The Evangelist’s Inner Lifestyle (Philippians 3:7-14)

Introduction – State

Paul

1. Christ – Discovery

2. Hand of Christ

3. Being Called from Above

4. Galatians 3:20 Death with Christ

Me

1. Center – Motive

What is the reason churches grow rapidly and eventually fall? It’s not that they started with wrong motives, but when they developed the wrong motive, they fall to Satan. Why am I sitting here today? Why am I working in the world today?  Why do I live in this nation? Check your inner state and motives, because that has to be aligned with God, then God will begin to work.

1) 1 Samuel 16:7

Man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart.  Don’t be deceived. When you’re empty and lacking, you’ll want to fill yourself with outside things. Be careful.

2) Daniel 1:8 Will

It says Daniel resolved. Our young adults and church officers must resolve in this. “I won’t make money the incorrect way; I’m not going to succeed in the incorrect way.  I’m only going to live a life properly before God, and resolve to live such a life.” Otherwise, the work and studies you do will be pathetic. You’ll always be wary about what other people think, about your circumstances. 

3) Phil 3:14

It is the heavenward prize towards which we race.  God will fill us with the things of the world so we can do His work. It seems like a simple saying. What do most Christians do? They believe in God to gain the things of the world, but the reason why God gives us the things of the world is so that we can do the things of heaven; but people flip this around.  People look at the things of the earth, so we must look above towards the heavenly prize. 

All believers must use their skills and work to do the work of missions and evangelism. This is very important. With everything you have, you’re going to wards the heavenward prize which is missions and evangelism and the saving of lives.  You have to constantly confirm this inner state.  If I am not like this, then I have to change this through prayer.  I’m going to say it again. God doesn’t guide you for your physical things.  God gave us the skill so that we can do the work of saving lives and souls.  This is why God gives us our health and finances.  You cannot flip it upside down and say you believe in Jesus Christ to gain money. It means you are not praying so you can receive health.  God fills our needs for our health, our finances, and money so we can do the work of saving lives.  If we don’t know this, then we will do a lifelong walk of faith but it will be suffering.

I said this before, but when someone is sick and asks me to pray, it’s not that I don’t pray for them, but I don’t pray the incorrect prayer. Instead of praying for the thing that God wants, they pray incorrectly so I won’t pray for them. What will you do with your health? Will you be healthy and do something else?  How shall I pray for you? That would be a headache.  You have to be healthy so you can do world evangelization, but if you’re going to be healthy so you can play around, you’ll have to stay sick, why? Because if you’re sick, it’s an opportunity to stand before God.

You have to pray properly. “My kid got a good job or got into a good college,” if it ends there, it’s only self-fulfillment. Why did God give that answer? He gave it so you can do missions and evangelism.  It’s not something to be fulfilled or happy about, but change into thinking, “This is given to me by God to do missions and evangelism.”  If you failed, why did you fail?  There was no choice but for you to fail, and within that, you need to find God’s plan. It means something is not aligned with God.  But instead of aligning yourself to God, you keep thinking of other methods, but then you’re not looking for God’s plan.

4) 2 Timothy 2:21

If you make yourself clean, you’ll be used in a precious way. Clean means you stand upright before God.  We’re not talking about being upright ethically or morally, because religious people can do that, too, but we stand before God. Otherwise, you talk about your own standards and experiences, and that’s not the truth. Only God is the Truth.  That is why I must stand before God.  That is what it means to be clean.  “I do this but my thoughts are clean,” that’s not standing before God.  If you’re clean, standing before God, you will be used as a precious vessel.

2. Absolute Humility

1) Daniel 2:27-30 God

Absolute humility means I am standing before God.  The king was dreaming dreams, but no one could interpret it, but Daniel said, “God above can say it,” so He was talking about God.  He never said, “I can do this,” but, “God, through me,” before the king.  Humility means, “Before God.”  It’s not that I did anything of my own accord, but God has given me the wisdom and the answer, so we’re talking about the humility that exalts the Triune God.  “It is because I’m smart like my parents,” you cannot use that. “God has given my child this skill and wisdom so my child can do missions and evangelism.”

Parents say, “My kid is so dumb, my child can’t do anything,” but there is no God there.  “Instead of giving my child the talent of studying, my child has different talents, so my child will do missions and evangelism with different talents.”  Be modest before God, it’s the same as you talk to your children. “What can you do? Are you athletic?” Parents repeat godless words.  There is a heavenly talent God has given to you so you can evangelize.   You have to plant your gospel in your children, but instead, they plant their own thoughts and own words to bring their child down.

We’re talking of Temple Construction, and people say different things, “We can do this!” or “We can’t do this!” Either way, there is no God so they cannot see God.  So, even if an answer comes, they just proclaim themselves.  With this kind of spiritual state, God can never use you. God is going to do it.  With that faith, the one who prays is the one God answers.   That’s why everyone can come together and give towards God. 

“I don’t have anything,” that’s not true. You just think you can’t do it because you created these things for yourself, but the person is doing that because they’re worried about the future.  They don’t know if they’re going to live or die tomorrow, but instead, they save up for food for tomorrow and say they have nothing left. That means they are completely taking God out of the equation.  The work of tomorrow is what God is doing. You only think of today; you have no tomorrow because tomorrow is in God’s hands, so why is there something you cannot do? You can do many things.

2) Isaiah 42:8

What does God say? He will not have His glory taken away by anyone. He doesn’t get His praise stolen away by idols.  What does that mean? It means God will work upon those who live to glorify God because His glory will not be taken away by humans.  So, for those of us who are living for our own glory or goals, God will take things away from us.  Why? Because if we live for our own glory, God will crumble us and make it so we glorify Him. This must be confirmed within us.

3) 1 Peter 5:5-6

Humility.  It means the youths will be modest before elders, because God is going to strike down the arrogant. If you’re humble, God will raise you.  It means God has a time schedule.  There’s a time when He will raise you up, but before that, you must be humble towards the church officers, then you will become like that.  It’s not just in the church but also at work.  Knowledge is important but the Word is more important.  It doesn’t say in the Bible, “According to your own technique, your power will increase or decrease.” The Bible never says, “The smart are considered higher; the dumb are considered lower.” You have to humble yourself before those whom God has raised, then within time, God will raise you.  That is Biblical.

Then of course, there will be incorrect things, but the important thing is that you are obedient and humble before those people as you do this before God. This is not a matter of skill; it is a matter of whether you believe God or not. It’s the same in the world, you have to be able to respect the people whom God has raised.  In your workplace, you have to be able to respect the people who are above you. 

The devil will take your knowledge or skills and make you disobey those above you. That is not a person who believes in God in the field. They may come to church or claim to believe in God, but they do not acknowledge God in the field, so instead of the Kingdom of God coming upon them, the kingdom of Satan comes upon them, and Satan rules this way. What happens if the kingdom of Satan comes? There are division and conflicts.  To save one person, it’s not just a matter of you saying, “I will save this person by holding onto Christ,” but it is Immanuel. If you cut off all relationships with people and say, “I’m right, I’m holding onto Christ,” you’re rebelling. God says you must love God and people, but you say, “I’m right because I hold onto Christ”?  Many people have this incorrect faith.  They cannot see the Kingdom of God or God’s work upon the field.

It’s the same within your family. Children must learn how to respect their parents.  If you do not learn this here, you cannot learn this anywhere else.  Parents, you shouldn’t make your parents angry, but love them. When do children get angry?  When you keep speaking words they don’t understand and force them, they get angry.  Instead of making them angry, love them, but what does that mean? You have to be able to respect that child, and even if they make a mistake, you cover it up.  You have to teach them to go down the right path. Isn’t that what a parent is?

4) Micah 6:8

What you see in Micah 6:8, do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God.

5) Proverb 6:16-17

God opposes the arrogant. God hates arrogance.  The first thing God cuts off is the arrogant one.  Look at Saul, he was very arrogant, he kept doing the things God told him not to do, so he is taken down from his position as king.

6) 2 Kings 26:16 Eye Disease

An illness fell upon the king who tried to light the lamp of prayer. The priests told him not to, but he did it anyway, and his eyes were afflicted until he died.  The priest has certain roles and the king has certain roles.  Saul gave his own worship and sacrifice when the priest was not there. That’s not something a king should do.  You should only do what God tells you to do.  That’s why when he went to war, he wasn’t supposed to take anything, but he took the animals and possessions as offering to God. 

7) Daniel 5:20

King Nebuchadnezzar had to step down from his position as king.

8) 2 Cor 12:8-9

Paul says he boasts in his weaknesses.  Why?  Because only then does Christ work upon us. All those who have scars and haven’t gotten over them will wrap themselves up tightly, but what does a scar eventually mean? It means they have wrapped themselves up in themselves.  They believe in Jesus Christ, but they don’t quite believe as they don’t believe in themselves.  Paul says he boasts in his weaknesses, why? So that the power of Christ may come upon him. That is the standard by which we are liberated from our scars.  The fact that you can’t talk about your scars to other people means you hide it and wrap it up. It means you’re your own master; Christ can’t work upon that, so that means you can’t believe in Christ.  Even if in other aspects you believe in Christ, you can’t believe in Christ in your scar.  Then what will happen? Satan will continue to use this scar.

3. Living Faith

1) Heb. 11:6 – Faith

Faith pleases God, without faith, it is impossible to please God, why? Because God is doing it.  Even if we could do 1%, we could say we do it, but it’s not like that.  The creator God created everything, and even right now, He is moving everything in the universe.  Faith means you believe in that.  But without believing in this, you work diligently? That’s not pleasing to God.

2) Phil 4:19

It says He is our God Who supplies for all our needs.  We explained it earlier, but this is very important.  God fills our needs; He does not fill our greed.  Unbeknownst to you, if you have this greed and ask, “why is God not answering me?” Why would He fill your idolatry? He will work upon your needs. God is going to fill your needs according to His time schedule for what is necessary for evangelism and missions.  For the evangelist, there is no saving for tomorrow. You don’t know if you will live or die tomorrow, so what is there to save up for?  God will fill your needs according to what you need. 

God will determine whether your possessions will disappear tomorrow or not. He is a God who meets all your needs.  Don’t ask for Him to fill your needs, but for world evangelization and missions, watch Him answer you.  I speak like this, but from a worldly perspective, it may be heard as, “The pastor is asking me to give my possessions to him,” but people who aren’t smart will hear it like this.  The people who are filled with their own motives and greed will hear it this way, but those who receive grace will not hear it this way.  “This is our lives, everything is given to God, for the heavenly reward because I received the answer of God filling all my needs. This is what it means to conclude in the gospel. This is the life fulfilled in the gospel.” 

There is no “tomorrow” for a pastor. That’s how I live. Every day, every month, I don’t have anything, but when other people see it, they ask, “How do you live like this?” If anything, saving up is more difficult. For example if I had a few thousand saved up, it’s hard for me, “How shall I spend this?” It becomes a headache. Living like this is completely more simple and better.  What I have, I give to God, I use, I receive more, and I give it back to God. This is how I will live until I die. This is not talking about poverty because I know how to be fulfilled even when I am impoverished or when I’m rich.

3) Psalm 1:1-6 Fruit

The God who bears fruit. Fruit isn’t borne according to what I want; it’s what God gives me. The one who meditates on the law day and night will bear fruit. In John 15, the branch must be attached to the vine to bear fruit.  But there are branches that don’t bear fruit, it is the branch that is barely attached to the vine. The branch that is only 10% attached and 90% detached will not bear fruit as no nutrition will go there. If anything, it will shake and fall off. What does that mean?  It means you have to be 100% attached to Christ because only through that will you bear fruit, and you must know this.  If it is not attached to just “only,” but it’s attached to something else, you’re just partly attached. 

I’ve seen a lot of apple trees and grape vines, I’ve seen dates, and there are also peach trees. If you want to bear fruit, be strongly attached to the vine.  When we say “Christ,” we have to hold onto only Christ.  But if you don’t say “only Christ,” and you get attached and detached, that’s not something that will bear fruit.  It’s similar to unbelievers.  When unbelievers are weak, they want to attach themselves to Christ, but other times, they want to be attached to the world.

What kind of fruit do I have? The fruit is the result; being attached is my faith.  The one who meditates on the Word of the LORD day and night is the faith that attaches to me.  Bearing fruit will happen as time passes according to God’s time schedule.  I hope you are able to confirm your inner state. 

The things of the world are important and evangelism is important but the inner state is determined according God’s Work.

Prayer

God we thank You. Allow us to confirm our inner state.  With our inner strength, may You guide us in the direction of being used by God. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.