Sabbath School Class Week 15
INTRODUCTION: Well this is the last passage in Philippians. What a study it has been. I'm a little sad. I will miss saturating my mind with the wonderful wisdom from Paul. What a blessing it has been to me. The good news is we aren't done, we still have this week and then next week we will review and go over the entire book.
This week it is a very short passage and one that could be overlooked and frankly given as much importance as the LOVE at the end of a letter. It is the salutation, but not something to ignore.
Philippians 4: 20-23
20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21 Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen
Verse 20: To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. This verse really should have been part of last weeks lesson. It is the ending of last weeks paragraph. So lets go back for a moment.
In verse 19 he assures the Philippians that God will provide all their needs, that he will take care of them. Then verse 20, To God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Giving God the glory for all of our needs that he has promised to provide. So practically what does this mean for us.
This Easter Sunday is my birthday and the day after a huge event at Mount Pisgah Academy. We just celebrated 100 years! (Pisgah that is, not me!) Over and over again throughout the weekend, amazing people showed up and pitched in to get all the work done. At 4:30pm on Friday I found out my stage design plan would not work and was not going to happen. I was about to panic, about to crumble. I was tired beyond belief, we were just a couple hours away from our guests arriving and I had no stage design. I climbed up on the stage where Nancy was sewing the curtains to frame the stage. We had hoped the curtains would be done much earlier but as always they were taking longer than expected and they were still sewing at 4:30. I told her about my lack of stage design and right away she perked up had an idea and in a matter of minutes assured me not only could it be done and it would look amazing but she could do it with her husband. There is no question I am thankful for Nancy, but it wasn't her, it was HIM. It was to our God and Father be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. All weekend, he over and over, through His children, made incredible things happen.
What is the lesson here?
Give credit where credit is due?
Too many times we get caught up in all that is going on around us, and we fail to give Him the credit. Now this can be a sticky subject. See if you give Him credit for the great things that happen, do we give Him credit for the terrible things that happen? This can become a very deep and divided theological discussion that if you would like to tackle, that is fine. However I'm frankly not up to it right now. I don't think this is the point of this discussion. I will just leave you with this. No matter how you fall on this subject I will challenge you to spend the next week, praising God every time you experience a blessing, a joy, a moment of peace and see if just the simple act of praising Him doesn't have a huge impact on your JOY quotient. I believe it will because I can tell you from personal experience.
INGREDIENT# 31 Give Credit to God!
ACTION: Practice daily giving him credit for your moments of Joy, moments of peace, moments where you saw God working in your life!
Verse 21- Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
Just today I was talking with a student and she mentioned how much she enjoyed this past weekend. I was quite honestly a little surprised. We old people love alumni weekend, but the young people... well for them it is just a lot of old people on their campus. So I was interested in what she would say about it. She went on to say that over and over again people we so appreciative of everything the students were doing for them, and it was such a blessing to here all the warm friendly excited greetings as the alumni ran into people they knew and loved. She was right!!! Put a whole lot of people in a room who have loved each other, been away from each other for years and listen to the joy that they share in just simply greeting each other and this verse has a whole new meaning. Greetings are a small thing perhaps, but there is something so joy producing about getting a warm greeting. Why does every church I have ever known tried to have greeters at the doors? We know that greeting each other works. It is JOY producing. More important it is perhaps an introduction and greeting from God when we do it in genuine love.
INGREDIENT # 32 Greet each other!
ACTION: I want to challenge you to greet the people around you. Say hello to strangers, say hello to your children, say hello and greet your coworkers. See what warmly greeting those around you will do, for you and for them. Challenge, if you have never greeted at our church, volunteer even if it is just for one Sabbath! Greet each other!
The last verse of Philippians!
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen
I know this is small, or short and just a quick saying, but really what a beautiful thought. To all us joy seekers... The GRACE of the LORD JESUS CHRIST be with your spirit!
Let's look at this in two parts. First, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" is there anything more joy producing than the grace of our Lord?
When have you felt His grace?
When have you received grace from your fellow man?
What does grace feel like?
I don't know about you but when I just think about GRACE, I let out a deep breath. When I experience His grace, I am humbled, freed, filled with gratitude!
Second, "be with your spirit."
Periodically throughout our marriage Chris and I will turn to each other and ask, "So how are your spirits?" The question asks a question about the deep insides. The heart. It asks how the other is doing , really doing, in the place that is sometimes hidden, or ignored.
This entire book has been about experiencing JOY! What a beautiful cherry on top of the whipped cream this verse is! If the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is not just with us, but with our spirit, with us at our core, with our heart, with us in that place that is often hidden and ignored, wow can you imagine? Can you imagine the power filled joy that will come from that place? Can you?
If you really experienced his grace with your spirit how would your life be different?
Would it change anything?
How would you see those around you?
How would you view yourself?
How would you view your Savior?
Would the JOY in your life change?
INGREDIENT # 33 Experience God's Grace!!!!
ACTION: As we close the book of Philippians, I want to challenge you this week to keep your focus on the Grace of God! Find scripture that talks about His grace and write them on post it notes and put them everywhere. Sing songs about grace! Memorize some of the scriptures you find. Ask Him for his Grace, thank Him for His grace, and then share His grace!
I am so sad to say that is the end of the book of Philippians. Over and over I have found this study to lift me in moments where joy seemed hard to come by. I would remember an ingredient or two and just remembering them would bring the joy. I know it will forever be apart of my life! I hope the same for you. Next week we will review and revisit this book. I would love for each of you to come prepared to share just a short thought about what you have gained from this book. How has God personally increased your joy through the pages of this book so lovingly written by Paul so many years ago. We know that our personal testimony is powerful, so come prepared to share. That will not be this coming Sabbath but the next. If you are just following this online, then I challenge you to post on the blog or if you would rather keep it private write down somewhere the moments of Joy you have received.
What is the lesson here?
Give credit where credit is due?
Too many times we get caught up in all that is going on around us, and we fail to give Him the credit. Now this can be a sticky subject. See if you give Him credit for the great things that happen, do we give Him credit for the terrible things that happen? This can become a very deep and divided theological discussion that if you would like to tackle, that is fine. However I'm frankly not up to it right now. I don't think this is the point of this discussion. I will just leave you with this. No matter how you fall on this subject I will challenge you to spend the next week, praising God every time you experience a blessing, a joy, a moment of peace and see if just the simple act of praising Him doesn't have a huge impact on your JOY quotient. I believe it will because I can tell you from personal experience.
INGREDIENT# 31 Give Credit to God!
ACTION: Practice daily giving him credit for your moments of Joy, moments of peace, moments where you saw God working in your life!
Verse 21- Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
Just today I was talking with a student and she mentioned how much she enjoyed this past weekend. I was quite honestly a little surprised. We old people love alumni weekend, but the young people... well for them it is just a lot of old people on their campus. So I was interested in what she would say about it. She went on to say that over and over again people we so appreciative of everything the students were doing for them, and it was such a blessing to here all the warm friendly excited greetings as the alumni ran into people they knew and loved. She was right!!! Put a whole lot of people in a room who have loved each other, been away from each other for years and listen to the joy that they share in just simply greeting each other and this verse has a whole new meaning. Greetings are a small thing perhaps, but there is something so joy producing about getting a warm greeting. Why does every church I have ever known tried to have greeters at the doors? We know that greeting each other works. It is JOY producing. More important it is perhaps an introduction and greeting from God when we do it in genuine love.
INGREDIENT # 32 Greet each other!
ACTION: I want to challenge you to greet the people around you. Say hello to strangers, say hello to your children, say hello and greet your coworkers. See what warmly greeting those around you will do, for you and for them. Challenge, if you have never greeted at our church, volunteer even if it is just for one Sabbath! Greet each other!
The last verse of Philippians!
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen
I know this is small, or short and just a quick saying, but really what a beautiful thought. To all us joy seekers... The GRACE of the LORD JESUS CHRIST be with your spirit!
Let's look at this in two parts. First, "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" is there anything more joy producing than the grace of our Lord?
When have you felt His grace?
When have you received grace from your fellow man?
What does grace feel like?
I don't know about you but when I just think about GRACE, I let out a deep breath. When I experience His grace, I am humbled, freed, filled with gratitude!
Second, "be with your spirit."
Periodically throughout our marriage Chris and I will turn to each other and ask, "So how are your spirits?" The question asks a question about the deep insides. The heart. It asks how the other is doing , really doing, in the place that is sometimes hidden, or ignored.
This entire book has been about experiencing JOY! What a beautiful cherry on top of the whipped cream this verse is! If the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is not just with us, but with our spirit, with us at our core, with our heart, with us in that place that is often hidden and ignored, wow can you imagine? Can you imagine the power filled joy that will come from that place? Can you?
If you really experienced his grace with your spirit how would your life be different?
Would it change anything?
How would you see those around you?
How would you view yourself?
How would you view your Savior?
Would the JOY in your life change?
INGREDIENT # 33 Experience God's Grace!!!!
ACTION: As we close the book of Philippians, I want to challenge you this week to keep your focus on the Grace of God! Find scripture that talks about His grace and write them on post it notes and put them everywhere. Sing songs about grace! Memorize some of the scriptures you find. Ask Him for his Grace, thank Him for His grace, and then share His grace!
I am so sad to say that is the end of the book of Philippians. Over and over I have found this study to lift me in moments where joy seemed hard to come by. I would remember an ingredient or two and just remembering them would bring the joy. I know it will forever be apart of my life! I hope the same for you. Next week we will review and revisit this book. I would love for each of you to come prepared to share just a short thought about what you have gained from this book. How has God personally increased your joy through the pages of this book so lovingly written by Paul so many years ago. We know that our personal testimony is powerful, so come prepared to share. That will not be this coming Sabbath but the next. If you are just following this online, then I challenge you to post on the blog or if you would rather keep it private write down somewhere the moments of Joy you have received.
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