Questions for Reflection:
In your mind, who, or what kind of person, can be called a powerful individual?
Why is such a person defined as powerful in your eyes?
How do you view the importance of joy in a person's life?
How do you perceive life and death?
Having God's Perspective
If you were to give a title to Philippians Chapter 1, what would it be? I think it would be A Truly Powerful Person. Paul is such a truly powerful and remarkable individual. A truly powerful person is one in whom God dwells, and what kind of person has God's presence? It is someone whose perspective is close to or aligns with God's perspective.
Do not remain trapped in your own viewpoint; at best, you will only be a weak person. Unable to bear the slightest grievance, easily overwhelmed by difficulties, such a person cannot be considered powerful; they are essentially lacking. To have God's presence, one must have a perspective like God's. Paul's perspective was the same as God's, and God was with him.
If your perspective aligns with God's, external circumstances cannot affect your inner feelings. No matter how fierce the storm outside, there is peace within. Regardless of how urgent the external situation, even if the body suffers, you still have joy within; then you are a remarkable individual.
I once shared with someone that a person's life is not about what you possess, but about your inner feelings. He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. (Exodus 16:18). When a person has God, they will lack nothing; lack is often self-imposed.
Many elderly people have such worries: Now I am fifty; if I get cancer at sixty, three hundred thousand will be gone for treatment. They prepare for cancer before even getting it. Then they worry about having a stroke at seventy and becoming paralyzed. Thinking like this, life becomes unbearable, without any hope! They apply every bad thing they see to themselves; they certainly cannot have joy.
From the time Paul believed in Jesus until his death, he was always a joyful person. This joy was unassailable. Although he shed tears, it could not take away the joy within him, because his joy came from God.
The Indwelling of God's Spirit
If your perspective aligns with God's, the feelings you have within will come from God. Paul's feelings came from God, and what comes from God brings joy. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of joy. When filled with the Spirit of God, joy comes. It is not joy brought about by external things, but the indwelling of God's Spirit. This is the wonder of God's Spirit!
In my years as a pastor, I have met many people. Often, people come to me and say, Pastor Liu, I am conflicted. Often, in the face of these situations, the only thing I can do is lead them in prayer, but many refuse. After a week, they are still conflicted, and come to me again, this time their conflict has worsened to the point of near-collapse. But I still offer the same suggestion: to pray for them. This time they did not refuse; a very short prayer, and after praying, they felt much better, their hearts completely relaxed, and they became joyful.
People's feelings come from the spiritual realm. Either from the spirit of the devil, or from the Spirit of God. And prayer is a process of God's Spirit filling us! Paul was a person who prayed often. Because he prayed often, the Spirit of God often filled him, and he was naturally filled with joy. This joy extends outward from within. If a person possesses such joy, how can they not become a powerful individual!
Seeing Through Life and Death
Paul was someone who saw through life and death! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far (Philippians 1:23). I also want to bring everyone to this level, because seeing through the matter of life and death is fundamental to the first book of the Bible, Genesis. If you read Genesis Chapter 50 with me, the last two verses tell of Joseph's death. Many chapters before this also speak of people who lived for so long and then died.
Basically, it tells one thing: death, not creation, because death is the end for everyone. If death is the end for everyone, you must take this to heart. If we see through the matters of life and death, I tell you, you will certainly be a joyful person!
The problem is that too many people do not see through it, and when those who see through it tell those who do not, they still do not see through it, because they do not believe what you say, nor are they willing to put what you say into practice. It is a strange thing. Why are so many people easily angered, easily hurt? Because they have not seen through it.
Why do so many people take houses and cars in this world so seriously? They take them seriously, but cannot obtain them, so they cannot have joy. If they obtain them, they are joyful for a while, and then not joyful anymore. This is because they have not understood. Only when they understand can they have joy.
Why can you have joy only when you understand? Because only when you understand can you have the same thoughts as God, who stands in eternity. If you have the same perspective as God, God will be with you. If God is with you, you will be like Paul, even in prison, or like Joseph as a slave. When there is no hope, you still have hope in your heart, and not only do you have hope, but you are also someone who performs miracles. For such a person, no difficulty can defeat them.
This matter is wonderful. We see Joseph in the Old Testament book of Genesis. When he was in prison, he still had hope; when he was a slave, he also had hope. Because he was not of this world at all. When many of us live in this life, he lived in eternity.
Having the Concept of Eternal Life
As we see through life and death, we must begin to have the concept of eternal life within us. Only when Paul had the concept of eternal life would he say such things: that leaving the world is an incomparably good thing. If a person has such a thought, that leaving the world is an incomparably good thing, they will live very peacefully in this world. When many people face death, it is as if they are facing a major catastrophe. But death is something that cannot be stopped, and must still be faced! It is because many people do not know that there is eternal life, and think that death is the end of everything; such people will certainly be very pained.
Then, people who truly have the concept of eternal life will have two reactions. The first reaction is the content of their prayers. The content of Paul's prayers concerns only the things of God's Kingdom, because he is certain that those things are real. Paul is remarkable because of this. The content of our prayers determines the foundation of our faith, and also determines whether we can become a powerful individual.
If the content of your prayers is all about houses, cars, one million, two million, ten million... then you will never become a happy person, because you will always feel lacking. But Paul basically asked for things that are in eternity!
I often enjoy attending funerals. Someone I knew before died in a car accident. When he was alive, he often boasted about his designer car. When I attended his funeral, I pondered what this person had in his heart when he was alive. Later, I also bought a designer car, and found it very uninteresting. It’s still four wheels and a steering wheel. You can live in houses of all sizes, but you always feel that it's good to have a place to stay, and that a car that can drive and provide transportation is enough.
Whether a person sees through things or not is completely different. I have a great dilemma, which is that when I communicate with those who have not seen through things, I am afraid of stepping on their feet and hurting their hearts.
Because I accidentally speak my set of ideas. I see through things, but they do not. What they value, I think is meaningless. It's not that I am aloof; I really think those things are meaningless. They do not know what the result of this set of ideas is. Living like this will be like Paul, very joyful and very peaceful! Walking on the street, not worrying about anything, not fearing anything.
If I die, I will be with the Lord. When I am alive, I try my best to live for the Lord, and this life is so flavorful. God will surely provide cars and houses. In this way, the content of our prayers will not only be about our daily lives, but will be about the Kingdom of God. In this way, the intentions and emotions in our hearts will also change, and the intentions and emotions in our hearts will not be easily influenced.
I often meet couples who quarrel frequently. When they quarrel, they come to me, and I often take them to eternity to look at the things of this world. What are you arguing about? How boring! How meaningless! Believing in the Lord must be believed to this level. If you do not believe to this level, it is difficult to endure, because there are too many hardships in the world, and many problems. If you are not careful, you will plunge your head into the problems.
It is like one of our brothers came to me a few days ago and said: Pastor, I am not doing well again! I said: You will not die. I still took him before Christ Jesus to take a look in eternity. After coming back, looking at his own little things, it turned out to be just sesame-sized things.
Possessing Hope in Eternity
In this world, there are unforeseen events we cannot anticipate. They simply happen. I am not speaking of the saying, The boat will straighten when it reaches the bridge. What I mean is that we know there is a hope for us in eternity. This hope is not of this world. Although problems exist, they cannot rob us of our inner joy.
This is the fundamental basis of Paul's writing this letter. If you understand and agree with this foundation, then you can understand what he is writing. To be frank, even Paul himself had to accept what he wrote on faith. Therefore, Paul used these words in his letters: absolute conviction, assurance, and I am convinced.
You ask Paul if he really saw it? In fact, except for the first time he saw Christ Jesus when the light shone on him and blinded him, he has not seen much. Since then, he has rarely seen Jesus Christ. On one occasion, he was taken up to heaven, where he saw the mysteries of the third heaven, but he did not speak of them.
We do not know what he saw, but as he walked his path, we see a truly strong person. If you want to be a truly strong person, you must begin to learn the true method of inner thinking.
If a person always likes to find fault with others, always criticizing others for what they do wrong, then basically he is a person without hope. I encourage such people to visit the crematorium often. The corpse goes in and is burned to ashes. What comes out is a pile of bones. Do you still want to live like that?
In fact, people are living beings with a spirit. We must come out of a dead person and become a living person with a spirit. When you become a living person with a spirit, your whole way of life changes. Having said all this, in the final analysis, from the content of our prayers and our inner feelings, we can know whether our faith is true or false.
If our faith is false, basically our inner feelings are wrong, and then the content of our prayers is also wrong. The contents written on the prayer sheets in our church are all about the matters of God's kingdom, and such prayers will certainly solve any problem in your life! Because these words lead you into Paul's way of thinking, making you a strong person. Nothing can rob you of your inner joy.
Looking at Paul's life, we basically do not see him engaging in idle talk, complaining, or being entangled. If you often have problems of complaining, entanglement, often have unhappy things, and are troubled by something, you probably need to come out of the cage. Step into Paul's realm of thought, and you will find that this is the right path. The previous path was a dead end. Now walking on this living path, then work, family, children, these things will not be easily solved!