Do you help or hinder others’ dreams?

Steve Brown:
Do you help or hinder others’ dreams? Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown, and this is Key Life. We’re all about radical grace. Because of what Jesus has done, God’s not mad at you. Keep listening and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have your Bible, open it to the first chapter. We’re looking at the first eight verses there, and we’re going there to discover what was going on in Philippi. As I’ve told you, if the apostle Paul had his church letter in a church, it would be at Philippi. These were people who stood with him during thick and thin, during hardships and joy, and it is a letter filled with joy. And so, it’s good at the beginning of our study to look, cause you’ll find them in these eight verses. Things that were going on among the people of God. Now, we’ve seen that in the real church, the family of God, there’s always praise, there’s always joy. If there’s no laughter, Jesus has left the building. And also, there is partnership. We saw that in Philippians 1:4b through 5.

Your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Philippians 1:7.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart.

We saw yesterday that there are no John Waynes in the body of Christ. We’re in this thing together. And if you haven’t noticed, there are people who absolutely hate Christians in our culture. For the first time that I can remember, and I’m old, and I can remember a lot of times, Christians are not looked up to, they’re laughed at. Christians are made fun of, and they’re attacked, and people try to cancel Christians. And in this kind of atmosphere in our culture, and that’s true of you guys in Canada, it becomes more and more important that we hang together, that we walk with each other, that we have fun together, that we stand together, because you can’t stand by yourself. We are called as Christians to help other dreams dreamt by our brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you help or hinder dreams? Are you a cheerleader? Did you hear about the cartoon of the little boy praying? Now I lay me down to sleep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my toys to break, so that none of the other kids can get them. You know, we can’t afford that kind of thing in this kind of culture. I need to be your cheerleader. I need to stand with you no matter what. I got a letter a while ago from a friend, who had heard me say some of the similar things I’ve just said to you. And said, he was on a subway train in the city where he lived. And there was a guy who looked homeless, who looked awful, who was crazy, he thought, standing in the car and preaching the gospel of Christ. And he said, I just remembered what you said. And I can’t believe I did this, but I went up and put my arm around his shoulders, and I said to the people in that subway car. Listen to him. He’s my brother, and he’s speaking truth. Do you cheer people on, or do you pour water on their parade? To mix the metaphor. In the family of God, the real church, we are cheerleaders for one another. Now, let me show you something else. In the real family of God, it’s not only a place of praise, it’s not only a place of joy, it’s not only a place of partnership, it’s a place of delight in mutual destiny, Philippians 1:6.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Let me give you a promise, and it’s from God’s Word. No matter how bad, or weird, or offensive, or objectionable, or sinful any brother or sister is, he or she is going to get better, and then we’re going to share eternity. So, quit worrying about it. The principle is this, the beginning is the promise of the ending. If God has begun, and if he’s begun in your life, I don’t care where you are, or what you’re doing, or how you’re messing it up, if he has done anything in your life, that’s a promise. And that’s a promise that you’re going to be better. Someone tells the story about Helen Keller, she was deaf and couldn’t see and couldn’t speak. They finally got through to her with the gospel. But the heroine of that story was Anne Sullivan. Sullivan became blind late in life, and Helen Keller looked on her and took care of her until her death. And this is what she prayed by her deathbed.

I pray for strength to endure the silent dark until you smile upon me again.

In other words, she was sure, and you can be sure, too. We talk a lot. In fact, we probably get more questions on the subject than any other. We talk a lot about assurance of salvation. And there are lots of things that are said that are good and true. One is that it, your perseverance, the perseverance of the saints becomes the way God assures you. But the truth is, sometimes I don’t persevere. Sometimes I’m just lazy. Sometimes I just want to run away. Others say, hammer in the date when you receive Christ and write that date down and hang on to it. And if God doesn’t lie, and He doesn’t lie, that means you’re His and you can trust it. But I’ll tell you, probably better than that is the delight we share in the destiny that God has promised us. I can’t tell you how often I’ve been cheered on when I was down by a brother or sister saying to me, Someday, Heaven, don’t forget. Or someday he’s going to return. Maybe today. Looking to the future and resting in the promise of Philippians 1:6.

He who began a good work in you.

Though it be small, though it be of no significance to most people, even though you wonder if it was God, when God begins something in your life, He always brings it to completion. Don’t thank me, I was glad to help. So, rest in that assurance that is given by the apostle Paul in Philippians 1:6. And then there’s one other thing that you ought to note about this. In the real family of God, see not only the praise, the joy, the partnership, the destiny, also note the motivation of Jesus, Philippians 1:8.

God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

I got an e-mail from a man I’ve never met yesterday, and he said that he had discovered by listening to Key Life and a number of the different ministries that we have here that Jesus died on a cross for him when he didn’t deserve it, and that God was always pleased because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. And he said, but I’m looking for a church. And every time I get to a church, they tell me that it’s important that I be better and better every day, every way. And if I love Jesus, that’s what I would do. And it makes me angry. Can you tell me something that will help? And I wrote him back and I said, you’ve got it. The message, the central message of the Christian faith is justification and imputation. You’re justified before the throne of a holy God. And not only that, the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to your account. In other words, whenever you pray, you’re perfect. Now, the only thing you need to do is to get over your anger. And the only way to get over your anger is to run to Jesus and not to leave until you have been loved. There are a lot of Christians who get saved but don’t stay to get loved. And that’s the reason for the divisions. He doesn’t need your help. When you get saved, just sit there. Let Jesus love you. And when that love becomes so real that you can taste it, go join your brothers and sisters in Christ. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
The beginning is the promise of the end. Thank you Steve, for that encouragement from Philippians 1:6. Well, we are now full steam in our exploration of the Book of Philippians, and yet still early on, maybe a good time to invite a friend. Just tell them to check us out at keylife.org well, if you listen to this program, you’ve probably heard about Steve’s book, Laughter and Lament. But maybe you haven’t read it yet. Well, it’s for you that we created a special booklet with excerpts from said book. It touches on the importance of authenticity, why the Bible is a crazy book, and explores the issue of control, something Steve calls the mother of all addictions, and so much more. Claim your free copy of that booklet by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that booklet. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the Laughter and Lament booklet. And before you go, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950, then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.