STUDIES FROM THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS
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OUTLINE
1.CALLING
2.CAUTION
3.CONDESCENSION
4.CHEERFULNESS
5.CONTENTMENT
6.CONFIDENCE
7.CONTRIBUTION
THE MESSAGE
1.CALLING
Philippians 1 : 6, 9-11, 21 Philippians 3 : 7- 14
We have a high calling of God in Christ Jesus and we must strive to fulfill that call in our life. The Lord who has begun a good work in us will fulfill it until the day of Christ. Christ must be the very purpose of our life. We must keep growing in our love and knowledge and understanding. We must discern the things that are excellent and be sincere and blameless until Christ returns and be filled with the fruits of righteousness so that God will be glorified in our lives. We must long to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable to His death. We must be willing to sacrifice anything for the glorious privilege of knowing Christ . We must forget the past and press forward to fulfill the high calling of God in our lives.
2.CAUTION
Philippians 1 : 14- 18 , 28- 30 Philippians 3 : 2 , 17-19
We must be careful and cautious about dangerous people who claim to be serving God but in reality are evil workers . They have selfish and evil motives in everything they do . Even their preaching is motivated by jealousy and strife . They are enemies of the cross who are earthly minded always striving selfishly for earthly gain. We must be careful not to follow their bad example . We need not fear our enemies knowing that it will end in their destruction. We have security in the Lord and we should be prepared to suffer for Christ as well .
3.CONDESCENSION
Philippians 2 : 1-11
We must humble ourselves just as the Lord Jesus humbled himself , laying aside His heavenly glory. He took the form of a servant even though He was equal with God and humbled Himself even to the extent of dying on the cross. We must have the same attitude that Jesus had. When Jesus humbled himself , God exalted him above everyone else so that everyone would bow before the name of Jesus. We must not be selfish and try to gain vain glory for ourselves. We must humble ourselves and receive God’s honour and promotion in our lives.
4.CHEERFULNESS
Philippians 4 : 4 - 8
We must rejoice in the Lord always and be full of cheerfulness. We must not be depressed by gloomy circumstances being filled with worry and anxiety. Rather we must place all our burdens on the Lord through prayer and thanksgiving . Then we would enjoy the divine peace of the Lord in our hearts and minds. We must think thoughts that are pure, lovely , admirable, excellent and praiseworthy . We must maintain an attitude of joy and cheerfulness in every situation trusting in the goodness and faithfulness of God.
5.CONTENTMENT
Philippians 4 : 10 – 12
We must learn to be contented in every situation in our life . We must learn to live in contentment whether we experience lack or abundance . We must be able to face hunger as well as abundance of food. We must have a heart of contentment in every situation whether high or low. We must not be affected by changing standards of living but must be contented in every state that the Lord allows us to live.
6.CONFIDENCE
Philippians 4 : 13
We must have the confidence that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We must face every situation and every challenge with the courage and confidence that Christ gives to us. We need not be afraid to take up new responsibilities thinking about our limitations . We must rely on the strength that Christ gives to us and face every task with boldness. The Lord will give us the necessary strength and grace and wisdom to accomplish what we have to do .
7.CONTRIBUTION
Philippians 4 : 15 – 19
We must be generous in contributing to the Kingdom of God. There are great blessings when we give generously to God . We receive a great reward from Him . Our sacrificial contributions are credited to our heavenly account and we would receive an abundant reward in eternity. Our giving is a sweet smelling sacrifice to God which is pleasing and acceptable to Him. The Lord will be faithful to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. We would receive out of His abundant heavenly riches everything that we need in our lives.
