All of Grace and all fun

Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the

spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the

flesh.

To worship God in the spirit means to do what the Holy Spirit currently tells

your heart what to do. Its not about your feelings, meaning what you feel

like doing. This will only hold you back in life and hold you back from

spiritual growth. What you feel like doing (your flesh) does not always

agree with what your spirit tells you. Our flesh causes tiredness,

hopelessness and passiveness. We have to focus on Jesus Christ and not

on our own feelings or strength. This scripture says 'rejoice in Christ

Jesus', and we all know that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

 

Php 3:7 But all those things that I might count as profit (gain) I

now reckon as loss for Christ's sake. (GNB bible)

Sometimes my gain, my interests and my feelings usually gets put first.

That is when we still want to hold on to our own interests and not those of

God, even when we know God expects something different of us. Maybe

some days you feel like staying at home instead of going to church, or to

rest, sleep or watch television instead of praying. That is when your own

feelings or interests or will count more than what the Spirit is currently

telling you what to do. Our whole heart (spirit) tells us to do different, but the

flesh, meaning my own feelings or interests or my will gets placed above

those of God. When it is still all about me above what the Spirit is currently

telling me what to do, I choose my gain/profit! It is actually suppose to be

vice versa, because my gain causes passiveness, disobedience and

wrong decisions that cause me to get held back spiritually and weakens me

more in the flesh. Therefore we have to reckon our gain, our interests, our

feelings and our own will as a loss, so that the power of Christ (thats his

gain/profit for you) can work in and through us.

 

Php 3:8 But no, rather, I also count all things to be loss for the

excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I

have suffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, so that I

 may win Christ

 

To do and know the perfect will of God and to allow the power of the Holy

Spirit to work in and through me and to reach the goal God has set for me, i

will count all wrong doing as loss and harm in my life. It profits me nothing,

its garbage and no good.

Will i have to suffer through it? Yes, there is a price to pay if you want to

say no to yourself and yes to God. It is not easy. And there are so many

things to say no to, especially in tribulations and temptations, in humiliation,

sickness, in need and suffering – to be able to give God the glory through

these things, to still do the right thing and to hold on to God. Paying a price

and suffering comparing to Jesus Christ and His excellency – i would rather

suffer! All i want to know is Christ and to know that i belong to Him.

Php 3:9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a

righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I

now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the

righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.

To be united with Christ and to receive Him as profit, will not be out of your

own righteousness. Meaning not to do what you feel is appropriate, what

you feel like doing, what you think is right. It wont be either by feeling you

deserve these things by obeying the law, NO, we are united with Christ,

abiding in Christ and receive Him as profit by only having true faith in Him.

This we call the righteousness of God, because through faith are we being

made righteous, and through faith alone. But be careful, there is something

called a 'faith mask' – it looks like true faith – but true faith stand fast and

hold onto God until the end, come what may!

WHY:

Php 3:10,11 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and

the fellowship of His sufferings, (while) being made conformable to His

death, (GNB bible) in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to

life.

 

You will really come to know Jesus and His perfect will and plan for your

life, by having true faith in Him. Even through trials and tribulation will you

know that all things will work together for good, that you are being formed

into someone stronger and that you WILL get through it, because Jesus

also went through trials and tribulation. His divine power will work in and

though you and true faith will carry you through humiliation and tribulation

while you are being made conformable to His death, so that all the 'my

ways' and weaknesses, 'its all about me' and pride can die. But above all

will true faith raise you out of death (desert/trial/tribulation/humiliation

/sickness), a stronger, more holy and more useful instrument in the hand of

God, more than a conquerer!!!

Php 3:12 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have

already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ

Jesus has already won me to himself.

We are not perfect or super holy people and that is why we can only

receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit, His divine power and His promises by having

faith and faith alone. But we keep striving towards holiness, we have to try

and grab hold of it through faith. A definition of faith = to reach further than

your grasp (where you can reach). It does not look like you can reach it, it

looks like you will not be able to make it, but by having faith will you reach

it!!!

 

Php 3:13,14 Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already

won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do

my best to reach what is ahead. (GNB bible) I press toward the mark for

the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

You will never make it out of your own. You will never be able to die to the

self, by doing things your way or be able to conquer sin on your own.

Together with Jesus, YES. And that means to keep your focus on Him and

not on your capability, worthiness or the problem itself, no! Paul says he

himself is not super holy. Even Paul had weaknesses and faults. But he

says he forgets about it. He even forgets about yesterday and the past,

because that only steals your boldness to stand before God and ask Him

for something, it makes you feel worthless and useless and sorry for

yourself. Paul erases all these things, he erases all those feelings of

worthlessness, that awful picture of himself, his weaknesses and faults of

yesterday as if it never happened, he does not think about it anymore,

otherwise he will stand in one place and never go forward in life, never

grow spiritually. He forgets about his tribulation and sufferings of yesterday

and reaches for a new tomorrow, a new day where he can stand clean and

bold before God as a useful instrument that can fulfill his calling in Christ

through faith! If we focus on today, on Jesus Christ, His divine power, His

profit that becomes our profit, then we forget about our weaknesses and

about yesterday and our current tribulation and get changed and renewed

by God for the day of tomorrow.

Rom 8:34 Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or

rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with

him for us!

Rom 8:35 Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ?

Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or

danger or death?

Rom 8:36 As the scripture says, "For your sake we are in

danger of death at all times; we are treated like sheep that are going to be

slaughtered."

Rom 8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory

through him who loved us!

Rom 8:28 We know that in all things God works for good with

those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.

(GNB bible)

This scripture says that because Jesus died we also have to die. We die

daily. But He was risen and the same power that rose Jesus from the dead

works inside of me, it raises me daily to be a stronger more useful

instrument in the hand of God. So we don't escape tribulation, hardship,

persecution, humiliation or trials. But they all work together for good. During

these times and moments can the power of Christ work in us. If all was

perfect and good, we never needed the power of Christ. Therefore we

rejoice in times like these, because we can be vessels experiencing the

power of God. 'But in all these things we more than conquer through Him

who loved us.' MKJV. And we can know that, come what may, all will work

together for good. God shapes us into stronger Christians that glorifies His

name. He teaches us obedience through what we suffer. And God is

trustworthy he will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able,

but with the temptation also will make a way to escape, so that you may be

able to bear it.

 

Heb 5:7 For Jesus, in the days of His flesh, when He had

offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and

tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was

heard in that He feared,

Heb 5:8 though being a Son, yet He learned obedience by the

things which He suffered.

 

Jesus also went through oppression, hardship and agony. Was

it because of disobedience or because God wanted to punish Him? NO. But

God only teaches us something out of what we

go through. Most of the time it was because of our own doing,

because of wrong decisions we made. But why does the bible say that

Jesus had to learn obedience by the things he suffered,

if Jesus never was disobedient? Because out of love for us he

made the decision to go through all humiliation, oppression, tribulation, trials

and agony to be an example of obedience for us

while going through it. He had to conquer disobedience to show

us that we can also do it through His strength. And now nothing but nothing

is too hard or impossible for us to handle or overcome. If we dare believe!

 

Psa 103:6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are

oppressed.

Psa 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in

faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Psa 119:71 My punishment was good for me, because it made me learn

your commands.

Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

 

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains (To urge irresistibly,

force) us, judging this, that if one died for all, then all died;

2Co 5:15 and He died for all, that the living ones may live no

more to themselves, but to Him who died for them and having

been raised. (MKJV)

2Co 5:17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old

is gone, the new has come. (GNB)

We cannot say no to the love and commandments of Jesus. It urges you to

die to the old self, your own will and way of doing things and to those things

you once thought were of profit to you. As a christian we have to die to all

the old things we once did wrong, and daily, so that we can stand clean and

bold before the Lord. Therefore we forget about the past and our problems

and weaknesses of yesterday. Forget about that portrait you picture of

yourself and start looking at yourself through the eyes of God, when you

know you confessed before the Lord and asked for forgiveness. God sees

you as clean and useful to Him. God really wants to use you today!! The old

is gone now, you stand clean and useful before the Lord.

Summary:

Rom 8:8 Those who are in the flesh (those who continue to sin and do

what pleases them, listen to their own feelings) cannot please God.

Rom 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in

fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have

the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (If you accepted

Jesus Christ as your savior, you belong to Him and does what

pleases Him, you don't listen to your flesh)

Rom 8:10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin

(so you don't listen to what your body/feeling tells you) , the Spirit is life

because of righteousness (and your spirit will come alive and strong

because of true faith).

Rom 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead

dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also

give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in

you. (the more you die to the self, the more alive and stronger

your spirit will become).

Rom 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die (you will

become more passive, sinful, disobedient and self righteous), but if by the

Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Rom 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God (and not by

feelings or own way of doing things ) are sons of God.

Rom 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into

fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we

cry, "Abba! Father!"

Rom 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that

we are children of God,

Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow

heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we

may also be glorified with him. to gain Jesus Christ, His promises and

Spirit in my life, means that i will have to go through sufferings. We live in

a broken world were things go wrong and the devil will always try and

brake your faith. Jesus paid a price, you have to pay a price, even if it just

mean saying

no to the flesh. Its not always easy, but while going through these things

you are changing more to the likeness of Jesus and His glory, into a

stronger being. The more you die to the self the more the divine power

and miracles of God can come alive in you. Then you will see God's

glory!)

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not

worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed in us. (All the

sufferings you have to go through are not more than you can handle. And

compared to the glory of God, the lesson you can get taught out of it and

how you can get shaped through it, your problem is actually nothing. Your

problems are actually worth gold to you. The bigger your problem, the

bigger the treasure you will receive from it. So stand fast, hold on to God

and take heart. God is with you and walks with you on the water. He will

never let go!

Always remember that when the devil thinks he is busy burying you, God is

actually busy planting you!!

   

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