Philippians 1

"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;"  Phil. 1:6

Sometimes you may feel that the circumstances of this life are too much for you, and you're not sure how much longer you can hang on.  Just remember, the most important thing that you can do is hang on...to HIM!  And where is He?  He is doing that good work IN you!  Stop looking for the outward circumstances to change, and realize that those outward circumstances will change as you change on the inside!

This passage does not say that God has begun a good work in the situations concerning you, but rather IN YOU.  Just changing the circumstances will not benefit you, (although we so often long for that to be the case!) because your enemy is going to be sure that you get hammered with problems, awaiting the day when you finally give in and give up.  But when you are strengthened on the inside, that's when your victory is assured because the victory is IN you, going wherever you go, doing whatever you do, regardless of what else may occur around you.

So take heart!  You have the Power of the Word Of God in your mouth, the authority of the Name Of Jesus, The cleansing power of the Blood Of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as your best friend, teacher, guide, and comforter.  It's all good!  Remember...the victory is always IN YOU!

Comments

[Cindy Belavilas]

Thanks Pastor Steve for that word .. I really need this right now .. I will be sure to read further and pray . Love you, you are such a Huge Blessing to our lives . We are going thru a trieng time right now .. But we will be Victorious !

[vanessa thompson]

I have a big dry-erase board mounted beside my side of the bed. I asked Brian to put it there about a week after returning from the hospital after Keely's diagnosis. My intentions for this board was to write down scripture, notes from church services that I needed, inspirational words spoken to me through godly sources, etc.

The very first piece of scripture I wrote on that board was Eph.6:13-15 - ".... having done ALL... STAND!". This scripture has carried me for many days!! I read so many pieces of God's Word on healing & I stood on them... & am still standing right now. I won't EVER stop standing. I love this scripture. It is deeply rooted in my heart & has become somewhat of a mantra for me.

I have since erased it & put up other scripture & godly words of encouragement, but just a few days ago, while following the reading plan, I came across it again... this time reading it from verse 13-18. So now I have it written on my board again, but this time the Holy Spirit gave me the understanding of more of that scripture in dealing with wearing the FULL armor of God & what that means. So now this one scripture fills the entire board! I love it! Thanks for sharing.

[Terah Clark]

Hey Dad,

I think we all need to here that message right now. You are such an inspiration to so many people!! Thanks for that "on time" word.(:

PS. You rocked on Sunday's message. You had me laughing so much that I forgot to be uncomfortable. (: Great information!

[Cindy Rice]

Pastor Steve, in our reading today Paul talks about how the dead in Christ will rise and meet Jesus together with us, and II Cor 5:8 says when we're absent from the body we're present with the Lord. I'm confused about what really happens when we who know the Lord die, and it's really important to me to know what the Bible says about this because of some family situations. If you could write about that sometime, it would really help me and maybe some other folks are wondering too? Oh, and happy belated birthday! We love you!

P. Steve says:
Thanks for the question Cindy!
When the Bible talks about "the dead in Christ" rising first, the bodies of those who have died will rise along with us in the rapture of the Church, but their spirits are not in their bodies like ours are, their spirits left their bodies and went to be with the Lord when they expired. So you could say that their spirits are "re-united" with their bodies at the rapture, then changed in the same manner that we are.

The Scripture that tells us this is 1 Thess. 4:13-14: "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as those who have no hope. for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus."

And all in the twinkling of an eye!

Of course, the next question is, "What about those who have no bodies on this earth? Whose bodies and bones have been burned up, decayed, or destroyed?" I don't know the answer to that. Since all of the molecules that made up their bodies are still here in some form, God can reconstruct them if He wants to. I'm not saying that He will do it that way, but I'm sure God has a plan!