Passage

[Philippians 4: 8-9]
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. [9] The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."


Those believers who have faith should resemble the Lord who is perfect.
Today's reading passage Philippians 4:8-9 tells us what kind of person Jesus is and that it is He who we must resemble.
I hope you will remember this passage to check yourself in prayer.
God of peace will be with us if we are on the alert to practice the truth in all things, thinking about whether we are found to be holy before God, whether we are truthful in all things; whether we are honorable and without any filthy words or thoughts; whether we are right in all things and pure without falsehood; whether we have selfish motives or bias; whether we are lovely and worthy of praise in all things.
We definitely have to discern whether something is sin or not and choose what is not sin in all our words, deeds, and thoughts.
Furthermore, in order for us to have the image of the Lord, we have to choose not just what is not sin but we must discern and choose what is closer to perfection in the sight of God.
Rather than seeking our own, we have to seek what is beneficial for the kingdom of God first and then what benefits others.
Rather than choosing what is convenient for us, we have to choose what is more gracious and edifying for others.
If we control ourselves within such attitudes, we will not lose peace of mind for the Holy Spirit will rejoice in us.
Also, even the unbelievers will give glory to God sensing the aroma of Christ coming out from you.
Through these messages on the deficiencies of the body, I am explaining the things that we have to realize and correct to become as perfect as the Lord.
If you pray about the deficiencies of the body, you will realize that it is not just about various behaviors but it is actually about your heart.
For example, not being able to keep something in mind, which I explained in the previous session, is not just about memory power.
If you unintentionally break a promise once or twice because you really forgot about it, or because of a truly inevitable reason, others might understand you.
But if this keeps on happening, it means you are quite distanced from being spiritual.
Even though you have not gone into spirit yet, you don't have enough memory power, or you are very busy, you can receive the help of the Holy Spirit.
If you try your best in all things with the fullness of the Spirit by praying fervently, the Holy Spirit will stop you from making mistakes.
If you don't intend to make mistakes and you really want to do well, and yet if you keep on forgetting things and keep on making mistakes, you should check the most minute detail for the reason you are not receiving the help of the Holy Spirit.
You should not just neglect little blemishes or spots. If you realize the fleshly nature behind them, you will realize spiritual problems that you could not think of.
To that same extent, it will become easier for you to go into spirit.
Now, continuing from the last session let me talk about specific examples of deficiencies of the body.
Brothers and sisters, if you have deficiencies in managing your finances, you will not do well.
Some people keep saving just a small amount of money and increase it to a sizable amount of money and continually add to their assets.
On the other hand, some people have a handsome amount of income but they don't seem to be able to save any money.
They just spend whatever money they have, so they cannot save any money. Moreover, if they don't have money now, they borrow.
They buy unneeded things and buy things just because others do.
If they know they are going to need a big amount of money at a certain point in the future, they should prepare for it. They may worry about it, but they don't prepare anything.
They just spend the money whenever they want, and they are in a hurry when they need money.
Those who have good plans and manage finances well might give them some advice, but they cannot change their habits.
It's not just about finances. Those who do not prepare things in advance in most cases have other deficiencies of the body too.
Some people do not prepare in advance when they go on a trip. They just pack their bags the night before the departure and in their haste they get in trouble because they don't take what they need.
They might say they had been too busy until then, but it's only an excuse.
Those who are always prepared begin their preparation way ahead of the time because they are busy.
Whether it's an appointment or going to school or work, those who are late are frequently late and those who are on time are usually on time.
Everybody knows that you will have enough time if you back-plan and prepare for something 20 or 30 minutes prior.
But those who have deficiencies are always in a hurry racing against the clock.
If they are late once, will they change their habits?
They might try to be prepared a couple of times, but soon they go back to their old way of living.
They cannot solve the problem of the deficiencies of the body just by not being late once.
When such people accompany others, they cause trouble for them too.
When everyone has to leave at a certain time, they are never on time.
They always make others wait, and they come right at the last minute so that others become nervous.
Being unprepared is causing them to be rude to others by making others nervous.
Next, we have deficiencies in emotions or thinking.
The first situation is that of people who lack the ability to think from the viewpoint of other people.
Those who lack experience in social interaction might have mindsets that are self-centered.

2012-02-20 Posted
2012-02-23 Updated