Lessons for Living (Audio)

Sometimes it’s easy to trick yourself into thinking you have a good relationship with God when in actuality you’re far away. Many times we believe that activities are an adequate substitution for relationship. Jesus warned in Matthew that many will tell Him all of the things they did on His behalf. Pastor Mark, referencing this passage, reminds us that Jesus is looking for a relationship with us. Nothing less will be good enough. While working in and for the church is good, these activities must flow out of a solid association with Jesus. He’s not our buddy; He is our Lord and Savior.

Sometimes we see pictures or videos that show men or women bowing to an idol or in reverence to the god they serve. Knowing that they’re serving false gods, we often feel a sense of pity for them. Maybe we say a prayer, asking God to open their eyes. What we miss, though, is the reverence they show to their god. Pastor Mark, teaching from Philippians, reminds us that at the end of the age every knee will bow to Jesus. Because we have a unique relationship with our God it’s easy to lose sight of His majesty. One day, though, we’ll understand better Who we serve, and we will bow before Him.

Whatever difficulties we may experience, it always seems to be easier to bear when we have a friend who has gone through the same trouble before us. Knowing that a friend has survived gives us hope that we can survive as well. In Pastor Mark’s teaching, he reminds us that because Jesus lived as a human man he experienced the same temptations all men do. Having Jesus stand in as our sinless proxy allowed the requirement God demanded of mankind – perfection – to be satisfied. His death on the cross, paying the penalty for sin, freed all of us to enter God’s family.

How many of us make promises on New Years’ Day? How many of us have failed by Groundhog Day? Don’t raise your hands. Humankind seems to have the tendency to make promises we can’t keep hard-wired into our DNA. Pastor Mark, in teaching from the book of Philippians, reminds us that we need to become like Jesus in every way. Not just in what we’d call “piety” – the churchy stuff – but in every area of our lives. We’re supposed to do what we can to further the kingdom of God, which includes helping one another. We need to move from empty promises to action.

The idea of having unlimited power and then willingly putting it aside to save a people who aren’t really interested in you seems like madness. What most people – Christians and non-Christians alike – fail to grasp is the depth of love Jesus had (and has) for the people He created. That love compelled Jesus to come to earth and do what He did. Pastor Mark is using the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippian church to teach about service and sacrifice, and the Christians’ mandate to be like Jesus in every way possible. We need to learn to love and serve like Jesus.

The idea of having unlimited power and then willingly putting it aside to save a people who aren’t really interested in you seems like madness. What most people – Christians and non-Christians alike – fail to grasp is the depth of love Jesus had (and has) for the people He created. That love compelled Jesus to come to earth and do what He did. Pastor Mark is using the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippian church to teach about service and sacrifice, and the Christians’ mandate to be like Jesus in every way possible. We need to learn to love and serve like Jesus.

The philosophy underpinning Christianity is the inverse of the philosophy of the world system. The world says that if you want to advance you have to walk on people; Christianity says to advance we need to serve people. Jesus, Who created the universe, came as a human baby and grew up serving others rather than coming to rule this world. Pastor Mark is teaching the importance for the Christ follower to actually follow Christs’ example. We must allow the Holy Spirit to change our hearts so that we are following Jesus’ thinking, not the thinking we grew up with prior to our salvation.

The philosophy underpinning Christianity is the inverse of the philosophy of the world system. The world says that if you want to advance you have to walk on people; Christianity says to advance we need to serve people. Jesus, Who created the universe, came as a human baby and grew up serving others rather than coming to rule this world. Pastor Mark is teaching the importance for the Christ follower to actually follow Christs’ example. We must allow the Holy Spirit to change our hearts so that we are following Jesus’ thinking, not the thinking we grew up with prior to our salvation.

The philosophy of Christianity is the complete inverse of the world’s philosophy. The world’s method of getting ahead is to walk on other people. Many of us have experienced that. Jesus says that to get ahead, serve other people first. As believers in Christ the challenge is to live in this world while doing life God’s way and trusting Him for the result. Pastor Mark is teaching from Philippians and using the words of the Apostle Paul to remind us that our main purpose is to make God look good. As we do that, He will cause all of the other things in life to fall into their proper place.

The philosophy of Christianity is the complete inverse of the world’s philosophy. The world’s method of getting ahead is to walk on other people. Many of us have experienced that. Jesus says that to get ahead, serve other people first. As believers in Christ the challenge is to live in this world while doing life God’s way and trusting Him for the result. Pastor Mark is teaching from Philippians and using the words of the Apostle Paul to remind us that our main purpose is to make God look good. As we do that, He will cause all of the other things in life to fall into their proper place.