Philemon 4-7 New American Standard Bible 1995
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the [a]saints; 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective [b]through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you [c]for Christ’s sake. 7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the [d]hearts of the [e]saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Time for a little pep talk from the Lord through the sharpest two edged sword in all existence, which is His Word for His Children – God has heard enough of us!
Why are we so hard on ourselves, why are we so hyper critical and so dramatic?
What kind of things do you say about yourself?
Do you speak well of yourself, or are you so hyper-critical of your appearance, your weight, your intelligence, your talents, your skills, your finances and your education level, car you drive, every other aspect of who you are as a person?
I used to be so hyper-critical of myself that one day the Holy Spirit spoke to me;
“How dare you continually talk so badly about yourself after the good work I’ve done inside you. Don’t you know you are fearfully and wonderfully made, how marvelously I created you to be in Jesus Christ? Quit speaking so negatively of yourself, for God’s sake, start acknowledging every good thing that is in you.”
I didn’t realize how badly I was speaking of myself until the Holy Spirit brought it to my attention.
But after He spoke to me, I started noticing every time something evil slipped out of my mouth about myself, I was stunned to see how many times I did it!
I became painfully aware my own mouth had become one of my worst enemies.
I became acutely aware that my own thoughts were hard at work against me.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I made a decision to quit speaking such foul things and to start aligning my mouth with what God’s Word declared me to be.
Paul said we need to speak good things about ourselves!
In Philemon 1:6, he said,
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
Today I want to especially draw your attention to the part of the verse that says,
“…May become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
Even though God has done great things in you and has planned a powerful future for you, it is up to you to activate His blessings in your life!
This is why Paul says,
“That the communication of your faith may become effectual.…”
The word “effectual” is the Greek word energeo.
It is where we get the word energy.
However, in this verse, the word energeo carries the idea of something that has suddenly become energized or activated.
Paul’s words could actually be rendered, “That the communication of your faith may become energized and activated.…“
Let me give you an example to help you understand what this word energeo means in the context of this verse.
An vehicle may be filled with enough fuel to drive a long distance, but it won’t go anywhere until someone puts the key into the ignition, then turns the key.
The moment that key is turned, the spark plugs are sparked, which fires up the engine.
Once the engine has been activated, the potential in that car is ready to be unleashed – all we need to do is back it out of our driveway, step on the gas!
The car always has the capability of moving, but if it is never activated, it sits silent in the driveway.
No matter how much fuel is in the tank or how much horsepower that car possesses, its power and potential will never be realized until someone turns the key in the ignition and decides they are going to actually drive it away.
Now let’s apply this to you.
In Philemon 1:6, the apostle Paul writes that “every good thing” has been placed in you by Jesus Christ.
Think of it – He saved you, healed you, redeemed you, and protected you.
He has given you a sound mind; He has given you the mind of Christ; He has imparted gifts and talents to you; and He has planned a future for your life that is simply echelons beyond glorious.
You are loaded with phenomenal potential that is just waiting to be activated!
You may say,
“Yes, well, I know that the Bible says I’ve been given all those good things, but I don’t feel like any of that is true about me! I feel like such a defeat. Even though the Word says I’m healed, the reality is that I feel sick. Even though God’s Word says I have a sound mind, I continually feel like I do not have any control of my thought life. And in spite of the fact the Bible says God has blessed me with gifts and talents, I feel like a dope who has nothing to offer to this world. There is an impassable gap between what the Bible says about me, what I feel about me!”
My friend, you are like a car that is loaded with enough fuel and horsepower to get anywhere you need to go.
But for that potential in you to be released, you have to hold the right key in your hand – you have to insert it into the ignition and you have to activate it.
Furthermore, (being repetitive) it isn’t enough for you to just possess the key.
You have to put that key into the “ignition” and turn it so the latent potential that resides inside you will be ignited.
When you turn the key in the ignition, suddenly all the potential you possess in Jesus Christ is supernaturally ignited, activated, energized, released inside you!
Believe in Yourself as God Believes in You!
- So what is the key that sparks all the good things God has placed inside you into becoming an outward reality?
- What is the key that causes all that God declares about you to become manifested in your life?
- How do you “turn the key in the ignition” so that the great work God has done inside you is activated and released?
Paul says, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
The word “acknowledging” in this verse holds the answer to the questions above.
This word is from the Greek word epignosis, which describes a well-instructed, intensive, deep knowledge of the facts.
The word epignosis pictures a person who knows his facts like a professional.
This is a person so sure of his information that when he speaks, he does so with confidence and boldness.
He has no reason to be ashamed or to fear that others may accuse him of being incorrect because he is well instructed, has an intensive, deep knowledge of the facts.
But how did he obtain such knowledge of the facts?
No one becomes this knowledgeable accidentally.
To become astute requires study, meditation, digging deep into truth, and applying oneself to know the facts inside and out.
The result of this hard work is such a thorough knowledge of the facts that a person has a strong confidence regarding what he says or writes.
Now Paul uses this same idea when he says we are to “acknowledge” every good thing that has been placed in us by Christ Jesus.
Of course, this means we are to confess the truth about ourselves – but before we can confess the truth, we must first know the truth!
As the word epignosis depicts a well-instructed, intensive, deep knowledge of the facts, Paul is letting you know it is essential for you to possess:
- a knowledge of exactly who you are in Jesus Christ.
- a knowledge of what Jesus has purchased in your redemption.
- a knowledge of every good thing that God has placed in you by Jesus Christ.
- a knowledge of all these truths that is so concrete and so unshakable that you are immovable in what you think and believe.
Don’t know the facts of who you are in Jesus Christ?
It’s time for you to get serious about digging into the Bible until you know these truths like a professional.
The truth about who you are in Jesus Christ is the key to your victory.
You should study, read, listen to teaching material – in other words,
you should use every available resource to discover what God’s Word says you’ve been given in Jesus Christ.
This knowledge is the key that will set you free.
However, merely possessing the key won’t activate these realities in your life.
You must put the key into the ignition and turn it, sparking these truths into manifestation in your life!
A key in the ignition switch does no good unless it is turned.
Likewise, the truth in your life does no good until it is spoken!
The moment we open our mouth and start confessing the good things that are in us by Jesus Christ, a supernatural connection is made between your faith and all that Jesus has deposited inside you.
At that moment, the gifts and treasures God has placed inside you become supernaturally activated.
The confession of your mouth – your acknowledgement of the truth – is what sparks these spiritual blessings, causes them to become operative, activated, and manifested realities.
Sadly, many people who know the truth remain in bondage because they never align their mouths and thoughts with the truth.
Instead of speaking what God says about them, they ridicule themselves, put themselves down, and speak badly of themselves.
They possess all the potential that God has placed inside them, but they never experience that potential because their mouths have never been sparked and activated turning those spiritual blessings into becoming manifested realities.
To make these truths real in your life, you have to put the key in the ignition switch.
- The key is the Word of God.
- The ignition is your mouth.
- The key is turned in the ignition when you open your mouth and start to speak the truth.
- The good things in you are activated the moment you start confessing the truth.
- The way to make these blessings real in your life is to 1) thoroughly know them through diligent study; 2) put these truths into your mouth; and 3) speak them out loud!
- That is how you turn the key in your ignition and energize these truths until they begin to manifest in you!
You see, it’s time for you to stop speaking so badly about yourself.
Instead, you need to open your mouth and start acknowledging who you are in Jesus Christ!
By acknowledging the basic truths of what you have been given in Jesus, you will release so much divine energy that it will radically transform your life.
The recognition of these spiritual treasures that reside within you will pick you up, lift you high, and carry you right over into the realm of victory you desire!
So quit talking negatively about yourself, and begin to bring the words of your mouth into maximum agreement with the truths God has deposited in your life.
- God’s Word says you’re healed, so begin to say you’re healed.
- God’s Word says you have the mind of Christ, so begin to say you have the mind of Christ.
- God’s Word says you’re blessed, so begin to say you’re blessed.
You turn the key in the ignition by getting your mouth into agreement with God’s Word.
Psalm 46:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995
10 “[a]Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [b]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
As you cease striving so completely hardcore against yourself, start speaking what God says about you, all your potential will start becoming a manifested reality!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 139:1-18 New American Standard Bible 1995
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You formed my [i]inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [k]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
Lord, I know I have a bad habit of speaking badly about myself. When I hear my own words, listen to my own thoughts, even I can tell it’s wrong for me to speak, to think, so badly, so lowly about myself. Renew my thoughts for You have done a great work in me, and I have kept myself bound by the words of my mouth. Pray! Forgive me for speaking so wrongly, for allowing myself to remain imprisoned in self-defeat. I am truly repentant for these actions, and I ask You to forgive me, to give me the power to change my behavior. Holy Spirit, I can only do this by Your power, so I am asking and expecting You to empower me to make these changes in my life and in my mouth!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 
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