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Blessed Hope Baptist Church, 8806 Casper Avenue, Hudson, FL (2026)

06/02/2026

May 31, 2026
Telos: How to wait on the Lord
Scrip: Psalm 27:14
Introd: How do we handle trouble? There are various reactions we can have toward trouble.
1. Ignore trouble and hope it goes away or fixes itself.
check engine light
Conversation you need to have with someone
2. Tackle trouble head on. Get ready to take action. Google possible solutions to the problem.
This is a better reaction than ignoring them. And there are many troubles that we can take immediate action without necessarily praying about it. If you get a flat tire, don't need to pray for God's will. Get tire replaced. If someone is sick, take them to the doctor or hospital.
Yet there are circumstances where we absolutely need to seek God's will before taking action.
3. A third reaction is to simply fall apart. Become overwhelmed by the situation and are paralyzed. Picture a young child trying to do something, learning to tie their shoes or draw a cat. They can't do it and become frustrated and throw themselves on the floor.
So how do we react to trouble?
Psalm 27:1-3 Background of Psalm 27 - David has faced difficulties. He speaks of his enemies coming against him in v2. He speaks about armies surrounding him. We know from the Scriptures that those things took place in David's life.
David knows that the Lord will help him. v2 v5 v10
This brings us to v14. This is a familiar verse. I believe that some Believers have interpreted this verse inaccurately.
This is how many understand this verse - some difficulty comes into their lives, and the Lord wants them to do nothing. They are to simply sit tight and wait on the Lord to do something in the future.
That is not what this verse is saying.
Wait - Hebrew word means to bind together, perhaps by twisting.
Wait on the Lord - bind ourselves to the Lord when trouble comes.
Be of good courage - to fasten upon, hence to seize
So these two clauses are saying we should bind ourselves to the Lord, grab hold of the Lord when trouble comes. As a result of those actions, the Lord will strengthen our hearts.
illustration - When San Diego defends the house from feral cats, I am allowed to stand with her.
Wait on the Lord - Have you ever seen a well trained dog. It is ready to take an action that it has been taught. It isn't moving. It is sitting still. Yet it is alert. Body ready to pounce. Eyes staring at their master, waiting the command. This is what David is talking about in v 14
Biblical illustration - 1 Sam 29:1-7 David is with the Philistine army. He gets sent home by Achish because of the other Philistine lords.
1 Sam 30:1-3 While David and his men were gone, the Amalekites attack their home city of Ziklag and take away their families captive.
v4-5 Men respond with sorrow
v6 Everyone is upset with David and they talk of stoning him.
Notice, David encouraged himself in the Lord. The word encouraged in 1 Sam 30:6 is the same Hebrew word translated courage in Psalm 27:14. To fasten upon, hence to seize.
Notice what David does - 1 Sam 30:7-8 David immediately seeks the Lord. The Lord tells him to follow after the group. Later verses reveal they find a young Egyptian slave who is able to lead them to the group and rescue their families.

06/02/2026

May 31, 2026
Telos: Don't worry, have peace
Scrip: Phil 4:6-9
Introd: We are going to play one round of charades this morning. I am going to have you guess the title of a song. This song is 38 years old. It was released in July of 1988. The title is only 4 words long. I will give you the first two, you must tell me the last two words.
Don't Worry - Be Happy
Bobby McFerrin released this song in July of 1988. One of the lyrics of this song is this - We have trouble - but when we worry, we make it double.
This maybe a secular song, but it is speaking truth. When we have trouble and worry about that trouble, we tend to make it worse.
Worrying is something every person has an earned PHD in.
Worry never fixed a problem.
Worry never made a situation better.
Worry has never strengthened us spiritually
Worry often leads us to make bad decisions.
I want to start with good news for us this morning. We don't have to worry. We typically think that we cannot control whether we worry or not. We think if we are facing bad circumstances we must worry. I will prove to you that we don't have to worry. Instead of being a slave to worry, we can be worry's master.
This truth should help us feel empowered. But it also means that we are accountable. Worrying is sinful.
Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing. Be careful - the Greek means to be full of care. In other words, worrying.
for nothing - for not even one thing.
This phrase - a command in the Greek. Paul was telling the Philippian Believers to stop worrying. They were already worrying, he was commanding them to knock it off.
We can be the master over worry, not it's slave.
So how do we stop worrying - Paul tells us how to do that.
I. TALK TO THE LORD ABOUT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
v6 Paul says, don't worry. Instead talk to Jesus. He uses three words, prayer, supplications, requests - all of these are referencing our talking to the Lord.
Talk to Jesus about anything no matter how big or small, if it is a concern.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him: for He careth for you
Prayer gives us something that we may immediately do to help the situation.
Worry paralyzes us
Prayer activates our faith
Worry - disaster is going to take place
Prayer - God has this
Prayer focuses us positively rather than the negative of worrying.
Now we must pray correctly - with thanksgiving. We expect the Lord to help. We know He cares. He has a perfect solution. Best possible solution. His timing is right.
If we pray right, we get peace - v7 i.e. Jenny's first cancer and the Lord giving me peace.
God's peace will guard our hearts and minds. Now some of you will say, I have prayed about my worry. I had peace for about 10 seconds and then my worry came back. This is the first step, not the last step. We must go on to Paul's next step in controlling worry.

II. FOCUS YOUR MIND BIBLICALLY.
When we worry, we don't focus. We allow our minds to free range. Our minds always goes back to the worry or concern that we have. Our minds always imagines the worst case scenerio.
Observe what Paul commands us to do - v8 THINK
think - logizomai - to take inventory, to estimate, to conclude. a command.
Paul says we are to focus our minds on biblical truth. Think about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virture, praise
illustration - I want you to imagine your mind is a dog. All of us have walked a dog on a leash. A dog will want to go into an area it shouldn't go. If we are walking the dog, we pull it back to us. We don't allow it to go where it wants, but where we want. This is what Paul is telling us to do with our minds. When we don't do this, that is when we pray about our concern and start worrying immediately after. We never experience the peace because we don't focus our minds.
III. LIVE RIGHT.
V9 learned received heard seen
Do - practice as a habit.
and the God of peace will be with you
Living right brings peace. How? Some of our trouble comes from us not living right. Some trouble comes volunterily. We invite it in. If we live correctly, we will avoid some trouble in this world.

06/02/2026

May 31, 2026
Telos: God and Egypt
Scrip: Jeremiah 46
Introd: Ben Franklin during the first Congress after the Revolution.
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men.
And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
Without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.
And now have we forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance.
The Last chapters of the Book of Jeremiah reminds us that Jeremiah was a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 nations - goy
Jeremiah 46:1 against the Gentiles - goy, Egypt
47:1 Philistines 48:1 Moab 49:1 Ammonites, Edom, Elam 50:1 Babylon
The Lord had made Himself known to Egypt
- Joseph - Gen 41:37-40
- Israel lived in Egypt for hundreds of years
- During the 10 plagues and Exodus
- King Solomon - fame was spread many places
Background to Jeremiah 46
Going from south to North - Egypt, Judah, Israel, Syria, Assyria
Egypt and Assyria were rivals.
Babylon began to rise. Babylon defeated Assyria. Assyria moved there capital from Ninevah to Carchemish.
Carchemish is located on the Euphrates River. It is strategic for trade.
Egypt and Assyria decided to make an alliance to defeat Babylon.
Pharaoh Necho II was traveling north to go to Carchemish to unite with Assyria to fight Babylon.
King Josiah of Judah was an vassal to Babylon. He and his army went to stop the Egyptian army from getting to Carchemish. The Egyptians defeated Judah in battle. King Josiah was wounded and died. Pharaoh placed Jehoiakim on the throne. Judah would now be a vassal state to Egypt instead of Babylon.
v2 -
v3-4 This is the Egyptian military leaders speaking to their army
v5 As soon as the battle begins, Egyptian forces panic
v6-7 Babylonian leaders to their troops
v8-10 Despite great weapons, Egypt would be defeated.
God would cause her defeat. Egypt would be God's sacrifice, lamb
Applications
1. God lifts up nations and lowers other nations. Babylon and Egypt
2. Weapons, technology mean nothing without the Lord. v3-4, v9
i.e. Ukraine vs Russia
3. No nation can undo what God brings about - v11
v13 God would cause Nebuchadnezzar to invade Egypt.
v14 Nebuchadnezzar would come to these Egyptian cities - 43:8-11, 44:1
v15-17 Egypt's mercenary forces would abandon them
v18 God says, Nebuchadnezzar is coming
v19 Egyptians will go into captivity to Babylon
v25 Judgment of Egypt's gods
v26 After time of captivity, the Lord would bring Egypt back
v27-28 God would restore His people.

05/04/2026

May 3, 2026
Telos: Rejoice in the Lord always
Scrip: Phil 4:4
Introd: Have you ever had this experience, you bought a new car and now you see that car everywhere?
I remember buying my jeep. Suddenly, everywhere I went, there were jeeps all around me. 10 months ago I bought my Nissan Rogue. They are everywhere I look. Nissan first started selling rogues in 2008. My car's style is 18 years old. Why am I suddenly seeing rogue's everywhere? Because I am noticing them. When I had a jeep, I didn't see Nissan Rogues. It wasn't because they weren't around, I just wasn't noticing them.
Have you ever known someone who said, "bad things only happen to me". That statement isn't true. Yet what happens is the person starts looking for bad things to confirm their thinking. They ignore the good things that occur, like I ignored Nissan Rogues before I bought one. When I had a jeep, all I noticed were other jeeps. When a person believes only bad things happen to them, they only look for the bad things. Our thinking pattern greatly influences our lives.
The Apostle Paul wants us to adopt a particular thinking pattern this morning. Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
Notice, rejoice is not a feeling, but an action. Paul doesn't tell us to feel joy and then express it. He is telling us to take action, rejoice. As a matter of fact, both times the word rejoice is used, it is used as a command.
Second, this verse tells us to be continually focused on the positive, rejoice. Some folks are constantly looking for something to complain about. Everything in their life maybe well, but they are looking for a rain storm. This verse tells us to be positive about life.
Third, the key is the middle part of the verse. Rejoice, in the Lord. Without the Lord, we cannot rejoice always. With the Lord, we can rejoice always. The Lord is the one factor in every equation that makes the circumstance positive.
Paul is telling us to constantly look at life, our life, others lives, with the Lord in mind. He is here, present, active.
If we adopt this mindset, we will be much happier individuals and be a witness to the world for the Lord.
3 types of days, good days - something wonderful happens.
Bad days - something awful occurs
Regular days - nothing particularly good or bad occurs. It is a normal day.
Good day - easy to rejoice. Maybe God answered a prayer. Maybe God provided for a particular need. Maybe we felt His presence when we were weak or sad.
How do we rejoice in regular days? When nothing particularly good or bad occurs, what do we rejoice in?
Stop taking for granted blessing that make our lives good.
Those who are healthy take for granted their health. We don't even think about it. Yet if we were sick, or temporarily or permanently disabled, we would be crying out to the Lord for help.
Rejoice you have people who love you. Family, friends. I was sad going with Jenny to the cancer center, and seeing individuals waiting for treatment all by themselves. No one with them.
Rejoice, you went to the store and came home and you didn't get a flat tire or have a dead battery.
Learn to give thanks and rejoice over things that we normally take for granted.
Rejoice in regular days because the Lord may have prevented bad events from occuring in your life that day. Nabal could have had a horrible day. A day when his entire household would have been slaughtered. But God intervened and kept David from wiping out Nabal's household.
Rejoice in bad days - in the Lord.
Bad days the Lord is with us. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Imagine driving with a friend on a cross country trip. Your car breaks down. Your friend calls an uber and leaves you. This is exactly what the Lord promises not to do to us. When we need Him, He is there.
Bad days, the Lord is ministering to us - His grace is sufficient.
Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.
Bad days - the Lord is working out His plan -
Joseph sold by his brothers - God sending Joseph to Egypt to use him to save lives.
Daniel taken to Babylon. He will be a witness to kings and their courts about the living God.

We need to obey the command of Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. If we do that, rejoice, we will find that joy will come as we rejoice!

05/04/2026

May 3, 2026
Telos: God's protection and provision
Scrip: Jeremiah 39-41
Introd: Video - I wanted to put a graphic picture in your mind of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. It would have been a chaotic event. The city walls were broken and breeched. Homes were set on fire as well as the palace and the temple. Men were killed resisting the Babylonian army. Looting was taking place. Some people were rounded up, others were attacked. The King of Judah attempted to flee with his family and the nobles. They were caught. The nobles were executed. The sons of the King were executed. The king was blinded and taken prisoner to Babylon.
read Jeremiah 39:1-3, v4-11 Many Jewish people were taken captive and were going to be deported to Babylon. If individuals were poor and unskilled, they were going to be left in Judah. They were assigned land and told to farm the land.
In the midst of chaos, God provided for and protected His servants.
39:11-14 Nebuchadnezzar had given instructions concerning the Prophet Jeremiah. Think about this, the King Zedekiah, the nobles of Judah, many people in Judah were killed, harmed. Jeremiah was protected by order of the King of Babylon. Jeremiah had been mistreated by the Jews, is cared for by the Babylonians. In the chaos of what was taking place, it would have been easy for someone to harm or kill Jeremiah. Instead, he is protected.
v15-18 Ebed-Melech is a Ethiopian and a servant, a eu**ch. Yet the Lord promises to protect him.
Jeremiah 40:2-4 Jeremiah was given an option. Go to Babylon and he would be taken care of. If he didn't want to go, he would be freed to go anywhere he wanted to go.
v5-6 The captain advises Jeremiah to go stay with the man who is being named Governor. Jeremiah given food and money.
The Lord not only was protecting Jeremiah and Ebed-Melech, but the people left behind. The King of Babylon appoints Gedaliah as Governor. He is a Jewish man who has a reputation for honesty, integrity. Everyone knows and trusts him. Look at how people respond when they hear he has been appointed Governor.
v7-8 Jewish military captains and their units come to Mizpah to submit to Gedaliah.
v9-10 Gedaliah reassures them that they will not be harmed. Encourages them to go and establish towns and villages.
v11-12 Jewish refugees who had fled to neighboring countries, when they hear that Gedaliah has been named Governor, they return to Judah. Everyone trusts and respects him.
The Lord caused Nebuchadnezzar to appoint a man who would do what was good for his people.
v13-16 Johanan and the other captains warn Gedaliah that the King of Ammon has hired Ishmael to murder Gedaliah. If Gedaliah served and submitted to the Babylonians, that didn't serve the agenda of the King of Ammon. He wanted conflict between Babylon and Judah.
Johanan even volunteers to kill Ishmael himself. Gedaliah doesn't believe him. Gedaliah doesn't even consider the validity of this warning. Sometimes God's people are naive and guillible. We sometimes take people at face value and trust them when we shouldn't.
Jeremiah 41:1-4 Ishmael and ten men kill Gedaliah and his men. Gedaliah should have been on guard against him. Matt 10:16
v5-9 On the second day, a large caravan is passing by, Ishmael convinces them to come in and meet the governor, only to kill them for their supplies.
v10- Ishmael proceeds to take everyone in Mizpah, including Jeremiah, to carry them captive to Ammon.
v11-15 Someone finds out about the murder of the Governor. They tell Johanan who with his soldiers catch up to Ishmael. Ishmael flees with 8 men and Johanan rescues the people.
v16-18 Johanan takes all his people and they are traveling to Egypt. They are afraid that the King of Babylon will attack them because the Governor had been killed.

05/04/2026

May 3, 2026
Telos: Desire the Lord above all else
Scrip: Psalm 27:4
Introd: I would like you to answer a question. Don't answer for yourself, but for the average person. What would the average person ask for if a genie granted them one wish? They couldn't ask for more wishes! What would be their answer?
Money, fame, glory, possessions, power, a handsome or beautiful spouse - these I believe would be the most likely answer for the average person.
Now stop and think, what would your answer be? None of us are going to get the opportunity that Solomon got. The Lord won't appear to us in a dream and grant us a wish. Yet if He did, what would your request be?
The answer to that question reveals much about us. Our request shows what we value or desire the most.
Some believers may wish personal wishes for others - that a particular person may be healed. A specific individual would be saved.
Others may wish for a big request - revival in a country, a ministry to thrive.
David revealed what his answer to that question would be - Psalm 27:4 Please observe this wasn't simply a theoritical exercise for David. David not only desired this, he says THAT WILL I SEEK AFTER. David would pursue after this desire in real life.
Interesting connection, David also wrote Psalm 23, Psal 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
It is believed that David wrote Psalm 23 first. The Holy Spirit had revealed to David that in the future he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Yet as David lived his life, he yearned to dwell in the house of the Lord now. He didn't want to wait.
What exactly is David requesting and desiring in Psalm 27:4?
The word dwell - to sit down, to remain. David didn't simply want to visit the Lord. He wanted to stay.
House of the Lord - we think of the temple. The temple hadn't been built yet. In David's time, there was the tabernacle. All around the world, the Gentiles built magnificent structures in which to worship their gods. Until the temple was built, the Jewish people worshiped at the tabernacle, a tent. No one would have been impressed or in awe of the structure of the tabernacle. It wasn't a beautiful tent outwardly. Not like a Medieval Pavilion tent which would have been ornately decorated. Yet inside the tabernacle, in the room called the holy of holies was kept the Ark of the Covenant. On the lid of the Ark were gold representations of two cherubim with their wings toward each other. Above them was a light, the Shekinah glory of God. This light represented the very presence of the Lord with the nation of Israel. David wants to sit in the presence of the Lord constantly. David could not get enough of the Lord.
Now he has two further requests - to behold the beauty of the Lord.
Behold - to gaze at or contemplate
So what is the beauty of the Lord - God's character. Who God is. What He is like. God's Word. It reveals much of God's character and His actions and His desires.
A third request, to enquire in His temple.
enquire - to plough, break forth, search, to seek out.
David - Lord my one request that I am going to actively seek to come true is to always be in your presence, to appreciate Your greatness, to speak to you.
Sometimes you find a woman who is more obssessed with her wedding than the man she is marrying. Sometimes we believers can be just like that. Sometimes we are more concerned with what the Lord can give us or do for us than for the Lord Himself.
Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer panteth for the water - This should be our desire! We who have experienced the very presence of God, should desire that above everything else.
Consider the tribe of Levi. Unlike the other 11 tribes, they were not given their own parcel of land. Instead, they were told that the Lord was their inheritance.
Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance; the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance as he said unto them.
We as N.T. believers are called priests by God. 1 Peter 2:9 but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood - Like the Levites, the Lord is our inheritance.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.
Ultimately, what we will get for eternity is the Lord Himself.
Every N.T. believer has been sealed with the Holy Spirit - we have the presence of God with us all the time.
David wished that he could dwell in the house of the Lord. For us, the Lord dwells in our house, our bodies.
David's request should be a challenge to us. What he desired, should be our desire. We need to make time to sit and think about our God. Meditate on the character of the Lord. Read a verse of Scripture. Write some things down. Make it personal. Focus on one thing.

04/28/2026

April 19, 2026
Telos: Stop being fearful and afraid
Scrip: Psalm 27:1-3
Introd: When my son was 5 years old, we took him to Disney World. At the time they had opened a new ride. A Jurassic Park ride. He and I went alone on the ride. It was a jeep that was pulled through the ride. We had never gone on this ride, but I knew we would see dinosaurs. I placed my arm lightly around Peter's shoulders. Just to let him know that Dad was there with him. He took my arm and removed it from his shoulders. He was big, didn't need my to put my arm around him. By the end of the ride, he was sitting in my lap begging me to hold him tight!
Another time when he was 3 yrs old, we had gone to Washington D.C. and saw an exhibit with a raptor. This raptor was animated. It could move it's head and eyes; it could make sounds. The whole family took a picture in front of the raptor, Peter would not look forward. He would not turn his back on that raptor. He was certain it would attack if he turned his back.
He was scared of dinosaurs which were not alive and could not harm him. We are scared and fearful about events that we don't need to be scared of as well.
Psalm 27:1-3 A Psalm of David.
v2 - David mentions his enemies coming to kill him. Let's consider circumstances where David's life was in danger.
As a shepherd, he had a day when a lion came and took a lamb. David had to fight the lion. Remember, he didn't have a rifle and shoot the lion from a safe distance. He had a staff, maybe a knife. He had to get up close. Another day he had to face a bear. A bear standing on 2 legs is about 8-10 feet tall. a giant.
David faced Goliath
David faced the Philistine army in battle many times.
King Saul twice threw a javelin at David attempting to kill him.
King Saul tried to entice anyone to kill David.
David faced real threats, not imaginary ones.
David's threat should have caused him fear.
Yet look at v3 David says he is not fearful, but is confident. How?
I. GOD IS OUR LIGHT.
v1 - what does it mean that the Lord is our light? I believe that David is refering to the fact that God is our source of truth.
If we have light, we can see as opposed to darkness were we can't.
Truth dispels fears. I enjoyed the ride at Disney while the first time my son was scared. Why was he scared and I wasn't? I knew the truth that the dinosaurs were not real and couldn't hurt me. He didn't know that.
When we know truth it takes away fear. Consider some truth about circumstances which cause us fear.
God is sovereign over a person, government, illness or circumstance we face. There is absolutely nothing that is outside of His power and control.
Second, what is a surprise to us, is ancient history to the Lord. He has seen the entirety of our lives. What is new to us, is ancient history to Him.
Third, God has a plan for this situation. Since He knew it would occur, He has a plan to deal with it. And for us as Christians it is a win win situation.
If the circumstance turns out how we would like, we win. If it turns out how we don't want, we still win. Romans 8:28 And we know that ALL THINGS work together for GOOD.
For us as Christians there is never a win lose situation or worse a lose lose situation. For us, each is win win.
II. GOD IS OUR HELP
v1 - the Lord is my salvation. David isn't speaking spiritually here. He is referencing earthly struggles. In verse 2, David talks about an army surrounding him to kill him.
Salvation in verse 1 is reminding us that the Lord can help us in any circumstance.
Physical - the Lord could provide a solution, if not give us grace to endure and finally, wisdom to see God working thru the situation.
Finances, job, reconciliation
Cartoon - boy calls out to Superman. Superman arrives and asks the boy what the problem is. The little boy pulls out a math book, wants help with his homework. Superman doesn't do long division. Our Lord can help any circumstance.
III. GOD IS OUR STRENGTH.
V1 - There are so many circumstances we don't think we could endure. "I can't deal with that" "This is too much for me" And we are right. There are circumstances which are too much for us, but they are not too much for the Lord Jesus.
The Lord gives us strength to endure - 2 Cor 12:9
The Lord is our strength when we trust Him. He can provide the endurance for any circumstance, but are we willing to lean on His strength rather than our own.

If we will lean on the Lord, we will find He gives us strength for any situation.

IV. DAVID REMEMBERED PAST CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THE LORD WAS FAITHFUL.

v2 David recalled past circumstances where it appeared the enemy would devour him. Yet in each case, it was the enemy who stumbled and fell, not David. God rescued him every time. There was no reason to doubt God in the future.

We can look at circumstances where we were fearful. The Lord came to our aid. He will do the same again. The Lord will not forsake His children ever.

04/16/2026

April 12, 2026
Telos: Live a Christian lifestyle
Scrip: Phil 3:17-21
Introd: There is a disconnect between Christian identity and behavior.
Barna survey - Many practicing Christians have a worldview that is biblical.
61% agree with ideas from new spirituality
54% postmodern views
36% Marxism
29% Secularism
50-60% of practicing Christians live together with a romantic partner before marriage.
60% of practicing Christians claim to drink alcohol at least occasionally.
7-10 women who have had abortions identify as Christians. Now some identify as Christians because they are not Muslim or Jewish.
There is a gap between many who proclaim they are Christians and how they live. Christians need to live a biblical lifestyle. How do we do this?
I. WE COULD LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE BY DELIBERATELY CHOSING TO FOLLOW OTHERS WHO ARE GODLY.
v17 This verse is a command. Essentially, Paul tells the Philippians to imitate him. Follow his steps. Do what he does.
Find other Christians who are living a biblical lifestyle and imitate them.
Paul tells us to consciously, deliberately chose whom we copy.
we need to find different Christians to imitate.
Bible study, parenting, grandparenting, spouse, ministry.
There are many Christians not worth imitating. There are people claiming to be Christians who are not, leading Christians astray.
v18 - Who are these enemies of Christ - They are unsaved people who have entered the church and lead people astray. Notice, Paul says that they ARE enemies of the cross of Christ. These folks claim to be Christians and are telling Christians to follow them rather than a biblical teacher or preacher or the bible itself.
v19 the end for these teachers - destruction
whose god is their belly - their appetites or desires are what they worship.
they celebrate their behaviors which are evil to the Lord.
their focus is not the Lord, heaven, God's kingdom, but their own present desires on earth.
II. WE COULD LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE BY REMEMBERING WE REPRESENT THE LORD.
V20 the Greek word translated Conversation is only used once in the New Testament. The Greek word means citizenship. This would have been significant to the Philippian church.
Most people in the Roman Empire were not granted citizenship and it's rights. The city of Philippi was called a Roman Colony. Many retired Roman Soldiers had been relocated to Philippi and been granted citizenship. Being a citizen of Rome meant something.
Many of us grew up being told by our parents to be good outside the house. We were representing our families.
Members of the various military branches are told to watch their behavior off base, they represented their branch of the military.
As Christians we are citizens of heaven, and we represent the Lord, heaven, God's kingdom.
III. WE COULD LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE BY LOOKING FOR JESUS.
v20 We are to be looking for the Savior.
Look - eagerly waiting to welcome - picture someone at the airport to pick up a family member or friend. Every time a shuttle opens and people start streaming out, they are craning their necks to see if they spot their person.
We could see Jesus at any moment through either death or the rapture.
How would you behave if you were absolutely certain you would meet Jesus today?

Blessed Hope Baptist Church

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