Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6)
The first thing we need to rest in is that He began a good work in us and that He will complete it. The Apostle is telling us that we can be confident in this truth. This means we have a destiny, a purpose and that He is at work in our lives to fulfill it.
So out of this place, we need to look at how we are meant to live to fulfill that destiny. Let’s skip ahead to Philippians 2:1-4
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Letnothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better thanhimself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Php 2:1-4).
The Apostle Paul, who is imprisoned at this point facing the probability of death desperately, reaches out to his disciples. His desire at this point is central to the gospel and contains the plea for like-mindedness. He is desperate for the disciples to operate in unity. He recognizes that the main obstacle is selfish ambition and conceit.
Ambition, in itself is NOT the problem; it is selfish ambition that is a problem. What’s the difference? Ambition is just the desire for something better. God Himself places ambition in us. He is the one who placed the dominion mandate in our hearts. Selfish ambition by contrast, is an ambition that is rooted in a disconnection,disunity. We see this at work in church splits. It is an ambition that is at its core one that is an attack on unity and has pride and shame as motivations.
So, we see that ambition is not bad but if we rely on the flesh for the meeting of this need, the need to fulfill our destiny then we fall into the addictive traps of the flesh. The way we know we are in the flesh is that our ambition causes us to feel inadequate, not good enough and we become self-centered. We attack unity and we resent the efforts of others to improve their lives. Our own inadequacies, which are all that are possible, in the flesh demand of us the sacrifice of our love for others. We do not rejoice in their success because it makes us feel inferior. I know about this because I have walked this out for years and felt the pull in my own heart.
OK. Turn with me to James, Chapter 1:
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
OK. What does it mean to count it all joy? And how is that related to the testing or the proving of our faith?
The word “count” in this scripture is an amazing word. It is the Greek word, “hegemai”, from which we get the English word hegemony. A hegemony is a power which rules by the acknowledgment of their power without ever having to use that power!” So Joy has a power that changes the game. There is a confidence in Joy that transforms the reality of the trials that are between us and our destiny.
The effect of this Joy is a rejoicing that transforming. It transforms our faith. You if we have this Joy then our faith is assured. This is how we then can become patient in ourtrials. The Joy becomes an offensive weapon, born of an inner power which is a confidence in our God and in our destiny in Him.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
You see it isn’t that we are being patient. Rather we have a Joy an inner confidence that informs our minds that we are in the plan of God, our destiny and in that plan, we are settled, we have entered into rest. This place then is the Shabbat of God on the inside. The inner Sabbath, the peace of God then has its perfect work and in that place we are lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Wisdom is God-strategy. Since we are leading with Joy, we know that He is at work in us and through us. In this place, we have a confidence that is born of knowing Him in whom we trust. In this place, we have a heart that is transparent and yielded to Him. Then we can ask, in that place of trust and we know that He gives us what we ask. The double-minded man is really the untrusting man. He asks but he is still holding back and filters what he hears through what he can control. God, knowing our hearts better than we do, then holds back from us, and we operate in sense-driven knowledge, which is earthly and demonic.
Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
There is no circumstance that will replace God in our lives. We don’t become godly with poverty or with riches! We cannot set a goal in this world and expect that goal to be our destiny. Nothing wrong with goal setting, but it needs to be inspired of God and based on the Joy that comes from His Spirit in us.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life whichthe Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
The evil in our life is NOT from God. It is our own desires, which entice us. It is not the desires in themselves.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Pro 13:12)
It is where we go to fulfill them. The desires are there to draw us to God, to learn to taste of Him. It is when we try to fulfill our desires through the methods of the flesh that they become an enticement to sin. Fulfilled desires through the flesh always produce death. As my Pastor PD preached, “you can’t build on a negative..”
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:1-17)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from the Father of lights. Let’s look at a one of these:
First the gift of overcoming.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:21)
Quitting is from the pit of hell. It is being overcomes by evil. Despair and discouragement are demonic twins. They want to steal your destiny from you. How, quitting works is it makes you hate the thing you quit. If you quit on a marriage, you hate it. If you quit on a job, you hate it. If you quit on a dream, you hate it. We are instructed to overcome this evil of quitting with good. What is good? It is finished is good. You pick yourself and up and you face the quitting inside of you and you lead with Joy. You fall in love again with your fist love, the dream you had the husband you loved, the job you believed in.
Look with me at Revelation 3:14 to get the picture:
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" (Rev 3:14-22)
You see our authority in life towards our destiny means that we become overcomers. We have to quit quitting. We have to face the lukewarmness. We have to repent for the death we have allowed into our hearts and become white hot again.
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