NewSpring Church - Wichita, Kansas

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)

Did you ever feel slighted? That you were denied either the appreciation or respect that you deserved? How did it make you feel like reacting?

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV)

It’s a simple “if-then” or “cause-effect” formula. You’ve seen them in literature, science, math and computer formulas. If ____ is true, then the result or the effect is ___. Let’s look at Paul’s if-then formula.
 

27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.

29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.

30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

Philippians 1:27-30 (NLT)

If you're looking to be challenged as a Christ follower, these verses are a great place to spend some time.

22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.

23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.

24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.

26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

Philippians 1:22-26 (NLT)

Have you ever wanted to be in two places at once?

19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
Paul’s Life for Christ

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better

Philippians 1:19-21 (NLT)

You have to love Paul’s confidence in what God was doing. Even in the midst of the chains and imprisonment, Paul seemed to turn everything that was negative into something that God was going to work for good.

Philippians 1:15-18 (NLT)

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News.

17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.

18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

Paul did not have his head buried in the sand.   He knew that while he sat imprisoned for preaching the truth about Christ that there were people using his situation to exploit him and the cause of Christ and turn it to their own selfish benefit.  Here is where I believe we see a vital step to maintaining joy in life, even when our circumstances are against us and are what we could feasibly call unfair. 

12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
 

I generally think of myself as a glass half-full type of person. I can usually see the sunny side of things and am overall pretty optimistic.

7 It 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.

8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,

11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
 

One of the many benefits of being a Christ-follower is making forever friends along the way. My husband and I have so many friends in various places all over the world. Friends we got to know and shared ministry with, and yet our lives have taken us to different places that prevent us from enjoying time together. There are also friends and family who have already moved on to Heaven. Even though we are separated for now, we can look forward to eternity to share God’s grace together.

1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,

5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
 

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi while he was imprisoned by the Roman government. Keep that in mind while you read this life-changing letter. It really brings a deeper perspective to what Paul has to say.

Mark is going to be speaking this weekend, January 2/3, on a powerful way to start your day, and start your year.

We wanted to give you a tool that would help you get started applying the concepts that he'll be speaking about.