Be A Philadelphian Christian, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ, God's giving you everything you need Christ is giving you his precious and magnificent. How many of them so I'm giving you the promise some guidelines as I provide the power of a Jesus that I'll tell you what the promises are all give you all these promises notice what it says. The result of all that would be decent. The result of all that would be that you would be partakers of the divine nature which I mean would be like Jesus. That's the point. Going out today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of pro-survival trip located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word meets that I have had over this last year especially, is that I have never seen so many angry people.

The amount of anger in our culture now has a gun to define our culture.

Some the articles I read in the last few weeks called the culture of anger. Unfortunately, that anger spilled over to the church of Jesus Christ and the secular experts as they look at it. They may say things like, well, the reason were so angriest Americas built on the culture of individualism where Asia is more like group and so the nightmare is angry, but America has always been an individualistic culture, but something is really changed in America. Some CVA the emergence of social media has certainly made America more angry and I will certainly win dispute that, but I think there's even something deeper seated than that other say it has to do with the amount of conspiracy theories that you find an American and makes everybody angry. Other articles I read said anger is a wonderful emotion. It lets people know how you feel immediately rather than using words, you just get angry.

Angry helps people become anger helps people become more competent if there angry enough and that the one I read said anger helps people rise the power and I was thinking of Adolf Hitler and God.

Yeah, that might be true, but I would say that's a good thing. What we end up seeing is that this culture. Pervasive anger has enormous consequences. The amount of multiple shootings in the last 10 years. Incredible.

Just this past week my wife was telling me about a couple from the same county that I we live in in Pennsylvania and they had seven children and they decided that an anniversary to have an anniversary but just the two of them going to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and so the kids all stayed home and then their parents went on to Myrtle Beach for a weekend and apparently somewhere on the trip. He pulled out and must've caused a guide to move out of his lane or beepers horn or something like that come off a little bit so the guy just drove up beside the car and shot his wife to death in the passenger seat and say what what is really happening in this culture. One writer said that one of the problems is that our media and our politics. He said the people involved were often anger brokers. In other words, they constantly want to keep you and I angry and they do everything they can to make that happen. I guess it's become a career to make people angry in America but that should have no effect on us were supposed to be different and the reason is we are different. See when were not supposed to be this culture and that we should not be known as angry Christians.

In fact, I read an article this is past week that he described the church and it was a secular writer as the angry Church of Jesus Christ as he looks at it. He says Christians are angry. Not supposed to be that way. In fact, were supposed to be kind, loving being from Pennsylvania very much realizes our state was founded by William Penn and that is a Quaker and William Penn decided to establish a city in Pennsylvania called Philadelphia and when he established that he said it is known now as the city of brotherly love. And that's partially true but he said I want a city that will be known for its kindness and its tolerance and its love for others.

So that's what Philadelphia is named after. Now it's kind of ironic, at least in the sports world the people, or Philadelphia are known as anything but loving and kind Philadelphia sports fans boom the other team I can.

Other cities in a booth 13. It doesn't really matter to and I can remember years ago in a NFL football game the Eagles.

It was apparently were playing well and Santa Claus came out and they pelted him with batteries so it is kind of alarming but Philadelphia is a biblical term is right in the New Testament.

In fact, it's what the word is used that supposed to describe you and me.

So my question this morning is this you Philadelphia and Christian you see is that who you are or you just angry. Open your Bibles to second Peter chapter 1 second Peter chapter 1 and I want you to see something here. Both Peter and later Paul going to describe what you should be like and what I should be like.

In fact what God's will is for you to be and what God's will is for me to be in him and ask you in a variety of ways this morning. Are you a Philadelphian Christian CRU you have to be honest with yourself as we go through these, the first thing Peter does, and it's typical of an epistle. He wants to tell us of what we have from God. You see this all the time in the word of God. He says, seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness warehouses are that he's he's not talking about going to heaven when you die.

I think that's where a lot of Christians this limited. I believe in Jesus. I believe he died for my sins. And when that guy did to go to heaven but has nothing to do with my life. He says no. He said by his divine power. He is granted to us everything you need pertaining to life.

So what's our limitation air. His divine power. How limited is his divine power is unlimited and he is granted to us everything according to life and godliness. He said, through the true knowledge of him, which is Jesus Christ who called us by his own glory and his own excellence all through the idea of knowing Jesus Christ.

He then goes on and says, for by these he Jesus Christ has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may be tarp partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. He says look God's giving you everything you need Jesus Christ has given you his precious and magnificent promises. How many of them are there hundreds he said giving you the promise.

So God always says I provide the power but Jesus said, I'll tell you what the promises are, I'll give you all these promises and notice what it says.

The result of all that would be. He said the result of all that would be that you would be partakers of the divine nature.

What's that mean you would be like Jesus. That's the point. He said it got to set this up for a Jesus called at the abundant life he said upset the software.

This is the Bab in effect now. The issue then becomes extremely important. We have all these resources so there's at least one thing you need to know early in this is this you don't have an excuse. You and I have no excuses for behavior. You can say I'd I I have no power. You have all the power of God. Why don't know what to do. Give all the promises of Christ.

You don't have an excuse and I know you guys use them because when I'm in counseling. That's what I hear over and over again.

It's amazing how many Christian sake. I just can't do that. I just can't. And inevitably I say the same thing to them over and over. You can't, he can and that's wise in your life. You see, it's okay to say I can as long as I say he can and so he goes through all this, we don't have the excuse and he says but there's some things God's provided what we need, but there are some things we have to do for ourselves. So we does in verse five and he says now for this very reason. Also, applying all diligence in your faith supply moral excellence. So, notice what he says God did his part. Now you and I have to apply all diligence to that's part of the Christian life is to be a movement back in the 80s it was more popular than the day but is called the let go let God moment. The whole idea is you are still doing you just are completely apathetic to life and let God do everything sounds right.

Not there's a part that God will do and as a part you have to do it. It's certainly a it certainly comes under the nature of God's will, but it also comes under the nature of your will. You and I have certain responsibility and he said apply all diligence got to work this through.

Think about the things you love the do and how you apply diligence and if you're successful in the workplace. It just comes free right yet there's no price to pay, or is or your favorite hobby. I mean, I know men that if they have a free moment in life there either going to be golfing or fishing and the usually pretty good golfers in pretty good fishermen and you know why they pile diligence. He said yeah what you do with your faith you apply all diligence and what you're trying to do here.

He said in your faith supply moral excellence that word supply is the Greek word choreography, which at that time meant, the idea of a rich man who supplies everything you need to put on a play as a benefactor is to get you need to supply all that to your own life. He said a supplying he as he said all diligence, and then he goes on, and he says, and in your moral excellence knowledge.

In other words, you need to know things. If you don't know anything about Christianity, you're not going to live like Christian, you're going to live like a pagan, you might be going to heaven when you die because the one thing you do knows the gospel, but it is not going to change, you have to know that he said that's a very important aspect of this and he starts making this list. And God loves these lists. Galatians chapter 5, Paul calls of the fruit of the Spirit. Remember, he wrote a whole list of things are the fruit of the spirit. You have the same idea here and so he says in your knowledge, self-control in your self-control, perseverance, that's the hardest word in this by the way, perseverance, and other words what is tell me is bill you not only have to play all diligence and do things differently. You have to do it every day.

You can't say to Jorge Gore that I didn't get angry last Thursday all day long.

So now you have to persevere in these things. This has to become part of your character. He sitting a perseverance, godliness, which means I attribute to God what he deserves. And then it says this in your godliness, brotherly kindness, just for the workers Philadelphia that's the word Philadelphia flow is the kind of love. See brotherly kindness. He said that's what you have to do Stephen Cole said this is the Greek word Philadelphia, which means brotherly love is a feeling of kindness or mutual understanding and care that should exist among all of us, it could apply, he says to how we are to treat every human being.

Since we are members of the human family, but is specifically applies to the reference of the family of God. We must accept all who Christ is accepted. Romans 15 we must be diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit.

Ephesians 4, and we must do good to all people.

Galatians 6 that's what it means they have Philadelphia in your life. Does that describe you. Are you Philadelphia and Christian are you angry you see are you angry New Testament says there's three different kinds of anger see which one describes you. One is through moments, through must means the boy all over. These are explosive people. They just erupt on people. I feel so sorry for people that have to live with people like that for a lifetime there just explosive. They just blow up hit everything they can and then SOI I'm over now I'm fine, but when I hear often people say. But I've always kind of been this way with it doesn't matter. The Bible says your new creature in Christ all the old things are passed away so you can't use your past life as a reason for the sin in your life.

Now you can't you so that's why your new creature and so their stillness, then there is par August Moss and that means inside seething.

These are the people that just are angry. But you know they deceive, they just have it inside of and what they do is they just keep compressing until they have to use it.

This is the kind of anger I do with most you see a marriage over time couples on the verge of a divorce. The really struggling and for 20 years they have been pushing it down push to get done pushing it on and they got to the point that every time they have a fight virtually every time it's the same pattern. You start out in a fight was something small you know you forgot to get bread milk on the way home.

Missed the office today.

It starts out that way. I call that the beginning of that is what I call a spitball flight you're just thrown spitballs of each other okay. But then someone gets her feelings hurt so they get the knife up, then the other person pulls out the revolver, then a person pulls the cannon and then finally you bring out the nuke you see. And you know when the nukes out when you start screaming at your partner. You always you never and then you give them all the litany for the last 20 years of things they did wrong first thought means you never forgave anything and secondly you're using these readers repress that repression to expose the anger of it. You see, that's what ends up happening received over things you don't have to be an outburst to have controlling some people see that on the third form of anger is or and it means you get angry when our priorities are met in the given example that in this last year. The pandemics made a lot of people a lot of Christians angry and more angry about all of it and if you put it in with all the conspiracy theories and everything else. The things that I have heard of just been absolutely amazing to me.

Christian saying these words you know that what they're trying to do when they give you an inoculation is to control your brain, I'm just it just goes on and on. Makes him angry.

Some Christians get angry never talk to me and because they will not wear a mask no matter what is it you want I will not. I'm not wear a mask and I'm not socially just no one can tell me what to do and I kept thinking when you're going 90 in a 45 in the trooper pulled you over.

Is that what you tell, you can't tell me what to do.

I have my rights. You get the ticket he has his job.

You see, you can't and you see this all the time so you have Christians, even angry about that. Think of how every year in United every four years United States we have a national election and he realizes after the national election. Half of America's angry.

The really angry why I didn't get what I wanted. You see, that's Oregon anger. That's the kind of anger when life is disappointing me to be mad at somebody that's fine if you're in the flesh, but if your child of God. You should be at all.

You see, you can see this with Oregon anger and in my flesh you know my enemy is my enemy, but in Christ you know my enemy is the object of my love and prayer. Is he Jesus said love your enemies, pray for them. See, it's a different thing. We have a different responsibility. We are to be Philadelphia Christians. That's what he says we should be with any goes on. He says four of these qualities are yours and are increasing, you render yourself neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What he saying is if you're not a Philadelphian Christian. You know what you are to God, useless. He can use you your filled with anger and rage. He said for who he who lacks these qualities is blind or shortsighted its kind in convicting because we always want to justify our anger is a failure blind or your shortsighted which shortsighted me. You don't see from the right perspective. You see how my supposed to see life from God's perspective that shortsighted. I don't really do. I see from my perspective that's what I wanted to only see from my perspective, he said, you have forgotten his purification from his former sins to understand he saved you and your new creature in Christ you forgot this, then he goes on its is therefore brother all the more. Be diligent, make certain of this calling and choosing of you for as long as you practice these things you'll never stumble. He said I want to warn you about that. In other words, your life should be evidence of your conversion and if your life shows no evidence of your conversion to someone have a right to doubt your conversion yes because there's no life show many of the difference in my life.

I do this over and over Christians while I had an ongoing, and I was going up the heat here I know is with the Lord because he told me once when he was eight years old he went to a camp in April. You receive Jesus and now since then, he's a very crude terrible man he never talks about Jesus.

He wants nothing to do with Jesus he's never mentioned him.

I tried to talk to him before he died about the Lord wanted nothing to do with it but I know when he was eight, he made the decision about sin. He didn't you have a right to be skeptical yes because the spirit if he did, the spirit of God and well said in his rendered the spirit of God totally impotent in his know that's not the way it should be for us comfortable never on the radio ministry or fellowship nor if you ever missed one of our broadcast or maybe you dislike of the sum of the method one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program that Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible with all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help with radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly report just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastoral sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sermon series you're looking you can search by title. Once you find the method you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own. And remember all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is FVC Nola.org for pastoral go-cart injuries and making you for listening to fellowship in order