reading Philippians

Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys today. Happy Friday everybody. Happy Friday. We are back for another Friday. We are back indeed. We have our Coffee on Ice, actually not really. It's like barely on ice anymore. Guys, actually though, I really want to discover more fun iced coffees. So if I or just any actually I'll be open to hot coffees as well. I feel like it's finally starting to cool down a little bit here in California. But if you guys have any like favorite coffee orders, will you comment them below actually? Because I really want to discover some. I just kind of go with the same bit. Like obviously I have my pumpkin spice, but then if it's not pumpkin spice, I typically always just do an ice vanilla latte with oat milk. That's the only thing I do. And so I mean like I've tried other things. I don't really even, this is actually really funny. Ironically, considering like half of my brand is about coffee, first and foremost, it's all about Jesus. But like, you know, Christ with coffee on ice. It's like such a huge part of my brand. But for somebody who has coffee as such a part of her brand, I don't actually know that much about it. Like I just don't know that much about coffee. I don't really know the difference between all the things like I've had a macchiato. I know that it makes me feel a little too crazy than just like your regular espresso. I don't know. I actually don't know anything. So if you have a favorite and it's and it's more complex than just a vanilla latte, please explain to me all the different or barista. Do we have coffee experts? Please. I just want to be educated, I think I want to be educated because I think I'm limiting myself because I just don't know what else is out there. Anyway, that's a side little tangent. Okay, so we have our coffee guys. We have our Christ. We have the word of God here with us. I love this Bible. It's beautiful. I get questions about it all the time. Isn't it stunning? It's like, it's truly probably one of the prettiest Bibles I've ever owned. I love that it's leather. I've had a couple vibe like you guys know, I've shown them on the podcast where it'll be like fabric and that's great. It's a vibe, but they get so dirty. And so I've learned that the leather Bibles are the way to go. The brand that I get my Bibles from truly like all the Bibles that I've really shown on my podcast, except for the very first Bible I ever got, I did get that at Barnes & Noble. So it was not Hosanna revival, but Hosanna revival is the brand that I get all my Bibles from. They're the best. I couldn't speak higher of that brand. I love them. I'm also going to be working with them soon, which is so exciting. But aside from that, like even before that, I was such a huge fan. And they're just the kindest people ever. And they were sweet enough to give me a code to for you guys. So if you ever want to shop their website, you can shop their Bibles. They're, they have a really cute like aesthetic journals and notepads and things like that too. And it's just my first and last name. So you guys are welcome to use that as you're shopping. But yeah, so that's my Bible. Speaking of the Bible, I think we should read from it today. I would love to do that. I feel like this is something that you guys enjoy is when I read the Bible to you guys. I will say I'm still a little bit congested from, I got sick, so I'm a little congested today. But hopefully that won't bother you guys too much. But I say, I say we just read the word of God today. I think I need it. I'm sure you guys need it too. And so I don't know, this would be a really great podcast to just pin if you know, you're going on a walk or if there's any time that you just want to be listening to the fear cleaning, I'm happy to be in the background as you're cleaning. But this will be a really good episode to just have playing for you as you're doing tasks. That's how I would listen to it. If anyone was reading the Bible to me, I would fully take that, I would take it. And then I also would probably low key multitask. And I would let the word of God flood my ears as I'm getting the things done that I need to do, or if I'm moving my body and I'm going for a walk. So you're welcome to do all that. Or you are welcome to read along with me too. I actually think that that would be really awesome. So if you are in a place where you can sit down and read along, I think that's really impactful. I think that's the best way. I don't know about you guys. I guess it comes down to all of our learning habits and like how if you're a visual, if you're a visual learner, or if you're more of like an auto, like a, you learn more from hearing. But personally, I feel like scripture doesn't really like engrave into my brain unless I'm physically reading it and highlighting it. So I will say that the translation that I read from is NLT. So if you have NLT, then I will be reading directly out of your Bible and word for word. If you don't have that translation, it just might sound a little, a little different. But it should still sound similar enough where, where we, we get the gist, right? Okay. I have my little mini Bible. I've showed you guys this one, right? Isn't it cute? It's only the New Testament and then it has the Psalms and the Proverbs as well. My sister got it for me. It's the, isn't it precious? I think she got it off of Amazon. Anyway, I was reading it the other day in the car. And I just remember it was fire when I was reading. I was like, Oh my gosh, Holy Spirit was like just hitting me in the face and the best way ever. It was Philippians. And I don't know if we've ever read Philippians on the podcast, but it was incredible. I read the first three chapters and it was humbling. It's humbling. It will center us. It will bring us back to what truly matters. I just think that, you know, and, and all of it is valid, like all the things that we go through all the distractions, all of the obligations, all of the things that we have to do and the worries and it's real, you know, but I just think sometimes we lose sight of, of Jesus. I think we just lose sight of Jesus. And so, yeah, it was really grounding me and I would also just love to, to read it to you guys and let the word just bless you. I would love to pray us in first as well that we just receive. And there's just no spirit of offense. So Lord, we just lift up this time to you God. We thank you for the gift of the word. Lord, we thank you for leaving us with your word. Thank you God that it says in John one, one that in the beginning was the word and the word was with the God and the word was God. It is you God that this word is you and Jesus, you were made into flesh from the word. And so God, we, we ask for you to minister to our hearts today. God, I pray that as we read a part of this chapter that there is fresh, fresh revelation and that it ministers to each and every one of us in the ways that you want to reach us individually. God, I thank you that obviously there's opportunity for like a blanket revelation for all of us to come to the same. But I actually pray that we all come to different revelations and that it feels so personal that you are speaking directly into each and every one of us. And I also pray against any distraction in Jesus name as our minds can wander or things can come up. God, I pray that we can just be so focused on you and this time together and just really taking in your wisdom of who you've called us to be. And so we just pray all of these things in Jesus name. Amen. Okay, everybody, let's do it. Let's do it. In the beginning was the word and the word was we got the word was God 1271. Yeah, let's go Philippians. All right, Paul, he crushes. Does he not? Paul absolutely demolishes. Okay, we're going to start at the very beginning. Okay, Philippians 11. This letter is from Paul and Timothy slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy. For you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the good news. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ, for this will bring much glory and praise to God. And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear. It's true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry, but others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the good news. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn't matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. For I know that as you pray for me and the spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ, so I really don't know which is better. I'm torn between two desires. I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me. Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the good news about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the good news. Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved even by God Himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for Him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ, any comfort from His love, any fellowship together in the spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don't be selfish. Don't try to impress others. Be humble. Thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges, He took the humble position of a slave, and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names. That the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father. Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you, and now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear, for God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. That's really good. That's really good. Can we read that one more time? Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you, and now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear, for God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the Word of Life. Then, on the day of Christ's return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless, but I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself, like a son with his father. He has served with me in preaching the good news. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon. Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphrodotus back to you. He is a true brother, coworker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill. In fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him and also on me so that I would not have one sorrow after another. So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. Welcome him in the Lord's love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve, for he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn't do from far away. Now we are in Philippians chapter three. Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved, for we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort, if anyone could. Indeed, if others have a reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more. I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a real Hebrew if there ever was one. I was a member of the Pharisees, who demanded the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church, and as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage so that I could gain Christ, and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law, rather I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him sharing in His death so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead. I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection, but I press on to possess the perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing, forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you, but we must hold on to the progress we have already made. Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine and learn from those who follow our example, for I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their God is their appetite. They brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth, but we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives, and we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive from my work. Now I appeal to you, Dei and Sinchi, please be… I butchered those for sure, guys. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement, and I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the good news. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the book of life. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again, rejoice. Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me, everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the good news and then traveled on to Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once. I don't say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. At the moment, I have all that I need and more. I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphador deus. They are a sweet smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all of your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God, our Father, forever and ever, amen. Paul's final greeting, this is the end of Philippians. Give my greetings to each of God's holy people, all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. And all the rest of God's people send you greetings too, especially those in Caesar's household. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. And that's it. That's all the Philippians. I actually didn't realize how short it was. It's so funny. I know I've read Philippians and also it felt a little familiar. I'm like, oh my gosh, have we read this on the podcast before? Even if we have, it's okay. The word is breathing and alive and we need fresh, we need fresh over and over again, over the same scripture. But thank you guys for letting me read that to you. That was today's episode. Sorry if it was a little shorter and sweeter, but I think today the word was enough, you know, God's word was enough. And I really just felt led to read over you guys. So I hope that you enjoyed it. I love you guys so much. Hey, before we go though, can we do something cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like Him, talk more like Him, be more like Christ today, just as Paul talked about here in Philippians. I believe that this book is really to just encourage us to be more like Christ, to continue to walk in our faithfulness with Him and to stay strong in His strength, because it is His strength that has made perfect in our weaknesses. I love you guys. I will see you next Friday. I hope you have a beautiful weekend and into the next week until I see you next time. Bye. Are some of y'all still listening? Okay, if you're still here, that means you're a real one, which is why I'm about to share this with you. If you've already caught up on all the episodes so far and you don't want to wait until next Friday for a new one, I have really good news for you. Subscribe to our Patreon to get early access to the episodes every week, early access to merch launches or any other exciting news, and receive personalized encouraging messages or Bible verses from us. 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