“Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” (Phil. 2:14-15)

This promise starts off with a command to do EVERYTHING without grumbling or complaining. That’s a tall order, actually, because “everything” means, well, it means EVERYTHING! And, that includes a lot of possibilities.

Small and large!

It includes little things like traffic annoyances, or someone being a little rude to you on the phone. And, it includes big things, like major automotive repairs, dealing with difficult family members, being pulled over for a traffic violation, or even having to work for a difficult boss.

Blameless and pure!

But this command comes with a wonderful payoff promise: “so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.'”

You stand out!

When you live a self-controlled life, and you resist the temptation to react negatively to life’s difficult and challenging situations, you STAND OUT from the crowd, many of which are part of “a warped and crooked generation”.

Here is the beautiful promise for your positive reaction to life’s negativity: “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” That makes it all worth it! And, that’s a great promise to aspire to!

“The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.” (Psalm 37:23 KJV)

God’s personal guidance

One of the great benefits of being connected to God is the personal guidance you can expect to receive from Him. His Holy Spirit “guides you into all truth”. (John 16:13 NIV). He has a way of bringing truth into any situation as He reminds us of His Words. (John 14:26). As we read and study Scriptures, and it gets into our minds, the Holy Spirit brings appropriate Scriptures back to our remembrance at just the right moment to bring needed comfort, guidance and truth into every situation as needed. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105 KJV).

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14 NIV)

He HAS

Notice that this promise declares that “He HAS rescued us from the dominion of darkness.” It is written in past tense because it is a done deal! It is finished, paid for, and completed! Now, because of this, you no longer are a part of the old covenant system of being separated from God by a wall of sin and darkness! (Matt. 27:51) – You are now a member of “the kingdom of the Son He loves!” You have been redeemed and have been given total “forgiveness of sins.” You can now come boldly to God at any moment to instantly find mercy and grace in the time of need! (Heb. 4:16 NIV). This is a bold promise!

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36 NKJV)

Hiroo Onoda, was a Japanese soldier who didn’t know the Japanese had surrendered and that World War II was over, so he hid in the deep jungle and continued fighting it for a full 29 years more! He didn’t have to! In October 1945, he came across a leaflet from the local islanders saying “The war ended August 15th. Come down from the mountains!” But, he didn’t believe it. He decided that it must be Allied propaganda trying to get him to give up.

We marvel and shake our heads at stories like these, but many Christians are doing exactly the same thing! They are continuing to fight a spiritual war that has been fought and won for them by Jesus over 2,000 years ago. The enemy has been completely defeated by what Jesus did for you on the cross! Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He completely paid for your freedom!

However, the enemy rages on as though the battle has not been won! But, the only “tools” he has left are deception and lies! He is a liar, a deceiver, and a thief, and he continually tells God’s people that they are not free! And, unfortunately it works when people believe his lies! Even though they are free they continually behave like prisoners of sin!

Our promise today says it very clearly, “Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed!”

What does this “freedom” mean to God’s kids? Because of what Jesus fought and won for you, you get: (just a short list here, there is actually much more!)

Freedom from the Old Testament law

“For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Rom. 3:28 NIV). And, “Through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:39 NASB)

Freedom from guilt

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1 NASB)

Freedom from condemnation

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:1-2 ESV)

Freedom to come boldly to God in the time of need

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16 NKJV)

Freedom to call God your father and Jesus your brother

“God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Gal. 4:4-7 ESV)

Freedom from fear and anxiety

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18 ESV). And, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7 KJV). And, “Be anxious for nothing.” (Phil. 4:6 NASB)

Freedom from eternal punishment (hell)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but shall have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV). And, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23 NASB)

Freedom to serve God

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (1 Peter 2:16 ESV)

Freedom to claim and apply all His thousands of promises found throughout the Bible

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” (2 Cor. 1:20 NIV)

Therefore, the battle is won for you by Jesus!

You are free and victorious! You don’t have to do anything except to continue to stand firm in the truth! “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1 NIV)

“I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” (Eze. 24:36 NIV)

Abundant showers

We recently replaced the small six-gallon hot water heater in our RV with a tankless one. It had been frustrating to suddenly run out of hot water while taking a shower, especially so for Susan, while washing her hair. Now, we have endless hot water, limited only to our RV’s water supply. And, when we are hooked up to a water hose at a camp site, it never runs out!

In a similar way, as God’s children, we are connected to His supply of blessings which will never run out!

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8 NIV)

God’s blessings come down like rain!

“May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.” (Psalm 72:6 NIV)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (2 Cor: 5:20 NIV)

We are aliens in a foreign land!

Ambassadors, by definition, represent their home country while working and living in the country to which they’ve been appointed. It’s the same way for Christians who are God’s ambassadors here on earth! Our real home is in heaven and we are like aliens who are visitors in a foreign land (1 Peter 2:11).

When people see you, who do they see?

Sure, they see the physical “you”, that’s true, but did you know that as Christ’s ambassadors, when they see you, they should also see Jesus? Our promise of the day says it very clearly, that “we are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

Another verse puts it this way, “as he is in the world, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17 ESV).

And, how do you do this ambassador job correctly?

You allow the Holy Spirit to fill you and do His transforming work within you! When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, “spiritual fruit” is produced, and that is what people will notice! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). When people see these things in you, they will be seeing the character of Christ because He is all of these things!

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)

If you do not give up!

This is an important promise to hold on to! I have found personally, that the road to practically any kind of positive achievement is usually found “uphill” and it is important to learn how to be a good “climber” so to speak.

Unfortunately, many don’t persevere and quit out of discouragement when the going is slow or gets tough. Dale Carnegie, author of “How to win friends and influence people”, said, “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” He was so correct! And, the really great news is that we as followers of Christ are NOT without hope! We do have the “blessed hope.” (Titus 2:13). We have God’s help available to accomplish anything! (Phil. 4:13).

Don’t quit!

Because, quitters NEVER succeed EVER, and there are countless people who have succeeded by simply keeping on! “In due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen for you? To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6 KJV 2000)

The answer to these four questions are all “yes” for you!

1. The bonds of wickedness are loosed from you!

2. Heavy burdens are undone from you!

3. You’re now set free from oppression!

4. Every yoke is broken from you!

All were proclaimed and paid for you by Jesus!

Therefore…

”So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 NIV)

”It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1 NIV)

“Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matt. 10:8 NIV)

A simple definition of the word “fellowship” is “more than one fellow in the same ship”. And, in many ways we are all in the same boat! We live in a world that includes others, and we do need one another!

Sometimes we need a helping hand ourselves and sometimes we can offer one to someone else who needs some kind of help or encouragement.

Encourage one another!

We have a distinct advantage as Christians because we have His help to do what is needed. We have His Holy Spirit, we have His written Word, and we have each other! “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,” (1 Thess. NIV). Because we are blessed, we can bless others!

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate, and humble.” (1 Peter 3:8 NIV)