Please
read Philippians 1:27-2:4
An old
story goes that an angel appeared at a pastor’s conference and spoke to the
Bishop. The angel said because the Bishop, for years, had worked unselfishly
and unceasingly in the Church and the Kingdom of God, God sent the angel to
reward the Bishop. The Bishop could choose between infinite wisdom or extreme
wealth. The Bishop made his choice without any delay. He chose infinite wisdom
and the angel smiled and said, “ Your choice is excellent. From this day on you
will be the wisest man in God’s Kingdom” and then he disappeared. There was
silence in the conference room for some time – nobody spoke. Then one of the
pastors shouted, “ Sir, since you have blessed with infinite wisdom, please say
something and teach us what you know now.”
The somewhat dazed Bishop said, “
I should have asked for the money.”
Dear
brother and sister in Christ, these days rarely we meet someone who is not
self-centered. In our text today we see Apostle Paul being the exception. He
begins (Philippians 1:12-14) briefly talking about his imprisonment. Now the
focus shifts completely towards the Philippians, beginning with the words “Only let your manner of life …”. Other than two other places
(Philippians 2:19-24, 4:10-24, 18, 22) Paul does not talk about himself.
His full attention is on the Philippians “progress and joy in the faith”
(Philippians 1:25). How does Paul focus this way on the Philippians? Well, he
had a great teacher - Jesus. As we are taught in Hebrews 12:2, Jesus pursued
the greatest joy of being exalted to God’s right hand. Where and how did he
pursue this joy? On the cross suffering and dying for you and me. Paul knew
this and we should also never forget that because of Jesus we too are going to
have great joy in God’s presence.
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