The Gathering Place Church - main

We can spend our lives and relationship with God by our successes and failures, or we can define our lives and relationship with God on who we are in Christ, and what He has done. Philippians 3: 1-3; 7-9; 13-15 NLT

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Phil. 2:5-8 The two keys to humility in Jesus’ example are: 1. He took the very nature of a servant. Serving others is the antidote to our prideful human nature. Nothing humbles our pride like serving those we consider ourselves superior to. Serving others should be a daily goal. 2. He humbled himself. His Father did not force him to choose humility, he humbled himself. Humility is a choice we can make. Every day there are countless opportunities to choose humility. None of them are pleasant! All of them purify our character. All of them attract the blessings and exaltation of our Father God. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” James 4:6 “Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up” James 4:10

Some don’t believe in heaven. Yet Jesus, Paul, and Peter all say it is a real place. And Jesus’ resurrection paves the way for us to go there. Listen/watch this message and gain the hope of heaven! Romans 1:1-4 NLT; 1 Peter 1:3-7 NLT; Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT; Philippians 3:13- 15 NIV; Revelation 21:1-7, 22-27 NLT

The Gathering Place Church

The Gathering Place Church

We find Paul in prison waiting to learn whether he will live or die. His circumstances are dire. Here is his explanation of his circumstances. “ Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has served to advance the gospel.” Phil.1:12 In this sentence we see Paul’ entire purpose for living, preaching the good news about Jesus. Notice how he is interpreting his present dire circumstances through the lens of his purpose. He is not interpreting his purpose through the lens of his circumstances e.g. “If only I weren’t in prison, I would be accomplishing so much more preaching!” “As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” Phil. 13-14 Rather than focusing on the loss of his platform for preaching, he focuses on the effect on his Christian brothers and sisters of his stand for the gospel in prison. Paul is not living for “his ministry” he is living for the ministry of spreading the good news about Jesus. His purpose is not his ministry, it is the ministry. “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” Phil. 1:15-17 Notice that Paul is not trying to ignore the trouble that he is in or the effect it has had on his ministry. He acknowledges that there are preachers of Jesus trying to take advantage of his trouble to advance their own selfish, insincere ministries. The fact is, they are taking advantage of his troubles. What they are doing is ungodly and unrighteous! How would you feel in Paul’s circumstances? How Paul reacts is not how I would react. I would be writing letters to all “my churches” commanding them to throw the bums out! I would be pleading my case! Shoring up “my ministry” and trying to protect “my leadership” for later when I am set free. Paul doesn’t worry about “his ministry” because his purpose is the spread of the gospel, not on his personal fulfillment as a preacher. He is not about his career. “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” Phil. 1:18 By focusing on his purpose (the gospel being preached) Paul can now say one of the most powerful and helpful phrases in the English language, “So What!” “What does it matter?” All that matters to Paul is that his purpose is accomplished one way or another. And this brings us to the relationship between purpose and happiness, “And because of this I rejoice.” Happiness is the by-product of Godly Purpose. Questions: 1. Do you have a purpose that is bigger than your happiness or pleasure? 2. Do you need a new purpose? 3. If so, where will you find it?

The key to Paul's ability to endure and minister through hardship, is the same key that enabled the Philippian church to be a strength and encouragement to him. The key is LOVE. Paul demonstrated the Love of Christ in his life and ministry, and love was the foundation to grace and abounding love. Philippians 1:7-9 WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? This month has already been so impactful as we have been going through the book of Philippians, and we aren't even through chapter 1 yet! Pastor Mark taught us several weeks ago on the power of thankfulness through the trials of life, and how when we are thankful through (not necessarily for...), we can experience the Joy of the Lord. A couple weeks ago, we looked at Trusting the Process by keeping the BIG PICTURE in mind, understanding that God's good work in us takes time, and trusting in God's timing allows us to grow in faith and character so we can walk out His WILL in our lives with greater victory. Last week Pastor John gave a powerful word on STRONG CHURCH, and how important it is for us to be in the the church body, because we all have gifts from the Holy Spirit which are meant to edify and strengthen. We can't be a strong church without each other. (It was so good to see him in the house.) This week we are looking at the next section in Philippians where Paul expresses his genuine love for the Philippian church, and reasons why. The key to Paul's ability to endure and minister through hardship, is the same key that enabled the Philippian church to be a STRONG CHURCH, and be an encouragement to Paul and each other. The key is LOVE.

The powers of Hell cannot stop the Church when she is operating the way Jesus intended it to. Watch/listen to this message and see what that looks like and where you fit in!

Phil 1:6 ;And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. What is the Good Work? It is not only the moment of salvation when we became new creations in Christ, but it is the life-long transformative power of the Spirit working in us to: To make us more like Christ, and to be His ambassadors on the Earth and accomplish the Great Commission to CHANGE LIVES - Including our own! Q: What would happen in your walk with God, and in your life if you lived with the BIG PICTURE in mind? Q: How would you approach your relationship, and every other area in your life if you give yourself grace, and understand that GROWTH TAKES TIME? Q; How would your life be different or better, if you learned to Trust the Process of GODS TIMING?

In Philippians, his reason for being thankful for them involves their commitment to partnering with him in spreading the good news of Jesus. In the other letters he is thankful for their commitment to their faith in Jesus, their good works, and their love for one another. It would be easy to say that Paul’s thankfulness for the Philippian church is because they are “coworkers” in a noble cause (esprit de corps) . Although this is true, Paul’s thanks for the Philippians goes much deeper than that. His love and thanks for the Philippians goes to the root of his understanding of the spiritual connection he has with all of his Christian brothers and sisters.

The Philippian church is born of supernatural power and suffering. These two go together naturally. For Paul. Perhaps more confusing is this, there are three things, evidence in Paul's life that we rarely put together. Supernatural, power, suffering and joy. How does this work? How can you find joy in the middle of suffering? The book of Philippians is the answer to that question. We'll go through this book and we will see four or five, I can't remember exactly how many now, but four or five ways, practices and ways of thinking that Paul displayed and talked about in that book. And as we see that, we see the keys to finding joy in the middle of suffering. And that will transform our lives.

Quote from A.W. Tozer: That Incredible Christian The Christian believes that in Christ he has died, yet he is more alive than before and he fully expects to live forever. He walks on earth while seated in heaven and though born on earth he finds that after his conversion he is not at home here. He loses his life to save it and is in danger of losing it if he attempts to preserve it. He goes down to get up. If he refuses to go down he is already down, but when he starts down he is on his way up. He is strongest when he is weakest and weakest when he is strong. Though poor he has the power to make others rich He has most after he has given most away. He sometimes does most by doing nothing and goes furthest when standing still. In heaviness he manages to rejoice and keeps his heart glad even in sorrow. He believes that he is saved now, nevertheless he expects to be saved later and looks forward joyfully to future salvation. He fears God but is not afraid of Him. In God’s presence he feels overwhelmed and undone, yet there is nowhere he would rather be than in that presence. 2 Cor. 6:8-10: through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. -7:4-I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. 2 Corinthians: 1-3: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, & our brother Timothy. To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia (2)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (3)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, (4)who comforts us in all our affliction -vs. 4- who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. -vs. 5-For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. -vs. 6-But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; -vs. 7-and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are partners in our sufferings, so also you are in our comfort.

Dennis Reanier is an apostolic leader with a prophetic voice to empower this generation to release the creativity of the Kingdom of God with-in them. As the founder of the Apostolic Resource Center, Revival Cry Ministries, and LOFT, Dennis continues to activate countless people internationally through impartation to stir revival, reformation, and revolution in preparation of the emerging agenda of the end time harvest. He is the co-founder of “Be A Hero, USA” – a non-profit organization for helping children at risk around the world. Dennis authored the sought after book Shaking Heaven and Earth. He has appeared on TBN and has a key role in the film Angel Stories by Jonathan Nixon. He has also been featured on God TV and XP Ministries with Patricia King. Dennis received a B.A. in Sociology from Seattle Pacific University and a M.A. in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. Dennis and his wife, Tammi reside in Bozeman, Montana with their four daughters Jordan, Raegan, Naomi, and Josie.

The Apostle Paul uses two metaphors to describe the Church: A Family: “… let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Gal. 6:10 An Army: “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” 2 Tim 2:3-4

If you make God your firm foundation, He will make you strong and stable in any storm. Watch/listen to this message and find out how.

God is always doing a new thing, especially at the turn of each year. He is a God of days, weeks, seasons, and years. But to move with God you must do these three things. Key Scriptures: Philippians 3:13-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; Isaiah 43:18-19; Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 16:8

God has the ultimate Search And Rescue team as He tries to save the human race. John 3:16-17 NCV; 2 Peter 3:7 CEV; 2 Corinthians 5:19 CEV

So often we only see people based on their behavior. But God’s love sees beyond. He sees beyond your behavior to who He originally intended you to be, and who He is committed to helping you become. Scripture: Luke 5:27-32 NLT; Luke 19:9-10 NLT; Isiah 46:9-10 NKJ; 2 Corinthians 5:16-18 NLT

Jesus is not only the example of God’s love to us, but the expression of God’s love through us. God is love. He wants us to know and show His love to a lost and dying world. Key Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48 NCV; Philippians 2:1-12 NLT;

Summary: Love is not known until it is shown. Just as Jesus sacrificed for us, He calls us to sacrifice for one another. This is the key to all successful relationships. Philippians 2:1-12 Amp