Philippians 3:1-2 “Dont Kick At the Dogs!”

Don’t kick at the dogs!

There was once a young man who had hired on at the post office to be a mailman. On the first day of training the young man noticed that the mailman he was shadowing had a sign above his van door that read “Do not kick at the dogs!” The young man was curious about the sign… but didn’t want to pry… and so chose to go on about his training.

At the end of the day all the packages had been efficiently delivered … and as the two men were preparing to leave for the day, the younger of the two stopped and asked his trainer, “what is that sign “do not kick at the dogs” above your van door for?

The postman kind of smirked and replied, “Well…my job is to the deliver mail, not to be concerned about the dogs.” So if I chose to spend my time worrying and kicking at every little ole dog that barks, then I would never be able to deliver the mail that the people are so anxiously waiting for.

Don’t spend you time focusing on things that do not matter, stay the course. Deliver the message…Deliver the mail.

People

Philippians 3:1-2: Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh

1. Paul begins Chapter 3 of His letter to the Church of Philippi, warning them about people opposed to Jesus…particularly a group of people known as the Judaizers.

And Paul has a pretty harsh words for them in verse 2. He calls them dogs!

Dogs- a word that the Jews used to describe the gentiles because in their eyes they were spiritually unclean, they did not follow the Law.

Evildoers- Legalistic, praising and prioritizing the Law and good works, rather than submission and obedience to Christ. Eph.2 – For by grace are you saved, through faith, not of works so that no one may boast.”

Mutilators of the Flesh- a jab at circumcision, the Judaizers “calling card or badge of pride.” Which ultimately will become the outward sign of their destruction. Circumcision won’t get you there only a relationship with Jesus saves. They were placing their hope in the wrong thing!

Judaizers were a group of Jews, so called Christians… who were teaching adherence to the Law.

Jesus and…

Jesus and Sacrifice…Jesus and Circumcision…Jesus and Moral living…

Jesus and…Jesus and.... Jesus and….

b. Their motive for doing this was to persuade a gentile who had become a Christian, that in order to be a Christian they first had to become a good jew, they had to join the Holy Huddle…They were teaching that “Christ Alone” was not the path of salvation. Despite the fact that Christ very intentionally said things throughout his ministry like:

John 14:6 - … “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

They were cheapening and falsely representing the gospel.

Folks….understand that any divergence away… from Jesus being the only way…is not the gospel…

But Notice what Paul does not say to do…He does not say to engage those people…He doesn’t say to argue with those people…He doesn’t say spend your time conjuring up a plan to prove those people wrong…He simply says, “Watch out… Take Note…Be Mindful…of them.”

Yes preacher…Yes!!! I hear you…I am not to worry about what people say…I mean you know….people say crazy things….people say hurtful things…people say unGodly things…and I am not going to be concerned about…. that…. anymore…

But before I get started on walking the straight and narrow…let me post this message on my facebook page, because i been watching… and there’s some people who need to read this!!! LOL

The tiger, donkey and lion

One day the donkey and the tiger found themselves in a heated argument!

The donkey told the tiger, “The grass is blue.”

The tiger replied, “No, the grass is green.”

The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion.

As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn’t it true that the grass is blue?”

The lion replied: “If you believe it is true, then the grass is blue.”

The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him.”

The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 3 days of silence.”

The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating ′′The grass is blue, the grass is blue…”

The tiger angry and confused… asked the lion….“Your Majesty, why have you punished me…. after all, the grass is green?”

The lion replied, ′′You’ve known and seen that the grass is green.”

The tiger asked, ′′So why do you punish me?”

And so the lion replied, “Your punishment has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green.

The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like yourself… to waste time arguing with an ass…

and on top of that, you came and bothered me with the question… just to validate something…you already knew was true!”

Folks…don’t kick at the dogs….Deliver the message! Don’t waste your time engaging in - ungodly - small town - waste of time - gossip centralized - sinful - stupidity…

Set your eyes on Christ! Live your life for Christ!

Don’t kick at the dogs….Deliver the message!

Circumstance and Self

Philippians 4:6–7 - do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Levi - B/P

Anxious

Don’t kick at the dogs…Deliver the message!

Philippians 2:26 - for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

This passage is talking about a man named: Epaphroditus….

And the backstory is that the Apostle Paul was in prison in Rome and had wrote to the Church of Philippi asking for help.

Epaphroditus [a layman in the Philippian Church] comes to the aid of Paul, but while serving Paul in Rome…he himself becomes sick for an extended period of time and almost dies….

But the text tells us that his concern is not for himself, but rather he is burdened for the people of Philippi because his illness is causing them to worry.

o The Phrase “has been distressed” in verse 26 reads “Was full of heaviness” in the King James version.

I mean here we have a man who is truly living out the words of Philippians 1:21 “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” Not looking after “his own interests, but choosing to serve the Lord first with his life…”

Folks…Don’t think for a minute that Satan won’t use you against yourself…Don’t think for a minute that your flesh, your natural man, what you want… won’t win out if you take your eyes off the Lord…

When we are sick…Our natural man wants to elevate self…and if we are sick we do need to do the things necessary in order to become better…

But this “elevating self” extends far past the hospital bed in this world…

We are taught in society to prioritize ourselves…

When we are in line for a promotion…We want to elevate self…

In the way we spend our money…We want to elevate self…

In our marriages…We want to elevate self…

In our relationships…We want to elevate self…

In our opinions…We want to elevate self…

But…

John 3:29–30: The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The statistics say that in 2 Generations your own family won’t know who you are!

So…I implore you as believers…not to get caught up in you…not to get caught up in your wants…not to get caught up in your desires….not to get caught up in your purpose…

Do not to get caught up in things that are not going to matter in 100 years from now…

Don’t kick at the dogs…Deliver the message!

James 1:2–3: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Can become opportunities of intimacy with the Lord…