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Philippians & Colossians: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me) · Scripture Central

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Shalom and welcome back to Scripture Central.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, part of the team who are helping with
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Come Follow me this year, and we're in the middle of the New
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Testament. The Pauline epistles with
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Philippians and Colossians this week.
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These are fabulous books. They both preach a lot about
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Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Redeemer and our need to
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sacrifice for salvation. They're wonderful epistles.
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Both of them are written during Paul's imprisonment.
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Chronologically. On my chart you can see that
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they come after Paul's missions and they were while he was in
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imprisoned. He has four prison letters and
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each of them have a lot of things in common.
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Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Psy Lehman.
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The carriers and the greetings are consistent with who's there
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with him. The fact that he's in bonds is
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consistent, and you can see all this on my handout as well.
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That's attached to my video at the base of it.
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Or just go back to Scripture central to the archive, or to
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come follow me and you'll be able to find all the handouts
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there. As you recall, the books were
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organized by length, not by chronology, so you have to go
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back to the book of Acts to find in Acts 16 where he's visiting
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the Philippians now. He writes Colossians later, but
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he never visits them. It's one of the unique things
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about these two letters. We assume, since he's in bonds,
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that he's probably in his first Roman imprisonment, about 61 AD,
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give or take a year, coauthored by Timothy and Paul.
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These audiences, and we'll just start now with the Book of
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Flippians, are devoted Saints who are bishops and deacons, and
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he has the plural on there. You know, bishops, deacons, you
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know, the church is growing in this area.
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And Flippians, I think, is one of his favorite sets of
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communities in the church because he calls them his jewel
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in his crown. And it's really a positive
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letter, and it sounds like as if his wife were living there as
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well. Let me give you a little
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background on the area of Phillip.
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I do you remember on Paul's second mission, he wants to go
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down to Ephesus, but he prays and he has a vision.
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And there's someone calling him over from Macedonia, from
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northern Greece, and they say come and preach the gospel to
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us. And it appears as if Paul goes
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from Turkey over to Greece and arrives there and has enormous
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success for a short period of time.
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But after only a few two or three weeks, the Jews get angry.
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He may have stayed there a little bit longer, but
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persecution starts almost immediately and he has to leave.
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And he keeps sending back other companions to check on them.
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But he was only able to visit them twice that we are that are
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recorded in the book of Acts. The area of Philippi before
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Paul's visit was founded first by the Greeks.
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Do you remember? Alexander the Great's father was
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Philip the Macedon and he's the one who settled this area.
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Then the Romans rebuilt it as a little Rome and they had a huge
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population for that day at the time that Paul's visiting.
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It has almost 10,000 people. The archaeologists assume also
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Phillip I is where Paul stays with Lydia.
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Do you remember Lydia? She's the seller of purple.
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And the reason why Paul got in trouble here is he cast out a
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devil. And the people who believed in
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sooth saying and were making their money on this young damsel
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who had was possessed of some sort or when he healed her, they
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were furious and they were the ones that instigated the
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persecution. One other story that you
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remember from the book of Acts, they cast Paul into prison.
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They're so mad at him and he is singing away with this companion
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and miraculously are allowed to escape and he's able to convert
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the jailer and the jailer's household.
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It's a very fertile area. It's very wonderful soil, very
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rich, and it was a chief city in the area and there's a major
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Roman Rd. that goes across it. So a lot of traffic, a lot of
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international and also a lot of merchants going back and forth.
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The book of Philippians has just 4 chapters and I'll just go
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through the outline with you. He always starts out with a very
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nice greeting and encourages prayers of thanks.
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And then continuing on in chapter one, verse three, he
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talks about praying for more love and knowledge and judgment.
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You know, this is really a letter of fine tuning.
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They're already doing well. And he wants the Saints to rise
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to the next plane and the next plane he's trying to encourage
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them to become at one with Christ, you know, until he sees
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the gospel entirely. Chapter one, verse 12 to 26, he
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talks about how his imprisonment in Rome we assume has actually
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been advancing the gospel. And then in chapter one, verse
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27 to 30, he gives an exhortation to stand worthy
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through suffering. The Saints are suffering as well
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and so in chapter two he says there needs to be a unity in
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Christ and that if we can give selfless service we will be
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united in Christ. He also talks about our
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obligations as Christians to work and share the light of the
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gospel. Chapter 2, verse 19 to 30 he
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talks about the Timothy and Aphroditis had come to visit
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them. In chapter 3, the 1st 11 verses
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refer to the blessings and sacrifices that have to be made
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as disciples. And then from 12 to 21 he uses
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this great imagery of pressing pressing toward the headlink
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goal. And in chapter 4, verse one
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through 9 he gives his last advice.
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It's finally an appeal to rejoice in the Lord.
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And then he concludes verses 10 through 20 giving thanks to for
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the Philippians gifts, and he ends his salutations and final
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words, verses 21 to 23. So it's a nice short book and
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filled with beautiful messages. First four to five and eight in
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chapter one, begin in the NIVI. Always pray with joy because of
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your partnership in the gospel. From the first day until now, I
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long for all of you with affection.
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Now in King James it says bowels remember the heart is what they
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refer to as the mind and the the thinking the process of thought
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and the bowels are their emotions and their love.
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So when it says my bowels are yearning for you, we would say
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my heart is yearning for you. Just a different vocabulary.
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You know he loves these Saints and he also has Luke there many
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times as well as his yoke fellow and they seem to be doing such a
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good job. These Saints are a little more
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humble or meek or committed or something that's having them
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find unity. And so even though Paul was only
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there for a short time during his second mission and then
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passed through very briefly on his third mission and now it's
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years after that, they are still doing really well, at least by
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the advice, the letter. That's what we assume.
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Verse 7 is the first time he mentions his bonds or his
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chains, and then he also mentions it in verse 13.
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Now usually if you're on house arrest, the guard takes his left
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hand and chains it to the prisoner's right hand.
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So you can walk around and move, but the guard can use his
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dominant hand, but the prisoner cannot.
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Other times when you're in Bonds, you were actually held
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down. But since Paul describes his
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arrest as only house arrest, you know he's able to move around
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and teach the gospel and people visit him.
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It it sounds as if perhaps he was either in chains at
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sometimes and then released at others.
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We're not exactly sure, but Bonds may just refer to the fact
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that he is imprisoned at this time.
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Skipping ahead, still in chapter one, verses 9 to 11 talks about
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growing in the gospel, and the text reads, I pray that your
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love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in
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judgment be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
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Many times in this letter he describes the fruits of the
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Spirit or the fruits of peace and love and joy.
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And he's saying, you're good, you're doing wonderful, you're
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becoming more Christlike. But continue, continue.
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There's a far ways to go. Still in chapter one, verse 12,
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he says, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, now that's
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the NIV. You always know it's the NIV
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when they correct the gender there for you.
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I want you to know that what has happened to me has actually
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served to advance the gospel and on the King James it has fallen
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out which is a little harder to understand there.
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But what he's saying is even though I'm here it's increased
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more curiosity and the Saints have been able to bring in some
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of their investigators and and it's actually turning into a
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good thing. I'm able to teach the gospel to
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the people here in the prison. It's really quite remarkable.
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It reminds me a little bit of when Joseph Smith was imprisoned
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in Liberty Jail and the Lord told him all these things shall
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give the experience and be for thy good in Section 122.
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Sometimes it's good to just pause for a minute and when
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we're studying the New Testament and say when has something
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really hard advanced the gospel, or when has something very
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difficult and challenging actually turned out to be a
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blessing? That's the way I feel about my
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physical challenges with all my cancers and my going blind.
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It actually is a spiritual blessing and I'm grateful for
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them. And then he goes on to explain a
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little bit how the gospel was advanced in verses 13 to 14, and
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I'm going to read from an excellent translation.
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It's called the Burien Literal Bible, and it reads my chains in
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Christ to have become clearly known in all the palace guard,
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and to all the rest and most of the brothers trusting in the
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Lord by my chains to dare more abundantly to speak fearlessly
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the word. So he said, because I'm still
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preaching, other people are encouraged that they too can
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open their mouths. Now this is Nero in in Rome
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right now. He is the Caesar and he
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persecuted the Christians. And so people have become less
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open about their faith and more reserved.
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And Paul's example is opening up that doorway again for
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missionary work to spread. In verse 21 he says for to me to
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live as Christ and to die is gained.
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This is such a great perspective.
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You know Paul has been imprisoned and he has already
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listed in Galatians that hold on when he was shipwrecked and
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stoned and everything. He said, if I can just die, I
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will be so happy because I gain Christ.
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But if the Lord wants me to live, I will live.
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And he's got a great attitude no matter what happens.
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In chapter one, verse 28, we've got an interesting Joseph Smith
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translation, and I got it highlighted on my slides, but
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I'll try to read it to you and nothing, be terrified by your
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adversaries. And then he cuts out, which is
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to them and evidence token of perdition.
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Instead the Prophet Joseph added who the adversaries were, those
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who reject the gospel which bringeth upon them destruction.
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But you receive the gospel and then it ends with the King James
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word salvation. This is a wonderful image that
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even though they're hurting you, they're actually hurting
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themselves spiritually. Even though you're being
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persecuted and you're being taunted, you can grow closer to
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Christ. This can become something to
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help you grow. But for them, it's going to be
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damaging. Much more damaging.
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Verse 29 and 30 continue on in the BSB.
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It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to
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believe in him, but also to suffer for him.
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Now this is interesting. Is it ever a pleasure to suffer?
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Should we seek suffering? Absolutely not.
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We should not be seeking suffering.
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But suffering does lead us to our knees, and suffering does
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take us to our Savior. And so I think the message here
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in Paul's life, which has been filled with suffering, is that
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suffering can be used to build a stronger faith, a greater trust
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in Christ, a greater dependency upon him.
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And so even though we do not seek to live a life of suffering
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and personally inflicted pain when it becomes our lot, because
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this is part of life, we are here to learn from our own
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experiences and that includes suffering.
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We can use it to believe on the Lord even more.
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Chapter 2 in verse three and four says do nothing from
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selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind.
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Regard one another as more important than yourselves.
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And skipping down to verse four, look out and talks about looking
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for the interests of others. The word vaing glory in King
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James is also translated empty pride.
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Very interesting that the Book of Mormon message that pride is
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the source of evil that President Benson reiterated or
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Elder Neely Maxwell's statement that the source of evil is
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always selfcenteredness is consistent with Paul's message
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here. To the flippians that we have
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got to serve others, there's some beautiful hymns in this
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letter and that we don't know if Paul wrote the poems or if he is
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citing someone else's poems for these already hymns used in the
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church. We know that they were using the
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Psalms as their hymns according to the Gospels.
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But these verses here, from chapter 2 to 6 to 11, it's a
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beautiful hymn about the premortal existence.
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I'll read it to you who being in the form of God, took upon him
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the form of a servant. Paul is using what's called, in
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the biblical terms, high Christology.
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That means Christ is the promised Messiah right from the
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start. It's not that he was born as a
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baby and then grew up and then God chose him after the
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resurrection, but he was a son of God all the way through.
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This beautiful hymn really does a great job of testifying that
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Jesus was the Son of God from the moment that he was announced
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until his death and resurrection and continues to reign there.
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Now the other thing I want to add about these verses is this
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remarkable message of service Christ came to serve.
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Do you remember this? In the gospels?
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Over and over I emphasized it. He did not come to be ministered
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unto. He came to minister.
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If we want to walk where the Lord walked, we need to join
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organizations that deal with service like the Relief Society
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and the Elders Quorum, and anything we can't, we need to
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serve in our homes. We need to serve in our
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communities. That's how we walk with Christ.
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He came to serve and not to be served.
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Continuing on in the hymn in chapter 2, verse seven and
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eight, he continues with this theme of becoming a servant, but
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made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a
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servant and became obedient to death.
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He served his Father in heaven as we likewise serve Him through
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the Savior. Chapter 12 to 13.
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We sin. We are like Adam and Eve, and
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fall regularly. However, we also have to have
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the responsibility to do our spiritual weightlifting and do
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our physical weightlifting. Chapter 2, verse 15 in
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Philippians reads that ye may be blameless and harmless sons and
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daughters of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and
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perverse nation among whom you shine as light to the world.
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Now I added the word daughters, but that was the KJVI just snuck
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it in there because it's again that same word for disciples.
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So it's it. It means both there and he wants
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us to be a light to the world everywhere we go, in every part
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of our community, whether we're a home or abroad.
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We need to be a good example of a believer, Chapter 2, verse 21
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reads For all seek their own and not the things which are Jesus
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Christ. That is the natural man.
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Sadly, that is our natural man. We seek our own will, but we
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want to bury that in trusting in our God and seek his will and
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choose to serve him. The last little part of chapter
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2, starting about verse 25, he begins talking about sending
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home one of the Philippian Saints.
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So it sounds like the Philippians had sent one of
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their members down to the prison with Paul and he became very
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sick in Rome. In fact, he almost died.
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And so Paul has nursed him back to health.
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And thanks to healings, I'm sure from the Lord, he is in the
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state now where he's healthy enough to travel back all the
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way up to Northern Greece in Phillippi.
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And so Paul is explaining in this letter I am sending him
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back and thank you for sending him to me, but he's better, so
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don't worry about it, verse 25 reads.
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I thought it necessary to send back to you epiphoditis, my
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brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and then
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skipping down a ways to verse 27.
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Please welcome him in the Lord in 29 with great joy and honor
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men like him. This is a missionary who came
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home because he had been sick. And you need to rejoice that he
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served so well and that he was willing to serve and that he
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served the best he could. He didn't want to get sick.
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It wasn't his fault. Now this is something we can
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rejoice that rejoice No sad faces.
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Chapter 3 has this interesting image of a dog.
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Verse two says beware of dogs, Beware of evil workers.
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Now remember, in the Judaic or the Mosaic Law, a dog was
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unclean, so the Gentiles had them in their homes as pets
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occasionally, but not the Jews. They were unclean animals.
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And so sometimes the word is used for Judaizers.
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It's sort of a cliche word. I don't know exactly what he's
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talking about here. Remember, a Judaizer is a Jewish
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convert who says all converts, Gentile and Jewish, need to
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completely live all of the laws of Moses, possibly even the
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traditions, the Oral Laws, in addition to Christ's teachings.
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It's not a fulfillment of the Law.
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It is an addition to the law, is how they interpreted these
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Judaizers. That's a word that Josephus uses
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that we've carried on. And then he gives a little
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autobiographical section and we get a real feel of what a
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stalwart Paul was. It's just amazing.
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Let's read Philippians chapter 3, verse five and six
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circumcised the 8th day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of
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Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the Law of
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Pharisee concerning zeal, touching the righteousness which
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is in the law blameless. Now that is a phenomenal thing
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to say. Most people admit that they make
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mistakes. And either Paul's forgetting
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over the years or he's saying I tried to do everything exactly
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right. I counted my steps on the
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Sabbath. I tithe my mint, I tithe my
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spices. You know, I I did everything I
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could to keep the Sabbath day holy.
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Or he's saying I was blameless because my savior has taken it
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from me. But what he's trying to describe
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here is that the law didn't save him.
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It's Jesus's atoning sacrifice that saves all of us, and when
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we want to apply the atonement, we don't spread it on like a
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sunscreen or something. We repent.
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We humbly and makely fall before the Lord, and He allows us to
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receive His cleansing grace through the Spirit, Chapter 3,
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verse 14 in the NIV reads. I press on toward the goal to
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win the prize. This image of pressing is
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interesting. In the ancient world, there's
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olive trees all over the Mediterranean, and the pressing
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of the olives were very large community practices and a huge
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part of the production of their economic survival as well.
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They use it for their light source, they use it for their
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food source, they use it for their bodies, and then of
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course, the Jews use it. Even in the temple, the first
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pressing was the anointing oil. And this idea of pressing and
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all of is crushing it. And you're using those heavy
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weights and you beat him with a bat to get him to fall off the
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tree. You know, it's it's not a little
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gentle harvesting like you would a strawberry or a grape.
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And in verse 14 in the MIV, he continues on.
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I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has
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called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
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So what is the prize? The prize is to return to the
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presence of God. The prize is to become like
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Christ. The prize is to receive the
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peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding, we're told in
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these beautiful letters of Paul. The prize is to gain exaltation,
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and he's encouraging the Saints. You're doing so well.
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You've gone from your childhood and you're learning and growing
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beautifully. Keep going.
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Keep going for 17 to 19 reads in the MIV.
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Join together and following my example, Brothers and sisters,
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as I have often told you, many live as enemies of the Cross of
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Christ. Their destiny is destruction.
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Paul's day was similar to ours in that regard.
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There are many who are blinded by the philosophies of men.
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There are many who are blinded by satanic deceptions and
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counterfeits. I promise that if you follow the
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prophet and seek to have the Spirit, even in turbulent times,
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you can feel bathed in the Spirit.
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Remember, Paul was a Roman citizen, and so he does this
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beautiful analogy with becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of God
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in chapter 3, verse 20. But our citizenship is in
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heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there to transform
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our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious ones.
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You know you're not just going to get a toga, the £35.00 of
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white wool, you are going to get the robes of righteousness.
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You are going to get a prize so great we can't even imagine it
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as your citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
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I want to read chapter four in Philippians, starting in verse
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one in the NIV, because it gets the gender right.
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Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you who I'm love and
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long for my joy and my crown, stand firm in the Lord.
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In this way, dear friends, my joy and my crown.
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This is one reason why I thought these were some of his favorite
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Saints, and it's very clear in the letter that they're doing
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well. I feel they're like so many
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members of the church, we they just need to and be encouraged
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to continue on. There's much purification.
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You know, I'm a musician and there's a big difference between
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playing in a college Symphony and playing in a professional
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Symphony and the fine tuning that's required.
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So I see that these have, as Saints, have grown and learned
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about the gospel and they're becoming educated.
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And he's saying, oh, we've still got a ways to go, keep working
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on it. Chapter 4, verse three reads.
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I entreat the also true yoke fellow to help those women which
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labored with me. And the word yoke fellow is
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often used for a spouse. It's often used for a work
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colleague. But in this situation, the
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reason why I feel pretty strongly that it's a spouse is
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because it's someone that he's asking to work with the women.
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So it is probably especially in that world and that generation,
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in that culture, it is a woman asking for help.
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Now some people have suggested could this be Lydia?
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Because Lydia, the seller of purple, is who housed Paul on
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his second mission. The first time he came to
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Philippine, perhaps. But Paul was married before now.
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Perhaps his wife died. Perhaps he remarried, I don't
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know. But in his letter to Timothy
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that we'll read in a few weeks, he says he's the husband of one
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wife. And I feel like this is such a
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beautiful example of marriage. And our greatest defense that
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Paul is married, was actually said earlier in the letter to
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Thessalonians, but we haven't read it yet.
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We'll read it next, but this is also a great example.
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Continuing on in chapter 4, verse three, he continues
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talking about these women and he describes them by saying whose
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names are in the book of life. Now remember, the book of life
24:04
is the book where the righteous names are kept.
24:07
We read about it in Alma chapter 5 in Doctrine Cabinet, section
24:10
132 and 76 and 128. There's it's mentioned lots of
24:14
times in the early church. I remember Joseph said he was
24:17
going to put the relief Society's sisters who donated
24:19
their pennies for the temple windows.
24:22
Their name is we're going to be in the book of life.
24:24
You know, this is a book of people who have sacrificed and
24:28
built the Kingdom. Chapter 4, verse four, he says
24:31
Rejoice in the Lord. Always.
24:32
Again, I say rejoice. The reason why this is so
24:36
terrific is it links back to the time when Paul was in prison in
24:39
Philippi and I don't know if they recognize that there.
24:43
But in chapter 16, verse 25 and 26, he also is recorded to
24:47
saying that at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to
24:52
God and so now he's telling the Saints don't forget to sing
24:56
praises. I sang him when I was with you.
24:58
I sang him in prison and I want you to continue to sing the
25:01
hymns of God. Praise and worship God through
25:04
music. Chapter 4, verse five and six
25:06
says let your gentleness and that's the NIV.
25:10
Actually. Other translations say your
25:11
forbearance or your humility be evident to all.
25:16
The Lord is near and then he goes on with some advice on
25:18
being anxious. Do not be anxious.
25:20
This is for six, Chapter 4, verse six.
25:22
Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer
25:28
and petition with Thanksgiving present your request to God.
25:32
Think, don't be frightened to talk to God.
25:34
Get on your knees and talk to him.
25:36
I want to talk a little bit more about that word anxious.
25:38
We've discussed it in many other New Testament texts, but it's
25:41
mentioned 10 times in the New Testament.
25:44
And in King James it says be careful for nothing.
25:48
That's Philippians 4/6. I don't think that's very clear.
25:51
So that's why I chose the NIV. Do not be anxious about
25:54
anything. But the Greek word itself means
25:57
to be over anxious, distracted, figuratively.
26:00
It means to go to pieces. You're just falling apart, and
26:03
Paul is calling on the Saints to overcome their worry by focusing
26:08
on the Lord and prayer and gratitude and service, to pull
26:12
themselves out of a paralyzed state of fear and trust in the
26:17
Lord and move forward in your service to the Kingdom.
26:21
I don't know if you've had a chance to read Chapter 4, verse
26:24
8, but as soon as you do, I'm sure it will remind you of one
26:28
of our articles of faith. And so I have here on my chart
26:31
the KJV, the NIV and the 13th article of faith.
26:35
I'll read it from the KJV Finally, brethren, whatsoever
26:38
thing are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
26:42
things are just whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
26:45
things are lovely. Whatsoever things are of good
26:48
report. If there be any virtue and if
26:53
there be any praise, think on these things.
26:56
You know, this is our our beautiful 13th article of faith.
27:01
In part, you know he uses some of the same ideas.
27:03
It's worded differently by Joseph.
27:04
I don't know if he had it his Bible open when he penned that
27:09
Wentworth letter and he included the 13 articles of faith.
27:12
Many other Christian dominations have articles of faith, and
27:16
Joseph and keeping with the tradition of the society, wrote
27:19
out ours in 1842 when asked by the publisher of the Chicago
27:24
Democrat to write that history up in Chapter 4, verse 11 in the
27:28
BSB, it reads, I have learned to be content regardless of my
27:33
circumstances. We use the vernacular sometimes
27:36
in my culture, bloom, where you're planted, and I've lived
27:40
in four different countries and I just kept telling my kids
27:43
bloom where you're planted. You know we're planted here.
27:45
We're going to make something grow.
27:46
We're going to find something beautiful.
27:48
And I love this advice from Paul.
27:51
Whether we're in a sick bed, whether we're in a miserable
27:54
work environment or a very difficult student environment,
27:57
wherever we are, be content regardless of the circumstances,
28:01
and focus on the things that will help us and the way we can
28:04
become content in whatever circumstance is in verse 13 and
28:09
it reads, I can do all things through Christ, which
28:13
strengtheneth me. That is a picture of when I was
28:17
baldheaded with my chemo. I had such support from beloved
28:21
family and friends that I was able to feel strengthened from
28:26
mortal angels as well as many, many, many administration of
28:29
angels that I did not see but I felt were there.
28:33
Let's move on now to the book of Colossians.
28:36
This is actually a general epistle.
28:38
It's not written specifically to a people that he knew.
28:41
And he says now share this letter with the Colossians and
28:44
then the Leodosians. And he's encouraging them to
28:46
share their letters and read each other's letters.
28:48
He had hoped to go visit them, but he hasn't ever visited them
28:51
yet. He emphasizes A testimony of our
28:54
Savior, Jesus Christ. He gives them a lot of warnings
28:57
against the falsehoods. And then he teaches some
29:00
beautiful Christlike principles on my map.
29:03
You can see it's over in Turkey, and it's due east of Ephesians.
29:09
And he actually is writing to two towns that are very close to
29:12
each other and probably again during the Roman imprisonment,
29:15
because Paul is still the coauthor.
29:17
We have the same people taking the letters back and forth and
29:20
it's probably about 61 AD just like the others.
29:23
But these three little towns are interesting.
29:25
Actually there are there. There are a couple of small
29:26
cities here. Hieropolis has a healing hot
29:29
spring. And then Leo de Sia was a very
29:31
large financial center. Possibly as many as 10 to 50,000
29:35
Jews lived between these two big centers.
29:38
They did a very big cloth dying interest.
29:40
Street and it's right there on the Lycus River Valley in the
29:44
middle of southern Turkey. And the town of Klossy is
29:49
actually a volcanic mountain and valley where there's some
29:53
fertility and the sheep used to graze there, but they're not
29:57
normal sheep. These had a dark red wool and it
30:01
became very popular in the industry to make fabrics and
30:05
spin this wool. And so they became very
30:08
expensive. It was a dark red rule that they
30:10
referred to as Colosseum. It's that's the name of that
30:14
dark red. We can date this letter quite
30:16
accurately because all three of these cities were destroyed in
30:20
63AD, and Paul knows nothing about that.
30:24
The Saints are still there, they're still gathering, He's
30:26
writing them letters and so someone else has brought the
30:29
gospel there. And while he was either an
30:32
Ephesus or nearby, but all three towns were completely destroyed
30:37
in 63AD. Let's move on to the outline of
30:40
Colossians. There's only four chapters.
30:42
He begins with his normal opening and Thanksgiving and
30:45
prayers. He then has a hymn and this hymn
30:47
is about Christ as our creator. In chapter one, verse 24 to 29,
30:51
he talks about his labor in the church.
30:53
And then in chapter two we begin talking about building up Christ
30:56
and being aware of deceivers. Identify who Christ is and then
31:00
you can identify who the deceivers and he encouraged them
31:03
in chapter 2 verse 6 to 8 to walk in Christ.
31:07
And really be careful to not just follow humanity's
31:10
traditions. 9 through 15 we are made complete in Christ and then
31:16
in verses 16 to 23 he goes to address some false ideas and
31:20
says you need to avoid these. Chapter 3 goes on to this desire
31:24
for heavenly things and to develop Christ like qualities.
31:28
From chapter 3 verse 18 all the way to chapter 4 verse one.
31:32
He has these household relationships and gives another
31:35
counsel to parents and children and masters and servants and
31:39
husbands and wives. In chapter 4, verse two to six,
31:43
he gives an exhortation to pray wisely.
31:46
And then he finishes up from verses 7 to 18 with his personal
31:49
greetings. And that's another reason why we
31:51
know he didn't write the letter. He didn't know them, but some of
31:54
the people that he had sent and had heard about, he knew from
31:58
other experiences, and so we have to tie it together there.
32:01
Jumping into chapter one, verse five and six, the Joseph Smith
32:05
adds a really helpful addition here.
32:06
They're talking about spreading the gospel and they say the
32:09
gospel which is coming to you as it in all generations of the
32:13
world, bringeth forth fruit. So he is suggesting that the
32:18
gospel of Jesus Christ has been taught in many more places than
32:22
just post resurrection. The gospel of Jesus Christ we
32:26
believe was on the earth at Adam's time and an apostasy
32:29
came. It was on the earth with no
32:32
Enoch and his people and then followed by Noah.
32:36
An apostasy took out everyone else, and then of course each
32:40
dispensation. And then we're told that the
32:43
branch of the olive tree is taken apart and planted in other
32:46
parts of the vineyard, and we have truths restored that we
32:49
don't even know about yet in Scriptures.
32:51
But this little change in the New Testament was made very
32:55
early on in Joseph Smith's translation.
32:57
And he was taught by the Lord that for generations in the
33:02
world, the gospel has been preached.
33:04
Not just in Paul's time. I love verse 11 and 12 of
33:08
chapter one. He's talking to the Clausian
33:10
stains about being strengthened in the Lord to receive the inner
33:14
strength that you need. And it's not just an passive.
33:17
Please help me. Please help me.
33:19
It is an act of what can I do to feel your strength?
33:22
How or what else should I repent of?
33:25
What else would you have me do? Who else can you have me serve?
33:28
You being strengthened with all power according to his glorious
33:32
might, so that you may have great endurance and patience,
33:37
and giving joyful thanks to the Lord to share in the inheritance
33:41
that's skipping down a little bit to verse 12.
33:43
He wants all the Saints to share in the love of God.
33:46
Whether or not He's been able to meet them, he knows he can meet
33:48
them in heaven. Paul has a fabulous theme of
33:51
redemption in this chapter, and look at Clothians 113 to see our
33:57
Savior His role at its best. He says that Christ has
34:01
delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us
34:07
into the Kingdom of his beloved Son.
34:10
And then he goes on to another beautiful hymn.
34:12
It's verses 15 to 23 in chapter one.
34:15
It's a beautiful poem in Greek. It's a little harder to see in
34:18
English, but read it in different translations.
34:21
Take your time. Listen to it.
34:23
Sometimes you have to read Poetry Out Loud, but it
34:25
describes Christ as our Creator and our Redeemer.
34:28
I'll read just a little bit of it from verse 15 and then
34:31
skipping down to 17 and 18, The image of the invisible God.
34:35
And that's also translated in other places as the unseen God,
34:38
the first born of every creature and he is before all things, and
34:44
by him all things consist. And then skipping ahead again to
34:47
verse 18, who is the beginning? The first born from the dead.
34:52
You know he repeats this word, first born over and over again.
34:54
It's very interesting. We believe that the first to be
34:58
resurrected was Jesus Christ, and according to the text it
35:02
sounds as if he is the first born of the Father.
35:07
But that is not clear in other texts.
35:09
So I'm going to put that one on the back burner and wait for
35:12
further light and knowledge on that one.
35:14
Continuing on to finish up chapter one, verse 18, he's
35:18
talking about Christ again and he says he is the head of the
35:21
church. I just love this image.
35:24
You know, it's not Paul's church.
35:26
It's not Apollo's church. Paul refers to this many, many
35:29
times. It's not Peter's church.
35:31
It's our Savior's church. It's not wrestling Nelson's
35:34
church. And I am a disciple of Jesus
35:37
Christ. I need to account to him every
35:39
night on my knees. I need to give a report of what
35:42
I've done and how I've served him and ask him how I can serve
35:45
him better tomorrow. Chapter one, verse 20.
35:48
About halfway through it says, having made peace through the
35:51
blood of his cross to reconcile all things unto himself.
35:56
That word reconcile often is has the same meanings as atonement.
36:01
It's with God. He is He has made it so that we
36:04
can return to God. We are again being reconciled or
36:08
again coming back to God just like the at one month does that
36:12
same thing if we look at the Greek and the Hebrew meanings
36:14
here and then in chapter one, verse 21 and 22 he goes back to
36:18
the Garden of Eden. Many prophets do this,
36:20
especially in the New Testament as they remind us that we are
36:24
all like Adam and Eve and all have fallen.
36:26
I'll read from the BSB once you are alienated from God engaging
36:31
in evil deeds, but now he has reconciled you by Christ and
36:37
continuing on to verse 23. I think you'll recognize this
36:39
one from Colossians chapter one if you continue in faith,
36:43
grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the
36:47
gospel which ye have heard and which was preached to every
36:51
creature which is under heaven. Now that is interesting because
36:55
it doesn't put it in the future tense.
36:57
I don't think every creature under heaven at the time of Paul
36:59
had heard the message of Jesus Christ.
37:02
But we know from our revelations that every needle, bow, and
37:07
every tongue will confess. Everyone will have the
37:09
opportunity. That is the beauty that is the
37:12
unanimity of our Savior's plan, that everyone can have a chance
37:16
to hear about it once, hear about it again, and maybe even
37:20
hear about it a third time. I don't know how many times we
37:22
have to learn it before we. I know that I need grace every
37:26
day, though. Paul talks about being a servant
37:28
for the church in chapter one, verse 24 to 29.
37:32
And remember, this image of being a servant is so important
37:35
to Paul. He comes from a wealthy,
37:37
educated, leadership oriented family and he has followed the
37:41
savior enough to know that it is not about who is the master.
37:45
In Christianity, masters are taught how to serve and then we
37:49
move on to chapter 2 and we begin in the 1st 5 verses with
37:53
this warning against deceivers and it says in the NIV of
37:57
chapter 2 verse four, they were fine sounding arguments.
38:01
That is exactly the state we find ourselves in now in our
38:05
culture. Many arguments sound very valid.
38:07
Oh, I'm going to complain about this.
38:09
I'm going to complain about this.
38:10
I tell you, when I have studied very, very deeply into the hard
38:15
questions in church history, I have been blown away.
38:18
When I studied deeply in the biblical card questions, I am
38:22
blown away by understanding that our culture might be the one who
38:27
sees things wrong, not the Lord. So keep studying, keep looking,
38:32
and try to step back and take a galactic view.
38:35
Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived by the voices
38:39
of our world. The law of chastity matters.
38:42
Christ teachings matters, the following.
38:44
The prophet matters, and most of all, receiving the atonement of
38:48
our God's grace matters. Paul continues on in chapter 2,
38:52
verse six, with a lovely invitation.
38:55
As ye have therefore received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk
38:59
ye in him, Walk with him, Put your hand in him.
39:02
Don't do anything without the Spirit.
39:04
Never give a talk in sacred meaning, or class, and seminary,
39:08
or primary or anywhere without the Spirit of the Lord leading
39:13
and guiding your words and your thoughts. 1st 7 continues on,
39:17
rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith.
39:21
We've had a really strong winter and last year and every place I
39:26
went hiking, trees have been uprooted everywhere.
39:29
Huge, huge trees uprooted, and He's begging us not to follow
39:34
that same pattern and our roots, if we are grounded on our Savior
39:38
will hold. We have to be built on him
39:41
though, and establish our faith that way.
39:44
In verse eight of chapter two he continues to warn them.
39:46
Beware, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty
39:50
deceit, according to the tradition of men.
39:52
Now in NIV it says take you captive, but this is the new
39:55
King James Version and they're worried about being cheated
39:58
through philosophy. And then in verse nine, also in
40:01
the new King James Version, it says in him dwells the fullness
40:05
of the Godhead bodily. So Jesus is the physical member
40:09
of the Godhead. He is the one who came down to
40:12
earth in a bodily form. He had a body of flesh and blood
40:16
and bones, and his resurrected body was of flesh and bones as
40:20
well. In chapter 2, verse 11, he now
40:23
turns and starts talking about the circumcision.
40:26
And remember, circumcision sometimes means covenant and
40:29
sometimes it actually means the ritual that the Israelites did
40:32
following their great great grandpa Abraham's commandment
40:35
from God. He says in verse 11 and 12 the
40:38
circumcision made without hands, skipping down to 12, buried with
40:43
him in baptism, where and also you are risen with him through
40:47
faith in the operation of God. He's saying you don't need a
40:51
physical operation, you need to be born again in Christ, Join
40:56
Christ. Baptism now is the entrance into
40:59
the covenant. And come unto him, he's also
41:02
said the same thing in the Old Testament as we read in
41:04
Deuteronomy chapter 10. Circumcised there for the
41:07
foreskin of your heart and being no more stiff naked, He's saying
41:12
let's get rid of our selfcentered prideful thoughts
41:15
and let's be humble and meek. That was always the intent.
41:18
And Paul is picking up then on that Deuteronomy and mentioning
41:21
it again. We also can read about it in
41:23
Jeremiah, and he talked about it in Romans too.
41:26
Chapter 2, verse 13 to 15. Read When you were dead in your
41:29
trespasses, God made you alive. In Christ He forgave us all our
41:35
trespasses, having cancelled the debt ascribed to us in the
41:39
decrees. He took it away, nailing it to
41:43
the cross. Now that's the BSP translation,
41:46
and I just love that image. He took away our sins, our of
41:52
Commission, our sins of omission, our selfcentered
41:55
thoughts, and nailed them to His cross as the perfect being.
42:00
He paid the price that was required to meet the eternal
42:03
laws of God, and through Him we can be saved.
42:07
I absolutely love these chapters.
42:10
These books are just filled with such powerful testimonies of why
42:14
we need a Savior and why we need to repent every day.
42:18
Paul next writes about another false idea.
42:22
Some people even call it the heresies, and he has five
42:24
heresies in the book of Colossians.
42:26
This is the second one. In verse 16 and 17.
42:28
He said, let no man therefore judge you in meat or drink or in
42:32
respect of holy days or on the new moons or the Sabbaths, which
42:36
are a shadow of things to come. Now this is sort of interesting
42:39
because he's talking back about these laws of Moses, and I
42:42
mentioned in this area there were a lot of Jewish devout
42:47
people living. And so there's probably a lot of
42:50
of persecution saying you should be keeping the Jewish holidays
42:54
specifically and you should be counting your moons, etcetera,
42:56
etcetera. And he's saying, don't worry.
42:59
These things were given as a sign to present to prepare the
43:02
way for our Savior first coming and his second coming.
43:06
Don't don't get caught up in all this stuff.
43:08
We need to live the laws of Christ.
43:10
That's what's the most important verse 18 he continues on.
43:14
I'll read the NIV translation. Do not let anyone who delights
43:18
Him false humility and worship of angels disqualify you.
43:22
Remember, in some faith traditions, people have to go
43:26
through angels or go through one of the Saints in order to get to
43:29
heaven. But we believe that our Savior
43:33
is our mediator. We believe we go through the
43:35
atonement of Jesus Christ to receive purity and
43:39
sanctification and cleansing, and then we can return to the
43:42
presence of God. So he's saying don't get, don't
43:45
get distracted. You're not going to get to
43:46
heaven by angels. We all will only worship one,
43:51
and that it will be Jesus Christ.
43:53
We have a long Joseph Smith translation starting in verse
43:55
21, and he's in the same theme of of watching for these
43:58
heresies, watching out for these falsehoods.
44:01
And he warns them. And this is all the new addition
44:03
here. It says these doctrines in the
44:05
commandments are of men and they teach you to touch, not do you
44:09
remember the Epicureans, you know, and the sofas?
44:14
They're all sorts of different Greek ideas, you know, do touch
44:17
women, whatever you want. Touch man.
44:18
You know that there's no law of chastity.
44:20
Another saying no, no, no, keep your hands to yourself, never
44:23
touch anyone else. And we don't have, we have
44:26
segregated genders and never go near each other, you know, crazy
44:30
ideas. And he's saying no, no, no,
44:32
don't get carried away with that stuff.
44:34
And then going back to King James, it says these things
44:36
which are to perish with the using.
44:38
And then Joseph cancels out the next couple of lines there and
44:42
starts up again, which things have indeed a show of wisdom,
44:45
but they neglect the body. As to the satisfying of flesh is
44:50
added by Joseph Smith not in honor to God.
44:54
So he's saying let's honor God and our bodies are his temple,
44:57
these are His creations. Let's take care of our bodies.
45:00
The planet is His creation. Let's take care of our planet.
45:05
And then he goes on to doctrine of heavenly things.
45:06
In chapter 3 and in verses one through 4, he talks about how we
45:11
can be drawn closer to heaven. And I'll just read verses one
45:14
and two in the BSB. Since you have been raised with
45:18
Christ, strive for things above, you know, he's asking us to hold
45:22
on to that iron rod and to go through the temptations and the
45:27
fog and the difficulty and the tauntings from the great and
45:29
spacious building. But hold to the iron rod so that
45:32
we can partake of that great tree of life and live forever
45:36
without our sins. First three has an interesting
45:38
word in it. This word hide or to lay up or
45:41
conceal. Let me read chapter 3, verse 3,
45:44
for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ and God.
45:49
Now obviously they're alive. What's what's he talking about?
45:52
I think he's saying you are dead to the heresies.
45:55
You're dead to the things of the world.
45:56
You you've put off the natural man.
45:58
You're now you're a Christian. You're born again.
46:02
Your old man has dead, I think is what he's trying to say.
46:05
But this phrase hid with Christ is also mentioned in the
46:08
Restoration in the doctrine cabinet, section 86, verse nine.
46:12
It reads for ye are lawful heirs according to the flesh and have
46:16
been hid from the world with Christ in God.
46:20
The Prophet Joseph Smith also used this phrase to hide someone
46:23
in Christ, but he's just writing in his journal and he's
46:27
describing something that happened with someone that day,
46:29
and he's using it as a code word for something that was too
46:32
sacred to go into detail for. So on May 16th, 1843, Joseph
46:36
wrote Before retiring, I gave brother and Sister Johnson some
46:41
instructions on the priesthood and putting my hand on the knee
46:44
of William Clayton. I said, your life is hid with
46:48
Christ in God, and so are many others.
46:53
Nothing but the unpardonable sin can prevent you from inheriting
46:57
eternal life, for you are sealed up by the power of the
47:01
priesthood and to having taken the steps necessary for that
47:05
purpose. And you can read the whole thing
47:07
in the Joseph Smith papers, and I've got all the footnotes and
47:10
things on my handout that should be attached.
47:12
But this is a powerful principle, and I'm sure you've
47:15
recognized some of these ideas. It's the same as you're calling
47:18
an election made sure that Second Peter talks about in
47:20
chapter one, verse 10. Or we can read about it in the
47:22
Doctor Covenants, section 53. We also read about this in
47:26
Ephesians, which was referred to then as the Holy Spirit of
47:29
Promise. It's this permanent ceiling
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that's described in section 76 and 88 and 124 and 132.
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It's also referred to in Second Peter, chapter one as the more
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sure word of prophecy. Joseph also uses that in the
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Restoration in section 131. You know the Lord inspires
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Joseph with these biblical phrases, but he defines them
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differently than the rest of Christianity.
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All these words do not mean the same thing.
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They are very familiar to us in our faith tradition, but when we
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use them with our Christian friends, they have different
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meanings. The last one that is used to
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mean the same word is not in the Bible, but it's it's in the Book
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of Moroni, Chapter 7 and the Doctrine Cabinets, section 101.
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And that is to enter into the rest of the Lord when your life
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is sealed up in his. It's it's really a very
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motivating thing. And Paul is writing these people
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because he thinks they are on the verge of becoming close
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enough to the Lord that that they need to be focused on
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coming unto him. And sure enough their whole city
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is going to be destroyed in a year or two.
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And so it's very timely. Chapter 3, verse 5 to 17, he's
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talking about developing Christ like qualities.
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He says in verse 10 This is the NIV put on the new self, which
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is being renewed in knowledge, in the image of the Creator, and
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continuing on in verses 12 to 13 also in the NIV.
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As God's chosen people, holy and dearly beloved, clothe
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yourselves with compassion and kindness, humility, gentleness
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and patience. Bear with each other and forgive
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one another as the Lord forgave you.
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That is a Christlike characteristic.
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If we can forgive, we are acting as our Savior.
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It is a difficult thing to do, but he has asked us to do it,
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for 16 continues on in the NIV. But the message of Christ dwell
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among you richly as you teach and admonish one another in all
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wisdom, through psalms and hymns and songs of the Spirit singing
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to God with gratitude in your hearts.
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This is such a joyful verse, asking us to praise the Lord
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especially in the our choices of music.
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In the NIV it reads a verse. 17 Whatever you do, whether in Word
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or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We have this same message even in our temples.
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Do everything you do in the name of the Lord and it comes right
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here in Colossians chapter 3, verse 17.
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The last part of chapter 3. Now all the way up to chapter 4,
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verse one, is another household of conduct.
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We talked about this a little bit in Ephesians and we're going
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to talk about it Morgan and Peter, but I'll just go through
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these. He gives the wives the council
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and verse 18 to the end of the chapter.
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Submit yourselves to the husband as it is fitting to the Lord and
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then to the husband's. Love your wives.
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Don't be harsh to them and then to the children.
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Obey your parents. Fathers provoke not your
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children to anger unless they be discouraged.
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Slaves obey. It's the Lord that you're
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serving and masters give to your servants.
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This is chapter 4 verse one, that which is just an equal
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knowing that you have a master in heaven.
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Now, as we talked about these things before, I made a really
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big deal on the word subject. If you're going to submit
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yourself or be subject unto someone else, we're not talking
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about the military. We're in a family organization.
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So it's the later definition that means we want you to
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cooperate, we want you to be engaged, we want you to work
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together, we want you to carry the burden.
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And it just is so crazy to me the first time I read these to
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say, why aren't you denouncing servitude?
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Why are you giving masters counsel and slaves counsel?
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Why don't you just say slavery is wrong and abolish it?
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Well, as we talked about before, I feel very strongly that Christ
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wanted to teach masters how to serve, and so the next
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generation of the early church did the same.
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Finally, in chapter four of Klossians and the NIV, first two
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reads, devote yourselves to prayer.
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Be watchful and thankful. This is such good counsel for
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our day. We have to have our hearts drawn
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out into prayer all the time. Be watchful and thankful.
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Verse six, Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned
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with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone.
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Now this is the BSB translation, but do you remember what salt
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represented? Every one of the sacrifices had
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been sprinkled with salt. It's a sign of the covenant.
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He's saying I want you to be the salt of the earth.
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He's going back to this around the mountain, isn't he?
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This is just what our Savior said in Matthew chapter 5.
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Then he gives his final personal greetings in chapter 4, verse 7
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to 18, and some of those names you'll recognize.
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Onymius is actually a very important person that we'll talk
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about when we get to the book of Phi Lehman.
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But Mark and Justin and Luke, the beloved physician, is here.
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Tychias is here. And then he ends with his own
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handwriting, you know, he picks up the quill and signs his name
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and says, here I am, These are beautiful books.
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And I hope that you can feel the testimony of Christ coming from
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the words that Paul has spoken. And that we may fall on our
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knees in gratitude and repent of our sins and become
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strengthened, become spiritual giants as we mature to prepare
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the world for the Lord's second coming.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.