Why Be Selfless

Pastor Leon Aguilera

¹ If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, ² Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  – Philippians 2:1-2

No surprise that in a Bible book dedicated to joy, an entire chapter is spent on selfishness versus selflessness. Philippians, chapter 2 lays out the issue that keeps us from choosing joy the way God desires. The heart of the problem, the sin that causes all of the misery is selfishness. 

           

Philippians 2:1 Paul’s like, “So, is Jesus workin’ for you? I mean really, is He impacting your life?” 

You say, “Well, what do you mean?”

He begins, “Is there any consolation in Christ?” Jesus used a related word in John 14, describing the Holy Spirit as a “comfort” or a paraclete-encourager. The idea is “to come alongside.” Has the Lord come alongside you? Has He encouraged you and strengthened you as much as you would allow?

           

Here’s the second thing: “Any comfort of love?” Have you been comforted by the love of God in your life? Are you reassured to know that Almighty God cares for you? 

Third, “Any fellowship of the Spirit?” Do you have “fellowship” there. Have you been meeting and participating with some of the Lord’s people? Do you find that some of your most joyful times come when you get with God’s people, talk about the things of the Lord, then roll up your sleeves together in faithful, fulfilling ministry in the kingdom of God? 

           

 And then this, “Any bowels and mercies?”  It can be said, any affection and sympathy? Have you seen that the closer you get to the Lord, the more He gives you a heart for people? I mean, you were so selfish; then you came to Christ; then all of a sudden you’re like, “You know what?  What she thinks or they need really does matter. It’s not just about me.”

           

So Paul’s like, “If these things are true...”

And we’re like, “Yeah, they are true.

Then he delivers the command of selflessness: “Fulfil ye my joy.” If you’ve gone far in Christ, go all the way, man! Complete my joy. Make my joy complete. 

Well, Paul, what would complete your joy?  Here it is: “be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Now what is that if it’s not a death to self? We have unbeatable reasons to be selfless!

Knowing God's Goodness

Pastor Leon Aguilera

8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9  O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.  
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
—Psalm 34:8-10

If you’re one of God’s children, you will figure this out by the end of your life: God is good. There's no telling what He will take you 

through to bring you to that place. But eventually your value system will be set up in such a way that you say, “The Lord is 

good!” Everything He allowed, everything He withheld, every difficult season, every stretching circumstance, God meant for your good. His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit. You can know His goodness as certainly as you can taste and savor your favorite food.

Psalm 34:8 invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The sequence of the phrase makes tasting the action and seeing the result. God is saying in essence, Engage all your senses and you will discover, among other things, My 
goodness. Here, tasting and seeing are used to help us understand just how “up close and personal” God’s goodness can be experienced.

In the immediate context, there are three other parallel expressions that illustrate how you can “taste and see that the Lord is good.” They are: 1) take “trusteth in him” and be “blessed”; 2)“fear the Lord and no want”; 3) “seek the Lord and shall not want (lack) any good thing.”

Taking refuge, fearing the Lord, and seeking Him are three ways of tasting. The closer we engage with God, the more we can know His goodness. He urges, “Taste! Sample and see. Find out for yourself that I am good.” God’s goodness is what He wants us to experience. He offers Himself to us!

Psalm 100:5 says, “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Every generation learns the truth—God’s goodness is something He wants us to experience. It flows to us as steadfast love and faithfulness and is present in everything He does.

Even God’s timetable is good, but we may only see this after events have transpired. Our prayer must be, Father, I’m waiting for You because I’ve tasted and know You are good in what You do and in when You do it!

Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” God is not usually quick to answer questions like, “Why did You allow this, God?” or “Why is this happening in my life?” But His mercy and His kindness are over all that He has made. Those willing to keep tasting are the ones who keep finding His goodness.

Growing Faith

Pastor Leon Aguilera

 ⁵ And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.  – Luke 17:5

Ever feel like your faith is small? Perhaps you wish you could do more or be more. Maybe when you look around you, it seems as if everyone else has BIG BOLD FAITH, while yours is just . . . tiny.

If that’s you, then consider these three things you can do that will immediately begin to grow your faith.

1. Believe that your faith can increase.

Every Christian has been given “a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). While each of us has been given a certain capacity to believe, it can increase. Isn’t that great news? Exhibit A for growing faith is the Apostle Peter. Remember what Peter was like in the Gospels? He tried hard but failed, said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and kept messing up at critical moments. Peter was the one who swore loyalty to Jesus then denied even knowing Him (Mark 14:26–31, 66–72). Peter was the one who followed Jesus after His arrest but only from a safe distance (Mark 14:54). When Peter tried walking on the water, he sank, and Jesus called him, “O thou of little faith” (Matthew 14:31). Ouch.

Yes, Peter had little faith and a lot of growing to do, but he made one good decision: He followed Jesus’ instructions, went to that upper room, and waited for the Holy Spirit to come and fill him. When the Spirit of God filled Peter in response to his faith, he was transformed. He preached boldly, and three thousand people were saved. Peter became such a powerful, faith-filled man that Acts 5:15 reports that people “Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.”

2. Expose your mind to God’s Word.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). Faith can’t grow without the soil of God’s Word.

Have you learned yet to love the Word of God? “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16). Is your mind steeped in God’s Word? Have you gotten past the discipline stage of reading the Bible (gutting it out because you know you should) to the delighted stage (actually wanting to read it, even craving it)?

The more we wash our minds with God’s Word, the more our faith can grow. When we fill our minds with trashy entertainment, the latest celebrity gossip, social media newsfeed, and other pagan entertainment, what happens to our faith? When we fill our minds with everything but God’s Word, our faith will falter or even wither. According to Romans 12:2, your transformation comes “by the renewing of your min.” What are you putting into your mind?

We must read the Word, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it. Human words don’t build faith; God’s do. And as you immerse yourself in God’s Word, you’ll also learn to . . .

3. Practice genuine prayer.

Faith comes through genuine prayer. Not ritualistic, rote repetition of “Hail Marys” or “Our Fathers” but genuine, on-your-knees, heartfelt prayer, laying hold of God by faith.

“Hmmm,” you might say, “I’m not very good at that. Where’s the seminar on genuine prayer?” The seminar is conducted in your home daily in a private place where you can kneel down. The seminar is given by the Holy Spirit Himself and is available 24/7. If you want to learn how to pray, get on your knees, open your mouth, and ask, “Lord, teach me to pray.”

Prayer has incredible power to build your faith. When you are filled with anxiety, concerns, or burdens, pray. Get by yourself, kneel in humility before God, and in the simplest language you know, talk to your Father about it. Through genuine, heartfelt prayer, you can exchange your anxiety for faith.

So for all those who want their faith to keep growing—believe that your faith can increase, expose your mind to God’s Word, and genuinely pray. You might begin by asking the Lord, as the apostles did, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5)!

How to Be a Blessing

Pastor Leon Aguilera

 ²⁴ There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.²⁵ The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.  - Proverbs 11:24-25

If you haven't felt the joy of the Lord in your life, if you have been feeling spiritually dry, or if your faith doesn't feel all that real to you right now, then let me ask you something: When is the last time you shared your faith with someone? When is the last time you had a conversation with someone about what you believe?

The Christian life is not meant to be hoarded; it is meant to be shared. You have been blessed to be a blessing to others, not to keep it to yourself. Proverbs 11:25 tells us, "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself " This verse is teaching, the generous person will be enriched. Do you want a generous soul? It's one area where you don't want to be lean. 

Here is what it comes down to: as you start declaring what God has done for you, in some ways it will become more real to you as you make it real to others. As you are taking in truth and growing in your faith, you need to share it with someone else. Every believer needs to do this. It isn't just for pastors or missionaries to do; it is for you. Every one of us needs to look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus.

I can't tell you how many times I have been depleted and drained and felt like I had nothing to offer, but as I began to speak, God gave me the right words to say. I started on empty and ended up on full. Jesus said, ^” Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 6:38).

A Preview of God’s Plan

Pastor Leon Aguilera

 ¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  ¹² Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  ¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:11-13

God has a plan for your life. He has some objectives for you. Even knowing those truths, it’s still easy to get stuck in the bottomless vortex of questions: Who am I supposed to marry? Where am I going to live? What am I going to do for work? It’s time to set aside the questions and get back to what God has said.

His plans for you are not so much about those specifics as they are about developing your character. Everything else will sort itself out.

God always has plans for the welfare and future of those who are His. He always has plans to give His children hope. Even in the middle of sad and sobering words of judgment, God poured out His heart for His people. He pointed them (and us) toward relationship. The circumstances He allows are designed to cause us to call upon Him. We’re always able to call, seek, and find Him because He wants us to call, seek, and find Him!

When God says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” His words are a great comfort. But wouldn’t you love to get a look at those plans? The tension isn’t, “Does God know?” The tension is, “I want to know!” Although God understands our questions, He doesn’t owe us any answers. It’s as if He says, “I know, but I’m not going to fill you in . . . yet.”

He does give us hints, however. God provides us with some general categories that describe His purposes. First, they are thoughts of peace. The Hebrew word is shalom, meaning “the complete state of well-being; fulfillment; prosperity; peace.” As God looks down the telescope of time, His plans are for your total well-being.

Second, His designs for you are not of evil. People who are determined to prove they can live contrary to God’s program will pay a price for their experiment. God’s plans take us away from evil; ours tend to take us smack into the middle of it.

Third, God’s plans are designed, to give you an expected end, that is a future and a hope, both immediately and eternally. The biblical definition of hope is a confident expectation of something better tomorrow. When your hope is in God, He’ll always deliver. It doesn’t matter what has happened, better things are coming. That's hope! You can be confident He has good plans for you.

Living Life On Purpose

^{Leon Aguilera}

¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ¹¹ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. ¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. ¹³ Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. ¹⁴ But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Is life really that meaningless? Are we here simply to pass time and take up space? No way! God has much more in mind for each of His children. In Romans 13:10-14, the apostle Paul gives three admonitions that move us in the right direction.

First, we must WAKE UP. Look at verse 11. Have you ever slept through your alarm in the morning and awakened too late for work or school? Well, in a spiritual sense, this is the exact situation that Paul is calling us to avoid. Our ultimate salvation—that moment when we meet Christ, either at His return or in our death—is drawing closer, moment by moment. And yet, many believers are “sleeping in,” so to speak. Are you in this group?  Are you taking a long nap when you should be taking hold of the Lord?  If so, I exhort you to WAKE UP.

Second, Paul tells us to CLEAN UP. Look at verses 12-13. Christ is returning soon to forever rid this world of sin, but we should live as though that day were already here. How? By stripping off the “works of darkness”—improper pursuit of fulfillment, sexual sin, and relational sin are mentioned here—and instead, suiting up for battle in the armor of God’s light (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Are you taking off your dirty, smelly clothes each day and replacing them with a fresh, new battle uniform? Or are you still soiled and impure before the Lord? God is instructing you to CLEAN UP.

Third, in verse 14 we are called to GROW UP. I don’t know about you, but I was a fairly mischievous kid. Sadly, many of us need this reminder spiritually. We must not even consider how we can satisfy our sinful cravings—in other words, we must make no allowances for failure. He must be in charge of every aspect of our lives. Does this describe you? Are you deliberately and consciously avoiding every opportunity for your flesh to fail? Are you growing in submission to Christ’s authority over your life? God wants you to GROW UP.

Let’s get serious about spiritual maturity! Don’t settle for less than God’s very best in your life. Don’t just pass time and take up space. It’s time to WAKE UP, CLEAN UP, and GROW UP for the glory of God.

The Way Seems Right

Pastor Leon Aguilera

Wisdom from Proverbs:

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” 16:25

 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 3:7

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 4:26

When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. 16:7

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.16:9

Not a day goes by that you and we don’t make decisions that turn the direction of our lives. We base some of our choices on what we know for sure; others are judgment calls. Proverbs 16:25 has a built-in alarm system that warns us, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” When you base your decisions on what seems right to you, flags should fly up all around when you read this verse. Its caution is so specific and so current that we need to take every word seriously.

Notice, “There is a way . . .” not there was a way. This warning is not leftover from when you were in high school. Nor is it talking about your future. This flag is for your life today, wherever you are. If you’re 25 or 45 or 65, there is a way that seems like the way to go and you’re looking right at it.
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man . . . ” Are you pondering a decision, maybe even taken several steps in a certain direction, that just feels like the right decision because it’s smooth and sunny and fun and fast? Make no mistake about it, most likely it is the wrong way.

Remember when Jonah ran from God? He went down to Joppa and found a boat waiting in the harbor that took him in the opposite direction from where God told him to go. It must be right; the boat was just waiting there for me. Listen, Satan can put a lot of wrong ways right in front of the person who is willing to consider it. You’ve got to go find the right way. The wrong way will usually come after you.

The problem is that all of this only “seemeth right unto a man …” because our minds are darkened by sin, our hearts are impatient for pleasure, and our wills are weighed down with the old nature and the inclination to sin. Don’t trust what seems right to you—that’s leaning on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths..” Trust God with everything you’ve got, ask Him for wisdom, and He will make the path of your life plain and straight. He’ll make it so you don’t have to waste a lot of time going down roads that just seem right but paths that you know are right in God’s eyes.