Pilgrim's Pathway Ministries Pilgrim's Pathway Ministries

This message defines what community looks like and how it is played out today from a biblical sense. A community has a common identity and purpose, where each person sells their own individuality and sets aside their own personal desires. They are knit and joined together in affections, their mind, desires, and thoughts. Human nature may desire to be alone, but we are meant to be in a community. Community is to be a means of growth for each person. We all must individually give our lives unto God as a free offering first. Then we give ourselves to the body, and to the work. God has given each of us a gift to help others. We are not to be proud with our gifts, but to maintain humility. Just like the human body, each person has a different role but the body exists as one. We aren’t to think less of others though because they don’t perform our function, and we’re also not to think less of ourselves because we don’t perform another’s function. Who has God called you to be in the body? Be faithful in using your gifts. Live as a sacrifice unto God first, then to others. Paul describes how we are to exist together in the world. We are to love regardless of circumstances, without hypocrisy. We are called to abhor unkindness, and to outdo one another in giving honor to each other. We are to throw away all thoughts of pursuing self, and dispense love to others with a burning effort. Have your heart and mind renewed to this given life, unselfishly. We are to pray and bless those who persecute us. This high calling is radical thinking, which is why Paul exhorts us to be renewed in our minds. We are to be of the same mind, and associate with the humble. Remain engaged in this work! Click here to listen: We Are Members of One Another

Paul in this passage is finishing his third missionary trip and is heading to Jerusalem where he knows that chains and suffering await him. He sends for the leaders in Ephesus to meet him in Miletus to show them the gravity of the time, and the burden he has for the Gospel to be proclaimed. He had seen great works of God when he was in Ephesus, preaching the Gospel to a people who worshipped mythical gods in their large temple of Diana. He did not underestimate the power of the Gospel though and plainly taught the Gospel of repentance towards God and faith towards Jesus Christ. This is what our generation needs too--the simple Gospel, not watered down or new strange teachings. Paul was urged and compelled by the Holy Spirit to fulfill his calling. Does the love of Christ compel you forward in your vision? This is the only way to go forward, dying to self, going through tribulations. We will utterly fail if the love of Christ doesn’t compel us. We are not called to the American Dream--we are called to a race, a ministry, to reach this generation with the Word of God. God will provide all we have need of if we seek first Him and His Kingdom. In the face of chains, we cannot be moved. We must go on fighting the good fight with joy. We must be on guard against the dangers of being drawn away, taking heed of ourselves first, and then our brothers and sisters. False teachers can arise from outside the church, but as well as within the church. They will proclaim doctrines to divide and distract the flock. Therefore, watch against evil and keep in mind the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. Forgetfulness and not watching will lead to apostasy. Faithfully proclaim and defend the Gospel! Click here to listen: Bound in the Spirit

At times, God will awaken us to the brevity of life, and to the reality that we can never take back time that has passed. Moses prays to God that He would teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. As Christians, we have a profound calling on our lives, and this prayer for us is to lead us away from idleness and towards the simplicity of the Gospel. We are called to be ministers of reconciliation. We are to be missional--to be sent out. We are to first have an internal love for God, which then turns external towards loving others. In this passage, Isaiah describes the Messiah, but he is also describing the way we are suppose to be because we are to follow in the ministry of the Messiah. God has set us apart for this ministry, and qualified us for this work. There is nothing random about this calling--God is intentional about this. He has placed us where we live, where we work, in our families, for a reason. If we recognize this, we see how great our responsibility is. God has consecrated you to bring good news to those around you who are in need. We must be intentional in reaching out to them, and in investing in their lives. Have the expectation that God will do a work in their life. It may require a lot of time, so continue to be intentional. Do you see the ministry of the church in this time, rebuilding and repairing the ruined cities? Do you see yourself in this vision, laboring with the others? Isaiah describes a time when the church is influencing society again--where the church is doctrinally strong and culturally relevant. God promises to give joy to those who have given themselves to this calling. Therefore, do not grow weary in doing good. Click here to listen: To Rebuild and Repair the Ruined Cities

Paul reflects on his past with a purpose to motivate the church to move forward. Paul had many reasons to boast in his own flesh, but in all of those, there was no hope of salvation. Only faith in Christ could profit him, so he was willing to let go of everything else. He had to count all else as loss so that he could move forward in the work that God called him. As Paul kept walking by faith, he continued to count all things as loss. His desire, above all else, was to be identified with Christ. He desired an intimate, personal relationship with Christ. The knowledge of Christ is ever-increasing, so Paul had to continue to leave behind the past. Paul had decided that he was willing to go on by faith no matter what happened. What about you? Do you share in this desire to know God? Are you willing to share in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering and be conformed to Christ’s death? Paul then acknowledges that he has not already attained, or is already perfect, but he presses on. He had not yet finished the race, so he had to continue to press on by faith so that he could finish the race. Paul was convinced that there were more possibilities of grace beyond his own understanding. Let go of the way you used to understand, and be resolved to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of you. Don’t become stuck in the past. God calls us continually forward. Reach forward to the promises of God ahead of you. There’s a goal ahead--eternity in the presence of God. There is still more for God to do in your life. Humble yourself and see by faith the further possibilities of grace and promises of God. Press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus! Click here to listen: Those Things Which Are Ahead

The word of the Lord comes through Haggai during the feast of tabernacles, where the people held feasts remembering how the Lord had delivered them from Egypt. It was about one month since the people had started building a new temple for the Lord, but now they were getting discouraged. They started comparing this new temple with the old temple of Solomon, and were discouraged by the vast difference of the outward decoration and glory of the former temple compared to what they were building now. They had forgotten that the old temple was the very place of apostasy and idolatry for the Israelites. The Lord had departed from that temple because of the wickedness inside of it. God was looking at the inside, while the people were focused on the outside. Zechariah tells the people not to despise the day of small things but to rejoice because the Lord is going to show His power through the small beginnings. For it’s when we are weak that God shows forth His strength, grace and power. Therefore, don’t compare the small beginnings of where you are now with the past, or with the things around you. See by faith, and move forward to the fulfillment of God’s vision. God encourages the people to be strong and work because He is with them, and His Spirit remains among them. We are not to be confident in our own strength but instead trust in God, knowing that the presence of the Lord is enough to help us. The Lord of hosts is fighting on our behalf and He will complete His work, by His grace, not by our resources or understanding. God promises that the glory of this latter temple will be greater than the glory of the former temple, so we can be faithful to do what God’s called us to do. Click here to listen: The Glory of This Latter Temple

The legacy of a leader is seen in the people that he’s influenced. God looks for people who look to serve others and who think little of themselves to be leaders. Paul was this type of leader to Timothy. He challenged Timothy to imitate him as he imitated Christ. And now as Paul was leaving this earth, Timothy had a mission--to carry on the vision that Paul had. Timothy was living in perilous times and Paul instructed Timothy that as Christians, they will suffer the rejection of men, but not to get discouraged. He told Timothy to continue in the things he’s been instructed, and then to teach others what he’s been taught. Paul’s desire was for Timothy to come into maturity, but only Timothy could step forward and continuously apply himself. Paul could not do this for Timothy. We have been raised up to now take what we’ve learned and bring it to others. The Gospel is a reproductive message, where we are shown the Scriptures, are changed by the Gospel, and then give it to others that they too might be changed. We must be intentional about the message we proclaim by first being intentional about what we think, and by casting down every thought contrary to Christ. Paul challenged Timothy, as we are now challenged, to make use of this ministry that we’ve been given, and to not be distracted or turned aside. We are to be watchful, and to fulfill the ministry that’s been passed on to us. We honor those who have taught us by obeying what they’ve taught and taking the teaching as our own. We are to now invest in others as those who’ve gone before us have invested in us. We must individually be committed to this vision. You must invest your mind, heart and desire to this calling. Click here to listen: Fulfill Your Ministry