Day 4 – Read Philippians 2:1-18, Pray Psalm 19:14

This is a reading from John Piper that powerfully calls us to gospel confidence.  It is from a message about Romans 1:14-17. 

… when believers know and love and live on the meat of the gospel, we will be so gospel-filled and gospel-shaped and gospel-dependent and gospel-driven and gospel-hoping and gospel-joyful that no one will need to tell us why we need to share the gospel or how to share the gospel. We will be so thankful and so desperately, day-by-day dependent on the gospel for our own hope of eternal life, and our own sanity, and our own stability, and our own marriages or singleness, that it will be impossible not to know that people need the gospel and why they need it and how it relates to their biggest needs – because we know we need it, and why we need it, and how it meets our biggest needs day by day.

One of the great reasons Paul was so eager to preach the gospel to believers (verse 15) and why I am so eager to preach his gospel to you, is that, if we thrive day-by-day on the meat of the gospel – if the gospel becomes a day-by-day, hour-by-hour instrument of God's power in our lives to save us – then our witness to family and friends and strangers will not be an artificial scheme but the very heartbeat of the way we think and feel and fight the fight for faith and love every day.

Day 3 – Read Philippians 2:1-18, Pray Psalm 19:14

When our lives are lived without grumbling or disputing, what do we prove ourselves to be (vs. 15-16)?  How might these things relate to one another?  Let’s be very practical.  Take your neighborhood or workplace as an example.  Will you be seen as children of God, above reproach, as lights in a dark world, if you grumble and dispute like everybody else?  What if you live out the gospel in the power of the Spirit and do not grumble or dispute like the world around you?  Which will identify you as a child of God?  Jesus’ words come to mind here, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9).

This is an essential realization.  Being a Christian is about…well, it’s about being a Christian.  Not doing certain “Christian” things.  It is who we are before what we do.  If you are a believer in Christ you are a Child of God in Christ.  That is your identity, your security, your destiny, your authority. 

Walk in that identity.  Grumbling and disputing, negative attitudes and speech are not consistent with who you are in Christ!  They don’t belong!  Walk in your authority as a Child of God (John 1:12), and replace those things which don’t belong in the life of a child of God in Christ with those things

which do belong, and which show you to be a child of God, a straight guide to a crooked generation, a light in a dark place!  This is the gospel confidence challenge!  Be who you are!  Not like the world! 

Ephesians 4:29 gives us the put off/put on principle related to speech, based on our new identity in Christ.  Put off the old self and put on the new, Gospel-driven, Christ-honoring self. 

 ²⁹ Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. ³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

What speech are we to put off?  What speech are we to put on?  What are some examples of unwholesome speech? 

What defines the replacement speech?   What are some examples of words that are good for edification, as opposed to unwholesome?  Child of God, unwholesome words do not belong!  Replace them with edifying speech!  .  

Easter 2015 Gospel Confidence Challenge

Conquering Negativity With the Good News!

This week will be a week of devotions from Philippians 2, challenging us to live confidently in the gospel by replacing negativity with the good news.  Next Sunday, April 12^th, we will be challenged from this passage to embark on a three-day negativity fast during that week.  More specific direction for this challenge will be provided next week.  

Day 1 – Read Philippians 2:1-18, Pray Psalm 19:14

Philippians 2:5-11 is the well-known passage about Jesus, God, emptying Himself in becoming a servant-man, dying on the cross, and being raised and exalted to the highest place.   That’s the gospel (i.e. Romans 8:34)!  These verses are part of a context, a flow of thought.    The gospel, specifically Christ’s humbling Himself and being exalted, is the foundation for a lifestyle challenge.  Read vs. 1-4 and 14-16 to see what that lifestyle is.  We are going to be focusing our gospel confidence challenge specifically on verses 14-15.   Start immediately!  Whenever you find your thoughts or words becoming complaining, disputing, critical thoughts, or some other negative thought or speech patterns,  turn from the negative to the good news, the gospel, review the gospel to yourself and go from negativity to gratitude. 

Note the importance of gratitude in the gospel lifestyle:

Colossians 1:11-14; 2:6-7; 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Trying to conquer negativity by focusing on negativity does not work.  It keeps us stuck in negativity!  It is not the New Testament prescription for transformation.  The New Testament pattern is to replace negativity with gratitude, crowd out the characteristics of the old self with the transforming power of gospel gratitude.  This is called the “Put off, put on” principle, taught in Colossians 3:1-17, part of which we just read, as well as Ephesians 4.  Try it in a variety of life circumstances. 

Day 2 – Read Philippians 2:1-18, Pray Psalm 19:14

What is the power of God that works in believers (v. 13)? The answer is the Holy Spirit.  How does this relate to the exaltation of Christ in vs. 9-11, how is this part of the gospel?  The answer is that Jesus Christ, God the Son,  came to earth (vs.5-8), died on the cross for our sin (v. 8),  was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, reigns at the Father’s right hand (vs, 9-11), and sent the Holy Spirit to work God’s work in us (v. 13).  What are the first specific gospel lifestyle issues that we are challenged to work out with fear and trembling and God’s working in us?  The answer is verse 14.  Why might grumbling and disputing be issues we take on with fear and trembling and the work of God? 

² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

How does the fruit of the Spirit relate to Philippians 2:14?  If there is any question, read Galatians 5:13-16, especially 13.  The growth of the fruit of the Spirit is the Christian way to end things like grumbling and disputing.  This is how God works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). 

A key part of the Holy Spirit’s work in us is replacing grumbling with gratitude, discouragement with encouragement, harshness with gentleness, disputing with peace, etc…

Continue to be conscious of negativity and replace it with gospel gratitude.