Thirsting Souls Bible Teaching

(Php 2:17)  “Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. (18) For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.”  Here the Holy Spirit is working in the Apostle Paul to bring about the teaching of  Verse 3,  “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves”. In other words, he is giving them the benefit of the doubt: they will reach out to others; they will do all things without murmurings and disputing; they live as much as humanly possible harmless and blameless. God help us to live up to this wonderful spiritual standard!  

(Php 2:17)  “Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.”  To have lived one’s earthly life and win one soul for the Lord, is to have not lived in vain. But to have enjoyed this life’s love, earthly things, along with good health, and yet only save yourself, you have lived in vain – a worthless life; you have failed in your life’s purpose.  

(Php 2:15) “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; (16)  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”  The Holy Spirit is the Apostle Paul did not just want to see people saved, but also growing in their spirit, maturing to the point of desiring to take others with them to heaven. Babies think only of themselves – the world in their minds revolve around them. Mature people understand that it does not. Mature Believers understand their purpose is everyone around them.  If we never grow, then in a very real sense the Lord’s servants have labored for us in vain.  

(Php 2:14)  “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: (15)  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; (16  Holding forth the word of life;…..”  Not only do we have how “not” to conduct ourselves here, but how “to” conduct ourselves. We are to “hold forth the Word of Life”. In other words, we are to communicate it to the lost world around us. It is not enough for me to be “better” than the lost, for that does them no good. I must be willing to seek their souls through the communication of God’s Word. This world is not my home, it is theirs. My job while here is to seek to see them saved so that their home will also be with God for eternity!  

(Phil 2: 15)  “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,….”   It is hard for us to get our minds around the fact that this world is “crooked and perverse”. It is because we do not see things as God sees them. For example, we look at certain unsaved individuals and think how good they are. They are good by human standards. But not by God’s. By God’s all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That’s why every Saved Child of God needs to reprogram this mind (Romans 12:1-2) so that we begin to see this world as our Lord sees it. How much time do you spend reprogramming?

(Php 2:14) “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: (15)  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;”  When God’s people allow Christ to live through them, they stand out from the world as truly different, as different as light from darkness. Sad that we seem to desire to be “like” the world rather than different from it! We even desire our church’s services to be “like the world”. Yes, we may attract the lost, but in doing so have we said to them they don’t have to be “light” – different? Really, the question in this case becomes, why are we having the service? If it is to truly worship the Lord, then we must be different from the world. If it is to entertain the lost and our flesh, then we will be like the world. No, we cannot have both: (1Jn_2:15)  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

(Php 2:13)“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (14)  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: (15)  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,…”  Oh the glory of being – get this – a son of God! That’s my true position now that I am saved! So, I am to conduct myself as such. As my Father is holy, I am to seek to be holy. As my Jesus lived, I am to seek to live, “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb 7:26). So often we get among God’s people and “we”, our will and desires, and put before anyone and everything.

(Php 2:13)  “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (14) Do all things without murmurings and disputings: (15)  That ye may be blameless and harmless….”   Blameless towards God; harmless toward mankind. Sure, as a saved man, I am “in” Christ Jesus and thus accepted in the beloved, thus eternally saved. Yet, that does not mean I am blameless in action and will not be judged for what I have done “in Christ”. Our old nature whispers, “Don’t worry about such things. At least you are going to heaven.” But there, you will no longer have that old nature, so you will “very much” care what the Lord thinks! Heed the warning! Listen to the Spirit of God speaking to your spirit and do right before Him! 

(Php 2:13) “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (14)  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:”   Most disputes are caused when we think we should have our way about something. It comes from the focus being on self instead of He Who saved us. Instead of putting the other person first – we focus on ourselves – what we want or what we think should happen. Murmurings and disputings NEVER come as the result of “His good pleasure”.