Prayers of Paul 02

Philemon 1:4-6
4I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:1
1Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

Paul prays! He prays for believers in churches he planted like the Philippians as we saw last week; he prays for individual believers like Philemon; he prays for unsaved people groups like the Jews. As we continue looking at the prayers of Paul, I want to focus on his prayers for Philemon and his prayer for the Jews. Both of these prayers are expressions of Paul’s heart for evangelism.

Although Paul was known as an apostle to the Gentiles, he never lost his passion to see his own people, the Jews, come to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. He longed to see them freed from the burden of legalism and released from the trap of self-righteousness.

Paul also prays that Philemon will be effective in sharing his faith with others. According to Paul, the key to releasing Philemon’s evangelism potential is “the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in [him] in Christ Jesus.” In other words, when Philemon really understands all that he has as a result of following Christ, he will not be able to stop himself from sharing his faith. And he will be more effective in sharing because he will be able to testify first-hand about God’s goodness.

This week, let’s pray that love for the lost and our love for God would motivate us to share our faith effectively. Think of all we have in Christ and how many others need what we have. If God has put a burden on your heart for a particular people group, pray for them. It might be a particular community, city, tribe, or nation. As you pray, open your heart and mind to the possibility that God may have laid this group on your heart for another reason. Consider the possibility that He not only wants you to pray for them, but He has also chosen you to go and be His ambassador to them.

Prayers of Paul 01

Philippians 1:9-11
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (NIV)

Paul prays for the Philippian church “so that [they] may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Sounds good! I don’t think there are any of us that wouldn’t value that result. We expend lots of mental and emotional energy trying to decide what is best and trying to do the right thing.

But for what does Paul ask the Father that will produce these results in the lives of the Philippians? He prays that their love will overflow!

This suggests that maybe our approach may need some adjustment. Usually, if I’m honest, my motivation is to do the ‘right’ thing. But why am I so driven to do the ‘right’ thing? The answer, again if I’m honest, is one of two reasons…

1. I want to be seen to be doing the right thing by other people who will then be impressed with the fact that I’ve done the right thing. This selfishness and pride is fairly obvious and straightforward to repent of.

2. I want to be seen to be doing the right thing by God because I believe that God expects me to do the right thing. This sounds good at first, but beneath the surface lies the trap of trying to earn God’s favour through good (right) works.

Yes, God does want us to do the right thing, but for the right reason. And that reason is what Paul prays that the Philippian believers will have in abundance: Love. When their love abounds “more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,” then they will know what is the right thing to do, and they will do it motivated by love alone.

It begins and ends with love, not my feeble attempts to be good.

Spiritually Minded 09

We’ve seen that becoming spiritually-minded won’t happen automatically. It will require some effort on our part. Two things we need to do is first to keep a close watch on our minds, and second to include fasting and prayer as a discipline in our spiritual walk. This week, we will look at a third way that God has given us to ensure that His Spirit and our spirit are in control of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, motivations & imagination.

BEING SPIRITUALLY-MINDED

A third thing we can do to remain spiritually-minded is to renew our minds by immersing ourselves in God’s Word. Romans 12:1-2 says, “1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” And Psalm 1 describes the blessings that result from meditating on God’s word day and night.

As we study the Bible, we must put ourselves ‘under’ God’s word. We must never presume to be ‘above’ God’s word. For a Christian the Bible is the highest authority. No one should ever pick and choose what he likes and dislikes in God’s word. I’ve even heard of one man who blots out in his Bible whatever he doesn’t like!

God’s word doesn’t change, but it has the power to change us if we allow it to have its rightful place in our lives. It helps us identify and repent of sin; understand and claim God’s promises to us; recognise and obey God’s commands; and discover and learn from the examples of people in the Bible.

We’ve already learned from the negative examples of a few carnally-minded people in the Bible, but there are many positive examples of spiritually minded people as well. Here are a few to get you started:
The Thessalonian Church, 1 Thessalonians 1
Stephen, Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-60
Philemon, Philemon 1:4-10
Lois, Eunice & Timothy, 2 Timothy 1: 3-7
Barnabas, Acts 11:22-25

I’ve heard the process of renewing our minds described as ‘spiritual breathing.’ We exhale the stale, suffocating air of sinful thoughts, attitudes, words and actions. Then we inhale the refreshing, invigorating air of God’s word. Daily study of the Bible is a necessity in order for us to be spiritually fit and healthy. This routine is not legalistic any more than it is legalistic to breathe or eat regularly. We can decide how to breathe and eat, but the important thing is to do so consistently. Likewise, we can decide how to study God’s word, as long as we do it often. They say it takes doing something consistently for 21 days to form a habit. Why not start today?

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on being spiritually-minded. Next week I will be starting a series on the Prayers of Paul recorded in his epistles to the churches in the New Testament. I hope you’ll join me.

Spiritually Minded 08

We saw last week that becoming spiritually-minded won’t happen automatically. It will require some effort on our part. The first thing we need to do is keep a close watch on our minds. This week, we will look at a second way that God has given us to ensure that His Spirit and our spirit are in control of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, motivations & imagination.

BEING SPIRITUALLY-MINDED

The second thing we can do to remain spiritually-minded is to Pray & Fast. Remember we said earlier that EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

It’s not always wrong to be influenced by the flesh. I feel cold, so I put on a jacket. I feel thirsty, so I drink a glass of water. But the problem comes in when our old nature uses the weakness of our flesh to satisfy its sinful desires.

So, when we fast, we are exercising control over the flesh and its influence over our mind. Thereby clearing the way for the influence of the Spirit. Then in prayer, we are aligning our minds with God’s Spirit. Therefore, prayer completes fasting. We can pray without fasting, but we should never fast without praying.

In Matthew 6:17-18 Jesus said, "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He doesn't say "if" but "WHEN" you fast, so Jesus expected his disciples to fast. Thus, fasting is not confined to the Old Testament, since Jesus endorses its practice in the New Testament.

Fasting changes us, NOT God. We mustn't think we can twist God's arm by fasting. Fasting must be done for the right motive and with right attitude. Don't fast for the sake of fasting – this is just a crash diet. Don't allow it to become ritual or tradition with no meaning. Fasting is a discipline, and a part of our spiritual walk. Test your heart before God for the reason and time to fast.

Fasting can be also done in obedience to a call to fast by a spiritual authority in the church. Pastors or other authority figures may call a fast for any one of a number of reasons. Whatever the reason, it is important for us to participate unless there is a medical reason that prevents you from fasting.

If you’ve never fasted before, don't be intimidated by fasting or calls to fast. Individually, as you feel the need or are led by God, try a day of prayer and fasting. Before you begin your fast know how long you intend to fast; know what type of fast you are going on; and be sure to test your attitude before God. Then go for it!

Spiritually Minded 07

We said earlier that we are spiritually minded when God's Spirit and our spirit are in control of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, motivations & imagination. But this won’t happen automatically. It will require some effort on our part:

BEING SPIRITUALLY-MINDED

First, we need to train ourselves to be aware. In other words, we need to keep a close watch on our minds! Remember that every decision we make, every action we take, every thought we think, is influenced by either the spirit or the flesh. Following are some practical ways to make sure our minds are being controlled by the Spirit. (These ideas were taken from Dean Sherman’s Spiritual Warfare teaching series.)

o Take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

o Compare your attitude to that of Jesus. Philippians 2:5 says, “5Let this mind [attitude] be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

o Watch your motives. Philippians 2:3 says, “3Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

o Guard your heart, the source of your emotions. Proverbs 4:23 says, “23Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

o Sanctify your imagination. In Isaiah 65:2 God says, “2All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations.”

Like physical training, training your mind will require determination and perseverance. But unlike physical training, the fruit of training your mind to be spiritually focused will be eternal.

Spiritually Minded 06

Even Christian leaders can be carnally minded. This week we will look at one more example of a carnally minded Christian. As we do, remember to keep in mind the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

Diotrephes, 3 John 1:9
9I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

We don’t know much about Diotrephes. In fact this is the only place he is mentioned. It appears that he held some or other office in the local church to which John was writing—possibly even leading it.

Whatever his office, it’s clear that Diotrephes’ leadership position had gone to his head. He enjoyed the authority he had and used it selfishly and inappropriately to lord it over people, ignoring or being ignorant of Jesus’ teaching that leaders in the Church should not do so.

He had become critical of the apostles and spread rumours and gossip about them in order to discredit them and elevate himself.

He would not receive instruction or correction. He refused to recognise any other authority and eventually became so paranoid that he felt threatened by anyone who did and excommunicated them.

Attributes of Diotrophes’ carnal mind that we need to guard against:

Desiring a leadership position in order to have power and influence.

Using positions of leadership to elevate ourselves and push others down rather than developing them.

Feeling threatened or resentful of anyone in authority over us.

Spreading rumours or gossip about our leaders, even in the guise of “prayer requests.”

Being unteachable.

Spiritually Minded 05

Are you beginning to believe that Christians can be carnally-minded? This week we will look at another example of carnally minded Christians. As we do, remember to keep in mind the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

The Believers in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 3
1And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

By the time Paul wrote this letter, the city of Corinth had received visits from gifted leaders in the early Church. Some had become Christians under Paul’s ministry, and some through Apollos’ exceptional preaching. Some (according to 2 Cor 1:12) identified with Peter, while others only recognised Jesus.

The Corinthian believers, however, had taken these loyalties and preferences too far. They allowed their loyalties to become exclusive allegiances. The result of this was “envy, strife, and divisions” among them as each faction claimed exclusive ownership of the “Truth.” Paul wrote to reprimand them for this carnal-mindedness, pointing out that they were putting too much emphasis on the debateable things and not enough on the undeniable things.

Attributes of the Corinthian believers’ carnal minds that we need to guard against:

Denominational pride.

Allowing differences over debateable things to cause division.

Allowing a preference for one pastor to become divisive.

Allowing differences with leadership or denominational oversight to become divisive.