“Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)
”So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
Holy Spirit please continue to speak to us through Philippians 3:3-11…
…“My prayers for you are full of praise to God as I give him thanks for you with great joy! I’m so grateful for our union and our enduring partnership that began the first time I presented to you the gospel. I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ! It’s no wonder I pray with such confidence, since you have a permanent place in my heart! You have remained partners with me in the wonderful grace of God even though I’m here in chains for standing up for the truth of the gospel. Only God knows how much I dearly love you with the tender affection of Jesus, the Anointed One. I continue to pray for your love to grow and increase beyond measure, bringing you into the rich revelation of spiritual insight in all things. This will enable you to choose the most excellent way of all — becoming pure and without offense until the unveiling of Christ. And you will be filled completely with the fruits of righteousness that are found in Jesus, the Anointed One—bringing great praise and glory to God!” (Philippians 1:3-11 TPT)
We’re getting closer to completing the first point in our study outline…
…Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s begin probing verse 11…
…“And you will be filled completely with the fruits of righteousness that are found in Jesus, the Anointed One—bringing great praise and glory to God!”
The Bible is filled with “fruit.” Jesus used the picture of fruit to teach spiritual lessons. He especially liked to refer to figs. We are to examine the “fruit” that we are bearing in our lives. We can make an educated guess about the inner condition of a person based on the “fruit” of that person’s life. Paul in his letter to the Galatians talked about the “Fruit of the Spirit.” In this prayer for the Philippians he prays that they will be “filled completely with the fruits of righteousness.”
Paul tells us that his desire is that we will be filled with these fruits. There is no reason to ration these fruits. No reason to limit our intake. He also tells us where these fruits come from. They come from Jesus himself. That tells me that I do not need to work at receiving them. I am not the gardener, Jesus is. I think this point is critical.
In my life I spent many years trying to produce the fruits of righteousness (even though I am not sure I even knew what it was that I was trying to produce). I would pull up my boot straps and get to work trying to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, pull the weeds, and make the fruits grow. Then one day the Holy Spirit made the following verse burst into life within my spirit…
…“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
Just like salvation, righteousness is a free gift that is possessed by my spirit and worked out into my soul (mind) and body. The “real me” on the inside is abundantly supplied with the fruits of righteousness. I can either keep it in my spirit waiting for heaven someday to have it shared with my renewed soul and glorified body, or I can start sharing it now beginning the process of renewal and glorification in the power of the Spirit.
When I was working so hard to become righteous, putting my focus on my obvious failures to produce the desired fruits, I already had within me everything that I was working so hard to produce (with no lasting results). As 2 Corinthians 5:21 began to grow and bear fruit in my life, the Holy Spirit enlivened another verse that has revolutionized my life…
… “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9-11 ESV)
The writer of Hebrews makes a comparison between the nation of Israel and believers in this discussion of entering into rest. The verse that the Holy Spirit made come alive in me is verse 11. The “work” that I do is not to produce the rest, it is to enter into it. The work that I do is to enter into rest. I work to by faith experience those things that have already been given to me. Even beyond that, I work to rest in the knowledge that I already possess everything that belongs to Jesus. He gave me everything that heaven has to offer, including the fruits of righteousness. It is all in my heart (my spirit). I work to renew my mind and discipline my body in order to keep from disrupting the flow of all that I possess in Christ. I take a stand and resist the devil so that he doesn’t build a dam (stronghold) blocking the river of life that is within me from flooding my life.
Here is a third verse that the Holy Spirit exploded within me that creates the environment in which these fruits can fill me…
…”Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore…” Ephesians 6:13-14a ESV)
What the Holy Spirit highlighted was the way Paul said, “having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore.” He emphasized through redundancy the significance of simply standing. It reminds me of the many times that God told the Israelites to stand and watch as he fought for them, defeating their enemies.
Finally, verse number four that the Holy Spirit put into my arsenal…
… “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV)
As I circle back to Paul’s prayer, applying what I have learned from the Holy Spirit as he enlivened these verses in my spirit, I already possess the “fruits of righteousness.” My work is to rest in knowing that these fruits flow from the fact that I have already become the righteousness of God in Jesus. I am now able to fight the good fight of faith by resisting the devil as I simply stand in the victory that Jesus has already won.
So with the great confidence of bearing the fruits of righteousness in my life I am left asking myself, “Self, what are these fruits?”
Tune in to this same station next time as we seek to answer that question. Until then, simply give yourself time to soak in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 481: Praying With Paul – Philippians 1:3-11: Part 7