S) " 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake."
Philemon [1:] 6 (NASB)
Philemon only has 1 chapter
Philemon only has 1 chapter
O) Simply hearing the gospel is seldom enough. The most effective thing is to show people the gospel. Fellowship is not like the "Lord of the Rings" movie. Fellowship is sharing your life with people, inviting them into your home, letting them see you in a more vulnerable, intimate place. From there, if people see goodness in you, they will be able to glorify God. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. So, if revealing who you "really are" still points toward Christ, that's going to be effective ministry. If people can see how you are behind closed doors, they will see how much love, fear, and respect you truly have for God and His command over you.
A) The first thing is making sure that I am walking in integrity. I need to ensure that every part of my life is above reproach. If (or when) I do make mistakes, then I need to be walking in repentance and taking immediate action to end my lethal behavior, attain God's forgiveness through Christ, and resume my walk in righteousness. Taking that a step further, though, I need to be sure that my life is without sin and has good works. I need to be building something, working toward something, doing something. I can't just be teaching my kids not to sin, I need to be teaching them that I love them. I can't just tell them to obey me, I need to tell them to play with me. I can't just give my tithe to the church I need to give my offering to the man on the corner with the sign.
Now, all of that comes through everything else in the Bible. This verse is applied when I pray that any and all goodness in me is not only visible to others through our fellowship, but also points to Christ and His grace in me. Anything honorable, righteous, worthwhile, noble, commendable, praiseworthy, or otherwise good, should be a reflection of how God took me, a wretched, arrogant, selfish, lustful, deceitful, and otherwise bad man, and redeemed me. He made me new. I want people to see that for Truth.
P) Father, I pray that the fellowship of my faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in me for Christ’s sake. Holy Spirit, continue to shape me, mold me, purge me, purify me, and help me represent You in glorious fashion, glorifying Your goodness, power, and love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
A) The first thing is making sure that I am walking in integrity. I need to ensure that every part of my life is above reproach. If (or when) I do make mistakes, then I need to be walking in repentance and taking immediate action to end my lethal behavior, attain God's forgiveness through Christ, and resume my walk in righteousness. Taking that a step further, though, I need to be sure that my life is without sin and has good works. I need to be building something, working toward something, doing something. I can't just be teaching my kids not to sin, I need to be teaching them that I love them. I can't just tell them to obey me, I need to tell them to play with me. I can't just give my tithe to the church I need to give my offering to the man on the corner with the sign.
Now, all of that comes through everything else in the Bible. This verse is applied when I pray that any and all goodness in me is not only visible to others through our fellowship, but also points to Christ and His grace in me. Anything honorable, righteous, worthwhile, noble, commendable, praiseworthy, or otherwise good, should be a reflection of how God took me, a wretched, arrogant, selfish, lustful, deceitful, and otherwise bad man, and redeemed me. He made me new. I want people to see that for Truth.
P) Father, I pray that the fellowship of my faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in me for Christ’s sake. Holy Spirit, continue to shape me, mold me, purge me, purify me, and help me represent You in glorious fashion, glorifying Your goodness, power, and love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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