Paul begins his letter with the words, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.” Paul is thankful for the Philippians.
Paul is in prison when he is writing this letter to the Philippians. We would think that Paul would be feeling anxious about his situation. We would even allow him the right to complain about the food, the condition of his cell or a multitude of other items. Instead Paul is thankful.
Paul sees “behind the scenes.” He sees what God is doing through his imprisonment. God is working to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of what God is doing, Paul can be thankful.
Paul recognized that all believers are eternal partners through God’s good work of salvation, driving him to pray for his Philippian partners to grow in agape love, abound in infallible knowledge and insight, discern right choices, live holy and finish excellent.
As believers, God calls us to be eternal partners through God’s good work of salvation, which will drive us to pray and encourage one another to grow in agape love, abound in infallible knowledge and insight, discern right choices, live holy, and finish excellent.
Whenever God gives you a word for the future, He will always give you a road map to the future. We are individually on a journey and God is taking us to a good place. When you are faithful and live a life of devotion to the Lord, He will never take you to a place of shame or failure. He will always take you to a place where you are magnified and you can glorify God. You are the living witness and testimony of who Jesus is and God forms you so that you can be the image of who He is.
It can be said that initially, we are not very good ambassadors of God’s Kingdom. But as we submit patiently to God’s forming process in our lives, we will begin to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ. This takes time and patience. God wants to form our tomorrow so that we can experiences Biblical success that lasts.
I believe that every born-again Spirit-filled child of God should experience success. Perhaps you have failed in the past, but that does not mean that He will not shape your future into something beautiful. At times we run so far ahead of God that we leave God behind and our lives become a mess. But God in His goodness and mercy always brings us a few paces back so that we can follow His process, because He is always busy working in our lives.
The Bible says that God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. Everything starts out with a creative process and it makes us realize that we are only dust, no matter who or what we think we are. We are no more than mere dust.
God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. We are imperfect vessels and have so many weaknesses. But God created each one of us special and unique. He has good plans for our lives. God’s hands were upon us when we were in our mother’s womb and He has never stopped forming us.
We are all different because we have different assignments. Do not try to be someone else because when God’s fingers shaped you in your mother’s womb, He formed you so that you could perform a unique function.
But you need to know that the hands of God are still on your life and He has never stopped forming you.
Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ
Whatever God makes is beautiful and wonderful. God may take a long time but be patient and allow God to take that time in your life because He is perfecting that which concerns Him.
Sometimes we believe that we have to work very hard in order to please God. But God knows that you are never going to come up to His standard. If you will allow God to do a work in your life, you will not have to work so hard trying to please Him.
1. Do not love the world
1 John 2:15-16 - Do not love the world or the things in the world; if anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.
In order to grow into your spiritual destiny, there are things of the world that need to be separated and removed from our lives.
2. Be active in the local church
To be part of the process, you need to submit to a local church.
Local church government is provided by God to ensure the best conditions possible for each individual to fulfill their ministry.
Many Christians do not join a local church because they think the institution is foolish and unnecessary. However, nothing of spiritual value will be added to your life outside of the local church. Submitting to the leadership of a church activates the power of God for our individual destinies and purposes.
God places individuals in local churches so that they can submit to their leaders and learn from them. Spiritual development seldom takes place outside the institution of the church.
To be part of the process, you need to submit to a local church.
Local church government is provided by God to ensure the best conditions possible for each individual to fulfill their ministry.
Many Christians do not join a local church because they think the institution is foolish and unnecessary. However, nothing of spiritual value will be added to your life outside of the local church. Submitting to the leadership of a church activates the power of God for our individual destinies and purposes.
God places individuals in local churches so that they can submit to their leaders and learn from them. Spiritual development seldom takes place outside the institution of the church.
3. Be active with your calling
As you discover your spiritual gift you are going to discover who you are. You have to be active with your calling by exercising your spiritual gift. As you start out by faith, you may not know exactly what God has called you to. However, over a period of time, God will begin to give you more clarity.
Many college students, who start out in their first year of study, seldom know exactly what they want to become. But when you speak to students who have entered into their third or fourth year of study, they know exactly what they want to do with their life. As you allow God to grow you and as you become more and more involved in the things of God, you will discover what it is that you love doing.
