INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: Just testify for the Lord!

“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome,” – Acts 23:11

This was a painful and frustrating time for Paul. He was under arrest and uncertain of his fate. The bottom line is that the Jews wanted him dead – only that they did not have anything warranting a death sentence. Here he was in prison for professing the truth. On his own he was probably in despair and actually afraid because of the situation he found himself in. 

No man could rescue him here. No man could comfort him under these circumstances. But the Lord Jesus himself showed himself to Paul. Him alone could give Paul the courage he needed. He knows what we are going through. He knows our thoughts and He knows the intents of our hearts. He is the one to give us the rightful words of encouragement at any given time.

Sometimes we go through situations and we wish to have a certain answer. Sometimes we wish we could be delivered from the situation. Sometimes we wish we could be taken out, removed from the situation. We feel like we are better off without undergoing that situation. We worry about our own wellbeing. We worry about our own safety. We put our own interests ahead of anyone else.

There is something we can learn from Paul, a man who fought the good fight of faith in Jesus Christ. This is a man who devoted his life for the gospel since meeting Christ. This is “a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the Gospel of God.” He faced so many trials and tribulations but he was not interested to save his life in the midst of every tough encounter with opposition.

When Paul was in need of comfort the Lord was there to say, “Be of good cheer, Paul.” Regardless of the chains the Lord was there to say “Be of good cheer, Paul.” When there was no visible sign of relief the Lord was there to cheer him up.

Perhaps Paul could have wished for a miracle that will shake off the chains, open the doors for him and lead him out of the prison. But no; the Lord had a different game plan. In as much as the Lord was cheering him up, He was practically telling Him that he will stay in chains much longer.

The fascinating thing about this encouragement is that the Lord is revealing an assignment He has for Paul. Most importantly is that Paul proved his worthiness to carry out this assignment to testify for Jesus in Rome. He had a good track record for testifying for Jesus in Jerusalem. So Jesus encouraged him by saying that what brought Paul to jail is what he will have to continue doing even in Rome. Could it get tougher than that?

Paul was dedicated to ensure that whatever happens his conduct is worthy of the gospel of Christ. He bore witness of Jesus in Jerusalem and he was arrested, falsely accused of causing a rebellion amongst the Jews. It does not matter what life situations you are going through, you have to give testimony about the Lord Jesus. The Lord has pulled you through other tough situations and you trusted in Him. You will have to trust Him again.

You may be going through different stages in life, where life seems to be tough but you have to know that the Lord is with you and watching over you. He is keeping track of the way you conduct yourself. Do not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Just testify of the horn of our salvation.

The Worth of Knowing Christ - Part 2

Standing Firm in the Lord


(Philippians 3: 12 -21)


1) Pressing on towards the goal

My call is to receive the glory of God, to attain my portion of the glory – that is the biggest prize. “I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Pressing on means you have the faith that you will reach the end of the race. You are not prepared to give up. You have the courage to go on. You do not fear the path you need to go through. No matter what comes you just press on.

“For God did not give us the spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1: 7). If you want to know Jesus you need to remember that the Spirit you have is powerful and not faint-hearted. You press on because you have the love for what you are doing. You press on because you have the passion for what you are doing and nothing is going to stand on your way. Jesus is love. If you love him you would not allow anything to stand on your way to get to him.

Self-discipline is an important element when you press on. You ensure that you avoid things that will distract you from reaching your goal. There will be challenges along the way to distract you but you need to have the discipline to overcome the challenges. “Blessed is the man who preservers under trial, because he has stood the test, he will receive the Crown of life that God has promised to those who love him,” (James 1:12). Press on (persevere) even when you face trials.

2) Forget the Past

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do is forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,” (Philippians 3:13). Paul knows very well that he was persecuting the people of God but he never allowed his past to haunt him. He forgot about his past and pressed on.

Sometimes we allow our past mistakes, failures and backgrounds to hold us back. We forget that our faith in Jesus Christ has made us a new creation and the past is gone. Jesus Christ has qualified us to inherit God’s glory. We are born again – rooted and built up in him. Therefore the past has nothing to do with us. We need to forget the past and press on.

3) Mature

“All of us who are mature should take such view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have attained,” (Philippians 3: 15 -16).

Forgetting what is behind and pressing on requires one to look at things from a mature stand point. Those who are matured are those who are led by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God has the power to reveal or clarify what may not be clear.

Paul says let us live up to what we have already attained. Being led by the Holy Spirit is a gift for the matured. “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us,” (1 Corinthians 3:12).

The Spirit teaches us everything and reminds us everything that Jesus said whilst he was on his mission here on earth. Therefore we should live up to the Spirit so that we may know who Jesus is. If we live up to the Spirit we will forget the past and remember what Jesus taught us. We will press on to what God has promised us through Jesus Christ.


4) Fellowship

“I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly,” (Psalm 111:1).

The Psalmist demonstrates the importance of praising God, not just on your own but with other people. He talks about praising the Lord in the company of people that live according to God’s will (council of the upright and in the assembly).

Paul also encouraged us to worship the Lord with others. Because Paul knew he was righteous and living according to the will of God, he encourages us to follow his example as we join others in our quest to know Jesus. Joining with others comes with a caution: “take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”

This means that we should be careful of the people we associate with when worshipping God, are they led by the Spirit of God? This basically cautions us to discern the nature of the spirit leading the people we worship with “for sinful nature (spirit of the world) desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want to do,” (Galatians 5:17).

This warning guard us against losing track of our goal, i.e. losing the Spirit that teaches us God’s way. Take note of those who live according to the pattern that was given to us so that we “do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19)


5) Set your mind in heaven

Our citizenship is not here on earth but in heaven. This is where Jesus is seated on the right hand of God. Our focus therefore should be where Jesus is – heaven. If we focus on earthly things then our destiny is destruction.

Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and here thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be,” (Matthew 6:20-21).

We can have everything on earth but these things are temporary and we may lose them anytime. The things of this world may defer us from our quest for the truth (Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life).

Paul says, “What is more I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ,” (Philippians 3:8).

In order to know Christ you do not have to spend time thinking about earthly riches, but think about Christ. We have to be like-minded with him because we have the mind of Christ.

Conclusion

When all has been done, ran a good race, we get a better understanding and knowledge of Jesus and he will crown us. He will transform us from our earthly bodies and we will be like him (glorious bodies). “That is how you should stand firm in the Lord,” (Philippians 4:1).