Common Sharing in the Spirit

[Christsfreeservant]

Philippians 2:1-4 NIV

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”​

Encouragement from Being United with Christ

As those who are in Christ Jesus, by faith in him, we should be experiencing the encouragement of our Lord in our lives towards walks of holiness and righteousness and purity of devotion to him. We should also know the comfort of his love, especially at times when we are being persecuted.

We should also be walking in his love and grace in demonstrating his love to others – a love so powerful that it sent Jesus Christ, God the Son, to the cross to die for our sins so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin and now become slaves (servants) of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

We should know that power of God in our lives so that we can now, by the grace of God, be those who are no longer walking in the ways of the flesh, but who are now walking in the ways of God, in purity, righteousness, holiness, godliness, and integrity (Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24).

And we should be those who are experiencing intimate fellowship with our Lord via time spent with him daily in his word, in prayer, in song, and in surrender of our lives to him, and in obedience to his instructions to us, his followers. And we should be following him wherever he leads us.

Any Common Sharing in the Spirit

There are many people today who call themselves Christians. Some of them claim to be Christians because that it is the religion they grew up under, but they are not necessarily in a relationship with God/with Christ. And some of them claim faith in Jesus Christ based more on emotion and intellect.

But for us to share in the Spirit of God, first we must be drawn to faith in Jesus Christ by God the Father, and then we must have, by faith, died with Christ to sin and have been raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:17-24).

And we must, by the Spirit, be walking by the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and by the Spirit be putting to death the deeds of the flesh so that we can walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, for the glory of God, and have eternal life with God (Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23).

As well, we must be people of God with tender and compassionate hearts towards others who are hurting, who are in need, and who need to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. And as God leads, we must be those who share with others in need, according to their needs.

Being One in spirit and of One Mind

Oneness of mind, heart and voice is being stressed much these days by political leaders, by pastors, and by the pope. But most all of them are not teaching the kind of oneness this passage of Scripture in Philippians 2 is speaking of. For, they are talking about oneness with the mind of man.

But the same love, the same spirit, and the same mind this is speaking of comes from God/Jesus Christ. So, first we must be united in mind, spirit (heart) and love with that of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, which is pure, righteous, holy, honorable, faithful, and truthful, not dishonest.

And that can only happen as we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, as we yield to his will and purpose for our lives, and as we, in the power of God, live holy and godly lives, pleasing to God, walking in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).

And then we can only be like-minded with those who are also like-minded with Christ, which not many people are who call themselves Christians, for they are more like-minded with the world and with worldly philosophy, attitudes, and actions than they are united with Christ in mind and heart.

Do Nothing out of Selfish Ambition

God did not put us here on this earth to live for ourselves and to be incessantly entertained by others. He put us here that we might give glory and honor to him by how we live our lives (Rom 12:1-2; Tit 2:11-14).

And Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, as well as that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15).

We are to take reasonable care for ourselves but we are not to obsess over ourselves or to make gods of ourselves. We are to care about others and to not be selfish and to think only of ourselves and our own comfort and/or pleasure. But we are to sacrificially demonstrate God’s love to others.

And we are to encourage one another in our walks of faith, in holiness and righteousness, in the power of the Spirit of God. We are to be concerned about one another and not just about ourselves. And we are to demonstrate that concern even at the cost of being rejected and hated by others, too.

Pray, Pray, Pray

An Original Work / September 6, 2012
Based off Various Scriptures

Pray that eyes may enlightened be,
So they may know Christ.
Pray that they may Him better know,
Strengthened by His pow’r.
Pray that they may grasp
How wide and long
And high and deep
Is Christ’s love.
Pray that they may be filled
To the fullness of God’s love.
Pray with thanksgiving.

Pray for an open door for me,
So I may share Christ.
Pray when the gospel is proclaimed –
Shared with clarity.
Pray words are given me so
I declare the gospel fearlessly.
I pray for you to be active
Sharing your faith, too.
Pray continually.

We oft not know for what to pray,
So we ask for help.
The Spirit intercedes for us –
Words cannot express.
Just keep on praying for the saints
With all kinds of requests to God.
Pray they may have faith to
Please their God in ev’ry way.
Pray with joyfulness.

 

[Joyous Song]

Saint Frances, a holy man of G-d, drew many to try and understand how he came to be so holy. One day a young man asked him the secrete of holiness. He told him to join him on a walk and he would see.

So they started out the young man expecting any moment the wise man of G-d who tell him everything, They came upon a man whose cart was stuck in the mud. St. Francis unconcerned for his clothing told that man to go to his beast and have it pull the cart. Then he pushed in that mud till the cart came free.

He climbed out of the mud to have that man thanking him but said all thanks goes to G-d. And so that day went. All through the day St Francis looked for people to help and helped them giving all praise for what he did to G-d alone. Finally, as darkness was settled they returned to his church and the young man asked him, "My lord, what can you teach me of holiness?"

"Have you not already seen?" he replied, "We are called to serve others, and speak only when necessary."

How many follow this example?

 

[Christsfreeservant]

Saint Frances, a holy man of G-d, drew many to try and understand how he came to be so holy. One day a young man asked him the secrete of holiness. He told him to join him on a walk and he would see.

So they started out the young man expecting any moment the wise man of G-d who tell him everything, They came upon a man whose cart was stuck in the mud. St. Francis unconcerned for his clothing told that man to go to his beast and have it pull the cart. Then he pushed in that mud till the cart came free.

He climbed out of the mud to have that man thanking him but said all thanks goes to G-d. And so that day went. All through the day St Francis looked for people to help and helped them giving all praise for what he did to G-d alone. Finally, as darkness was settled they returned to his church and the young man asked him, "My lord, what can you teach me of holiness?"

"Have you not already seen?" he replied, "We are called to serve others, and speak only when necessary."

How many follow this example?

Good works of the Spirit of God is part of holiness, but good works, in and of themselves, may not be holiness at all. Jesus did good works of God, but he also led people to true salvation from sin. He confronted people in their sin, called for repentance, warned of judgment and promised eternal life with God to those who would deny themselves, die daily to sin and follow him in obedience. Holiness is living a life separate and different from the world and unto God because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ.

 

[Joyous Song]

Christsfreeservant: Good works of the Spirit is part of Holiness, but good works, in and of selves, may not be holiness at all.

Jesus did good works of G-d but he also led people to true salvation from sin. He confronted people for their sin, called for repentance, warned of judgment and promised eternal life with G-d to those who would deny themselves, die daily to sin and follow Him in obedience.

JS: When Christ came to Judah they were not atheists nor agnostics, rather, they suffered from hypocrisy. Today, many of those we seek to reach actually came from Body but went astray due to the hypocrisy. Visit some atheistic sites and you will see this.

Those people most often “converted” today, using words alone, are fellow Christians already saved, just not saved in the way they think they should be. This is very risky (see Matt.23.13-15 to understand why).

Those who lost their faith due to hypocrisy have little tolerance for words, however holy. Even in Israel, Jewish children are taught the Gospel better than many Christians to counter Christian missionaries. So the Gospel is not in short supply, its all over, and yet atheism and agnosticism is rising while congregations are emptying.

On the other side, there are people claiming to serve the Christian G-d but are intolerant of sinners (“He died for our sins not their sins”), or claim Christian liberty is greater than social justice, or those who support one party or another claiming one cannot be Christian if they support to the other side!

As many questions as people may have regarding the election, the lack of evidence (the reason judges cited they do not have standing) was ignored and some stormed the Capitol! Some deny social distancing for reasons of money and comfort. There may not be an absolute way to protect oursleves and one another from the pandemic but for love of neighbor we need to do what we can.

Christ did good works for the lost, the disenfranchised and the wounded. He judged harshly the leadership of His day and taught followers who sought Him out! Likewise, St. Francis served the needy and spoke only when necessary. My husband and I have also reached those harden by hypercritical example. In all cases, good works preceded any Gospel and in two cases it was the only the Gospel we needed.


Christsfreeservant: Holiness is living a life separate and different from the world and unto G-d because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ.

JS: In the world but not of the world or being ultimately, a good example!

 

[Sunshinee777]

Amen, thank you for this