Steve Webb 0:00 It's a promise I rely on when I'm not Happy with my progress as a Christian. Steve Webb 0:12 Well, hi there. This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I'm your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year, today's epistle Sunday, and we'll begin reading the book of Philippians. With chapters one and two, we'll also have a time of prayer. And today I have a personal praise with an accompanying prayer request. I'm calling this episode. It's a process. Let's get started with a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word. And we asked you to teach us today as we read, we ask for your blessing, Lord, and I pray this in Jesus name, amen. Okay, let's begin. Steve Webb 0:59 Philippians chapter one, Paul, and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons, Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give Thanks to my god for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment, and in the defense and establishment of the gospel. For God is my witness how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge in every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior, and can be pure and blameless, and the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory in praise of God. Now, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ. Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment, and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly, to be sure some preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of goodwill. These do so out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The others proclaim Christ out of rivalry not sincerely, seeking to cause me anxiety in my imprisonment. What does it matter, just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice because I know this will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me, and I don't know which one I should choose, I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that because of me, your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus, when I come to you again, just one thing, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you're standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your deliverance, and this is from God, for it has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for him, having the same struggle that you saw that I had, and now here that I have. Steve Webb 4:34 Philippians chapter two, if then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal, Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility, consider others as more important Then yourselves, every one should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God did not consider equality with God is something to be used for his own advantage. Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a slave taking on the likeness of men. And when he had come as a man in his external form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the earth. And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out his good purpose, do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, hold firmly to the message of life, then I can boast in the day of Christ, that I didn't run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. Now, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. So that I also may be encouraged when I hear news about you. For I have no one else like minded who will genuinely care about your interests, all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know, he has proven character because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. I am convinced in the Lord that I myself will also come quickly. But I considered it necessary to send you a Pafford itis, my brother, co worker and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need, since he has been longing for all of you, and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me so that I would not have one grief on top of another. For this reason, I'm very eager to send him so that you may rejoice when you see him again, and I may be less anxious. Therefore welcome him in the Lord with all joy and hold men like him in honor, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me. Steve Webb 7:59 Let's talk a little bit about Chapter One. Verse six of chapter one is one of my favorite promises. It's a promise I rely on when I'm not Happy with my progress as a Christian, here it is, I am sure of this, that he who started it good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. I haven't seen this bumper sticker in a long time, but it used to be pretty commonplace around here. It said, Be patient. God isn't finished with me yet. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not a very good example of the perfect Christian. Sometimes I have what you might call some rough edges. Is it just me or do you know anyone else like that? Okay, good. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I recently heard somebody say that. If you hear someone playing Mozart badly, you don't blame Mozart. You blame the musician? I think if you ask the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, she'd probably tell you that I'm better than I used to be. At least I hope so. But, what's that? What about her? Is she getting better than she used to be? No, I can't say that she is. You see, she's always been perfect. And then in verse nine, Paul continues the thought of God continuing his work in us, he wrote, and I pray this that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment so that you can improve the things that are superior, and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ filled with a fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. You know, very few people, when they first become believers have a radical change in their personalities. It does happen, but it isn't the rule. Most of us change over time as the Holy Spirit works within us to conform us to who God wants us to be. It's a lifelong process for most of us. I know that he's been working in me for over 50 years. So don't get discouraged when you fall short of how Scripture tells us we should be when you fall short of the ideal when you feel disappointed in yourself for not being the perfect Christian, realize that that reaction is a good thing. It means you're sensitive to the Holy Spirit's correcting you use that to help you change the decisions you make in the future. It's a process. I'm sure of this, that he who started a good work and you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. I am so glad that God hasn't given up on me and that he is constantly chipping away the rough edges. How are you doing in the process? Beloved, I'd love to hear your thoughts or questions, call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 or send a comment via boostagram or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Tomorrow we'll be history Tuesday, and we'll read first Kings 19 through 22. Steve Webb 10:57 Today's associate producer is James from Norway who came in with his monthly $20 donation. Thank you so much, James, for helping to make this episode possible. God bless you. And beloved, if you'd be willing to support the Lifespring! One Year Bible, please go to Jingle 11:12 Lifespringmedia.com/support Steve Webb 11:16 I'll thank you, and I believe God will bless you. Steve Webb 11:22 Prayer requests and praises. I told you at the top of the show that I had a personal praise and prayer request today. The Lovely Lady LeeAnn had some elective surgery yesterday, and I'm recording this just a few hours after bringing her home. The praise is that the surgery went well with no complications. And the doctor said that she's a great patient, which is no surprise to me. Over the years, she's had a few surgeries, one which did have some complications, but even then she was a real trooper. She can be tough when the situation calls for it. But this time so far all as well. So I'm praising God for that. My prayer request is that her recovery would be as easy and as quick as possible. She'll be taken a week off from work, which is all we can afford, but the full recovery could be several weeks. I pray that she heals quickly, would you I'd be so grateful. Okay, let's pray. Our loving Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for continuing to work in us. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for not giving up on us. Oh God, hold us close. Help us to keep our heart tender to you. Help us to respond when your Holy Spirit speaks to us. Help us to quickly feel the pangs of guilt and remorse when we fail you when we sin. Help us to quickly repent and seek your forgiveness. Help us not to become comfortable with any distance between you and us. We want to feel your near presence Father, Jesus remind us daily of the price you paid for our salvation. Holy Spirit. Help us to hear when you speak to us and guide us. And now Father, I thank you so much for being present in the operating room yesterday. Thank you that everything went smoothly and according to plan. I thank you for your mercy. And now Lord, I pray that Leanne's healing would be quick, faster than the doctor anticipates. Lord, You are the great physician. You are our healer. And I pray that you would touch Leanne's body and knit the tissues back together so that the doctor is amazed and we will give you the glory. Thank you for the Lifespring family. Lord, thank you for bringing them here. You know each one by name, Lord, you know their heart, you know their needs. I pray Father that your will would be done in each life. Draw each one of us closer to you, Lord, give us a thirst for you. May we not take you for granted? May we praise you each day and not be satisfied to be lukewarm. Give us a passion for you, Lord, I pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. So our next time of prayer together here on the show will be Wednesday. If there's a praise we should know about or if there's something you'd like us to pray with you and for you about telling me about it on the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1951732 at 511 or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com dot com. If you'd like to remain anonymous, just let me know. That's not a problem. Steve Webb 14:28 Jason Paschall did today show art? Thank you, Jason. God bless you. And Thanks to Sister Denise Michael Haner Scott Snider, Jason Paschall and sister Brittaney. If you haven't already, there should be a newsletter in your inbox very soon. If you're not signed up for that, go to news dot Lifespring media.com I promise I'll never ever never ever, ever stand you. And now until tomorrow, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your day. May God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Announcer 15:02 chapters, transcripts, images, links stream micropayments to the podcast and send Satoshis in real time over the Lightning Network using a compatible podcasting 2.0 app. Just go to newpodcastapps.com Max newpodcastapps.com And for more info, go to podcast index.org. Announcer 15:23 The Lifespringmedia.com family of programs are made possible by the generous support of listeners like you. Thank you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai