It is Well!
Hello—I trust you are having a great week and that “it is well” with you! For those of you who were not with us Sunday, Ps Joe began a new series on “A Winning Attitude” and my goodness—IT WAS POWERFUL! I encourage all of you to download the podcast and get ready to be blessed! The anointing was so powerful on the Word of God that came forth! To God be the Glory!
Regarding our prayer time this week, let’s look at the following passage of scripture from Philippians 1:4-11–
“4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
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.”
“I always pray with joy” is a faith declaration like none other! Paul understood joy in a much different way than you or I. He spent many days in a Roman jail where I’m sure, his natural surroundings were less than adequate. And yet, he found joy. Joy is different than happiness. Happiness tends to be dictated by conditions while joy is a decision of the heart.
“Because of your partnership in the gospel” – the Greek translation here is the word “Koinonia”–a having in common (koinos), partnership, fellowship”. Also, “a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship”. Paul was obviously grateful for their commitment spiritually and financially and encouraged them to follow through with their complete devotion to Christ. Paul’s apparent affection for the church at Philippi was more than just a casual relationship. His love toward them is apparent as he closes the prayer in verses 9-11 with four distinct requests:
1. He prayed that their love would abound through knowledge and insight
2. He prayed for a spirit of discernment that would carry them “until the day of Christ”
3. He prayed that their lives would be filled with the fruit of righteousness
4. He prayed that their lives would bring glory and praise to God.
As we get to know our Lord through prayer and intimacy, may our love for Him and for others grow stronger every day.
I don’t know about you, but I need discernment more today than ever before. Let’s ask God for a spirit of wisdom and understanding that we might know what the hope of His calling is for us who believe.
In studying the phrase, “fruit of righteousness”, we find it has to do with peace. Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. James 3:18 says, “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Church, in these troubled times, we need our lives filled with peace. It is easy to get fearful over many things. Let’s ask God to fill us with the “peace that passes all understanding”.
And last but not least, we want our lives to bring glory and praise to God. After all He has done for us, we should live in such a way that God’s glory would be revealed to a lost and dying world through us.
I certainly hope you can join us this week for our Recharge service, Wed @ 6:30 pm as we pray over these areas of our lives. Remember this—prayer doesn’t change God—prayer changes us!
Hey—have an awesome week! We hope you will join us this Sunday and bring some folks with you to the house of the Lord.
Blessings,
Ps Joe and Becky and the team