WEEK TWO
Day Two
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Philippians 1:27
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Know: Read Philippians 1:27-30
Note: Read slowly, carefully marking keywords.
Conduct, stand fast, adversaries, suffer, conflict
Observation:
Who is persecuting the Philippians?
By what conduct should the Philippians be known?
What: Have you faced persecution for your faith?
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.” Philippians 1:27-30
Don’t let them intimidate you.
Have you ever been in a situation that made your knees tremble, and your heart beat hard? Your flight instincts kicked in, such as when a bee lands on your face, a stray dog comes bounding up to you, or you’re caught in a storm. As a Christian, have you faced rejection or fear of being disappointed for being bold?
The Philippians were caught between a shifting kingdom- Rome’s and the Kingdom of God; hail Ceasar as lord or Jesus as King alone. Paul was exhorting the church not to let Rome intimidate them. Hold thier nerves as Rome growled at them and threatened them. It was through thier conduct and godly character that the Kingdom of God would be established.
In hindsight, Paul was right. The Kingdom of God is still advancing, while all the powers of the past have faded away.
Paul forewarned that suffering through persecution for the gospel is a guarantee. When the kingdom advances, the enemy will always oppose and retaliate. Persecution has a spiritual aspect. The enemy opposes the kingdom’s advancement, but it takes grit and fortitude to take enemy ground. The enemy is operating illegally, but it takes those who know what God established not to allow the enemy to intimidate them.
The advancement of the Kingdom does not happen through fighting, wars, or anger. It happens through taking authority in the spirit over any force of darkness behind the persecution. It also looks like love, patience, self-control, kindness, joy and longsuffering. Responding in love when someone displays hate is a weapon of warfare. Love transforms where hate crippled. Joy brings victory, whereas grumbling brings despair. Patience brings comfort, whereas impatience brings anxiety.
We should not fear persecution. Persecution is a sign that territory is being taken from the enemy.
I have faced many instances that made my knees tremble in fear. Earlier in my youth, when I did not have as much experience, the fear was crippling. Although I sometimes caved in, I also took some bold steps. God’s boldness, working through me, has given me experience. The experience gave me confidence in God. If God did it for me once, He will do it again.
When my husband and I decided to plant a church, my knees felt like bucking in fear. I did not know if we would make it; did we have what it took? Each week, I learned to lean into the heart of my Heavenly Father, let His courage seep into my heart, and then step into that Sunday with the boldness of God. God always showed up. Seven years later, my worry has been replaced by expectation.
Out of necessity, I stepped into preaching, which brought with it an onslaught of attack simply because of my gender. Before speaking, I first educated myself Biblically, and once I was confident of what God thought about it, I leaned my heart into His and received His courage to withstand the waves of criticism. I learned not to allow anyone to intimidate me when God has called me to do something. By His courage, I am made bold; by His strength, I am made strong. The attacks have since subsided, or perhaps I don’t bother listening anymore. It’s old news.
I have also preached a message of Jesus's “finished work,” which stirred up some religious attacks. Sometimes, Religion is worse than the world’s attack, but I learned that if God is for me, who can be against me? God will always honor the preaching of His Son. When the Son is honored, God is glorified, and heaven responds.
In what area are you facing persecution for your faith?
Or perhaps you have yet to face persecution because of fear. Have you ever tried to pray for the sick but discovered you were uncertain of the outcome, so you hesitated? Perhaps you have been too intimidated to share Jesus with your family and friends, so you stayed silent.
Persecution comes in various forms; don’t let the threat of persecution intimidate you. Being bold and confident in God advances the Kingdom.
What about suffering through sickness?
Incidentally, no “suffering through sickness” is mentioned by any New Testament authors. Some have taught that Paul’s “thorn” was proof that sickness was a part of suffering, that the thorn was an illness Paul endured, but that is unsupported. If we consider where “thorn in the flesh” is mentioned in scripture, perhaps we get a different understanding of using that phrase.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul said: “A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”
Here is where else it is used in scripture:
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” Numbers 33:55
“Know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.” Joshua 23:13
“So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” Judges 2:3
In other places where thorn is mentioned, it is irrelevant because it is meant literally. However, the phrase “thorn in the flesh was commonly understood by scholars of Paul’s day to reference a group of people troubling the Israelites.
Paul’s sufferings were many; however, except for his initial blindness (he received healing soon after he repented), they resulted from boldly preaching the gospel. Paul’s “thorn” were people groups who attempted to prevent him from spreading the gospel. For example, in Acts 16, Paul takes authority over a demon in a servant girl. He learned to take authority over the enemy and cast the devil out of her, but casting the demon out caused him to be imprisoned.
Sickness is never mentioned as something a believer must endure but rather a thing to be expelled.
Doesn’t God bring suffering to teach us? Doesn’t God chasten those He loves?
“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” Hebrews 12:6-11
Faith gives us access to God's grace and promises. When we believe in God, faith is activated, which pleases God because He can now work in and through us.
Under the old covenant of law, righteousness was limited because it was a law of works. Now, our righteousness is through the law of faith. (Romans 3:31)
“And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
God is a rewarder, not a taker. He is not the one who brings trouble.
What about the wilderness?
God had no intention for the people of Isreal to spend forty years in the wilderness. It was thier disobedience that caused them to stay there that long. They would have survived if the trials and tests had been given to make the Israelites stronger. If you remain in a trial long enough, it will kill you.
God gives life, not death.
The people stayed in the wilderness for forty years because of thier disobedience. They did not mix faith with what God told them to do. He said to go and possess the land, but they would not do it.
Hearing the truth is pointless unless it is combined with the faith to put it into action. If we don’t understand that God is a reward, that He is a good God, and that He is on our side, we will never mix faith with God’s word. We will believe that God is ready to stick our noses in a corner and slap us down.
Hebrews 12: 1-2 tells us that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus is the Word. Therefore, the Word is the finisher of our faith. The Word of God is the beginning of faith in the promises of God. If faith comes by hearing by the Word, then when we are facing trials, we feel God is putting that on us, it means there is a lack of the Word concerning that area.
So what is the chastening Paul spoke of?
"If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all" Hebrews 12:8
All children are partakers of discipline (chastening). If sickness and disease were God’s discipline, no sinner would ever be sick; it would be only for sons of God. You would not be chastened if you were not a child of God. We know this is not true; everyone goes through trouble and trials.
If your small child walked up to a hot stove to touch it, you would yell, “Don’t touch that! It will burn!” You are training them with your words. If the child felt it anyway, they brought it upon themselves by disobedience.
You would never take that child’s hand and teach them by putting thier hand on the hot stove. That is abuse. Neither does God take us and put us through trials to teach us. He is a rewarder, not an abuser.
God disciplines us in the spirit; He deals with our spirit.
"Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live.” Hebrews 12:9
The Word (Jesus) makes us clean by the “washing of the water of the Word” (Himself). Unbelievers are not disciplined because they have not received the Word.
We are what we behold. When we behold Jesus, we become like Him. Jesus makes us holy and righteous. When we see His love, goodness, and sacrifice, we become like Him.
What about Job?
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21
Job is the most ancient book in the Bible. The events of Job took place before the Exodus before the law of Moses was given. Job most likely lived before Abraham. Because the law had not been given to Israel, Job’s knowledge of God was elementary and similar to those of the days before the law gave knowledge of God.
Job also had no knowledge of the devil or his schemes.
The beginning of Job opens with a conversation between Satan and God, which should be the first clue that this book should not be interpreted in a way that applies literally to us today. Satan had access to God before the cross; he no longer has a right because he has been defeated and stripped of power. Satan does not have permission to strike our lives with trials any longer.
Satan is a schemer. On account of Adam, “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one”. Therefore, he was the cause of Job’s trials, not God.
God did not hand Job over to Satan. He saved Job’s life. When He responded to Satan’s wish to afflict Job, God did not give the devil permission. Rather, He acknowledged that Satan had the power to do so. Remember, Satan had not been defeated at the time of this story.
God becomes One who“gives and takes away” when Job is read through the lens of Job. God is a giver of sickness and trials. God must be feared and when trials come, you’d better respond with thankfulness because God is also one to be greatly feared.
If you read Job through the lens of Grace, you will understand Job as an example of one who does not know the authority they have been given in Christ. Everything that was taken from Job was Satan’s doing.
If you read Job to be like Job, remember that Job’s afflictions ended nine months after God revealed himself to Job. So, be like Job if you must. Expect your trials to end soon after you discover God’s goodness.
God corrected Job’s theology at the end of the story. It was not God who said that He gives and takes away. Job said it. God is a God who gives and gives and gives.
God gives life, healing, provision… abundant life!
Satan is the one who takes away.
Job is not our example. Job is not a type of Jesus.
Jesus is our example. Jesus lived from his Spirit.