Hey, everybody. Welcome to today's edition of the daily Bible podcast. Hey. It was an interesting one. Uh, ne almost, uh, yeah. Hey, it's, uh, it's mean. Christmas is fast approaching. We are kind of in that last, last week. Hopefully you're getting your, your Christmas shopping done. Um, you've gone to see the lights and you're enjoying the Christmas music. I know, I talk about when to start Christmas music. I'm also the guy though that like, as soon as Christmas is done, like I'm done with Christmas music, like put it away. Um, Hm. And, and kind of like the core too, like we're going to be traveling after Christmas. We're we're heading out on the 30th, but. Um, But you're taking your Christmas stuff down on the 26th. I mean, I don't know about the 26, but soon thereafter. Christmas day. Yeah. The 20th day. It'll be like, okay. Kids. It's tight time as you're opening your gifts, take an ornament off the tree, put it away. It's time. Um, They're due much. Yeah. You know, I've been told that before. So, yeah, but, uh, Christmas man, it's right around the corner and, uh, it's cold this week. From what I understand, the, the weather is forecasting that I saw one forecast it overnight. Lows were going to dip down to low twenties. Yeah, I saw that too. I'm looking forward to it. Cause it hasn't been that cold lately and I've been missing it a little bit. Yeah, not that I like when you can't walk outside and it's so cold. But I have this year. I got a jacket. Yeah. I didn't have one last year, I had a regular jacket and I realized to suffer through your Texas winters. I need to have a real, what, what do you call those? Like a real mid-layer yeah, it's the one with the. With the feathers inside down jacket. Yeah. No, those are expensive jackets. Yeah, those are pricey. So I thought, okay, I'm going to do it cause I'm going to need it. And I've barely used it because the weather cold. I know I really want to use it. And then not that I want to be cold, but I do. I kind of enjoy that. Sometimes I find that when it's super overcast and in the fifties, it feels. Like Egypt, it feels colder than it actually is out there. Like there are those days where I can't get warm all day long, just because it's overcast and. Gloomy. And, but yeah, we haven't had a day in the forties and thirties. Mental class. I mean, I don't know. That sounds like I just got diagnosed with something good. And maybe it is. It is a little bit. I'm mentally cold. Yeah, that's in your head. Yeah. There you go. All right, Philippians. Philippines. Uh, some people wrote back to us that our podcast is way, way too long. Alright, here we go. Chapter. I for one chapter two. Chapter three. This theme is rejoice. Get over it. All right. Tons. If you're anxious. Don't be in. And boom, Bob's your uncle. Yeah. Uh, no. Uh, this one, I love this one because I love the backstory that we have of this in acts chapter 16. Um, Paul and Philippi, where he's talking to, he's writing to Phoebe, he's writing to the Philippian jailer. He's writing to the jailer's family. He's writing to people that, that were there that we've read about in acts chapter 16 when he's pending this letter or through as a menu. Insists dictating this letter. He has them in mind, which is so cool, because like we talked about with the fusions. Uh, yesterday, Ephesians is written to a much broader audience probably. And so we're not necessarily thinking about these specific people, but. Phoebe most likely was the one that housed the church in her home. She seems to be. I have been a woman of means. And in church tradition, tradition holds that she was the one that, that was the church met in her home. Um, which is super cool. And so Paul's writing this to them and we know their backstory on how they got saved and that's just awesome. And so he opens up in, in praise about their partnership in the gospel verse five, because of your partnership in the gospel. That's what he's so thankful for that they had worked with him. And then he says in verse six, I'm sure of this, that you began a good work and you will bring it to completion now. Uh, you may have heard that verse preached as eternal security that he who began your salvation will bring it to completion. But I think the context. Would suggest that this is about their partnership with Paul and the gospel they're co ministry with Paul they're co-laboring with Paul. And he goes on. He says, because you're all partakers with me and grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. So he's talking about that as the good work that God's going to continue to bring to completion. So we talked in Ephesians one. Are you eternally secure as a believer? Yes. You've been sealed with the promised holy spirit. I just don't think this verse is talking about your salvation. I think this verse is talking about your or the Philippian church has rather partnership with Paul in his gospel ministry. And you would agree that that's a minority position, right? I would agree. And so for the most part, I think most commentators I read on this, or, I mean, there's a few that do say something specific like that, like this, this doesn't mean salvation in general. It's a very specific work that he's referring to. But I think most of the things that I've read on it. And I think I agree with is that Paul has it. He may have a specific thing in mind, but his application of that is an expansive utility. So I look at the work that God got. The God began, the financial giving to the spirit being given to you the, the, the way that your church is functioning minus Yoda and synergy. All of that is the good work that he began. He'll finish that. And, and, and, and the, at the day of Jesus Christ. So the fact that he says at the day of Jesus Christ lends itself to saying this is more than just. Uh, giving or the, the work of ministry partnership, because he's looking at the eschaton the, the last day. Yeah. I just think he, later on, he talks about you're sharing with me in the suffering that you now see in me. And here I have in, in your experience in yourselves, I think he's even just writing to encourage them to say he. Even in the midst of opposition, trust that the work that you're doing God is going to bring, you're not wasting your time. In other words, like even I'm writing from prison, but don't be discouraged because he goes on to chapter one. He says the gospel is still advancing even, even as I'm in prison. So don't think that we've lost. In other words, know that God is going to bring all of this to completion at the day of Christ, that the full, the real value in what you're doing right now is eternal value. Not even so much just temporal value. So I I'm I'm okay with that. What you were just saying there. I just, I think it's, I've heard it preached as, as personally. In there. They're applying this to like, Hey, your individual salvation. That's what Paul's talking about. You Suzy, God began a good work in you. And he's going to bring that all the way to completion and you're going to be saved on the end at the end. Is that true? Yes. Is that what he's saying? I don't think so. That's a right application of it though. So you could say yes, that that's not what Paul is saying. You could say that for all of the new tests and he's not talking to us. But you could say that's a right application, but I don't think it's about the individual. I think he's, he's talking corporately. I think he's talking to a group of believers, seeing the good work that got beginning. You believers you church. Yes. He's going to bring that to completion in. All I'm saying. I think we've over personalized. This, this promise here rather than seeing it as he's meaning it, which is the work that you're doing churches. Good. And God's going to bring that work, which yes. Involves the salvation of people in the church. But more broadly than that, the work that you're doing in partnering in the gospel, in, in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, Hey, God's going to bring all this work to completion on the day of Christ. Jesus. Okay. I would agree with that. It's certainly not individual. He's talking to the y'all's right. Yours and the user all plural. Right. So amen to that. Uh, but I think it's a necessary consequences. So your personal salvation is secure. Yeah. And I just think I would preach that from a different passage, not this one. Cause that's true. You could use this one. Right, but I don't think it's the right emphasis on the right syllable. Well sure. But again, necessary application. You could say it's because of this, then that is absolutely true. And this and this works, it may not say it as precisely or as it's not first order, it's maybe second order and it's preached as first order most of the time. Well, and that's where you, if you've got good exit Jesus on it, then okay. Then. It gets what I'm trying to do. I don't know, man. I just feel like we're all right. Let's go on. Anyway. Paul's in jail and he's running to them to say, Hey, I'm not derailed. I'm not sidelined. In fact, I've been preaching to the whole Imperial guard so that they know this is the Navy seals of Caesar's household. Uh, they know about Jesus now and people are getting saved and, and others in prison now are bold to speak Christ because they see me doing it. And oh, by the way. Yeah. I heard about the people that are preaching Christ out of selfish, ambition and rivalry. That's fine. As long as they get the gospel, right. I'm fine with that. It's not bothering me as long as people are getting saved because they're preaching the genuine gospel. Let them do it. Uh, and, and so just Paul's humility here. He's just all about Christ and that's where he goes in the end of chapter one, the most famous section here where he says, look, I don't know what the future holds for me, whether I'm going to die or live, but if I'm going to live, that means Christ. If I'm going to die, that's gain why? Because the department be be with Jesus is better. Than being here. And, and that's something that we read and we're like, oh man, that's so good. And we need like a coffee mug with that on it. Do we believe that though, is, is the question, do we really believe that it would be better? To, to leave this world and go to be with Jesus. Uh, to leave anything that you love in this world to go to be with Jesus is your affection for Christ, so great that you would say that's better. That's better. Um, that doesn't mean, and this goes back to when Jesus was telling his followers, unless you. Uh, hate your own family. You're not worthy of being my follower. This is that inaction. Is there anything that you love so much that you're like, I would rather still have this. I want my marriage more than I want to go to be with Jesus. I want my kids more than I want to go to be with Jesus. I want my job more than I want to go to be with Jesus. I want to graduate more than I want to go to be with Jesus. If, if that's your, your situation. Then you don't believe what Paul has written here, that it's better to go be with Jesus. And that's a mindset that we have to discipline ourselves to get to. Uh, chapter two, there's more chapter one, but just for sake of time, moving on chapter two. Uh, Christ's example of humility. The kenosis passage kenosis is from the Greek, which means to empty. And that's where we get the verse there, which he says, uh, he did not count equality with God, something to be grasped or held onto, but verse seven, emptied himself. Now this has led to a lot of. Uh, wrong views of what that means. Some have said that he, uh, gave up some of his deity and that's a wrong view that that would be a heretical view that, that there was no lessening of his deity. So, what this means is actually explained in the text. If you look at the next two letter word, there, it's a preposition. He emptied himself. Bye bye. What by taking on the form of a servant. And so his emptying was actually in addition, his emptying was the veiling of his full glory with the fullness of his humanity. Uh, so as he became fully human, he veiled the fullness of his glory to be able to walk with his disciples, to be able to. Uh, not consume them in the fullness of his is the brilliance of his majesty to be able to, to teach them and, and be with them. And sh sure, as it goes on to be humbled to the point of death, even death on a cross, that's the pinnacle of this empty. Is his humility there too, to be willing to die as a human. Uh, for our sins because we needed that and the whole thing there that Paul's after his us. Modeling our love for one another. After that, that we would not be so high and lofty and our own ambitions, our own eyes that we wouldn't be willing to, to love other people the same way there. And so he's calling for that. Uh, love for others there in chapter two. Which you mentioned you to UDL. Yoda and Sidiki um, and if you guys were with us at the transformed conference, Pastor Mike actually addressed this as well, but, but pastor, rod. Um, how does, does that connect back to this passage there? When we he's addressing the conflict going on there and chapter four. It's hard to hold a grudge against somebody. Whom Christ has forgiven. And it's hard to be the kind of person. Who naturally wants to foster grudges when you've been forgiven. And both of those themes emerge both from Christ. And now here in the book of Philippians. Where Paul is reminding them, look at who it was at your serving. Does it make sense for you? Is it fitting? Is it appropriate for you to be the kind of person who. Uh, wants to fight and hold a grudge against somebody that a again, Christ has forgiven. It's not just that. You know, Then they've not been forgiven of a parking ticket, you know, they didn't park the camel and. And a note camel parking spot and they got a ticket and they've been forgiven that this is a person who the king of the universe has declared not guilty. You can't call them guilty for something that Christ doesn't hold them guilty for. So you, you have every reason to. To reconcile. And furthermore, the one whom there to emulate is the one who. Ad is something to himself in terms of, uh, adding to his, his deity, uh, the role of service and the role of humility. And that's what he's calling them to pay attention years. Messiah. Do what your Messiah does. And recognize how that plays a direct role into the way that you interact with other people. Yeah. Yeah. Chapter two, then verse 12 and 13, as a result of the model that we have in Christ, we have to, as he says, your work out our own salvation. Uh, by what, by, by living it out in the humility and the, the love for others, that should be a product of our salvation. Uh, work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And then he goes on to say, knowing that his God who's at work in you, both the will to work for his good pleasure. This is a picture of sanctification. Uh, it is us in, in our efforts, our labors, but it is God who is, is. Producing that desire, even within us to. To want to, to grow and cross likeness. And so rather than get hung up on this and try to get so introspective. To parse out. Okay. Where is this me? Where's this God. Uh, just run after Jesus and understand, and that's God that's causing that desire in you. And that will, and you too, to run after. But, but do what you noted you're supposed to do. And that's kind of what Paul is saying here. Work out your salvation, do what you're supposed to do, but, but no. That the background operation. Th the, the thing that's causing all this to happen in your life is God working in you for his good and his glory. Uh, versus 19 in following, we call that UDL and Sidiki, he calls out Timothy and Pepperdine is for the opposite. He talks about wanting to send Timothy to them soon because Timothy loves them because Timothy was with Paul. And so to me that he's concerned for them. He wants to be around them. He cares about them. Paul, Paul singer. I hope to be able to send them to you after I see how things go with me. Oh, and by the way, I'm sending you a pepper ditis um, my brother and fellow worker, he goes on to in commence a paradise for the ministry because the, the church there in Philippi had sent a paper notice to Paul. In order to meet Paul's needs to serve him while Paul was in prison in pulsing, he did a great job welcoming back. In fact, he did such a good job. That he was almost at the point of death because he got so sick and yet he refused it to abandon me. So honor him because he was willing to die in service to the gospel and service to me here. So he sends these two back and kind of says these guys they're doing it right in Timothy and Titus. Notice why he calls them out. Verse 20 for Timothy says I have no unlike him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. He's. He's an other centered kind of guy. He cares about the body of Christ. He cares about the bride and that's what makes him so unique in Paul's mind. Paul loved him at the end part because of Timothy's concern for Paul's concern, the bride, the body Christ people. Uh, that oughta characterize you. And if it doesn't man, what a good example that Timothy offers us. And then Peffer, ditis you see in verse 26, he was longing for you guys. He was long. He. His heart yearns to be with you, his heart yearns to encourage you to teach you to train it. Doesn't that sound like Paul. He says he and he was distressed and dude was just freaking out. Why? Because you heard he was sick. He was upset because you thought he was going to die. He was concerned that you were concerned for him. The dude is languishing on a bed and he's like, man, guys, please. Don't don't don't sweat me. I'm not. I'm concerned for you. And these guys I read about them. And I just think, man, this is kind of, this is the kind of pastor I want to beat. Is it kind of pastors, I hope that we can attract for our church because this is where it's at man care for the body of Christ care for people. That's what our church would be known for. Yeah. Yeah. At amen. Both of those things. Uh, chapter three, then he gets into what, what boasting looks like. And basically boasting looks like our standing in Christ in that alone. And, uh, he says, look, after talking about humility and serving in loving one another, he says, If anyone's going to post, he said I could boast. I can flex on you. If I wanted to flex on you. And that's where he goes off and he lists all of those things. He says, if anyone has reason to boast, I have more, um, any S. He talks about his heritage here. He says I was circumcised on the eighth day at the people of Israel. Why does that matter? Because it meant he was keeping the law. Uh, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews that's the law, a Pharisee. I was keeping it. I was an expert as to zeal a persecutor of the church, which we think negatively. You were saying that was a positive marker for him because it showed how passionate he was for God, the God of Israel. He was like, I'm going to destroy the, any threat to you. And so we sing, I was so zealous for God that, that I was even willing to persecute the church. Um, and then he says as a righteousness under the law blameless, he's not saying that he never sinned. He's just saying as far as he knew. He was, he kept a clear conscience before God, there was nothing on his, on his ledger that would. So he would say this is a scene I'm harboring there. And blameless, and then he goes on, he says yet, Everything, everything, all of that, anything I might boast in, I'm going to count as loss. And this is like a financial loss that he's talking about here. It's going to be not a positive credit, but I'm gonna look at it as a liability. And he says, it's a loss for me compared to the value of knowing Christ, because I only want to know him. I don't want anything present in my life. That's going to tempt me to boast in anything other than Jesus. And that's what he's talking about. In chapter three there, and then he goes on in verses 12 and following to say, but I'm not done yet. That's true, but I'm not done yet. I still have work to do, and it's not a let go and let God and be like, oh look how great Jesus is. So I'm just going to let him pass. Deliver me to heaven. He say, I'm straining forward. Agonizing. To get to Christ that by any means possible, I might attain the resurrection from the dead. So Paul is, uh, ambitious to honor the Lord with his life until the Lord calls him home to be with him. And we'll pick up that on in second Timothy chapter four. Uh, where he says, look, I've, I've finished the race. I've fought the fight. It's the same concept here. Um, he says right now he says I'm fighting the fight. Um, I'm looking to finish the race. I'm not there yet. So I'm going to press on. And so he calls for that. In chapter three. Chapter four. Then we talked about UDL and Cintiq. Y'all ready. So after this, he gets into this passage, which is, is, uh, so evergreen in today's culture and society where anxiety is so prevalent. And he says in Philippians four, six, be anxious for nothing. And I think it's important. In our culture of, um, wanting to be careful with people. I do think it's important that we understand this is a command. Uh, this is a scriptural command of God that Paul writes be anxious for nothing. And if, if that was period and there was nothing else there, man, that would be hard. And perhaps even harsh and heavy. And yet he gives us, uh, the response then. Okay. So then what should I do? Well, instead of being anxious, there's a few things to do. Number one. You pray, you make your request made known to God. Uh, number two, you, you do so with thankfulness in your hearts. And so even the things that are causing you, anxiety, you, you find reasons to be thankful, even in the face of that anxiety. And he says those two things. That's, that's going to give you a peace of God. That's going to guard your heart and mind. And that's so important. That's where anxiety grips us. Is our heart and our mind, and it's going to guard your heart and your mind in Christ. Jesus. And it's a peace that surpasses understanding. So the promise is not that what's causing you. Anxiety is going to go away. The promises, you can have peace. And then he says, and this is important for us to the third way that we battled anxiety is in the mental game. And that's where he goes in verse eight, he says, and. In keeping with that. Only think about these things and he lists off. Uh, 6 7, 8 things there that we need to use to make sure that, that these are the only things that we're allowing to enter our mind in and keep our minds sharp for Christ. So often that the battle for anxiety is won or lost in what we're thinking about. And if we will put Philippians four eight into practice, that is such a huge, huge help in overcoming the anxious thoughts that enter into our minds. From here. Uh, as the, the epistle. It goes on and in concludes, he talks about his current circumstances and, and says, look, I, I, I am rejoice that you're supporting me again. That's great that you're able to do that. And he says, but I want you to know that I know I'm good, whether I have a lot or a little, uh, I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound, uh, if I have hunger or I don't have, or I have plenty of food. I'm good in this is the context of, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So it's not, I'm going to go play a football game. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It's whatever my circumstance, good or bad. I'm going to be okay because of God, Jesus. And that's his point there in that, uh, that verse that is. As well-known and then he goes on and he commends them for their gift and says, God's going to supply your needs in many, gives us final greetings there at the end of the epistle. That was great. That was fast. Yeah. Yeah, I think this letter is a, I mean, all these letters that we're going through again, I don't like the speed, but I also liked the. The sense of wholeness that you get after you read something like this, because you walk away feeling like, okay, I understand the letter now. Um, you, you just pointed out. I could do all things to him who strengthens me. You know that by itself sounds like it says a lot. Um, but when you read it in context, it sounds like what he's saying is, oh, I can be content in every situation. That's what he means by that. Um, I can have a lot, I can have a little Christ strengthens me through all of those things. And that's the best. I mean, that's the best tactic when reading scripture, it's like what? Great Coco says, never read a Bible verse, and that's such a good thing that we're doing here. So if you made it this far with us, uh, you've only got what, 15 days, 16 days left of the no, less than that at this point. Uh, 14, two weeks. Let's just call it two weeks, two weeks left in the year, reading the Bible chronologically. What? I'm sure there's lots of facts. We'd love to hear. If you've got something that a way that this Bible reading program has impacted you in a positive way, please. Welcome to let us know. I'd love to hear how it's benefiting you podcast at compass N T X. Dot org. Let's pray. Got we, uh, we thank you that the promise is true that we talked about at the beginning of this. This podcast that you who began a good work in us will bring that work to completion. And yes, it's true. That that involves other, our individual relationship with you. That, that we're not going to derail your plans for us in that regard that you are going to. Uh, allow us to finish the course to fight the fight in, in, in bring it to completion in, in the fullness. And we'll know that when we stand before you. Um, and like Paul said that we're in the meantime. Doing everything that we possibly can to, to. Strain forward towards that day when we have the resurrection of our bodies and we are with you and we receive our glorified, but all of that is going to be amazing. In the meantime, God, we want to be faithful to you. We want to be those that. That live as Paul was able to live to say to live is Christ to die is gain and to be content with that. And yet not to hold on to anything in this world, such that we would be able to say also with Paul to depart and be with Christ is far. Better. So until that day, until you call someone to be with you, help us to be a faithful bride, a faithful church. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. And then. All right. Y'all keeping your Bibles and turn it against them all for another edition. The daily Bible podcast. Bye.