Fruit of the Spirit

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph. One fruit... Got it? Happy reading!) 

Would you turn with me to Ephesians 5? Reading from verses 16 to 26:

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

Paul is writing this letter to BELIEVERS; about walking according to the flesh and according to the Spirit: and the deeds of the flesh and the deeds of the Spirit. You see, we may be born-again believers, baptized in the water and baptized in the Spirit…but as long as we are here in flesh, there is always going to be a struggle; on one side the pull of the flesh and on the other the pull of the Spirit…

And we have a choice everyday… either to give-in to the pull of the flesh or to give heed to the voice of the Spirit. And yes…they are in exact opposite directions…contrary to one another (v17). And we can’t have BOTH ways - one leg here and the other leg there!

Apart from once in a life-time repentance and one time baptism, there are a few thing in the Christian life that are repetitive…and some repetitions are in a day-to-day basis. If we look at Luke 9:23, it reads: Then He {Jesus} said to them ALL, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me.”

That brings us again to the choice we have to make: saying ‘No’ to one-self; and ‘Yes’ to the Lord. You know, it is quite simple to say ‘No’ to others… but here, Jesus calls us to say ‘No’ to our own SELF. It is a conscious decision to say ‘No’ and take up our cross daily! The pull of our self is toward the world and its ways… and the leading of the Holy Spirit is towards obedience to God and His word.

But now the DEEDS or WORKS of the flesh are evident... Galatians 5 lists more than 15 of them and then there is also the FRUIT of the Spirit. On the one hand the pull of the flesh leads to the works of the flesh, and on the other hand, the leading of God’s Spirit towards the fruit of the Spirit.

What a contrast in works! Notice that it is written ‘works’ of the flesh – in plural; while it is singular ‘fruit’ of the Spirit (not fruits). It is just ONE fruit with nine facets to it… and these are listed too.

On the one hand, the list goes on for the works of the flesh…for Paul writes in the end “… selfish ambitions, dissensions…drunkenness, revelries, AND THE LIKE’; on the other we have a full-stop after the 9 fruit signifying the list is complete.

On the one hand, the works of the flesh is manifest in various forms… a person may not commit adultery, but may be given to drunkenness; or he may not murder, but commit fornication. A person may refrain from idolatry and sorcery, but may have outbursts of wrath and ceaseless contentions… so the works of the flesh is manifest in parts. But, the fruit of the Spirit is really only ONE fruit. One cannot say, ‘I have lots of love, but I can’t be patient’; or ‘I am full of joy, but no self-control’. These statements are NOT true when we say ONE fruit; either you have it ALL or NOT AT ALL.

So the fruit is not just love, joy, peace…it is also long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Paul also lists the deeds in a specific order… let us go over and compare them quickly. On the one hand the pull of the flesh and on the other, the fruit of the Spirit.

Deeds of the flesh	Fruit of the Spirit
Adultery Fornication	Love

The world teaches differently about love… a disguised lust that will last just a little time. And there is the pull of the flesh to immorality… On the other hand, we come to know of the agape love in God. Day by day, it leads to fulfillment and purpose of living…

Uncleanness Lewdness

Joy

The world teaches that there is pleasure and enjoyment in these works… they coin a catch-phrase Life is short, enjoy to the fullest; the sad thing is that it is false happiness leading to pain and sorrow …but you know what, real joy is found in God, in knowing Jesus and the power of His resurrection, and the knowing the riches in the kingdom of God…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Idolatry Sorcery /witch-craft Hatred / enmity Contentions / strife Jealousies

Peace

As God’s children, we cannot provoke God to anger by our idolatry… we cannot partake of the table of the Lord on Sunday and go about partaking in the table of demons the rest of our week-days… that is why we do not ‘take-in’ any ‘prasad’ offered to idols. Jesus Himself has become our peace… and now there is no other sacrifice or appeasement required to have peace with God.

People of the world practice witch-craft against those they hate… against their competitors… they show forth their hatred by their acts. But as children of light we can make a choice to be at peace with all men; not bickering and quarrelling over any matter... nor striving, with our perceived competitors, in rivalry and jealousy. (Yes, these things happen even within a household; between spouses; between siblings.) The Bible says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God’. It says, ‘Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you…’ and ‘God’s sun rises on the just and the unjust…’; so whether in work or at home, whether in church (yes, even in spiritual ‘service’) or at school, we can be peace-makers in God…

Outbursts of wrath

Longsuffering / Patience

We can make a choice whether to shout-down everyone else or to be patient… 2 Tim. 2:24 says, ‘… a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient…’

Selfish ambitions / disputes

Kindness

Do we wish to promote our own self? Do we have to dispute every thought, idea and be critical of others? Then we are behaving as children of the world pulled by the flesh… On the contrary, we can express kindness and show genuine concern in other’s well-being

Dissensions / divisions

Goodness

It is Satan’s work to bring dissensions and divisions among brethren… do we want anytime to be part of it? The choice is ours… this is also true in believers’ gathering… banding and grouping together with few chosen members… this is playing the ‘church politics’. Or we can choose to be good to all and especially towards our brothers and sisters in Christ… we can be good to even those against us.

Heresies / false doctrine

Faithfulness

Envy Murders

Gentleness / meekness

Envy is another blot of the flesh, always having an ill-will or ill-feeling towards the other person(s). But we can make a choice by His presence to follow in meekness. Meekness is surrendering to God and His ways. The Bible says, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’ Strange to hear the world saying we must fight for our rights to inherit, conquer and establish… but it is REALLY the meek who shall inherit the earth.

We may feel hurt when injustice is meted out to us, or when people talk against us slanderously… maybe we feel we must defend our name. But you know what! Jesus said, if any man speaks against the Son of Man it SHALL be forgiven him… When we hear Jesus say THAT, we can pause and learn to forgive…for the Spirit of God always leads us in the foot-steps of Jesus…(1 Peter 2:21). Jesus entrusted everything to God who judges righteously.

Drunkenness revelries

Self-control

Finally, we can exercise self-control or behave out-of-control. Our mind is being renewed and our spirit is willing. The Bible warns, that those who practice the works of the flesh, make a habit of it, will NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD…

Understand the fruit of the Spirit…either you have it ALL or NOT AT ALL… Love without patience, joy without self-control, meekness without joy, patience without goodness - CANNOT BE the fruit of the Spirit!

You MUST desire for and have the GIFTS of the Spirit…but FRUIT is absolutely ESSENTIAL. Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits…” (Matt. 7:15). That is how I identify a true prophet from the false… it does not impress me one bit how many varied gifts they exhibit… I am going to heed to Jesus’ warning to discern deception… In these last days, we are called to be discerning and wise.

Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. What about you today? Have you been walking years of Christian life and yet now remain carnal? Or do you abound in the fruit of the Spirit - the agape love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control?

May God help us to be fruitful sons and daughters in the kingdom of God. Amen.

Global Day of Prayer

Today, historically is celebrated as the Day of Pentecost, all over the world; it is also now being assigned as the Global Day of Prayer, where churches from all over the world, in one accord, can PRAY to God with one voice...(For more information log on to www.globaldayofprayer.com)
We have a movie presentation here ... Come, Join us in this PRAYER...

You can also pray individually, for the local church, for the city you live in and your country, and the nations of the world...The movie contains guidance on specific points to think about while you lift your voice to pray...

Arrogance of the Anointed

(Message by Pastor Joseph, Founder and Chairman, NLF Mumbai on 16.05.2010 at New Life Fellowship, Vashi, Navi Mumbai)

What a joy to be in your midst once again! It is a great privilege for us to know God…each one of us is born of God. We are not here by accident. We were redeemed, restored and forgiven when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.

We were born-again…born as a child, spiritually speaking. Now it is for us to grow in the knowledge and grace of God by taking in our spiritual food! Otherwise, our growth is a stunted one and we remain as a child still and are NO BETTER than a slave! That’s what the Word of God says. Galatians 4:1 says “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all”

Now isn’t that sad -A master, yet no different from a slave? The infallible, ever-faithful word of God says that! That we are no different from a slave if we do not grow up…So the question is, how to grow up? And if you DO grow up, not only you will prosper but you will have good success. The word of God says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).

Psalm 1 too say the same “Blessed {Happy} is the man… (whose) delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” And through tests and trials and challenges, we grow... for we have our Helper, the Holy Spirit.
I know, if I ask you, ‘Did you read the Word of God today?’ many would say ‘Yes’. And if I ask, ‘Did you meditate His Word?’ – Some would affirm. But if I ask, ‘Did you memorize the Word of God today?’- only a few would aver. You see, the Bread of Heaven will not fall from heaven. It is given to you, to USE it, to put it into your mind and take it to heart and THAT will have a strong influence in your spirit. And you will have the right response to every test and trial in your life. Through stormy paths, you will strongly proclaim ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?’

I remember, just after our marriage, when we were teaching Sunday School children, we always encouraged them to memorize Scriptures; knowing we too had done the same and it is still fresh in our hearts. You too must have His word in your hearts; otherwise you will be running from pillar to post, looking for direction, looking for counsel and looking for a prophetic word. Maybe you will switch on God TV, Daystar TV and other channels... and look for an answer to your situations…

No, I'm NOT saying these channels are bad and I am NOT against such television channels; I thank God for such programmes. But you must understand that prophecy comes NOT as direction, but only as a confirmation to what God has already spoken to you. And for that you must have the Word of God IN you.

Alright! Today I have taken Isaiah 6 for our meditation and titled my message, ‘Arrogance of the Anointed’

One of the problem in the body of Christ is that people look up to a person to guide them ALWAYS…you see, people would have seen God using that person, and so believe in them; they know that the person is anointed and so they leave their family, take decisions based on what they see and hear from him…At some point of time, arrogance takes over and the person goes about doing whatever he wishes…commanding and intimidating others. Still God blesses the word spoken by the person, although He may not bless THAT person…

You see, Balaam was rebuked by a donkey…yet he continued in the path to error in arrogance to prophesy against the children of Israel! That is why I say, that prophecy should only be as confirmation to what God has spoken to you in your heart and not as the direction. 'Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.' We should not be led by any human-being…for then we are still children and are no better than a slave.

• We must KNOW that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us
• We must KNOW that Christ in us, the hope of glory
• We must KNOW that we are led by the Spirit of God as we are sons of God

Isaiah 6:1-10 gives this account of the Vision of Isaiah the prophet.

In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one cried to another and said: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

So I said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.

And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”

Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me.”

And He said, “Go and tell this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.

Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”

See this passage. Here was the prophet Isaiah, and the people of God living in the shadow of the king Uzziah. And there were no visions, no prophesies. Till Uzziah was king, it seems to me that Isaiah saw only the throne of king Uzziah…if you too look at the man sitting on the throne, you will have no revelation or visions. We must know this in ourselves: - Who is reigning, ruling and sitting on the throne of your heart? Is it “I” and the self, or is it the Lord Jesus Christ?

If it is “I”, then we are on the path to arrogance, however anointed we may be! Yes, ‘I’ was once ruling in my own life; I was the captain of my own soul before I came to Jesus; Independent, and yes, maybe a ‘good’ person in the eyes of the world. But because I did what was right in my sight, arrogance ruled in my heart. But now, I have come under His authority. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. If I now try to be the captain of my own soul, I walk the way of arrogance.

King Uzziah started very well indeed. We read about it in 2 Chronicles 26th chapter, verse 3 onwards:

Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

Dearly beloved, brothers and sisters, I tell you now that ‘the blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it’ (Pro. 10:22). But remember this: As long as you seek the Lord, God will make you prosper. That is what is written about Uzziah. It is amazing, that one so young took hold of the reigns to kingship and prospered. To me, it seems that Uzziah must be one of the wisest of the kings of Judah, probably next only to Solomon. For it is written in 2 Chr. 26: 15 …So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

If you too seek God, even if you are young and inexperienced, I tell you, there will be marvelous help around you to make you strong; yes, and you will prosper. This is what happened with me too, I too was roaming in this city (Mumbai) and sleeping in the footpaths…but God lifted me up…All I did was to seek after Him, and He made me prosper.

Then came the turning point in king Uzziah’s life. We read about it from verse 16 onwards. But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were 80 priests of the Lord-valiant men. And they withstood king Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you , Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God. Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar.

What a shame for such a wise man! King Uzziah’s heart was lifted up with pride; then came the fall…Pride had blinded his eyes. He thought he could do what anyone else can do…But do you want to know my child, what is YOUR calling? What is YOUR assignment? Are you caught trespassing on other’s assignments, because you thought you were anyway ‘anointed’? Do you want to show how ‘better’ you can do it? Stop trespassing...

King Uzziah became a leper from that day…and he died a leper; All because of one sin-trespass. And as long as he lived, there were no prophetic utterances, no visions…everything just dried up…It was as if the heavens were shut.

If it is ‘self’ ruling in your hearts, and you want to do ‘good’ things as you please, you are still the captain of your own soul…pride holds you, arrogance leads you to the inevitable pitfall-you are becoming a stranger with God. Communication with Him is cut off…no voice; no vision. And God has to wait until ‘I’ dies in us, to speak to us in visions…

Matthew 16 is another example of the arrogance of the anointed…Matt 16:15,16 goes like this: He {Jesus} said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven…

Imagine Peter, the only one among the disciples at that time having the revelation from God the Father…I can imagine his heart being lifted up; for when Jesus predicts His death and talks to His disciples, it tells about Peter in verse 22 of the same chapter (Matt 16), ‘Then Peter took Him {Jesus} aside and began to rebuke Him, saying “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”’; Jesus had to rebuke Peter in return:  (V23) “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me…”

Ah! The arrogance of the anointed Peter… The same thing happens even today…God has a plan for each one of your lives…and when it is revealed to you, and you share it with the so-called ‘man of God’ – let it not become a trap for you from fulfilling God’s plan. Firstly, don’t let 'I' sit on the throne of your hearts! Secondly, don’t put any other ‘man-of-God’ on the throne!

What is the solution then? “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Jesus needs ALL of you, not part of you…Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” And so our lives become an offering, our bodies a living sacrifice to Him and Him alone. Only Jesus! And Uzziah has to die in us!

And so God had to wait till the death of Uzziah…And then Isaiah saw the vision; of not any human king on the throne but the glorious King on the throne! I am still on verse 1 of Isaiah 6. Isaiah saw this and we need to see this in our lives too: Firstly, the vision of the King...

1. Christ on the throne: It will take me time if I have to speak of the train of his robe and the temple; about the smoke and the seraphim; how they flew and how they cried to one another ‘Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord of hosts!’; About the tongs and live coal from the altar…

2. Conviction: that I am a sinner…We see a two-fold conviction here. (i) ‘man of unclean lips’ – conviction about unclean communication and (ii) dwell among people of unclean lips – conviction about unclean companions. People who always murmur and complain…

Years ago, I remember, when I was new in the Lord, I too made the mistake of thinking whoever holds the Holy Bible was worthy of companionship…later when in fellowship with them, I found them no different from those in the world… always complaining about one another, back-biting, gossiping… they go even to the extent of saying something like this: ‘I am so burdened for that brother / sister. They have done such and such sinful  things; please keep this to your self and pray for them…’

When I was confused of what to do, God spoke to me thus: Don’t look at them, look into the word of God for your own growth. Years ago I had a precious letter written to me with these words: 'God has a plan for you to prosper you and show you great and marvelous things. Consider your-self a dead person to this world; for when Jesus died, you too died…and a dead person feels no pin-pricks…'

Do you want to be free of anguish of what others back-bite? Consider yourself dead… Otherwise you will be like a child; always with problems, problems and more problems. God has called us to be sons and not slaves…

3. Confession: because of the conviction comes the confession: 'Lord, I am a sinner…' Isaiah confessed with his mouth.

4. Cleansing: Then the cleansing...Just as the live coal cleansed the lips of Isaiah, we have the cleansing by the blood of Jesus Christ… Do you realize all this is a favor of God? From conviction to confession to cleansing… the unmerited favor of God to each one of us. Faith fills our steps… and we walk in obedience… Joy fills our hearts and we sing, Take my life and let it be... Consecrated Lord to Thee…

5. Calling: Realise the unique call of our Lord God to you… Even in the case of Isaiah, God did not immediately say, ‘Isaiah, now that you are cleansed, go and do this and that…’
God said “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” God is waiting for you and I too to respond, to be willing to do His will. Isaiah was ready; he said, “Here am I, send me”. Now how do you respond? ‘Here am I, Lord…but send my brother, I am busy’ You will be surprised at the number of people doing just that…’Here am I and here I will be!’ But what matters to God is ‘Are you available?’ That is why it is written, 'Many are called, few are chosen...' (Matt. 22:14); we can go on to be found in the '...called, and chosen and faithful' (Rev. 17:14) group...

6. Commission: Finally the commission “Go and tell this people…” If you read the verses there in Isaiah, the message was not a pleasant one. It may not be in your case too. But if you take a step in obedience, whole heaven will back you…whatever be the problem, it is not insurmountable!

There was the vision of the Christ revealed when he looked UPWARD; there was his condition revealed when he looked INWARD; and finally there was the commission revealed when he looked OUTWARD. That is the order of things with God. Look UP, look IN and look OUT and LIVE…

God is calling us to take the Uzziah out of you…whatever that be, it HAS to be done. Then you and I will see the KING. You are commissioned for a time like this. Even in the early church, the Bible says, ‘…with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.’ (Acts 4:33).

Shall we pray?

Father, we thank you for your presence this morning. Thank you for your marvelous works in us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. You know each one here, Father…their trials, their difficulties and their sorrows…Speak to them, comfort them, counsel them and lead them, dear Father. May their eyes be opened to behold the King-ruling and reigning now and forever! Amen.

Discerning The Deception

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph on 9th May 2010. See the writing on the wall? Happy reading!)

2 Corinthians 11: 3, 4 say: But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it.

Today my message is about how to know deception. There is one deceiver-Satan-or the serpent, who deceived Eve by his craftiness. Because of this, sin entered this world. This was Satan’s deception: “You shall not die…you will be like God; discerning good and evil” What a deception! A false promise of power and … discernment!

Paul’s letter to Timothy also gives a warning in 1 Tim. 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”

Deception - we are going to hear a lot of these in the coming days; about ANOTHER Jesus, of ANOTHER spirit and ANOTHER gospel. It is for US to be wise in these latter times to discern and to recognize TRUE religion.

A few weeks back, I spoke about recognizing the TRUE from the FALSE, from the book of James:  (Practical Outworking) Then I talked about wisdom from above and worldly wisdom, about true religion and false religion, about true faith and ‘useless’ faith. James expounds that if we are only hearers of the word, we deceive ourselves (Jam. 1:22); that if we have no control over our tongue, we deceive ourselves and our religion is useless (Jam. 1:26); that if we say God is tempting us, we are deceived and our faith is futile (Jam. 1:13, 16).

Today it’s my burden to share with you the ways of deception in these latter days, from the entire New Testament and how we can all return to the true Jesus of the Bible; return to the true Gospel in the Bible and return to the Spirit of truth.

1. Deception of false doctrine

2 John 1:7: “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

This is the deception about a false Jesus. Even in the 1^st century, there began propagation about Jesus being a mystical being – a spirit person who was seen for some time in the world…But John counters it. For John WOULD know better; he was with Jesus during His entire ministry here on earth…John was the disciple closest to Jesus-leaning on His bosom and whom Jesus loved (John 13:23). John puts it in black and white - the TRUTH is that Jesus Christ came in the FLESH.

Over the centuries, there have been many propaganda about the ministry of Jesus, about His healings and about His person…many stories and whimsical theories about history; their own imaginations or traditions, purported ‘research findings’, philosophies and false doctrines…we still hear so many of them in... novels(!)

Paul warns the Colossians “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.” (Col. 2:4) Paul continues in v8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

We are called to beware and be on our guard…to know the TRUE JESUS of the Bible. We have how He came, we have how He walked and we have what He did and what He talked…

There are some who believe in visions more than what is written (in the Bible); This too is a deception of a false doctrine…super-natural experiences, angelic visitations are all in order in a believer’s life…but that in itself is not the gospel! We must base our beliefs and our teachings in the rock solid foundation of Jesus Christ and the infallible word of God!

This (the Bible) is a safeguard for us. For when Satan came to Eve, he posed, 'Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of ….?' A seed of doubt was sown in Eve’s mind…Thank God for the written word…if we base our belief on what is here in the Bible (and not on our supernatural experiences), we can always counter the devil with what God has indeed spoken! Jesus did exactly that in His temptation…Jesus started with “It IS written…” (Matt. 4:4) And when the devil tempted saying “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over You, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.” (Matt. 4:6). Jesus countered saying, “It is ALSO written…”

Here is our safe-guard, in these last days, to know what is written and what is ALSO written…for the devil comes not with blatant lies, but mostly with half-truths and half-lies. Hold on to God’s word in its entirety…from cover-to-cover, over all pages of The BOOK-the Holy Bible-This is our doctrine, this our stand, throughout all ages and throughout every land.

2. Deception of false living

Hebrews 3:13 “…exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

Here is another deception…you may have the right belief, the right doctrine imbibed in your mind, yet to go on living in sin…A mix-up of right doctrine and a wrong life-style!

1 Corinthians 6: 9, 10 says: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

These are the ones who talk the talk but don’t walk the talk; who say they ‘love’ God but don’t ‘fear’ Him…the ones that think they can get away with anything…even sin. Falling into Satan’s lie of ‘It’s OK, you can continue in sin…God will forgive you, anyway’.

The Bible says, whatever a man sows, the same he will reap…you can portray yourself to be holy, to always pray and fast…but if you have sown to the flesh, you will reap corruption; but, if to the spirit, then its fruit accordingly.

The Bible says, if we walk with the foolish, we will end up as fools ourselves. If we walk with the wise, we will be wise. The company and friends that we keep matters…Young people should take this to heart; it’s no use arguing, ‘I’ll be an influence, but I’ll not be influenced’. This too is a trap of the devil…for if you enjoy the company of the ungodly and unrighteous, a sure snare awaits you. Peer pressure will draw us away from the Lord…James cautions in 1:24 “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” – Unspotted, unstained is our calling!

3. Deception of false understanding

• False understanding of wisdom

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may be wise.” (1 Cor. 3:18)

“For, if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Gal. 6:3)

We need not have airs of ‘knowing’ it all…nor boast that we have seen it all. The moment we think ourselves to be wiser and greater than our peers, we are on the path to a trap of the devil. We are nothing, God is everything.

Jesus questions the ruler, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God.’ (Luk 18:19). This is utter humility on the part of Jesus – sinless yet emptying Himself. We must learn from Jesus.

By the grace of God, we are what we are (1 Cor. 15:10). By grace we have been saved…and in Him we live and move and have our being. There is no goodness in me apart from Him.

1 John 1:8 says, ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…’ Now imagine John, the disciple of Jesus, in Patmos, had spent 3 years with Jesus and nearly 50 years preaching the gospel; in fact, the most spiritual man at that time with the apostolic fellowship…this John is telling us that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…

Our response to our own condition can be in the words of the Psalmist, ‘Search me O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me; and lead me in the way everlasting’ (Psalm 139:23, 24). Our prayer can be ‘Lord, I have no right understanding in this matter, I may be wrong Lord, please help me’; When we do that and be open to God’s speaking, He will certainly lead us.

• False understanding of holiness

1 Timothy 4:1, 2: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving…”

This is another extreme of falsehood. On one hand, false living is living in sin and talking something else, while on the hand, a false understanding makes people to live as an ascetic…go on a pilgrimage…deny yourself certain foods…do not marry…This too is a deception, the thinking that one is holy because he lives as a ‘sadhu’ alone and aloof, withdrawn from the world and is a celibate all his life…

But spirituality is not in eating and drinking…the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

• False understanding of wealth

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus compared the seed that fell among thorns to the people in whom the word of God is being choked because of their worries and…the deceitfulness of riches…

You see, riches and wealth are not a end in itself, it is just the means to glorify God…we should be careful not to judge people’s lives and closeness to God based on their wealth and material possessions! Riches or wealth is a good slave, but a bad master…We must have a right understanding of the wealth God has entrusted with us…otherwise we will be deceived by greed and mammon…

These are the deceptions that we have to guard ourselves against;

• the deceitfulness in wrong doctrine; that is why we see ‘Christian’ cults,
• the deceitfulness in wrong living – we see shameful ‘shelters’ and ‘ashrams’, and
• the deceitfulness in wrong understanding.

Hold on to the purity of God’s written word – in black and white, from cover to cover. Speak the word, ‘It is written…’ and ‘It is also written’. In these last days, be under the covering of God’s mighty hand, we are not helpless, but we have a Helper…May the Lord bless each one of us with good understanding, Amen.

Unity in Humility

Learning from Philippians 2...(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph on 02.05.2010. Happy doing!)

Today, my message is almost entirely from Philippians 2. This is a wonderful chapter in the Bible calling Christians to unity in the local church – a teaching much needed now in our times. Paul writes to the church at Philippi, the causes for disunity among ‘believers’ and the cure for disunity...

But Paul first calls the Philippians to unity. Look at verse 2: “…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, and of one mind” (Phil 2:2). Yes, the SAME love, ONE spirit and ONE mind. We are called to be bound together with cords of love, united in spirit and united in purpose. This is a superior and new standard of the Christian Unity in the New Covenant, where, as believers, we are to be united and harmonious with our fellow believers.

Causes for disunity

Paul finds two common causes for disunity in the church – Look at verse 3: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit…” The causes for disunity in churches even today are these (i) Selfish ambition and (ii) Conceit. And some do have both these qualities – selfishness and conceit, in ‘good’ measure

Selfish ambition is, always having a hidden agenda, and that is to promote oneself. These are the people who are the self-loving, self-seeking and self-serving kind - always seeking their own good and at the same time being wary and suspicious of those talented ‘others’!

Conceit is having that excessive amount of pride; in behavior displaying oneself as superior to others…these are the ‘important’ people who consider themselves better than others, because of what they have, what they do and how they do. They always tend to find fault and look down on others. {The word of God says that we are, in fact, actually nothing.}

Cure for disunity

How can we, then, find harmony in the church? Paul writes, not only the CAUSES of disunity but also the CURE for disunity. Philippians 2:3 and 4 continues, “…but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

The cure for disunity is (i) Selflessness – to look out ALSO for the interests of others; and (ii) Humility – in lowliness of mind, considering others better than oneself.

Beloved, these 2 qualities are not an outward show, but matters of the heart…where we genuinely / sincerely believe that our fellow believers are more important than ourselves. And in our home, we esteem our spouse to be better than us… then we can expect harmony in that place; whether our home or church.

Examples to Emulate

In further verses of Chapter 2, Paul writes to Philippians, about four persons, who serve as examples, for these desirable qualities of selflessness and humility. Let us see them one by one...

(1) Jesus Christ

V5-8: “…let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Remember our Savior! He was equal with God, but left the glories of heaven, took the form of a man, came down as a bondservant – a slave, and became obedient humbling Himself…to His death on the cross, for you and for me. What a wonderful God we serve! But more than that, what a wonderful example {here} to follow!

We see people around us in this world looking for exaltation and honor, by climbing up and up and higher and higher…being visible, pushing forward, standing on the pedestal, living the high life, standing in the limelight…and talk; just talk about themselves. You see, even sin entered this universe because an angel wanted to go higher and higher and be equal with God, aspired to be God himself! We know how the angel-Lucifer, was cast down to become Satan…

What a contrast we find in our Savior! Look at Jesus – who loved us and came down and down and down…to serve and die for us – while we were yet sinners, humbling Himself to the death of the cross…Is there a greater example of selflessness and humility?

Selfless - because crucified, laid behind a tomb, He lived to die, rejected and alone… He took the fall and thought of me {and you, too!} – Above all…We need to walk in this selfless love that Christ displayed and poured into our hearts – a selfless love.

Humility because he obeyed to fulfill ALL of God’s will; from the waters of baptism at Jordan, when John exclaimed ‘I need to be baptized by you…’ to the garden at Gethsemane when Jesus submitted to the Father, ‘…Not My will, but Yours be done’. Yes, there you see Him, our Lord Jesus, in agony and earnest prayer (Luke 22:41-43)…sweating great drops of blood…yet in submission to God’s will, found strength after prayer to say, ‘… Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?’ (John 18:11). He died amongst criminals-a shameful death, hanging on the cross!

Jesus faced mocking, scourging and spitting…Yes, when we do the will of God, we too may face ridicule and loss of face. But have this mind in you – Come what may, God’s will be done!

(2) Apostle Paul

The next example, Paul sets before us is his own life in following Christ…Phil 2:17 says, “…and if I am being poured out as a drink offering…”. Paul describes his life as being poured out for Christ. In Phil. 1:21, Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Live for Christ – that is one aspect of the selfless life Paul lived here on earth…only the interests of Jesus matters! The Acts of the Apostles describes how Paul made personal sacrifices for the sake of Christ and the gospel to which he was called; even in the midst of persecution, troubles, beatings, loss, ship-wreck, imprisonment (Phil. 3:7, 8)…And sitting in the prison cell, Paul remembers to put the interests of the church in Philippi…for the church to grow in unity; he not only writes this letter, but also sends his own companion, Timothy-who shares Paul’s concern.

Philippians 2: 19, 20 says, “I trust in the Lord to send Timothy to you shortly…for I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.” That is genuine concern of Paul – to send the one person who was a help to Paul himself in the prison cell.

Paul had received another person, who was a messenger from the church at Philippi-by name Epaphroditus, who brought a gift for Paul from the church at Philippi. But, Epaphroditus fell sick, and then slowly recovered. Paul promises here in the letter to the church at Philippi, that he will send Epaphroditus, too-their own messenger, immediately (v25 onwards).

These actions show Paul concerned and interested, more in the church in Philippi than his own interests. We can all learn to leave this ‘I, me and myself’ attitude of selfishness from the example of Paul’s life…

(3) Timothy

The third example of a selfless and humble person is Timothy. Look at v20 again: ‘…for I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state’. Paul continues in v21, “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.” We see from these verses, that even among the believers Paul was ministering, Timothy stood out as a selfless man, seeking the things which are of Christ Jesus; Timothy chose to be selfless in the situations they were facing together.

We too have a choice – to follow our own interests, as many do; or to follow the interests of Christ Jesus. We too find circumstances and situations in our life, where we are confronted with a choice; a choice to be selfish or to be selfless. How do we respond? If we sit back and allow God to search our hearts, we will know ourselves…sincerely. It happens to all men, all the time…a choice to show our self humble and selfless. It happened with the Israelites in 40 years of wilderness walk…Deut. 8:2 says, “…the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart…”

Timothy was a young boy – a youth, when he made a decision to be with Paul in the ministry; not choosing his own interests but the interests of Christ Jesus and of Paul…and humbly followed Paul and went wherever Paul went, sharing in his cup of sufferings…Paul writes about Timothy in v22, “But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel”. What a mark of humility!

Do you want to follow Timothy’s example? Putting Jesus first, Others next and Yourself last!

(4) Epaphroditus

The last example I want to share from this chapter of Philippians 2 is that of the person Epaphroditus.

Imagine this situation: Paul had this ministry in Philippi. Then Paul was imprisoned in Rome. The believers in Philippi were troubled…but in their midst stood out this messenger who volunteered to go and give a gift to Paul. In those days, it was not so easy to travel from Philippi to Rome. Leave aside the geographical distance, you also had to cross territories and borders of different rulers, which can be dangerous to your own life…and now imagine too that you are carrying something to be given to a prisoner in Rome… ah! That can put you in prison, too!

But Epaphroditus was determined to look to the interests of the gospel and that of Paul and made the journey to Rome from Philippi, gave the present to Paul and shared in the ministry work of Paul there. Paul has this testimony about Epaphroditus: ‘…my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier,…and the one who ministered to my need’ (v25); and the exhortation, ‘hold such men in esteem because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.’ (v29, 30). It also says about Epaphroditus, that he was longing for the church at Philippi and was distressed because they had heard he was sick! (v27). Now that is a mark of selfless man – worried about other’s worries!

Nothing else much is written about Epaphroditus in the Bible…He was just a messenger bearing gifts, but whatever little is written about him speak volumes of his character-a priest with a sacrifice well pleasing to God; Paul talks in Phil 4:18, “…I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”

I am leaving this Philippians Chapter 2 with you…YOU can go over it again and see what God speaks to you…Is there anything in your life that you have to GIVE-UP and demonstrate selflessness OR Is there anything in your life that you have to GIVE-IN to demonstrate humility?

Almost all that I have spoken today is found written here in Chapter 2-how we can have unity in humility and harmony in selflessness; the causes and the cure for disunity, and the examples of people who strived for unity and harmony. We have a choice before us – to be selfish and conceited OR to be selfless and humble. Unity and harmony is possible only with humility and selflessness.

We can learn from Jesus, who did not grasp and grab what was His; from Paul whose life was poured out as an offering for Christ’s sake; from Timothy to have a proven character and sincerely care for others; from Epaphroditus, offering a sacrifice well-pleasing to God. Our devotion to God is always evaluated by our demonstration in action of humility and selflessness…

May God open our eyes that we may see the word spoken to us…Let us go ahead and demonstrate Christ’s love in action and May His name be glorified. God Bless You. Amen.