something and it is developing us into something.
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So praise God for that, that there is a purpose and a reason for it, for it. Whereas a person who does not follow
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Christ, there's no reason and no hope in anything that they go through and the struggles that they go through are that much harder.
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Okay. So number one, counted all joy when you face trials of many kinds, number two, God will deliver us from our trials, but that doesn't mean that we won't go through them.
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We are to go through them and give God the glory. Even as we go through those trials, number three, we need to pray for one another.
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Here's what will help us go through those trials a little bit better. When as the body of Christ, we're praying for each other.
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Now even in this point, our third point here, there's five sub points, okay?
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Five ways that we pray for one another in the body of Christ and scriptures that match it.
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Okay. So number one, we need to pray for one another in such a way that we share each other's sorrows and our joys.
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That's Romans 12, 15. Weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice.
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So we pray for one another, sharing in sorrow and joy. Okay. Number two, we need to pray that we are able to share our faith with boldness.
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Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ that they have courage to share their faith. Paul says in Ephesians 6, 18 and 19, pray at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication.
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To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. And the saints is all of us, all who are in Christ.
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We are the saints. Paul says, pray also for me that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which
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I am an ambassador in chains that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. So we pray for one another that we will remain strong in the faith and be able to speak of it with courage.
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Number three, a third way that we pray for one another. We need to pray for one another in all kinds of ways.
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All right. And basically all kinds of ways we pray for each other, including making prayer requests on behalf of other
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Christians. First Timothy 2, 1 and 2. First of all, then Paul says to Timothy, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people.
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So all kinds of prayer for Kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
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Pray for each other in every way. Number four way that we can pray for one another. We need to pray for forgiveness and healing.
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James 5, 16 was a verse that we tied in with this. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.
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The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Your repentance affects others in the body of Christ.
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If you have sin that you have not yet repented of yet, it is affecting everybody in your church, everybody in your circle of Christian friends.
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You must repent. Okay. Now, if you are on the path of righteousness, then your prayer for someone else is a service to them.
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Cause remember that verse also says the prayer of a righteous person is great power as it is working. So if you have no sin in your life that you've been actively participating in, nothing like that that you need to repent of, then you can therefore be investing your prayers in others who need to repent.
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The prayer of a righteous person is great power as it is working. Nobody sins as an island.
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Nobody can sin and say, well, I'm not bothering anybody else. It affects everyone. So repent of your sins.
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Here's the fifth way that we can pray for one another. We need to pray that others would repent and return to the path of righteousness.
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As the, the verse that we tied into that was first John five 16, if anyone sees his brother committing a sin, not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.
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Now, when we were talking about that, I got a message from a fellow in Scotland messaged me on Twitter and said, what is the sin unto death?
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And how can we know if we have committed it? Where John says that there is a sin not leading to death.
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He's talking about any sin that is forgivable and the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which
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Jesus mentions in Mark chapter three. Now, does blasphemy of the Holy Spirit only mean that a person remains unrepentant up to their death or can they commit it in their lifetime?
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That's debatable, but I will tell you this. If you have a repentant heart before God, you have not committed the unforgivable sin.
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The understanding would basically be that if a person who is truly blaspheme the Holy Spirit, they would never even want to repent.
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We cannot know whether a person has committed that blasphemy. Only God knows that our call as Christians is that we preach repentance to all.
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We preach to the lost and even to those in the body of Christ who may have stumbled on the path of righteousness.
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Pray for one another that they would repent and be restored. So the five ways that we pray for each other, we need to pray for one another in such a way that we share one another's sorrows and our joys.
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Number two, we need to pray that we're able to share our faith with boldness. Number three, we need to pray for one another in all kinds of ways, including making prayer requests on behalf of other
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Christians. And number four, we need to pray for forgiveness and healing. Number five, we need to pray that others would repent and return to the path of righteousness.
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So that was all under point three, okay? That we pray for one another in the body of Christ.
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Point number four, we are to live for Christ with our whole lives.
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And this goes back to Paul's statement in Philippians chapter one, verse 21, for me to live is
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Christ and to die is gain. With our whole lives, we are a worship and a glory to God.
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We live to glorify God and we also live to benefit others. Because as Paul goes on, he says that a fruitful labor for me means that I will continue in this life for your progress and joy in the faith.
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So he's hard pressed between staying here and going to be with Christ. He knows that being with Christ is far better because that's gain.
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For me to die is gain. That would be great, but for me to stay here would be better on your account.
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So what a humble attitude that Paul has related to ministry. And we need to have that attitude with one another as well.
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We live to glorify God and we need to live to benefit others. We'll talk about this some more next week when we get to Philippians chapter two in verse four.
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Paul says, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
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So we do live our Christian lives in such a way that becomes a benefit to one another.
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And that is living for Christ with our whole lives. We do all to the glory of God. Remember, as we talked about this, we eat and drink to the glory of God.
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We drive our cars to the glory of God. You know, even in the in the simplest tasks, all of it needs to be a glory to God.
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We love our spouse to the glory of God, our kids to the glory of God, our brothers and sisters in Christ to the glory of God.
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We even love those who are lost to the glory of God so that we might be a testament to them and continue to share with them the gospel so that they might come to repentance and know the life saving grace that comes only through Jesus Christ, our
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Lord. Let us do all to God's glory. And number five, this ties right into point five.
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We are to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In Philippians one twenty seven,
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Paul says only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Tying right in with verse twenty one for me to live is
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Christ and to die is gain. That phrase that is translated, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.
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It comes from the Greek word poli to you. Stay. I actually don't know if I'm pronouncing that right. I know it's the middle voice of the word pilot.
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You may, which means to be a citizen. So as Paul is communicating to the
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Philippians here about being good citizens of the kingdom, he's saying to them that Caesar is not our hope,
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OK? Because the Philippians, again, were good Roman citizens and they were proud. They were proud of their Roman citizenship.
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But Paul says to them, our hope is not in Caesar. Our hope is in Christ. And that applies to all of us as well.
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Our hope as citizens of whatever country that we live in, whatever nationality we are, is not in what laws are passed.
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It is not in who is a ruler or a dictator or a governor or what have you.
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Our hope is in the king of kings and lord of lords, Jesus Christ. We cannot wait for the laws to change to be more accommodating to the
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Christian faith. And then we say, OK, now everything's friendly for me, so I'm going to go out and preach the gospel.
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There's work to do right now. The apostle Paul, the Philippians, the Romans, the Corinthians, all of them, they all lived in a very hostile environment toward the
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Christian faith. The Roman Christians in particular in Rome, if they did not pay tribute to Caesar as Lord, they could be killed on the spot.
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If they said that Jesus Christ was Lord instead of Caesar, it could cost them their lives. And yet they were bold to share the gospel as Paul was also bold to share the gospel, though he was beaten for it and thrown in prison.
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If they were bold to share their faith, then by their testimony, we need to do the same.
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Not waiting for laws to change or for the president to be elected that we want to be president. We need to preach the gospel of Christ right now.
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The five points that we have drawn from what we have read in Philippians 1 this week.
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Number one, count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds. Number two,
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God will deliver us from our trials, but that doesn't mean we won't go through them. It's all for his glory.
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And it's all that we might persevere in the faith and be made more like Christ. Number three, we need to pray for one another.
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Number four, point number four, we are to live for Christ with our whole lives. And point number five, we are to live as citizens of the kingdom of God together in one mind, in one faith.
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Our great God, as we have searched the scriptures this week, I pray that you continue to work in us these things.
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May we be able to join together with the body of Christ in worship this Sunday at the church that you have called us to be united with and growing with.
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Continue to let your word grow in us. And we pray this in Jesus name.
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Amen. Our question today has to do with the video that we did on Jehovah's Witnesses.
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And before we get to that question, here is that when we understand the text video. From the same movement that brought about the
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Seventh -day Adventist come the Jehovah's Witnesses. But while it's possible for an Adventist to be a
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Christian, the Witnesses are not. Charles Taze Russell founded the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1870, then established the
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Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in 1881. It is through the Watchtower Society that the Bible is interpreted and understood, even printing their own
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Bible called the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Since the Witnesses believe that the Bible has been corrupted over the centuries, that pretty much gives them the liberty to make it mean whatever they want.
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For example, they teach that Jesus is actually the Archangel Michael, though a sound reading of Hebrews 1 easily negates that view.
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And they believe Jesus was a mere man until his baptism and only then did he become the Son of God. But John 1 blows that concept out of the water.
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They believe that salvation is by works, which contradicts Ephesians 2 .8 .9 and Titus 3 .5. They deny the
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Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the Atonement, and claim that only their beliefs represent true Christianity. Anyone who believes anything else,
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God will destroy. They also have a reputation for making up their own prophecies, with a failure rate of 100%.
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Like the Mormons, the Witnesses claim Christ has returned to Earth since his ascension, yet Jesus very specifically said his return would be seen by the whole world.
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He also said not to believe anyone who claims that he's come back in secret or to a select group of people. Following the false teachings of the
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Watchtower Society will not lead to salvation. If possible, try to lead a Jehovah's Witness in a spirit of gentleness to the truth of God's clear and consistent
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Holy Word when we understand the text. The title of that video is, Are Jehovah's Witnesses Saved?
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And we got a question from Adam in Macon, Georgia, who said, Hey, watch in your video on the
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Jehovah's Witnesses, you mentioned that Seventh -day Adventists can be Christians, but in the subtext, and you wouldn't have seen this in the audio portion of the video, in the subtext, you say that you still would not recommend a person to become a
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Seventh -day Adventist. Can you explain why? And can the Seventh -day Adventist church be reformed, or should a person leave it altogether?
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Thank you for your question, Adam. I want to clarify that a person who is a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness cannot be a
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Christian. And the reason why is because they do not believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. That's really the main problem.
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They believe in a completely different Jesus. Therefore, his death is a completely different atonement.
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If it is a different atonement, then they haven't been forgiven of their sins, and they're still under the wrath of God. The only atonement that will save us is the atonement of the true
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Jesus Christ of the Bible, not just some figure named Jesus, but the true historical Jesus that we read about in the
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Holy Word of God. A Seventh -day Adventist probably does believe in the true historical
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Jesus of the Bible, but I will say that not all Seventh -day Adventist churches are the same. There are some
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SDA churches that believe the same as Orthodox Christianity, but then they only differ on some tertiary things.
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Like, for example, Saturday is the Sabbath, and therefore that is the true day of worship. That's like the main issue for a
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Seventh -day Adventist. But some Adventists will go as far to say that if a person doesn't worship on Saturday, then they're not actually saved.
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Now that's crazy. That's taken a tertiary issue and making it a primary doctrine, and our salvation has nothing to do with what day of the week that we worship on.
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Some Seventh -day Adventists might believe in the annihilation of the wicked rather than an eternal hell.
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So when a person dies, they just cease to exist if they don't believe in Christ and only those who are in Christ continue to live.
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They also borrow from some Jehovah's Witness beliefs, like Jesus is the Archangel Michael, and once you start getting into that territory, you're no longer talking about true
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Christianity, but something that is a completely false religion altogether. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh -day
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Adventism also has a long history of making ridiculous and failed prophecies. Ellen G.
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White, who is a woman and one of the co -founders of Seventh -day Adventism, she made a lot of prophecies that failed, and she believed herself to be a true prophet of God.
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So some SDA -ers think that God is still speaking and that there is personal revelation that goes beyond His word, the
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Bible, and that would also be a false teaching. There are a lot of notable SDA adherents.
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I'm actually surprised at the number of people that I'll encounter and find out that they happen to be Seventh -day Adventists.
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When I worked in Christian radio, I worked with a lot of Christian artists, and some of them were SDA. I'm not going to go through the list and start listing names, but I'd probably name a
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Christian artist you've listened to and be like, oh, really? They're Seventh -day Adventists? I had no idea. I've done some ministry work with Seventh -day
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Adventists. I didn't agree with their positions on a lot of issues, but I did not have a reason to doubt their faith in the one true
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Jesus Christ of the Bible. You've probably heard that Dr. Ben Carson, Republican presidential candidate, is a
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Seventh -day Adventist. I don't know what degree of Adventist he is. I haven't looked into that, but he's a notable
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Seventh -day Adventist. Again, it is possible for a person to be SDA and a
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Christian, but because of its questionable beginnings and the potential to get into some really false beliefs, all due to the way that the denomination was founded,
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I do not think that a person should remain SDA. Do I think that it can be reformed?
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No, I do not. I think that it should be abandoned. There are too many weird things about Seventh -day
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Adventism that are far from reformed teaching. You wouldn't be able to reform an SDA church without turning it into something completely different.
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I talked yesterday about leaving a church politely, in a biblical and a Christian way, and I think that you can still leave an
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SDA church immediately, as in, don't go back this Sunday, and still keep in touch with those that you did church with, politely explaining to them why you've decided not to return.
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As I said yesterday, find a good, solid, biblically -centered gospel -preaching church. I recommend using the
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Gospel Coalition website, tgc .org, or thegospelcoalition .org, and do a church search, or you can look up a good church through the
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Acts 29 network. That is a good resource as well. I am out of time. I thank you so much for being along with me for this episode of the broadcast.
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We'll jump in next week in the finishing of Chapter 1, and then touch into a little bit of Chapter 2 as well, so please come back.
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God bless you, and thank you so much for studying the Scriptures with me. You've been listening to When We Understand the
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Texts 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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If our videos or this program has ministered to you, would you consider a donation? All gifts go directly to our church, a non -profit ministry.
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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.