Philippians 1: What are the Keys to Joy with the People in Your Life?

Class Outline:

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Paul Didn’t Change Prison Guards, He Changed His Perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

An Online Christian Church Teaching the Word of God

RORY CLARK

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries, an online Christian Church teaching the Word of God verse-by-verse to the hearers the Lord provides.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  No matter where you are in the world, thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What are the Keys to Joy with the People in Your Life?
 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

We all have people in our lives.  Some of these people bring us JOY, but more of them make us miserable.  Who are the important people in your life?  Which of these people make you miserable?  Which of these people bring you JOY?  What are the keys to having joyful relationships with people?

 

As Paul reflects from a prison cell in Rome, he is thinking about some of the people who bring him JOY, especially his friends in the Christian Church he planted in Philippi.  As we begin to study Paul’s letter to the Philippians verse-by-verse, he shares a few of the keys to JOY in people relationships.  We can all use his insights.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!  People…you can’t live with ‘em and you can’t live without ‘em!  When the Lord hung from the Cross, one of the things He said in Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 34 is…

 

LUKE 23:34

“Father, forgive them…for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

The Lord Jesus Christ was talking about people.

In today’s lesson as the apostle Paul gives us keys to master the art of relationships with people, Jonathan McReynolds begs the Lord to deliver him from PEOPLE!  Let’s hear him sing about the challenges in our people relationships.

 

MUSIC - OPENING SONG

Let’s Hear the Singing of the Lord’s Praises

 

PEOPLE

Jonathan McReynolds

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful to You Heavenly Father for providing us with the absolute truth of the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for the people you bring into our lives who make us miserable because you are teaching us how to handle tribulation…thanks also for those people you bring into our lives that give us JOY because you are teaching us the value of fellowship…

 

…in today’s lesson, Father, help us to understand that we control our own mental serenity when we deal with people, and help us to learn from Paul’s ability to feel joyful about people in the midst of his adverse circumstances…

 

…we ask these things through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What are the Keys to Joy with the People in Your Life?
 

LESSON PART ONE

 

This world would be great if it weren’t for people!  How many times have you said that?  How many times have you felt it?  A lot!  And if you’re being honest with yourself, you’re doing what most of us do when we’re immature.  You’re focusing exclusively on the people that make you miserable and ignoring the people who bring you JOY.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a letter about JOY, and it begins with Paul’s JOY with the people in his life.

 

In the last lesson, I asked you to sit and to write down on paper the things that brought you joy in 2025.  If you heard the request, did you do it?  I’ll bet you didn’t!  Why?  Because ALL OF US spend overtime obsessing about the people and the things that make us miserable.

 

It’s time to change that habit, and the apostle Paul has a set of amazing recommendations for how to handle the people in our lives.  In fact, he recommends ways to have control of our mental serenity when dealing with people.

 

You’ve probably heard the serenity prayer…

 

THE SERENITY PRAYER

 

God…grant me the serenity

To accept things I cannot change

The courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference

 

If we’re being honest, we’re expecting the people who make us miserable to change…to act the way we want them to act…to treat us the way we want them to treat us…and we reason that when they do, we’ll be serene…we’ll be happy… we’ll be whole.  Unfortunately, the people who make us miserable don’t know what we want them to change, and if they did, they would have no interest in it.

 

There’s the rub!  We place our JOY in their hands, and they have no interest in making us joyful.  The apostle Paul thinks we can have JOY regardless of circumstances, especially when we deal with people.  Of course, Paul gets this instruction from the Lord, and we’d do well to take Paul’s advice.

 

In the first passage of Paul’s letter to the Philippians he gives us three keys to joyful relationship with people.  Let’s hear the passage and then let’s learn the keys.

Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 11…

 

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:1

Paul and Timothy…bond-servants of Christ Jesus…to all the saints in union with Christ who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:2

…grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:3

I (Paul) thank my God and Father in all my remembrances of all of you…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:4

…always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for all of you…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:5

…in view of your partnership in the dissemination of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the first day until now.

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:6

For I (Paul) am confident of this very thing…that God the Father…who began a good work in all of you…will keep on perfecting it until the day of Christ Jesus (when He brings it to completion).

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:7

For it is only right for me to feel this way about all of you, because I have all of you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, all of you are partakers of grace with me.

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:8

For God the Father is my witness as to how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:9

And this I (Paul) pray, that your unconditional love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and in all discernment…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:10

…so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:11

…having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ…to the glory and praise of God the Father.

 

Let’s inspect the structure of this wonderful passage.

 

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE

 

Verses 1 and 2

Paul’s Introduction to the Letter

 

Verses 3 to 6

Paul Indicates He has People in His Mind

 

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE

 

Verses 7 and 8

Paul Indicates He has People in His Heart

 

Verses 9 to 11

Paul Indicates He has People in His Prayers

 

Would you like to know how to have JOY in people relationships?  Would you like to take complete control of your people relationships?  It all begins in the mind, moves to the heart, and ends in prayer.  All three of these keys…what you feed your mind (mindset)…what you hold in your heart (feelings)…and what you say to God in prayer (divine power in human circumstances) are all within your control.

 

As we learned in the introduction to this letter, Paul is near the end of his sixty-three years on earth.  He had been through tribulation after tribulation in service to the Lord.  In Second Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 23 to 27 Paul talks about some of his life challenges…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:23b

…I have had far more labors…far more imprisonments…I’ve been beaten times without number, and I’ve often been in danger of death.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:24

Five times I received thirty-nine lashes from the Jews.

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:25

Three times I was beaten with rods…once I was stoned…three times I was shipwrecked…I spent a day and a night in the depth of the ocean.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:26

I have been on frequent journeys…in danger from rivers, from robbers, from my countrymen, and from the Gentiles…dangers in the city, in the wilderness, on the sea, and among false brethren.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 11:27

I have been in labor and in hardship…through many sleepless nights…hungry and thirsty…often without food and exposed to cold.

 

Paul is not explicit in this passage, but if you review it carefully, many of Paul’s tribulations were at the hands of people.  So are yours!  How many times have you been betrayed or hurt by those closest to you?  How much of your misery comes from hoping one day the people you love and care about most will reform?  Sorry to tell you this…they won’t.  But you can!

 

As Paul sits in a prison in Rome awaiting his trial with the Roman Emperor Nero, a terrible circumstance, he has a lot of time to reflect on his relationships with the people in the church at Philippi, and this passage communicates the things he is thinking.  In spite of his circumstances, Paul has JOY…in his mind…in his heart…and in his prayers.

 

In Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 1 and 2, Paul introduces the letter…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:1

Paul and Timothy…bond-servants of Christ Jesus…to all the saints in union with Christ who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:2

…grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The interesting thing about this introduction is that Paul calls himself a bond-servant of Jesus Christ.  A bond-servant is a slave…someone who is in twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week service to a Master.  Paul’s Master is the Lord Jesus Christ.  What makes this introduction interesting is Paul’s focus on whom he serves.

In other Pauline letters of the New Testament, Paul begins with an assertion of his authority.  Check Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 1…

 

ROMANS 1:1

This letter is written by me, Paul, a bond-servant and voluntary slave of Christ Jesus, by calling an apostle, and set apart by God the Father for the dissemination of the gospel message of God the Father, as a minister…

 

Paul is saying to the Romans, “Listen up!  God sent me to minister to you!”

 

Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verse 1…

 

EPHESIANS 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…

 

Paul is saying, “I’m not doing this of my own accord…the will of God (not the will of Paul) is being done in the writing of this letter.”

 

Galatians, Chapter 1, Verse 1…

 

GALATIANS 1:1

Paul, an apostle (neither sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and through God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead)…

 

Paul is saying. “I am an emissary of the Sovereign God of the Universe, coming to you for your benefit!”

 

But in the letter to the Philippians, Paul is talking as if he is talking to friends.  One of the people he has in mind as he writes is Lydia.

Lydia was from Thyatira.  She met Paul when he was in Philippi and she opened her home to establish the church at Philippi, and she opened her heart to the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

 

The church grew because of her initiative, her courage, her ministry, and her finances.  She was wealthy.  She owned a business that sold textiles to wealthy people.  Purple is the color of royalty, and Lydia used the blood of worms (sipunculid?) to create a purple dye that allowed her to make purple clothing, the robes of kings and other wealthy people.

Lydia redirected a portion of her wealth to Paul and his ministry, and was one of the only people (if not the only person) to support Paul financially.

 

In the next three section of the passage, Paul gives the keys to great relationships with people…the mind…the heart…and prayer.  Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 3 to 6…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:3

I (Paul) thank my God and Father in all my remembrances (in my mind) of all of you (in the Philippian church)…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:4

…always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for all of you…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:5

…in view of your partnership in the dissemination of the gospel of Jesus Christ (throughout Europe) from the first day until now.

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:6

For I (Paul) am confident of this very thing…that God the Father…who began a good work in all of you…will keep on perfecting it until the day of Christ Jesus (when He brings it to completion).

 

Paul has his friends in the Philippian church in his MIND.  The key to JOY in people relationships is SINGLEMINDEDNESS…a mindset focused on Christ and His Word.  Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 2…

 

HEBREWS 12:2b

…let us fix our eyes on Jesus (not on the world)…Jesus…who is the pioneer and perfecter of faith…

 

What is Paul’s singlemindedness?  He would say…

 

PAUL’S SINGLEMINDEDNESS

 

“It makes no difference what happens to me as long as Christ is glorified and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is shared with others.”

 

This takes care of an overconcern about people who make us miserable.

What Paul had with the believers in Philippi is fellowship.  It’s a term that is thrown around loosely in Christian circles.  What is fellowship?  It’s much more than having a coffee with someone at Starbucks.  Fellowship means…

 

FELLOWSHIP

 

Having things in common

 

What does the Lord want believers in Christ to have in common?  Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation…the possession of eternal life…the daily study of the Word of God…sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others…the fellowship of the Spirit, as in Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 9…

 

ROMANS 8:9a

…you believers in Christ are not in the flesh but you are IN THE SPIRIT if (1) indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you…and of course it does…

 

Fellowship with His suffering…in Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 10 Paul says…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:10

…may I (Paul) know the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…

 

The Fellowship of giving…Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 15…

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:15

You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia (in Europe), no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone…

 

A compliment to Lydia!

 

And fellowship IN UNION WITH CHRIST…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 7…

 

EPHESIANS 2:7

…so that in the ages to come God the Father might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward those of us in union with Christ Jesus.

 

As Christians, our singlemindedness is remembering of our fellowship with God.

We remember the work God does FOR us—SALVATION…we remember the work God does IN us—SANCTIFICATION…and we remember the work God does through us—SERVICE.

 

So one key to relationships is what we hold in the mind.  When we think of the Lord first instead of thinking of people first, we have mental serenity.  When we return from the break, we’ll request an offering and then we’ll hear about the other two keys to JOY in people relationships.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What are the Keys to Joy with the People in Your Life?
 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

Did Jesus ever think about money?  Rarely!  What the Lord did think about was giving.  As you think about giving, both today and every day, let your attitude reflect the Lord’s giving attitude as communicated in Acts, Chapter 20, Verse 35…

 

ACTS 20:35b

“…remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Since you benefit from the Lord’s thoughts in these Bible lessons, it just makes

sense to contribute to the workers who communicate His thoughts to you.  Give generously just as the Lord gives and watch what the Lord credits back to your account.

 

By the way, it’s okay to give knowing the Lord is going to return what you give in abundance.  In every great relationship, when we give, we love it when our generosity is returned.  In our relationship with the Lord, your generosity is rewarded in ways you could have never anticipated.  So feel free when you give!

 

Let’s listen to Deacon Denny Goodall present one of his always inspiring offering messages.

 

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:6

Stop worrying about anything…but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God the Father...

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

What are the Keys to Joy with the People in Your Life?
 

LESSON PART TWO

 

Welcome back!

 

Another key to relationships with people is what you hold in your heart for them…feelings.  Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 7 and 8 Paul says…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:7

For it is only right for me to feel this way about all of you Philippian believers, because I have all of you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, all of you are partakers of grace with me.

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:8

For God the Father is my witness as to how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

 

Isn’t it interesting what we feel for people who make us miserable?  For them, we don’t just have them in our hearts…we have them on our nerves!  Unfortunately, feelings can hurt.

 

What do you feel for those who bring you JOY?  Your feelings are reflected by actions not words.  John, Chapter 15, Verse 13…

 

JOHN 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

 

Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

ROMANS 5:8

But God the Father DEMONSTRATES His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners (while we were unbelieving… unrighteous…ungodly sinners), the Lord Jesus Christ died as a substitute for us.

 

The evidence of JOY in the heart is in actions, not words.  The actions?  Unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace.  These things are easy to extend to those who bring us joy.  May it be just as easy to extend these to those who make us miserable.  There are the things that renovate our feelings.  In First John, Chapter 3, Verse 18 the apostle John says…

 

FIRST JOHN 3:18

Little children (believers in Christ) … let us not love unconditionally with word or with tongue (loving only on the surface) … but let us love unconditionally in deeds and in truth.

 

We love others with our minds.  We love others in our hearts.  Are you adept at treating everyone the same, loving them in your mind sand in your hearts?

The final key to people relationships is prayer.  Prayer is POWER!  In Philippians, Chapter 1, Verses 9 to 11 Paul says…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:9

And this I (Paul) pray…that your unconditional love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and in all discernment…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:10

…so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus…

 

PHILIPPIANS 1:11

…having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ…to the glory and praise of God the Father.

 

The most powerful route to JOY in relationships is prayer.  How is your prayer life?

 

We remember those who bring us JOY as we boldly go before the throne of grace in prayer.  It’s the most powerful thing you can do for another person.   Do you have a prayer list?  If not, make one.  If so, make sure all the people who bring you JOY are on your prayer list, and be sure to speak for them constantly at the throne of grace.

 

This prayer from Paul is a prayer for maturity in us.  Paul is asking the Philippian believers to have abounding love…a love that overflows.  Of course. we know that an overflow of unconditional love comes from God, not us.  Psalm 23, Verse 5…

 

PSALM 23:5b

Lord…You have anointed my head with oil…You make my cup overflow...

 

Paul is asking the Philippian believers to have discerning love…a love mixed with wisdom.  Love is hard as you get older because you notice things about people.  You see immaturity in them.

 

A big part of maturity is separating the wheat from the chaff in people relationships…separating those who make us miserable from those who bring us JOY.  When we were younger, we wanted everyone to like us.  As we got older, we realized it’s not possible.  So we don’t fight for relationships that hurt us.

 

Paul is asking the Philippian believers to have character…a sincere love…a love “tested by sunlight” … that’s sincerity.  When we have character, we produce fruit.  Yes…of course…the fruit of the Spirit…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 22 and 23…

 

GALATIANS 5:22

But the FRUIT OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT is unconditional love, joy, and peace (in yourselves)…patience, kindness, and goodness (toward others)…

 

GALATIANS 5:23

…faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (in your relationship with God)… against such virtues there is no law.

 

But also, the fruit of righteousness mentioned in the final section of this first

passage.  It involves winning souls for Christ…holiness in lifestyle…and helpful, not hateful speech.  The fruit of righteousness is not religious activity…it is not doing things for Christ in our own strength.  Instead, it is being used by Christ for divine good deeds.  Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 10…

 

EPHESIANS 2:10

For we believers in Christ are God the Father’s workmanship…created to be in union with Christ Jesus for divine good works…which good works God the Father prepared for us beforehand (in eternity past) so that we would walk in them.

 

God wants us to construct a lifestyle which allows Him to use us for good.

 

Our prayers, as believers in Christ, bring abounding power into human circumstances…they involve discernment…unconditional love mixed with wisdom…and our prayers demonstrate character.  When we pray, we are allowing God to use us for the benefit of people.

 

So the keys to JOY in our relationships with people involve the mind, and the heart, and prayer.  We don’t require anything from others.  If you think about it, we have no right to expect anything from others.  Those who make us miserable would make that clear if you asked.  The people who bring us Joy are only too happy to do the things we’d expect.

 

 

People don’t rob us of JOY.  We rob ourselves of JOY in the way we handle people.

 

The apostle Paul, in the worst of personal circumstances, at a time when he has every right to be overfocused on self, isn’t.  His thoughts, his feelings, and his prayers as he reflect from a prison cell, are directed to those who bring him JOY.

 

I hope you will make the shift in your life to focus on the people and the things that bring you JOY and that you will fix your eyes on Jesus in singleminded worship instead of worrying about controlling the people who make you miserable…an impossible task.

 

May your JOY be made complete by the God who always has you in His mind, in His heart, and in His prayers.

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

The next ten minutes could be the ten most important minutes of your life.  You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  We want you to know that…

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ created you!  He loves you unconditionally.  He forgives you for every sin you’ll ever commit.  He offers you His grace when you make mistakes.  He has always had you in His mind for all eternity.  He knows your name.  The Lord wants the best for you.  Have you ever had a human being love you this way?

 

Well, if you don't yet have a relationship with the Lord and Jesus Christ, He

considers you to be a SPIRITUALLY DEAD sinner who needs a Savior.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10 says…

 

ROMANS 3:10

…it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous…not even one…”

 

Your condition at physical birth IS NOT YOUR FAULT, but it is your circumstance.

 

Spiritual death, caused by sin, is a barrier between us and God.  Spiritual death is the first death.  Eternity in the Lake of Fire is the second death, and it’s your eternal fate if you close your eyes in this life as an unbeliever.  You do not want the second death!  Revelation, Chapter 20, Verse 14…

 

REVELATION 20:14

Then death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death, the Lake of Fire.

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22

…all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…but all who are in union with Christ will be made spiritually alive by God.

 

God wants you to have a spiritual life.  The Lord provides you with the Bible to illuminate the SPIRITUAL LIFE, which is your path to heaven.  John, Chapter 20, Verse 31 says…

 

JOHN 20:31

…these things written in the Bible have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…(He is the Messiah…the Son of God…the Lord…who took on human form) … and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life (eternal life) in His name.

 

The Bible contains the Lord’s exact thinking.  It is your “owner’s manual”

for life.  The good news is the Lord Jesus Christ did something about your sin

problem.  He has a plan for your salvation because He doesn’t want anyone to go to the Lake of Fire…Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 says…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of... instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

By your own choice, you can be SPIRITUALLY ALIVE, making you special in God’s sight…Psalm 116, Verse 15 says…

 

PSALM 116:15

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones (His saints… His spiritually alive believers in Christ).

 

The fact that GOD WANTS YOU and has made a way for you to be SPIRITUALLY ALIVE is a great thing to know, especially as you get older, because everyone dies.  What’s going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life?  Will you go to heaven or will you go to hell?

 

It’s your choice.  How can you get to heaven?  RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

The ONE WAY…the ONLY WAY to get to heaven is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ…John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation)… and I am the truth (through the gospel message in the Word of God)…and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ

in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to all of you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

Believing in Jesus Christ is acknowledging that you can’t do a thing to get to heaven on your own.  You confirm that being “a good person” does not get you to heaven.  It’s wiser to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind!  In John, Chapter 10, Verses 28 and 29, the Lord says…

 

JOHN 10:28

“…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

 

JOHN 10:29

“And My Father, who has given believers in Christ to me, is greater than all…and no one can snatch believers in Christ out of my Father’s hand either.”

 

You can’t lose your salvation.  If ANYONE says you can lose your salvation, they are lying to you.

 

God has an enemy, Satan, the ruler of this world.  He creates counterfeit lifestyles to blind your mind.  His strategy against the human race is RELIGION, and the religions of the world mislead you into thinking you're saved when you may not be.  Satan wants you to believe you can work your way to heaven, earning your own salvation.  He wants you to remain spiritually dead.

 

What happens if you reject a relationship with Christ?  In Matthew, Chapter 25, Verse 30, the Lord shares the consequences…

 

MATTHEW 25:30

“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness (the Lake of Fire)…and in

that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

So, heed the warning and accept the Lord’s invitation in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son of God has the resurrection life right at that moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

You can join a host of your believer friends in heaven when you close your eyes in this life!  Reject SPIRITUAL DEATH.  Choose SPIRITUAL LIFE right now!  Just tell the Lord you BELIEVE in His ability to save you and SPIRITUAL LIFE is yours for all eternity.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  The great things about Christians that unbelievers don’t understand about us is that we know how deep our weaknesses go.  That’s why we knew we needed a Savior.

 

The power of Christians is our ability to stand up and to proclaim our weakness and the power that relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ has brough tour imperfection.  Here’s Danny Gokey singing about us.  He calls us JESUS PEOPLE!

 

MUSIC - CLOSING SONG

Let’s Hear the Singing of the Lord’s Praises

 

JESUS PEOPLE

Danny Gokey

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

Thank you for beginning to shift our focus from misery to JOY…thank you for giving Paul the instructions in his letter to the Philippians that provide us with the keys to having JOY in people relationships…by engaging our minds and our hearts and by using prayer…

 

…as we go into the business of our upcoming week, help us to see people differently…help us to take back control of our mental serenity…help us to love others as You love them…unconditionally…help us to forgive them as you forgive them…completely…and when they make inevitable mistakes, especially the ones that hurt us…let us offer them grace just as You would…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS OR WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

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pastor@barahministries.com

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

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