Philippians 1:12 says, But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;  As already stated, Paul was in prison when he wrote this.  He did not say that he felt God had failed him and ask the Christians at Philippi to pray for his release.  He said instead that he wanted them to know that everything that had happened in his life since he had accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord had happened to help further the gospel.  Paul was not telling them that God wanted them happy so they only had to visualize what they wanted and claim it.  I believe that God expects us to do all for the furtherance of the gospel today if we are Christians, and not to be concerned about our circumstances if we faithful to Him.  Verse thirteen states, So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;  Paul said that people in the palace, and in all other places, knew of his bonds and why he had them.  Paul was imprisoned because of his faithfulness to God, and if we find ourselves suffering today, we need to make sure that it is because of our faithfulness to the gospel and that all the world knows this.  Verse fourteen declares, And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear  Paul said his bonds gave other Christians a boldness to speak the word without fear.  I don't believe that this was because of Paul's imprisonment, but because of his attitude while he was imprisoned, as well as going through all the other things that he had suffered for the gospel.  When we hear of someone being imprisoned or maybe even executed for proclaiming the gospel, does it make us bold, or does it fill us with fear?  Verse fifteen says, Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:  Paul said that not all people were preaching the gospel of Christ for the same reason.  Verse sixteen adds, The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:  Paul said some people were even preaching the gospel out of contention to try and add to his affliction.  I believe that these would have been people who were preaching that Paul couldn't truly be a Christian if he was imprisoned.  If we are to believe that God only wants us to be happy and successful, then we would have to have that same attitude today.  Verse seventeen continues, But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.  Paul said that others preached the gospel out of love, knowing that Paul was a living example of what it meant to follow God's will no matter what.  Do we use as an example those who profess to be Christians and are materially successful in the world today, or do use those who are suffering for the sake of the gospel?  Verse eighteen asks, What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.  Paul asked what his attitude should be.  Then he said he rejoiced when the gospel was shared, whether the attitude of the one sharing it was correct or not.  Paul was not standing in judgment of others, as long as the gospel was being shared.  Though we must be firm in keeping the gospel true, and that is Jesus Christ crucified, resurrected and Lord, if we do then we don't need to worry about the method of presentation or even the reason behind it.  Verse nineteen adds, For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,  Paul said that his being in bonds would turn to his salvation through the prayers of the people at Philippi.  He was not saying that his imprisonment would bring him salvation, but that it would work for the glory of God no matter the outcome.  We must be just as faithful today.   Verse twenty concludes, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.  Paul said he put his complete faith in God, and he was not ashamed that he was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel.  He said he would continue to be faithful to God as long as he lived, and if he were to die for his belief, then he would still be content in his faith.  We today do not need to worry if it becomes dangerous to proclaim the gospel, but we simply need to live out our faith in Christ.  We, like Paul, mist be willing to die for our faith.

Philippians 1:1 says, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:  Paul was a prisoner in Rome at this time, and Timothy was there assisting him.  Paul identifies himself and Timotheus, or Timothy, as servants of Jesus Christ.  The letter was written to all those who believed in Christ at Philippi, including, but not limited to, the religious leaders.  Paul did not believe that the religious leaders were the only ones who should hear from him, but that all the followers of Christ were equally deserving to hear.  We need to acknowledge the same thing today, and that is that we may have different callings in service to God, but we are all equal spiritually.  Verse two states, Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul wishes the Christians there grace and peace, and without the grace of God there can be no real peace, and by His grace we should always be at peace in the world if we are followers of Christ.  Verse three says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,  Paul said that he thanked God every time he thought about the Christians at Philippi.  We should also thank God when we think about our fellow Christians today.  Just as they are important to God, they should be important to us.  Verse four states, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,  Paul said that he always prayed for their joy, which could only come from a right relationship with God.  I don't believe the things of this world will ever bring us joy, but no matter what is going on in the world around us, we should have joy because of our relationship with God through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse five says, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;  Paul said that they had remained true to the gospel from the first day that they had accepted it.  We need people to be able to say the same thing about us today.  Verse six declares, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  Paul said that they were confident in the fact that Jesus Christ could complete the work that He had started in them.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, our salvation is assured, but it will not be completed until Christ returns.  Until then, we must simply stand fast in our faith.  Verse seven adds, Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.  Paul said that even in his bonds it was good too think about the Christians at Philippi, because they were also partakers of, or believers in ,the gospel.  We today should also thank God for our fellow believers, because we all work together for the glory of God.  Verse eight says, For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.  Paul said that God would be a witness to how much he cared about these fellow believers.  Can we say the same today?  Verse nine adds, And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;  Paul prayed that their love would abound more as they learned more to be obedient to Christ.  As we grow closer to God through Christ, our love for our fellow Christians and especially for the lost of the world should grow.  Verse ten continues, That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;  As Paul told the believers at Philippi, as we live by faith, our actions should be approved by God.  When we do, the things that we do will be excellent and sincere.  Verse eleven concludes, Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.  As with Christians of all times, we should be filled with the fruits of righteousness of Christ..  Righteousness is not something that we attain on our own, but comes only from obedience to God through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord.

Next, we find Moses and the people of Israel at the Red Sea.  They had Pharaoh's army chasing them and the Red Sea blocking them, and they immediately forgot what God had already done and thought they were going to be killed.  If we are doing what God leads us to do, and find ourselves in a seemingly impossible situation, we should still keep our faith in God.  As with the people of Israel, God will provide a way of escape, even if we lose our mortal life.  We just have to remain true to Him.  For the Israelites, the way of escape came when God parted the Red Sea.  I hear people  occasionally referring to Moses parting the Red Sea, but he didn't do it.  God did, though he worked through Moses using the rod that God had given him, which I hadn't mentioned, to show God's presence in the act.  We today need to be certain that God receives the credit for the things that He does through us.  After Moses and the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry land, Pharaoh and his army chased them in and were drowned when God allowed the waters to close in again.  As stated when discussing this passage, the people of Israel did not pass through a marshy area as some claim, or Pharaoh and his army drowned in that same marsh.  When the people of Israel were on the other side and Moses went up the mountain to receive God's law, they immediately forgot all that God had done and demanded that Aaron make them a god.  Even though Aaron was God's spokesman for Moses, he did as they asked.  Today, we as followers of Christ cannot give in to the demands of the world and attempt to make false gods in our lives.  On the mountain, God knew what was going on below.  We cannot hide our sins from God, even if we think He is not watching us.  Moses interceded for the people, but when he came down and saw what they had done, as they worshipped the golden calf, he became angry.  We should be upset if we see those who are supposed to be God's people worshipping the things of this world.  I believe that anyone who claims that Christianity is a way to material blessings and that all we have to do is claim them is misrepresenting the gospel.  After dealing with the people and Aaron, who was not truthful about what had happened, Moses had to go back up the mountain, because he had literally broken God's law, the tablets on which the law was inscribed.  Even if we see others who profess to be Christians breaking God's law, we cannot afford to allow their actions to cause us to do the same.  When the people complained, as they often did, about being led out of Egypt only to starve when they were free, God again provided for their needs.  We need not complain about God's lack of providing for us, because if we live by faith in Him, He will always provide for our needs.  Finally, we have a record of the building of the tabernacle in accordance with God's design.  God planned it and then he equipped people with the ability to build it.  Today, we have God's salvation plan to share with the lost world.  Salvation comes only through God's plan, and He equips us, as followers of Christ, to share it with the lost people of the world.  Just as Moses followed God's leadership at that time, so must we today.        

Then we find Moses before Pharaoh.  This was possibly the last place that Moses wanted to be, since the last Pharaoh had declared a death sentence on him, but he went.  We today must be willing to go anywhere that God sends us, even if it places us in a dangerous situation.  Moses really had but one message for Pharaoh, and the was that God said for him to him to let God's people go.  We are to carry the gospel into all the world today, and the message is that the sins of the world are to let a person go through their faith in Christ as their Savior and Lord.  We know that in the New Testament, Christians were often still servants or slaves, but they were spiritually free.  When Moses proclaimed God's message, through Aaron, to Pharaoh. he refused to listen over and over again.  The world today is going to refuse to listen to Gods message of salvation over and over again.  Still, God continued to send Moses to Pharaoh with the same message.  The consequences for not listening got a little more severe each time.  When a person hears the message of salvation over and over again and refuses to listen and accept God's salvation, that person will ultimately suffer the greatest consequence, and that is everlasting separation from God.  I personally believe that even if they are materially rich that they will suffer each day from a lack of real peace in their lives.  God had Moses prepare the people of Israel for deliverance from the ultimate plague, the death of the first born.  They had been spared from the other plaques, but now they ere required to take a particular action in order to be spared, and that was to place the blood over their door.  We today may benefit from being with God's people, but in order to claim salvation, we must take a particular action, and that is to accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, so that we might be passed over from everlasting spiritual death by being covered by His blood.  The people of Israel who chose to not put the blood over their door would not be spared, just as people today who refuse to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord will not be saved.  Even someone who is a part of the most devout family of believers in Christ will not be saved until they personally accept Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Even after Pharaoh finally agreed to allow the people of Israel to go, and they were going with great material wealth, he again changed his mind and started after them with an army to bring them back.  Today, when a person is close to salvation, which gives someone the greatest spiritual wealth available, we can be certain that those who do not believe in Christ will do everything possible to keep that person from salvation.  In some parts of the world, this might be an actual physical assault.

Next, we see that Moses' identifying as an Israelite led him to intervene on behalf of another Israelite, at which time he killed and buried an Egyptian.  Moses thought his act was hidden, but it was seen by others.  We today may think that our sins are hidden, but if no one else sees them, God does.  Moses' action would bring consequences, just as our sin today does  Though God forgives our sins, that does not mean that He removes all the earthly consequences for them.  Because of what Moses did, he had to flee from Egypt and Pharaoh, for fear of Pharaoh because Pharaoh had ordered him to be killed.  Moses spent many years working for his then father-in-law, and was doing very little if anything to help his fellow Israelites.  When we are running from our sins, we can do very little for our fellow Christians.  Then, Moses encountered God.  Though God had protected him as a baby and he identified with the people of Israel, Moses so far had not had an encounter with God that we are told of.  I believe that Moses knew Who God was, but that did not mean that he knew God.  We today may know Who God is, but until we have a personal encounter with Him, through Jesus Christ, then we do not really know God.  God called Moses for a particular task, and I am sure it was not one that Moses wanted to do.  Moses was to go to Pharaoh, who was a different one by now, and tell him that God said that Pharaoh was to let the people of Israel, God's chosen people, go.  God may today call us to go into situations that we don't want to go into, and some might even be dangerous, but we must be willing to go.  Moses first asked God who he should say had sent him, and God replied, "I am that I am."   We either accept the fact that God is God, or we do not.  Moses began to offer excuses.  He could not speak well.  Moses was looking at his own abilities instead of the power of God.  God answered Moses' concern by telling him that He would send Moses' brother Aaron to speak for him.  God will answer our concerns today when He calls us to do something for Him.  We simply have to put our faith in God and not in our self.

We will look at some of the lessons learned from the book of Exodus.  The first thing that we see is that God miraculously spared Moses when he was a baby.  We could say that his mother did this, but I believe that it was the work of God.  We know that Moses' sister Miriam played a big part in his being placed in a better situation.  She had kept an eye on Moses to see what was going to happen to him and was instrumental in having his mother being placed in charge of his upbringing.  God works through both males and females to accomplish His will, then and today.  Just as Moses could not have been spared without God being behind the situation, we today cannot be saved except through accepting the  sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  We know that Pharaoh ordered the killing of the boy babies because he was afraid that the people of Israel would become to great, and there are people today who would like to kill those who are Christians because they are afraid that we will become to great.  We also know that today many unborn babies are killed before they are born simply because they are seen as an inconvenience, which is even worse than what Pharaoh was doing.  Then, we see that Moses grew up in the household of the Pharaoh, with all the benefits that this brought, but he still knew that he was an Israelite.  I am not sure if this was because of the influence of his mother or not, but as we will see later, he knew.  No matter how rich we may be materially today, in order to claim salvation, we must identify as a part of the kingdom of God.  This can only come through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Hopefully, our mothers and fathers will point us to Christ.  Having grown up with the riches of the Pharaoh, Moses still knew that he was an Israelite.  We must never allow the riches of the world to keep us from coming to God, and when we do, we can never allow the riches of the world keep us from identifying as followers of Christ.

Exodus 40:31 says, And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:  Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons washed their hands and feet at the laver.  The laver was not there simply for ceremonial purposes, but was there to physically cleanse the hands and feet of those who were to come closest to God.  We today are not just ceremonial cleansed by the blood of Christ, but we are spiritually cleansed in order to come close to God.  Of course, the laver would be of no use unless Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons used it in accordance with God's directions, just as the death of of Christ is no good to an individual unless it is accepted by faith as an atonement for the sins of that individual.  Verse thirty-two states, When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.  This simply tells us that they obeyed God's command, just as we must today if we are to serve Him effectively.  Verse thirty-three adds, And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.  The work of the tabernacle was finally finished, as God had instructed Moses to build it. The people then had to simply use it as it had been intended to be used.  Today, the work of  redemption is finished, through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross, according to God's plan.  We simply have to accept it.  Verse thirty-four declares, Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  A cloud then covered the tent of the congregation and the tent was filed with the presence of the LORD.  This was a visible sign of God's presence.  We today may not have a physical sign of God's presence, but if we are a Christian, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, which is the presence of God in us.  Verse thirty-five states, And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  Even Moses, God's spokesman to the people, was unable to enter the tent of the congregation when it was filled with the presence of God.  We today, through the sacrifice of Christ, have unlimited access to God.   Verse thirty-six adds, And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:  When the cloud was removed, the people of Israel continued on their journey.  We today have God with us wherever we go on our journey of life.  Of course, God had not abandoned them when the cloud disappeared, but the symbol of His presence was gone.  Likewise, we do not have a physical symbol of God with us, but like the people of Israel, we must simply go by faith.  Verse thirty-seven continues, But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.  When the cloud didn't go up, the people of Israel did not move.  We today must not move until God directs us to if we are to be effective in doing His work.  Verse thirty-eight concludes, For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.  There was a cloud on the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire on it by night throughout all the journey of the people of Israel.  God is with us today if we are followers of Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  This concludes Exodus, and next we will go to Philippians.