Joy, Anxiety, and the Power of God
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning uh my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here if you will grab a Bible and go to Philippians chapter 4 we're working our way through the book of Philippians and we've come to the place where Paul is wrapping it up and he's starting to kind of end and we're going to see as he's exhorting and calling the Church to action this morning as he writes this letter and I recently my wife and I were watching a TV show and there were these two kids trying to break into a safe um and they they break into it eventually.
And then they they pull out these documents and they're holding them and they're looking at each other and they're like do you think this means what I think it means and they kind of stare at it and there there's this like if this is real and everything is changed like this is wonderful and I feel a little bit like that when we come to this text this morning it's like if this is real then this is wonderful If this means what I think it means this is glorious.
And so we're going to look at this text this morning we're going to be in Philippians 4: 4-7 and I specifically think that there are some ways culturally and personally that we're going to want to reject this text and argue against it and so we're going to take just a moment to ask the Lord I'd like for you to take a moment to ask the Lord to just help you help you to trust him help you to believe and help you to not argue with this this whole morning.
But try to actually Step In by faith and so take just a moment ask the Lord for help and then I'll pray and then we'll we'll start reading the text Father we believe that the Gospel is good news and what we're looking at this morning is a downline good news application practically for us so we ask that by your spirit you would help us to believe and then you would help us to participate in how good this is in Jesus name amen.
So let's read these few verses together as we get started rejoice in the lord always again I will say rejoice let your reasonableness be known to everyone the Lord is at hand 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 in in these few verses Paul gives five um exhortations five commands five calls to action.
And so we're going to kind of walk through uh and just try to understand what he's calling us to before we really try to spend some time in seeing how we maybe want to argue against this and what it means for us actually to practically uh apply this so he begins his first command is rejoice in the lord always his second command is again I will say rejoice and I love that he said it twice because I think Paul knows how we hear commands like Rejoice we go a neat what a nice Christian concept moving right along you'd have just gone Stitch that on a pillow.
And then forgotten all about it and he says rejoice in the lord always and he goes no no no look at me for real for real for real Rejoice I I mean it and that's the first two commands are the same thing rejoice and rejoice means to feel or to show great joy and Delight y'all as far as biblical commands go this is a great one you want this one like we want to participate in feeling and showing great joy and delight and we're called to it and he specifically is saying no this is how you ought to be do this rejoice in the.
Lord always again I will say rejoice the third command is let your reasonableness be known to everyone all right so the word translated reasonableness doesn't have the best onew translation into English so some uh of your transl ation will say graciousness some of your translations will say gentleness reasonableness here he's getting at the idea of like if you're in an argument with somebody and you're hot and they say what do you what do you want from me what do you want me to do and you say what I want you to do is to move out of the country to the top of a mountain where you cry yourself to sleep every night.
And then die alone that's what I want and then they respond with something like be reasonable that's the reasonableness here it's like get ableness that's what my my mother-in-law says she says be getable that's what this is talking about be gracious be gentle be reasonable be able to get along with people and so the third command is get along with each other get along with others let that be something that marks your life the fourth one the Lord is at hand do not be be anxious about anything fourth exhortation fourth call to action do not be anxious about anything what are we allowed to be anxious about nothing and some of you are like oh.
Cool I'm anxious about nothing all the time no that's not a loophole it means do not be anxious do not be anxious be anxious do not be anxious about anything and then the fifth one which is paired with it 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 so seven is a result it's a it's a state that happens it's a it's what we get pulled into as we walk through this it says in the peace of.
God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus I I want to point something out he says rejoice in the lord always let your reasonableness be known to everyone do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication let your request be made known to God Paul didn't leave any room it's not be anxious sometimes times and rejoice every once in a while and let some people who you like know you're reasonable it's it's he's all over the map saying this is the tone and tenor of the Christian life.
Now I don't think Paul means to say never be sad like we're not allowed to mourn we're actually in other places told to weep with those who weep to mourn with those who mourn like we're supposed to do that there's times for mourning I don't think Paul is saying that there's never never a time to be have some when you think about anxiety like your heart rate like I think he's like you know if there's like a bear sure feel some anxiety you know.
But this General posture of a Christian Life is joyous easy to get along with gracious non-anxious peaceful that's the the general pattern of Christian Life and y'all these are these are commands he's calling us to this which means he thinks we can do it but that's not how we think about some of this stuff that's not how we think about Joy that's not how we think about an anxiety like if you came to me for for counseling and you said I'm just.
So down I'm so depressed I'm so and it's not like a big thing I'm mourning I'm just down and I said oh well Rejoice always I'll say it twice Rejoice now hop on out of here and then I was like next you know and someone else comes in and they say I'm really anxious I just deal with anxiety and I said oh don't have you thought about stopping I'm going to get to go to lunch early today I'm putting out fires all over the place like you not think I was a good counselor that's not how we think about these things that's not how we think about joy we think about Joy the way we.
Think about the weather I can report on it but I have no control over it so I could ask you how's your joy been and you could tell me you can observe it and you can say oh it's been great or you can say no I hadn't had any lately but we're acting as if we're waiting on it to come like you're a farmer waiting for the rain for your crops we treat Joy the way we treat injoy I can notice it.
But I don't get to pick like I can't make myself like coconut so stop putting it in cakes like yeah it's like why did you do that I mean you get a just made the cake and thrown it away but you also could have not put coconut on it and then we could eat it you know I can't like you ever somebody makes something and it sounds gross and they feed it to you and you're just as surprised as anybody that you enjoy it you're eating it and you're like I mean I'm glad or they like you go to a place you you partake in like a concert or something and you're like I'm just.
As surprised as you are but I actually like this and we act like it's injy but what he's saying is that you have some agency here he's commanding it like it's something that you can do but that's not how we think about that it's not how we think about anxiety we think about anxiety like an ailment it's how we usually talk about it like I have a cousin with sickle cell and if he told you he had sickle cell you would say oh I'm sorry.
And then you'd ask questions like what do you do to try to like mitigate that and is there some medicine or is there like what's that look like you wouldn't say have you thought about stopping because that's not how it works that's how we talk about anxiety someone says they struggle with anxiety they have anxiety you say oh I'm sorry are there things that you do to mitigate that is there some sort of medicine you take we act as if it's some sort of an ailment not something that we have any agency over not something where Paul can just.
Look at you and say stop it that's not how we think about it but y'all what if we're wrong and Paul's right well that's wonderful because you actually want Paul to be right you want rejoicing something to be be to be something that you can just participate in you want being nonanxious to be something that you can just do we want Paul to be right and I know that right now there are people who were going no no but that's just like I'm that's not me temperamentally that's not me given my my makeup and my chemicals and my family history and my circumstances that's not me like I'm not I'm just this isn't me I've.
Met those people I know there are joyous people in the room right now who are just like get them I know I know you love this verse I know you quote it to your sad friends and you're like yes that's what I've been saying this whole time just you know be joyous like me PW smile and kick around I know there are peaceful people who are non anxious who are just like yeah stop it we're not supposed to be anxious you talk to your anxious friends you don't understand anxiety and you.
Look at him and you're going I don't know quit that's what I do I just don't and the B Bible backs me up to just don't and I know that for anxious people and for people who are temperamentally down and life is hard and you've just kind of always struggled with this I know this sounds unattainable or difficult or like that's not for me but don't you want it to be and what I would say is if you can actually participate in this it would be better.
For you there's more joy more peace because you've struggled so long on the other side of this and actually don't just SWAT this out of the way as if something doesn't apply to you because we don't do that with other texts we don't do that with other commands when Jesus says to love our enemies we don't go yeah the for the loving people but I have real enemies I hate these people so that one doesn't apply to me we don't we don't do that we go.
Okay no this is calling me into something that's going to be hard but good and y' I would say the same thing for someone who struggles with joy struggles with anxiety this is going to be hard in some ways but so good so don't reject it try to let's figure out how how how does he call us into this it gets to be more beautiful for it so how do we get to do this and I want to show you something wonderful that is in this text he says rejoice in the.
Lord always again I will say rejoice then he says let your reasonableness be known to everyone the Lord is at hand do not be anxious about anything but in everything with prayer and supplication and 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 he's not banking on you he's not banking on your circumstances he's not banking on your temperament your family history your origin your genetic background it this isn't anchored in you at all it's not about you at all it's in Christ and you're invited in.
So let's take a second to talk about this Lord that he's talking about it's Jesus Christ who even though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but humbled himself taking on the form of a servant that's what he told us in Philippians 2 that he became a man took on humanity and he came to serve and what he did when he got here is he started teaching and he started performing Miracles and he started Gathering people around him and he performed miracles to show who he was to show The Authority that he had to show that he had God's backing there's a time where.
He's going toe-to-toe with some religious leaders and there's a a person who's a a paralytic and he says to him your sins are forgiven and then they think the religious leaders think you're not allowed to say that but because he's God he reads their thoughts and answers them and says which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk and then he says so that you know that the son of man has the authority on Earth to forgive give sins rise and walk and the point of his miracles was to show that he had authority to show who he was and ultimately he goes to the Cross to die to.
Pay for our sins we sang this a second ago we read it in Hebrews that he was sinless that he's tempted in every way but he's never sinned and so he goes and dies because he didn't owe death for his sin he was able to pay the death we owed for our sin and because he's God he had enough ability by his blood it's worth more he's able to pay for all that will come to him and then he rises from the grave and he proclaims that there's forgiveness and life in his name that anyone who would trust in him will be forgiven and given eternal life that is the.
Lord that he's talking about so if you're not a Christian we want you to know Jesus that all who calling his name no no one will be put to shame who trust in Jesus and if you are a Christian then look at this it's yours rejoice in the lord always a rejoicing is not found in us see what we want to say is well that you know you want to read this text and go well what was Paul dealing with is it easy.
For him to say rejoice I bet he was a real happy person y'all this this letter was written from prison he spent half of it talking about I don't know if they're going to kill me or not he even told them if they do be happy I'll be happy I'll go be with Jesus it's not anchored in his circumstances you can't go well easy for Paul to say I bet they beat him a lot and they're going to kill him so it's easy.
For him to say it's like that's not how that works he's calling us to Joy in the midst of terrible circumstances because it's not about our circumstances it's Anchored In Christ it's in the Lord okay let me here's a concept we we understand you can have the bad stuff that's going on in your life and then you can distract yourself and you know I'm distracting myself for a moment but then I'll have to return to the bad stuff like it's kind of a sad story it's not a real sad story.
But it's kind of sad last year during South Carolina's football season my wife and our Gamecock fans it was a very Gamecock football season they won some things they lost some things they should have won they won some games that they really really should have won but they barely won it so they tormented you the whole time normal Gamecock stuff and during the middle of the Season while my wife and I were sad we went and rewatched old football games that we knew the outcome.
For and we're excited about we watched them beat Tennessee in the middle of the week we just rewatched that game we we knew it wasn't this season but it made us happy inside and then when it was over we went back to being regular this season Gamecock fans who were sad we knew we had to return to reality but we at least got to watch us just Pummel Tennessee and that's going to stay on our DVR forever and whenever I'm sad I'll watch it.
But I know it's a distraction we understand that we understand that at some point I'm going to get back to reality but what Paul is saying is y'all he's been saying this the whole time look up because the circumstances you're talking about aren't your reality we have a lord who conquers we have a citizenship in heaven we have an upward call of a priz in Christ we have a king who returns and conquers all things do you think these circumstances are going to win they are not.
Because they cannot defeat Jesus do you think that your sin is going to win it cannot because it will not defeat Jesus do you think that this problem that you're facing is going to win it will not because you are in Jesus and so there's always joy in Christ there's always rejoicing in him because there's always forgiveness and there's always life there's never a time where you're like let me get ready to go hang out with Jesus what a bummer that's not how it works.
So there's joy always in the Lord that's what we get from Christ and it's ours if we're in Christ that's why he says rejoice in the lord always we get to go to him we get to have joy in him that's what he's calling us into we get to feel and show great joy and Delight because it's Anchored In Jesus not us and that's good news we'll talk more about how how do I do that we'll talk about that in a minute.
But look what he says about uh real quick on his reasonableness I don't think we argue with this one as much I think we understand that we're supposed to be like this maybe you're hard to get along with and you should repent the general tone of Christians is that we should be easy to get along with it should be said by people who don't know Jesus look I'm not a Christian I don't want to follow Jesus but if you're going to have a boss you want your boss to be a Christian they make the best bosses they should say things like.
Look I I'm not a Christian I don't understand all that stuff but when you're hiring people you want to hire Christians because they're going to work hard they're going to show up they're going to cover shifts they're going to have a good attitude they're going to be kind they're going to tell the truth you want Christians that should be how this works Christians should make the best doctors and the best t-ball coaches the best neighbors that should be this works it should be a they're easy to get along with and do you know why.
Because our hope isn't here and I'm not surprised by Sinners I understand Sinners but I'm also not so angry at them because I can be forgiven forgiving because I'm the most forgiven like we get to because of the Gospel be really easy to get along with now there's some things we have to hold firm to the Gospel but there's a whole lot of other stuff that we get to be really kind and really gracious and really uh reasonable with people.
So that ought to be how this works I said we won't spend as much time on that let's look at anxiety I love I love love the way that Paul writes this and I think that we skip it so often I think we just jump to do not be anxious about anything but that's not how the sentence Works he says the Lord is at hand do not be anxious about anything that sentence works like this your mom is trying to sleep shut up that's how that sentence Works your dad's on a zoom call go outside or your dad's on a zoom call have you lost your mind go outside that's how that sentence Works what.
Paul said is not don't be anxious like it just floats out here like just hey quit your anxiety what he says is the Lord is at hand he's near he's big he's imminent he's coming back what are you worried about he's right there what are you worried about he's right there what are you anxious over that's the way that sentence works I was talking to my son recently he's nine I've been trying to stretch him on the things that he has to do there's always that line of like keeping your kids safe and making your kids strong.
And so I've been trying to make him do some things that stretch him a little bit recently I sent him in I was pumping gas I sent him into the gas station to get some stuff and afterwards he said he said I kind of like going he said I kind of like like going off by myself like that because I can't get lost what that's what I said what are you talking about and he said well I'm the I'm the only one there I can't get lost and it took me a minute to realize what he meant was that his whole life he has gauged whether or not he's lost or not based off of.
The presence of his adult if I'm there he's not lost that's his whole life that's how he's gauged whether or not he's lost and if you'll watch kids that's how they do it like I could be lost but he wouldn't if he was with me that's the way he understood lostness you ever watch a kid look for their adult and it's real fun if you're the adult and you can see them you'll watch them be like and you're like right here you know.
But they're looking around that's all they're doing is if I can find my adult I'm okay if I can't I'm not and what Paul is saying is he's right there you're not lost you're not lost he's right here what are you worried about y the Assumption here is so beautiful so beautiful in the face of our anxiety so beautiful in the face of our worry so beautiful in the face of this weird sense of fearfulness and Dread it's so wonderful so wonderful.
Look at what he says the Lord is at hand do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your request be made known to God prayer is worshipfulness supplication is asking for help so prayer is the word prayer but it it includes this worshipfulness supplication is saying these are the my needs Thanksgiving we'll talk more about next week but it's being thankful that should take up some of our praying and he says let him know don't be anxious let him know.
If you started a new job and your equipment broke and you're stressing out because you're like this will be a new record for me I'll get fired on my first day so you're trying to fix it one of your co-workers comes by and goes hey what are you doing and you're like this isn't working they're like why aren't you getting your stuff done it's like this isn't working this is I I don't know it's not working and they went good luck and walked off what's the Assumption it's on you you better figure it out you better fix it.
But if they look at you and say have you called Rodney no who's Rodney my new best friend get Rodney in here what the heck has Rodney been doing all morning while I've been facing this problem what's the Assumption that's not on you and Paul right here says hey why are you anxious that's not on you you are gloriously and wonderfully small you're worried about things that aren't yours to worry about you're worried about things that aren't yours to carry you don't get you to the Finish Line you're not the one who's supposed to fix it it's not on you you're wonderfully small.
If I was about to go on a trip I've used this illustration before but it works so clearly in my mind if I was about to go on a trip and one of my sons looked at me and was freaking out and said we can't go and I said why he said we can't go cuz I don't know how to get there you ain't driving you're going to go where I take you Welly I strap you down in the car you can't even get out.
If you wanted to so sleep stare out the window play a game I don't care I'm the one in charge and that's some of what is assumed here he's right there tell him about it what are you anxious for you haven't gotten that big he's not counting on you in that way that's not your responsibility so take a deep breath and know that he's good I think Paul at some points in our anxiety would say things to us like you're like I'm just such he would say don't you know he's close you don't believe he's close I believe he's close oh you don't believe he's big I believe he's big oh you don't believe he.
Loves you I believe he loves you okay what are we anxious for like if you know he's close and you know he's big and you know he loves you this is such good news cuz one of those things has to be not true for you to have to carry this weight of anxiety CU Paul says he's right here don't be anxious now I think there's a tempation or a desire to respond when Paul just says rejoice and don't be anxious we want to say it's not that easy y'all it wasn't that easy.
But Jesus did the work it's very costly but Jesus Paid the cost and you say well it doesn't work like that yeah what if it does what if it works to where these things are ours in Christ because he's done them and given them to us what if we're the ones who are wrong in our thinking on it but because of Jesus we actually get to participate in this and it does work like this what if we can just be called in to Rejoice what.
If we can just be called into being non-anxious I want to show youall something about the the anxiety thing he says 'o not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your request be made known to God the downline assumption is that it's his to carry but the beautiful thing that's in here is if you're praying you're already undoing anxiety because you've begun to put it in the right context he's big I'm not so for those of you who struggle with anxiety and you think I was anxious all day yesterday I spent the whole day praying it's like no you were praying all day yesterday and reminding yourself that.
Your anxiety isn't yours to carry but it's his that he's good but I think there's a we look at this and we say it doesn't work like that but here's what I think this is I want us to see I'm going to give us some pictures because I've thought about this a lot this week trying to help wrap my head around what he's calling us into he doesn't say do these things and you'll have joy he says Rejoice participate in the joy he doesn't say.
If you do these things you'll be non- anxious he just says participate in the non- anxiety of belonging to the Lord he's here hand it over to him it's a call to participate so we're doing a thing but we're not really doing the thing what we're doing is is baked into the it happening so in just a moment we're going to have baptisms and they're going to do a thing they got to make it all the way up those two steps and over this wall it's tedious it's careful you got to hold you know hold some hands they got to get all the way under the water and all the way back out they've done.
An action but the action was not the thing the thing was done by Jesus they're just participating in what's already been done they're just getting to say I was washed clean by the blood of Christ he was buried I'm buried he's risen I'm risen but it's all because of Jesus I'm just participating in what he's accomplished it's like if you said I'm really hungry and your your parent said good I just cooked dinner and then you said great now what'll I have to do eat it.
But the eating it and the fixing the hunger the eating it and the enjoyment are taking place at the same time so you're doing a thing but the thing that really had to be done was already done that's the cooking like I've sat before my wife my wife my mom has made a meal my dad sat down her three sons sat down and we all just started eating my mom sat for a while and then said ain't nobody going to say thank you.
For the meal and we're all like thank you but we were just eating we were enjoying it but we weren't weren't being actually all that grateful we were participating in I've never once been anywhere where someone sat down started eating and then looked at the person who cooked and said you not going to thank me for eating this' are you crazy what are you talking about the cooking is the thing the eating is the participating Paul is saying participate in what.
Jesus has done participate in the fact that you have a lord who is good participate that Christians get to be joy-filled non-anxious get aable people because all the the real stuff has already been done and we just get invited in someone throws a party and they open the door and they say come on in you go I got to walk all the way over there yeah come on in it's going to be good now listen for the person struggles with anxiety and struggles with joy it's going to feel like this is that's too easy that's not how this works that's too easy it's not how it works and it just doesn't it just doesn't work.
Like that because I want to have joy and I I just it's just not how it works there's a story in second Kings chapter 5 where the commander of the Syrian Army comes and he has leprosy he finds out that there's a prophet in Israel as he comes to try to find Elisha the prophet in Israel and he first goes to the the castle he goes where the king is because he assumes that's where power would be but he's not there they find out he's got to go to some random place out in the middle of nowhere he shows up he's got gifts he's going to pay.
For this he's going to accomplish it he's got things that he's going to do he's going to try to see if this person can heal him and the prophet Elisha doesn't even come out to him the prophet Elisha just looks at the the his servant and says hey go out and just tell him here's what he needs to do I know who he is I know why he's here tell him he needs to go dip in the River Jordan seven times.
So he comes out he's like hey he doesn't want your gifts and also he's I don't I don't even know he gives an excuse he just says hey you need to go dip in the River Jordan seven times and you'll be cured of your leprosy and the commander of the Syrian Army is furious and he says let's go home because the Jordan River is not a good River he said he even says we got better rivers in Syria if that was the way this worked this is ridiculous and he goes to leave and one of his servants grabs him and says sir.
If he' to told you to do something difficult wouldn't you have done it like if it had been something that was able to be anchored in you or something you had to accomplish or something that you would do wouldn't you have done it and he says it's so easy why don't just try it so he does and he's healed and y'all we're Christians the difficult work has been done and we're invited to participate in what has been accomplished and it's really simple.
But we have to operate by faith so we don't sing to Rejoice we sing as we're rejoicing in what Jesus has already done we don't read our Bible so that we'll get to a place of Joy it's like it's participating already in the joy that we have and some of us are meant to go pray and then say Okay Lord by faith I'm going to set this down and I'm going to walk away and I'm going to try to quit thinking about it by faith and every time I think about it I'm going to try to hand it back to you by faith and I'm going to participate by faith.
If you trust if you're if you're leading an army and you pray before that the Lord will give you Victory the way that you trust the Lord and operate in Victory is you run down the hill and you fight that's how you operate in faith and so what is calling you into is not to wait for joy to show up to then Rejoice but to say I'm going to go ahead and start participating in the joy and not to wait till you feel non- anxious to say I'm going to be non- anxious and I'm going to participate in the PE in the peace that is offered and as much as I can try to press.
You into You' they've got to start working together you've got to eat to get the meal but you get to do it because it's already provided and it's not something you're doing it's something that's been done that you're invited to participate in and you get to the whole time say okay Jesus I'm trusting you okay Jesus I'm trusting that this is given to me okay Jesus I'm trusting that you accomplish this on the cross okay I'm trusting you that I'm not that big and I'm not that strong and I'm not that competent and you aren't counting on me to get all this stuff done.
But that you are good do you know that Christians because Jesus is so wonderful get to sleep all night long because he's so good it's one of the ways that you declare his glory is that people go how how do you have such peace and it surpasses knowledge but it's his and it's given to us he says a peace that surpasses knowledge it surpasses understanding that people look at and go how are you this calm and you go because I have a.
Lord who's that big and I'm not that important and if it all falls apart it's still on him and even if they cut my head off then I just get to be somewhere wonderful because I trust Jesus so right now I'm going to sing and I'm going to celebrate and I'm going to be easy to get along with and I'm going to be non-anxious because I trust my King has ultimately already done all the things that have to to happen and I'm going to do it to the glory of Christ as I participate in what he's accomplished by faith let's pray oh.
Lord there's so many hurdles in our soul to getting there and there are so many ways that we don't think that'll work and there are so many ways that this feels unattainable praise be to Jesus that you came to Ransom and to rescue and to cure and to heal and that there is joy in you that is unending and may we learn how to rejoice and not in a way that is saying okay I'm going to pause what's real and I'm going to think about.
Jesus to try to help calm myself down but then I got to look back at the problems but that we're going to say no I'm going to look to who's real and what's Eternal to reap Orient my mind so that I can understand the situation that I'm in that you're the one that gets us there and so Lord as we press into joy and as we press into peace as we seek to by faith say Okay Lord I'm going to be not anxious and I don't even know how that works may we pray may we hand things to you and may you by your grace and your goodness in the work of Christ give us.
Peace that surpasses knowledge surpasses understanding and guards our hearts and our minds because they are under assault and our society doesn't know how to help us here but you've already done all the work may we Feast on your goodness to the glory of Christ amen.
Stand Firm, Dear Laborers
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here grab a Bible and head to Philippians chapter 4 we are working our way through the book of Philippians and we are studying it section by section together and what we're going to look at today is uh something beautiful that has been granted to the Church that we all long for something that we all ache for this desire to belong this desire to have people who truly know us and people that we truly know that we love and care.
For and that we have depth of relationship with that there's something in us that craves this that we were built for this that we were built for family and we were built to exist in stable healthy relationships and this is why some of the reasons why some of the TV shows that we love so much like cheers and friends and some of these things that have done so well over time is because it's just an example of that it's a madeup example of people who really know each other really belong to each other and it's something that we're designed.
For and what we're going to see today is this beautiful picture of it we're going to see how it goes wrong what messes it up and then we're going to be helped by Paul in how we ought to think so that we might um fix what is broken here that we might be able to remedy where it goes wrong so that's what we're looking at this morning as we get into Philippians chapter 4 um so let's go we'll Jump Right In verse one.
Therefore my brothers whom I love and long for my joy and Crown stand firm thus in the Lord my beloved okay so Paul overdoes it a little bit in this sentence it feels like I'm going to read it again therefore my brothers whom I love and long for my joy and Crown stand firm thus in the Lord my beloved like this is dripping with love and sweetness like I I'm not a real like affectionate person naturally I'm not much of a hugger.
But this feels like this sentence wants to hug you like it's coming with its arms out like get in here like that's the way this feels it's one command stand firm that's it everything else is just modifying this stand firm it's who he's talking to whatever the first thing we need to see before we can kind of get into what we're looking at today is the word therefore and the word thus therefore means look back at what he'd already talked about it's a transition.
But it always means look back it's therefore because of all the things I've said therefore and then he says stand firm thus which just means in this way but we don't in what way and that's because both thus and therefore are pointing back so what is he talking about well he's talking about all the things he's been saying that he had told them that those who are mature ought to think the way that he thinks where he is forgetting what lies behind he's striving forward he's pressing on towards the up the prize of the upward call in Christ that he's pressing on towards what is good and glorious in.
Jesus that there is a way that leads to destruction and that there's a way that leads towards being citizens in heaven that we have a hope that is set eternally secure and so that we ought to live as people who press forward towards the Gospel who trust in Jesus who believe in him Above All Things who aren't chasing after our own desires it's all the things he's been saying and so I'd like to begin this sermon by saying that what f chapter uh 4 verse one is reminding you is hey do the stuff we've been talking about we just spent three weeks talking about just do it stand firm in it.
Okay that's how this sermon Starts Now I I want us to observe the way this is written as we move into the next part so we're just going to go Section by section to to get a glimpse at Paul's relationship and ultimately something that we get together in our relationship with each other because of Jesus he says therefore my brothers the primary picture given in the New Testament of the Church is family and it's it's not just a picture it's a reality that we believe that we've been adopted into a family that.
Now God the Father who sent his son that Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers and that we've been adopted into the family and we get to call God our Father we get to cry to him ABA father we get to belong to this family and so it's not just something we say that's nice it's not just a cute little phrasing it's not like the cultural thing where people are calling each other fam now it's a it's a reality it's an eternal reality that we belong to each other.
Because of the work of Jesus so when he says Brothers it it's it's a reality it's something that's true about the Church because of what Christ has done and that word Brothers there in Greek it it's literally is the word Brothers but the way they use it it could easily be siblings or brothers and sisters and everywhere that it's translated Brothers in the New Testament and these letters it could be siblings it could be brothers and sisters it works kind of the way that like ninos or Amigos Works in Spanish.
If you're familiar with Spanish it's the same kind of thing it's an inclusive term and he's about to talk to two ladies in the Church and so we're to understand this as brothers and sisters and so Paul is saying that we belong to each other as family and I say this all the time the wonderful thing about the Church being family is that we can't get rid of you if you belong to Jesus you belong to the Church you're in now the the bad thing about the Church being family is that you can't get rid of us that we belong to each other.
But that's this first picture is that we're family that this is granted to us in Jesus and then he says my brothers whom I love and long for and then he finishes with my beloved yeah he he loves them he Longs for them he misses them and he should that's actually some of how we are meant to relate to one another as Christians We're Meant To Love One Another We're Meant to enjoy one another we're meant to long for one another we're meant to miss each other.
When we're not around like if you really are belonging to your Church family the way you're supposed to then there should be times when you go on vacation and you enjoy your vacation but you feel a little bit off it's like I don't know I just kind of feel out of rhythm I'm not seeing my Church family like I usually am I kind of miss them if you're gone for a while you should miss people one of the things I tell uh my our community group we're going to meet this this week.
And then the next week we'll be two groups we're launching a new group we're excited about that but always when we're talking about group multiplication I say it's sad and it is if your group multiplies and you look at half the people in your group and you're like bye deuces glad you're gone like then you're not doing this right you're supposed to miss them you're supposed to enjoy them you're not supposed to just have this animosity towards them they like I you know could care less I I I don't have any relationship to you or whatever it's supposed to be something where we love one another we long.
For one another we Delight in one another we have this Joy together because we're family this is actually commanded it's a part of who we are as a Church we studied through first John and John says it over and over again I'm going to read three of the places 1 John 51 it says everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God so if you're a Christian if you trust in Jesus you've been born of God and everyone who loves the.
Father loves Whoever has been born of him so it's part of belonging to the Lord is that we're born into and we've been born of God and we love him but we also love our Church family 1 John 3:10 by this it is evident who are the children children of God and who are the children of the devil which if you're new to this and you're picking which child of who you want to be a child of pick God trust Jesus.
But it says this is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God okay that makes sense so we follow obedience so we walk in Holiness that's what we would say and then it says nor is the one who does not love his brother it's not just walk walking in in Holiness and repentance and following Jesus and being obedient but it's also that we love each other we're built.
For it he says this in uh verse 23 of the same chapter and this is his Commandment that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another just as he has commanded us this is the way the Church is supposed to work and if you have not ever participated in that if you're saying I'm a Christian but I've never really belong to a Church or I'm a Christian I love Jesus but I don't really love the Church or I don't know those people are all Hypocrites or whatever you you need to repent and you also need to accept this invitation.
Because this gets to be wonderful when we talk about hey you should join a community group it's not it's not us just being like we think they're neat we think we're supposed to do this we think you're supposed to know people and they're supposed to know you they're supposed to know the good about you and the bad about you y'all supposed to have real depth of relationship you're supposed to to miss one another be in life enough that that you notice.
When they're out of the loop and not connected that you love one another this is a glorious beautiful thing given to the Church it's something that we long for as humans and it's something that's granted to us in the work of Christ and we should not say no to that we should fully participate in that then Paul says this my joy and Crown okay so when I first started studying this I immediately wanted to blow a whistle and throw a flag I'm reading this and I'm like no you you're not allowed to say that Paul.
Now I know he is because it's in the Bible so I realized I was wrong but I was very uncomfortable with this statement how is the Church his joy and Crown like we would say rightly so Jesus is our joy Jesus Is Our Hope Jesus is our Delight Jesus is where our good things are not to say anything mean about the Church but I don't think you can call the Church your joy and Crown feels wrong so I spent some time trying to.
Look into this and I think the person who was most helpful in my study was John Piper what John Piper points out and I thought very helpfully was that anything that competes with Jesus for our love and our joy we know we ought to get rid of or at least it's in the wrong spot if it's competing with Jesus it's in the wrong spot if it's something that would draw our affection away from Jesus it's in the wrong spot spot but he says that's not what the Church does.
For the Church to be your joy is not competing with Jesus it's completing what Jesus has accomplished for us it's a gift given to us by Jesus it's actually he's the head of the body the Church that some of the way that we love Jesus is we love each other and some of the way that we are loved by Jesus is that we're loved in the Church that's some of what John's getting at that this is a part of our love.
For Jesus and that word Crown when we think Crown we usually think royalty it's most likely here that Paul has in mind the crowns that you win in a competition so it would translate more to us if we use the word like gold medal or trophy um I'll show you a few examples of that second Timothy 25 he says an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules that's the same word as Stephanos and that's stepanos that's not how you say in Greek.
But that's what it means that's crowned 1 Corinthians 9:25 says every athlete exercises self-control in all things they do it to receive a perishable wreath the same word Stephanos but we an imperishable meaning this is something you compete for and you're given as a a trophy well I think that's a beautiful way to think about the Church the the trophy is not the thing you win really it represents the thing you win like if if I came to your house and you showed me trophies your trophies you like maybe you had one you were real proud of and I don't know what it was like a bowling trophy or like a taek kond do trophy.
Or like fastest spreadsheets at your job or whatever whatever you got a trophy for and if I like while I was looking at it got jealous so I went to the store and I bought myself a trophy that was about this big and then I seem like I'm being nice but I invite you to my house and I'm like oh you had a little trophy I remember come look at my trophy and if I showed it to you and you said wow cuz you were impressed.
Look at how big it is and you said wow what is that a trophy for and I said I bought it it means nothing and if you're like well that that's not a this what it mean and I'm like well look at how big it's it the trophy itself is only good in as far as it is representing something worthwhile and so if the Church gets to be a crown it's like the trophy that represents what Jesus has done that we belong that we're in a family that we have a.
Father that we are reconciled that we get to enjoy one another and so what this means is you're supposed to in your worship to Jesus love each other and enjoy each other we're supposed to enjoy each other we're supposed to have fun together we're supposed to have Delight together we're supposed to in a way display like a trophy the goodness of what Jesus has done that's wonderful that's so encouraging that's something that we get to belong to that's something where it doesn't Rob us of our love.
For Jesus to love one another it enhances it it's part of it like if you went to a family reunion if you're ever at one and you see sometimes like The Matriarch the great great grandmother is sitting somewhere by herself and nobody's talking to her but she's just soaking it in because all of this love is hers all of this enjoyment is hers all of this relationship is hers and that in some ways is what the Church gets to be our love.
For each other is all Jesus's as we love one another we're empowered to love one another we receive love from one another we show love to one another and it's all Jesus and this how it works it's the body of Christ this is why you you'll sometimes describe you'll say yeah I was going through this tough season but Jesus he just showed up and he stopped me I was going through this tough season and Jesus just showed up and he showed.
So much care for me but if we started really asking you questions how did Jesus stop you you might say something along the lines of well this person in my group showed up at my house and I had to let him in because I realized they weren't going to leave and I thought it would look bad if I called the cops and they said these things to me but while they were talking to you you realize it wasn't just them it was.
Jesus because Jesus is at work in his Church to love you or there's a time when you were comforted or cared for or whatever and at the end of it you go Jesus showed me so much love and how did he do it well he did it through his Church because that's how this works that we love one another we long for one another we have joy with one another and all of that belongs to Jesus and that's what that's supposed to be like.
And if you haven't gotten to partake in that if you haven't participated in that come on get in if you're like I've been hanging out with a group and I don't know if it's like that yet what I would say is I don't know if you've been loving the way you're supposed to be loving yet I don't know if you've been sacrificing the way you're supposed to be sacrificing yet I don't know if you've really plunged in yet if you've shown up and said all right I'm here love me I don't know.
If you've set yourself well up well to be loved honestly if you're in a situation where you're walking around evaluating the whole time how good they're doing I don't think you're going to judge them very well like if I walk into my house this the best way to be miserable absolute best best way to be miserable is to walk into my house and just try to see how well the people are doing it understanding how awesome I am and showing me love like.
If I walk in my house and my boys don't immediately just show great love and respect for me I get mad about it my wife doesn't immediately respond to how awesome I am and I get mad about it versus coming in and seeing my boys and saying hey put that down come over here and give me a hug and training them and being able to partake in it and participate in it and show my wife love that's what pours love into the situation.
If you haven't fully participated in joining in with your Church and trying to create joy and love and longing I'd say come on what Paul's talking about is beautiful let's have that let's have that here let's look at let's look like a place that's a trophy that displays the love of Christ let's have that here all right you want to see what messes that up verse two I entreat Yoda and I entreat cinti to agree in the Lord so there's a disagreement I yes I ask you also True Companion help these women who have labored side by side with me in the Gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names.
Are in the Book of Life okay so they've labored with Paul they've served alongside of him they're mature he says their names in The Book of Life they're Christians so what messes this up what causes us to not have the joy and the delight and the love with our Church family our Church family they mess it up we mess it up I mess it up you mess it up Yoda messes it up ciny they they have such good names to say with contempt like you can almost.
See them meeting each other and being like you odia ciny but that's what happens is the people that we have to relate to mess it up cuz I don't know if y'all know this but like when I'm by myself I'm awesome I'm very agreeable everybody thinks I'm smart it's when I get around other people and start having problems can't be my fault but that's the way this feels and so we've got all this Joy granted to us in Christ and then we have conflict that happens in the midst of having real relationships and we're going to.
See that as Paul responds to this he doesn't he tells him to agree agree that's his only bit of a command and he does it as an in treaty it's not even a command he doesn't command them he entreats them he's pleading with them but he says agree that's it he doesn't tell them what to do doesn't tell them how to go about it doesn't none of that but we're going to see that the way he thinks about it if we would believe the same things we'd be.
Well set up to handle conflict in the Church the way he talks about it which just reveals it exposes how he thinks about it it exposes what he believes if we believe the same thing so in some ways what Paul's going to do is he's going to furnish the room that we should have the conversation in he's not going to tell us how to have the conversation but he's going to put all the things in place that help us be set up.
Well to have the conversation and the work this stuff out and it's going to be based off of what he believes so as we walk through this all I'm going to say is do you believe in the middle of conflict do you believe and that's what we're going to talk through is these five things that Paul shows us that he believes and we're just going to ask do you believe and y'all we need to pay attention because if you don't currently have a a Yodo or a Cy.
If you don't currently have someone that you're at odds with or that you're frustrated by or that you're hurt by or that you're aggravated with if you don't currently have that situation you will that's the mil City guarantee stick around we'll find someone to get on your nerves somebody's going to sin against you you're going to you're going to be at odds with someone at some point if you're really trying to have depth of relationship and love and and this type of family that we're meant to have in Christ.
Then absolutely as we do that walking alongside of Sinners we're going to we're going to run into this that's actually in our membership commitment you actually have to Comm commit to I fully expect to have relational conflict with other Sinners saved by grace like I'm getting ready for it we make you say that you're going to join the team get ready people are about to be real aggravated because that's what it that's part of what comes along with getting to belong to each other this way.
But Paul's going to help us out so pay attention because this is going to help us in these situations all right the first thing I want us to see is this he says I entreat Yoda and I entreat ctii to agree that's the first thing he says and you can feel the tension first of all y'all these were to be read the letters Paul wrote the Church would gather and someone would read and I love that he just in the middle of it starts just calling people out by name and since he's done that I've got a list of names just kidding would be fun though all right no he just starts calling them out.
Because they knew there was conflict they knew there was this stuff going on they're going to have to sort out and so he starts talking to them specifically but you can hear by the tone how far away they are from each other because he says I entreat Yoda he doesn't say I entreat Yoda and cin he says I entreat Yoda and I entreat cin it's almost like he can tell they're not sitting anywhere near each other at this Gathering like they're they're not close to one another separate from one another and he's specifically trying to make eye contact with one of them.
And then turning and trying to make eye contact with the other one he's like hey no no no I'm talking to both of y'all then he says agree now what's the disagreement we don't know we don't know at all he doesn't step into that at all he doesn't he doesn't engage with that at all we don't know if this is a constant conflict with them and they just disagree over everything if it's one big thing and so the first thing I got to we got to ask ask is in these kind of conflict situations do you like Paul believe that the person matters more than the problem.
Because when we get into these things we get to where we care very little about the person and we care a whole lot about the problem I'm actually willing to get rid of the person because I I'll then get what I want I'll get my way I I won't have to try to sort anything out like I I don't care about them at all I don't want something bad to happen but I would love for their job to transfer them to Tulsa.
And then I can say we're going to miss you but we quit caring about the person but Paul steps in and he doesn't go into the disagreement at all he just looks at the people and says hey I need y'all I need y'all to sort this out I need you to agree and he's acting as if he believes that the people matter more than the problem do you believe that the person that you're at odds with do you see them as a person or do you think that the problem matters more the disagreement matters more.
And if they won't get on your side then they can just go on somewhere that you can be done with them and we say things like it's fine no it's fine we don't agree but that's fine I just don't have to talk to them that's fine I just I will just never interact with them ever again and that'll be fine and you can tell usually how fine something is by how many times you feel you need to use the word fine in the sentence it's fine I'm fine we're fine it'll be fine.
But what you've done as you've stated they don't matter I can be done with them forever and what I would say is not if they're your brother or sister in Christ not if you belong to each other not if you're supposed to love and long for each other not if we're supposed to be a crown a trophy to the glory of Christ that work in us no this person matters immensely so do we believe that the person matters more than the problem.
Second thing he says is I entreat yod I entreat CI to agree but not just to Agree to Agree in the Lord Do You Believe like Paul believes that in the middle of your conflict Jesus is Lord I think it's a helpful question Paul does this on purpose he puts in the Lord in a lot of places and he's constantly reminding them that they belong to Jesus that they're Christians and it's helpful it reorients our mind like if someone someone in your group looked at you and said how do you think about money you might just start talking.
But if they said as a Christian how do you think about money you immediately go Oh as a Christian like you should have answered some other way the first time but it reorients it for us how do you think about marriage as a Christian how do you think about marriage how do you think about Politics As a Christian how do you think about politics and suddenly we have different answers which we shouldn't we should always be responding as a we should always be thinking in light of the Gospel.
But Paul intentionally is saying hey I need you to agree but not just agree not just Earthly agree not just y'all get on the same page I need you to agree in the Lord I need you to be of one mind that's that phrase he's been using over and over again it's the exact same thing he's talked about this the whole letter that they would be of one mind that we would be have the Mind Among Us that is what we have in Christ.
Jesus where he who was uh had equality with God didn't count equality with God a thing to be grasp but lowered himself and walked in humility that we should be these type of people and so he's pressing it in into and one of the things that you need to realize in the middle of these conflict situations is you aren't the authority you're under Authority and so often we act as if I'll just handle this however I want to they're just going to have to deal with how Chad handles this no.
Jesus is in charge you have a Lord and that's helpful to remember that's helpful to remember across the board in your marriage with your money with your time all these things that you have a Lord that you're you're not just free agent on your own that you're going to be be held accountable but he's in this middle of the situation saying hey as y'all disagree I need you to agree in the Lord I need you to know that you're under Authority you can't just treat this person however you want to.
Because you have a king but it's not just that we're under Authority but we're granted ability he's not just over us he's also in us so that we're given the ability to work this out because Jesus is at work in us so that when we get to agree we get to agree in the Lord that he empowers us to walk this stuff out that he's at work in us we're not just on our own in our Flesh on our own ability trying to sort this stuff out that no we get to navigate these things in the.
Lord and so first question do you believe the person matters more than the problem the second one is do you believe that Jesus is Lord here's the third one yes I ask you also True Companion help these women okay so True Companion uh it it's yoke fellow true yoke fellow it could be a name companion or yoke fellow could be a name it's an odd name it's an uncommon name but it could it could be a name it'd be like if you were really good friends with Baker Mayfield who's a quarterback.
For the Tampa Bay Bucks and you wrote him a letter and 2,000 years later people were reading your letter and they were like wow this person had a wonderful relationship with the guy who made them bread and it's like no Baker he's not a baker that's just his name it's an uncommon name but it's a name it could could be What's Happening Here it also could be a nickname or a term of endearment it is a male and it doesn't actually matter whether it's his name.
Because it functions the same way this person knew who who they were and that they were being talked to Paul knew who it was and they were being talked to the whole Church knew who it was so he calls out one other person and says I want you to help so the third question is do you believe that your Church family can help and sometimes that question is more pointed at the person who's close enough enough to the conflict that you could help you just don't want to he actually looks at a.
Third party and says hey I need you to hop in I need you to help them sort this out now the first rule in working out conflict is that you need to go talk to the person you have conflict with and that if someone comes and talks to you about someone they have conflict with we are assuming Matthew 18 says if some if your brother sins against you go talk to your brother if they repent You've Won your brother that's Matthew 18 He says.
If they won't repent then you go get someone else and you come back so if you come talk to me about another person I'm supposed to assume we're on step two you've already talked to them they've already told you to kick rocks now you've come to talk to me I'm supposed to ask you what did they say when you talk to them so if someone comes to you and says oh my gosh do you know how frustrating you go hey hey what they say.
When you talk to them and you will find that a lot of times someone has just skipped over step one and they've come to you and honestly they're not even trying to do the steps they just want you to know this other person's aggravating which you already knew like if you came to me and said you want to hear how aggravating this person any person I'd be like I bet they're aggravating because you you met people they're aggravating they do things that get on your nerves most of them are going to have something.
So if you're talking to me I'm supposed to say have you talked to them and if you haven't I'm supposed to say hey hey I love you shut up go talk to them you we don't need to be talking but this is past that this is in the they need someone to help them sort this out and there are times where as Church family you're just in the room to help them communicate to help them hear each other to help them be fair you're also your mere presence makes them nicer yeah you ever get in a interaction just you and one other person who really drives you crazy and you do some stuff.
But if there was someone else watching you're like okay let me let me do this well you help them do this in the Lord like if if two kids were trying to work something out and then their dad walks out or their mom walks out and just starts watching them they immediately you know they're going to handle it a little better that's what you're doing you're there to if someone wants to act like a clown they have an audience and you're also there to help them communicate I have someone in our Church family I love dearly we have never once had a clear conversation with each other I've never understood what this person's trying to.
Tell me they've never understood what I'm trying to tell them we have had long nice conversations but never clear ones if we got into a big turned sideways with each other we'd probably need a third party to show up and help us figure it out because we don't know what the other person's trying to say ever and it just has to do with how we think and how we communicate and where we're coming from and so sometimes that's all you're there to do a True Companion shows up that gets to just go hold on a.
Second did you hear what they just said you responded to something else pause real quick do you agree with that or you disagree with that is that fair is that a fear yeah it's fair I don't I don't help clean up after our group meets but I hold on a second hold a second did you hear that they agree with you they also don't think they help clean up we've made progress y'all are on the same page they have a reason why they think that's fine we're going to get to that in just a.
Second all right you had a butt like we're going to move forward we get to work this out we're going to go back and forth but somebody's there to help so do you believe that the person matters more than the problem do you believe that Jesus is a Lord and do you believe that your Church family can help cuz so often what we want to do is just get out of the situation or recruit people to be mad with us rather than recruiting people to help us sort the thing out another way of saying that is.
So often what we want to do is sin instead of sort things out then he says this help these women who have labored side by side with me in the Gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers now that's just a description of these ladies but it also shows you what's in Paul's mind as he's working these things out he says you need to help them because they used to labor together for the Gospel and now they're not.
Now this is the same phrasing from chapter 1 verse 27 he says only let your manner of Life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or an absent I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind that's that agree one- mindedness striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel Paul is saying I want to see that you have been following Jesus that you've been striving side by side.
For the Gospel I want to when I show up find out that's what you've been doing and what he's saying right here is we've got two ladies who used to do that who don't anymore so do you believe that the mission matters more it if you were watching a baseball game and the ball's cracked over to Short Stop and he Scoops the ball up and then goes and everybody's yelling throw it the first throw it the first and he goes not until he apologizes it might be one of the only instances where you saw a head coach attack one of their own players we would all be going have you lost your mind we have.
Something more important to do baseball baseball is very important winning is very important we would be livid it would be on all the news everywhere there'd be so many interviews of them talking to them after the game going why would you throw it to First he's a jerk you heard it here first he's a jerk and that's baseball and we'll spend time with an eternal mission about a glorious King who saves sinners from destruction so Paul just said there are so many that are headed into destruction what we read in.
First John where he says there are children of God and there are children of the devil we we there's a kingdom of light and there's a kingdom of darkness there's eternity of Hope and joy and there's an eternity of damnation and destruction and we will spend time arguing over some of the silliest pettiest stuff because we've forgotten that the mission matters and y'all I think that happens so much in the American Church because it's so easy for us to forget about the mission we get real caught up in a whole bunch of other things a whole bunch of preferences a whole bunch of things that we like a whole bunch of ways that we ought.
To be treated a whole bunch of how important than we are a whole bunch of how everything should work out the way I want it to work out and we get in these arguments with people and we we get into this Petty mess and we forget that there are lost people who don't know Jesus and we're supposed to be a trophy that displays his goodness and instead we're arguing with each other about silly mess that doesn't matter and we used to be side by side proclaiming the Gospel.
Now we are't do you believe the mission matters I think sometimes when we get caught up in this stuff we've forgotten that we weren't trying to be missionaries anyway so it doesn't really matter this matters we need to repent we need to go sit with them and say hey it matters that we're on the same page so that we can strive side by side for the Gospel because we can't keep arguing about silly stuff we got to get on the same page.
So that we can keep going and we need to take the least amount of time here is possible and we need to be gracious to one another so that we can can get after seeing more people come to know Jesus do you believe the person matters more than the problem do you believe that Jesus is Lord do you believe that your Church family can help and do you believe that the mission matters more fifth thing Paul says as he's talking about him he says Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life The Book of Life is the book that has every name of every person who belongs.
To Jesus written in it every name of every person who belongs to Jesus we're told it was written before the foundation of the world if you belong to this book This Book of Revelation tells us you won't run away from Jesus you belong to Jesus you won't worship the Beast you won't be tricked you won't be caught up in the stuff and if you belong in this book then in Revelation 20 when there's the Judgment this book is opened there's books opened with deeds.
And then there's a book of Who belongs in the book of life and it says anyone's name not found written in the Book of Life he was thrown in the Lake of Fire so this is those who belong to Jesus it is mentioned One Time by Paul right here that's it otherwise it shows up in the Book of Revelation it's a concept they understood from the Old Testament Paul doesn't talk about it a lot he talks about it here in the middle of trying to help them sort out a conflict he just says all the people whose names are written in the Book of Life y'all he zooms.
So far far out they're in the middle of arguing they're in the middle of scuffling they're in the middle of probably picking people to be on their sides trying to convince the other person how big of a problem ctii is how big of a problem yod is if you just see it my way you'd understand how awful they are and he just zooms out and he says Hey at some point there's going to be a book laid down and the Lord's going to.
Look and he's going to say yoda Cy and we're going to belong to him for eternity the last piece of furniture Paul brings into the room that I would ask us do we believe is do you believe the Gospel do we believe that there's an eternity to come where there is hope in Christ do we believe that we've been forgiven of our sins do we believe that we've been reconciled so that the gap between us and God which was infinite between his Holiness and our wickedness that we were dead in our trespasses and sins that we were his enemies that that has been covered by the work of.
Jesus and the blood of Jesus and that we've been reconciled then if we believe that we've been forgiven if we believe that he redeems if we believe that he resurrects if we believe that he reconciles then we absolutely when we get into these situations can believe that I can forgive and be forgiven that if he can reconcile me to himself then we can reconcile here if he can redeem what's broken in my life then he can redeem this and if he can resurrect the dead.
Then he can fix this relationship he can bring it back and that old ultimately we belong to him for eternity so we belong to each other for eternity so we got to get past this stuff you can almost see after reading through this the True Companion being able to pull him in a room and say hey guys y ctii Yia you should care about each other you should love each other and you should love each other more than you love being right of you should love each other more as people to get over this problem we belong to.
Jesus he's our King so we're going to submit to him in this process and we're also going to trust him to empower Us by his Spirit to work this out I'm here to help I'm here to listen I'm here to navigate I'm here to help youall remember that you belong to more than just your own Wants You Belong more to each other but you belong to our Church y'all outside of this room there are people who don't know Jesus so we got to we got to sort it out.
Because we got work to do and one day we're going to be before the king and he's going to read off all our names and all this will be gone and if he can reconcile us to himself he can reconcile you and if he can forgive you of all the sins then you can forgive and he can forgive you of all your sins then you can forgive and y'all can forgive each other and there can be joy and if he can redeem what's broken in our lives he can redeem this.
And if he can resurrect us from the dead on that day if we believe that on that day he will call our name and we will come hurdling out of the dirt then we believe that he can work right now in the middle of this so that we can keep going and we can proclaim the Gospel and that we can be one Church family together and we can restore the love that we have and we can display to the world a trophy of what.
Jesus does among a group of people so the band's going to come back up some of you need to go be a True Companion you got two people that you know in our Church family who are at odds with one another and you need to help them some of you have a ciny someone that you're frustrated with hurt by that you've slowly just let little thing after little thing after little thing chip away at your relationship and help you drift apart.
And so you've gotten to the place now where you're like it's fine we just don't have to talk to each other you need to go talk to them and here's the beautiful thing about belonging to each other in Jesus that first conversation doesn't have to go well it's not all riding on one conversation the second conversation doesn't have to go well the third conversation doesn't have to go well the fourth conversation when you finally brought someone in and you said we don't know how to talk to each other you got to come in the room that one doesn't have to go.
Well we get to slowly walk this out in humility and repentance and forgiveness and we get to do this over time and we get to because of Jesus love one another and have joy together because he empowers it in a moment we're going to take communion where we celebrate that the gap between us and God has been bridged that the blood of Jesus has forgiven us of our sin that his body was broken his blood was shed and that we belong to him and that.
Because of Jesus our names not because of our work not because of our effort not because of our worth but because of him and what he's done our names are written in the book of life that we belong to each other as brothers and sisters that we have a mission we've been sent on we're going to celebrate that through communion but Jesus at one point says if your gift if you go to lay your gift on the Altar and you know that your brother and you have something between you don't go to the altar go to your brother.
So Church family if you know you have something standing between you and someone in our Church family or another Christian brother or sister don't come take communion go get them go talk to them you don't have to sort it that right now you can just set up a time you can say we need to talk I'm sorry I've cared more about the problem than I've cared about you and I I don't know how to get past that right now but we got to talk this out some of you need to step outside make a phone call some of you just need to send a few texts.
And then you can come take communion you can celebrate that everything that needs to be accomplished for us to follow Jesus and to be reconciled and redeemed and to have eternity with him has already been accomplished in him but don't do that while you hold something against you brother let's pray God we need your help you are our Lord we submit to you may we humble ourselves before you may we be empowered by your spirit to do something that is extremely difficult.
For us help us to love one another help us to believe the Gospel help us to care about the mission Lord help us we ask for your grace and your kindness and Lord may your blessing be on this Church that it would be a place of love where we long for one anothers long for each other's company long for each other's enjoyment and Delight together and may this be a place of Joy where we well display what you have purchased for us by your work on the cross and may some of that rebuilding and restoration begin.
Today we ask all this in Jesus name amen when you're ready take communion and then we'll sing together.
Walking and Waiting
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here uh we are in the book of Philippians we're working our way through the book of Philippians and um sorry that pen was going to distract me um just a second I was going to be clicking it it's going to be a problem we're in the book of Philippians we're picking up in verse 17 we're working our way through the book of Philippians studying it together uh as a Church and uh what we're going to do this morning is we're going to read through this entire text as we get started and I'm going to try to help you understand what Paul's doing in this.
Text and then we're going to work our way through it uh kind of verse by verse section by section so we're in Philippians chapter 3 verse 17 it's on page 571 if you grab one of these blue Bibles in front of you Brothers join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us so that's Paul's command join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
For many of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears walk as enemies of the Cross of Christ their end is destruction their God is their belly and they glory in their shame with Minds set on Earthly things but our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious Body by the power power that enables him even to subject all things to himself Paul says walk imitate join those who are walking in the example set by Paul he's saying that you need to intentionally follow this example.
Because there are those who walk as enemies of the Cross of Christ so what Paul is saying is that there is a way to live in line with following Jesus in line with the Gospel and there's a way to live in in contrast in opposition to following Jesus and you ought to be intentional about who you are imitating and and some of the Assumption here is that you are imitating you are learning from other people how to live you're learning from other people what's important and what's good and what's right and you are right.
Now there are people in your life that are teaching you how to handle your money how to be a spouse how to think about romance how to think about politics how to think about parenting how to dress like your whole life has been imitation that's how you learned how to speak that's how you learned how to walk like you you had to see other people doing that's how you learned to trade that's how you learned all the things that you've learned and you're like no I'm original I came up with things on my own I cut Against the Grain.
Okay maybe a little bit maybe a little bit but maybe there's something that you do that's original to you and I'm willing to bet it's the weirdest thing you do the people around you probably want you to stop it most everything we do is something that we have learned by imitation and even the things that we do that are outside of the norm if you're like no we we we we stuck it to the man we were hippies yeah but you were a hippie like all the other hippies you wore the same things.
Listen to the same music and you all grew your hair the same way wait if you're like no I wasn't a part of the mainstream I was goth yeah but you were goth like all the other goth kids y'all shopped at the same goth stores you actually helped the man out as he sold you things as you stuck it to him or whatever like we we learn by imitation and what Paul is saying is be wise and intentional with who you imitate.
Because you're going to imitate you're going to follow you're going to practice things that other people are teaching you to practice and you ought to as a Christian be wise and intentional about that so that's what we're looking at today and we're going to pray and then we're going to walk through this text section by section father you designed us to learn through imitation you designed us to pick up on the habits and mannerisms and actions of those around us.
So Lord we ask that you would help us to be intentional about that wise about that so that we might not be led astray and that we might look more and more like people who really really love you we ask this by your grace from your kindness in Jesus name amen so go back to verse 17 Brothers join in imitating me so he's saying y'all need to see what I'm doing you need to join in in IM ating me you need to copy me.
Now what is what is Paul doing well we read that together a second ago some of that at least that he forgets what lies behind he's pressing on he's straining forward for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus that he has set his mind on his Hope on he has fixed his heart on the rescue of Christ the hope of Jesus what Jesus has done the eternity is coming that belongs to Christ that his whole life is in line with the hope of the Gospel.
So much so that he's writing this letter from prison for telling people about Jesus and people were like hey stop and he was like hey stop me so they arrested him and then he wrote in his letter hey I'm telling all the guards about Jesus I've infiltrated the prison he's not stopping he's lined up his whole life with this is what is supremely important so that's what he's saying imitate me but I want y'all to notice something about this sentence because there's a lot of people in this sentence he says imitate me keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example.
So those can't be Paul it has to be some other people who walk according to the example you so you're the the Church the Phil Philippians who he's writing to have in us well us includes me but it's bigger than just me and it's not those because those are looking at us yeah a lot of people in this sentence so there's Paul that's the me there's the us at the end of the sentence that's probably Paul and Timothy and aphroditus some of the people he's mentioned.
But also any of Paul and his cohorts his Entourage all the people that are following around and and pursuing Mission the way that he is and proclaiming the Gospel the way that he is and then there's those who aren't the us but that are following and imitating Paul and then there's you the Philippians and you the Church that this letter is written to the reason I wanted to point that out is because you ought to as a Christian have a life that that sentence makes sense in.
Because you belong to the Church and you're in a in an environment where there are those around you who are good examples for what it means to follow Jesus this is one of the reasons why when We Gather on Sundays we say you need to get in a group and then we say you need to get in a group and the next time we see we say you need to get in a group and if we talk to in after there as we're getting coffee sometimes we'll say hey it's nice to meet you have you gotten in a group.
Because we're supposed to live in relationships with other Christians and be able to walk in life together it's not meant to be something we just think about and study on Sundays and then go out into the world and have all of the rest of our actions and imitations be influenced by people who don't know Jesus we're meant to belong in such a way to to the people of Christ that we might have those that we can join in with that we might walk in life with as they follow.
Jesus that we can join in with them and then maybe at some point like Paul be able to say join in with us we're trying to follow Jesus hop in so the the command is to imitate Paul and anyone imitate Paul imitate the US the ones around Paul that are doing that stuff imitate the those that are following Paul basically look for any Christian who lives their life like they really really really believe that Jesus is the king of all things that they spend their time and their money and their energy and their effort that you can punch them in the face and tell them to shut up and they will not that's the type.
Of Christian that you need to line up behind and imitate that's what Paul's saying now he's GNA give a reason why you need to do that intentionally the reason why you should join that line Verse 18 for many and then he gives in a side here of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears so I want you to understand the people that Paul's about to talk about this many that he's going to talk about he doesn't hate them he's heartbroken he he wants something different.
For them that this group Grieves him but he says many walk as enemies of the Cross of Christ now I think that certainly includes all people who aren't Believers are living their life in opposition to the Cross because you're really your only options are submission to the Cross service to the Cross service to Christ or opposition to him that we're we're by Nature his enemies by Nature we're children of Wrath by Nature we don't want God or the things of God.
And so certainly it includes that group but I think it also because of the way this letter has been written it includes the people that Paul were refer to as opponents in chapter 1 it includes the dogs evildoers and those who mutilate the flesh from chapter 3 it includes those who would say they are Christians but then they're bringing in something that's not the Gospel and in that way they are opposing the cross because they're not pointing you to the Cross they're not pointing you to the hope of.
Jesus they're pointing you to something else and here's what he means by the cross in opposition to C to the Cross Christianity is about Christ and what he's done son Jesus Is God who became a man he joined us by taking on flesh but then instead of joining us in our sin he lived a perfect sinless life differentiating himself from us so that when he went to the Cross he might pay our debt he would have credit in his account it'd be like.
If you came out of a poor family and then worked and worked and worked and worked and worked and worked to finally have the finances to pay off all their debt Jesus shows up and he is not sinful like us therefore he can swap places with us he can give us his righteousness and he can pay the debt of our sin and then you would saywell how does one person pay the debt of all these people and the the answer is.
Because he's worth more be like if I had a dollar and my son had 50 pennies and he was like well 50 is more than one it's like nope you're confused and Jesus Is God who's worth more than all of humanity put together but he was perfectly righteous and he dies for us and so we because of this Gospel message that there's hope in Christ and forgiveness in him we then live our life in line with that message in line with the cross in service to the cross in the hope of the Cross where we love.
Jesus because he's so good and so kind and so merciful and so our lives are lined up as people who love Jesus and want Jesus and want to serve Jesus and then there are those who are in opposition to that they're going to lead you astray if you join with them they're going to point you away from Jesus they're going to point you to anything other than Jesus and so they're walking as enemies of the Cross now he's going to tell us what they.
Look like which is very helpful because if they're telling you they're Christians which some of them would and will you can't just base it off of what they say so he's going to give us a profile to tell us what they look like he's going to tell us how to spot them so here's what he says verse 19 their end is destruction their God is their belly and they glory in their shame with Mind Set On Earthly things their end is destruction their.
God is their belly and they glory in their shame with mindset on Earthly things it gives us four things to see the first one is some information but we can't see it their end is destruction but they don't know that and we can't spot that on them he's just telling us where they're headed he's saying don't follow them because that's where they're going so you can't see the destination but he's going to tell us how to identify them with the other three the other way is to spot who's in that line who's pursuing that destination that he's lined up pursuing.
Jesus but there are others who are headed towards destruction have you ever uh you've been at a big event concert a play a sporting event and it's halftime or it's uh intermission and you head out to go to the restroom you see lines of people you don't see the destination you just see the line I walk out if I see two lines I will immediately go to the right line if I see three lines I'll immediately go to the right line.
Because I can see the people in the line and I can guess the destination I've never once lined up with all the ladies gotten to the door and been like what I have accidentally walked into a lady's restroom but not when there was a line if I've got a line with all men I know that's the line I'm getting in line with all ladies not my line line with men and ladies those people are buying drinks and they'll be in these lines later I got it I know how to do this what Paul is saying is I'm going to tell you how to identify the people in the line.
So that you'll get in the right line here are the three things he gives us their end is destruction we can't see that but we can begin to identify them the first thing he says is their God is their belly we need to define God and we need to find belly to understand what this means belly means belly but he's using it to identify consumption the things you can feel and taste and touch what you can enjoy physically so what's a.
God well a God is something you serve a God is something that gives you uh identity tells you who you are and a God is something that gives you Direction and purpose and future and Hope so let's take a moment to consider how a belly can be your God so that we might identify tendencies in ourselves we might some of you might read through this list and get to the end and go oh I'm not a Christian some of you might go I am a Christian.
But I'm I'm off some of us are going to help us identify the people that we're listening to and following even if they say they love Jesus we're going to identify we actually shouldn't be following them because this is what they look like okay let's think about service if your God is your belly you can spend a whole lot of time serving working laboring putting your energy your time your hope pursuing things that just terminate on your belly what we eat what we drink where we sit where we relax our next vacation there's a way.
For us to just spend all of our time on things that go on our on our body or go into our body and we're just serving our bellies y That's most that's the world around us it's in service to their bellies and we can get in this too now you say hold on a second the Bible says we're supposed to work and it's okay to eat and it's okay to Feast yeah yeah yeah but all that is meant to when the Bible calls.
For a feast it's meant to be something that rolls up in praise to God that we're feasting because he's good and he has abundance and He blesses and he's kind and he over he watches over us but so much of our feast is just feasting for feasting feasting for our belly some of us have basically biblical level feasts seven times a week we overeat constantly or we spend our whole week looking forward to this day that we're going to get to rest and have this party and have this celebration or whatever and all of our energy goes towards this service to our bellies.
And so if you're trying to identify someone whose God is their belly you're looking for is the thing they're most worried about most working towards all stuff that they can feel and taste and touch and all stuff that just terminates on them is that what they're serving is that what I'm serving it's not just service it's also identity which we've been sold this lie in the US and we've bought into it that consumption what we put on what we take in tells us who we are tells the world who we are we say things like I'm a man I eat meat.
Okay I drive a truck good I mean I'm for driving trucks and eating meat that sounds great but that doesn't tell us anything about who you are it does not affect your character whatsoever it just doesn't what we wear doesn't announce to the world who we are doesn't change us at all might make us look nicer or less nice or whatever it might Identify some of the things about what we care about but it doesn't actually tell us who we are it doesn't actually work on the person of the heart.
But we've been sold on this this is why our advertisements most of the time don't sell you the product they sell you the type of person you'll be if you get this product if you drive this car you'll go look at trees in the mountains is the car good sh look at those trees you drive this car you'll laugh with your friends and hold a surfboard okay what's the gas mileage like I don't the best example of this this and I use it every once in a.
While because it's so clear to me is abian fit used to be a big deal I don't know if it is now but like when I was coming through school like it was a big deal people there's like a whole song about like a guy who liked girls that wore abian fit in the summer and so like that was a thing but if you went and bought something from abian fit they would put your clothes it's clothing store they would put your clothes in a bag said abian Fitch on it and it had a picture of a guy on the bag and the guy on the bag was not wearing clothes this is a clothing.
Store he's not wearing clothes he's not trying to sell you clothes he's trying to sell you the type of person you can be if you wear these clothes if you are cool enough to wear abian fit's clothes you are cool enough to not wear clothes I was born that cool you know like what are you talking about but that's what they're selling you is some image some thing that you become this is why y'all we gather around people based off of our tastes you.
Listen to this music let's be friends couldn't help but notice you drive the same type of vehicle let's have a secret wave let's hand each other Ducks it's a thing that you've consumed that you've taught yourself makes you a type of person it turns you into a thing I wear these kind of boots I buy this kind of stuff we wear these kind of clothes we're now this type of Club it's nonsense but it's an ex example of us buying into that consumption gives us identity.
So we can serve it we can get our identity from it we can also Place Our Hope in it our purpose in it it can give us direction that we can use consumption to tell us what we're supposed to be doing where we're supposed to be going and some of us all of our hopes and dreams are just belly hopes and dreams y'all a lot of us when we think about the future our vision is just me but with more stuff like what do you developing into what are you growing into I'm gonna grow into a guy whose house is bigger and has a swimming pool what I'm going to be the type of person.
Who vacations more often in nicer places it's just that's your hope that's your dream it's not character development it's not love for Jesus it's not I'm going to be the type of person who cares less about stuff most of us have bought into the American dream which is if I picture myself in the future I just picture me but with more things a nicer vehicle I I can't wait till I get to you'll say things like I thought I'd be further along by.
Now and most of the time what you mean is with stuff thought my job would be better I thought my truck would be bigger I thought my house would be nicer I thought my yard would be larger I thought I would ride on a low mower not push it like a scrub by now because your whole thing you've bought into is belly service Paul says that leads to destruction and if you're following people who love Jesus or tell you they love.
Jesus but that's all the track they're on they're headed towards destruction they don't actually get it that we can have our God be our belly and that we can identify it in other people if that's ultimately what they care about is what they're wearing what they're eating what they're tasting what's in their bank account the next thing he tells us is they glory in their shame this just means that they celebrate the things that will later make them shrink back when they stand before the.
Lord we do this all the time it's any celebration of sin so we celebrate gluttony win a drinking contest we celebrate fighting people breaking the law if you get around people they'll tell stories about times they broke the law and how great it was little things whatever we just celebrate this stuff we have pride parades we have people who are keeping up with their sexual prowess and all these kind of things and we just celebrate we're just trained to celebrate things that ultimately later are going to have us stand before the.
Lord and and bring shame stuff that he ultimately forgives us of stuff that ultimately is good to our souls where he comes in and rescues and redeems and stuff that doesn't keep us from belonging to each other as we walk in Repentance but it's stuff that we as you look into the world you'll see people just celebrating things that ought to bring shame and then he says they glory in their shame with mindset on Earthly things and that that in some ways is a big helpful category that's just what they're thinking about is stuff that they can.
See stuff that they can feel stuff that they can touch stuff that they can uh partake in that it's it's all Earthly it's all aimed here all their goals all your hopes all your dreams are just here they they're temporal they they end up not matter ing 100 years 200 years 5,000 years from now because they don't roll into eternity they're just here and y'all isn't it easy to spend your time just worrying about Earthly things don't we have things to worry about don't we have things that set our way they can take up our whole thought process is it all we're worried about is physical stuff and it's.
So easy and we can get to the end of this and you can say things like well is it really that bad is it really that bad if I you know thoroughly enjoy Earthly things well there's a way to enjoy stuff that rolls up and praise to the Lord that's not usually what we're fighting for because that helps keep it in its rightful place Paul says it leads to destruction and it makes you in an an enemy of the Cross so yeah it's really that bad.
But y'all this stuff tells us what matters it tells us what is important and it matters who we're listening to it matters who we're following it's very very very very likely that some of the major influences in your life their end is destruction their God is their belly they glory in their shame and they have Minds set on Earthly things it affects what you think is important it affects what you care about some of us listen to financial podcasts political podcast romance we read romance novels and watch romance movies we have all these things that are from people who don't know.
Jesus don't love Jesus and they're telling us how we ought to think about things that are really important let me ask you this if you listen to a a finance podcast an economic podcast a political podcast or if you have a friend who does on a regular basis it's a lot of times easier to see it in other people than in yourself what do they talk about about what do they tell you is important what are they stressed about what are they worried about what are the things that they come and say did you hear this is happening did you hear that they're going to do that did you hear this is going on did.
You hear now's the time that we're supposed to be doing this I'm I'm behind on this financially we're behind on this politically they're they're going to win they're going to get us they're after the children whatever the thing is that they've been soaking in it's been telling them what is important and guess what we have an election this year do you know that neither one of them will be the king King of the universe in eternity I I think anyone in this room could just push both of them down they they're they're not sovereign they're not to pin all our hopes on.
Now we can pay attention to some of these things we can care about some of these things but they got to be cared about in light of that we have a hope and an eternity and something that's coming that's beyond that and if all we listen to our financial podcast and listen to financial radio and read all this stuff or we read about romance or whatever we're being trained and indoctrinated by people who don't love Jesus who don't have the same hope that we have don't have the same eternity that we had and they're telling us how to think and how to act and how to behave and you're like.
Well I don't imitate them you say they're you quote them you say their sentences to other people you say things like well you know what's really important and you just spit without words from some other person what if you listened to foreign missionaries for the same amount of time every week talking about what they were praying about what they were laboring for and what they were hoping to see do you think that over the next course of the next month or three months or five months or six months you might start saying things to people like you know how many people don't know.
Jesus in the ball you know what's going to happen if we don't start sending money to the 1040 window if we don't start sending people somebody's got to go we're being trained by somebody and here's the other thing that we're tempted to do because we're just we're good at it what Paul is saying is not don't follow those who are headed to destruction it's actually not his command his command is imitate me don't find someone who says they're a Christian.
Then acts in such a way that you feel good about your lifestyle and say cool they've made it to where I can act this way find the person that makes you the absolute most uncomfortable about how they spend money and how they spend their time and how they talk about Jesus that's the person to follow let me tell you something Paul would be an uncomfortable person to follow we would say things to him same with Jesus people said things to Jesus.
Jesus just responded like that doesn't matter what are you talking about we would say things to Paul like well you know you got to say for this and he's like do I know that why do we have to say for that why is that a thing that we have to do we actually have to tell people about Jesus you're like yeah but they you know they're going to give us a hard time if we do it yeah I do know that I do know that why are you saying that they're going to give us a hard time let's go like that's Paul like he's this thing matters and he just is focused on it you.
Ever been running late for class you were hustling and then you saw someone else who was running late for the same class so y'all stopped laughed and walked very slowly together to class the Christian life isn't meant to be de the Christian Life is meant to be I'm hustling hustle with me and if you see a Christian who's not hustling you don't go that's who I'm going to set my Pace with you find the person who's making you most uncomfortable pressing most on towards the goal of the upward call of the prize in Christ and you get in line and you go.
Because here's what Paul says but our citizenship is in heaven and from it Heaven from heaven we await a savior the Lord Jesus Christ you know why our minds aren't set on Earthly things because this isn't our home this isn't our hope this isn't where our good things are kept that's why Paul says but our citizenship is in heaven you don't belong here your joy isn't found here your Delight isn't found here it's in Christ and it says we're waiting a savior that's what we're waiting on that's what we're longing.
For so much of the things we say I'm just waiting for I'm just waiting for the day that I can finally retire I'm waiting for the day that I can finally have this I'm waiting for the day that this isn't that you know when when we have a financial problem I don't have to worry about it I'm longing for that I'm waiting for that I'm waiting for that I'm waiting for that and Paul says get that out of here we're waiting on.
Jesus that's what we're waiting for that's where our hope is he says this about Jesus but our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious Body by the power that enables him to subject even to subject all things to himself okay Jesus has power where he's made all things his subjects he's the king of all things he has power and everything is in subjection to him he's the king of all things and that power that allows him to be king of all things will be used on those who belong to him to transform them into his glorious.
Body that our bodies will be transformed to be like his glorious body what does that mean I don't know it's going to be glorious I also know that I shouldn't worry about this belly because I've got a glorious one coming that I have a hope and a home and a powerful King who's going to return and renew all things and transform me to be like him and that's what I'm waiting for Paul says in Corinthians that this glorious transformation is going to happen is it's like we we're like seeds and seeds.
Look similar but you can't guess necessarily from a seed what the plant's going to look like that's why I can tell you I don't I don't know exactly what it means that we're going to have glorious bodies I know that we'll have a physical existence I Know that heaven is more real not less real than here that you're if you the best food you've ever eaten here pales in comparison to what's going to happen there I know that I know that we have a reality and an eternity that's coming that is glorious and wonderful and that we're told to know that and act that way and we do it with simple stuff stuff.
If I order a pizza and then my two little boys say hey can we have cereal for supper I don't say yes I say no I ordered a pizza wait if they say I'm hungry now I say the pizza will taste better later because you are hungry now if they keep talking I say hush and go away y so many of us with our kids and our spouses and our friends and our co-workers so many of us by Our Lives by our money by our time by our energy are never ever ever saying no I have a savior coming that's what I'm waiting on our kids want to do something that PS away from Church.
It doesn't lead them towards Christ we want to handle money in a certain way the way we talk about money the way we talk about finances the way we talk about our time our energy our effort is only ever aimed down here and there's never a time where we go we don't handle our money that way because we're awaiting a savior because my home isn't here my hope isn't here that's why I handle my money that way that's why I handle my time that way that's why I'm intentional about being a part of this group that's why I've had to change my job schedule.
So that I could belong to this group of people so that I could serve so that I could give so that I could chase after people and tell them about Jesus because I will tell you one thing I don't have my hope set here I have my hope set there and I'm awaiting a savior who's going to transform my lowly body to be like his glorious Body by the power that allows him even to subject all things to himself that's what I'm waiting on that's where my hope is.
But we don't do that so often we're hoping for the weekend or amount of money so that we can we can finally get extra cheese on everything that we want to add extra cheese I just want to get to where I can order cheese dip at a Mexican restaurant that's my hope it's like what on Earth that's your hope that's your dream that's the thing you're wanting to serve that's the thing you're getting after that's the thing that you've got in your head is like the Glorious future.
For you that's nonsense do you know Christ oh do you know how good he is do you know how wonderful he is do you know the love that he has do you know he's going to transform Us by his glorious power by which he subjects even the world to himself that all things are under his feet and that he's going to rescue us and redeem us and make us his why on Earth are we wasting our time on silly things that don't matter.
When there are people around us who don't know Christ don't have hope don't have joy don't have rescue don't have forgiveness and we're sitting around just walking around with them and we're listening to them tell us how to handle our money nonsense we're listening to them tell us how to think about marriage nonsense we're listening to them tell us how to raise our kids that's insane what so that we can go to destruction find somebody who looks like Paul and figure out how to line your life up that way.
Because there's going to be a day when the king of all Kings returns and so many things just don't matter but whether or not you know him does and whether or not when you see his face his smile Shines on you and your smile reaches back or whether or not you shrink for all the things that you have chased after that only lead to shame and you don't know the king Christians Paul says live like you know Jesus and he says.
If you don't know what that looks like I know Jesus look at me the band's going to come back up I want you to take a moment to consider who you're learning from I want you to take a moment to consider who's training you who are you listening to I'm not saying don't have non-Christian friends I'm not saying don't have people around you that don't know Jesus I'm not saying you're not allowed to listen to the radio but my goodness be intentional with who you're imitating be intentional with how much you're soaking that stuff up be intentional with telling you how to think who's telling you how to think about romance and sex and relation.
Relationships and money and time and energy and effort and the goal of life because there are so many who are headed towards destruction don't get in that L it doesn't take you where you want to go and if you belong to Jesus your home's not here so take a moment right where you are close your eyes pray ask the Lord to help you see by the power of His Spirit Lord we ask for your help it's so easy to serve our bellies it's.
So easy to just gather with the crowd of people who are telling us this is how to live this is what to buy this is how to handle your finances it's so easy to have Minds set on Earthly things Lord help us right now work through your spirit to help us see where we're wrong to help us see how good you are Lord for the person in the room who can only set their mind on Earthly things because they don't know you may they run to you may they run to the Cross not be an enemy of the Cross.
But may they ask for forgiveness and rescue and Lord may they get in line with those who are going to be transformed by your glorious power we ask this in Jesus name amen Church family we're going to take communion together and it's a regular meal that Jesus gave us that reminds our bellies what we really need you're going to take something tangible it's a picture of Christ that you need Christ and that his body was broken for us and that his blood was shed.
For us and we're going to remind ourselves again that I need Christ and I have Christ if he's if I've trusted in him he's a savior for me and he's My Hope and he's my eternity that's what matters that we stand right now in between Jesus coming to rescue us on dying for us on the cross to do what was necessary so that we might be saved in the moment that he returns and transforms our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body even by the power that he has which he subjected all things to himself.
If you are a Christian this is for you take a moment repent and then go remind yourself that you need Jesus and where your hope is and then yeah let's change how we live let's get in let's pursue let's give away money let's live lives in line with people who believe that Jesus will one day return and that we'll have all our good things there and if you're not a Christian then communion is not for you because you don't know Jesus.
But we want you to know Jesus we want you to have the hope that is held secure for us not by our good works or morals or effort but by Christ who is the king and who claims Sinners to be his own when you're ready ask that you take communion and then we'll sing together.
Straining to the Prize (Philippians 3:12-16)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we're going to be in Philippians chapter 3: 12-16 so this is my last week uh before I go on sabatical for the next two months and yeah I'm excited uh the we did someone uh wiser than us recommended this a few years ago they said that your pastors should go on sabatical sooner uh than you think and it' be good for your soul and we've done this the last couple years uh Raz has been going sabatical Chad's been able to go on sabatical and uh I'm thankful.
For the opportunity to take two months just to really unplug um to focus on my relationship with Jesus to to be filled up in him and to do some things that are good for my soul um and we're going to be traveling a little bit uh you will not see me here on Sundays uh I'm I'm going to take the opportunity for the next two months and uh I've got some different friends who are Pastors in the city I want to go visit their Church churches some other churches that I've been wanting to visit.
For quite some time to just learn and be filled up so I'm looking forward to that I'll still be with my community group so they'll see me on a regular basis uh and but I won't be here on Sundays but I'm thankful that I get to do this and uh and it's funny I I I'm going to enjoy the time that I have to be able to do this and I know by the end of June I know I'm going to be ready to be back um I.
So deeply love this Church um I love this people I love you deeply um you know I have different friends around the country from my time in seminary that are pastoring in different cities and doing different things different churches and and uh when I catch up with them sometimes it's uh you know pastoring is hard that's just the calling but their situations are are harder um and they're more difficult and uh and I hear that and there's this Awkward Moment every.
Now and then that they say well how are you doing and how's your Church doing and I'm like man I mean it's I we're really blessed and and God's really been good to us and and people are are growing and loving Christ and it's just you know and this just I I I just have good news to report and certainly we're Sinners and certainly we have our mess and certainly we have our things that we walk through that are difficult.
But I think God's been uniquely kind to us in some powerful ways uh and it's been really uh a privilege and a joy to Pastor so I will be looking forward and enjoying the time that I have away but I know that I'll be ready to get back at the end of June because I do deeply love you guys um we're in Philippians 3 um so you can go ahead and flip there it's on page 571 in your blue Bibles and you can follow along there the text will also be on the screen a few weekends ago uh we had a uh a baseball tournament my son's been playing uh rookie ball uh which is.
A league six five and sixy old playing baseball and uh and our we've been winning every game game in our league that we're playing in and our uh head coach was like let's try a tournament uh so that we can kind of get the kids a little more little some some teams that are that are also really good uh that we can play and just kind of see how they're doing uh against some some better talent and some better some older kids.
And so we we played in this tournament and it was a lot of fun and and got to see them challenged in a lot of new ways which is really fun as as a dad and a coach uh and I got to see the kids really fall in love with the game even more but we made it to the championship game at that Sunday night and uh and before the game started uh they had trophies out and the kids got to.
See the trophy that they were playing for that was half the size of Their little bodies I mean these were massive trophies and they're like are we are is that what we're going to get if we win it's like yeah yeah if you win first like that you you're going to take home one of those and they came alive I mean they were amped I saw a level of desire and passion and effort that I hadn't seen all season long I was amped up.
Because I looked at across the other team and I got to see uh who one of their coaches was and it was our very own Raz Bradley uh Nate was on the other side so I'm amped up I'm like let's do this like this was a really fun thing but it was just fun to see those kids just come alive when they saw those trophies when they saw the prize that they were competing for and it was a vivid picture of just seeing the prize and just saying and going all out.
For it which is just it's a general Sports thing you know you see the prize you play wholeheartedly for it and that is the very metaphor that Paul uses In this passage today to describe the effort that we are called to put in to pursuing Christ and the Eternal prize of life with him and it's just a few verses that picture that so I just want to take some time I want to quickly walk through these verses and I want to help.
See three different things that uh should help shape us as Christians as we focus on the Eternal prize of life with God forever so let me pray and then we'll walk through this together heavenly father I help I pray that you would help us see you as glorious as worthy of our faith and worship in a way that would change the way that we live the Christian Life that means for some that it's going to be for the first time seeing you.
For who you are and surrendering to you in faith for all of us it's going to be faith and repentance and pursuing you because you are worthy of our worship and everything that we can put into this life so God help us see that this morning and help us be not just hearers of the word but doers of the word in Jesus name amen all right so before we get to verse 12 I want to provide some context that we were in last week in the previous verses part the way through eight it says.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him that what Chad was helping us see last week is that Paul was presenting this resume that he had this Jewish resume amongst a bunch of uh uh Jewish people that were trying to enforce Jewish law back on to Christians and he was saying you don't understand I was it I was a Pharisee I was a Hebrew of Hebrews I was The Tribe of Benjamin I was zealous I was all these things had this this holy righteous resume and he says I count that as rubbish that's garbage that's.
Filth he says that doesn't matter he says that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith and what he's teaching there is that the heart of the Gospel is that we cannot in our own effort in our own good works do anything to gain the Fai of God that if you think you can gain the favor of.
God by your good works you misunderstand the Gospel your good works are rubbish the only good work that matters is Christ and the perfect righteousness of Christ that we gain through placing our faith in him that's the only hope we have as Christians is Christ and Christ alone and he makes that point going into verse 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and May share his sufferings becoming like him in his death that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead he said the Gospel saves us.
So that the end goal we might one day be with him and the resurrection the end goal being the new Heavens the new Earth and the resurrection the Bly resurrection of Christians who come alive and are made completely new in glorified bodies in the new Heavens the new Earth where we get to finally and fully and wonderfully know God that's it that's the end goal and that's the context that sets up verse 12 not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.
But I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own he says I haven't gotten there yet we're not perfected yet we're not there in the resurrection with fully perfected bodies we're not there yet I press on to make it my own why because Christ Jesus has made me his own because Christ claims us and saves us and sets us apart towards life with him forever he said we're working that way but we're not there yet in.
Verse 13 He says Brothers I do not consider that I've made it my own just drills the point even further we're not perfect we're not there yet so what awaits us but we're not there yet he's not under the delusion that in his mature State even then as he's writing this that he's a he's arrived no he's not there yet no I I have a some some family members who used to wait tables for a family that owned this restaurant and this family this one of the rare you don't.
See these people much anymore but they're called Christian perfectionists and uh they believe believe that in this life now you can actually arrive at Perfection which is a rare heresy at this point doesn't really you don't see it that much anymore but can you imagine working and waiting tables for a people that don't ever make mistakes they don't have sin so if there's ever a problem you know whose fault it is it's certainly not theirs what a miserable existence there everyone else and themselves.
Because they don't know who Christ is it's like that's delusional Paul's like no we're not perfected yet we're not there yet we've not arrived and it continues but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus and Paul says let me let you in a little bit of secret here this is what I do I forget the past I strain forward I press forward to towards eternity and I make every effort going in that direction towards the upper call of.
God foret the past I'm focused here and I just keep going and then he finishes his thought in verse 15 and 16 he says and those of us who are mature think this way and if any if in anything you think otherwise God will reveal this that also to you only let us hold true to what we have attained so Paul says you you want maturity do you want to press into maturity this is it and then he gives something that may be confusing at.
First when he says if may you think otherwise what he's getting out there is not if you believe a different Gospel he's very clear about that in other places that if you believe a Gospel different than one that I'm preaching you let him be a cursed it's like if you you're going to preach this no no no he's not talking about a different Gospel this is matters of conscience and approach to the Christian life so if you a little bit of a difference in conscience here.
Then God will reveal it to you but the main thing let us hold true to what we have have attained let us press forward into the eternity that awaits us so that's his argument In this passage we get a window into how Paul views himself that in his maturity he understands that this is where we're going but we have not arrived yet that he's in his maturity he sees his own sin and that's true of wise mature Christians wise mature Christians know that they are sinful they it's apparent.
Now all the mistakes that have been made I'm I'm I'm a sinner that's why Paul later in first Timothy he say he calls himself the chief of Sinners and it's like the the chief of Sinners you mean the the the number one sinner really Paul and it's like no he's just so tapped into his he understands his sinfulness and how much uh how much Christ is redeemed and his he's like no I I see my own sin he knows his past he knows his present sense and with that in mind he lays out really a three-part perspective and how to live the Christian life that I want to spend the rest of our time looking.
At this kind of three-part perspective if you want to grow in matur if you want to uh mature in Christian faith there are three things first forget what lies behind second keep the end in mind third strain forward till we arrive so forget what lies behind keep the end of Mind straighten forward till we arrive that's what I want to spend the rest of our time looking at so let's look at that first part forget what lies behind in verse 13 in.
Verse 13 he says but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind so there's two types of forgetting that I think we should have the first is forgetting the sins of our past that if you belong to Christ your sin has been paid for like hear that if you belong to Jesus doesn't matter what you've done doesn't matter what you've done your sin has been paid for it is it is forgotten and Colossians 2 gives the picture of he cancels the record of debt that stood against us with his legal demands like it's just no that's been paid.
For that's been placed like Jesus Takes our sin on the cross it means that all of your sin has been paid for blood has covered Christ dies in our place we should be guilty for the wages of our sin is death but Christ is the one that goes to the cross for us and Paul understood that better than anyone he knows his past I mean he he persecuted Christians he was a part of the mob that murdered stepen in Acts 7.
If anyone understands this it's it's him he understands what it means for you your past actually have some real ghosts some skeletons in your closet he understands what it means for you to have a past and he also knows and believes What God Says through the prophet Isaiah I I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins he understands who our God is that for his people he doesn't hold our sins against us.
So you get to move on from it you get to move forward which is wonderful one we once a year we uh we run uh something called recovery it's 10 weeks long and if you ask anyone that's done it it's 10 very long weeks it's a lot of work and uh brings it's a it's a process of understanding suffering and sin and Brokenness and then experiencing the healing power of Christ and uh towards the end where you start to see really Christ at work in the process one of the things I emphasize is that all right you God's revealed some stuff like y'all feel it like he's revealed some stuff he's shown some stuff that's.
Happened he's revealed some sin some Brokenness some stuff from your past and then Christ gets to work in it and it gets to bring healing and the Gospel comes to bear in our lives in some beautiful ways and then guess what we get to move on one things I say is you get to move on from this you don't have to be marked by this anymore you don't have to have this narrative in your head that says this is who I am it's like no no no no no no no no this is who you are in Christ.
So we get to move on because I mean I think in our culture right now I think there's a lot of um uh currency and and and really own like just being marked by the past being marked by your Brokenness and as Christians we get to say we we we understand the reality of our Brokenness but we also understand the reality of the Gospel and this healing power and we move on it's like no no no we're we're not marked by who we were I think that's one part of of forgetting what lies behind is understanding that I'm not marked by my sin anymore I think another part is that we're also as we forget.
What lies behind as we don't focus on the work that we've already done meaning the the ministry that we've already done the good works in Christ that we've already done that we actually we don't keep looking back we look forward I me that's what Jesus is getting at and he's teaching about discipleship in the New Testament and the in the gospels in Luke in the Gospel Luke he says no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit.
For the kingdom of God and the picture there is an agricultural imagery is that if you're plowing a field you plow in a straight line you don't you don't look back if you look back whether back then it's pulling the reins of an ox or if it's now if it's tractor you don't look back you look back you turn and you Veer off course that's foolishness it's an obvious thing no you you you look straight forward and the what he's getting out there is is no we we.
Look forward not backwards that the the the kingdom momentum is forward it's not backward looking not at all we look forward to the day when Christ returns and establishes the new Heavens the new Earth we look forward it's a forward-looking faith and I think Christians I think we struggle with this because I think I think if we're honest I think sometimes we long for a season of old we long for how things used to be man I just remember when it was.
When it was 50 people in the room and we're just worshiping Jesus and we all knew each other and we all knew each other's stories and it was intimate and I just missed the days when I just knew everyone or I just I I I missed the I miss the days of old I was Miss how worship used to be what I used to have back in that season all I miss our old community group we multiply Community groups for the sake of mission we multiply groups to be able to create space.
For others to see and Savor and know Christ and sometimes like man I just wish we could go back to my old group I wish we go back was just us in the room together we do this fill in the blank there's a lot of different ways where you for all of us we can just look back at at at stuff before and just I just I wish I could go back there and it's like no that we move forward that the the end is better we're moving that way and I don't think that Paul is saying that the past is 100% irrelevant I I don't think he's saying that I don't think he's making.
That argument you can see in his other letters that he mentions things that have happened before I think learning from mistakes is wise I think that there are things you can learn from history in the past but that's not the focus the focus is forward-looking the focus is this way and it's not what lies behind so first thing is forget what lies behind the second is keep the end in mind in verse 12 he says not that I've already obtained this or I'm already perfect.
But I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus made me his own and he goes on to say but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straing forward to what lies ahead I press on for the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus that he's like no we we keep the end in mind the prize is what we're we're we're running towards like that's why that's why our six-year-old baseball players that's why they came alive they saw that prize they saw a trophy half their size and said we're going to give everything we got to win this y do youall want to.
See how big this trophy was want want me to get it for you so you can see it huh well you have to ask Raz Bradley because we lost 16 to 18 in the most epic dramatic fashion in the bottom of the last inning and I mean it's Nate's trophy but I'm sure it's in raz's office I'm sure he shows all of clients and says this is what I mean so you can take a look at it but that it just this idea of of seeing the prize and coming alive is is is more difficult.
For us because we actually can't see it we we can't we can't see what's ahead we can see the work of our God but we can't see our godun that's the part of Faith here that makes this a little bit difficult and it's trusting God and what has for us and what he says in his word and what awaits us and believing that wholeheartedly that that that's what awaits us and then trying to keep our mind there as much as possible.
Because this life is difficult it just is I mean some some of us you feel the physical Pains of this life you physically suffer you feel the the physical pain on a regular basis and it's hard because that's all mean that's such a present feeling that it's hard to actually realize that there is a day coming where you will have a glorified resurrected body that does not feel pain that does not feel the effects of suffering in this life 1 Corinthians 1553 and picturing this ISS.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this Mortal body must put on immortality and it's this picture of something so much better that awaits us I mean there's so much uh material emphasis on this body and this life billions of dollars and selfworth and all types of thing put into the material here now and it's like do you do you see what's ahead and how that's better we do this with a lot of things some of us feel the really difficult Financial burdens of this life and they're real and they're present and they don't seem to go away it's like you get a pay raise and you're like sweet and you go.
To the grocery store and you're like no there it went I walk out with 10 items for $100 and I'm like what happened the insurance went up 25% what happened and you just can't seem to get above the water and you just feel like you're always treading always trying to get above and you can't ever quite make it and you just just feel tired because of it and that can keep our our our our our Focus here and God's like no no no do do you.
See what's coming there's a day coming where you don't have to worry about financial burdens anymore where God meets every single need and desire I mean the the picture of Revelation 21 is a city where the gates are made of solid Pearl the streets are made of pure of pure gold that Christ is the light that lights up the city of God and the new heavens and the new Earth every single possible need is met so there's a day coming if we.
If we see it and we keep our Focus there by faith it's coming and it's like no I don't have to worry because ultimately that's where I'm going this happens with right now with relational difficulty sometimes you feel the relational difficulty that you have in this life you feel it with in marriage you feel it with your children you feel it with family you feel it with friends you feel it at work you feel it in your group and it's just why is it.
So hard that I've just got this I've got this Brokenness here I've got this person who's cut me out of their life got this person that won't talk to me I got this person I've got relational weirdness here and it's like I just I just so badly want to get a get a house in the country and see three people a year and never talk to anyone ever again because if I open myself up to any more hurt I don't know.
If I can do it and our just our our our that's all we can see is the relation difficulty right here and God said do do you see that one day there's a day coming where there's perfect harmony with one another the dead in Christ are raised to life and that life is beautiful we're described as having in Revelation 19 we're described as having uh fine linen bright and pure the L is the righteous Deeds of the Saints it's the perfect righteousness that we.
Finally get to lay hold of there will be no more sin no more Strife there will be people there there's genuine Christians where you just I mean that you just didn't click with in this life because both of you have sin that just comes to the surface more naturally because of your personalities and one day you'll see that person and you only know love you only know perfect love with one another this that day is is coming I'll give you one more in this life we feel regular consistent crushed hope.
Now some of that's because we worship things in this world and we put our hope in this world we have Idols that we bow down to in this world that we should not our hope should be in Christ and Christ alone and we're just trying to find Ultimate hope and created things that is a reality but sometimes there's just not hope that you've put every everything in so I I wasn't worshiping wanting to get this job I just generally I was a good way to provide.
For my family and I didn't get it I I hope this outcome was going to work out different I hope this person was going to reconcile I hope that this was going I mean there just life is hard because it's one crushed hope after the next in a lot of ways and you feel it over and over and over again there is a day coming where there is no more crushed hope there's only secure Eternal hope Revelation 21 says and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying.
Behold The Dwelling Place of God is with man he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and Death Shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away that's what awaits us No More Tears no more suffering no more pain no more no more crushed hope only secure Eternal hope you can do this with every aspect of life where you feel fallenness and Brokenness and we feel that.
But the problem is we feel it so much that all we do as we look down and we look what's right in front of us and the Gospel reminds us to pick pick your head up and to see what awaits you to see the God that awaits us to see the reality that awaits us and to see that's worth that's worth living for and what this world has to offer is garbage by comparison now I won't I want that it's putting all of our hope there and Paul says that in in doing this in his letter to the Corinthians in.
Second Corinthians he says so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasted in away our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light momentary Affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of Glory beyond all comparison he calls the sufferings of this present life and him describing this is something because he is this man has been tortured and beaten and spit upon and mocked and arrested in ways that none of us will ever experience and he calls it light momentary Affliction and it's like are you serious and it's like by comparison to the Eternal weight of Glory that awaits us it is this life is brief and it is.
The suffering we feel is momentary but in those moments of suffering as we believe the Gospel it is preparing us for an eternal weight of Glory he goes on to say as we look not to things that are seen but the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are Transit but the things that are unseen are Eternal the Unseen things that we are awaiting the Eternal hope beyond all comparison that awaits us that's worth keeping so firmly fixed in our gaze that it informs every moment of how we live this life and that's the last thing I want us to.
See strain forward till we arrive strain forward till we arrive says in verse 13 but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus so forgetting what lies behind and keeping the end in mind he gives this imagery of Str training for pressing on towards that the language of strain here in the original language is this idea of of of of stretching out of of straining to get through the end it's like the imagery of a runner of a sprinter and a track meet in track in in sprinting uh there's a.
Few different races uh I think the 400 meter is probably the most difficult of all the uh sprint races in track and field I I the 100 meter is I mean it's a dead full-on Sprint with every single ounce of energy but it's only 100 meters the 800 meter is two laps around the track if you do what you do in the 100 meter you won't win that race requires a lot more pacing the 400 meter is one lap around the track and that it it's not you got to have a little bit of pacing like strategic pacing.
But it is pretty much almost a dead Sprint for 400 m i mean if you ever watch a 400 met race and watch them race it it's impressive and you watch a close one it's it's wild I mean because they are for 400 meters they are absolutely giving almost every single ounce of energy they're not conserving hardly anything and they're running full out and when you see them get to the Finish Line after giving everything they can with just a tad bit of pacing to break through and strain through the Finish Line it's impressive and it's a picture of really the Christian Life that we're called to do it's we something we should ask ourselves.
Do I strain for the prize like that is that the picture of the Christian Life that sure it's going to require a little bit of pacing but it is Max effort it is going for it like where we going to stand before God and testify that I strained to the finish line that I gave as as Colossians 1 teaches Colossians 1:29 says for this I toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me knowing that it's not the power within us it's not the power doesn't come from us it comes from the Holy Spirit.
But tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit we strain with every single ounce of energy that comes from him towards the Upper price is is that the life that we live because that's the life that God calls us to which means hear this that means that everything that you do in this life matters every that you do in this life matters because it's Tethered to and tied to Eternity I love what INRI the Theologian says about the resurrection in his book surprised by hope want to condense this quote down it's a little bit longer.
But he says the point of the Resurrection is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die what you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it what you do in the present by painting preaching singing sewing praying teaching building hospitals digging Wells campaigning for justice riding poems caring for the needy loving your neighbor as yourself will last in into God's Future these activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly a little more bearable they are part of what we call building.
For God's kingdom every that you do in this life matters it's not to make it a little less beastly and a little more a little less burdensome a little more pleasurable time it's not no everything you do matters because it's Tethered to an eternal reality which means we do everything to the glory of God we do everything with that end in mind with all his power that works within us we strain towards that end no matter what God calls us to do we do it to the glory of.
God straining for the prize a few years ago I've read this book it's called The Gospel comes to the house key by Rosaria Butterfield and that book has always been very convicting for me she's teaching about hospitality and God has GI her with hospitality it's evident when you read the book but when she just describes a general week it's just wild to me I just like it just kind on a Monday you know we've got uh you know she homeschools and she has uh she Fosters kids and she talks about some of the complexities that they had on Monday.
And then these people come home her husband's a pastor these people come from the Church to her house and they spend some time together then on Tuesday you know they they they're missional in their streets they invite people from their street to come over then Wednesday uh this family came over then Thursday they ended up doing this and then Friday they open their home up to this person who was hurting this woman who was in an abusive situation and then on Saturday.
And then on Sunday and I just read it and I'm like what but she gets it she she knows the prize and everything she does to the glory of God she will strength and like I I I I I read that I'm like that it's a life worth living and that should call us to be reflective of the lives that we live now and we should respond we we should some of you should consider hosting your community group like you've seen how hard hosting a group can be you've seen what happens.
When eight children come into a play area and just make it their own by murdering everything inside and then you have to go in and you have to correct them and say don't do this respect the place ah you've SE you've seen what happens when like just all of a sudden there's spaghetti on the wall and it's how did that get there and it's been there for days and who did it but you should you should some of you should consider leading a group which is even harder.
Because leading a group is not it's not easy but what a beautiful thing to give your life to how many testimonies in our Church of people who jumped into a community group group who did not know Christ but then came to see the Gospel lived out in beautiful ways and place of faith in Christ that are one day going to be with him forever you should consider it some of you should consider leader in training you should consider becoming a leader in training and a and and that's an opportunity.
For you to grow yeah it's going to require more of you but you get to know more of Christ in it you should strain I mean really strain to whatever God has in front of you some of you should consider consider finally becoming members some people have been around for a bit and it's like you you should consider finally becoming a member and and submitting to the authority of one another in the local Church you should some some of you should strain in whatever way.
God is calling you to some of you that that means giving yourself away to others I mean some of you should consistently and regularly share the Gospel like I mean consistently and regularly in your workplace share the Gospel and it's like I I don't want to come off as preachy I want to you know let them see it in my life and it's like but the the Gospel is not a life it's a message and it's like they need to hear it and it's like who cares.
If you're there's there's a bad way of being preachy the self-righteous preachy and no don't do that don't but I know a lot of you and you are not in danger of being that guy or that girl okay but who cares if you're known as being preachy every let me let let me let you in a secret everyone is preaching everyone's preaching about something okay just literally if you ever worked in an office they're preaching about the favorite show that they love they're preaching about their children they're preaching about whatever new thing that they're into whatever new podcast they're into they're cats I mean just everyone's excited about something and they're an evangelist.
For something they're going to tell you about it and a lot of times what they're doing is they're they're selling you on some type of hope that they found and you you know better it's like you know that I mean just being blunt and honest that that hope is stupid it's just that hope is never going to satisfy and from a completely humble non-condescending way because the only way that we know that is by grace through faith you lovingly and winsomely get to declare the mystery of Christ and compel them to a better hope.
And so what if a few if you do it a few times and you get known as like they love Jesus and if you go to launch with them then you might hear about it who cares everyone's preaching we just have something better to preach about you should strain you should strain towards the prize growing in evangelism we should do this we should strain which means sometimes bearing burdens with difficult people there's some people they can be described as clingy or dramatic or difficult or weird and no one else in the world wants to give them any attention at all and the most Christ exalting.
God glorifying obedient thing you can do is give them love and attention and focus and energy let me tell you something if you do that at some point once you've won their ear you can say hey did she know when you do this that's really weird and enough pudding and no and like there's a reason why like people like don't want to eat lunch with you and the most like Jesus exalting humble wise way of saying it hey did you know.
When you get like really clingy it's like like you shouldn't but again like in the most Gospel centered thoughtful like Wise Way of but you can do but a lot of times like no I've got to draw my boundaries here and I got to make sure that I'm taken care of and it's like yeah you can take care of yourself you can walk and Sh Gum as a Christian by the power of the Holy Spirit you can you can get away like.
Jesus and know Christ and then strain to love others well as we press on towards that eternity some of you need to serve like you need to actually serve we make make jokes all the time and you should serve in Kid City because we have such a yes because we have such a need there but you should I mean even if you're serving in another area even you're serving in Hospitality or connected or any other area of the Church you put in one once a month once every two months to Kid City it totally changes the game you you can do both some of you are not serving you should serve the Church.
Because we got a pile of children that I mean just keeps growing like one of our big concerns in growing right now we got parking it's like we got to figure out our parking situation so some of you should Park further away but we also got a lot of kids we we got to make more room for more children which means we need to serve some of you s should serve some of you should strain and missing out on the newest and nicest things in life that means the newest and nicest vehicle that means the the the greatest vacation you might actually progress in a tax bracket that is above working class.
But the way you live your life is working class because your extra money goes towards missions it goes towards clothing orphans it goes towards the local Church because you understand that every single dime you make in this world ends up in the dirt but the effort that you put into eternity lasts and we should strain towards that some of you should pray and and and receive the calling and aspire to missions to pastoring to Church planning to revitalizing because that straining is worth it we should strain we should forget what lies behind we should keep the end in mind and we should strain and press forward into eternity.
Listen that's exhausting at times it is that's long weeks and sometimes longer weekends and emotionally Laden Seasons but the straining is worth it because one day in the Eternal Feast of God the there will be a table where there will be people right now in your life that did not know Christ because you decided to make it awkward one day and you shared Christ with them they're going to be at that table praising God and enjoying life with him for eternity there will be people that nobody cared to love that had a lot of burdens that were doubting whether.
Jesus was good but because you chose to love them and bear burdens with them and walk with them even when it was difficult and even when they were difficult they in their perfected State have no more burdens and they'll be at that table rejoicing with the King there is a day coming where people that you walk with that struggle with addiction the struggle with pornography the struggle with all types of sins that you got into the mess with and po them to Christ over and over again saw that put to death and it did not choke out the seed of Faith.
But they bore fruit because you lever your life for the mission of God it is worth the straining with every ounce of energy within us that comes from God brothers and sisters we forget the past we keep the end in mind and we strain towards that eternity it's worth it let's pray heavenly father I pray that you might help us see this life as compelling and worthy of Our Lives that for some of us means that we need to believe there are some men here have not surrender to you to live that life.
God I pray that right now they would not delay that they would lay down their life and surrender to you they would see their past paid for on the cross and they would see their future redefined as a new person in Christ but God that requires you breaking through their heart right now in faith and I pray that you would God I pray that you'd help each of us help us repent of the sin in our lives that keeps us from straining towards the prize of the upward call of life with you and that we'd believe that is better and more compelling than anything in this life in.
Jesus name amen the band's going to come up and we're going to take uh communion on the night that Jesus was betrayed he took bread he broke it he said this is my body that was broken for you and he took the cup of the New Covenant he said this is my blood that was shed for you that is often as you eat and drink this you Proclaim my death until I return so for Christians that's a reminder of what Christ did.
For us on the cross but also what awaits us so we come to the table in Repentance and in worship being reminded of the prize that we're straining for if you're not a Christian please do not take part in this but Surrender Your Life to him now and take part in Christ.
Jesus + (Philippians 3:1-11)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here grab your Bibles and go to to Philippians chapter 3 uh if you don't own a Bible uh or don't have one with you this morning there should be a blue one in the seat in front of you it's on page 571 if you don't own a Bible take that one home with you we want you to own a Bible uh we're working our way through the book of Philippians.
When you have children there are things that you have to warn them about and then there are things that you you don't have to warn them about there are things that they're naturally scared of um so you might have a kid and you don't really have to warn them about Heights because they're afraid of heights you might be somewhere and there's like a dog pulling against the chain and barking aggressively you don't have to look at your kid and go hey don't pet that dog like they got it they they can tell that that's something they shouldn't mess with it seems scary.
But then there are other things that don't seem dangerous that are like watch batteries and the outlets that are against the wall at you know infant height um for them to to mess with there are certain things like I I've got a son who has an egg allergy and I've had to take pains to help him understand that there are some things that are dangerous to him you know I've had to look at him and be like oh is that a cookie does it.
Look delicious were your little friends eating it yeah that will kill you you think this is nice this isn't nice this is evil you know like good parenting stuff um this past week I handed him some food he's six I handed to him I said try this and he went does it have egg in it and I was like oh we've first of all I should have checked and I was like probably not but let me go look um but well done like he he's got it he understands this things that don't seem dangerous can be dangerous and we've had to use some aggressive language to try to help him understand that.
Because he wasn't going to pick it up on his own Paul is going to issue an aggressive warning in this text he's going to put some aggressive language to a warning and it's to something that actually could seem fine it's to something that might could creep into how you relate to the Lord mik could creep into your understanding of Christianity and it could seem okay and it can be disastrous and so Paul uses some aggressive language to help warn us and warn the Church in Philippi against this.
And so let's go we're in chapter three we're going to start in verse one finally my brothers now that finally there just like any good preachers in conclusion doesn't really mean finally uh it's it's it's like one you know like the sermon has three points but each point has three points and you just like smuggle them in there it's like that when he says finally really what he means is like to the rest to this next concept and he's not really concluding the letter yet.
And so he's turning to the next thing finally my brothers rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you that verse to look out uh to write the same things to you sorry the back half of verse one to write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you is he's going to repeat himself something he's already told the Philippian Church he's saying doesn't bother me to repeat this and it's good.
For you to hear it again that's what he's talking about but that rejoice in the Lord is not just a throwaway statement it's the heading for all the stuff we're about to read he's calling us to Joy in Christ to Joy in the Lord to Celebration and rejoicing in the Lord and that in the Lord is very important it's not just hey Rejoice it's it's Anchored In Jesus and so he says rejoice in the lord it's a little bit like if your parent had walked in the house and said hey you need to celebrate your sister we you need to you need to congratulate her the thing you say is why what like you there's.
More to this like what what is it and he says rejoice in the Lord and now he's about to help us see where this Joy is found and one of the things we're going to see is that this Joy is actually at risk because he's about to give them a warning this joy that we have in the Lord is at risk because he says this finally my brothers rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you is no trouble.
For me and is safe for you verse two look out for the dogs look out for the evildoers look out for those who mutilate the flesh yeah if those people exist let's look out for them they sound awful look out for the dogs look out for the evildoers look out for those who mutilate the flesh that's some aggressive language and it's also I told you he was going to give us a warning but it's a bit jarring where it comes in the text rejoice in the.
Lord what look out for the dogs look out for the evildoers look out for those who mutilate the flesh hey we we're going to celebrate your sister tonight why what happened there's a roving band of lunatics murdering people in the City what was she a part of the band I have so many questions did she stop them so he says rejoice in the Lord and then he gives this aggressive warning so we ought to want to know who these people are who are the dogs who are the evildoers who are those who mutilate the flesh what is he talking about.
Well his next sentence tells us look out for the dogs look out for the evildoers look out for those who mutilate the flesh for we are the circumcision and then he goes on to explain how we're the circumcision but that phrase for we are the circumcision is key to understanding who he's talking about it's it's odd but that let's focus on that phrase for a second for we are the circumcision it's it feels like what what is he's all over the place.
But if you understand the context this makes sense there's also a play of play on words here in the Greek uh mutilate the flesh is the Greek word catat and circumcision is the word perome so catat means to chop up to to mutilate to chop off parom means circumcision which is a very delicate form of cutting very different from katat but what he's saying here is that there are those who are coming along there was a group of people who were coming to the Christian Church and saying that they needed to partake in the Old Testament Jewish rights to belong to Abraham.
So that the the sign of circumcision was given to Abraham and that was what marked them as the Covenant people that was what told them they were in and then they were given the law to Moses was given to the law and so they had circumcision in the law and that was what marked them as belonging to God and so when he says we're the circumcision what he's saying is we're the ones who belong to God and specifically those who are coming by and telling you you need Jes.
Jesus and circumcision you need Jesus and to follow the law you need Jesus and Judaism to be saved he says no they're not in we're in what they're doing is a mutilation it's a catat it's not a parat it's not bringing you in it's not helping you belong to God it's actually messing it up it's tearing it up that's what he's communicating so there was a group of people coming along and saying yes you need Jesus but you also now have to be Jewish you have to practice the Jewish law you have to be circumcised you have to follow the festivals you have to follow the dietary restrictions you have to follow the sabbaths you.
Have to do all of these things to actually be in this is something we see in the book of Acts it comes before the Church and they say no that's not how it works you just need Jesus so that's the point he's making when he says we're the circumcision he's saying we're the ones who are in but he's going to explain what he's talking about here in a second but when he's saying this y'all this this still exists there's still those who will come along and say you need.
Jesus and something else there's actually those who will still say this exact thing you need Jesus and Judaism when we were meeting at Glen Forest school and renting space there was another group there that was meeting called the gates to Zion and they had Jesus and they practiced the Jewish festivals and the Jewish sabbaths and they had all these Jewish I don't know if they followed the dietary I don't know what they did but they basically were saying that you needed.
Jesus plus Judaism that sort of idea still exists but it exists in a lot of other ways too anything added to Jesus so this can be Jesus and but the real ones the real ones know the real ones who are in on it know that you need Jesus and this sort of political activism that's the real Christians or you need Jesus and this sort of Church structure Jesus and this type of myology this type of Miss Focus this type of service you need.
Jesus and this type of marriage this type of child raising you need Jesus and homeschooling you need Jesus and anything else that adds to it there's a lady in our community group who's come out of a menite background and it was Jesus yes but you need to be menite you need to practice it in these ways and then it becomes more about being menite than about Jesus it's anything that someone comes along and says yes okay Jesus sure but you really need this you can get on YouTube and you can find all kinds of versions of this message yeah yeah.
But the real stuff is here you got to know how to do the Bible math and then we can figure out when Jesus is coming back there's Secrets hidden here we got to get in here the real people know and they're in on what you really need to worry about is this you got to have this you got to have this thing and so it's not you need Jesus it's you oh yeah Jesus but you also really need this and Paul says no and it's tempting and in some ways it prays on something that we have which is this General desire to be in I don't want to mess this up I really want to.
Follow Jesus and when someone comes along and says you're missing something you don't want to be missing something so you say what what is it and they can make some compelling arguments at times but y'all the Bible isn't hasn't set out to trick us and to only let a secret group in the Bible is very clear you need Jes Jesus and that's what Paul says for we are the circumcision who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh that's who's in that's what Paul says not them and their added adherence to the to the Jewish regulations.
But those who worship by the spirit of God meaning the spirits that work in us are service is through his work in us what he's accomplished and what he's accomplishing in us it's not through our adherence to the law or our morality it's something that the spirit is doing in us and then it says and we glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh the flesh being ourselves our ability to be moral so it's possible it's your first time hanging out with our Church or the.
First time you've been around a Church in a while and your general picture of what Christianity is is the Bible has some rules do the rules you're messed up get it together chip chop and you'll say things to yourself like you know I would you hear people say this all the time I would come back around Church but I got some stuff I got to straighten out first putting some confidence in the flesh but Paul says that's not who's in that's not how it works it's not about putting confidence in flesh it's glory in Christ my my wife and I won tickets to a Braves game and we went we were at the Braves game.
And we uh saw ay guy wearing a a McHugh Jersey he was sitting in front of us and he had McHugh on his jersey now if you're not a Braves fan you don't know who Colin McHugh is but if you are a Braves fan you also don't know who Colin mchu is you'd have to be like really really a Braves fan to know who Colin m is we just thought probably that guy's last name like spent some extra money pretends he's on the team um we're in the middle of the game and they're struggling and they swap out pictures at like the.
Third or fourth inning and they send out calling me Q he's a real person he's going to come in and Pitch one of these like middle Innings and when that happens there's a guy behind us who starts going hey mugh Jersey M Jersey hey you at the M Jersey and finally the guy turns around he goes do you know him and that guy says yes because that's the only person who wants a mchu jersey someone who knows McHugh they went to school together.
So I don't know Kyu but I did see a guy who does know Kyu one time what Paul's saying is when we glory in something we we put the winners on the Jersey we put who we're proud of on the Jersey you'll see Maddox jerseys and glavin jerseys and Jones jerseys and aunia jerseys you'll see those but we put who we're proud of that goes on the Jersey that's the jersey that sells and what Paul is saying is it just says.
Jesus it doesn't have your last name it doesn't have your little Club it doesn't have your little bonus thing that you want it just it just says Jesus we glory in Christ and we put no confidence here that's the point Paul's getting at so if you're part of something if you're listening to some teaching online if you've been a part of a Church you're coming out of a Church or you're trying right now to figure out what Church to belong to here's the thing I want to help you understand what are they excited about what are they proclaiming what are they pointing you to.
And if it's not Jesus get out if it's not highlighting his glory and his goodness and his salvation and his hope and his kingship if it's about something else if they say yes we worship Jesus but then all they talk to you is about your morality or your ability to do this certain thing or for you to be this type of wife or this type of mother or this type of husband or this type of Citizen or this type of whatever and it's not about.
Jesus and it's not about his glory and at the end of the day when you walk out there you're going to walk out with some Jersey that says something other than Christ get out that's what Paul's saying we we put no confidence in the flesh and then he's going to do something kind of weird he says we have no confidence there and then he says but I do watch verse four though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also what here's what he's doing he he doesn't want these people coming along to say.
Well of course Paul of course Peter doesn't want to you to practice Judaism Peter was awful at it he was a fisherman he does know anything of course these ragtag disciples they they they're teaching these things but you need Jesus and you need this extra thing and Paul says y'all I can I can whip anybody's tail on the court of Judaism like I I'm the best Jewish man you could find that's what Paul's doing he's about to say I have more Jewish credentials than they do and I'm telling you it's not worth it that's what he's doing here are his Jewish credentials.
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh I have more circumcised on the eighth day not late as an adult after I decided to do this no I was born Jewish on the and I was circumcised on the right day of the people of Israel of The Tribe of Benjamin if you join Judaism late you just get to belong to the people of Israel but you don't have a tribe he says I have a tribe I can trace my lineage back he says a Hebrew of Hebrews which is either restating that he belongs it's like another way of saying I'm Tribe of Benjamin in Israel.
So I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews but it's also quite possible what he means is I speak Hebrew because there were a lot of those who were a part of the people of Israel who were in the helenistic Roman Empire who only spoke Greek so he says I'm a Hebrew Hebrew as to the law a Pharisee so if you if you're familiar with the gospels the Pharisees are the ones who would call fouls all the time on everybody they'd walk around and be like ah you're doing that wrong you're not following the rules right they do this to.
Jesus all the time and his disciples it's like anytime Jesus did something it was like Pharisees appeared out of nowhere and were like wrong uh non-stop they would tithe out of Jesus at one point says you tithe out of your spice rack like you take 10% like they were really focused on the minutia of the law but they had missed the point he says I was a Pharisee I was the best lawkeeper I was great at it as to Zeal was I like a like a lazy Pharisee no I was a persecutor of the Church how many people have you arrested.
For Judaism how many executions have you overseen that's what Paul's saying I was getting after it as to righteousness under the law blameless I perfectly followed adherence to the law now he doesn't mean righteousness before God Paul's very clear he didn't have that what he's saying is if it's about following these rules I was great at it verse seven but whatever gain I had so that's his confidence in the flesh that's his resume that's his history he said whatever gain I had I counted as loss.
For the sake of Christ he said I realized that all of this just stood in the way of me following Jesus that if I wanted Jesus I needed just Jesus I didn't need a resume I didn't need something that put glory in me I needed the glory to be in Christ and so it's a loss I got rid of it it's a waste indeed I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord y'all Paul says I had more credentials than they have I have more credentials than they're trying to give you and I I got rid of it.
Because it stands in the way of Jesus either he gets the glory or we do Jesus doesn't share Glory it's either about his greatness or us and Paul says I realized I I didn't have greatness I didn't have goodness I didn't have anything so I got rid of it so that I could have Christ and the surpassing worth of knowing him and Paul has better credentials than you both in his Jewish credentials and in his Christian credentials he's out Christian to you.
If there was a score chart planted a bunch of churches suffered for the name of Christ he's been I mean he listed in other places beaten Shipwrecked like what have you what all these things that are for Christ all these things that he's done and Paul doesn't list that as a thing he just says none of that matters he actually says it really aggressively for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ that word rubbish is.
Well attested to be a an exploitive in Greek it also is a technical word that has a right place that's not an expletive but it's an aggressive word and so Paul here is saying it's filth it's garbage it's trash it's the stuff you scrape off your shoe that's what he's talking about this word here is an aggressive word now that doesn't give us license to just use whatever words we want to use all the time there are other places that say watch how you speak Paul's being very pointed and very intentional here and he's using a word that does have a technically right use.
But it's an aggressive word what Paul says is my whole resume was garbage my whole resume needed to be hosed off my boots before I could go inside now I don't know what you think your resume is but you got to understand it fits in that category it doesn't hold weight compared to the glory of Christ and his work on our behalf now I think it's helpful for us to try to understand where can this creep in where can it show up that we're actually doing this and I'm going to try to give us some help with that in a moment.
But I want us to see something Paul says in verse 9 verse 80 says indeed I count everything as lost Lo because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ verse n and be found in him Paul says I just want Jesus and I just want to be in him positionally I want to belong to Jesus there's a mental picture that really helps me with this it's going to take me a.
Second to make sure on the same page but it's the idea of having a champion in battle there's some historical attestation to this that they would have Champions who would fight on behalf of their whole Army the the biblical picture we have of this the story that we have is David and Goliath Goliath stands and he says he represents the whole Philistine Army he's their champion and then he says send forth your Champion now Goliath is a giant 10 feet tall his spear is massive his shield is massive like he's massive and he says send forth your Champion.
If I win philistia wins and you're our servants if your Champion wins then Israel wins and we're your servants but he's got the whole Army in him he represents the whole thing and the champion that's going to come forth represents so you've got two armies encamped only one Champion's coming forward David comes forward for the Israelites and he wins but all the hopes and all the glory and all the the the whole battle rest on does David accomplish this that's what Paul's talking about Paul says I want to be in.
Jesus I want his victory to be my victory I want him winning to be me winning I want him his righteousness to be my righteousness I it's all on Jesus he gets all the glory what's at stake here is our joy and Christ's Glory he gets the glory we get the joy we get to just stand and watch as he walks towards the battle and if he wins we win well Jesus Christ goes to the cross and he takes our punishment and our debt.
For our sin and Jesus Christ rises again do you know how loud you would have shouted when you saw Goliath fall and David run over and chop his head off and hold it above his hands you know how excited you would be you hadn't shouted that loud at a baseball game I'm telling you you haven't been that excited for your football team you haven't you haven't had a moment like that that you would have been I mean I'd have lost my mind I thought we were going to lose it didn't.
Look like it was going to work out well we win and I didn't do anything he did it y'all Jesus goes forward as our champion and Paul says I'm in him his victory is my victory his win is my win he's accomplished it he gets the glory we get joy because it's not about us that's that's what that's what he's pointing out here that's what he says I want to be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law.
But that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith you don't do work you trust Jesus you have faith and so people will say okay so I have to have faith like that's the thing you do but faith is an anti-work it's a surrendering faith is you not running down theill Hill you watching the champion go and trusting that this is going to work that's Faith so you can't brag about it because it was getting out of the way you don't boast in front of the.
Lord you boast in him you don't Rejoice on your own you rejoice in him you don't glory in yourself you glory in him because he's the one who's gone ahead of us and one for us that's what Paul's saying that he has righteousness but it depends on faith because it depends on Jesus and it's us just saying I trust Jesus so I said I would try to help you figure out where are you doing this and this is where I think it's helpful some of the things that he said is we don't Glory we glory in.
Jesus we don't put confidence in the flesh and then it says that it depends on faith so I would ask you is what do you have your confidence in and what are you depending on and one of the best ways to figure that out is what do you do when you're sad what do you do when you see your sin what do you do when you come face to face with the fact that you are inept and unable to accomplish this on your own.
Because if what you remind yourself of is in this category if you say well I'm struggling now but I'm going to get it together I got a bad resume now but I'm gonna have a better one in the future yeah I'm not doing well and yeah I fell into sin but also I've been doing way better I have been committed to our community group I've been serving in Kid City I grew up in the Church Church if you start listing things to try to help yourself do I really trust.
Jesus and you start saying well I've done this and I've done that and I haven't done this I'm not as bad as those people you're over here putting confidence in the flesh and you're depending on you what if in the midst of your sin you said but I have a champion Jesus Christ the righteous what if you said Lord if you don't save me nobody does if you don't work in this sin it doesn't get fixed if you don't forgive I'm not forgiven.
If it hasn't been accomplished by Jesus it won't be accomplished do you know what that would do to our hearts in those moments when you feel so down and you feel so unable to accomplish things and in those moments when you're going I got to get it together I got to do better Lord I'm such a failure Lord I'm so broken it's not just you hate your sin but you hate yourself because you think it's about you but what if in those moments we turn and said Praise.
Jesus do you know how much joy we'd have this is not about us but it's about him and his glory and his power and his goodness it doesn't matter that Goliath is bigger than you that you would have lost if we're trusting in what Jesus does we don't lose it's not about you so where do you turn what do you remind yourself of how do you encourage yourself do you tell yourself I'm going to get better I'm going to do it I'm going to fix it I'm going to get it going do you remind yourself that you've tried hard in the past and you can try hard again do you put it in this where.
You have confidence in the flesh and you're depending on the Flesh and let me ask you something are you tired are you burdened are you overwhelmed are you understanding that you're completely insufficient to save yourself can I tell you about Jesus who rescues and redeems all those who run to him who gets every ounce of Glory but that we get to re Jo in him and that if we start doing this we lose the joy and he loses the glory let.
Let me tell you something following the rules and having to be good is not a rejoicing spot you can be prideful so there are times where you can feel good some of you right now you feel good about you following Jesus when you're doing well this is going really well but it's just based off of I'm doing really well I'm behaving and so good right now I I bet God was looking around this morning and he was just like look at him getting it done or you can be exhausted.
Because you're one of the ones who's really trying you're one of the ones who's really accomplishing things you're one of the ones who really putting in effort and all these other people around you are messing it up you got a bunch of Scrubs in your group you're the only one who's working signed up to bring cheese didn't bring cheese don't let other's meal needs cheese I'm the only one who really loves Jesus it's like what are you doing you can have pride you can have despair.
But you don't get rejoicing but over here you're free because he's glorious and he's good and he gets the honor and he gets the praise and you get the joy like a child when Jesus says we have to become like children I think some of that is that children have no responsibility they're safe if their parents keep them safe they're fed if their parents feed them they just get to bounce around not worrying about anything I don't bring my boys into the room late at night sit them down at the table and go boys I need y'all to help me figure this out I put them to bed.
If they start worrying about stuff I say that's above your pay grade you don't even have a job shut up you're free go to bed they shouldn't be laying in bed stressing out we get to be free we get to have joy we get to rejoice in Jesus that's what he says not that I be found in him but it's not just that it says that I may know him it's not just that we would be in him positionally but that we would belong to him that we would know him that we would love him that we would cherish him.
Because he's so good and this makes so much sense for this is how God wants the world to work he has not come in and says I need you to be good enough I need you to meet the standard what he did is he came met the standard for us and says I need you to understand how good I am I need you to find joy in me I need you to calm down I need Glory I'm not sharing it with you you don't get the glory I do.
But you get the joy I need you to understand how good I am I need you to participate in my goodness and that's wonderful he says that I may know him that I might participate in him that might love him that I might see how good he is and the power of his resurrection part of the reason why you're exhausted is because you have no power you cannot raise one single thing from the dead not even once ever you have no ability to bring life to your finances to your attitude to your relationship to your marriage you have no ability to bring life in the midst of your sin and your Brokenness you have no.
Ability but he has the power of the Resurrection at work for those who will follow him he says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings becoming like him in his death listen there are things that we do because we're Christians not things that we do to become Christians we don't do things to make us some of the good ones but there are things that we do because we know him and we love him and we follow him there are evidences of Faith that's what Paul says that I may share in his sufferings there are things that we participate in.
But he gets the glory and it's about his name and it's about his goodness so he says that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead that by any means possible May attain the resurrection from the dead that I might get the victory that he's earned that I'll participate I'll follow him I'll go wherever he goes I'll get rid of my whole resume so that I might have him that I might be in him and that I might get the victory.
If your hope is to get good enough to depend on your work and to have confidence in the flesh can I tell you that the Gospel is so much better than that that Jesus is so much better than that that he will not share Glory with you it is not Jesus and something else it's not Jesus and your Works Jesus and your behavior Jesus and your attendance Jesus and your particular little piece of theology that's the really good stuff that only the super smart people know it's.
Jesus to the glory of Christ to the praise of his name it's Jesus and y'all you don't want to run down the hill and fight the giant you've you've put off making a phone call because it stressed you out you've lost your mind in traffic or a te- ball game completely ceased to be a functioning adult just lost your mind you've had to quit interacting with your own children and go outside and take deep breaths you've hurt the people around you you've lied you've stolen you've cheated you've started a diet and it worked until there was food that wasn't on the diet that you wanted to eat near you anybody can diet hidden away from.
All food it came to the first test I've done this I'm a diet I walk in Miss Lou is like I bought donuts I'm like well I'm going diet tomorrow you don't want it to be about you you don't want it based off of your goodness and your work and your labor we want it to be about Jesus and we want him to get all the glory and we're going to sing and we're going to praise His name and we're going to hold him up and we're going to tell him this depends on you my confidence is in you my hope is in you my strength is in you the power is in you the.
Glory is in you and then I get joy and resurrection and victory to the praise of Jesus let's pray father we thank you we thank you that the Gospel is so good help us not to be tricked help us not to believe lies help us not to to Listen to evildoers Who Would mutilate the Gospel but Lord may we worship by the work of your spirit may we boast and glory in Christ and may we put no confidence in the flesh and anywhere where we're doing that anywhere that we've started to Hope in ourselves hope in our work hope in our achievements hope in our goodness hope in our resume hope in our our track.
Record anywhere we've been promising you we're going to do better in the future so that we might feel good now oh Lord may we have the joy of knowing that you have won and that you've won on behalf of all those who trust in you and Lord may you get all the glory may it not be about us may it not be about what we do or how we do it or what we think or how we approach it but Lord may we trust you and your work on the cross and your Victory and the resurrection.
So that we might be made whole and we might have joy in Jesus name amen the band's going to come back up and we're going to sing in a moment and celebrate that he has accomplished this for us but I want you to take a second I just want you to ask Lord where am I robbing you of Glory where am I trying to accomplish this on my own and I want you to say Lord I need joy and I need deliverance and I need confidence in you and I need to be dependent on you.
So can you do that for a moment can you just take a second and ask the Lord to help you see where you're trusting in yourself just a moment in prayer where you say Lord where am I trusting in me where am I hoping in me some of you have never trusted in Jesus it all depends on you your confidence is in you your hope is in you and you plan to one day stand before Christ and say I'm good enough maybe you have.
Jesus in there but it's Jesus and Jesus tells a parable where he says that on that day there will be many who will stand before him and say didn't we do this in your name didn't we cast out the enemy didn't we Proclaim didn't we do these things didn't we have and all they're doing in that moment he says I'll say depart from me I never knew you but what they're doing is saying look at my resume don't you remember your name was there.
And then I did a bunch of stuff don't you remember I said your name and then didn't you see all the stuff I did and he says I don't know you because that's not how it works that we'll stand before him and say you did it you got me here you redeemed me you're glorious you're good I'm in Jesus I'm going to be found in him and I'm going to have the power of his resurrection at work that I might have hope.
So would you take a moment if you've never said Jesus I Need You I depend on you my confidence is you my hope is in you the glory is in you and the Joy gets to be for me would you do that would you tell him you need forgiveness and you need hope that you don't want to stand in your own power and your own ability that you don't want confidence in yourself the Gospel is so good don't say no to it don't trust yourself.
But trust Jesus and then let's sing like he's won the Victory and we get the joy.
Two Laborers (Philippians 2:19-30)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Spencer I am one of the pastors here we are continuing to walk through the big the book of Philippians chapter 2: 19 through3 we're going to finish out chapter 2 today uh but you can go ahead and follow along there it's on page 570 in the blue Bibles that are around you if you want to grab one of those the text will also be on the screen uh so my children watch uh some some kids TV shows and most of them are just not.
Well done they're just they're not well thought out they're not they don't have good stories there's not a good story arc it's just they're poorly written it's just they're just putting you know and children are easily entertained so it's just you just put a cartoon in front of them and and it just it's fine however there are some in particularly one that's just incredible the it's just so well done it's just I mean it is the best that is out there right.
Now and do you know what the one that is that's exactly right it's Bluey it is incredible like there are there are two really incredible great things that have come out of Australia blue is one of them the second is a person and we know who that is that's Hugh Jackman it's just but it's incredible this show is like they're like 12 minute shorts they're just I mean and they're just so well done every time like every now that I'm like I'm cooking and making food.
And then I kind of look and I just I just then I just kind of sit there I'm just like do it do it I know how you're going to finish this it's so good but uh the thing that I love and appreciate the most is uh it's it's about a dog family uh and it's you know Mom Dad these two kids and uh the the person I appreciate the the animal I appreciate the most is the dad his name is Bandit and I watch Bandit and I'm like man he's such a good dad like he just gets in his kids' world and he plays with them and he uses his imagination and he teaches.
Them and Bandit's like the best dad I watch Bandit I'm just like I want to be like Bandit I want a parent like Bandit I want to be a dad like Bandit like look at him with his kids and I've seen people uh comment about this online there's like this mild like real small backlash of just people that are like I you know this just it's really not right that you know Bandit's just too good of a dad and it's Dad shaming which is the stupidest thing the dumbest response you could have to this it's like no like you shouldn't.
Look at Bandit as a dad I'm Bluey and just think he's oh he just Dad shaming it's just too hard no you should see Bandit and be like I'm stepping my game up like I want to be like that that if you see someone that's exemplary like that you should say I'm I want to be like that I want to I want to par parent like that I want to be a dad like that and that's what this text gets to be.
Today we're just we're at the end of chapter 2 and there are two men that are upheld Timothy and apodius as Paul transition transitions into chapter 3 and I just I just it's real simple guys I want to look at how he talks about these two men and I just want to see these two people as Christians and see who they are and then say I know I I want us to be like that I want to see the example of Christ that they display how I want that I want to leave a legacy like that.
So it's pretty simple that's what we're doing today I'm going to pray for us then we're going to walk through the text together and see this so heavenly father I pray that you might help us see uh two men in the text today like many other people in the Scriptures that we get to read about that we get to see uh your goodness displayed through them in a way that should Inspire us to be like them because ultimately we get to be like you and that's the hope that you would help us as we sit under the authority of your word this morning may you mold us and shape us into your image that we.
Might be a people that uh worship and Delight in you for who you are in Jesus name amen all right so we're going to pick up in verse 19 it says I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be cheered by news of you now if you read the New Testament if you're familiar with it Timothy is someone who shows up quite a bit he he is uh he shows up over 40 times in the New Testament there are two letters 1.
Second Timothy that uh two two Scriptures two letters that that Paul wrote to uh to Timothy uh we we know of his background we know of his his mother and his grandmother who left a legacy of faith for him like we we we know quite a bit about uh Timothy and it appears that Timothy is going to be sent to the Church in Philippi to the Philippians and he's going to carry this letter but Paul in this is ask he's he's uh he's excited to send Timothy.
So that he can hear news of this Church because he as we've been in the book of Philippians we've seen this that he loves the Church of Philippi he has a good relationship with this Church and he and he wants to hear how they're doing he's eager to hear how they're doing which embodies the teaching that he taught just a few verses ago when he's looking to the interest of others he cares about the Philippians he wants to know about them and he wants to receive news of them he's excited to hear how they are doing and I just appreciate the love that is bound up in that it's like a good friend that like.
If you're sitting down to catch up with an old friend and they're good friend like they're they're eager to hear all about you they they they they want to know how you're doing they keep asking questions of you as opposed to if you ever been in a conversation with someone who just you can tell they're not really listening and they're just trying to get to them so they can talk that's not this Paul is eager to hear of the Philippians and how they are doing.
And then verse 20 we get some Commendation of who he believes Timothy is and how he should be thought of as he's going to take this letter to them in verse 20 it says for I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare and that's just Paul bragging on his brother on his friend Timothy commending Timothy to the Church at Philippi he's like you don't understand you I've got no one on my team like Timothy he he's a dear brother who will show genuine concern.
For your welfare and I just I mean oh that we might be a people that are remembered for that to be a people that are remembered for having genuine concern for the welfare of others a few weeks ago I was at the funeral from one of our uh oldest members dobass many of you never had the pleasure of meeting dobass she was 103 when she died she uh uh was homebound by the time that our two churches came together but she left the legacy of this of this genuine care and love.
For others and you I'm not got to see this beautiful Funeral Service where her this Legacy of her family which I mean kids and grandkids and great grandkids just got up and spoke of fondly of how she just genuinely loved them how she genuinely would listen and care for them how she loved to make meals for them that she left this Legacy of just deep care for others and it's like I want that we should want that to be remembered as a people that that showed this genuine love and care.
For others that's the kind of Legacy we should want to leave and that's what Timothy is he has this genuine care for the welfare of others and then Paul continues verse 21 he says for they all seek their own interests not those of Jesus Christ and if you're kind of jumping in here it's like wait what you're bragging on Timothy and he's like Timothy's great he shows so much care for others not like these fools up here and it's like wait what and it's hard we've been in Philippians.
For a couple of months now so it's hard to think back but if you go back to chapter one that that's what Paul's referencing here in chapter one chapter 1 ver1 15 he speaks about some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry but others from goodwi and when we walk through that what we got to see was is that Paul is imprisoned in Rome and he's working with the Church in Rome and there seem to be some people in the Church at Rome who are uh who are preaching the Gospel and ministering.
For their own glory for their own interests for their own good and and and what Paul's doing there which for us has been a couple of months ago but just a few verses when you read the letter as a whole is a few verses ago he's pitting against these people that are not doing it for the right reasons as opposed to Timothy who has genuine love and care for your welfare but he continues verse 22 he says but you know Timothy's proven worth how as a son with a.
Father he has served with me in the Gospel which I just appreciate the depth of the relationship that he has with Timothy you see some of the family language that's bound up in this that he looks at Timothy like a son in the faith which I I appreciate that one of the things we we we speak about often here is Church family that that this is not an event that we do it's not a function that we do it's not a social aspect of Our Lives that we.
Look at each other as the family of God that we have brothers and sisters in Christ mothers and fathers in the faith in this Church we love one another like a Church family and I appreciate the the family that I get to see day in day out in our Church and we should continue to embody that so and and and and that's not the only thing that's bound up in the language of father son here it's both family but it's also both discipleship and apprenticeship.
Because in their culture Fathers and Sons weren't just family the the father was going to pass down his trade to his son so this is apprenticeship this is discipleship he's been pouring into Timothy and he sees him as a son in the faith which is something that we should want to do we should want to pour and give our lives away into others in discipleship I remember years ago when my wife and I we we graduated from college we got married I went to Seminary in Louisville Kentucky we lived there.
For five years we were part of a Church there and I remember at 23 years old just you know excited to learn as much as I could could part of this Church looking up to the different Elders that served in that Church and it's wild to me because many of those Elders I looked up to so much I'm now at their age in stage and and I'm I'm I'm excited that got to be doing the same thing that I get to give my life away and pour pour myself into others and and we have really a lot of older folks in the Church that are ready to do this as.
Well like I one of the things I appreciate it is we have some some older women in the faith that are giving their lives away and I think some of the younger women in our Church see that and I think some of yall love that and and the reality is is the more you press into this family and this discipleship that we get to have in this Church that you're not far away from being able to do that yourself to pour yourself into someone else that they might uh know Christ more.
Because you leveraged your life to give yourself away that's the relationship that we see here with with Paul and Timothy he's commending them to the Philippians in verse 23 he continues he says I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also which we saw this earlier in Philippians but that's this just shows that Paul has this expectation that he's going to get out of his prison sentence that is going to be free.
But he says until then like I'm I'm sending my brother Timothy I'm sending s the son in the faith to go and to minister to you to care for you so that's Timothy the first person that's uphel then we get to the second apodius verse 25 I have thought it was necessary to to send to you apodius my brother and fellow worker and fellow Soldier and your messenger and minister to my need now we know a lot about Timothy because of how much he shows up in the New Testament we don't know who apodius is he didn't show up a lot in the new test he shows up twice once or once right here.
Once later in this letter so only the book of Philippians do a papitis show up so who is he what is he about and the first description that we get here is jam-packed with pictures of who he is the first one I want to point out is is when it's says your messenger so Paul calls him your messenger which means that he's a Philippian that he's from the Church at Philippi and when you get to reading later as we're going to.
See in the book of Philippians that he is he he brought a letter and he brought a gift to help Paul in his imprisonment so he is from the Church at Philippi he's a native of Philippi and also he's not just there to bring this gift he's also there to minister to Paul because as we're going to get some context here in a moment he's been there for quite a bit he's been there for for months and months and months serving with Paul serving with the Church in Rome.
So the first description we get is Messenger the second I want to point out is is this language of brother that we just saw that Paul sees him as a brother in Christ he's a part of the family of God he was a part of the local family of God in Philippi now he's in Rome he's serving there the next description I want to sit in is this fellow worker language this fellow worker Christians are seen as fellow workers and fellow laborers in Christ we're called that throughout the whole new testament that's what.
Jesus in Matthew 9 says the Harvest is plentiful but the labors are few labor worker come from the same Greek root in the New Testament that there is a harvest there are people that need the Gospel and we get to labor on their behalf you also see this later in the book of phiman as Paul is describing a few uh laborers Mark araris Deus and Luke my fellow workers that the way that uh epaphroditus is describe as someone who has given his life away to.
See the Gospel go forward to serve the Church to love others to do the things that Christ calls us to do because the Christian life is not one where we just are complacent and it's certainly not one where we're just passive recipients the Christian Life is one where we pick up a shovel and we work we labor on behalf of our God we do the work that he's called us to do we believe in Eternal things and how eternity matters and we labor in light of that reality.
So he's called a fellow worker he's also called a fellow Soldier a fellow Soldier this is also language that shows up in the New Testament as well in his letter Paul's letter to 2 Timothy in chapter 2: 3 and 4 it says share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus no soldier gets entangled in civilian Pursuit since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him that's picture of being a soldier who's devoted to the king it was the king or the emperor in their time that you serve the king in his interest wherever you are wherever you are sent Isaac to who used to be a part of our Church he's.
Matt Angela's son he's over in Germany right now serving overseas as a soldier for the US military now I I don't know exactly what he's doing there I can tell you what he's not doing he's not entangled in German politics he's not entangled in German affairs that's not what he's doing there he serves on behalf of our country in the interest of our country because he belongs to a different nation and the picture here is that when you are a Christian you belong to a a different Nation you belong to the kingdom of.
God and you serve on behalf of the King you serve on behalf of his interest you take his orders as described in his word and we do the things that he commands us to do serving on behalf of our King and that's what a paer is that's how he's described that he's a soldier on behalf of the king and right now his calling is to serve Paul and the Church in Rome but he is eventually going to go back to Philippi.
And when he gets back he's going to continue his service there he's described as a soldier he's described as a minister which is a language of assistant and servant he's ministering to Paul ministering to the Church in Rome so that is the impressive introduction that we get to epaphroditus this is who he is as a Christian labor a soldier a brother and then we get this picture in verses 26 and for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed.
Because you heard that he was Ill indeed he was Ill near to death but God had mercy on him and not only on him but also but on me also lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow so we get this picture of a papitis who gets sick near to death sick and I just I just so appreciate how he's described because he's concerned about the Philippians that at this point he's been there long enough to serve and to get sick.
For a letter to leave Rome and get all the way to Philippi for them to hear about a sickness and his chief concern is oh no how are they must be worried about me cuz y'all if I was very sick and ill and I found out that our Church was was deeply concerned for me there's a sinful part of me that would just go oh man they love me they just they care about me look at them they just I just appreciate the love and the prayer and and and I would repent of that.
And then move to where he is where he's just like oh man I just they must be worried about me they must be worried sick about me his main concern is their well-being and he was in the verge of death this is the kind of selfless friend that you go and visit who's going through chemo and they're going through chemo and you sit down with them and you talk to them and they're just immediately like how are you doing I know this must be hard I know you're worried about me I know and it's just like no no no we don't come here to talk about you no like we're not talking about how this.
Is hard for me I want to talk I want I want to love you want to serve you but your friend who is good as has this heart that's for you that's concerned about your well-being and that's a papitis he hears that his Church back home in Philippi is concerned about his well-being and he's just like oh man I just I want to tell him I want to let him know that I'm okay I mean just the the the concern that he has.
For his Church that sent him it's beautiful and I love the the the commentary that Paul gives here he says he he makes this note that I I Paul's like I'm glad I'm glad that he's okay because if he wasn't and he died I just I would have sorrow upon sorrow and this this picture just it would have deeply hurt Paul it would have been deeply sorrowful to have this dear brother and friend die he just like no I'm glad he was spared.
And then Paul continues in verse 28 it says I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may Rejoice at seeing him again and that I may be less anxious and I just so appreciate the genuine concern for others the love that's just displayed all over this like Paul is eager to send a papitis back he's like I I can't wait to send him to you him and Timothy going to go and I can't wait for you to see him.
So for you to be re you for you to be reunited because I have this anxiety about you I have this this worry about how you're feeling it's just he's concerned with their concern and he wants to be less concerned with their concerns once their concerns are lifted it's just this outward just everyone is just so deeply concerned for one another in some ways that are just beautiful this Rich love that you see all around this section and we finish it.
Verse 2930 it says so receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men for he nearly died for the work of Christ it's this picture he he wants to honor Timothy and apodus risking his life to come risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me which can feel like an odd ending to that section because a bad way to read that is I mean because he's he's risking his life doing you know what's what what you should be doing and it's like no no that's not what he's saying there what he's simply saying is is that you can't be here with me my dear Philippian brothers.
Sisters and he's just serving on behalf of you right here so we get these two pictures as we finish that number two of these uh of these two men Timothy and epaphroditus and I look at how they're described and I think man I want that like I just I want I want to be like that I want a legacy that's left like that right this is this is me on a Saturday morning as my kids are watching Bluey looking at Bandit just like just I want that like I I want to be like these men I want to be known.
For what they're known for I want to to uh to I mean goodness for the last 2,000 years Christians have read this letter and they've seen the example that is bound up in these men and and we should want that so what I want to do with just our closing time as I just want to look at kind of three overarching themes I see in these men these Christians and and we should look at this and say I actually want that too I I want to live a life that leaves a legacy that is like this.
So the first thing I just want to highlight is the genuine concern for others that we saw in verse 20 the genuine concern for others it says for I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare this theme shows up all over the book of Philippians a lot of the times I I mean Philippians get descri gets described as the book of the letter of joy and it is there's a lot of joy in it but it's like there's also just this genuine love that shows up all over the place.
For one another and that's a legacy worth leaving that's a life worth living one that is just so deeply concerned with others that's how we should want to live we're the primary concern it's not how am I doing but how are you doing how are they doing that's what we should want which means I mean this what this looks like is is when you have when you hear about someone else in the Church who is struggling when you catch wind that someone else is hurting someone else is in deep need and the Church has got to Rally what this is is not the thought that might come across that says oh man like I know.
I'm not supposed to help this person but I know how much time this is going to take out of my schedule and I know how much money this is going to take out of our budget but I know we're supposed to do this it's like it's it's it's pushing that away and say no I just how are they doing right like they must be so burdened they must be so worried they must be so hurting that our first thought it's just no no no how are they doing it's this outward-looking life that isn't looking to ourselves in our own interest that's the kind of life that we should live and I get to.
See this y'all I got to see Christians in our Church that that love other people one of the things I appreciate so much is over and over again I see Christians in our Church that find a way that get money to someone else and need in our Church but their name not attached to it and it's just that no I just I heard that that they were hurting I heard they had this need and I want to be able to help and it's this genuine outward looking concern this is the kind of this is the kind of discussion that you get have in group where you are genuinely locked in to.
When when someone else is sharing right they're sharing they're pouring out their life there's no cross talk happening over here there's no one on their phone that's not paying attention it's not someone who's just biting their time so they can talk no it's just this no everyone's locked in and listening because I just it's someone taking notes I've had to pray for this brother I pray for this sister I just I get so I get so excited sometimes when I hear I might share something that that's difficult in my life.
And then all 3 or four weeks later some some Christian comes up to me in our Church and just says how's that going I've been praying for that I'm like I love it that's how that's how we should think it's how we should live with thinking about others and loving others so well that we're just we're not thinking of ourselves on a consistent basis we're thinking of others that we should that I mean listen we we should live our days in a way we're thinking about other Christians.
So much so that in the morning we're thinking about our Brothers and Sisters in Christ and and the afternoon and the evening we're thinking about others it shouldn't just be the on our way to group we're thinking about those in our group it shouldn't just be as we're here on a Sunday morning that we're thinking of others that we should live our lives in a way that has genuine concern for others that's a life worth living it's a it's a much better life to give yourself to the.
Second thing I want to highlight is this faithful service that shows up throughout this section this faithful service from a PA from Timothy that were commended here and honored for their faithful service of the mission going forward and that's a life worth living some of you don't know this because you weren't here when we merged together as two churches but when Mill City and First Baptist Church of casy came together there was someone who was integral to the process who was crucial to seeing this happen and it was the interim pastor of the time Dr Ken.
So Dr Ken I mean he's been a pastor for many many decades he was the pastor at First Baptist Church of uh First Baptist Newberry for uh for many decades and then he moved back to Columbia retired and moved back to col he retired and moved back to Columbia and and he served as an interim here he brought two churches together and a pastor who served here for served for for many decades who has more Collective wisdom and experience than our whole Elder team at the time to steep back and he moved to the side in a way that was just beautiful and his membership is still here.
Because but what he does he just he gets getting called in this area to interum he shows up at this Church and then his wife Joyce served for many years Miss Joy passed away a couple of years ago and he's just still serving and he goes from interim to interim to interim I see him every now and then I'm like Dr Kim when you come home he's like I'm hope soon but I know like he'll be here for like a month.
And then he'll go on to the next Church and that's his life giving himself away to others that's a life of service that we should want to embody whether it's as as a pastor as someone who's serving as a everyday missionary and their workplace in their neighborhood like that's that's the life that we should live is one that's consistently giving ourselves away I love and appreciate uh the the missionary CT stud and the poem that he once wrote and the the refrain that shows up in this poem over and over again that's hauntingly good he says only.
When life will soon be pass only What's Done For Christ will last and it's like that's it I life is so short and it's so brief and when you're younger you think you got all the years in the world and then you ask some of our older folks it is gone like that and it's brief and we should live our lives in a way that in this brief life we are giving ourselves away in service to the mission going forward and to others it's a beautiful life to live I want to mention someone she doesn't know I'm going to mention her she probably bother that I mention her.
But miss Louise who served as a secretary in this Church since 1991 she retired in 1991 and she's been serving here for 30 whatever the math is in that three-ish years I got some of y'all weren't even born in 1991 actually probably many of you weren't born in 1991 but she has been giving herself away to this Church for decades for free just giving her time giving her energy caring for others that's a life worth living that's the kind of service we should give to Christ as a faithful Soldier as a fellow laborer we should give ourselves away in service it's worth it.
Because listen you are going to serve something you're going to serve someone you can serve Christ or you can serve yourself you can serve a career I mean there's plenty of Idols that you can that's what service is just worship there's plenty of things you can worship in place of Christ there's plenty of things you can serve in the place of Christ we're created to serve and we have a choice that we can serve Christ and see the joy that comes in that.
See the Eternal dividence that come with that and see uh people that will be standing in the Kingdom of God in the new heavens and the new Earth at the table across from us because we gave ourselves away you can live a life where after many decades of serving Christ there are people who entered the baptism Waters with you because you led them to Christ because you made it awkward and shared the Gospel with them because you loved and served them that's a legacy worth living worth leaving and a life worth living and that's the service that we should seek to embody the.
Third thing I want to point out is that they lived a life where their absence was felt with deep sorrow our absence should be felt not just noticed but felt I I I so appreciate that phrase where he says lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow like the the loss of aitis would have been felt like he would have had sorrow upon sorrow because his absence would have been felt about a year ago the brother and Pastor Tim Keller died I never got a chance to meet Tim Keller just like the many people he impacted.
But he left this Legacy where he his loss was felt across the Church in the west the kind of people that he impacted the kind of pastors he impacted the kind of writings he wrote his absence was felt there was a sorrow for the western Church in America and Europe when he passed that's a life worth living like you if you take a job in another city or you or answer the call to missions and you you go away that that absence should be felt there was a a couple here John and jley Amadeo a few years ago they were here.
For a year one year while he was in school down here and listen they could have just visited a bunch of churches and hung around for a little bit and then just you know we're not gonna be here for about a year and I mean we not as well just we're not there's no Point becoming members no they they came down here they visited they became members and they gave themselves away to this Church for a year and then they left.
Let me tell you something their absence was felt I you asked the people that were in group with them and it's like they miss them and that that that that's that's how we should live that wherever we are whever Christ puts us we give ourselves away so that when we're gone that absence is felt and that's often through the very often quiet work of serving others of of sharing the Gospel with others the things that are unseen but ultimately when you're gone it's like no I I'm I miss that brother I miss that sister.
For the way that they lived out the Gospel and it's not doing it for the wrong reasons it's not doing it for our own Glory it's not doing it for our own good is doing it for the glory of God and obedience to what he calls us to but I just so appreciate how Timothy and AAP are described In this passage and I look at that I say I want that I want that for myself I want that for our Church.
Verse 20 21 says for I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare for they all seek their own interests not those of Jesus Christ and what's bound up there is is that you have a choice you have your own individual interest or the interest of Christ our own interest or the interest of Christ and that's the choice that's left before us now the choice is clear right Jesus his interest which ultimately results in the interest of others.
But the problem is that's hard because if you're like me they naturally just self-interested that there's a part of us that's just the the main focus is our individual lives and our individual schedules and our individual activities and and Lasting service is hard right look genuine care for others is hard lasting service is hard it's easy to serve for a moment it's hard to give yourselves away over and over again and it's hard to live a life where your absence is felt.
Because you were so selfless and not self-interested especially because we're in an individual individualistic culture and we're we're Sinners that are part of this culture that are so individualized and this rat race of Life chasing after our own interest so it's hard it's hard to hear the example there and to say Okay I want this and the pro here here's all here's the other problem is that if you hear that example and you go I'm doing it I'm going to I'm going to muscle in and I'm going to be selfless it's like you you can't not by your own power.
But the good news of the Gospel is that we have a savior who was selfless who looked upon us in our self-interest who looked upon us and our own uh concern for ourselves and our savior showed genuine concern for us and he left heaven and he came from Earth came to Earth and he was obedient to death on a cross for self-interested Sinners Like Me And You And His selfless giving himself away went to the Cross to die for that self-interest.
So that we might die to it too and then he walks out of the Tomb to make a way for us to live a life that is new that gives our selves away to others that serves him as King in a way that leaves an impact that resounds into eternity so the way we do this is we look to Christ and we look to what he did on our behalf and we see how much our savior loved Us and how much he gave himself to us and we say I want that that's what Timothy and Aus did they looked at Christ and they said I'm giving my life away to this King the choice is.
Ours and my hope is that you choose Christ let me pray heavenly father I pray that you'd help us look to your example to what you did on our behalf that we might live a life that is so outwardly focused that dies to ourselves that we might see the Gospel move forward in the lives of others but that takes for some of us being broken of our own sin in a way that leads to Faith that changes and for all of us it takes repenting of Our Own self-interest by looking at you.
So Lord help us and help us do that in a way that lives a beautiful life with a legacy like these two men that we saw in the Scriptures today in Jesus name amen
Community that Honors Christ (Philippians 2:14-18)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here grab your Bibles and go to Philippians chapter 2 if you don't have a Bible with you you can grab one of the ones that's in the seat in front of you in the little tray if you don't own a Bible take that one home with you that's our gift to you we want you to own a Bible we are working our way through the book of Philippians and we're going to.
Look at Philippians 2 uh verses 14-8 today we took a few weeks off to uh for uh inst installing Isaac and then walking through Easter and celebrating Easter together but we're back in Philippians now we're going to finish out the book over the next several uh weeks and and a couple months and uh Paul is in prison and he's writing this letter to the Church in Philippi and the Church in Philippi had sent apodus to him because they found out he was in prison.
And while in prison he was responsible for his own needs and so you you were kind of dependent on people to help care for for you um because the Romans weren't going to and so they sent basically a care package to him so that he could survive and so he's writing this letter back in thanks to them to a Church that he helped get started um and you can read about that in the book of Acts and so that's what the where the we are in the letter and he's um going to give some helpful instruction.
Today but he's going to give what I would say is a good command for a great reason and so as we read it I hope that we follow and obey the commands because we ought to but I also hope that we in our time together this morning catch the reasoning that we understand why Paul says what he says not just what he says but why he says it why the command matters so that we might live our lives in line with that why.
If you and I were going to go on a trip together you were driving and we were going to Charleston and I got in your car as we start working our way to get out of the city of Columbia I said ooh hop on 77 it's so much nicer than 26 you might be inclin to say something like well while 77 might be nicer it will not get us to Charleston so unless you want to go to Charlotte or Casey we should not get on and Paul has a reason a destination a direction in mind that sets all of the little choices that are going to get him there.
And so I want us to see his good command but I want us to catch the great destination the great reason for it so let's read this whole passage together and then we'll walk through it slowly uh Philippians 2 starting in verse 14 do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast to the word of life.
So that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith I am glad and rejoice with you all likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me so the first thing he says is the command do all things without grumbling or disputing immediately we're like wait when can we Grumble and he says do all things without it.
So never don't Grumble is another way to put this now I think that this applies to us individually that it's a blanket command that just says don't don't do it but I also think and we're going to see later as we work through the text that it implies to our life together that it applies to the Church collectively how we interact with one another as a Church but let's take a moment to just consider grumbling and considering it at the individual level there are some things that you will not Grumble about there are some things that you appreciate that are nice that you you enjoy you're not going to Grumble about it you're not going.
To complain if your boss says hey we're cutting out early today go home and take a nap I don't think you Grumble on the way home if you find a $20 bill on the street you don't mutter to yourself about people littering you don't there are certain things that fit inside of our preferences and things that we like and enjoy that we're not prone to Grumble about that things we Grumble about are the things that are outside of our preferences the things that Annoy Us that inconvenience us there are things that we will Grumble about and I I think one of the categories of things that we'll Grumble about is uh the weight of existence.
There are some things that you do that we have to do just to exist and it's possible for us to just be annoyed with them clipping your fingernails and getting a haircut and mowing your grass and doing your dishes these are things that just go along with existing that you might find yourself greatly annoyed by can't believe I have to wash dishes you just ate a meal that was nice we're not thankful for that we're just bothered by why would I be doing this laundry there are some things that you could potentially get in the habit of just groaning about complaining about mumbling to yourself about that just fit into the category of things you.
Do like you have a job and you're annoyed by it I got to get up and get over there oh my goodness when I get there they expect me to do the job when I open my email there better not be any email in there like we're just complaining about things that it takes to exist and to live now you might be going I don't complain about my laundry I complain about everyone else's laundry I don't complain about my dishes it's everyone else's dishes and that's the weight of existence in relationships.
So there's a weight of existence that you have but there's a weight of existing in relationships and you can easily Grumble about the people around you because the people around you can be very annoying you might have some co-workers that you consider very Grumble worthy they're frustrating sometimes you go home and you think they might be doing it on purpose this isn't just the thing they do naturally there this is turned into maliciousness but we Grumble about the things that are going on around us we Grumble about the things we have to do we Grumble.
Because we're inconvenienced in some ways grumbling is the exact opposite of what Paul just said and what Raz just read that we prayed about it says count others as more significant than yourselves one of the reasons that I Grumble is because I'm very significant and the people around me fail to see it I shouldn't have to stay late and clean other people should have to do that I shouldn't have to do these dishes other people should have to do that I shouldn't have like there's this this General sense of oh my goodness.
When I go to work these why am I having to deal with the fact that this person hasn't done what they're supposed to and we grumble but he says don't that's the command do all things without it you shouldn't Grumble at work you shouldn't Grumble at home you shouldn't when you're having to get up and go accomplish a thing mutter to yourself about it I've told my sons before to do something and watch them get up and go I say h no sir you go do the thing and I don't need to hear the muty little noises.
First of all it's not going to make you enjoy the thing that you have to do you have to do it so you might as well do it with a good attitude second of all I'm not going to listen to it and that's what Paul is saying to us H we don't need the muty little noises don't do it my sons were watching a uh a little science program for kids and they were doing tests on how to help you deal with pain um and there were two things they said that can help you.
When you're dealing with pain that'll help you deal with it one of them is smiling so if you're going through pain if you smile it'll help you bear with the pain the other one is cussing they did clarify that it doesn't actually have to be cussing you can just go and that helps as well one of the reasons we Grumble is that it feels good it feels like it's accomplishing something you feel like you're doing something y'all we we Grumble with each other some of your best friends are just the people that you most enjoy grumbling with you know what drives me crazy oh hit me with it tell me about it you want to.
Know what's frustrating oh I'm hot I'm aggravated when can we get together oh I'll clear my schedule because it feels like we're doing something it feels like it accomplishes something but it's not actually helping anything it's souring our souls and it spreads you ever had an enjoyable experience until you had a friend who told you why you shouldn't have enjoyed the things you ever had a movie you really enjoyed and then you talked to someone and they said no here are six things wrong with that movie and you can never enjoy it again grumbling spreads people can talk you into not enjoying a restaurant not enjoy enjoying a place that you would visit it's not.
Good for us so Paul says don't don't Grumble and don't dispute and that one's going to play into more of our life together but it's like a little bit like Paul talking to a toddler um whenever you talk with a toddler you you often start with what and then you answer why 17 times in a row why did we just stop because there's a red light that's that's a what there's a red light that's a thing here red light stop why do you stop at red lights.
Because when I was 15 they made me read a book and it told me to stop at those and if I don't these people have green and they're going to run into me why we got a government um and they set that up that way why probably Commerce and safety like you just you keep doing that and so he said what do all things without grumbling or disputing but now he's going to hit us with why why he's going to hit us with two yse why why here's the.
First why that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world okay so blameless and innocence there is practical you not sin so grumbling and disputing and this being a fostered pattern for us is sinful so that we would not sin then it says then he says children of God that's not dependent that's accomplished by Jesus that's not something that we're practically working out the truth is.
Because of Jesus we're made blameless and innocent Justified before Christ through his work but then we need to live that out we need to practice it but we're children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation his first why is because the whole world grumbles and disputes but you're children of God one of the best ways for you to display that you belong to Jesus is have a good attitude roll with inconvenience be unfl flappable in the face of frustration be the one person on your crew that.
When everything falls apart goes hey we got this all right smile that was your other option you know when you're dealing with pain one was smile and one was shout smile be the people who who can do that now you've been around people who can do that you've worked with people who can do that and it's a joy it's a delight and what he's saying is the Church should do that we should be people who aren't grumbly complainy frustrated people we should be joyfill hope-filled people and this is why I think that it's not just you individually.
But it's us collectively he's writing to this Church and he's saying y'all don't complain and argue about everything put on display shine as lights in the middle of a of a generation that this will be startling to because everybody grumbles and complains and disputes about everything don't that our conversations shouldn't center around complaining we should work out of this that we should not Foster it but we should correct each other I think there's probably been times in your community group when it was a care night and what you effectively did was not repent not grow not correct.
But Grumble just kind of complained about the things in our lives and we actually need to start saying okay hold on a second I understand your boss may be frustrating but what's going on in your heart and how are you acting and how do you handle that and how do you respond to that and how do you shine in the middle of that now if I'm in the middle of grumbling and you go pause let's look at your sin I'm going to be annoyed with you.
But I'm going to be greatly helped by you and the Jesus loving part of me is going to go no that's good thank you and we're going to be able to grow together but he says this you shine as light so I want you to see that by not grumbling you put something on display and then the question becomes what well verse 16 says holding fast to the word of life so when we shine it's not to show off us when your coworker says how you have such a good attitude don't go thanks I'm great glad you noticed I get to hang out with me all the time and I'm awesome that's not the point.
The point is I I'm holding on to something that gives life I'm holding on to something that empowers Joy I'm holding on to something that can't be taken away from me because it's been accomplished by Jesus there's a Word of Life where Jesus Christ came to save Sinners where Jesus Christ came to redeem and to rescue the lost where Jesus Christ came to fulfill righteousness on our behalf that's what we hold on to so what is inconvenience what is difficulty what how would these things even come close to touching us.
If we're holding fast to the Gospel and the life that's found in Jesus the truth is we've been told that we're servants and slaves you can't inconvenience a servant that's what we're here for we're meant to be serving and loving and and caring for those around us as we hold on to the Gospel and what that means as a Church y y'all understand when we all get together there's no possible way that all of us get our preferences there are things here that you do not prefer.
Okay that's how it works there's things here I don't prefer yeah that's fine they're not the main thing we're supposed to not Grumble not dispute not argue and hold fast to the word of life there are things that we should fight over and it's are we holding to this are we clinging to this Gospel are we making much of Jesus are we believing this and then there's a whole lot of stuff that we're just supposed to go not the main thing not the thing we're holding on to not the thing we're fighting.
For doesn't matter my mom grew up in the Church I asked her you ever been a part of a Church while y'all fought over something kind of stupid she said oh yeah there was a big fight over the color of the carpet big was big deal I think she said it was a huge deal now there is a huge deal for the Church and it's that we hold fast to the Word of Life the carpet it's not a huge deal that's the stuff we walk on it doesn't does doesn't matter.
Look up if you don't like the color that's not a big deal we're the Church isn't collectively going around and telling you what color carpet you can have in your house have whatever color you want when we get together we just need something under our feet it's not a big deal if you went to a Church and it was their third called business meeting to talk about the color of the carpet what they have articulated to the world is this matters oh it matters and you're like oh my goodness is that in Deuteronomy like where I need to re reading my Bible I didn't understand carpet was such a big where is this at it's.
Not in there we're holding fast to the word of life that is what matters that we're proclaiming the Gospel that we're declaring that Jesus is King that there's hope in him and him alone that's what matters and all the rest of this stuff you're like I I don't know I'd have painted it a different color okay I like this song rather than that song okay are they making much of Jesus is the theology wrong let's talk about that otherwise let's look like a group of people who.
So love Jesus and so love each other and keep the main thing the main thing y'all uh mil City Church got started in 2013 a hundred years before that First Baptist Church of Casey got started and in 2019 we started talking about what would it look like for m city Church and First Baptist Church at casy to become one Church the question was does that help us hold fast to the Word of Life does that help us proclaim the Gospel and I was.
So humbled and delighted and impressed to see the people who had been in First Baptist Church of Casey for decades lay down so many preferences to see Christ proclaimed I remember Mr Tru at one point said he was a part of a Church he was traveling back and forth between Columbia and somewhere on the coast it was near Charleston and there was a Church that he would be a part of here and a Church that he would be a part of there and he said one time.
When he went back to Charleston he went to that Church on Sunday and he walked up and he said there was chains around the door and there was a padlock on it he said the Church had gotten into arguing about some stuff and couldn't sort it out and they just locked it up and he looked at us and he said there's not nobody's putting a padlock on these doors he said ' this place is going to keep proclaiming the Gospel that's saying hey the main thing is the main thing are we making much of.
Jesus do we believe that he's better than everything else are we calling Our Lives to be in obedience to his glorious goodness and let's we don't have anything to Grumble about we don't have anything to dispute over let's fight for what matters that's the first why he says do all things without grumbling or disputing so that or that you may and he says be blameless and innocent children of God in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation shining as lights holding fast to the word of truth that's the.
First why here's his second why so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain I really love his second reason you would think that if it said so that in the day of Christ the next thing he would say is something about the Philippians Church the Philippian Church he would say something like so that in the day of Christ y'all May something be found to have whatever what he says is.
So that in the day of Christ I won't have wasted my time with y'all I won't have spent this time to to start this Church in Philippians to try to get y'all going and then I leave I get arrested and y'all argue with each other and cease to be a thing I don't want that to happen I I appreciate his honesty I also think his reasoning is really good this is this is where I said he gives a good command with a great reason here's Paul's great reason here's how Paul lives his life Paul does whatever he's doing this day looking towards that day.
If you read Philippians if you went home this afternoon and read through it he's going to do this three four times he's going to say the day of Christ the day of Christ on the day of Christ he's going to hold this up if you read his letters he holds this up all the time he has in view all the time the destination he's not going to let him get on I77 because it doesn't take you to Charleston he's he's got in his mind the day of Christ.
And so he is saying he's not saying the opposite of what he just said which is that Jesus was humble so we ought to be humble and then he's somehow acting like he's going to be really prideful before the Lord on the day of Christ that's not what he's talking about at all he doesn't mean self exalting pride what he's talking about is so that I might Delight in and be proud of you as you have done what we set out to do it's like a dad with children that kind of Pride that's rebounded it's reflected in the Philippians Church doing what the Philippians Church is supposed to do that's what he's talking about.
But he has in his mind that day the day of Christ is when Jesus reclaims his Church and judges the world and that day is coming it's closer today than it was yesterday and Paul Paul lives his life with that in mind and we know that because of what he says next you can see it so clearly he says even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith I am glad and rejoice with you all likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Okay so he's saying even that being poured out as a drink offering is even if my imprisonment ends in death even if what happens to me now is all I do is help show off y'all's Faith because they just sent aphodius to him he says if all I end up doing is y'all put your faith on the offering your sacrificial offering of your faith is mine's just a drink offering that gets poured on top of that that just makes the the flame blaze up.
For a moment and helps highlight your faith and if that's all that happens if I get poured out I will rejoice I will have joy and Delight in the Lord and then he says I want you to as well the day you hear Paul's been beheaded in Rome I want you to call the Church together and I want you to to Praise Jesus that's what he's saying why because Paul lives this day in light of that day and on that day all the inconveniences and sufferings and difficulties that are.
For Christ matter you know we have the saying live this day like it's your last live each day like it's your last if you're not a Christian what that's got to mean is live this day for this day but if you're a Christian what that means is that day is tomorrow wait that day is tomorrow this day is the last this day I get to do stuff for that day I got some neighbors I need to tell about Jesus I got some people I maybe need to repent to or forgive I got some This Day stuff that I've got to do in light of that day most of the things that will happen this day.
That I will not Grumble about will matter 0% on that day I got to eat the last donut nobody asked me to serve them or help them I kept all of my money or spent it on things that I like I watch three episodes of The Office neat I won complain about any of those but they won't matter on that day and if I live this day for this day I don't have anything on that day but the things that I might complain about the things that we might Grumble about a lot of those are glorious inconveniences.
For our Church family for our neighbors for the glory of Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel that matter on that day it flips it 150 of you serve in Kid City it's not really true but it feels like it there's a lot of people that serve in Kid City it actually should be true if you don't serve in Kid City you we got get that number up to 150 kid city where they're about 60 children 50 to 60 children many of whom don't know.
Jesus are around people who do but don't yet believe it's an opportunity in our Church to serve it's also a place where you might be tempted to Grumble my wife she serves in Kid City and she watches babies and she she always tells them the rules when they starts she says all right no fighting no fussing no crying no pooping and being babies they don't follow the rules super well I don't think they fight I think that's just in there just in case you know.
But otherwise they fuss and cry and poop she did a couple weeks ago come home and said the babies followed all the rules but there are things that we might would be oh my goodness I got to do this again oh I've got to I got to face this I got to handle this oh I host my group and then I got to clean up afterwards and I got to deal with all this stuff or there may be someone in your group that the only way they can be around is you got to go pick them up and it's possible.
For you to on the way be like oh here we go got I just don't even know if this is going to be sustainable I don't know if this is going to be able to last there might be some people who they they're struggling with their own thoughts their own emotions and one of the best ways to get out of that is to talk to somebody who can help sort out what's real and what's not real what's true and what's not true and can help point you to.
Jesus but that means you're going to have to have a conversation with a really muddled frustrated sad person and it's going to make you a little more muddled and frustrated and sad and you may not want to answer that phone call you might have someone in your group who says I just need to be around somebody today but this was the day you weren't going to be inconvenienced to never have to leave your couch there are things that you might Grumble about this day oh that are glorious on that day the stuff that I actually want to be like I did a whole bunch of this the stuff that I actually want to have labored.
For there's things I'm going to spend my money on that will rot and waste away and there are things that I'm going to spend my money on and give my money away to that are going to last into eternity and they're going to shine in a glorious light to make much of Jesus on that day and Paul just says don't live this day for this day live this day for that day remember what matters remember what's important Matthew chap 10 Jesus says this he's talking to his disciples about them being received and served and what it looks like to serve and love the Church and he says whoever gives one of these little ones even.
A cup of cold water because he is a disciple truly I say to you he will by no means lose his reward well if a cup of cold water counts and changing diapers counts and cleaning up after your community group counts and answering phone calls late at night counts and serving and loving and laboring for those who don't know Jesus counts and it matters that we do things on this day for that day because Jesus is gloriously good and there is a day.
When we all get to rejoice in the things that we would not otherwise have Earthly rejoiced in Paul says if they do the absolute worst to me and kill me let's Praise Jesus but the only way to do that is to understand how good it is then and to have that in mind all the time if I got in your car to go to Charleston and I said I wanted to get on 77 you would tell me can't do that it's.
So Church family as we in our hearts want to live for this day I want you to get real used to telling yourself I can't do that because that's not where I'm trying to go and as we live together collectively I want us to get real used used to saying hey no we can't do that because that's not where we're trying to go we we want to be ready for that day y'all Paul wanted so many Philippians to be there on that day way more than he was writing the letter to and we want.
So many people in Colombia in casy so many people that go to USC y we want Gamecock fans all over the place in heaven we want people who live in hermo and chapen and Gaston and pan and Hopkins we want them all over the place in heaven we want people at your job and on your street to be able to stand in the glory of Christ and praise His name that he saves Sinners because you did things on this day that mattered.
For that day that's what we want and so as a Church we're not going to Grumble and we're not going to dispute and we're not going to fight about silly things we're going to hold fast to the word of Truth and we're going to tell people that Jesus Jesus is glorious and good and we're going to live this day for that day by his grace and his empowerment through his Spirit let's do that let's pray Lord may we by your spirit keep in mind that one day all the suffering is gone all the sin is gone and you our glorious King rescue your Church and may we keep in mind that on that day there.
Is no repentance there is no more at that point turning and trusting in you that everybody is either forgiven of their sins or trapped in their sins so may we live this day in light of that day and may we tell people about you Lord may we serve and love one another knowing that inconvenience and anything that declares to us that we aren't that important is good as it brings glory to your name may we be repentant over our grumbling repentant over our disputing may we joyously and graciously hold firm to the Gospel.
For ourselves and for each other that we might make much of you in Jesus name amen
The Hope of Resurrection (1 Cor 15)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Morning happy Easter you guys we are in First Corinthians this morning we typically uh as we have sermons we open up the text we walk through the text and that's what we're going to be doing this morning in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: 16 through2 uh if you have a blue Bible will be on page 560 and if you don't have a Bible at home please take that that's a that's a gift we want you to have the word of God at home uh the text will also be on the screen.
So my wife and I uh we uh used to watch this show called chopped uh it's a cooking show and it's pretty basic you got four chefs four professionals three rounds you have appetizer and if you have the worst dish guess what happens you get chopped you you guys are getting it all right then you got an entree round next dish last one who's not that good chopped then a dessert and if you win you get a cool $10,000 because it's the Food Network and they got they ain't got kind of budget to give you a lot of money.
But that's the gist of the show and we were watching this one time and this guy was clearly the best I mean his appetizer was on point they the judges they ate it they loved it goes the next round entree crushes it uh gets the dessert round his his opponent uh this uh woman she barely gets in kind of on a technicality she she gets into the dessert round and he decides in 30 minutes he's going to bake a cake and he I mean is just killing it he's an artist he's just he's got the flour it's going he's got the sugar and the eggs and all he's just going.
For it she's over there like sweating like this guy's baking a cake and I'm just I'm putting together I just got to get on the plate I just get get on the plate time goes before the judges they're excited because they've just they've seen how good this guy is all day long they sink their Fork into it they take a bite you know when I I know this personally when you make something that just it just didn't work and I've seen my wife she just she goes yeah did you try something different this time and it's just a kind way of saying what what happened they didn't do that they spit it out they go.
And he's mortified because he's just like what happened and then it bit takes a moment for them to collect themselves to get every crumb out of their mouth and then the one judge goes I I think you grab salt instead of sugar and then they do like the black and white slow-mo camera where he like thinks he's grabbing sugar but right beside it is salt and he just dumps a bunch of salt in it and he's devastated I think the judges are devastated he's had such a good day and he failed it's I mean and he loses.
Because a cake without sugar is not a cake he presented a pile of salty garbage and it left everyone disappointed today we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ that's what we celebrate that Jesus what we just sang about that Jesus was the tomb was empty and our Christian faith is built upon that reality if there is no resurrection that there there is no Christian faith it is it is a cake without sugar worse it's a cake infected by a salt mine like it's just.
If we don't have the resurrection we don't have Christian faith at all it is a devastating disappointment and that's what we're going to see today in First Corinthians that everything that we hope for in the resurrection that our whole faith is built upon this and without it we will be deeply we would be deeply disappointed so let me read uh the text and then we'll walk through this together verse 16- 20 for if the dead are not raised not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised your faith is feudal and you are still in your sins then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished if in Christ we have hope in this life only we are of all people most to be pied but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep let's pray heavenly father I pray that you'd help us see the power of resurrection and what that means.
For us that we might not leave here this morning unaffected by the truth of your Gospel that it might PE Pierce our hearts and it might lead us to worshiping you delighting in you in faith we ask this in Jesus name amen all right so we typically preach through books of the Bible we've been in Philippians for a few months which means when you're preaching through books of the Bible you're able to kind of know the context of what we've been walking through.
But today's different we're jumping into First Corinthians so let me give a little bit of context for this passage uh Corinthians 1 Corinthians is a letter uh that one of Jesus's followers wrote to a Church uh in a city uh in Greece called Corinth so this is uh inspired Scripture that God used his servant Paul to communicate his truth to this Church in that context and when you read a few verses before this in chapter 15 what you see is is that this Church believes in the resurrection of.
Jesus Christ like he walks through that Jesus died for our sins which is what we celebrated on Good Friday that because of our sin that has to be paid for and Christ went to the cross that Jesus walked out of the Tomb the tomb was empty that there are 500 plus people who witness the resurrected Christ you can see that this Church clearly believes this just as Paul clearly believes this but when you keep reading what you start to see is is that.
While they believe that Jesus did rise from the grave there's some people in this Church that are struggling to believe that there's a future resurrection and that's what's being addressed here and if you read the Scriptures you see that there's a future resurrection that one day uh God is going to Jesus is going to come back and he's going to make all things new that heaven will descend down to earth and he will radically recreate this Earth and when that happens his Church God's people will be bodily resurrected to glorified bodies we will live with.
God forever that's the truth that he's talking about and it seems that some people in this Church are struggling to believe this when he says in verse 16 for if the dead are not raised that's what he's talking about if there is no future Resurrection not even Christ has been raised he ties the two of those together that Christ Resurrection precedes the future resurrection and these are bound together to deny one and to deny the other they are linked together if you have Christ's Resurrection God's people will be Resurrected some of you know this.
Because you've seen this that if you play the song Mr Brightside by The Killers which those who are laughing have seen it if you play that song I will come alive one precedes the other that's going to happen it happened at a wedding a few years ago and it's just kind of keeps happening you play that song and I come alive and I'm going to sing every line of that song and if I'm not there just to be honest there will be another 35-year old white guy who steps in and just chants and sings that song it happens.
Listen I mean everyone's got their era right you Boomers you got Don't Stop Believing you know you got September by Earth Wind and Fire my wife and I for her birthday were at a jazz club for her birthday they played earthwind and fire they played September you saw people just grooving that one precedes the other that's what's Happening Here Resurrection precedes future Resurrection the two are bound together and that's what he's trying to help them see so clearly here.
Verse 17 he continues he says and if Christ has not not been raised your faith is feudal and you are still in your sins then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished so he shows that Resurrection is at the heart of the Gospel that that if Christ doesn't rise from the grave everyone stands condemned everyone stands condemned he's trying to help them see that if you don't have Resurrection you you don't have salvation we have to keep the cross and the resurrection tied together that's what Paul in another letter that he writes another Scripture that he writes to the book of in the Book of Romans chapter 4 he says it will be.
Count un to us who believe in him who rais from the dead Jesus our lord who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification these are tied together that his death covers our Rebellion the blood that that he shed on the cross is for our sins but if he doesn't rise from the grave we're not saved I the picture here is We Stand condemned because of our sin that we are locked in a prison on death row and we stand condemned.
Jesus enters into the courtroom before the judge while we are in prison he says no no no I I'll take his place I'll take her place I'll take her place in the electric chair I'll take his place on the cross that's the picture here so he he takes the punishment for our sin but if the resurrection doesn't happen we we're not free we're not alive and the resurrection is the key that unlocks the prison that allows us to walk free and to take off the prison garments to put on uh his righteousness that's the picture these are tied together we are not saved.
If he does not walk out of the Tomb so he's trying to help them see the importance like this is how important Resurrection is and then we get to verse 19 which is we're going to spend most of our time he says if in Christ we have hope in this life only we are of all people most to be pied I want to take a look at this from a few different angles the first here if there is no Resurrection that's both Christ's Resurrection.
But also the future resurrection that awaits if there is no Resurrection we as Christians are to be the most pied it's us there's a there was a French mathematician philosopher his name was blae Pascal from four centuries ago which we're pretty fertile Church if you're having children and you have looking for baby names Blaze is got to be at the top of your list it's pretty awesome The Blaze Pascal came up with uh a defense of Christian faith because he was a Christian and it is endured.
For centuries still very popular argument today and it's called Pascal's wager and here here's the gist of it he says you should put your faith in Christ and you should live like a Christian if you are right you gain eternity with God in heaven but he says if we're wrong I if God doesn't exist then you know what you lived a good life you're a good person get good morals people thought well of you you lived a nice life so it's a safe beted.
So put your faith in Christ because if you don't put your faith in Jesus and you're wrong you get hell so don't do that put your faith in Jesus and if we're right we get heaven and if you're wrong then you lived a pretty good life that's no harm no foul either way Jesus is a safe bed that is a argument that is endured I'm sure it's a still in chain emails and Facebook posts and YouTube I'm sure Tik tokers are doing it like that is a common thing that gets uh that is still told.
Today here is why why Pascal misses the point when it comes to this passage he misunderstands the Christian Life if he believes that the life that we live in Christ because of the Resurrection hope that we have is this nice quaint life he misses it the Christian life because of the Resurrection is one of radical obedience to Christ if God loves us so much that he came from heaven and he sought us and he conquered death for us and walk out of the grave and invites us into the future hope that awaits Us in the resurrection that changes everything and Paul believed that deeply the the the the man who wrote this letter planted churches.
And preached the Gospel and he was beaten for it flogged tortured spit upon rejected at one point Shipwrecked and eventually beheaded that's not a nice quaint life that's that's not a that's not a nice good moral life where everyone just thinks well that's not it at all if we believe in the resurrection that awaits us because Christ walked out of the Tomb that changes how we live we live in light of that completely it's not this nice good little simple life.
If we're living the life that we're supposed to because of Resurrection hope the rest of the world looks at us and says Ah I think they're better uses of your time I think you should make better life choices because really I mean if Jesus didn't rise from carrying one of's burdens praying for one another caring for one another that's a lot of energy and if Christ didn't walk out of the Tomb and Resurrection hope isn't awaiting me I I'm not doing that I don't want to serve others I don't want to give myself away to other people that's not how I want to spend my time I I want to really take the logic of.
What Paul says to eat drink and be marry for tomorrow we die I mean that that's if if if if Jesus didn't rise from the grave and we just die and then we're done then I've got plenty of other things I'd like to do that's the argument he makes later in chapter 15 he's continuing this argument of Resurrection hope and he makes the argument he says why are we in danger every hour it's like if we're if if Jesus didn't rise from the grave we don't have the hope of future Resurrection.
Then why are we in danger every hour he says I protest Brothers by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our lord I die every day which means he is dying to his own desires for the sake take of being obedient to the call that he has in Christ and he says what do I gain if humanly speaking I fought with beasts at Ephesus the trials that he faced at Ephesus and then he goes if the dead are not raised.
Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die he's like I'm not I'm laying on the lime because of the Resurrection hope and others that need to see that Resurrection hope and if that's not true then then let's just let's just live it up for now so I think Pascal misses it reality we will be completely devastated if there is no future Resurrection because the picture of Resurrection hope the picture of what awaits us of Heaven on Earth is so wonderful.
And so beautiful it's so amazing we Bank all of our hope in that reality some of us have got to break from our minds the idea that heaven is just this disembodied experience where we float in the clouds and there's hyns on hyns on hyns for thousands of years that's we we have to think bigger when we come to the Scriptures on this no Heaven comes to Earth and he makes all things new and it's a picture of Eden restored it's a picture of life with.
God doing the things that God has called us to do with our maker and his presence it's beautiful and it's wonderful and it's glorious and we can't see that so we just we we were missing it how many of us are just so tired of being physically in pain the physical Pains of this life like I I've struggled with chronic back pain for eight years and there's some days where it's okay and some days that are better and then some days that ain't good and in some of those days.
When it's not good I'm just reminded us like praise God I've got a resurrection that's coming praise God this is this shell of a body is not what I'm going to have for eternity whe there one day it be a pain where I don't wake up and my my back doesn't hurt some of y'all feel that one day there's a day aren't you tired of the physical Pains of this life there's a reality coming where you don't have that anymore aren't you tired of the struggles with mental health with depression with anxiety with mental health disorders there's a day coming where you exist in the presence of your.
God and you're not anxious you're not worried you're at peace There Are No More Tears there's only joy there's only eternity of endless joy and peace that awaits you aren't you tired of the struggles of this present life aren't you tired of the work that you put in day in day out and you just don't see the fruit of your work I mean that that's that's the the curse of work this side of the Fall God created work it was supposed to be good.
But in Genesis 3 it says you work and you will get thorns and thisel that is agricultural language for you will work and strive and you will not see a harvest aren't you tired of put in the work you've tried so hard in your career you've tried to do this you've tried this project and it's never works out like you want it to there is a day coming in the new heavens and the new Earth well you will be doing the work that.
God has gifted you to do I don't know what that's going to be but my guess would be it is the way that God has designed you to use your gifts to contribute to this perfect harmony in the new heavens and the new Earth that awaits you and it's beautiful and it will bear fruit it'll be fruitful labor how many of us are tired of broken friendships broken friendships painful family Strife infighting people that just don't they just suck the life out of you and don't give you life how many of us are tired of that there is a day coming.
When you will have perfect fellowship with one another then be family members who belong to Jesus right now you just aren't on speaking terms with but one day you'll hug each other and you'll hold each other and you'll love each other perfectly because there will be no sin there'll be friendships where I mean some of us thinking we some of us are nostalgic for days of old man I loved it when I had these friends in this period of time and I loved that night man that night with our friends and our family was just.
So wonderful and that right there that the best version of what friendship what relationship ship can be in this life is a pale it's a black and white grainy old photo uh version of the HD in color ol I don't know 4K whatever the newest and we we've got like a LCD or the one that it doesn't matter we the nicest picture it's a poor picture of what awaits us you will have perfect friendships with other people aren't you tired of never feeling like you get rest in this life it's like I sleep 12 hours a night on the weekend and I go on vacations I just I don't ever feel caught up I don't.
Ever feel rested and there's a day coming when you will have perfect rest you will enter into rest and you will be restored you will be refreshed in ways that our minds can't possibly begin to understand I could go on and on with example after example after example that shows the hope of Resurrection that awaits Us and how wonderful and how glorious it is so when people pick up Pascal's argument it's just like well you know if we're wrong no harm no foul it's like I don't know what the heck you're talking about no way that that's what I'm going to miss out on all of my hope is there like at this this life.
Is so it this world is so broken and it's so short and it's so fleeting there's how many billionaires and celebrities do you have to hear their stories of just like I just never wasn't enough money and I don't know just I I'm not quite satisfied they're the most successful beautiful rich people in the world and they're miserable by the masses how many of those stories do you have to hear that you cannot we cannot I cannot maximize enough joy out of this life right.
Now I can't do it it's never going to satisfy me so if we're wrong if if we're wrong about the resurrection we we are most to be pied we should be devastated because that reality is far superior and far better than anything this world could possibly touch but I have some good news he did rise from the grave and he says in verse 20 but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead but in fact Christ did walk out of that tomb the resurrected savior sits at the right hand of.
God the father now Christ did rise from the grave the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep and the language of first fruits as agricultural language it's farming it's the first of the Harvest which means that there's a whole bunch of harvest left so Christ the first fruits the first one to rise precedes all of those who have placed their faith in Christ Christ who one day we will rise to and if Jesus did rise from the grave and there is this wonderful Eternal glorious reward that awaits us.
Then the resurrection Changes Everything Changes Everything when you realize that the best life is not the one that we have right now but the one that awaits us then we live for that as opposed to trying to maximize Joy here right now because that's far better if if Elon Musk came to you right now with an ironclad contract and said you will intern me for intern for me for five years and it's hard work but at the end of five years you've got1 billion dollars waiting.
For you every one of us takes that deal every one of us takes that deal it's like yeah it's going to be hard but man that's what awaits me I'm all in and what we have in the resurrection and Eternity is far superior to that it's better it's better and the problem is we just are so convinced of the pleasures of this world we try to ring every ounce of pleasure out of here and now I love what CS Lewis once wrote he said.
If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next it is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that we've become so ineffective in this he's like the Christians of old like they their their head was there and they lived in light of that and we are we're not we're forgetting the resurrection that awaits us and the new heavens and the new Earth that awaits us and it all how many many of us all of our best efforts go into purchasing vehicles that will end up in a junkyard one day buying and beautifying homes.
That will be torn down one day how much of our best efforts go to maximizing our lives right here and now the promise of Resurrection changes everything it should radically alter the way that we live but here's the problem some of us are hedging our beds some of us are putting a little bit of Our Hope On Christ and Faith but I I I also got to put a little My Hope here in the things that I can get in this life we're hedging our bets a little bit of Hope in Christ a little bit right here with the life that I've got right here.
Now and maybe Easter is that for you that it's like this is my way to just put a little bit more on Christ and hedge my bed a little bit more here but the but what you're planning to do is walk right out of here change go back to a life where you're just going to put a lot of your more of your hope here in this life and that's never going to satisfied and I here's the deal I think you know that like deep down I think we I think we know that I I think there's a part of us that we've just we've we've tried.
So hard to make this life work we've tried so hard to to build things here to to build a happy life in this uh we we've tried to maximize Joy my question have you ever felt satisfied has it ever been enough I think you know this I think there's part of there's something inside you that longs for something greater I think there's something inside you a restlessness for something greater and you've tried all these things and it never has satisfied I love what CS Lewis has to say about this he says.
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy the the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world I want to read that one more time if I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world you weren you weren't made for this world he continues he says if none of my Earthly Pleasures satisfi it that does not prove that the universe is a fraud probably Earthly Pleasures were never meant to satisfy it.
But here he this but only to arouse it to suggest the real thing what he just said was is that there are some things in this world in this world that are pleasurable if you have a really good steak and a glass of wine or juice or whatever whatever whatever what the best meal you can imagine it's actually good but it never quite satisfies and the reason is because that that's a foretaste that's a picture of a greater Feast that is coming.
So every Earthly pleasure that is actually good is just meant to arouse the greater Pleasures that await and to put all of our hope there he goes on to close it out he says I must keep alive in myself the desire for my True Country which I shall not fine till after death I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same some of you have been feeling this.
For years you've been feeling this it's like I don't feel home in my body I don't feel home here I don't feel home I I just don't feel like this is all it's supposed to be some of you have given yourself to toys and to Amazon purchases and to Hobbies into makeovers and career changes and friends and spouses and children and gone headlong thinking any of these things are going to satisfy and they're not supposed to because this is not our home those are all pale pictures of a far country that awaits us and that far country is glorious it is wonderful and hope of Resurrection is that.
God would lift up our gaze to not look at this life and to not put hope here but to put our hope in the perfect life that Christ lived to see that our sin was paid for on the cross and trusting in his sacrifice and to believe that Christ walked out of the Grave to secure for us an eternity with him in that far country every ounce of energy and hope that we have has to be there and my hope this morning is that you wouldn't leave and go back to a life where you're trying to find pleasure here.
But you would put all of your hope there but it comes through placing your faith in Christ that far country is greater and my hope and plead this morning is that you'd see it that's the hope of Resurrection that's the hope of what Jesus did when he walked out of the Tomb My Hope Is that you'd see it let me pray heavenly father I pray that you might help us see what your Resurrection did for us that we might stop chasing after lesser things in this life that we might put all of our hope and the life that is to come and that might change the way we live.
Now that might for some people mean right now you need to confront them where they are at and and compel them God I pray that you help them see I pray that you'd help them see that this life is not worth living for that if we put our hope in this life it's never going to be enough and that right now that they would Place their faith in you and they would surrender to you God I pray if there are Christians in this room that are struggling that you'd help the hope of Resurrection come alive and that that might change each of us the way that we live until we reach that far country with.
You we ask this in Jesus name amen we're getting ready to have a baptism baptism is a picture of faith in Christ it is a picture of someone who saw their sin and realized I've messed up and I've sinned against a holy and perfect God and I want to trust in what he did on the cross for me that he's paid for my sin and I believe that he rose from the grave and because of that I get to have a new life in Christ until I reach that far country you're not saved by what happens in these Waters it's a picture of the Salvation that has already happened in someone's life as they enter.
Into the baptism Waters and they're placed under the water it's a picture that they were dead in sin but they're now alive in Christ and they've been washed by Jesus and our brother Evan Bud gets to be baptized here in a moment I want to read his testimony and his words before he enters into the waters.
Palm Sunday (Luke 18)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here uh grab your Bibles go to Luke chapter 18 we've been working our way through the book of Philippians and we are uh last week we installed Isaac as an elder and we are working our way towards Easter today is Palm Sunday and the story of Palm Sunday was called the triumphal entry is recounted to us in Luke chapter 19 this is where Jesus Jesus enters Jerusalem and it begins the last week of his life that it's the week that leads to the crucifixion.
Jesus enters Jerusalem as they celebrate him as a as a king they celebrate him as this prophetic figure who's coming to to rescue and to redeem they celebrate him as the Messiah they wave palm branches they lay them out in front of him in the middle of this one of the religious leaders fusses and says why are you letting them do this and he says if they didn't Shout the Rocks would cry out because the King has come he he spends most of the week what we're told is that he uh has adversarial aggressive interactions with the religious leaders it it's arguments um he drives people out of the temple uh there's there's conflict through.
This whole week and then on Thursday he has the last supper with his disciples Judas betrays him to the religious leaders he's arrested taken to to trial mocked beaten condemned flogged crucified that happens on Friday we'll gather together on Friday night this week and celebrate the the uh crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and then we'll gather on Easter morning and and celebrate the resurrection of Christ and that's this week that's that's what we're celebrating but we're going to look at what happens right before he enters Jerusalem.
So we're in Luke I said that Luke 19 talks about the triumphal entry we're going to be in Luke chapter 18 because one of the things that you could think is potentially maybe Jesus just got caught up in something you know he'd been ministering he'd been out in rural areas and maybe he just got caught up it was over his head at this point they they they caught him they grabbed him and he ended up pressing too many buttons and messing with the wrong people and it.
Finally all caught up to him you could kind of think you know Jesus was a good man he was a good teacher but eventually he just had pressed them too far and in some ways and in a human perspective that's true that he did press them farther than they wanted to go and that's why they arrested him but Jesus did that on purpose he knew what was happening and so I want you to look at Luke 18:31 and this is the.
Third time that Jesus has done this but it says and taking the 12 he said to them see we are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished now he often referred to himself as the son of man and he's saying that we're going to go see all that's been prophesied all that's been taught in the Old Testament as is about to be accomplished in Jerusalem for he talking about the son of man which is himself he will be delivered over to the Gentiles that's non-jewish people specifically it's the Romans he'll be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully.
Treated and spit upon and after flogging him which is he's going to be beaten whipped they will kill him and on the third day he will rise he knew exactly what was happening when he entered Jerusalem he had set his face towards the cross he knew how bad it was going to be he knew that he was going to be mocked he knew that he was going to be beaten he knew that he was going to be crucified but he also knew that he was going to rise and this was the plan all along this is what had been prophesied from the Old Testament onward.
And so now we ask the next question which is why why why go do that why is that what he's going to accomplish if you knew that was going to happen why go but it's prophesied this is the plan all along so why is this the plan and so we're going to look at a story he tells in Luke 18 right before this just a few verses before he looks at the disciples and says okay it's time to go and it articulates by by the way of the story by this Parable that he gives he he explains to us this is how this works and this is this beautiful articulation of the Gospel.
So we're going to spend our time in it this morning let's pray as we then look at verse n and what comes after Lord we ask ask you that through your spirit we would hear clearly the Declaration of the Gospel and we ask that you would help us to Humble ourselves today in Jesus name amen all right verse nine it says he also told this Parable so Luke 18:9 so we just went back just a little bit he also told this Parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.
So in this Parable what he's going to do is intentionally designed to be confrontational but it's also Invitational so he's going to confront and then he's going to there's an invitation kind of buried in here and so we're going to get to see both this confrontation but also this invitation that's in this text and it's nice that it tells us specifically who it's aimed at sometimes you read a story and you're like I wonder who that applies to this one was like Hey this story was told specifically to some people.
Jesus was talking to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt and he was like Hey have I got a story for you and so that's what's happening here so let's let's focus in on that for just a second it says they trusted in themselves that they were righteous well the word righteous there has religious connotations it means that you think you're right before God and I'm just going to take a wild stab in the dark given the room that we're standing in this is something that maybe you care a little bit about you've given some thought to maybe your mom dragged you here.
Today or your friend finally wore you down or you ran out of you know excuses or whatever and we're glad you're here welcome but it seems like it's possible that this is a room full of people who have given some consideration to what what is my life look like in front of God if he's going to judge if he's going to evaluate what does it look like and so that's this idea of righteousness but they trusted in themselves so basically this story was said to people who said I'm I'm.
Okay I'm one of the good ones I don't know maybe you're here this morning and you're kind of agnostic you you're trying to figure this whole thing out and and like I said we're glad you're here you're trying to you're like maybe there is a God I think probably it makes sense that things were created it makes more sense to me that God made everything than that nothing made everything um and uh I I'm just kind of trying to figure this out.
But you might would say something along the lines of but I mean you know I'm good like if if God's going to judge people and if there is a hell and and if that's a thing that he does but you know I'm okay I I'm not I'm not like a murderer I don't I don't you know spend my weekends robbing people and you know I'm not I I I've never really assaulted anybody you know and I pay my taxes and I parent my children and I go to work and I serve on the PTA and you know a speed.
But not that fast and the only people around here who care care are people in Springdale and uh so I'm you know I'm not that bad and so you you have this this General sense of I'm okay maybe you've talked to someone who doesn't believe there's a God at all but they they would be the same person in this story they say things like well if there is a God I've got some questions for him if there is a God he's got some explaining to do which would still mean that their righteousness is seated in themselves and that they're.
Okay they have their own righteousness so much so that they can actually evaluate God the person in the story here is specifically a religious righteous person so he's well behaved and moral he follows the law he follows the rules so what he would say is not I pay my taxes and I'm a good dad he'd say you know I'm a part of a Church been a part of Church for years was baptized when I was seven and then for good measure re-baptized.
When I was 22 like I'm I'm in you know he's he's got this General that's this he's got this religious resume but the point is he's trusting in himself his righteousness comes from himself that's the point of the story and so I would say it's likely that there's some of us in here today that that's the Zone we're in which is my righteous is in myself I'm also willing to argue that there's someone who wants to be like uh Preacher Man that's not me I know I'm not righteous I dragged myself here.
Today because everything I've ever done has fallen all apart I'm not one of the good ones I'm I I don't want him to look at my resume I I I'm here because I'm I'm a mess and what I want to say to you is we're glad you're here but it's possible that what you have framed up in your mind is so I'm going to go to Church I'm going to get it together I'm GNA start being one of the good ones I hope to one day trust in myself.
For my own righteousness and I would just say he's going to hold out a better option for you so if he's if he's correcting that don't set that as your aim let's let's see what he says but he says this trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt I want you to understand that that naturally goes together I don't know if you have a younger sibling that just kind of followed you around but if you trust in yourself that you're righteous just know that contempt is just hanging out it's just following you around it's going to go where you go.
Because that's how it works if I'm one of the good ones there have to to be some of the bad ones otherwise it the system doesn't work so even when you ask someone and they say well you know I'm not a murderer okay we've identified some of the people we get to treat with contempt we get to identify some of the bad ones and it doesn't matter what scale you use you've got some bad ones if it's manliness well then sissies are the bad ones they're the ones ruining the country.
If it's you know if it's the the environment then it's it's liters it's if it's if it's the way you vote then it's you know those red people or those blue people or whatever somebody's out here ruining things and I think if we talked long enough we could identify at some point you've got a line with these are the good ones those are the bad ones trusted myself for my righteousness these are the contemptible people so if it's religious righteousness it's the irreligious it's people who aren't a part of Church it's the pagans it's the Sinners.
Okay so that's what he that's who he's talking to and then it says this he also told this Parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt this is the story two men went up into the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector for us to under understand this story we really need to understand what a Pharisee and a tax collector were who they were and also how this would have hit the ears of the original hearers Pharisees were the most religious of the religious they were the they were the best at it they were the most Jewish Jewish people they they followed.
The law very strictly and so much so that they added extra laws to keep them from ever even getting close to Breaking the other laws it'd be like if if someone said you don't need to drink too eat too much sugar and you just said well I'll never have sugar boom problem solved I'll never have too much if I never have any that's what they did with the law that's what they they did with the Sabbath that's what these rules about what is work we're not supposed to work on the Sabbath.
Well they started adding all these extra things to make sure they never even got close they were the ones if you read the Bible they followed Jesus around throwing flags all the time he'd be doing something they'd be like wrong and I'm assuming they walked around doing this to everybody so it seemed like they were a delight at parties but they walked around constantly being like wrong did that wrong uh going to hell like that's what they followed people around doing that's kind of what the Pharisees did and they were very good at it.
So picture the most buttoned up laced up I don't know Boy Scout Ned Flanders whatever you got a picture in your head that's that's the Pharisees and then he says a tax collector and you know like good Americans were like Boo taxes down with King George um it's it's worse than you think because it's not just a tax collector for the government in general it's a tax collector for the occupation of the Holy Land by the Romans so if China or Russia just depending on what era you're watching a movie in comes and takes over the US it's the person that betrays their neighbors to work.
For that government to extort their own people because they understand the systems they understand the language they understand the culture they understand how they would hide things they extort their own people for the opposing government for the occupation and they get rich doing it so if they made a movie about this this wouldn't be the main bad guy the tax collector wouldn't be it would be the the really despised person that you wanted to see suffer if they did the movie.
Well the main bad guy would be the Romans but there would be this one character who was supposed to be their friend who' betrayed them and he was and you would just want them to get really hurt if if they did the movie well that's what the tax collector was it was the lowest of the low that had betrayed their nation and gotten Rich doing it so for the way this would hit their years it's a little bit like Jesus said there were two men praying in a Church one was a preacher and one was a pedophile that's that's the setup.
Because of how they viewed this General group of people all right so we know the characters we know they're at the temple praying verse 11 the Pharisee standing by himself prayed thus God I thank you that's a good start y'all Pharisees he's starting with thankfulness if anybody teaches you how to pray they might tell you that start with being thankful just think about the things you can be grateful for we knew this Pharisee was going to crush it he's doing great started off with thankfulness all right write that down be thankful here's what he says.
God I thank you that I am not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even like this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I get okay his prayer went downhill fast um he he's thanking God but he's thanking God for himself my wife and I we our anniversary is coming up in May we've been married 15 years if I like write her a card you know some love note my best handwriting make it loopy you know.
Look at the Declaration of Independence see how they write try to copy it and I write to my praiseworthy wife with eyes that can recognize handsomeness you have such good taste in men like I just I don't know if she's going to Swoon or not like I just I don't know how that's going to hit because what I'm doing is praising myself and that's the way this prayer works is that it's it's exalting himself he's the one who's praiseworthy he's the one who gets the glory he's saying thank you.
So much and he actually at this point is praying and looking around he says even this tax collector he sees the guy he's evaluating and ranking himself while he's praying and he says better than yeah well definitely that guy like he that's the way he's praying and then he starts listing off not only am I not these people but he's listing off the things that he's done and what he's really what's what the essence of his prayer is is God compare me to others check out my resume.
See that I'm one of the good ones that that's his prayer what he needs from God is for God to to to judge him to evaluate him to rank him that it's God's job to see how good he is and to respond to and respect his goodness that's the prayer he's the hero of the story he's the one who's highlighted it even seems as if some of the things that he's doing which are good things to do it's good to fast it's good to give tithe yes he shouldn't extort people he shouldn't commit adultery shouldn't be unjust like all these things it's good.
But in some ways it seems like the whole point is is not response to God and God's glory and God's goodness but it's a it's for himself it's like when you when teenagers are like I got to I got to start volunteering to pad my resume so I can get into college where do you want to volunteer don't care just needs to say volunteer it's not really about the thing they're doing it's not about the people who are getting served it's honestly they're serving themselves.
So they're going to add it to their resume that's some of what he's doing that's what it seems like that ultimately everything he's done has really been about him then he says this verse 13 but the tax collector standing far off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner God be merciful to me a sinner in the Pharisees prayer he's a saint God recognize my saintness tax collector has no Notions of himself being glorious or good he says I'm a sinner and he says I need you to be merciful in his prayer.
God is glorious and good God is Holy and just he just needs him to be merciful be be gracious to me be kind to me have mercy on me because I have nothing to present I have nothing to show you I have nothing I I don't all I have is things that I'm going to need forgiveness for that's his prayer and Jesus says this I tell you this man went down to his house Justified rather than the other all right we got to know what that word Justified means it means rightous that he's been made righteous that he's considered righteous before.
God so he's he sets up the story we we're told there's a there's a man who trusts in himself that he's righteous that's who he's talking to they're they're looking for righteousness and they trust in themselves and then he says this man went home Justified meaning made right made righteous before God he would be released from Court declared not guilty what do you know how fundamentally scandalous that is here's a guy who's devoted his life to good behavior and he's done it from what we have in the story he's behaved he's given away his money twice a week he's not eaten.
For a day to pray I don't know what you're listing on your religious resume but I doubt that's on there and here's someone who has betrayed his Nation rejected in so many ways the God who gave them the land has helped Gentiles overthrow the Jewish his own people who's walking in sin walking in unrepentance in so many ways and he says may I have mercy and Jesus says he goes home righteous how well ultimately we're told that the how is that.
Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and that he's handed over to the Gentiles and he's shamefully treated and he's flogged and he's killed and on the third day he rises because there is a debt that has to be paid there is sin that has to be paid this is why Roman says that God is both just and the justifier so he can justify people but he's just and that sin is paid for and that's what Jesus came to do Jesus came to make this a real option a real reality that we can ask.
For mercy and receive it because our sin can be paid for in Christ this is why we say Jesus died for our sins we mean it then he says this this is the this is the the the landing of the story this is where he ends it for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but the one who humbles himself will be exalted everyone who exalts himself will be humbled the one who humbles himself will be exalted uh IHOP their slogan is come hungry leave happy I don't know.
If you've been to an IHOP lately I'm not sure that's true maybe come hungry leave sticky I don't Jesus ends this with with saying if you if you come humble you leave holy if you come humble you leave whole if you become humble you leave happy there's joy and hope in humility but that everyone who exalts thems if you think you're in if you think you're one of the good ones you're out and if you know that there's no way you could be in.
If you think you're out then you can be in they they both get what they prayed for the Pharisees said judge me and he will be judged the tax collector said have mercy on me and he will receive Mercy the question is which Camp do you think you fallen do you think you'll do well when you're judged that's the only people who want to be judged the kid that raised their hand and said you forgot how to tank up our homework did their homework.
When you went shut up they didn't care they didn't care that you didn't do your homework they did their homework that's who wants the teacher to take up the homework is the kid who did the homework and honestly you not doing the homework makes it better they're one of the good ones at these homework clowns but I'm going to tell you if you stayed up late doing the homework you want the teacher to take it up what the heck and if they quit taking it up I'd be likely to quit doing the homework you know I've used this picture before.
Because I think it's helpful do you know who's going to try to get College loan forgiveness if they offer college loan forgiveness people with college loans do you know who's going to be really mad about them doing that people who just just paid off their college loans or the people who were like I'm not getting a college loan I'm going to go do trade work or I'm going to go do this or I'm going to work my way through college and they're like hey why don't we just forgive that and those are the people who said why don't we not.
For just handing out money hand it to me and even the people who disagree with the policy I don't think we should forgive college loans if they have college loans and they change the policy they're like well I'm going to get mine forgiveness I'm not I'm not dumb I mean I don't I wouldn't vote for it but I'll take it the the people who line up for mercy and forgiveness are the people who know they need mercy and forgiveness and the people who line up.
For judgment and valuation are the people who wrongly think they'll do well I did the homework I'd love for you to take it up it's not in some ways it is in some ways it is God responding to you exalting yourself or you humbling yourself and certainly in you humbling yourself but in other ways it's just how it works it's the nature of it because if you exalt yourself you're wrong it's not that he just goes oh that's prideful I'm mad at you it's that you're wrong you have nothing to exalt yourself over.
So you've set up the system incorrectly it's not going to work this is what Romans 3 says we're going to have this on the screen it says but now he's talking about the C the the cross he's talking about what Jesus has accomplished he says now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law okay so manifested means it shows up we now have the righteousness of God it's here it's been manifested but he says it's apart from the law.
So the law is what the Pharisees were using I'm going to be moral I'm going to be good I'm going to do the stuff I'm going to check the boxes I'm going to pad the resume I'm going to be good and he says no it didn't show up with that it did not show up with your moral law rule following it's not there it's shown up over here he says although the law and Prophets bear witness to it this is what.
Jesus was talking about when he says I'm going to fulfill all the prophets have been saying the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe that's the story that's he goes down to his house Justified because he's trusting in God to do it and specifically we're trusting in Christ to do it because God in Christ is the one who offers forgiveness and mercy through the work of the cross that that's where the rightous of God has shown up.
So if you want to be righteous you need Jesus to be righteous for you you need to trust in him to do it and you need to humble yourself and say I can't do it on my own for notice it's Faith it's believe it's for all who believe do you believe in Jesus do you trust in him and then it says this for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God sin separates us from.
God when we sin we fall short of his glory we we we are no longer holy we are no longer in his status but it's not ultimately what keeps us from him pride is what keeps us from him self-exaltation is what locks the sin in the tax collector had s but so did the Pharisee and the reason the tax collector leav is Justified is that he knows it and he asks for mercy and the reason the Pharisee leaves with his sin is.
Because he says judge me rank me and so he will be but he'll be in his sin because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God the truth is some of the best things you've ever done were just to compensate for some of the worst things you've ever done the I say this all the time but the people you've hurt the most are honestly just the people who get the closest to you the people you love the most are the ones that have to deal with your sin the most it's not like you're you're super sweet and kind to your spouse.
And then you just go out and S to someone on the street often you're nicer to that person and then you come home and you're mean to your spouse they have to do with more of your sin because it's in you you have it and so even if you're like well I've got a pretty good resume you still have sin you've still fallen short of the glory of God and you still will fail that evaluation for there is no distinction for all who have sinned and fall short of the glory of.
God and are Justified that's the word by his grace as a gift did the tax collector earn anything no does he receive Mercy yes because God's merciful because God's good not the tax collector the most you mean to tell me that Christianity is saying that the most vile Wicked despicable sinner who's never done anything good in their life that's basically a creature in human form that has poured out wickedness on everyone could in the last moments of their life say Lord forgive me and he will yes yes we mean to tell you that.
Jesus means to tell you that and the most well-b behaved good showed up to everything did what they were supposed to looks I mean has earned I they're a good citizen they're a good Church member they could they could go before God and be in their sin yes if they ask him to keep them there if they exalt themselves if you strut in front of the Lord you will be brought low but if you fall low before the Lord you'll be brought up that's how this works and here's the danger is that some of us in this room might have set this up the way the taex the the Pharisee hasn't set up there's.
Evangelism is the word that's used for trying to tell people about Jesus trying to to see people come to know him come to trust in him I'm doing evangelism right now I want you to trust in Jesus but there's Street evangelism and there's door to-door evangelism and there's different things that people used to to do and my uncle used to do this a good bit he he and some friends when they were in college would would do evangelism they would go knock on doors they would do different things and they were out doing this one night and it was three of them riding in a car it is in the 70s they all got hitchhiking.
They picked him up one of the common ways that you would start an Evangelistic conversation is you ask the question if you died tonight do you know where you'd go it it's to try to to jar people into I'm I hope you know I hope you're aware you're going to die at some point the assumption is that people would understand that there is some judgment and there is a heaven and there's a hell and do you know what would happen to your Everlasting Soul.
If you die it's just a normal kind of a thing that you might would say to somebody who you're trying to tell them about Jesus you're trying to tell them they can have assurance and hope so they get this guy in the car my uncle looks at him they're riding and he says if you died tonight do you know where you'd go and the guy looked like he was really thinking about this you know struck the question concerned doesn't answer they're waiting you know he's like he's thinking about it and pull up to a stop sign that dude jumps out the car runs as fast as he possibly can to get away from them.
And then they were like oh I hear it yeah I hear it yeah he thought we were going to kill him yeah yeah chase him down the street we'll yell at him that we're not another one of those questions is if if you really stood before God and he said why should I let you in what would you say what's your reasoning that that he would accept you and y'all if you think about it if you have an answer for that it's really really possible that you're just going to restate this Pharisees prayer put put it back on the screen the phes prayer prayer is this.
God I thank you that I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even like this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithe of all I get it's really really possible that you would say in your heart right now my response is well I'm not a murderer I'm not a robber I haven't actively harmed people I've never committed genocide and you've begun with please rank me and then you're going to list a few things on your resume I pay my taxes I'm a good parent I was a part of a Church.
For a long time and you'll have just repeated the Pharisees prayer and what you'll have said is should I let you in rank me judge me look at how exalted I am and you will be brought low because nobody gets in on their own Merit nobody walks in and says open wide the gates and declare my glory kick open the doors of Heaven announce Chesters here it doesn't work it's not to the praise of my glorious work it's to the praise of his glorious Grace as a gift that.
Jesus Christ the righteous goes to a cross on purpose to save sinners like that tax collector and like us that's the hope and here's what's beautiful if you're the person who said I dragged myself in here today because I'm a mess you can go down to your house Justified you can eat lunch today made righteous before God because of the work of Jesus and not based off of a single thing you do other than laying down and surrendering and saying all I can ask from you is Mercy I have nothing to offer I have nothing to show the only thing that I brought is the sin that made the cross necessary and I need you.
To take and I need you to rescue and I need you to cover me and I need mercy and you can go homemade righteous before the king of the universe not because of your work because of his and then you can sing and praise His glory the reason why we can walk around with confidence is not because we're good but because he is and none of us are trying to say look at my resume we didn't do the homework we're saying cover us give us Mercy give us Grace and he's good enough to do it that's what the cross is and that's why Christians can come and we can praise his glorious name where he.
Gets the glory and we don't if your answer sounds like the Pharisees will you change your mind today and will you say be merciful to me a sinner and will you go home Justified we're having baptisms this coming Easter this next week will you stay after and talk to us and and declare that I've trusted Ed in him with mercy and we can baptize you too we can talk about it we can look at this and you you can be someone who says it's not by my work.
But it's by his and we can celebrate that Jesus saves Sinners the band's going to come back up and we're going to sing about Christ who went to the Cross to redeem us from sin will you humble yourself today will you lay yourself low will you ask for his Mercy you know he'll give it that's why Jesus picked the absolute worst person he could pick because you're welcome when Jesus saves the most viest of Sinners all it does is declare how wonderful.
Jesus is that his blood isn't insufficient but that he saves like a God and a king who rules over all things bow your heads with me for a moment let's pray oh Lord we need mercy and may we rejoice in the finished work of Christ that you save Sinners and Lord if there's someone in here whose heart wants to present to you a resume whose heart wants to say rank me and see that I'm one of the the good ones Lord may you bring to mind their sin and your Holiness and may you by your grace help them to fall before you and ask.
For mercy so that you might graciously give it as a gift and may they go home as righteous as Christ because he's covered them in Jesus name amen.
Elder Installation (1 Peter 5:1-4)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
All right so had a big weekend we had a training weekend this Friday which is on marriage but that is not the only thing that makes this weekend really special for us uh today is a little bit different uh we're taking a break from the book of Philippians uh and we're going to uh spend some time today uh acknowledging celebrating and actually ordaining Isaac Hill as a pastor and installing him as an elder here at this Church so yes absolutely uh Isaac has been in the Elder and training process.
For the last four years and it's been a joy to watch him really grow and develop over the last few years um when he came on staff in 2020 and then entered into the Elder entering process uh I knew Isaac the least out of the four Elders uh Raz knew him the most and was gung-ho and will tell anyone who will listen that he is the one that made sure that we had Isaac on staff and to give him credit that is true and he advocated.
For it and uh and we quickly got to see uh the gift that he's been to our Church and the capacities in which he's served and kit City facilities and a whole list of other things he also entered into the Elder and training process which is a process that we take uh slowly and him starting out a little bit younger we took it even a little bit more slowly and we got to watch over the last four years so many things happen we got to watch character really show up in a lot of different ways we got to.
See him work in a lot of different capacities we got to see him serve and really step into uh shepherding and pastoring and today gets to be a celebration of that as we officially install him as an elder here in this Church now today functions a little bit like a wedding uh where I'm going to be uh preaching to Isaac directly so some of this just like I have a couple in front of me who's getting married I'm I'm preaching really to them about marriage.
But I'm also talking to the congregation as a whole about marriage I'm going to be talking to you a little bit about what it means to Shepherd here in this Church and also to the rest of our Church really giving you a window into what it means to Pastor what it means to be an elder what it means to to to Shepherd the flock as we're going to see in this passage in First Peter today so if you have a Bible you can go there.
Now it's on page 590 in the blue Bibles we're going to be in 1 Peter chapter 5 veres 1 through 4 I will read it and then we'll walk through this verse by verse to get a picture of what God is doing in his Church verse one so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow Elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed shepher the flock of.
God that is among you exercising oversight not under compulsion but willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock and when the chief Shepherd appears you will receive the unfading Crown of Glory let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you that we have this passage that is a picture of who you are to your people and what you expect of Elders and pastors God I pray that you'd help us.
See that so beautifully today that that would give us another picture of the Gospel that you would help us sit in awe of you as we get ready to install our dear brother as an elder in this Church so Lord we love you we pray that you would do this in Jesus name amen all right so that first verse says so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow Elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.
Now out the gate you see those words that word twice Elder Elder some of you may be less familiar with this phrasing you may think know like a presbyterian thing or a Mormon thing it's not one of them gets it more right than the other but it's not we have Elders in this Church and what I appreciate about this passage is that Peter is an apostle I mean you read through the gospels and see how near to Christ Peter was he's an apostle and he really could Flex his apostleship here.
But he doesn't he is also a local Church Elder and he speaks about himself as a fellow Elder now this word Elder shows up in the New Testament and what it is is it's an office it's a position of leadership in the Church and we see that word really interchangeably with another word in the New Testament called overseer so Elder comes from the Greek word presbyteros uh overseer comes from the Greek word episcopos which is where you get the word uh a bishop from.
But you see these two words and then right alongside it in passages you see the word for shepherding which is where we get uh the word pastor Pastor in Latin is shepherding and we see all three of these that really kind of describe who this person is and what they are doing and you see all three In this passage as well so he exhorts uh the the elders here which is teaching not Just One Elder but a plurality of Elders that it's a team of Elders at these churches that Peter is writing to and that's clear throughout the New Testament.
When you get to the book of Acts when uh when Paul is giving a speech to the Ephesian Elders he says in verse 1 it says in verse 17 now uh from Myas he sent to Ephesus and called the Elders of the Church to come to him there was multiple Elders in the Ephesian Church then when he's instructing Titus who's a Church planner in crate he says this is why I left you in crate so that you might put what remained into order and appoint Elders in every town as I directed you that you.
See that there's there's a plurality there's multiple Elders that are overseeing these churches the Scriptures teach this that it's not just one that it's a team of Elders which I appreciate I appreciate that on on a very practical level the the team approach to to pastoral Ministry uh that exists in our own Church I in uh May and June I'm going to take a sabatical I'm going to take uh two months to really step away from Ministry which I'm excited about and the good news is is that the wheels are not going to fall off.
When I'm gone it's just it's it's going to keep going and if I get hit by a bus which hopefully not if I get hit by a bus it'd be sad there be a season of of grieving hopefully a lot of mourning and grieving the the the the the sting being of loss would be so felt but you'd move on because it's not built on me I love that there's a team approach to how we preach here on Sundays that sh and I both share the load in preaching I love the fact that this Church is not built around one personality.
But it's built upon Christ and the team that he has raised up to lead this Church I appreciate the safeguards that are within that as we hold each other and check and hold each other accountable so when Isaac gets installed today he's going to be a part of the team he's going to be a fellow Elder and not an associate Elder not a junior Elder we don't have one lead Elder here we don't have one lead Pastor here we do have a lead pastor and a lead Shepherd and that is Christ.
But he's going to be an equal Authority with us leading together so that's why we're an elder Le Church and that's why we take the process of of really vetting eldership very seriously uh Isaac has gone through this elder and training process uh for four years and he's got to get some training and equipping on what it means to be a pastor but one of the main reasons the primary reason that it took so long it takes so long for anyone to be installed as an elder in this Church is.
Because the number one qualification for an elder is character it's character that that's the most important part of what it means to be an elder what it means to be an overy what it means to be a pastor you see this in a few passages I'm just going to mention one in 1 Timothy 3 it says this saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to the office of overseer again this is overseer Elder he desires a noble task therefore an elder must be above reproach the husband of one wife sober minded self-control respectable hospitable able to teach not a drunker not violent mag gentle not corome not a lover of money and I'm cutting off there.
For the sake of time but the list keeps going you see this also in the book of Titus and what do you see in the majority of those qualifications each one is character-based right able to teach us some competency some ability but the rest of that's character and there's a reason for that there's a reason why we took this slowly is because we don't want to see character in just a few months or even a year we want to see it in a sustained stretch.
When you go through the highs and lows of life we want to see Isaac respond to difficult situations and the character that would come out of him we want to see that because Character Matters the problem is the problem is is that some churches will weigh competency and your abilities over character so you can preach get them up in front you got a good voice let a rip and the problem with that is that you've you've overly weighted someone's abilities over their character and a lot of stories of churches that have just gone up in Flames is.
Because someone's uh uh talents were apparent and they were elevated before the character was actually tested and in the economy of God's churches he doesn't let that go unshift if the character isn't there it will show up and that's why it's important for us to evaluate character so all of that is built into this word Elder okay as so as as he's saying Elders that's the the the theology that's built into this understanding of this office and leadership in the Church.
So when he says so I exhort the elders among you all that's imported as a fellow Elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed verse two Shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight not under compulsion but willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock now in this passage there's one Central Command there's one imp erative it's Shepherd the flock that is among you and everything else is built upon that command.
So all those phrases that follow exercising oversight not under compulsion but willingly these are all participles these are all these are all phrases that help really picture what it means to Shepherd so first we got to understand this command Shepherd the flock and then we got to go step by step and I'm and really explaining what the shepherding looks like so let's first understand what he means by Shepherd in this command Shepherd the flock that is among you or the primary jobs of an elder is shepherding and that's a metaphor isn't literal I'm not going to bring much a sheep out here at the end of this this is a metaphor that they would have.
Understood more so than we would and I mean we I don't I don't I don't know any Shepherds I don't think many of you know any Shepherds I mean some of you might live in pan and you might know some sheep herds which I can make that joke because my family's from pan we go way back there but I chances are you don't know any Shepherds we're not familiar with this we're not keeping sheep so this isn't this is less familiar.
For us so it's helpful to actually understand where they're coming from when they said when he says Shepherd the flock that is among you because they would have known what that is that was a common trade at the time this was uh something that you would have known a Shepherd who had a flock of sheep whether that he oversaw himself or he overa oversaw on behalf of someone else and he loved his sheep that's what they're known for they it's their livelihood they they they love them they care.
For them they tend to them they they take care of them one of the tools that's that's most common in shepherding is a shepherd's crook would look something like this and I appreciate this uh and how they would use this and really what it means to Shepherd because if you have a sheep that would go astray the reason it's got a hook at the end is because that you would kind of gently pull them back into the fold because you didn't want them going astray.
If they went astray they could get into trouble they could get hurt they could get devoured by a wolf now this one doesn't have a club at the end but there were some shepher Crooks that had clubs at the end and the reason why is because you needed to absolutely take out a wolf right this is also a protective so that you could protect your sheep from any uh enemies that might come in so this was something they use in order to help Shepherd their sheep and this metaphor would have been Vivid as soon as they would have heard Shepherd the flock that is among you they would have pictured a Shepherd they would have.
Pictured that tool tool and they would have known what it meant for a Shepherd to lead his sheep into Green Pastures what it meant to guide his sheep towards uh good Waters they they would have known what this is for someone to care deeply for their sheep would have meant to protect them from uh War wolves I mean because I mean look throughout the Scriptures Jacob was a Shepherd Moses was a Shepherd David was a Shepherd it's just something that was.
So familiar to them now why I use the shepherding word as a metaphor because in the Old Testament shepherding is a metaphor for two things first God as a Shepherd to his people and then second leaders who are UND Shepherds of God leading the people that's why in Psalm 23 you get this imagery of God as a Shepherd to his people in Psalm 23 when it says the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he makes me lie down and Green Pastures he leads me beside Still Waters.
God cares deeply about his people like a Shepherd who tends to his sheep they're his and he'll lead them towards good pastures he'll lead them towards good Waters he'll protect them from Evil and this metaphor is developed throughout the Scriptures of God as a Shepherd to his people and then it's also applied to his unders sheeper the leaders of Israel David is referred to as a Shepherd in 2 Samuel 52 it says the Lord said to you you shall be Shepherd Of My People Israel and you shall be Prince over Israel not just a king.
But a Shepherd who would take care of his people in the Book of Ezekiel chapter 34 the leaders of Israel being called out for how bad they've been leading and in Ezekiel 34 it says the word of the Lord came to me son of man prophesy against the Shepherds of Israel this leaders the Shepherds of Israel prophesy and say to them even to the Shepherds thus says the Lord a Shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves should not Shepherds feed the sheep he says y'all been fattening yourselves you've been taking care of yourselves you haven't been taking care of the ones that I've entrusted you to verse four the weak you have not strength.
Strengthen the sick you have not healed the injured you have not bound up the Stray you have not brought back the lost you have not sought and with the and with force and harshness you have ruled them says you're not leading your people like you're supposed to you're not caring for them like a Shepherd who loves his sheep and the Shepherds the leaders are called out in the Book of Ezekiel now when you get into the New Testament this metaphor continues and in Mark 6 as.
Jesus is getting ready to feed the five th000 it says when he saw when he went ashore and saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd and they began to teach them many things that when he saw the crowds he saw a bunch of sheep that had no one to lead them and he had compassion on them and he taught them and he's getting ready to to begin his Church where he's going to have new unders sheeper they're going to take care of his people he develops this in John 10 which is what we read earlier I am the.
Good Shepherd Jesus says the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the Sheep verse 15 it says just as the father knows me and I know the father I lay down my life for the sheep and I have other sheep that are not of this fold which that's us you guys that's the Gentiles it's The Outsiders I'm assuming most of you don't have non-jewish background I may not know that but we are the Sheep not of his fault I must bring them also and they will.
Listen to my voice so there will be one flock one Shepherd Jesus there says two things beautifully one he is the Good Shepherd he is God he is whom Psalm 23 is prophesying about he's the he's the Good Shepherd second he lays down his life for the sheep and we see that beautifully when he goes to the cross and he lays down his life which we're going to celebrate so wonderfully Good Friday and when he rises from the grave which we'll celebrate on Easter.
When Jesus completes his work for his sheep for those who are harassed and helpless for those who didn't have a Shepherd when he lays down his life for us which pause for a moment just see how wonderful that is I mean goodness I mean sometimes we start to believe lies like God doesn't care about me God doesn't love me if you cared about my situation he'd do this if he cared about me he would do this and it's like no God does care he sees you in C.
If you belong to Christ you are a sheep you belong to him he loves you he cares for you he absolutely does but he says that he goes to the cross and then at the very end of the book of John when he's talking to Peter and he's instructing him one last time he tells Peter feed my Lambs feed my Lambs feed my sheep and that has to Echo so so deeply in his soul that when he writes this letter to these churches and he says Shepherd the flock of.
God that is among you all of that history all of that understanding is brought into this Shepherd the flock that is among you now that's the that's the main command now he's going to give some qualifications for what this command is supposed to be like how you're supposed to Shepherd the flock so Isaac this is going to be very much directed at you brother first one exercising oversight this comes from the same Greek word for overseer that we see in 1 Timothy 3 Elders are Shepherds and overseers the word.
For overseeing just means to give attention to to look at to take care of to keep watch over so overseeing really is is organizational leadership and Care kind of combined into one a few years a go uh well I'm going to tell this story and give the caveat three of us have a very similar version of this story so as I'm telling this just know it's kind of Mell it together that somehow we got to the bottom of how this story came up there was some controversy this weekend trying to figure out how this all went about.
But none of that's really important I just don't want to say this so confident like I'm telling you exactly how it happen just to give some caveats all right so a couple of years ago we are uh in the building right over here and walking by this door and the door is open and we look into the basement which that has a basement down there and we see a shimmer and it's not gold you guys it's sewer water that the sewer system in Casey just backed up and just flooded our basement with like four Ines deep of sewer water just wonderful I mean just you know you come in on a morning all excited ready.
To tackle the day and then boom day just completely altered kind of for one of us because Isaac immediately jumps into action steps into the nasty sewer water begins to try to Source it walks out the door finds where the where the drain is clogged gets his hands in get all the stuff out in the sewer water Waters Reed we actually got a new basement out it it was pretty pretty dope but that's the kind of stuff Isaac has been doing here he's just he's been doing that kind of stuff.
For years now as he Serv saw facilities um if you've been here long enough you remember our bathroom problems as we had the construction problems it was like once every like few months it's like out the toilets are backing up it's like all right Isaac's morning just got derailed moves from kids moves over starts fixing that we y'all we have literally we as a Church has been we he's he has saved us thousands of dollars by not having our contractors because we've just Isaac jump on in there and I've appreciated about that.
For years his problem solving ability the way he tackles things the way he uh his work ethic and really the organizational leadership not just in the tasks like that but also like in our organization as a whole one of the things that you if you know Isaac you know he has wisdom Beyond his years and it's shown up we're not super old but we're all mid-30s Isaac is in his 20s and as he's coming alongside of us every now and then he just would speak and be like we just man that's helpful speaking into how we organize speaking into how we do things it's been helpful to.
See that in Isaac you get to use that the same giftings that you have and being able to tackle issues and Tackle problems and caring for people but the difference is that people are not like a plumbing crisis they're not like a flight of stairs I love what Eugene Peterson says about pastoral Ministry says my job is not to solve people's problems or make them happy but to help them see the grace operating in their lives and it's true people aren't problems to solve they require love and they require patience kindness insight wisdom Direction and we get to be vessels.
For that of God's grace working in their lives and the reality is is just as you were like gungho ready to jump into the sewer Waters and to figure out what was happening there there can be situations where you jump into the sewer Waters of sin and you're just in in a situation that is very difficult and it takes a different set of skills that you've been growing and developing over these last few years of just carefully caring for people and shepherding them through anything that they might face.
So overseeing Souls is part of shepherding which is also what Paul articulates in his speech to the Ephesian Elders when he says in verse 28 of Acts 20 be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers to Shepherd the flock of God which he purchased with his own blood I know that after my departure Savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock that that see how overseeing and shepherding are are part the same cloth and it's caring.
For people it's making sure wolves false teachers don't come in this is what you're called to do what in a few moments you're going to be installed as an elder as an overseer of souls in this Church which for the rest of our Church family if you're a member of this Church family this is something that you you should see in a few moments he's going to be installed as an elder which means that you're going to be submitting to his leadership as an elder and the book of Hebrews chapter 13 says oh obey your leaders and submit to them.
For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account let them do this with joy and not groaning for that would be of no advantage to you that we install him as an elder in a few months a leader in this Church you get to submit to him as a pastor here as he cares for your soul and that also means that Matt I'm not Matt Matt May Spencer Chad Raz who I saw in this room somewhere no all right there he is Raz back there four Elders here that we're also going to be submitting to Isaac.
Because again we we mutually submit to one another as well even as Elders so that's part of overseeing all right this next next aspect of shepherding he says not under compulsion but willingly as God would would have you not under compulsion but willingly as God would have you I appreciate how you've taken this process seriously these last few years as you've discerned the calling and really the aspiration uh uh to becoming an overseers as 1 Timothy 3 articulates you have to want this you have to desire this and and and and that's necessary.
Because you've been near to us these last four years and you've got to see how Jo ful it is to Shepherd God's people and how hard it is to Shepherd God's people how hard it is to see people that you love so deeply we love our Church I love this Church so much it is so painful when you Shepherd someone you love so deeply and you watch them reject Jesus and chase after sin it is it is it is hard when you are lovingly trying to help someone Point them to Christ and they lash out at you or they're harsh with you or they take shots at you it is hard.
When you're trying to navigate conflict between two people and and When sin is present people can be so hateful and so hurtful and to be in the middle of that and try to point them both to Christ when they both just hate each other is so difficult there's a reason why recent polling says that 38% of American pastors are ready to walk away they're ready to walk away from the ministry altogether and the stats on their physical health emotional health overall health is just poor it's hard you have to want to do this you have to really Aspire and say I want to do this I want to own this calling you do that all.
With a Target on your back because the enemy would love nothing more to take you out one of the easiest ways to disperse the flock is to District the shepherd and we've seen that practically if you've ever seen a Church where the pastor fell into moral failure or they LED in a domineering way you've seen what happens afterwards as people begin to question their faith all together so you have to want this it's a calling and if you are called into this by the power of the Holy Spirit as you oversee you have you grow thick skin and you keep a soft heart and you stay by the power of the Holy Spirit resilient through.
It all there are much easier callings that won't take the spiritual weight and stress that comes with all of it but you have to want it and that's what I've appreciated so much even the last year in walking with you and Discerning do you actually want this is God calling you to this and it's been clear these last six months this is what God wants you to do so we do it we own it not under compulsion and then Peter continues he says not.
For shameful game but eagerly so not for shameful game but eagerly now you know this there ain't a lot of money in this gig it's just not you you don't do this for the money you locked yourself into you Isaac you're gifted you could have gone and done construction you could go and on a construction business and make buus and money not here there going to be times where you're going have to scrape to get by where you're look at that budget and you.
See that grocery budget right now it's just that's a part of it that's what you are stepping into now here's the good news I know you well enough to know that really out of four of us I I I have been very encouraged by your contentment like Isaac owns Five t-shirts four of them four of them I think Ras gave to him someone someone this morning someone this morning complimented that he's the only Pastor wearing green and it's like like he meant to do that that's one of two shirts he has that are nice we've had to tell him hey bud you need to get tennis shoes that aren't like he come up on stage.
And he's got a tennis shoe that's like a toes popping out of it's like no like dude so I I this is not I'm I know you well enough at this point to know that this is probably not going to be an area where you're going to be tempted but there have been a lot of pastors who have been tempted by greed who who have seen other people's lives and coveted other things and have been and have just been frustrated have made bad decisions in their frustrations.
Because they worship other things other than God now I don't think that shameful gain for money is going to be the thing that tempts you but there may be a shameful gain for other things be it honor or approval or control or power but we are on guarded and watching the things in our souls that we might want shamefully the next description of good shepherding that he lays out in verse three is not domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock.
So not domineering but being examples there's a great deal of trust that is given to us as pastors and we're telling our Church family in a moment to submit to you as a pastor and that trust it can be abused I mean you you can take people's trust and and use it for your own interest you can use it to steamroll someone to get what you want to make something happen that is something that can happen and listen in pastoral Ministry you can get short-term games you can grow a Church real quickly by just getting people to do what you want.
But it never works because that's not how God has designed pastors to lead we don't domineer other people we don't steamroll people we don't get them and force them to do what we want no the model of shepherding that we are called to in leadership is servant leadership that is what Christ did it is servant leadership it is the example of saying come follow me as I follow Christ just follow me as I follow Christ this is where we're going we're chasing after our chief Shepherd we're going after Christ follow me as you follow Christ Isaac the reason on a busy week.
Because you are a busy man and you ever see quite a few things the reason that you'll carve out of your busy schedule a day to go help your dad at bethl is not because your dad is going to be disappointed if you don't come it's not because he's gonna be mad or he's gonna he's going to show frustration or he's gonna he he's not the reason that you're willing to carve out a day to go help your dad at bethl is.
Because you love your dad and you know your dad loves you and you know your dad would run through a wall for you and you'd run through a wall for him that's shepherding it is loving people so well and running through a wall for them be it sin be it Brokenness be it the the condemnation of the enemy and saying follow me as I follow Christ follow me as I follow Christ we we're going after him I love you come that is what shepherding is.
God willing if you get to spend the next 10 20 30 40 50 years of doing just that faith f with your hand to the plow not looking back there will be a day when that will be rewarded and that's what we see in verse four and when the chief Shepherd appears you will receive the unfading Crown of Glory when the chief Shepherd appears when our chief Shepherd Christ appears you as an Under Shepherd who has Faithfully undertaken the task of shepherding God's people will receive the unfading Crown of Glory it is a blessing and a gift to be able to Shepherd God's people it is a blessing to be able to lead God's people.
It is a blessing to be able to to teach them to care for them to point them towards our chief Shepherd but when our chief Shepherd appears when Christ appears and comes back or if when we die and we see him face to face whenever that is that expectation of his coming and that expectation of seeing him all along the way we stay diligent we don't stop we stay after it we commit ourselves to this I love the phrasing what I read earlier in Hebrews uh chapter 13.
When it says obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your soul that word for keeping watch is the night watch it's the person who stays up through the night to make sure that if any enemies are coming to make sure they're caring for those who they're overseeing that's what we get to do God will for 10 20 30 40 50 years or the night watch and we labor we should be tired I'm tired after this week I'm that's.
Okay at the end of 30 or 40 or 50 years this should be a little bit tired because it's worth it because of the calling that God calls us to and if you do that and you do it Faithfully there's an unfading Crown of Glory and I don't know what that is it's a I don't I don't know I don't know what it is but if our God says it's unfading and it's a crown it must be good so brother we have this tiny portion of the greater flock of.
God flock of God that those are birds fold of God we have this tiny P portion that we get to oversee and we get to Shepherd and we get to love and we get to lead and if we do that Faithfully there is a reward that is coming the crown is there and if you are ready to own that we are ready to have you so I'm going to invite you to come up along with our elders all right you guys get a little bit you guys get a little bit closer all right this is G be on the screen as.
Well Isaac Do You Believe by God's grace in your life that you meet the qualifications laid out in Scripture for an elder and have not hidden sin in order to serve in this capacity Isaac do you commit yourself to God's word to study it meditate on it and cherish it striving to mold your life to its instruction and actively seeking to to train others to do the same Isaac do you commit yourself to keep a close watch on yourself and your sin being quick to repent.
When an erir Isaac do you commit to keep a close watch over M City Church sacrificially loving serving and leading those to whom God's Holy Spirit has seen fit to make you an overseer and Isaac have you committed your life to Jesus Above All Else believing only in the Gospel and not your good works efforts or success and Ministry for your salvation I all right so this is for our committed members Church family I'm going to ask you a question and you can respond by God's grace we do Church family do we commit under the authority of the word of.
God to submit ourselves to Isaac's Direction and seek to make his time serving here one of Joy by God God's grace we do Isaac by God's grace and through Jesus Christ we commission you to serve alongside us as an elder of mil City Church as God's Steward over his beloved Church sacrificially loving serving and leading those to whom he has assigned us for as long as God and His grace allows us so Matt we got uh a gift for you Isaac this is a little bit special uh this was given to your grandfather uh and recognition of his years of shepherding and we have personalized it.
For you as a reminder of the calling that you were stepping into so brother we are we're this is a joyful moment for us I'm going have Chad pray over you I mean for our whole Church too just recognizing us Jesus we love you you and we love your Church and we love the the portion of your Church that we get to call our Church family and we love Isaac and we're thankful for him and Isaac we commission you in the name of.
Jesus by his kingdom and by his appearing that you might join and shepherding our Church family that you might submit yourself to the will of God and Lord we pray that your Holy Spirit would Empower and bless and work through Isaac to love and to serve and to care for your Church that you might use him for your glory and for your good and for the good of your people that he might be spent for those who belong to you and that you might guard him.
Lord we entrust him to you that you would guard his heart and his steps that you would help him to lead his family and Lead this Church and that you would help him to serve and that he would wear himself out for your name and your kingdom and your glory and your people may you bless Isaac may you bless his household may you bless this Church Lord we are your people and we need your help so may you care well for us may we serve.
Well for your name and your glory and we hand Isaac and this Church to you in Jesus name amen amen that's.
Salvation and Works (Philippians 2:12-13)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we are continuing to walk through the book of Philippians we're in Chapter 2 and we're the next two verses verses 12 and 13 the text will be on the screen you can also follow along on that blue Bible which is on page 570 if you don't have a blue b if you don't have a Bible at all please take that want you have a Bible that you can read at home uh I told this story years ago.
But we've grown as a Church so many of you have not heard it when I was 10 years old I got my first pair of contacts now at 10 years old you get contacts you don't know what you're doing you trust the optometrist is going to teach you how to wear contacts now I got a pair of focus night and dailies okay this is the brand I've worn pretty much M uh ever since I was 10 years old and those allow you to continuously wear them I mean I they say up to 30 days.
Now optometrists are like please don't do that um that's bad for your eyes but you know at 10 years old I'm like I I can do it and you know some of you who have contacts you wear them and you wake up in the morning and you've slept in them your eyes are like dead they're bloodshot and you're in pain I that's not me I can wear contacts y'all when I was uh young I could wear contacts three months in a row not take them out once which is dangerous you should not do that.
But I did and when you try to pull that off your uh eye it feels like you're pulling off your cornea I mean it is it is brutal but you know just didn't learn out the gate really well some things about wearing contacts and then years later uh you know I was talking to a friend of mine I just said man I just I don't know like for the last few days this contact is just not it's not fitting right and he said.
Well it's possible that you put it in backwards and I said no contacts are reversible he was like they're they're they're not I said no they they are he said they're really not and he went online and he pulled it up and he showed me that cont only fit one way they are not reversible now here's the kicker that was 5 years ago I was 30 years old when I found out that contacts are not reversible Chad Phillips was like hey man you need to understand this.
Finally someone corrected me in this which means that there would be weeks that went by where a contact was in backwards and I just like you know I'm powering through it this is fine I'll be I'll be good and I know what you're thinking how strong is are his eyes I mean just what he's he's got a really good pair of eyes that could take that kind of pain that's what I thought too did not at all think that that was foolish and that someone should have uh corrected me at a young age.
But ideally somebody would have ideally like the the optometrist at 10 years old would have sat down this is probably why you don't give context to 10-year-olds but would have sat down and just said this is how you do it no no no listen this is how you do it or afterwards someone would have corrected me so I didn't go through years of suffering in pain certainly would have made my life better now the passage we are in today helps explain really the relationship the relationship between faith and works and we need to understand this correctly we need to understand how we put on how we apply faith and how we put on how we.
Apply works correctly because if we don't if we hear the the Central Command of this passage today passage today is work out your uh Salvation with fear and trembling if we misunderstand that and we put that on incorrectly it results in pain but if we actually understand how this is supposed to be put on how we're supposed to apply this to our lives if we understand the relationship between faith and works correctly not only do we avoid pain we actually enter into joy and life ultimately is better.
So I'm going to pray and then we're going to walk through this passage together heavenly father I pray that that you might help us see what it means to walk in faith that produces Works may we understand that correctly and may that result ultimately in our joy being found in you in Jesus name amen all right so two verses therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed so now not only as in my presence but much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God who works in you both to Will and to work for his good pleasure now in verse 12 that Central Command right there work out your own salvation with fear and trembling is a loaded phrase that's a loaded phrase now some have stripped that from its context and have said aha works you need them to be saved or you need them to continue your salvation it's on us ultimately to get it done but that's taking it out of his context we seek to be a people who understand the Bible in its context that's why we study the Bible verse by verse that we go through different books of the Bible.
So we can understand what's happening here because context matters immensely like if I'm watching the TV in one room and my wife is in another room and I say oh man she is looking good my wife has two choices she can run into the room guns blazing ready to throw down not not physically just just who's looking good or she can come and get the context realize I'm watching the lady Gamecocks play and they are looking good because they're playing great comea Cordes hit a three-pointer last it was fantastic yesterday context matters all right.
Well you study the Scriptures you need to understand the context of what is being said and when you get to the front end of this verse you need to see right at the beginning where it says the word therefore when you see the word therefore and on adage in in Bible hermeneutics which is just a fancy way of saying how we study the Bible is uh when you see a there the word therefore you need to ask the question what is the word.
Therefore there for see in Bible nerd circles we have all types of really fun phrases like that but that that Clues you in to say okay if the word therefore pops up I need to understand what's happening here because typically what is happening is that what's about to be said next is being linked to by the word therefore to things that were said previously and the truth of what was said previously is being pulled into what's about to be said and that's what's happening here.
So when you read therefore you need to back up and see what have we been studying the last few weeks so you go back to a few weeks ago we read in chapter 2: 3 through 4 it said do nothing from selfish and ition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves Let each of you look not only to his own interest but also the interest of others and we saw this this radical call to humility that counts others interests more important than ourselves we looked at that and how that's supposed to shape us as a people that are outwardly focused looking at the needs of others.
And then we saw last week that that uh display of humility is linked to what Christ did for us which is in verses 5- 11 have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found in human for form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross this picture of.
Jesus who was eternally God who took on flesh to dwell among us to go to the Cross to die for our sins that unbelievably humbling ACT results in the Redemption of his people that is the work that saves Sinners therefore verse 9 God has highly exalted him and bestowed him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is.
Lord to the glory of God the Father father the humility of Christ to go to the cross for us to save Sinners so that we might confess that Jesus is Lord joyfully on the day of judgment that's the truth that precedes the word therefore so we pull all of that into the word therefore and what follows in verse 12 therefore my beloved as you've always obeyed so now not only as in my presence but much more in my absence so before we get to this big Central Command that anchors this passage he has a little bit of an aside a pause that he's just going to be uh addressing this Philippian Church that he loves.
That he has a good relationship with and he's just encouraging them saying hey you you've been doing this you you you you've obeyed you've been doing this and you need to continue to do this which is what I do with my own children like my own kids the language of our household for our children is we need to listen and obey need you to listen and obey that's what you do with us and if we have a babysitter that comes that they're not familiar with it's watching.
For the first time we say we trust this human being okay you're going to do the same thing in my absence Listen and Obey he's encouraging him this what you've always done and you're going to keep it going now Central Command work out your own salvation with fear and trembling so again so some folks jump into that that statement right there and they bypass the word therefore and they jump into aha we you got to live a good life here that's what this is about it said work out your salvation.
So you got to you got to live a good life which in some people's mind their their idea of how you are saved is some type of balance of a scale where you've got good works over here and bad works over here and you got to limit the bad and you got to do the good and if it balances out somewhere like like this and we get a little more good than bad then you'll be okay and you'll get into heaven and it's like no you've completely missed the point.
First off the good things that that you're doing are not as good as you think they are because if we're honest many of our good things are staying with selfish motives the bad were way under selling we don't understand how much we've sended against a holy and perfect God how much we've rebelled against the God of the universe and what kind of cost is involved in that we've misunderstood this completely and some folks have that mindset of just it's got to be a good person.
So I can get in to heaven or I can or I got to be a good person so that I can I can hold on to my salvation that that's what ultimately is what's going to keep me saved and that is ripping this passage out of its context not only by disregarding the word therefore but by completely disregarding the praise that follows after it work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you it is.
God who works in you God is the one who's at work in us God is the one who Begins the work of Salvation and he's the one that continues the work of redemption in our lives that's how this letter started when we were in Philippians 1:6 a couple of months ago we saw verse 6 it said I am sure of this that he God who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ that.
God is the one that begins the good work in us and he continues it and he carries his home all the way to completion Those whom God claims he carries into eternity is the reason why we we believe so wonderfully that we're saved by grace alone through faith alone and Christ Alone to the glory of God alone that's why Ephesians 28:9 says for by Grace you've been saved through faith this is not of your own doing it is the gift of.
God not a result of works so that no one may boast Redemption is a gift it is a gift that we could not repay is a gift that he gives to his people it is the not is not a result of works there is no balance here that no it's completely looking at Christ and what he did for us on the cross and in the empty tomb that is our only hope is trusting what Christ has done for us it's understanding that.
Jesus is by his act and his works alone that we are saved so that's true then what does he mean by work it out what does he mean by work out your own salvation with fear and trembling he's talking about obedience he's talking about a worshipful reverent fear of the Lord awe of his power obedience that Jesus begins that good work in us he he gives us the Holy Spirit who seals us Ephesians 1:13 and then he continues that work of this reverent worship and obedience that's what Galatians 2 is capturing in Galatians 2:20 says I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live it's not I who live.
But Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me that the Christian Life is recognizing that Jesus the crucified savior it is him who comes to live inside of us and the life we live in the flesh now is by faith in what Christ has done and his work flowing through us we need to understand that we need to believe that.
Because if we don't we get it completely twisted like I about a few weeks ago I saw the announcement that uh that we're GNA that Columbia is hosting a Premier League soccer match at Williams Bry stadium and uh yeah man you in Liverpool I mean who to th they came to Columbia South Carolina out of all the East Coast they chose one of this city out of just a few and my uh my daughter loves soccer she plays soccer she's getting good at it she really loves it and I thought man it' be really good to take Ellie to this Premier League match I said.
But it's going to be really pricey for got the budget right now and then I like dragged my feet and then all of a sudden the tickets went on sale and they sold 880,000 tickets like that I mean just gone and I was like man but if I was really committed and I said no I'm going to make this happen I will go on the secondary Market I will buy those very expensive tickets that is not in our budget all right I'm GNA do it like.
If this is me dreaming you guys so I'm like all right I'm going to buy the tickets and then we're going to go to the game since I'm dreaming we're going to go and we're going to get we're going to get the concessions y'all because the car family is like we got to eat before we go cuz you a little pricey and then we're we're get in a jersey we're getting two jerseys we're getting a scarf we're going to sit lower deck no nose bleeds.
For us we're doing a big you guys lower deck and I take her to the game and we and we sing Olay oay Olay and we watch some of the best soccer players in the world just absolutely kill it and then I go home and I'm like babe how great was that and she goes yeah Dad aren't you glad that I took you to the game word you no that's that's not how this works at all I took you to the game I'm the one that bought the tickets I'm the one that got the concessions I'm the one that that that got you the scarf from the Jersey child.
If you didn't want to go you were going anyways cuz I paid for that I was breaking through your Will child we were absolutely going to this game I decided it and we are absolutely going the work is on me and the reality is that God the Father bought the tickets God took us to the game God brought you home and our actions sometimes say look who I did I took us to the game God the Father purchased us for the blood of his son.
Jesus God's grace breaks through our hardened Hearts the spirit comes alive at work within us God is the the one who redeems us and our actions sometimes say the opposite because some of y'all when you mess up and you sin you think oh I've done done it now I don't know if God can continue to love me I don't know if he's still gonna I don't know if I don't know if I can still I don't know if I'm still a Christian.
Because I've I've I've messed up too many times and I've done too many things how could how could God possibly not want to abandon me and your actions and your heart posture reveals that you believe it was on you in the first place some of you beat yourself up because you you didn't stick to a Bible reading plan or you don't pray enough you're like I just if I I just I got to read my Bible I got to pray which we absolutely yes and amen.
Because it is good for your soul and you should do that every day but some of you are thinking if I don't do this I'm like I don't know it's just God God's not going to be he won't accept my worship it's not I don't know if I can come to Sundays and I don't know if I and your actions and your heart posture reveals that you believe this is on you some of you maybe have been out the Church for a bit and you're just jumping back in and you're like man I just I don't know like I I'm here with a bunch of Church folk and I just don't know.
If like I I got if I'm Really Gonna if I'm really going to commit to doing this I gotta I gotta I gotta get my life cleaned up I got to straighten some things out because if I get around these these these churchy people like I don't I don't know if I'm going to fit in I don't know if I'm I got to clean my life up before I can come to the Lord some of you might have the posture that is one that is just that that thinks that you're a good person maybe you've got a posture that just says I'm I'm a pretty good person like I I do a lot of good.
Like I'm not maybe you're even comparative a comparative about it you're like I'm a pretty good person I'm not a murderer I'm I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm a thief I'm not sleeping around I'm I'm living a pretty good life like I God should accept me is the posture of your actions there's a lot of different way ways that we by our actions and by our heart posture reveal that we believe that the work of redemption is ultimately on us.
And if that's where we land then where you put your hope in is in your works and not the work of Jesus and if it's if if your hope is in your works then you have no hope if your hope is in your works then the path from your works the path that goes from your works to hell because you can't get to heaven on your own and you have to understand this from this passage so I think some people misinterpret this passage remove it from its context and leave with a bad theological understanding of how we are saved I think there are other Christians that.
Look at this passage and understand it's by grace through faith preach it yes amen I absolutely believe that wholeheartedly and yet will completely ignore the force of this command altogether we'll completely jump past to the greater theological understanding that yes we're saved by grace alone through faith alone and Christ Alone the glory of God alone like I with that's but then completely ignore that it says work out your own salvation with fear and trembling you know what work means in the Greek work it's production that's what is happening here it is absolutely clear that you are saved by grace.
But this is obedience this is obedience this is Faith producing obedience and we're called to this aggressively that's why Ephesians 28-9 which yes and amen for it's by Grace you've been saved through faith and it's this is not of your own doing it's the gift of God not a result of works that no one may boast did you know that verse 10 exists for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforeand that we should walk in them that yes you're saved by the grace of Christ and his work alone.
And when he redeems you you're saved for good works Spurgeon once said your good works is not for the lord it's not to be saved it's for your neighbor you are saved for good works to walk in them which God has prepared for us this is why Galatians 68 says for the one who SWS to his own flesh Will from The Flesh reap corruption but the one who SWS to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life the work is sowing it is working it is striving Luke 13:24.
Jesus says strive to enter through the narrow door for many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able the Christian Life is one that strives in the power of the Holy Spirit to do the good things that God has set out for us to do it is not a passive life where you just sit back and let go and let God which historically is a problem in the South because there's so many people in the South who had a religious experience at some point who prayed the prayer who walked down the aisle they raised the hand and they have this experience.
And then the rest of their life that there there's they're not walking in faith at all their their life isn't one of repentance their life isn't one of of this fearful trembling all worship before the Lord and doing the good works he's designed for us to do and it completely ignores the work out your own salvation with fear and trembling which means that if you call yourself a Christian and your life is not marked by one of repentance we're all Sinners we're all jacked up.
But if your life isn't marked by repentance and it especially if you have the mindset that just says I mean but God's gracious isn't he he's good all the time and it's just I you know I'm better than I deserve but there's no actual it's just seeing Grace is just this cheap offering cheap Grace that I can just do whatever I want Paul addresses that in Romans 6 he says what shall we say then are we to continue in sin that Grace May abound by no means how can we who died to sin still live in it he's just flabbergast he's like that doesn't compute.
For him he's like do do you realize what your sin cost it cost the blood of God and to think that we can see Graces this cheap offering that we can sin all the more by no means absolutely not and if that's your reality then it's possible you might not not be a Christian in the first place if you call yourself a Christian but you never want to read his word you never want to grow in the discipline of word and prayer and you might be the kind of person that says.
But you know I just don't I don't like reading I'm not a great reader I I honestly guys the majority of the early Church wasn't either you know why because they were illiterate and there are Christians all across the world that cannot read but boy oh boy when someone reads the word of God their ears are ready and that's how they used to learn it they used to listen to the word of God and they'd hide that word in their heart and they'd meditated and they' repeat it over and over again to hide the word of.
God deep in their heart and we have phones where you can download a Bible appp and listen to the word of God on demand 24/7 we are without excuse and if your life is marked by one that does not love to read the word that does not want to grow in prayer that's a problem it doesn't he need the command here to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling if you call yourself a Christian but you've never actually shared the Gospel with an unbeliever you've never actually articulated the Gospel to someone who doesn't know Christ knowing what we know that without Christ is hell you say I'm not I'm not gifted at that.
I'm not either I've stumbled through so many Gospel presentations so many but it's more than just I mean it's it's not sharing the Gospel is not a lifestyle that's salt and light stuff and it's good and makes the Gospel look good but if you don't articulate the word of God if you don't share the message and you haven't shared the Gospel at all and that's a that that's a problem when it comes to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
If you call yourself a Christian but you have no desire to be committed to a local Church I mean I've I mean I've heard the argument for years like I I got Jesus I don't need the Church and it's like I I don't think you've I don't think you know Jesus because if you read his word he loves the Church so deeply yes the Church has got some jacked up people in it like like look in the mirror just I mean we're we're yeah and people have done some terrible things in the Church.
But find me a passage that sees God spitting upon the Church and you you're not g to find it God loves the Church he loves his bride that's why he gave up his blood forth the Church I've heard so many Christians make that argument is you don't understand this and you're not living out what it means to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling if you call yourself a Christian but you cling to your finances and you don't submit them to Christ which I know some people yeah the Church is all up.
For your money it's like I no but Jesus is because it reveals what's happening in our hearts and what we love and what we ultimately worship could go on and on and on with this to reveal what's happening in our hearts is there is there this this fear and trembling consideration of Eternal things which I'm listen I don't I don't this passage is meant to be a comfort it's meant to be a comfort okay it's it's actually not meant to stress you out.
But here's the thing I Chad and I were talking about this I don't think I've ever met someone who's a Christian who at some point wasn't at times considering these Eternal things with fear and trembling just I do I really believe this do I really love God do I am I really am I really living what it means to be a Christian I don't think you should stay there I think you look to and you say wait a second no it yeah we're Sinners and we trust in the work of.
Jesus and he's good but I I don't know I don't know Christians that haven't wrestled with this in a real way that just says do I actually believe this and if you've never actually wrestled with this like do I actually believe this then you might might not be a Christian when you understand this command as a Christian that it's by faith alone that we're saved and there's a call to obedience that flows out of this faith when you understand that you can begin to change you can begin to change from the infection of self-righteousness and and works-based salvation or the infection of cheap Grace that just says I can be be a Christian and not.
Ever do anything good to begin with and if you start to like lean into this passage and really let the truth what's Happening Here impact our hearts you'll start to see healing this is the treatment like if you have pneumonia if you have a case of pneumonia you're going to have fever sepsis chills the works white blood cell count through the roof but if you go in and you get the antibod antibiotic antibiotics I promise I talked to a doctor before I made this illustration you you get the antibiotics you're going to actually get better you're going to have you're going be able to breathe you're going to get your white cell count's going to.
Go down the fever is going to break but you got to get the treatment the treatment is submitting to God in faith and then allowing him to shape our hearts that we walk this out in obedience and if we'll do that here's what you're going to discover if you've done the work of fear and trembling all worship before the Lord faith in him God sham my heart and let me walk in obedience if you've done this then you're going to discover this results in your good and that's how this ends work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God who works in you both to Will and to work for his good pleasure the work of Jesus in you ultimately is for his good pleasure every now and then I try to get my children to do something they don't want to do and it is difficult and this one time I had my son and we had to go up this big big walk big hill big hike we parked and we we got out we're walking listen what I've noticed with kids is is that they'll run around.
For like an hour and if they have a pedometer they've clocked like two miles but the moment you say let's walk in a straight line together up a hill it's like I can't do it they just like it's so hard it's likees you can so I'm encouraged him like come on buddy like we got this we got we got to go we got to walk and I it's like all right you can't you can I just can't the hill I'm like you can buddy I've seen you do it you can you can get up this hill I can't.
So like all right let me put you on my shoulders and I wall my shoulders for a bit and I'll carry him a little further and I'm like buddy you're you a little big now you going have to walk my back ain't that good this come on come on you can do it he's like I can't we see we had to walk across this bridge he's like I can't do it yes you can dude come on come on and then we get to the steps at Colonial Life Arena which is I have to park far away.
Because you heard about a budget earlier like it just I ain't paying for parking our family walks and we're at the steps of Colonial Life Arena we walk up and guess what buddy we're here monster trucks monster jam and he's excited because he's gonna watch Gravedigger wreck some cars and it's like we're here it's good ain't it good yeah he's smiling and I'm smiling because he's smiling and I'm overjoyed and that's our God at work in us that God the father he begins the good work in us and there are times where he's he's encouraging us you you got it just a little further and there are times in life where we are just rock.
Bottom and he puts us on his shoulders and he carries us a little further and then he puts us down and he continues he's like you got it and by the end of it we are finding the joy of Walking with God and what awaits us and our God finds joy when we find joy in him he finds pleasure when we find pleasure in him I mean think about that picture the God of the universe who's just in the heavens when you are doing the good works that he's designed.
For you to do where he's just up there and he's just like that's my boy that's my girl that's who our God is but it cannot be that if you don't submit to him in faith and if you don't seek to live a life that out of Faith seeks obedience ultimately for the good of others that results in our own good but it takes understanding this passage correctly putting it on and walking in faith and obedience as we're called to as Christians let's pray heavenly.
Father I pray that you might help us submit Our Lives to you so that we can be the kind of people that you've called us to be Heavenly Father we need you to do a good work in our hearts we need you to continue to sanctify us to make us like you so that we might be the people that you've called us to be so we might work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is you that works in us we ask this in.
Jesus name amen we're going to take the Lord's supper the band is going to come up and as prepare to take the Lord's Supper some of you need to consider your posture and your heart before the Lord some of you love Christ and you're a follower of Jesus and maybe on one side you're just you're beating yourself up thinking that this is all on you and we come to the table as a reminder that on the night that he was betrayed he took bread he bre broken he said this is my body that was broken.
For you he took the cup of the New Covenant he said this is my blood that was shed for you that as often as you eat and drink this you Proclaim my death until he returns and we need to remember that it's on Christ and what he's done for us so yeah we're Sinners and yeah we don't perfectly obey but that's the point of Christ coming for us and you get to joyfully come to the table and remember that so prepare your hearts to do that there's gluten-free back in that corner over there prepare your hearts.
For worship but there are some of you who have never actually tasted and seen the Lord is good you have not placed your faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross or maybe you had some profession of Faith years ago but the whole life since then has been one of cheap Grace and my hope is that you wouldn't come to the table but you would come to Christ and you would submit your life to him and you'd see that he's beautiful and that he's glorious and that he's good and that he's worth worthy of your life.
Today would be the day that it begins the good work in you and then you would walk with us to see how he continues that good work and that one day you might stand in the presence of God as he's carried you through to completion worshiping him forever consider your hearts and respond.
Every Knee Will Bow (Philippians 2:5-11)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here if you'll grab a Bible and go to Philippians chapter 2 we are working our way through the book of Philippians it's a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Church in Philippi and we're working our way through we're going to be in Chapter 2 veres 5- 11 today this past week I have two sons they were we were getting ready for school and they were watching the be movie which.
If you haven't seen it uh it's about bees um so it's aptly titled and the bees in the movie are graduating from high school and they talk about how grueling their one day of high school was which is a comment on the short lifespan of bees and then they are traveling around the hive and they're being pitched all the jobs that they can take as a Bee they're graduating from high school and now they're going to pick a bee job and one of the things that's said by the person that's showing them all the jobs is they say pick carefully.
Because whatever you choose you will do all the time until you die from now on till you die this is how bees work you're going to do this and you're going to die and all the bees go yay except for the main character bee who suddenly has a crisis and it's like that's a big choice and I was thinking about it the reality is there are a lot of times where we make big choices and we're like all the other bees where we just kind of yay we just don't even think about it we just make a choice there's been been decisions that you've made in your life that have actually altered the course of.
Your life that have affected how you've lived and how you've worked they've expected your day-to-day for a long period of time and you just kind of made the decision but there are other times when we pause when we really consider hold on a second this one's big and I need to really be thoughtful here the text we're going to look at today we're going to be faced with an innocent escapable reality you're actually uh a lot of times we try to read ourselves into the Bible wrongly.
But today you're in here we're actually going to get a glimpse at the future in this text today and as we look at it we're going to see an inescapable reality and what I'm going to suggest is that we actually today that you actually today don't just go yay and move on but that you pause and con consider the reality of this text and you make a a decision that you mentally weigh and consider and choose something good this morning that's that's my hope.
So go to Philippians 2 verse 5 we're going to read this whole section uh and we're going to walk through it here but here's what happens I want you to see the beginning of this it says have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus okay so that's the the command in this text have this mind among yourselves now if you were here last week that's what we spent our time on the command that Paul is making in this text where he's going to tell them to be humble to be uh gracious to be to count others as more important than themselves that's what we talked about last week and we'd be wrong.
To read through Philippians and miss that but also the way he does that is really interesting because he's going to point to this massive theological truth about Jesus in the midst of telling us to be humble which is is how the Bible works by the way if you're reading your Bible as primarily a book about you what you're supposed to do who you're supposed to be what God wants from you you are reading your Bible incorrectly the Bible is primarily a book about.
Jesus what he has done who he is how good he is and then the things that are applied to us and the things that you are supposed to do because the Bible does give you some commands are based off of who he is is and what he's done and how good he is it's primarily a book about Jesus so that even when Paul is giving instructions and he says you need to do this he's going to say because of what Jesus has already done we don't lead we respond.
But what he does is really interesting he pulls out this massively beautiful theological truth about Jesus just trying to tell us to be humble it'd be like if you were struggling with something and one of your friends came over and they said hey I just want you to know you you got this like I think you're tough I think you're strong and then they reached into their pocket and they said strong like this and they pull out a fist sized diamond strong like this diamond this is how tough you are and they put it back in their pocket no no no no you'd be like wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait I'm not.
Even thinking about my problems anymore is that a real diamond how did you get that like I watched a movie about it I'm pretty sure it involved murder how did you get that Diamond that big what why are you carrying that around with you I have so many questions that's what Paul does in the middle of this he says you need to be humble you need to think this way here's a massive fist-sized glorious Diamond about Jesus this huge theological Point.
Okay so be humble and it's like wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait I want to see the diamond again and so that's what we're doing this morning all right this is what it says we're going to we're going to read it all and then we're going to walk through it slowly verse 5 have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus who so this is Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with.
God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue confess that.
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father it's as if Paul was like you need to be humble you know who was humble Jesus and as soon as he wrote Jesus he was just like he just goes off it's like a hymn of praise this just Delight in how glorious Jesus is and so we're going to look at that section this morning so Christ Jesus who though he was in the form of God that's verse six though he was in the form of.
God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped okay now does that mean he was in the form of God meaning he somehow looked like God or represented God that he was like God but not really God and there are those who will read that text this way Mormons read it that way Jehovah's Witnesses read it that way you might have someone say that's what that means that this is what he's saying he was like God but not really.
God almost like Adam so Adam was made in the image and likeness of God he was in some way representative of God he was some way like God but he wasn't God so we've got to look at the context to see does it mean he was like God but not God or does this mean to say that Jesus was fully in essence by his very nature the God of the universe it's important that we figure that out so let's take a.
Second and look at the text who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped okay that doesn't really answer the question for us because a thing to be grasped could mean like Adam not in the like God but not God reaching up trying to become equal to God so it's something he's striving for or it could mean that he actually is in the form of God but he's not going to cling to it he's not going to hold on to it.
But verse seven answers the question who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men okay so if he was like Adam who was like God but not God and wasn't trying to reach up then verse seven makes no sense what did he empty himself of how did he take on the form of a servant and be born in the likeness of men how was that somehow an emptying how was that humility how what did.
He that doesn't make any sense it would just say he didn't reach up there he stayed where he was but it doesn't say that it says he emptied himself and took on the likeness of men meaning that Jesus Christ was in very essence and nature prior to his existence as a human was God the humility of Christ that is displayed in this reality is beyond anything we can imagine that he was in very nature God but did not count equality with.
God a thing to hold on to like we like watching the show Undercover Boss because it's fun to see see a CEO have to clean and that doesn't even remotely compare to Jesus being fully God taking on human form and he was fully God this isn't just the only place that this is taught this isn't the only place that this shows up I'm going to read you a couple of places it says this in Colossians 2:9 for in him that's Jesus the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily how much of the deity the whole fullness of it Hebrews 1 1-3 says long ago at many times and in many ways.
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world so Jesus existing at the beginning the creation of the world and then it says he Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God the exact imprint of his nature when you're like I wonder how God would treat me I wonder how God thinks of me I wonder how.
God relates to me you get to look at Jesus he's the fullness of deity dwelling bodily he's the exact imprint of his nature and he Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power after making purifications for sins he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high and it's not just something was written about him afterwards Jesus also understood this about himself John 175 this is Jesus speaking he's praying and he says and now father glorify me me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed the pre-existent Eternal.
God Christ in all of his glorious Wonder humbles himself empties himself to take on the form of a servant now he becomes a human without ceasing to be God and you're like well how does he do that I don't know it just says that he does does it's a glorious mystery that he is 100% God and 100% man that he takes on the form of a human but he doesn't just pretend to take it on he really does and in some ways he limits his exercise of his glorious Divinity in great humility the creator of the universe who upholds the World by the word of his power do you know how humiliating and small it.
Is that he needs to sleep in Luke to it says that he grew in wisdom and stature he had to figure things out while he was human he he limited himself the the creator of the universe should have never felt cold or hot or tired or itchy the one being that should have never had to go through Middle School it the beauty of the Incarnation and the humility of Christ just to be a human should warm our hearts to how good he is.
But it says this verse 8 being found in human form he humbled himself so even further as a human humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross so he humbles himself he doesn't count equality with God a thing to be grasp he empties himself he takes on human form and then he humbles himself to be obedient now this obedience to the father it shows up in two two ways one it shows up in his life that he has a perfect record of obedience that he does not sin.
Jesus Lives perfectly in relationship with God and with with humans and he's obedient to the point of death meaning that the plan was always for Jesus to Die the plan was always for him to come and to rescue that's the plan why if someone's going to say to you well I think Jesus was just a really nice humble guy first of all he's more humble than they think because he wasn't just a guy he was God who took on flesh so the amount of humility that they've given him is just is pitiful to the amount of humility that he actually shows.
And then if they say but if you say okay well what what's Christianity about and maybe you would answer this this way what's Christianity about it's about us you know learning how to be good like if I become a Christian I'll turn into like a nice lady a nice fella I'll do what I'm supposed to that's what it's about it's about learning the rules if that's what it's about then why does Jesus why is the focus on this obedience to death why is this focus on the cross what's the cross.
For if he was just here to coach us up on how to be good then he shouldn't have died when he was 33 he should have stayed and kept coaching now the point is the cross because he was coming to be a sacrifice in our place for our sin that's the the point the point is we can't by being good or by being moral rescue ourselves but Jesus can because he's fully God he's actually able to atone for the sins of humanity.
But because he's fully human he's able to swap places with us and actually pay our debt this is the cost of sin which the Bible says you're a sinner that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God we've all rebelled we're all guilty right now in Kid City take a second and just think just just be quiet for just a second well y'all aren't being quiet you got be quiet that's the sound of 50 children being in another room right.
Now in Kid City there are 50 children that we have volunteers that are serving loving pointing to Jesus Jesus uh trying to articulate the Gospel to them but at times your sweet little Precious Angels are violent and there's there's possibility for there to be a conversation that goes something like this hey come here come here come here stop no calm down you can't you can't use the scissors like that they're for cutting paper not for stabbing our neighbor and if the kid responded with wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait I memorized my Bible verse you say that's good it's irrelevant to the stabbing that just took place and what we.
Want to do as adults is say wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait I've done this God I did this I served I did did this I was nice I did this if there was a doctor who was an excellent doctor but also a serial killer and and his defense was I've saved more lives than I've taken he goes to jail because that's not the question the question is are you guilty and y'all we're guilty we've made the world worse one of the best ways I can.
See this in myself is that when I'm trying to be good I still can't do it and I have hurt the people I love the most the most it's not like I'm just hurtful to strangers no no no no no the closer you get to me the more you're going to get some of this a't that crazy and we're Sinners and we've harmed God's good creation and praise be to Jesus that he was obedient to the point of death even death on a cross.
Because he came as a sacrifice that even death on a cross is to point out that the cross is gruesome and horrific it wasn't even to be used on Roman citizens unless they had committed treason it was for the worst capital crimes it was for those who didn't really belong he was stripped and beaten and crucified so that we might be welcomed in that's the Gospel that there was a debt that had to be paid now periodically people will say things like.
Well couldn't he have just forgiven us if we're in God's system I listen to you so far preacher ma' we're in God's system he created the world I'm tracking okay nothing didn't create the world God created the world I'll follow you that far I get that I'm done things that are messed up all right I I'll track with that I can definitely tell that other people have I'm willing to admit I have some too why can't he just forgive us well one is.
Because he's gloriously good and he can't just act like sin's not a big deal because he actually loves people he loves the people you've hurt he loves you he loves the harm you've done to yourself he can't just act like it's not a big deal two is that sin is real and it actually causes problems it actually does real damage I have a I have a six-year-old now but he was five when this happened he was playing with to this wasn't malicious.
But you know a lot of children their spatial awareness is poor this is why they will just walk like right into people I'm constantly having to be like get out the you don't see it's like they they can basically keep up with what's like a foot around them so he was playing with with like larger like superhero toys and sometimes the good guy's just got to get the bad guy out of there so he just slung the this toy into our television yeah yeah one malicious although you know kids do malicious things this one just happened to not be malicious.
But the the TV's broken okay real damage has been done now can I just say I forgive you sure but somebody's paying for the TV somehow now we can pay for the TV by not having a TV but there's no way that the cost isn't incurred we could be one of those families that I guess what like reads or talks to each other I don't know there's real debt I could put him in six-year-old hard labor to try to return pay back the thing I can I can do something to try to get it out of him or I can pay.
For it and buy a new one but somebody's got to pay for the debt and when we say well couldn't he just forgive y'all he did forgive but he did it at a great cost to himself that does not lower his glory it exalts it it does not make Jesus less wonderful it makes him more wonderful that if you would look and go why can't he just forgive you don't even understand the length to which he came to Humble himself so that he might forgive.
So that you might be welcomed look at this Christ and oh meet how wonderfully humble and glorious he is that he comes to you and says I'm willing to forgive even if I have to pull it out of my own skin that's Jesus and would you come to him in his humility would you see him in his glory and would you understand that you have sin but he's willing to pay for it how good is he oh how glorious is Jesus.
So some of you will say well I I don't know I believe there is a God but what's he doing why are things like this what's he doing with me why is my life worked out like this y'all this is what God has done he's come to us in our Brokenness in our pain in our shame and he's taken it on himself have you been betrayed he's been betrayed have you been hurt he's been hurt have you had to taste the the bitterness of death he tasted the bitterness of death.
So that they might not win so that sin might not conquer so that he would not have to destroy all of us in our Rebellion but that he might be able to welcome Us in forgiveness don't run from that run to that so it says this we're going to go to verse n therefore meaning because he was obedient to the point of death because he was humble and gracious and wonderful and good and he came to rescue us therefore God has highly EX exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name there is no way to.
God outside of Jesus Jesus says that nobody comes to the father except through him acts 4 when they're proclaiming this it says there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved he has the name above every name he is exalted so that there is no other name that you can be saved under not yours not someone else it's Christ and Christ Alone that can pay for sin acts 5331 says the.
God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree God exalted him as his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and the Forgiveness of sins y'all that's the hope of the work of Christ that you would repent repent means that you would see your own own sin and you would take it to Jesus and say I need forgiveness and y'all he's to give repentance and forgiveness do you know that's what Christians Proclaim not we're good no no we Proclaim he's good we're forgiven our debt has been paid.
Because of the work of Jesus do you see how humble he is do you see how good he is don't Harden your heart to that don't run from that run to that run to him so verse n and then we'll read verse 10 it says therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name it's all about Jesus verse 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue confess that.
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father Jesus is has been exalted to the centerpiece of all existence now I told you that we'd get to see the future well that's the future at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father you say every knee every tongue well all the ones that are in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth.
So in the place of the living in the place of the dead and in the place of all spiritual creation yes every knee every Tong will all bow now you may want to ask does that mean that all will believe is that what's being taught here well it's a it's a quote from Isaiah 45 so we're going to read five verses from Isaiah 45 they'll be on the screen assemble yourselves and come draw near together you survivors of the Nations they have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols and keep on praying to a.
God that cannot save now that's hopeful because you say in a symbol come to to me and he's who's he calling the people who are rebelling against him they're worshiping other gods he says you're praying to a God that can't save have do youall feel that you ever labored for a God that can't save you you ever wanted something so bad and you finally got it did it fix you he's saying come verse 21 declare and present your case let them take counsel together who told this long ago who declared of old was it not I the.
Lord and there is no other God beside me a righteous God and a savior there is none besides me turn to me and be saved all the ends of the Earth for I am God and there is no other oh hear that invitation this morning turn to me and be saved all the ends of the Earth who is welcome to Jesus everybody what if I've done this come on what if I've run what if I've hurt what if I've what if I've hated him what.
If I've rebelled against him what if I've fought against him what if I've harmed every person I've ever been in my life what if I hate myself come all the ends of the Earth come Jesus Christ has come to rescue you so come by myself I have sworn from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return meaning he's not he's not taking it back he's he's declared it it's going to happen to me every every knee shall bow every tongue shall swear Allegiance everyone's invited and he says.
But I'm making you a promise everyone's going to Bow and everyone's going to confess he says this in verse 24 only in the Lord it shall be said of me are righteousness and strength so only in the Lord are righteousness and strength so if you think well I'm probably good enough no it's only in the lord well maybe I'm strong enough enough no it's only in the Lord if you want to be good enough if you want to be rescued if you want to be saved.
If you want to be welcomed if you want to be forgiven you need the Lord to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him in the Lord All The Offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall Glory there's our answer all will bow all will confess but some some of them will bow in shame because they hate the Lord all those who are incensed against him all those who have fought against him all of those who've hardened their heart and stood proud in front of him and said I won't bow I don't need you I don't want you I won't serve you I'm going to serve myself I'm going to serve.
This I'm going to serve something else he says you're going to Bow and you're going to confess even if you hate me but then it says The Offspring of Israel those who are welcomed into the family that's what that means and we're told in the New Testament that's by faith in Jesus shall be justified meaning made right meaning forgiven meaning given righteousness and shall Glory everybody bows everybody confesses but some of them their hearts are bursting with joy and some of them have been brought to their knees in shame every tongue confesses every knee bows every every king that's ever set a throne every Monarch that's ever held a scepter every Tyrant that's ever ruled.
And and taken out tens of thousands of people every person who's Ever Raised their eyes and rage against the heavens every person that's ever walked to the face of the Earth your parents and their parents and their parents and their parents and your children and their children and their children's children every single person in this room me and you will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father the question is will we do it with Joy or will that be the day we.
Finally are broken by the glory of the God of the universe all will bow but not all will believe all will confess but not all will love Christ all will surrender but not all will be saved the invitation that makes it to you today is that you would come to him in humility in his humility because that's the Jesus that's in front of you you are offered humility but there's going to be a day when you meet him in glory and time will be up there's going to be a day.
When you bow and confess let it be what you've longed for let it be what you've hoped for let it be what you've strived for that you wanted to see the glory of Christ because You' only gotten a glimpse and a taste of it here but he had redeemed your soul and taken you to forgiveness and welcomed you to his family and the day that he comes in his glory we fall before him and we say Jesus Christ is Lord the same as we sung this morning that we would say.
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father but everyone will there's an invitation to surrender now to bow now don't Harden your heart don't put it off don't say I will at some point but I've got some other things I want to do first don't say yeah I know that's kind of true but I'm not ready yet don't harden yourself against this come to him in his humility because there is a time when time's up and all will proclaim the glory of Christ those who know him and those who don't it'll be the glory of.
God the Father christe's going to come back up and play the invitation in front of us is to stop and consider to truly see how humble and good and loving and kind and merciful and gracious the God of the universe is that he would come to you and be obedient to the point of death even death on a cross the invitation this morning is that you would see him in his humility and that you would surrender in humility that you would.
See your own sin and that you would bring it to him because he's the one who offers repentance and forgiveness I want that day to be a delight because your rescue has finally come not the day that you have to finally Bend in shame because you've rebelled all your days so take a moment ask the Lord to help you see your sin if you want to trust in Jesus you can we're going to do something that we don't usually do I want everybody to close their eyes and begin to pray.
If you're a type of person who prays I want you to pray I want you to pray for the work of the spirit that we would have our hearts opened today and some of you have never fallen on your knees before the Lord and I would invite you today because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord I'd invite you to actually slip out of your chair get on your knees and say Jesus your Lord I'd invite you to actually move your body and confirm what is going on in your heart that he can redeem and that he can save and that he can forgive and that there's nothing.
Too big for him and if you will where you are just slide out get on your knees and say Lord Jesus Christ is Lord and I need him to save me come while he's available come to him while he comes to you in humility and Rescue you don't run from him but run to him Lord may we live our days in surrender to your mercy may we live our days before your glorious goodness and we thank you for your humility and we pray.
Lord that if there's somebody in this room who is right now wrestling with you and trying to keep their legs straight crying trying to keep their back stiff we pray that through the power of your spirit you would break through that they might know you that they might taste the sweet surrender and forgiveness and hope that's found in Jesus we love you Lord we praise you during this next song as we go to sing Matt will be standing over here by this door I'm going to stand over here.
If you need to speak to somebody if you want to ask questions about what it means to follow Jesus we welcome that pray as long as you want and then we'll sing together.
Not to Your Own Interests (Philippians 2:1-8)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we are continuing to walk through the book of Philippians we're in Chapter 2 now we're going to be in verses 1-8 and uh now you thought maybe a precedent was set last week we are going to go through all eight verses y'all not one verse left behind we will finish the entire passage before I sit down so you can follow along in your Bibles yeah that was a joke one left there we go starting out right we're going to go through all eight verses and we are going to uh continue to walk through what Philippians is unpacking which is this theme of unity.
So we'll have the text on the screen also be on page 570 in your blue Bibles I think the fa the Church gets uh really an unfair generalization uh on a lot of different levels I think that in a lot of ways uh it gets generalized as a social club of of just connections that we get to make uh that there isn't a lot of depth I think that that is an accusation that gets thrown at the Church quite a bit I think another thing gets thrown at the Church is that it's just a place where uh we're just kind of concerned about money and it's just more of a of a business.
It's more self-serving I think there's a lot of different things that get thrown at the Church uh and what I've seen over the years is something something quite different my experience with the Church of Jesus Christ and the local Church is that is a beautiful place to see the Gospel in action I've seen that time and time again uh many of you some of you may not know this about uh eight years ago my wife and I we actually moved down here uh to plant our own Church um that's why we we moved back to this area was to plant our own Church and uh you know I didn't grow up Baptist and didn't know.
How Baptist did things and they said you got to have a a Church that sponsors you kind of Church that gets behind you and I was like well I don't know a lot of them cuz I didn't wasn't raised Baptist but you know I did know Chad and Matt who just started a few years before I moved down here with mil City and I was like well I I'll rock with them and uh so we moved down here and uh in that.
First year as we were getting ready to uh kind of launch out ourselves and plant our own Church right out the gate um my uh my wife had a Mis carriage and it was a painful experience and there was a medical procedure that happened after that um that left us with some uh with some medical bills and we were just kind of dealing with that grief and loss and also having to deal with those medical bills and I remember this is back.
When we were at Glenn Forest I remember in the parking lot one day chat came out and met me he's like here and he just handed me a water of cash and he said you know Church you know we want to come alongside you and this know you've got some medical bills coming out of this to pay for uh and we just want to help with this and I just in that moment just felt so deeply loved and cared for and at that point it was right out the gate of us.
So so many of the people in this Church didn't really know us that well at all and I've seen some version of that story over and over and over again I've seen people who've given up cars to uh to other Christians that are in need I've seen uh uh time and time again medic our bills or medical bills are just just paid off I've seen the Church rally in a lot of different ways I've seen people give up their Saturdays their their cherished time off to be able to take a trade that they use to help others and give it away.
For free to someone who's in need I've seen that story play out over and over and over again so in my experience the Church of Jesus Christ is a wonderful place to be it is one of the most supportive and loving and Powerful human experiences that you can be a part of and yes I do believe that there are some Churches out there uh they can be described with a lot of labels that don't seem like they really buy into the Gospel I would argue that many of those churches have lost sight of the Gospel or many of them really aren't made up of those who profess and follow Christ in a way that reflects.
The fruit that is born out in Christians but I think largely and our churches I think is no different I churches all across the world that buy into the Gospel and live it out in humility with one another and the reason that is is because of passages like the one we're going to walk through today it's passages like we're going to read and and sit in today so want to pray for us and then we're going to walk through this passage together uh Heavenly.
Father we pray that you might speak to us this morning that we might have Humble Hearts to receive your word and that we would see that this faith that we so dearly and deeply love is built upon something bigger than ourselves bigger than our individual selves and I pray you'd open our eyes to that so we might be the people that you have called us to be we ask this in Jesus name amen all right so last week Chad walked us through what it looked like to strive and unity together the Gospel is the thing that unifies us to strive and unity that theme is being pulled through the book of Philippians and it gets.
Continued to be uh uh taught in this second chapter as we pick up in verse one so if there is any encouragement in Christ any comfort from love any participation in the spirit any affection and sympathy all right let let me stop there for a moment when he says if there it's not if in in the idea of of this is a possibility like I If that you know if if that will happen this is actually if in this in the word of of sense like sense this is true what he's saying is.
If this is true and if this is true and if this is true and if this is true that's what he he's he's building upon here and if you ever been in conflict with a friend and you've ever been in argument and all of a sudden you've lost a thread on your friendship for a moment sometimes you got to State some true things you say bro I'm on your team like I'm I'm for you I'm not against you if you've been in marital conflict where the.
If you if you're married you have that's a reality which also if if you're uh if you're married you come to our training weekend it's one of the things we're going to talk about at our training weekend come up in a few weeks but if you've ever been a maral conflict where you know you've lost a thread on on things you might have to just stop and say some true things you might have to look at your spouse and say you know.
Listen I I love you I'm actually I'm for you I don't think football is more important than you I'm not going to let 19y olds ruin our our our date night tonight because they lost again no like I'm I'm you got to say some true things to make sure you're you're framing like you don't lose the threat on what you're actually uh shooting for and that's what's happening here is that there seems to be a little bit of disunity that's snuck into uh the Church at Philippi which is common to a lot of new testament churches.
And then the disunity that's happened he's stating some true things he's saying if there is an encouragement in Christ which is way of sense like yes there is if there's any encouragement in Christ if there's any comfort from his love and there is if there's any participation in the spirit and there is if there's any if there's affection which is tenderness or sympathy which is compassion if these things are true and they are verse two complete my Joy by being of the same mind having the same love being in full Accord and of one mind.
So Paul says complete my joy which I love that phrasing it shows his deep desire for this Church to be unified there's this this deep desire for them to be unified he wants this that it will complete his Joy if the Church is doing this which I feel this as a pastor because that just makes me so uh Joy filled makes me so happy when I see our Church unified striving together in love and he gives some descriptives here of what uh this Unity looks like he says having the same mind having this the same love being in full Accord of one mind that's the type of unity he's he's he wants them he desires.
For them to have this single-mindedness it's being wred in the Same Love Of Christ to have the same uh uh mindset and being a full Accord together when you see this it's beautiful like maybe you've been in a community group where all of a sudden you got a message on your group text or your group me and all of a sudden it came in and it was someone that said Hey listen I I lost I lost my job and I'm devastated you get that message that comes in and all of a sudden you get to.
See what having the same mind the same love being in full of cour you get to see that just come to life and all of a sudden someone says Hey listen I want to make you a meal I want to just I'm I'm don't don't I'm doing it I'm making it I'm bringing it over it all show up a group that week for group meeting time and everyone's cool with in the catch up and life section of your group meeting time of just this being it that we're going to talk through this everyone's.
Okay with just like I got stuff I'm working through but at the same time like I want to be able to yield some time to this because our brother is hurting our sister is hurting and then you get to see it in action when all of a sudden usually this is how it plays out is that there's two people that are kind of doing some of the talking here and caring for them and it's like this tandem this this beautiful kind of the same Spirit The Same Spirit flowing through them together where you're just kind of playing off each other's words and communicating the Gospel and applying the good news to someone who's struggling.
It's almost like you can finish each other's sentences because you're just on the same page because you're playing from the same Playbook we have the same mindset while that's going on you've got someone in uh a few chairs over that's just silently praying for this brother or sister who's struggling you got someone else who's already thinking about how how can we pull together some money to be able to help them pay pay bills while they're looking for a new job like you.
See all of this at work and it's beautiful and it's wonderful and none of that happens none of that happens if when you get that message on group me and you just go oh man this is probably going to dominate our group discussion for the next few weeks this is probably all we're going to talk about and they're probably going to need money and right now our budget is strapped and groceries cost way too much I just I don't we're have to chip in I just.
Okay well here we go because we got to care for this new situation that's popped up in our group that attitude that posture is the very thing that Paul is going to address in the next few verses that's something that kills unity in the Church verse three and four says do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interest of others.
If you want to destroy the same mind the same love this unity in the Church an easy way to do that is selfish ambition and conceit which is pride a way of saying this is that it's you wanting your own way for your own good for your own Glory so one thanks for one of things our own way for our own good for our own Glory that's our mindset that destroys this Unity that Christ has gifted to the Church now this selfish ambition this conceit is not anything new this is an ancient poison it's the reason why in the book of Proverbs 3,000 years ago Solomon was saying Pride goes before destruction and a hotty.
Spirit before a fall this is something that has existed for thousands of years in humanity this this mindset of just thinking only of ourselves for our own good for our own glory and when I hear stories of pastors who have train wrecked their churches their Ministries because they made it all about themselves that it was all about their own Glory when I when I've see this it makes me sad and it makes me sick and yet they didn't get there overnight they made a series of decisions that led them in this direction to this is where they are.
And then I look in the mirror and I see some of those same things in my own heart I see some of that same conceit that same selfish ambition and I realize I do like to get my own way I do like think to work out for my own good and my flesh really does like getting its own glory and you make decision after decision to get there which is the opposite of what he's calling us to he says but in humility count others more significant than yourselves he says Let each of you not.
Look only to his own interest but to the interest of others that we make these decisions over and over again for our own interest for our own good we count ourselves more significant than others all the time and and again it's it's a I think it's a series of decisions that you make over time until this is who you are happens in the Small Things the small things like cutting people off in traffic because if you ain't first you're last that's the mindset of a lot of us who drive just like I just and you just get I don't care I'm busy I'm I'm quick I I gotta I gotta get to work I got.
This and we'll cut people off left and right I think this happens in when you don't return the shopping cart back to the shopping cart rack in the parking lot oh man that's like that's a long walk I me they get paid to do this right so I'm I just I just leave it here and it's like you you consider your interest there not the interest of others also next time Pro tip just park by the rack just is that easy it's a little bit farther walk.
But you just park right there boom here you go you're welcome this happens in a lot of small ways this happens with roommates it's not a lot of pettiness can happen in in roommate situations this is not cleaning up after yourself not you know not not take care of your own dishes this is like when you when you set the milk down all the way to like the bottom but you you know if you like set the whole thing if you.
If you pour it all out like it's like I'm going have to do something about this so you leave like two sips and the next person grabs it and they like pour it into the serial and it's the saddest moment because you have no you have no cereal now because you counted yourself more significant than others this happens in bigger things this happens when we treat people like utility a means to our own end I mean if you're an employer this is treating employees like this say.
Well they work for me and what you see them as as a means to your bottom line they're a means of me making money as opposed to having a servant's mindset where it's like I to serve them and I'm serving their families by giving them good work to do and it's just seeing them as utility seeing as a means to your bottom line this happens with co-workers who climb the ladder and use the people around them to climb the ladder you might fake a friendship with somebody.
And then all of a sudden when you moved past them up a rung of that ladder it's like I you know you're not eating lunch with them anymore you're not returning calls and texts it was just for that season so that you can move ahead this happens with friendships where the only reason that you reach out to someone who you consider a friend is you need something and they kind of know it too when you call you Le hey how are you doing it's.
Okay but you won't also happens in friendships this is particularly true if you struggle with being an out of sight out of- mind person that friendships are for the season that they're with you but once you move on to something else move on to a new group move on to a new city you never think about them again because they were utility they were for That season they were for your benefit then and not later this happens in marriages seeing your spouse as a means to an end why.
Listen I I bring home the money I'm owed intimacy I'm owed companionship I'm owed child care I'm ow a clean house don't they don't don't you see everything that I do for her this happens with time and how we treat our schedules boy oh boy I feel this one that a lot of times when we think about our own schedules we don't count others interests as more significant than our own because when we think about our schedules we're the centerpiece of the schedule we're the centerpiece it's us.
And when someone asks hey look I'm really struggling with something right now would you want to eat and get lunch oh man just right now I'm so busy like I don't know like I mean I think like maybe in like four or five weeks on a Tuesday at like 11:30 I might have you know 45 minutes for you and it's like are you the president I like I look at the mirror sometimes like I'm to the president is my time so valuable that I can't make time.
For someone I can't you skip a workout or I don't work out but if I did skip a workout I can't I can't pull this I can't adjust this I can't count someone more significant than myself and make time for them and it's just like man I I I tell you what if the bank call you tomorrow and say come in on Tuesday at at 3:30 and we're going to give you $10,000 that you'd find time like that cuz you value that.
Because we value that but someone's interests above our own is like oh man I don't know I'll fit you in at some point or the reverse of that is if you're the kind of person that doesn't I I think it's good to be a person who plans I think it's good to have a schedule you might be the person that doesn't plan at all and you expect someone to drop everything immediately to meet your needs and you get frustrated when they don't I guess they what are we we're a Church family or you know we're friends it's like yeah that's fake you're not dropping everything.
For me because you are counting yourself more significant than them this happens when someone submits their humbly submits their desires or their feelings and conversation and you just dismiss it or you bulldoze over them or you don't listen this happens in social media when you know man so too often I get on Facebook which I just want to be on their less and less because it's just it's gotten to be just ugly but people just man they just say the ugliest things about family and friends and spouses making themselves the center of attention to get likes and they just trash their loved ones it maybe in like subtle ways.
But everyone knows what they're talking about they try to get everyone on their team and it's I mean it's it's self focused and it's Tacky by the way but you should do it for more biblical reasons than that it's just there's so many ways that we do this we make decision after decision after decision that's for it's our own way for our own good for our own glory and it's made worse because we live in a culture in an American culture which is we're we're kind of a post-enlightenment post-modern western culture which is basically we're the center of our universe that's what our culture sells to us you're the center of your own Universe along.
Ons side of the American dream and the pursuit of riches that really the American Dreams built upon everyone seeing themselves as the most important so they'll buy and buy and buy and buy and buy and fill in the machine and all that like just I mean all we make all these decisions and we're in a culture that just feeds this to us and then we bring that mindset of self-interest into the Church and that's why you get frustrated when you hear a song on a Sunday that you don't like I know I feel that and I have a say in what the music is sometimes every.
Now and then I'm like I wouldn't have chosen that song ever I you know I have sinfully I didn't mean I didn't mean to go here but I'm going go I've sinfully just W I've gone and gotten coffee during a song because I didn't want to worship it being petty and it's like that's so self-focused and self-interested that's we do this in a lot of different ways we do this in volunteering to bring the easiest uh item to group our volunteering.
For the easiest task to do or doing something just to be seen like I only want to serve in the Church if it's visible if I can see and be seen and get the glory we do this in community groups if you're the kind of person that dominates the discussion every week and you want to talk about and it's I got problems I need to talk about these things well so does everyone else in the room and if you struggle with being able to condense down what you need to say maybe write it down before him.
But look to the interest of others this happens in the discussion in community groups when when there's a side conversation happening over here when someone else is talking and it's like well y'all aren't being considerate of she's pouring her heart out over here and y'all just having a side conversation or you're on your phone and you're not paying attention so I'm reading the Bible maybe this happens in a lot of different ways in the Church this happens when we don't consider others words.
When we're in Conflict there are times y'all when I'm confronted in my sin or in my error and like I know about five or 10 minutes into the into the discussion that I'm wrong look it's like you've made some compelling points but there's that part of me that's like but no I'm going keep fighting for my own way this happens in a lot of different ways we bring this into the life of the Church we make decision after decision after decision after decision after decision decision after decision until we eventually become the people we never thought we would be until we become.
So self-focused and self-interested so blind to conceit and pride and we become hurtful people that are just drunk off of our own pride and selves let me tell you a story about a miserable King there once was a miserable King who woke up every day annoyed angry frustrated sad he woke up every day to his kingdom and he'd wake up first thing and he'd see his wife and his children and they weren't happy to be in his presence they were tired.
When they woke up and he was annoyed by this because don't they know that he's the king they should be happy that he Grace them with their with his presence this morning but they're not they're bickering over what to eat the wife is tired and he's like they I don't get the respect that I'm deserved and he leaves his Palace every day annoyed hops into his Chariot and goes across his kingdom and he's the kind of person who drives his Chariot weaves in and out of all the other chariots not actually getting really anywhere further or faster.
But just switching lanes all the time and then he gets to his work site where he oversees a special project and he gets there and his servants have not done the work like they're supposed to they're behind delayed yet again and an anger he lashes out at them he he he unloads on them and they respond The Recoil because they're so used to hearing this being berated by the king and then he leaves and he goes to lunch to his favorite lunch spot and his favorite lunch spot is UND Saft slow he takes it out on the waitress cuz she's not doing they're not not not bringing me the king what I want on my.
Timing I have I've got a schedule here I've got to move on to the next thing and that's how he spends his days to the next thing the next thing and then all of a sudden he's on his way home annoyed angry frustrated with the day and then his wife calls him and says can you stop by the grocery store I forgot this he's like don't you know how important my time is could you not thought about this ahead of time.
When you got groceries goes into the grocery store always in a hurry always low-key angry and then he runs to the checkout line and then he sees somebody who's also walking to the checkout line but they're like equidistant to the checkout so he speeds up because he gets in front of them and he kind of cuts them off and doesn't make eye contact because he's a coward a lot of confessions today sorry you guys and he checks out and he goes home annoyed and it's not the meal that he wanted he would have preferred something different and he sits in his throne and he surfs through his phone and watches videos until he progressingly puts.
His children to bed and then he goes to sleep angry preach this is a miserable king and a miserable Kingdom of his own making and this is how he lives his life and he's depressed and he's angry and he's frustrated and he's burned out what hope does a miserable King like this have the hope that he has is the hope that Paul points him to in verses 5-8 that's his Hope for Change verse 5 have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ.
Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped he say have this mind miserable King have this mind amongst yourself which is yours in Christ Jesus who Christ though who is in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped which Chad's going to spend more time in this next week with the phrasing here and waiting into this but what he's getting at is.
Verse 7 but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men that the God and Sovereign true king of the universe who made everything out of nothing and sovereignly rules and Reigns over every aspect of creation simultaneously before during and after the Eternal God who rules over all things loved his creation so much that he left the throne of heaven and he took on flesh and he dwelt among us and that he lived a life of perfection that we could not live and he went to.
Verse 8 being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross that the king took on Humanity to go to the Cross to die for miserable kings and queens who were only about their own interest and their own good he looked at us in our own sin and says I will will die for your sin I will die for your rebellion and then I will bring you into Resurrection Life I will bring you into a new life in Christ.
Well you will no longer be a selfish little king or queen but you will be a servant of the most high king and you will live your life out of this picture always looking to our Savior who humbled himself always looking to our King who loved us so much that he gave up his life for us us the only hope for miserable kings and queens is to look at the true king of the universe and to look what he did for us and the own overwhelming Act of humility that he displayed.
For us when we did not deserve it and our own pride and our own selfish ambition and desires that through faith we look to him and what he did for us on the cross and we submit Our Lives to him and then we spend the rest of our day is coming back to the Gospel to have this mind among ourselves that was so poly put and poly put in verses three and four do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility the humility that Christ displays count others more significant than yourselves Let each of you.
Look not only to his own interest but also to the interest of others the way that you get there is we look to Christ who was not selfish but selflessly came to save us that we look to Christ who in humility was beaten and murdered for our sin we looked at Christ who counted us significant enough to not leave us in our sin and to damn us to hell but came to save us we look to Christ who had our interest in mind.
When he went to the cross on our behalf when we understand what Christ Our King did for us it is then that we will live not not for our own way and not for our own good and not for our own glory and then we will make all the decisions along the way to live out of that truth and it means we'll be the kind of people that though we're busy give up time out of our schedule because our dear sister is going through chemo and I want to give her a ride not.
Because she forgot how to drive when she got cancer but because I don't want her to be alone will be the kind of people that when someone is suffering is like yeah I'm Gonna Make A Meal I'm make a good meal I'm GNA spend some time and I don't have in the grocery budget but I'll go over this month because I want to love them well and it's a good meal yall know what I'm talking about too some of youall been on a meal train before and you know who's putting in the work it's like yeah they put the time in and and and we're be kind of people that refuse to leave group meeting.
Time with our group we refuse to leave that house in disarray our our kids are tornadoes of Destruction and it's like and they're tired it's 8:30 and they're they're going to be grumpy in the morning but we're going to spend the next 5 10 minutes cleaning up and helping them reset the house because I love them and I want to consider their interest above my own would be the kind of people that volunteer to watch someone else's child so they can go on a date watch watch someone else's three-year-old.
So they can go on a date because we remember what it was like to have a three-year-old because three-year-olds can be terrist or if you haven't had a three-year-old you've served in Kid City and you've seen what kind of actions happen in there right now and it's like I want to give you some time so that you can go and have just you know three hours to yourself to just enjoy each other's presence because it's good for your marriage or you're the kind of married couple that considers single people and their interest above your own and invite single people into your family dinners into your life not forgetting about them.
But bringing them into your life because we're all the family of God we're the kind of people that when they see someone struggling maybe maybe you know of a woman in your community group right now who's just she's just struggling right now like the house is a mess and she's behind on laundry like piles of laundry you know what I'm talking about when all the laundry Stacks up on the couch and it's just a mountain and you want to like you want to like approach it.
But it's just it's un approachable and you're the kind of person that says hey I'm coming over to to help you I want to clean bathrooms I'm I'm I'm fold some laundry oh no it's okay no no no you're going to have to give me a Biblical reason for why I can't come serve you and spoiler alert there is none so I'm coming I'll be there in an hour we be get to be the kind of people who when we get the text message that says can we talk and you know that message is not just can we talk.
For 5 minutes you know it's going to be 45 minutes and it's going to be a difficult conversation that we don't ignore that text that we don't put that off because we consider their interests more than our owns more than our own that we get to use our giftings as Builders and mechanics and accountants whatever God has given you to do that you're good at to serve others in the Church what you should if you're good at something if you're good at building things.
If you're good at working on cars if you're good at spreadsheets and numbers you should and you should have the mindset that doesn't like I get paid to do this you have the mindset that says man I God who do you want me to serve next you should pray joyfully God who who do you want me to serve next who needs who needs something fixed to their house who needs me to go through their budget who do who do you want me to serve next.
God we should have this mind amongst ourselves and we should prayerfully eagerly wait for the opportunity to in humility count others more significant than ourselves to let each of us not look to our own interest but the interest of others but until we see Jesus as king we will never escape the tyranny of our miserable kingdoms so we have to look to Christ as our King first and if we look to Christ truly look and behold for what he has done.
For us it is then that you get invited into a better Kingdom and that is when miserable Kings become joyful servants let me tell you how the miserable king became a joyful servant he beheld Christ for who he is he finally realized that the whole universe didn't revolve around him but it re revolved around Christ and he saw what Jesus did for him and he said I want that and he gave up his Fox kingship to become a joyful servant and every day that he woke up even.
When he was tired he was ready to give himself away that even when his children bickered at the table over who gets to look at the box of cereal he came in and and and lovingly LED them through breakfast and helped them get out the door that when he jumped into his Chariot he drove a little slower and was a little kinder to everyone else in the road and he listened to worship music and redeem the time through prayer and worship arriving 3 to four minutes later than he normally would.
But at peace and when he AR when he arrived at his work site his employees servants were excited to see him because they saw the change that he had that had happened in his heart he'd become a servant leader and actually they worked harder for him they got more done working for him because when you work for someone who's a servant leader you're ready to run for through a wall for them because you love them and you know that they love you and he left his work site he'd go to lunch and the and the waitress he used to cringe.
When he would come in was now excited to be able to serve him because he was kind with his words and he was patient and he left better tips that he went through his Day always seeking to count others more significant than himself to serve others and he went home every night to a family that loved him who was excited to see him because he was a more joyful servant who did not make his family about himself and then one day someone asked him they got the nerve to.
Finally ask hey man what what happened I I don't mean to be blunt but you used to be a jerk like what's your secret you seem so much more at peace you seem so much more joy-filled than you used to be and he cracked a smile and he said how much time do you have I'll tell you of how I became a joyful servant by submitting to the humble King that transformation is offered to all of us that can be our story I think many of us run around in life always busy always frustrated never joyful and I think that the secret is found in this text.
And if you want to be the kind of person that actually lives a life forth living that is filled with peace and joy and fulfillment and satisfaction it is found and not looking to ourselves but looking to Christ and out of looking to Christ and looking to others interests before our own let me pray heavenly father I pray that you might help us who are filled with selfish ambition and conceit I pray that you might help us look to you to what you have done.
For us as not only the hope that saves us but as the model that sanctifies us that shows us the way to live God help us be not miserable kings and queens and kingdoms that never satisfy but joyful servants in the Kingdom that you've made but that comes through believing in the Gospel and truly applying it to our lives through repentance and ultimately delighting in you over all things we ask this in Jesus name amen the choice is ours if you want to be a miserable king or.
If you want to be a joyful servant that choice is offered to everyone and the only way that you get there is in faith it is by believing in Christ and trusting in what he has done for us and when you do that you are transformed as second Corinthians says if anyone is in Christ he's a new creat the old is gone the new has come you get to be this new creation this joyful servant that's offered but you must have that through faith.
And when you finally submit to the king through faith then you get to enter into the baptism Waters which are the waters that symbolize the inward change that has happened and that's what we get to celebrate today we get to celebrate the baptism of one of our brothers in Christ and the transformation that has happened in his life so I'm going to invite Isaac to come up and he's going to introduce baptism today.
A Life Worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27-30)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here we are in the book of Philippians so if you'll grab a Bible and go to the book of Philippians if you don't have a Bible there should be one tucked under the seat in front of you will be on page 570 in one of these blue Bibles um if this is your first time with us we're glad that you're here this morning we mostly just work our way through books of the Bible and that's what we're doing we're in Philippians this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul.
While he is in prison in Rome he was under house arrest so he most likely would have been chained to a guard in a home in Rome he's writing this letter to a Church in Philippi which is about 800 miles away um that has uh sent a gift basically like a care package for him where he is in Rome that they gave him this gift because when you were in under house arrest you were still responsible for your own care your own provision.
And so they found out that he was in Rome under house arrest they they send this gift to him and he's writing this letter back in thankfulness to them and he just got got done and what we were looking at last week in saying that he doesn't know whether he's going to live or die he doesn't know if they're going to set him free he doesn't know if they're going to execute him this where you get the verse that is to live is Christ to die is gain he's not just pontificating about a theological truth he's talking about a theological reality.
For himself while he is sitting in Chains facing a very real potential death he's saying if if they set me free I'll keep serving the lord it'll be for Christ fruitful Ministry is the way he puts it there'll be fruitful labor and if they execute me I'll go be with Christ to live as Christ to die as gain I I'll get what's better I'll get to go be with Christ and he's now turning from that to some instruction to the Philippians.
So we're in verse 27 he says this only let your manner of Life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ so now he's turning to giving them instructions he starts off with the word only we should perk our ears up he's boiling it down he's giving them something essential kind of a if if you forget everything else remember this now we know because of how talking with people goes this isn't the actual only thing he's going to say otherwise he wouldn't have written the rest of the letter.
But he is saying hey this is primary pay attention only and like okay what what's the main thing we have to do let your manner of Life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ oh is that all that's a massive instruction your manner of life so the way you live let your whole life be fitting matching to the Gospel of Christ do you know what the Gospel El of Christ is it's the message the reality the news that the God of the universe.
While we were in our sin and Rebellion against him took on flesh was born as a human that he lived a perfect sinless life so that he might pay the penalty for our sins he dies on a cross he's buried he rises again to show his victory over death and sin and hell that his his sacrifice was accepted he doesn't stay in the Tomb he's not just like a a a good man that we look to for for um uh some sort of motivation no he actually literally paid the price of our sin as a sacrifice and rose again.
So that we know that God's blessing is on him and that he accepts the sacrifice that he is the king of kings the Lord of lords that everything he said about himself is real that he rises and that all who Trust in him are forgiven your your debt is paid it's gone one of my favorite representations of this is in the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou Delmer goes down in the water he gets baptized he comes back out he says all my sins are forgiven I'm clean I'm washed they're washed away he says even that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in yazu and his friends go you said you were innocent of those charges.
And he goes well I lied and that's forgiven too and that's the reality that in Christ we're forgiven it's gone that he's paid the debt of our sin that was mounted against us that stood to accuse us that stood to drag us to Hell he's paid for it that there's hope and redemption and forgiveness and so Paul says let your life match that now for the Christians in the room we should want that we should want our life to match that we should immediately say yes I actually do want to live in such a way that it it's fitting that it matches that that it's worthy of that.
But that's a heavy request it's weighty someone came to you and said hey I I got a guest coming over to my house and I need you to help help me prepare a meal help me get the house ready they're going to be over on Saturday and you're like okay I can help cook they're like you're pretty good cook yeah I'm okay all right cool I need you to help cook uh it is the newly um crowned King of England Charles III he's coming to my house.
So I need you to make a meal fit for a king and you're like I was going to do cheese grits so I guess we could put shrimp in there I don't I don't know that's like my one dish I got like I didn't I for a king and this it's like yeah and remember he's British so nothing spicier than Salt but it needs to be delicious it's like okay here we go and that's some of what feels like here when he says I want your manner of life to be worthy.
And then all of a sudden he says of the Gospel and it's it elevates it to this oh okay what does that look like well he's going to tell us he doesn't leave us here to to just figure this out on our own he doesn't leave the Philippian Church to just figure it out on own he's going to say this is what it would look like this is a a life matching the Gospel before we read that part let's pray because as Christians we want this and we need the help of the spirit to achieve it.
Lord we ask that we would by your grace live a life that corresponds to the Gospel that we would live in such a way that we proclaim the truth of the rescue and the hope and the kingship of Jesus May our Church look this way and may our individual lives look this way and may by your grace and by the work of your spirit this be carried out in a real practical level in Jesus name amen all right only let your manner of Life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
So that so now he's going to say if it if that's happening if it's worthy of the Gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or am absent whether I'm released from prison and get to make it to you or I'm kept in prison or I'm executed or I just can't make it to you I may hear of you that you are so now he's about to say if your life if you're living in a manner worthy of the Gospel this is what I'll hear about you this is the report I'll get that I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by.
Side for the faith of the Gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents I'm going to read that again that I may hear of you that you are standing firm fir in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents a life fitting to the message of the Gospel a life fitting to what Christ has done for us is one that is Unified in the spirit with the Church.
For the Gospel fearlessly unified in the spirit with the Church for the Gospel fearlessly that's what he lays out for them so let's talk about that the first part unified in the spirit he says that I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind this is the unified in the spirit with the Church so that you're in one spirit with one mind you're on the same page and specific to this context he has said right before it that there are those who are uh out.
For selfish ambition they're out for their own name they're out for their own good and then below it he's going to talk about what we read together which is the humility of Christ and how we should have the same mind among ourselves that though he was in the form of God he humbled himself and took on the form of a man that we should be humble and and relate to one another so there's this idea of that we would relate to one another in humility.
Now there is some question as to whether or not when he says in one Spirit he means the Holy Spirit specifically and that should be a capital S which is what the NIV does with it it's the same word same word he uses in similar phrasing that he uses in chapter 2: 1 where it says any participation in the spirit and that's capital S we to understand that as the Holy Spirit or if he just means kind of the way we use it which is school spirit or we were all of the Same Spirit meaning we were all on the same page.
And then it really just means in one spirit with one mind is kind of saying the same thing twice I think if you were to follow Paul's logic because he uses this phrasing in other places in Ephesians 4 he uses it in Corinthians that if you were to ask him about it and say okay well what do you mean unified What Spirit what what's our Unity over he would You' eventually get to where he would be saying oh well the Holy Spirit like the the Holy Spirit is the one who's the one spirit that we have that's going to keep us unified there's no way.
For the Church to be unified without the work of the spirit and so it's going to be ultimately a work of the spirit for this to happen whether or not we need the Holy Spirit to work whether he intentionally brings it to mind here the Holy Spirit to mind or whether or not he is just saying to be unified that's still a work of the spirit so that we would be unified in the spirit with one another on the same page have you ever thought be a lot easier to be a Christian.
If I didn't have to hang out with these other Christians have you ever thought like I would be in a group and I know y'all say we should join a community group but that's going to be tough yeah it is do you know how agreeable I am when I'm by myself every one of my ideas is brilliant like I got married and I was surprised that she wasn't able ble to catch up with that as quickly as I thought it's like I don't know you don't think I'm I'm confused I've always thought I was a genius why are you acting like this.
But I'm patient with her um the idea that we're going to have to relate to other people takes work it takes effort there's there's difficulty and it takes the work of the spirit to be in us to create humility to create Grace but y'all we don't get to say well I love Jesus I just don't love the Church oh I'm I'm spiritual I walk in the spirit the Holy Spirit he you know I just I go alone and the Holy Spirit just tells me stuff and it's wonderful and it's like what Church are you a part of I don't need one of those you haven't been listening to the spirit he loves the Church he.
Loves Jesus and he loves the Church and he's going to help you belong to a group of people who love Jesus and love the Church and it's going to take humility and it's going to take work and it's going to take effort it's going to be frustrating in times but it's also going to be really beautiful we're better together it's going to be wonderful and you're going to grow in ways that you hadn't intended to you're going to grow in ways that you never would have grown.
If you were on your own and I do want to add this if people if you're saying okay I want to know how to listen to the spirit I want to know how to walk in the spirit what I would say is you begin by sticking your facei in your Bible and then putting yourself around other Christians that's how we walk well in the spirit that's how you learn how to hear the voice of the spirit to discern the voice of the spirit do you know the word of.
God you know that he's not going to lead you outside of what this says he's going to to speak and to teach you things but he's not going to say something contrary to the Scriptures and you begin to discern his voice you begin to learn how to walk in the spirit I want you to walk in the spirit I want you to be filled with grace I want you to be used by God mightily and I I want you to be in the word.
So that it's tethered as we do that and so that we get to walk in Church family together I want you to be in a situation when you were about to do something really stupid but you're in Church family and everybody in your group says we love you you that's really stupid I want you to be mad at them and I want you to submit to them I want you to get your Bibles out I want you to say why is it dumb why does everybody disagree with me I don't want you to go home and go wow I'm the smartest person in my group I'm the only one who knows what's right I want.
You to have some humility I want you to get what he's saying is that they would be in the same mind on the same page but it's not just for no reason it's not just so that they would have each other that's wonderful but there's a purpose behind it he says I want you to what I want to hear about you is that you're standing firm yall haven't fallen apart you haven't split up that you haven't been knocked over why standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side.
For the faith of the Gospel there's a purpose to the unity given to the Church and that's the proclamation of the Gospel that we're better together in proclaiming the Gospel and declaring that message y'all know that we have one primary thing that we're about as a Church is that some more people might meet Jesus every once a while I'll hear things and I'm like yeah yeah people say like I like the Church when it was small and then it's gotten bigger Praise.
Jesus you know it got bigger with a bunch of Sinners who needed Grace right and they're like yeah but they're aggravating yeah so are you me too that's that's the we we need Jesus we're we're here to Proclaim this message we're here to work together with this this is why we want to keep the main thing the main thing you know we don't do a whole lot we have a big pretty building the Lord's blessed us with but we don't do a whole lot at this building we don't invite a whole bunch of people here we don't have a bunch of programs here.
Because we want you to be out in the world telling people about Jesus we want your time to be freed up we love Gathering and pointing to Christ together and singing together and walking and studying the Scriptures together but we want to be be missionaries out in the world that's the main thing that's what we're after is to be standing firm with one in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel there's a Church that I know of I'm affiliated with it.
Well enough I know that at one point I think they're a good Church I think they love Jesus but I know that at one point they had multiple business meetings heated passionate business meetings over the purchase of doorknobs we're not going to do that here because it's not the main thing I I'm be honest with you I don't want you to be that passionate about doorknobs I just don't and if you are I want you to keep it to yourself honestly maybe don't tell people you know like we we want to be about seeing people meet.
Jesus which means that we give some freedom to our people who run Ministries to make decisions and and to handle their own budget and to do some things and every once in a while there should be times when you show up and see something you don't like I don't like that color and then you should remind yourself the Gospel is the main thing I've had people say to me I don't like this and I'm like yeah me neither Move Along let's go it's not the main thing we want to be pulling together striving not having Strife.
But striving for the Gospel which means that it should take some effort and some labor and some sacrifice that is a life matching to the Gospel I think that if we were to fill this out if we were to say okay I'm going to try to guess what Paul's going to say to have a life live a life in a manner worthy of the Gospel so that I may hear of you and if we begin to fill that out we would begin to say he's probably going to say this he's probably going to say this he's probably going to say this I'm sure we would put good things on the list.
But it's possible it would all boil down to at some point behave be moral live a life good enough but it's not something that we earn we respond to Jesus in obedience certainly we respond to Jesus in Repentance but a manner of life in a Church that matches the Gospel is a bunch of people who want to tell other people about the Gospel because it's so good that he redeems Sinners that he offers Grace that he rescued us not because we're good and not.
Because we're intelligent and capable and hardworking and that you need to come be a part of us if you're good enough it's no it's he saves Sinners he redeems the weak he died for us while we were still his enemies we have a king who rules and Reigns in love and grace and kindness towards us so that we strive to share the Gospel we're going to get to uh end our time this morning we're not about to so don't get all excited there's more to go.
But when we end our time long long time in the future from now we're going to get to pray over two Community groups that are getting launched out and I'm so excited because launching healthy Community groups the multiplication of healthy groups is one of the things that we've said that this helps us see that we're actually trying to do this and every time we multiply a group everybody in the group a lot of times is like Yay because it hurts it's sad I've told people before.
If your if half your group is being sent out and your response is good riddens you probably weren't doing a real good job of being in your community group you should love those people you should miss those people I had someone this past week say to me I miss every group I've ever been a part of yeah absolutely but we're striving for the Gospel which means there are times that takes sacrifice it takes effort it takes a little bit of something hurting a little bit.
For us to be able to see more people come to know Jesus it's the best way I know to put it I talk to our group leaders about this I tell them tell your group this this is the way I think about it at some point if I'm hosting a group you're hos on a group the table is full I got a table at my house that seats 8 we put a table outside to seat children cuz we love them so much we just don't want to hear them you know.
While we're trying to eat want to be able to see them there's a glass window you know put that stick in at some point Point there's no more room in my house and you love these people and so there's this this desire to go we did it this is it but as a Church family what we're hoping to do is to have group leaders train leaders in training and then eventually send them out to make disciples and to multiply and when we do that.
Now there's space there's space at this table and there's space at that table every time I've ever multiplied a group every time I've ever sent people out I'm sad about people who are leaving this group who weren't in my group the last time we multiplied which means that if we hadn't done that I never would have known this person loved this person seen this person meet Jesus we didn't have room for him we have room for him now and now we got to make more room.
For the next person who's going to come in and y'all there is a table that has enough seats there is a wedding supper of the Lamb that has the right number of seats and there's going to be a day when we get to all sit around it and there's going to be a day when we get to see the people who we got to know in life for a season to come to know Jesus but then we get to see the next person who we got to.
See come to know Jesus and the next person through our striving to proclaim the Gospel the effort and the intentionality that we put down and there's going to be a day when we sit at the wedding supper where the king rules and Reigns for all of eternity and there are enough seats at the table but until that day comes we strive so that more people might come to know how good and glorious King Jesus is more people might be at that table.
So some of your money should walk out the door and go to Mission work to generosity to this Church some of there should be times where you're you're mourning the loss of a community group while having to celebrate the launch of a new one we should put effort in to see people come to know Jesus that's the goal so we stand firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel and then he says this and not frightened in anything by your opponents not frightened in anything by your opponents he says I want to hear y'all are on the same page you're laboring to.
See people meet Jesus because he's so good and the Gospel is so good and the hope of Eternity is so good and the fact that this isn't all we get there's this this reality of forgiveness and joy I want to hear that you're proclaiming that and I want to hear that you're not afraid afraid of anybody who tells you to shut up you know that Christians we're not supposed to be scared of everything this is one of the things that that grats on me in our current cultural climate is that I hear a lot of noise on like online and stuff of Christians like ringing alarm Bells all the time we're not supposed to be.
Scared of everything y' we have such a bigger story with a king who wins and he's specifically saying they have opponents and they know that the one of the people who's the starter one of the starting people of the Philippian Church was a Jailer who Paul met because Paul was beaten and thrown into jail Paul's writing this letter from prison they have real opponents who don't want the proclamation of the Gospel he says I want to hear that you're not afraid of them.
And if you follow Christian logic what are we afraid of they have nothing they can give you on the on the grand scheme of Eternity there's nothing that anybody if you're a Christian that anybody can offer you there's nothing that they can take away from you and you can say like Paul who very really means this if I live I'll serve Jesus and if I die I'll go be with him so he says this not frightened at anything by your opponents this is a clear sign to them of their destruction.
But of your salvation and that from God that a lack of fear in the face of opposition declares the Gospel it co-signs it it's a clear sign of your salvation and their destruction because those who would oppose the Gospel are going to use human means to oppose it but human means aren't supposed to work on Christians all of them are supposed to Short Circuit we'll throw you in jail okay that's how jailers meet Jesus the Philippian jailers is like I I I just I know it was bad.
But I'm so glad he got arrested maybe they shouldn't have beat him but I'm glad he got arrested Paul says that everybody in the Roman guard they know about the Gospel because Paul's sharing the Gospel to the Roman guard while he's in jail we'll take everything from you okay I'll get Eternal versions of all that stuff because the Bible says anything sacrificed for the Lord that our reward is great in heaven like that anything that you try to take from me is actually ultimately you accidentally gave it to me forever like I don't I don't know exactly how that works I don't think it's like I got the best Toaster in life life.
If you stole it but it's like I think that there's just reward he honors this we'll kill you okay half a second later I'll be standing before the king and I'll have done all the work I ever had to do it's a clear sign to them of their destruction but of your salvation I love this quote it's a story from a pastor in Romania when they were under communist occupation he was preaching the Gospel and putting it on tapes and passing them out and he had passed it out and he got called in by some communist officers who were trying to stop the Church and they were correcting him rebuking him threatening him and he.
Says this during an early interrog ation I had told an officer who was threatening to kill me so he says sir let me explain to you let me explain how I see this issue your Supreme weapon is killing my Supreme weapon is dying here's how it works you know that my sermons are my sermons on tape have spread all over the country if you kill me those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood everyone will know I died for my preaching and everyone who has a tape will pick it up and say I'd better.
Listen again to what this man preached because he really meant it he sealed it with his life so sir my sermons will speak 10 times louder than before I will actually rejoice in this supreme Victory if you kill me after I said this the interrogator sent me home it's a clear sign I I have hope that you can't touch so when he says that the Church is to be unafraid in all these situations it's because we have something they can't touch and we serve a.
God they can't touch and he owns everything and guards everything and leads everything that we can trust him and so in the middle of all this there's nothing that they can give to us or take away from us a life a Church lived out in response to how good the Gospel is is that we would be humbly unified working side by side laboring together and we are better together we we want you to be a missionary where you are if you're the only person at your gym.
If you're the only person in that class if you're the only person uh on your floor at work that's a Christian we want you to be a a missionary there but we also want to be missionaries together because we're better together our groups are better together there are certain things that you're good at strong in built for as a Christian that someone else in your group isn't and so we work better when we're a team when we invite people in.
When we intentionally invite ourselves into other situations so look a lot of times as a group you can say hey I've been inviting this person who doesn't know Jesus to join our group but you can also invite the people who do know Jesus to join that person meaning that you know that they're going to go see this new movie or that they really would go throw axes or do a poker night or knit and drink tea or whatever it is is you know they'll accept that invitation.
So you just smuggle other Christians into the situation hey would you like to do blank and they say yeah and then they show up and two people from your group are also there and you just say hey welcome whatever and y'all hang out and just be normal Christian people who are kind and fun to be around and then later when you say hey you want to come hang out with our group you already know blank blank blank you already met this person at that thing it's easier to walk in you ever been invited to a party and you only know one person there what do you do.
Okay if you're like one of these people who's really good at parties I'm not talking to you I'm talking to everybody else what do you do you follow that yeah don't go correct you follow that person around like a lost puppy like hey be my friend hey talk to me hey hey hey hey hey or you do what I do you grab six cookies and stand in the corner just I'm I I don't know my friends over there I only know them and someone's like oh hey how you know them and you're like they my friend and they're like oh neat.
And then they walk off and you're like I'm I'm real good at this that shouldn't be your invitation all the time to people who hey do you want to come hang out at my house uh with a bunch of people you don't know read a book you don't care about and do some weird things that you're not sure about like pray also since you don't know much about Christianity it could be weirder than that and you don't know surprise you want to do that I invited them they didn't come yeah.
Okay it was a it was a high you know it's a high bar but if you can get your Church family around them to be friends with them to be kind to them to show them that we aren't weird and that the message is wonderful so that we're alive in response to the Gospel unified striving side by side for the Gospel without fear and he keeps going he's going to say he's pressing into this idea and he's kind of bringing this in front of them.
Look at verse 29 for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake it's been granted to you that you should not only get to believe in him that that's given to you that's granted that was Grace to you that was given to you that's what granted means it's a gift it was given to you that you would believe in him but also that you would get to suffer.
For his sake we're going to talk about suffering for his sake in a second but take a moment Do You Believe In Christ that was given to you he says it was given to you that you would get to believe in Jesus God do you know that there are people who don't there are people who don't have a hope of an eternity there are people who haven't had their sins forgiven there are people who are still dead in their trespasses and it's been given to you that you would believe some of you you're the only person in your family who believes some of you you're a wild minority from your your country of origin who.
Believe it's odd that you would believe some of you this is a lineage of Christian faith in your household and that was granted you by the grace of God Don't Blink at that I mean don't sneeze at that don't don't just move on past that like that's just something to take for granted it's something to understand that it's been so wonderfully good that you have a hope of Eternity through the work of Jesus that was not earned by you it was not given to you by your works or your ability or your intelligence.
But it was given by the blood of Christ and his goodness and mercy on your behalf and he says it was given to you that you might believe and it was also given he's talking to the Philippian Church but I think this rolls right into us that you would get the opportunity the grace the gift of suffering for the sake of Christ and that's how we're supposed to see it do you know that if you'll strive for the sake of the Gospel there's a chance that at some point you'll get to suffer reproach.
For the name of Jesus and do you know how wonderful that is there's a chance you might get mocked or reviled do you know there's a chance that someone might oppose you do you know there's a chance that something really Earthly bad might happen to you that is as this beautiful Heavenly gift that you might get to suffer for the sake of Christ that you might actually get to drop some sweat and some blood and some money and some effort and some tears.
For something that rolls into eternity that's how we're supposed to see that that's what Jesus says Matthew 5 he's talking to his disciples he says blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the the Kingdom of Heaven blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
If we labor for the Gospel there's a chance that we get to operate on Jesus's account that we get to be reviled on his account that we get to be participating him in suffering for his sake and it is blessed that's why the disciples in Acts chapter 5 when they're beaten for sharing the Gospel it says then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name so what if you strive to share the Gospel with people in in your school in your classes and what.
If they oppose you and what if eventually they revile you and they accuse you and what if on that day we do what Jesus says and we look at him and say thank you thank you that I got a taste of what it was like to be you and to suffer and thank you that I got to join in your suffering for the sake of those who don't want to know you what if you share the Gospel at work and I tell you not to and you do it again and they say.
If you keep this up you're going to be in trouble what if you graciously humbly say I'm G to have to keep trying I'm going keep trying to share the Gospel I'm not what if one day you get fired not because you're bad at your job I want them to have to find three people to replace you if you get fired but but what if you just had these opportunities and you were sharing the Gospel and you were trying to point people to.
Jesus and they were opposing you and what if you walk out into the parking lot and you look at the sky you look up raise your eyes to the Lord and you say Lord I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills because that was my job but I trust you and thank you that I got to suffer reproach for the sake of your name now there's ways to walk this out in wisdom and there's ways to be as wise as a serpent innocent as a dove.
But y'all we're not supposed to be afraid we're not supposed to have one little remark from some kind of an opponent to the Gospel and we just clam up and stop may we stand in the spirit with the Church for the Gospel fearlessly because it's so worth it because the message is worth it because none of the other things that we labor for are ultimately worth it none of the other stuff lasts none of the other stuff stretches into eternity no other message no other no other person forgives sin rescues there's a movie that came out in 1998 called Saving Private Ryan and it's it's a good movie it's a war movie there's a.
Four brothers and three of them die and they go to write all three of the letters and send all of the folded up American flags to the mother at the same time they notice that there's one brother left and they just decide we're going to go find him and we're going to send him home it's the premise of the movie so they task a captain and a handful of people to go find Ryan and bring him home and as they're going several of them die they die going to get one guy out of the War the movie ends With Private Ryan as an old man standing over the graves of one of the men who.
Died for him and talking to it and he says I've thought every day about what you've did and I've tried I've tried to live something fitting and y'all we're the people who know Jesus know what he did know what awaits oh let's live in a way fitting let's respond in a way worthy to the Gospel let's live in a way that makes way more sense with Christ and Eternity than with the American dream let's pray L we ask that by your grace the reality of Eternity would grow grip us we ask.
Lord that you would help us to see the hope that is in Christ and to respond to tell other people about him to repent of our refusing to submit to a Church to repent from our not walking in the spirit and studying the word word and and listening to your voice and following your will to repent of all the times when we've lost the thread on what the main thing is so that we're worried about other things that don't matter.
Lord to walk fearlessly together and to see people come to know you we pray that you would bless this Church with more and more people who are saved by grace that will step in and walk shoulder-to-shoulder with us to see more and more people be saved by grace because this message is too good for us to sit on it you are a glor glorious King and we love you in Jesus name amen amen verse 30 says engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had.
Now here that I still have and I should have read that earlier the band's going to come back up what Paul's saying is that they are laboring I went to pray and I was like I didn't read my whole text Paul's saying that they are late laboring in the same conflict he's telling them not to be afraid in the same conflict that they saw that he had meaning that he was preaching the Gospel and went to jail and that they see that he still has.
Because he's in jail meaning they had real opponents and so I should have just read that earlier and said that sentence earlier and then said all the other stuff I said you're welcome the hope as we stand and sing and respond is that we would take a moment to consider the matchless worth of Christ and that we would say Okay Lord let me let me have a life that tries to mirror that and point to that let me have a life that only makes sense in light of that let's stand and sing.
To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain (Philippians 1:18b-26)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Spencer I am one of the pastors here we are continuing to walk through the book of Philippians we're in chapter 1 still uh we're going to be in the second half of Verse 18 all the way through verse 26 so you can follow along with us on the screen you also can follow along in a blue Bible it's on page 570 you can track along with us so the other day it dawned upon me that my oldest uh is going to turn nine this year which means that we're kind of at the halfway point of her being in the house.
God willing uh and that there's not a lot of years left to really you know influence to be able to show her what it means to love Christ what it means to display that love to others what it means to uh have a Gospel centered life like we don't have as much time it's and I'm also you know I'm not naive I understand that when she gets more into uh you know the teenage years that my influence is going to WAN a little bit and her wife as she starts to become her own adult uh person.
But it's just I mean it's kind of hit me honestly oh man um you know we you know we read the Bible at night we do some worship songs at night we we try to have some time where we talk about applying God's word to um their lives and to our lives and it's like I want to I want to maximize this time as much as possible because I'm losing it the time is is is running away and that's going to happen with each of my children as they get older old and as I get closer and closer to 40 which is typically the time where a lot of men start to ask Big Life.
Questions because you're at the halfway point of life and you're like I I mean this is like I'm I'm I'm nearing I'm nearing the end the halfway point is just going to keep going like and that's when you know midlife crises come into play and people make sometimes really bad decisions uh you know some of those are less bad than others uh you know some might say I'm going to get a car I I got to get I got to get the car.
Because if I don't get the car like what am I doing if I'm I got to travel I got to get to Europe I got to do this I got to do that there's all types of things some things I think are good people might say I got to go back to school I got to refocus I got to you know join a gym do CrossFit whatever it is like I but there's just this evaluation when you understand that time is a finite resource and you don't have much of it left.
But what are you actually going to do that reality check Dawns upon us and it does leave you asking questions like I'm just like am I am I always going to drive a Prius is that how this is like I mean I'm just kind of Peace meing this car together as it goes like am I am I going to like keep wearing flannels and rocking beards I started that Trend like in my early 20s and it's I mean it just kind of continued like those can like fall upon you and you start to re-evaluate and I think to have the really the the finite nature of time and really the reality that death will one.
Day come to us all I think that's actually a good thing to do I don't think you should do that at 40 years old I think you should regularly as a Christian think about that reality and to make the best use of our time and to live the best life that you could possibly live that we should ask the question what is the what is the ultimate life worth living now I have good news for us today the book of Philippians and where we're at in this part of the book speaks directly to that it gives us.
If you're asking questions about how should I live my life but is the best possible life I could live we're at the place that absolutely addresses that God has a good word for us today so I want to pray for us as we really lean into that question and then we'll walk through the text together heavenly father I pray that you would help us be open to receiving your word and that we would not just be hearers of the word but we would be doers and that comes through.
First acknowledging the Gospel and trusting in you and out of that Faith Comes repentance that changes the way we live so that we can worship and honor and Delight in you God I pray that you would do that work within us this morning so that we might be a people that take this life life seriously in Jesus name amen all right so we've been in Philippians in chapter 1 for a bit one of the things we've seen the last few weeks is that Paul in his imprisonment as he's in Rome he's in prison and house arrest the Philippians they're they're exchanging letters in this letter he is talking about how his imprisonment is being used.
To advance the Gospel it's encouraging Believers Christians on the ground in Rome and he was excited about that even as we saw last week that there are some people who were preaching from Bad motives from selfish ambition a rivalry with Paul but there are others who are preaching with good motivations and he goes regardless of the motivations I'm just jacked I'm rejoicing because the Gospel is being preached because Christ is being proclaimed so he's at this moment where he's just rejoicing that Christ is being preached and he has something else to Rejoice about in the back end of.
Verse 18 where we pick up when he says yes and I will rejoice for I know that through your prayers and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my Deliverance that's his rescue he's going to be rescued as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by by death so he's not just rejoicing that the Gospel is being repe is being preached and being proclaimed he's also rejoicing.
Because he's going to be delivered and this is I I don't want us to miss this isn't the main point of this but he says due to your prayers through the prayers of the Philippian Christians and the work of the spirit that he's going to be delivered which just should really Center us on like prayer is unbelievably important God accomplishes his will through his people through the prayers of his people from Old Testament into the New Testament so we should be a people that are praying.
For God to work we have a prayer list that goes out to members in our Church who've opted to receive that text that goes out on Monday we have a prayer list that you can if you want things prayed for you can go on our website to uh I think it's one of the times if I had it off top of my head I'd tell you but I don't but it's somewhere in there you scan all the tabs you'll see pray and you can put in a prayer request it goes to that list we should do that.
Because prayer matters God accomplishes his will through the prayers of his people over and over and over again and don't I want us to miss that as we launch into the rest of this that they've been praying for his Deliverance they've been praying for Paul and he says I'm going to be delivered now that word delivered comes from the same Greek word uh for saved sotia so this is saved this is delivered and the question is okay from what from what are you going to be delivered is it what you were just talking about is it your imprisonment that you're going to be delivered from prison is he going to have his Tim Robbins moment.
Where he goes through the tunnel or the the what do you call those pipes that Shaw Shank and gets out into the water and looks up in the sky and he is free which if you don't know what I'm talking about I'm so sorry for you if you've never seen Shaw Shank Redemption first off how dare you like just you've missed out on something this is one of the top five movies if you have this Tim Robbins moment where he's just he's.
So excited to be is's going to be delivered is that's what's happening here so some will argue that's happening others will say no he's actually he's moved on that was so verse 17 we're on to new and better things in these next few verses what he says is is that they will turn out from my this will turn up for my Deliverance verse 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed but that with full courage.
Now as always Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by by death others will say no no he's moved on from imprisonment he's talking about eternal Deliverance he's talking about death he's talking about the fact that because he believes that Christ was crucified for his sin and he put his faith in Christ and because he put his faith in Christ God the Father looks at Paul and says that he stands righteous because of the righteousness of Christ and not his own.
Because Jesus died for him he stands confidently waiting to go into the next life waiting to be delivered into the next life where he will be with Christ for eternity so some will say no it's it's more that's what's happening here I think the language here between two ideas I think he's being a little bit vague and koi for a reason I think he's kind of going with both and when you read the rest of the passage I think you'll see that he actually means both very practically as he works through this that he does expect to at some point be released from this Roman imprisonment and also he is eager.
For what is next after this life which he picks up in verse 21 for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain if I'm to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me yet which I shall choose I cannot tell I'm hardpressed between the two my desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better we'll pause there verse 21 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible like it is Shaw Shank Redemption top five level at of all the passages in the Bible this this right here is it you can come back to it over and over again and the deeper you weit into it.
The more satisfying it actually is to live as Christ to die as gain now his basic argument is pretty easy to follow if you're going to live it is for Christ if I'm going going to live a life it is going to be for Christ if I'm going to get out of this R imprisonment and continue my Ministry it's going to be for Christ it's going to be fruitful labor is the language he uses In this passage which will further unpack in the verses that follow that means more churches planted that means more Sinners saved that means more Christians discipled.
If I'm going to live huge win if I'm going to die huge win because if I die I gain I gain eternity I gain an eternal life with Christ I depart this painful broken marred sinful world and I get to be with Christ and that is far better so here is why I think this is one of the most important passages in the Bible it's hard to find a more succinct summary of what the Christian life looks like like this is the headline.
For the Christian Life and when I say headline I mean like how headlines used to be it used to be that you got a paper and that paper was like a physical paper and it smelted really good and you would look and you'd see headlines and the headline was a few words that summarized the whole article you could read the headline you get a general gist of where it was going nowadays headlines are not that they're clickbait sometimes have nothing to do with what's in the article.
Because journalism's lost complete ethic bearings and just but it's just the actual headline like what what actually like this is it like the old school headline you see this to live as Christ to die as gain that's the Christian Life and there's a whole lot more that can be said about that when you read the rest of the Scriptures but you have that right there and you understand what it means to be a Christian that when you actually trust in the finished work of.
Jesus when when you trust in his perfect life and the righteousness that comes through that that gets accredited to our account when you trust in his death that I a sinner and I need a savior and his blood covers me you trust in his resurrection that I actually get to have a new life in Christ because death no longer has a grip on me and that he ascended to the right hand of God the Father where he rules and Reigns from and I get to serve him out of that hope.
When you understand that the rest of the Christian Life is this you put all your chips on that hope on that reality you don't H your bets it's all in on Christ and now what to live as Christ to die is gain so I want to spend some time digging into this phrase because I think this phrase is unbelievably important if you understand what the best life is to live so let take a look at the first part to live is Christ he goes on to say.
If I'm to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me now he's going to go on to unpack this in the next few verses and just say that this is serving your brothers and sisters in Christ this is in service of the Church but that's what it means to live as Christ means to serve Christ to live is to serve that's the Christian Life to Live is to serve I went to a college called Presbyterian College and they had a a motto in Latin was called Dum vivamus servamus which was.
While we live we serve and at one point I'm sure in the history of our college that was attached to Christian values this is no longer a Christian College not remotely close but just like Harvard back in the day was founded as a seminary this was founded as a Christian College back in the day and at some point someone made the connection that the life that you live in Christ is one of service to live is Christ if you're going to be a Christian you're going to serve that is what it means to be a Christian and not only that that is the Pinnacle of human existence you understand what the what the what the.
Most maximized human life is do you understand what the good life is the good life is one that is found in serving Christ but in a lot of different ways I think our actions and our desires reveal that we don't really celebrate that Anthem that we don't really wholly Embrace that idea and then if you're in a bit of a midlife or quarter life crisis or you're just evaluating your time and you're trying to think through what do I do with the life that I have left like Paul is.
If I get out of prison this is what I'm going to do to live is this that if we're pose the same question that says if you had more time if you had more time in this life what are you going to do what is your gut instinct say what do your actions reveal I think if we're honest might reveal a lot of things that if I get more time what I'm going to do is I'm going to maximize my time to make money that I'm going to do what I can to make money.
Because money means freedom to choose freedom to do what I want freedom for me freedom for my family it means a lot of things that I can gain in this life this life is very temporary and I need to maximize my life and the aim of my life in a way that maximizes how much money I can have in my bank account I think for others that if you had more time that you'd be really focused on I want to be able to find someone to do this life with that I want to be able to find someone that I can journey through life that I love that I want I want that person.
For others who even might be married now might be just in a marriage that you're not happy with and it's like I if I I want someone I can actually love and journey through life with to live is if I had more time I could just have this if I had more time I could have the perfect family the right amount of kids who behave the just right amount of like all the things I want them to do that they would be involved in these Sports and would be uh uh good at this aspect of school and be able to have these type of careers.
If I could just uh have more time I'll be able to establish that type of family if I had more time I would be able to establish the kind of the kind of career I want but as you're thinking ahead primary focus is what kind of career I can have and the time I can put into that and the Legacy that I can leave through that and the work that I do if I had more time I would just grow to be a person that is admired by others that people would like me and I could leave that type of Legacy.
If I had more time I could live the kind of comfortable lifestyle that I want I could ditch the car that I don't like it improved the truck that I do like I could live uh I could level up in the house that I have I could have Comforts I could have the big screen TV if I had more time I could get happy if I had more time I could get healthy I think the Instinct within us and I think the actions that we display would reveal a lot of different things that.
If we had more time it would be a focus on this but to live would be this and listen I don't I don't think that I think having a good job and a and a spouse and a sweet family and a career that you like and being liked by others and being able to afford Stakes on the weekend like I'm I think those are good things and guess what Christianity is not opposed to those things this just not a a faith that's built on aestheticism this super righteous over-the toop lifestyle that's not what this is at all.
But here's the thing those things are not the Pinnacle of what it means to be a human those AR the the that's not what it means to live the good life not for the Christian at all that's not what it means that's not that should not be the central aim of Our Lives all of those things in our lives should be in joyful submission to the central aim of our life and that life is one of serving Christ which means that the money that we make is in service to Christ that.
If you get a pay raise it's like I God has blessed me with more so that I might not use it all on myself that I might bless others I might see other people in our Church family that are in difficult situations and be able to bless them that I might be able to reformulate my budget so I can send more missionaries because ultimately my money is a means by which I get to serve Christ that if God blesses me with a spouse that means I get to be in a one flesh Union that is in service to Christ that.
If I'm currently in one I get to rethink how our marriage is centered on the Gospel so that our marriage can ultimately not serve my needs or even my spouse's needs but ultimately in service of Christ that if you choose a career or you decide to switch jobs that every one of those decisions is like how do I submit this in the service of Christ how would I be a missionary in this workplace how will choosing this uh job help me serve the kingdom better you can go on and on down the list.
If I'm going to raise a family it's going to be one that is centered on the idea and the truth that is beautiful to live is Christ which means that I'm going to spend time with my children to help them understand that is the most important thing they could possibly ever understand and believe which means that I'm going to have make decisions as a father that says maybe we don't do the travel ball team this year and maybe I'm not impressing upon them that straight AIDS is the most important thing you can do to have the career that you want that I might even stretch them past bedtime on a night at community group knowing.
Good and well when I get home at 8:30 they're going to be really tired and awful at 6:00 in the morning when I'm getting them ready and the whole next day they might be a little tyrants but it's for a purpose because ultimately I want them to understand that to live as Christ and that this is more important we make decisions all the time that should be in service to Christ and should guide ourselves our families towards the ultimate good life that whatever Comforts that whatever whatever things.
God gives us in this life is in service to the ultimate aim that is to serve Christ that we would Le we would leverage every aspect of Our Lives towards making disciples and loving Brothers and Sisters in Christ and doing just to be blunt whatever God wants you to do now sometimes when you put a big emphasis on that there's a part of us especially in our Church where it's we we preach over and over again that you're not saved by works we beat that drum all the time that you're not saved by your Works you're not saved by your Works you're not saved by your works from Grace you've been saved through faith we.
Hit that drum over and over again for a reason because we need to understand that we trust in the perfect works of Christ on our behalf and that record stands for us you don't get into the kingdom of God by doing a bunch of good so we'll hit that over and over again but not at the expense of go 2 verse uh Ephesians 2: 89 and verse 10 which says that we are his workmanship that once you're in the kingdom of.
God you're created for good works which is not for you to get into heaven it's for your neighbors and it's for the advancement of his kingdom I love how Paul puts some very similar ideas in this passage into 2 Corinthians chapter 5 when he says in verse 8 and9 yes we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord see that similar language there i' ra I'd rather be at home with the.
Lord because that's my heavenly home it's not here it's there i' rather be at home with the Lord verse 9 so whether we are at home or away we make it our aim to please him and I want us to miss that we don't please him to get into heaven but we should make it our chief aim as Christians to say how can I please him how can I serve him how can I do this and I think the problem for us as a as Americans I think as American Christians I think we're.
So drunk off of Earthly blessings and Earthly riches and Earthly things that when the Bible confronts us on this when it comes to us and says You must live for Christ you must please him you must obey him a part of it just goes yeah I know but if I do that I'm going to miss out on some things and I just I want to just brutally murder that idea from us ever believing that is true because it's the idea that enjoying the things of this world is somehow better than what Christ has to offer us I I just want to kill that idea.
If I took my child if I took my son and I said we're going to get ice cream and not just any ice cream like we're going to the Baked Bear in Five Points which I've been on keto for a month and today is my first day off and sometime this week I'm going there because you can get ice cream and they take gooey butter cookies and they press it together into just I mean it's amazing and yeah I'm like that's where we're going we're getting that it's like that as that's the that's the best we got in Columbia we're going there and we're walking through five points and all of a sudden he sees.
A red shiny thing in the gutter and it's a one of those strawberry candies like the outside looks like a strawberry wrapper it's bright and shiny inside tastes like lip gloss you know what I'm talking about and he darts to it and he picks it up and he's like no no no dad I found it we're good I'm going to camp out here you go do whatever you want I don't have to walk that much further because I found what is going to satisfy me I would smack it out of his hand I would say you're not enjoying this no no no I don't you don't understand I want this i' smack it out of.
His hand again and have to look around and make sure that nobody's going to call the police you leave that for the kids in Five Points coming off of USC campus that's not what we're going to enjoy we're going to the Baked Bear I know we got to walk a little further son but that's where we're going because once we get there it's going to be good and it's going to be better than that filth that I'm going to stomp into the ground no that's what I do with my son and that's what God's trying to help us.
See yeah it's a little more effort to serve Christ takes a little farther to get there but it's good it's actually where goodness is found it's unbelievably good when you read Psalm 37 in Psalm 37:3 he says trust in the Lord and do good dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness he's saying trust in God and in trusting him serve him do good but faithfulness and then you get to verse four when it says delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart which people have Twisted out of context.
For their own purpose purposes and said you had Del lighten yourself in the Lord he's going to give you whatever you want it's like no no don't miss what it's sandwiched between verse three do good verse 5 commit your way to the Lord trust in him and he will act that ultimately goodness is found in Walking With Our God and doing what he commands and trusting in our savior and then obeying him that's where goodness is found not just goodness you get to delight in.
God through that and delighting in God who is the Perfection of beauty who is wonderful is good serving Christ is not drudgery it's not it's not a boring life no matter how much it gets depicted in movies or in TV the Christians live a boring life it's not service of Christ is not drudgery that is a lie you ask anyone who has followed Christ for decades they've pursued him in word and prayer regularly they have been obedient to make disciples they have entered into the baptism Waters and they have seen people testify that Christ has change them.
Because they got to be vessels of that being used to declare the Gospel to them you listen to their stories of how they helped other Christians get out of debt of how they helped walk with other brothers and sisters in discipling them you ask them if they would wish they had spent the last few decades doing something different that they would have would you would you have rather spent your time on endless amount of hobbies pursuing meaningless sex would you rather have watched a bunch more shows and bed a bunch more series would you have rather gone to a bunch of really fancy parties and gotten sosed is that what you have rather have done.
With your time if you ask them that question they're going to look at you sideways they're going to look at you like have you have you lost your mind absolutely not not because they've experienced what it means to Delight in Christ through service they know what it means to walk with their God and out of walking with their God serving others they have experienced that and that's better as we say every Sunday morning better than everything else and they believe that yet.
When I talk to people who have spent their years spent the last decade pursuing empty Pursuits chasing after worldly things I hear I'm s I'm tired I'm depressed I'm anxious I'm burned out because those things don't actually ever satisfy because that's not where true Joy is found to live as Christ is where true Joy is found service of Christ is not drudgery it is joy and when we realize that and believe that we become the Living Sacrifice that God has called us to be.
Then we tap into a greater form of joy that is better than anything this world has to offer so when he says to live as Christ of course I'm going to keep doing this what else would I rather be doing this is it and that's why he can so freely say in the next breath to die is gain death is gain because he knows if I die it's promotion to the big leagues I'm going to Eternity and that is far better and I think the problem.
For us is that so many of us are tempted to squeeze every ounce out of this life to squeeze every ounce of Earthly pleasure out of this life that we can't even see that that's better that I think that if many of us were told that you were going to die younger than you thought it would be scary and it would be sad and Paul just doesn't have that mindset he's so freed up in believing in Christ and understanding eternity and that this life is a drop in the bucket compared to the ocean of time that spent in eternity and how much better that is he's.
So grounded in that idea he says if you kill me good I'm I'm I'm going to get where I want to go faster where I'll behold the face of God where I won't have the stain of this body and its Brokenness and its pain and its suffering or I won't be in I won't be I won't struggle with sin anymore yeah I I'll take that all day long he says yet which I shall yet which I shall choose I cannot tell I'm hardpressed between the two to Live to Die My Desire is to depart and be with Christ.
For that is far better he's not suicidal y'all that's not what's happening here he just understands Eternity for what it is and he's just being honest he's like I'm heart pressed I know that I should I got more to I got more to do but man I want that CU that's better and if you've ever heard stories you've been around Christians who've walked with the Lord for years and they have a terminal illness there's a part of them that's sad because they're going to leave a wife or a husband behind and they're going to leave kids behind and that's painful.
Because death thingss and that's painful but if you press in and you ask but but are you are you excited about being with Christ and that face just turns and it's like yeah I am I'm really looking forward to that I believe our calculations are off if we think there's less reward in serving Christ and I think our calculations are off if we fear death we should live every day to serve Christ in any way that he desires and we should.
See the joy in doing that because it is wonderful and then when God calls us to be home with him we're ready for the gain that awaits us that's what Paul's articulating here now it's when you see how he's talking around this you see he's somewhat convinced I would argue he's somewhat convinced that he's still got more work to do and the history behind this is is that there's a few historical resources outside the Bible that say that he got out of this imprisonment and he ended up in Spain which is.
When you read the book of Romans where he wanted to go and take the Gospel now we don't know that for a complete fact whether he did that or whether this really was the last imprisonment I lean towards looking at this text and realizing that I think he expects to get out and then he expects he has more work to do and you get a glimpse of that mindset when you go through verse 24 and 26 which was what we close out with.
Today he says 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again so I think from this that he he thinks he's getting out regardless of where you where you land on that his mindset is if I get out.
When I get out it is for your progress and joy in the faith that's what he says the way I get to live as Christ the way I get to serve Christ is for your progress and joy in the faith later in Chapter 2 he's going to talk about himself as a being poured out like a drink offering which is sacrificial language from the Old Testament that he's gets to be a sacrifice for their benefit he gets to be a sacrifice.
For their joy and progress in the faith that's what it means to serve Christ brothers and sisters that you leverage your life in service of Christ for the good of one another for the joy and progress of the people in this room to know and love and enjoy Christ we do that first by remembering Jesus in a sacrifice for us what he did on our behalf what he went to the cross for us we look at that sacrifice and out of that and realizing the mountain of debt that he paid.
For that our sin that put him there out of that we overflow into worship and we say and try to leverage Our Lives to say how can I serve others that I might help them have joy in Christ progress in their faith in Christ that's what it means to live as Christ and that that looks like the group leaders we have in our Church family that are laying on the line for their groups and when group gets hard and it gets messy and it gets tiresome you.
Look to Christ and you say thank you Jesus you serve me I'm going to serve others too and I'm going to I'm going to persevere in this and the joy that's found in the hardship of doing that is watching people taste and see that the Lord is good and watching Sinners be saved and watching marriages be restored and watching people understand what it means to truly serve Christ and to give themselves away this happens when a brother or sister sits down with someone who is hurting another brother and sister maybe.
For hours maybe for days maybe for weeks and just sits with them serving them because it's for not my own good it's for the good of others and it's for their joy and for their progress in the faith so yeah this is a a negative situation and it's got negativity within it but I press into that reality because it's worth them knowing and enjoying loving Christ this means leveraging your hospitality for others which is hard cuz I don't know if you bought groceries lately.
But like two bags is a 100 bucks and I we feel it and it's like man I I mean I we can we do hot dogs like I just you can by the way um it's like you're leveraging this I'm I'm going to I'm going to put this in my budget I'm put this in my mindset that I'm going to give up time and money for others to invite unbelievers into my house to invite their Christians into my house because it's good.
Because it's ultimately for their joy and progress and the faith Faith this means hear this this means sticking it out with people that are described as messy or even toxic man there's there's so much of an ideology going around right now that says if you got messy people in your life you got toxic people in your life you draw all this boundary and that's your circle and they can't get in the circle because if they get inside the circle that's a problem.
Because self care is Pinnacle at this moment you got to care for yourself so they can't be let in and what I'm not saying is is that you don't keep in mind that you don't give all of your energy and all of your time to messy people but you go the gospels and you show me a time when Jesus drew a boundary around himself and said these messy people can't get in and you ain't going to find it you know what he did do with messy people with hurting people he spent time with his heavenly.
Father and he got away from the crowds and he was filled up so that he could serve others well and I just want to again murder the mindset a lot of murder language sorry I want to destroy the mindset that says I can't serve others because I have to only care for myself it's the opposite of the Gospel to live is Christ whatever that is fill in the blank to live is serving Christ and leveraging our lives for others joy.
For others progress in the faith and we do it over and over again because we ultimately believe that Jesus is better over and over again and that in and through those labors and those efforts we get to see other people as he says In this passage have ample opportunities to glorify Christ ample cost to glorify Christ so brothers and sisters we leverage our lives for Mission we leverage Our Lives to loving one another well for the good of one anothers and we do it over and over and over again and we give ourselves away.
Because ultimately we get to help others experience joy and progress and in that labor even when it is hard we experience joy that is found in him because that level of joy is only found in the service of others so that means we need to be honest about how we'd answer that question to live is what that we should be honest about what we are basing Our Hope in this life on but what we think the good life is to live is what.
And if that answer isn't Christ then we say I submit this to you Jesus and I put it at your feet and you Chang my heart and you help me repent and you help me to live is for you for the good of others and for the progress in the faith until Christ calls us home again I'm at the halfway point with my oldest and I've only got a few years of really PR primary influence in her life before she leaves the home and I.
So want the next n plus years just to say an embody in her to live is Christ baby girl to live is Christ and to die is gain that's the Christian life because I want her to be able to go into the world and see money not as a God but as a tool and she's like I'm just so that one day she'll say this is just a tool and I won't be anxious about this I'm not going to be needing to.
For all this but I will live for the good of others and I will leverage my finances for the sake of others that if God does call her into a marriage one day and she has a husband that they will enter into a Godly marriage that is in service of others that she chooses a job that it's ultimately going to be how can I serve Christ in this job if she chooses to spend her time she says I'm going to serve Christ as.
God blesses her with children that one day she's going to raise them in service of Christ and enjoying him and God willing is going to live a long life and I'm going to beat her to Eternity and then one day at the end of her life a legacy of serving others she's just ready and she's ready to go home and she's ready to depart this world because what awaits her is eternal gain and I will get to be there and welcome her there and invite her and we celebrate.
And then for the years that follow I get to see person after person after person after person who enter into the kingdom of God because she leveraged her life to live is Christ and saw death as only gain that is the life I want for her that's the life I want for all my kids that's the life I want for myself and that's the life that I want for every person in this Church to live a life that is for Christ and doesn't cling to this world.
Because ultimately death is better because we gain him me pray heavenly father I pray that you might break within us a love for this world that we might not cling to anything that it has to offer but we might truly submit Our Lives to you to be in service to you because that is eternally better that's where Joy is found and my heart doesn't want to believe that it wants to cling to the things of this world may you break that within me.
So that I might embody what it means to live as Christ that our Church family that is struggling with loving the things of this world whatever that might be that you might break within them a heart for others that comes out of loving you and serving others may you help us be able to answer this question Faithfully that to live as Christ and to die as again and if there's anyone here that has not trusted in you that this is not the central aim of their life at all I pray that you'd help them.
See that this world is not worth it and they pursuing the things of this world is not worth it but they would go all in on you and they would live for you so that ultimately one day death may be gain in Jesus name amen the band's going to come up we're going to take prepare to take the Lord's Supper on the night that Jesus was betrayed he took bread and he broke it he said this is my body that was broken.
For you he took the cup of the New Covenant he said this is my blood that was shed for you that as often as you eat and drink this you Proclaim my death until I return and we are people that regularly come to the table of a meal that signifies death it signifies the death of Christ but also through faith in Christ death to ourselves which means that in the moments as you prepare to take the Lord's Supper as a Christian you get to.
Look at the things that we might say to live is what and we might fill that in and bring that before Christ and that we might repent joyfully H prly joyfully that we'd come to the table joyfully say thank you Jesus that you died for my own selfish ambition for my own selfish desires thank you Jesus that you died for this so that I might joyfully be able to spend what the this meal also points to Eternity the final meal that we enjoy with Christ forever that as a people between those two realities we get to live a a life that is.
For Christ expecting that one day death enters into game now if you're not a Christian if you never trusted completely in the finished work of Christ please don't come to the table this is not a meal for you what I want for you right now is to contemplate and to think that if you've banked your hope if you banked your life on anything outside of Christ if you're honest with yourself you're like I don't no I've never done that I've actually never believed My Hope Is that you would surrender to.
Jesus now because he's good and living a life for Christ is good and it's Joy filled and it's wonderful and ultimately it ends an eternal game but that can't happen unless you surrender in faith and I pray that you would now now so when you are ready come to the table with gluten free in that back corner over there if you want to know more about this if you want to know what it means to trust in Christ and surrender your life to him grab me grab another pastor we would happily walk you through the Gospel and what it means to believe and trust in him.
See that he is better heavenly father I pray that you would.
Rejoice in the Gospel (Philippians 1:15-18a)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we're continuing to walk through the book of Philippians still in chapter 1 a few more verses 15 through the first part of 18 so you go ahead and flip there be on page 570 the blue Bibles you can follow along there if you don't have a Bible at home please take that we want you to have a Bible that you can uh that you can read that you have access to and the text will also be on the screen.
If you want to follow there so we I make an assumption of the room most of us probably I would say all of us do good things from time to time you serve your neighbor do the extra mile at work like we we do good things but I think if we were honest that a lot of the times those good things are done for motives that aren't always pure we just I know maybe y'all are better than me I just see I.
See with them me like there's just there's a lot of selfish motives sometimes I mean may do a good thing but it may be for the sake of advancing your career it might be to make us feel good or maybe we just simply like praise like to do good things because we like the praise that comes with it now we realize that that's socially unacceptable right for that to be seen you know we got some teenagers in the room about the teenage years is.
When you start to figure out that like I I it's not good for people to know that I just did a good thing just to be praised right like you just you start to realize that I mean into adulthood like it just that's not a that's not a thing that works well it's not going to help you in the workplace like my kids are not good at that little kids are terrible at that they're not subtle uh they're not slick they're not Savvy my youngest what she'll do sometimes she's she's not four.
Now so she's growing a little bit out of this but my youngest she'll do like a good thing or she'll pick up her toys or whatever and then she'll come to me and she'll go and oh this is what this is about like you you wanted praise you okay good job now at some point she's going to goow around and realize that's not how you make friends and secure a job like I'm just I I challenge you to do something good at work this week and go to your boss and go and it's not going to it it doesn't go.
Well for you uh and if you do please record that I want to see their face it's just we know that's not it's not really acceptable but if we're honest there's a lot of that within us doing the right things for the wrong reasons last week we went through verses 12 through 14 in chapter 1 and we got to see that Paul's imprisonment helped Advance the Gospel it also helped embolden the Believers on the ground to share the Gospel as well and what we're going to.
See this week is that there are Christians on the ground in Rome we near where he's imprisoned that are sharing the Gospel some of them are doing it for the right reasons but some of them are doing it for the wrong reasons and we're going to take a look at that and after acknowledging that reality Paul is going to help us see he's going to reveal where we should place the most value and how that applies to our lives as Christians.
So I want to read these verses and we'll pray and we'll walk through this together verse 15 some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry but others from goodwi the latter do it out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel the former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment what then only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is proclaimed and in that I Rejoice let's pray heavenly.
Father I pray that you'd help us be open to hear your word this morning we as CH Just prayed are are needy sinners in need of Grace in need of instruction we need your guidance uh and and passages like this certainly reveal what is within us I pray that you would expose that and help us see the need for Faith see the need for repentance and running to you and seeing that you are better and this would ultimately result in a life of worship that glorifies you above ourselves we ask this in.
Jesus name amen all right so as we kind of introduce the book of Philippians this letter is different than the other letters that Paul wrote so God has inspired this is speaking through his servant Paul there's there's 13 letters that God used Paul to write to to help us see his wonderful truth this letter is very different than the other ones most of the time he's dealing with a problem in that Church or or or speaking to a leader who's dealing with problems within their Church and he's helping engage some of that Philippians is just different it's a joyful love you know uh uh based letter between a Church that deeply loves Paul and a.
Church that he loves and he's just kind of telling them what's happening on the ground and what's happening on the ground here is you've got some Christians who've been emboldened by Christ and out of good motives are declaring the mystery of Christ he's imprisoned in Rome and he's connected to those Roman Christians but there are other Roman Christians that he's connected to that are doing this for bad reasons we picked that up in verse 15 some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry.
Now there are people in the Church at Rome that are preaching Christ from place of envy and rivalry now this passage has confused commentators theologians who've been interacting with this text me like it just it's it's conf it's some confusing stuff here because he uses language envy and rivalry that typically when he writes in his other letters is attributed to those who don't know Christ those who don't follow Christ like envy and Roby especially paired close together that's applied to if your life is marked by this he says you don't know Christ he does this in multiple places in Galatians chapter 5 we're familiar with many of us with with the the fruit of the.
Spirit love joy peace patience kindness goodness gentl faithness self-control right before that is the works of the Flesh and in Galatians 5 it says now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry sorcery enmity Strife jealousy fits of anger rivalries dissensions divisions Envy drunkenness orgies and things like these I warn you as I warn you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God he is saying that if your life is marked by this.
Then then you're you probably aren't a Christian you're not going to inherit the kingdom of God now the language here stands out the same word for Strife in the Greek which is the original way this is written the same word for strife and rivalries is the same word and that is paired right next to Envy so he's got these kind of close together and that helps see this is what marks someone who doesn't believe and isn't living out the Gospel he does this again in Romans 1 says they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness evil covet malice they are full of Envy murder Strife deceit maliciousness again Envy pair close to the same Greek.
Word for rivalry that is translated here here Strife this happens again and not just describing those who don't believe the Gospel but also those who are teaching a false Gospel false teachers in 1 Timothy 6 he says if anyone teaches a different Doctrine does not agree with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that Accords with godliness he is puffed up with conceit understands nothing he has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels About Words which produce Envy to Ascension slander evil suspicions again Envy paired up with the same Greek word that's.
For rivalry that's translated here as dissension so you see kind of how he uses these words close together throughout the letters that he's written and then you get to Philippians 1 and it's just odd because he's applying it to people who preach Christ and what he doesn't do he does not destroy their credibility he he does that in other places for those that are false teachers he doesn't do that here let's work through the rest of the passage it says somebody preach Christ from envy and rivalry.
But others from goodwi the latter do it out of love knowing that I'm put here for the defense of the Gospel he said there are some in the Roman Church that are preaching the Gospel for the right reasons for a place of love but then he shifts right back to in verse 17 the former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment so then we get a little bit of a clearer picture of what's going on there are people in the Roman Church that from a place of envy and rivalry specifically with Paul out of their own selfish ambition and their own self-interest are preaching Christ in.
A way to hurt Paul and a way to to to Really what it seems like push his influence down in that Church and lift up their own influence within this Church that's what's happening and the confusing part is how he responds in verse 18 what then only that in every way whether in pretense that's false motives or in truth Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice and when you read this against his other letters it's like wait what you take envy and rivalry very seriously and yet all of a sudden you're just what.
Then these people have hurt you personally they've Afflicted you and you're just like what then at least the Gospel is being preached at least at least Jesus is being proclaimed and I want to be like have you read your other letters man this is this is a big deal I me the same person that told Timothy to keep a close life on your keep keep keep a close watch on your life and your Doctrine like you care about how the those who proclaim the Gospel live and you care about the message like what What's Happening Here is Paul speaking out of both sides of his mouth what is he getting at that's the question that.
Kind of lingers a little bit and it's the answer to that is it's it's complicated it's a complicated answer but it's worth pressing into so when Paul says some D preach Christ it is very clear that he's talking about the Gospel he is saying they're preaching the true Gospel they're not preaching a false Gospel which means they're not false teachers and the reason you can say that very credibly is because Paul in all the places he talks about false teachers has zero patience.
For them I mean he absolutely extends zero kindness to wolves and sheep's clothing I mean he dismantles and destroys them over and over and over again I'm not going to give you three quick examples they're a lot more in the book of Galatians a Church that a letter that was written to the Church in galacia a region where he had planted churches after he left some people called the judaizers came in and tried to convert Christians back into following the Jewish law and saying you need this to be saved and he in chapter one at the gate in.
Verse 6 says I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different Gospel not that there is another one but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the Gospel of Christ but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to the preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preach to you let him be a cursed as we have said before.
Now I say again if anyone is preaching to you a Gospel contrary to the one you received let him be a cursed that phrase let him be a cursed very literally means let him go to hell so he just said you're pre if anyone is preaching a false Gospel let him go to hell let him be a cursed he picks up in in in second Timothy he says but avoid irreverent Babel for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like Garing here false teachers he says their teachings are like an infection that are rotting out the body and will kill the body and he says among the them.
Are himas and philetus which he just called them out by name he doesn't play with false teaching and false teachers he says who have swore from the truth saying that the resurrection is already happened they are upsetting the faith of some and I'll give you one more again there's more but I'll just give you one Titus one says for there are many who are insubordinate empty talkers and deceivers especially those of the circumcision party they must be silenced these are the these trying to convert people back to the Jewish law to be saved he says they must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching.
For shameful gain what they ought not teach he says they must be silenced their talk spreads like gain green they can go straight to hell he has very very strong language for false teachers and he has no patience for false teaching at all and then you get to Philippians and you read this passage and it's like what they're marked by Envy and rivalry what what this seems like a big shift so nowadays there's a lot of uh 90s Nostalgia a lot of 90s Nostalgia I think that's good just I'm partial.
Because that's where I grew up but I think there's not enough focus on one of the best things that came out the 90s and that is '90s country music ' 9s country music was amazing it was so good I know some of y'all don't like country it's fine we can't all have good taste but '90s country music was the jam it was so good Allan Jackson Martina McBride George Straight were just killing it and then 2000's bro country came and it was awful they murdered country music it's.
So so so bad but it's making a comeback you guys cuz when Chris Stapleton took the stage at the CMAs a few years ago I mean just bringing it back it makes me so happy so so many good artists Zack Bryant I can go on for days on that but '90s country was just so good and there was one who is at the top who is killing it more than anyone else in country music can I can I get a guess that's exactly right G Brooks was killing it y'all no only one other artist has sold more physical units of music than G Brooks that's the Beatles number two is GTH Brooks that's wild he.
Was and I mean he was killing that decade and then in 1999 I walked into Walmart and I saw a display case and this display case had it just one artist all the CDs and I walked up to it and I saw a man who had an emo haircut before emo haircuts were even a thing yet and a soul patch and I saw eight of the saddest words I've ever read in the English language G Brooks in the life of Chris gains and he just became a pop artist and and I I got that I got the CD and took it home and it was trash it was awful it's like dude you were killing.
It in country and then you became this this really really bad pop artist it didn't work out for him it worked out well for Taylor Swift but not for him it was a big shift and it was like what are you doing it's so uncharacteristic of everything that you've put out and that's what I feel like when I read Paul In this passage I'm like you are are you Chris gaining us are you just like what have you lost the thread on everything that matters that you're about.
But when you press into this you see that's not it at all because one thing is abundantly clear that has not changed at all and that is that Paul deeply deeply loves the Gospel he deeply deeply values the message of the Gospel you can't mess with the message of the Gospel that's his Anthem you cannot touch that he still believes in the message of the Gospel he still believes and preaches and cares about those who preach that Christ who looked upon us in our sinful hopeless State who came and left heaven.
For us who lived a perfect life for us obeying the Old Testament law Paul still cares about the fact that Christ went to the Cross because he loves us because of his great love for us and that his blood was poured out for us for our offenses and for our sins and for our struggles so that we might stand justified through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross that when God the Father looks upon those of us that have Place Our Hope in.
Jesus and not our own good works but put all of our hope in Christ that he would see the perfect spotless righteousness of Christ and not our own sins and that in that faith we are reborn to a living hope that we cling to until Jesus takes us home he still cares deeply about the message of the Gospel he loves it and he has no patience for a false teaching that corrupts that at all because he understands that a false Gospel leads to a false belief which ultimately leads to an eternity in hell and he takes that very seriously which.
For the record we should care about that we should absolutely not tolerate a false Gospel at all we should not tolerate wolves and sheep's clothing at all I in Paul's time it was it was people that were saying the resurrection already come it was people that were saying that you had to do good works and obey the Old Testament law to be justified and our time it's different the main false Gospel that's rampant throughout the American Church is the Prosperity Gospel it's it's just everywhere and we should absolutely take that seriously we should take seriously the false prophets and false Gospel that's preached from people like Joel ostein and Joyce Meyer and TD Jakes.
Crlo dollar each of them preaching false Gospel leads to a false belief that leads to an eternity in hell we should take that seriously you might think that's a little judgy you calling individuals out and I'd say yeah it is Paul called out himonas and phileus and Paul makes it very clear in in 1 Corinthians 5 he says are you not called to judge those inside the Church it's a direct quote are you not called to judge those inside the Church he's saying hold those accountable inside the Church those outside the Church you have no business making any bit accountability you have no business in making any judgment call on.
If anyone outside the Church no inside the Church if they claim to follow Christ absolutely you hold accountable to what they say and how they live because the message of the Gospel is of utmost importance and we catch a glimpse of God's heart through his servant Paul to help us see that false teaching is seriously we should take that very seriously and I think the problem for us is that we we don't there's so much of it it's like we we don't I think we get more upset.
When someone has a different if you have a family member or you know husband wife brother sister best friend I think we get more upset if they pick up art of the deal by Donald Trump or Obama's Memoir than we would if they took Joel olin's life your best life now book I think we' be more upset about the the political difference there I think it' be more upset if our family or friends were watching news or watching MSNBC then we would.
If they were actually watching TBN which is a horrible Channel I mean they they put some good stuff on there like Billy Graham sandwich between kod dollar and TD Jake and Joyce Meyer and all and it's just like it's awful which the iron of that channel I think it's called Trinity broadcast network and some of those cats don't even believe in Trinity it's just it we should take this seriously which means that if we have family or friends that are being immersed in this type of we we we should lovingly and winsomely compel them to turn away from that cuz this a destructive force it has ruined churches in America it has ruined churches in.
Africa and South America taking a a a false Gospel to people who barely have anything and telling them to give their money so that they can be it's we should take it seriously as serious as Paul takes in 2 Timothy chapter 4 when he says for the time is coming when people who will not endure sound teaching but have itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to truth and wander into myths.
Because we live in a time where everyone wants to hear what makes them feel good wants to he what what their ears are itching for and it will suit their own passions and it's going to lead to destruction so when he's talking about these Roman Christians they're preaching Christ they're not preaching a false Gospel here and when you understand this this and what he's doing I think there are three questions we can ask of Paul and ourselves that will help us understand and apply this better I have three questions the.
First do we love the message like Paul do we love the message like Paul so when he says 15 some of the preach Christ from envy and rivalry and it goes on to say the former Proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment I mean just understand like Paul Paul was being hurt by this like I mean if you've ever had anyone I remember the first time that I was in when I was in high school and a I found out that a friend of mine was talking smack about me behind my back and I was like I thought we were friends that hurts that had to.
Have hurt him they are afflicting him I mean the the the most comparative thing I could say what's happening with him and Roman maybe here is if we sent chck to like the Middle East to do Mission work and then he gets arrested and he's imprisoned and then I just was like all right now's the time I don't just preach half the time I preach all the time I make the rules here now I'm taking over Community groups and I'll scrub his ugly face out of the website it's just out this is my house and I just said I'm doing it this is me and y'all be like is he doing.
Okay it doesn't matter how he's doing we're moving on it's wicked it's corrupt that's what's happening he's being afflicted by people who are preaching because they they Envy his influence they're out of their own selfish ambition so it had to have hurt him certainly but Paul has an eternal view in mind he says but at least they're preaching Christ at least they're preaching the true Gospel at least they're preaching a Gospel that saves and not a false Gospel that dams so at least they're preach in Christ cuz he cares more about advancing the Gospel than being personally maligned that's clear from his writings that he doesn't like those motives he doesn't like envy and rivalry.
Probably was praying for the repentance but he rejoiced that they were preaching a true Gospel and that Sinners were being saved so it's what those Rivals and what they were doing in that Church was it Wicked yes are these rivals operating out of as they're operating out of selfish ambition are they in danger if they keep following that track if it's all about themselves and all about themselves all about themselves are they in danger of becoming likeus and phileus and becoming false teachers that's certainly possible.
But is it it's clear from these writings here it's clear from what's Happening Here that their motivations though flawed their their motivations though sinful are not the same as someone who would preach that Jesus isn't really God which started in the first century but also continues in the veins of jehovas witness in Mormonism now and it's certainly not the same as someone who would preach a Prosperity Gospel saying that you come come down here and we'll pray over you give some money and we'll pray over you plant the seed of faith and we'll pray over you those aren't even in the same ballpark.
See yeah they're flawed but they're not preaching a false Gospel and there's a lot of nuance here that separates that out I think there are a misguided leaders that are hurting Paul and they've lost sight of what this is all about and I think it is possible that we don't get to see how this ends that some of those those teachers ended up straying away from the faith but they're not there yet and therefore Paul is still going to celebrate that they are preaching Christ and he's not going to treat him like a wolf I love what John Piper says about this he says Paul is more agitated.
When the Gospel itself is defective than he is when the people who preach the true Gospel are defective and I think that's a very good sum summarization of what this is now that doesn't mean we shouldn't care about leaders that doesn't mean we shouldn't care about character we announced a few weeks ago that Isaac who's been in the Elder and training process here for four years that we're going to install him as an elder after four years is a reason why we took that long we were evaluating his character we still should 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 care about the character of those who Proclaim name the Gospel we should care about that like.
If any of you move to another city and you try to find a Church I've helped different people who've left here and gone to different places I usually get on n Marks Church finder or Gospel coal uh Church finder and help them find a few churches but I tell them like you should care about their teaching so get on there read their doctrinal statements listen to a few sermons hear what they are teaching because that matters but if they show up and all of a sudden like the pastor is really into himself and like he's wearing $500 sneakers and it's just like you can tell like he's just trying to build his brand and you.
Get on social media and like it's just a lot of cringe posts about I mean you know what I'm talking about it's just like if if you see that it's like okay you should care about that you should care if there's just blatant self-interest in how they do their Ministry but you also should pray for pastors like that when you encounter them you should and you should be thankful at least they're preaching a true Gospel there's a quote that's attributed to Martin Luther that's.
God uses crooked sticks to make straight lines and it's like yeah yeah there's some crooked sticks including myself that God uses to preach Christ and we should celebrate that so when you encounter churches and pastors and authors and Ministry leaders that seem to be so self-interested should pray for them and pray for their repentance because that's a miserable existence making an idol out of yourself and your ministry is tiring and exhausting there's a quote from a Moravian Bishop Zen and dorf he said preach the Gospel die and be forgotten and it's like yeah that's it that's it preach the Gospel die two generations you everyone will forget you praise.
God because the message message outlasts the messenger even a broken one we should love the message of the Gospel we should love the message of Christ second question do we love the message more than ourselves do we love the message of the Gospel more than our own selves or to put it a different way what about our own selfish ambition what about our own Envy what about our own rivalry because what happens is that we're really quick to identify it's easy to.
See you know a slick preacher with $500 sneakers on Instagram doing all kinds of things and be like oh yeah that dude's about himself but we skipped a step because what Jesus teaches in Matthew 7 is take the plank out of your own eye so that you can see the speck in your brother's eye and we just skip that stuff and that passage gets misunderstood for lots of reasons on one side it's like oh God says you should never judge anyone and Tupac like just made that a big Anthem Only.
God can judge me and it's like no that's not what Jesus is teaching at all there he's saying take the plank out first so you can see the spec there's accountability built into that passage but the other side of it is is that we just don't like to do that we don't like to take the plank out that's hard work inspecting it's suspecting your own sin first is difficult work it's a whole lot easier just to look at everyone else so do we love the message more than ourselves are we willing to do the tough work of saying.
First okay where are my selfish Ambitions where am I envious where where am I uh creating rivalries with others and where do I need to repent of that in my own life first so I can clearly love the message over my own self so we should do that that's something I have to die to myself regularly because I I just my flesh I I want admiration and Glory I want that and I I regularly pray before I preach I say God not.
For my glory but for your own because I know deep down within me I want that Glory but we got to do that Soul work of looking within and seeing what's happening within us so that we can actually repent so what planks do we need to pull out in order to practice this well do you celebrate with others when they do well or are you quietly jealous of how their how it's going for them can you really celebrate what those you should be joyful about or are you just secretly.
So jealous that you're not getting what they've got how about this on the community group level when other community groups are just crushing it seemingly from our perspective another community group it's just it seems like it's just going so well are you happy for them are we imately envious of what's happening there which group leaders like that's a real thing right actually let me put group leaders to side for a moment let me talk to group members okay and I can say this.
Because I'm a group member now my wife and I we LED groups for 10 years and now we're just we're group members leading a group is hard leading a community group is hard it is you can talk to them you ask them hey is it hard and they'll say yes it is it's made harder when we're not being good group members when we show up once a month when the list goes out for meals and it's like I'll bring cups it's like you want to try a salad they make those in kits.
Now you just open it up you TI the bowl you just that's it like it's it's real easy it it's made more difficult when we stir up drama it made more difficult when we're complaining it's made more difficult when we say I want this to change and this change to serve my needs it's made more difficult when it's like I you got to revolve around my schedule it's made more difficult when we're not good group members so let's change let's love our group leaders y'all should bless them take them out to eat ask them how you could be a better group member all right group leaders.
If you get into a comparison game where you're just envious of other other situations that's a terrible drug and it just has no bottom cuz you'll just grow bitter and then you'll just hate groups all together you know not that I've ever experienced that ever in 10 years leading groups do you have a created rivalry in your head with another person person maybe it's at work maybe it's someone in our own Church another person and your family another person in your friend group do you have a rivalry that's like it's just in your head or maybe it's not even in your head maybe it's just like understood it's like Taylor and Kim Kardashian like they.
Just you just know it's just I think that was them right right front row yes okay it's just understood there's a rivalry between you and this other person person I sin I sin and it should be repented of and Reconciliation should happen is your work your ministry your life is it all about self and your selfish Ambitions are you making much of yourself or are we seeking to make much of Christ to his glory and not our own We Must Love The Gospel and the message of the go Gospel more than our own selves.
And when we do that we make the proclamation of Christ and him crucified the most Central aim of our lives but in order to stay on track with that aim there are things there are planks that must be REM removed there sin that must be repented of to make the Gospel primary third question do you rejoice in the message going forward do you rejoice in the message of Christ and him crucified going forward do we so deeply love this message like Paul we.
So deeply love it that we would care about that Gospel going forward and we just celebrate when it's preached there's a few different ways where we just that we fall short in this area I'm going to talk to a super Niche group of people in our Church I'm talking like probably less than five so I'm going to give this space like for a minute but if you're the kind of person that loves Theology and you also love being on YouTube and you love what's called discernment Ministries on YouTube be careful there are whole YouTube channels devoted to help you discern and heresy hunt and figure out who's the bad ones and some of those cats.
They spend they get a little too gleeful about taking shots at others and I just I I didn't throw up those names earlier I didn't throw out TD Jake and Klo dollar and Joel oin and Joyce Meyer flippantly I followed the ministry for years I had to reorient myself again this week with some of the really terrible things they say right but you better be real careful when you start throwing out names and lobing bombs that people that actually might be brothers they might be Sisters in Christ.
Because you're maligning a a Believer which first John has some pretty sharp words for you on so just caution they may listen they they may you you would never go to their Church and you would never quote them and they're just they make you cringe and like I'm tell there's a lot of goofy American Christian pastors out there a lot of great ones too a lot of great ones but a lot of goofy ones that you would never get behind but are they preaching Christ are they still preaching the Gospel.
Then you should celebrate that we should celebrate the proclamation of Christ we should Rejoice regard L of maybe our differences in opinions or even even differences in a little bit in character theological differences I whether it pretense or in truth Christ is proclaimed in that we should Rejoice I don't care if you're Anglican or if you're Baptist if you're egalitarian or you're complimentary or you know what those words are and care I don't like I just I don't I don't in the grand scheme of things I I do care like lowkey level care.
But like a grand scheme of things I don't care if you're preaching Christ then go for for it just keep doing it don't let up I want to celebrate you preaching Christ not be so just judgy on the smallest of things like I even got the point like years ago I I would see Street Street Preachers and I even confronted Street Preachers back in the day how dare you do you not know how many people you're dissuading of following Christ.
Listen there are some bad Street Preachers out there Al some crazy Street Preachers out there who are wacko but there are some Street Preachers that listen that's not my style I I'm not I'm not going on the streets with the soap box it's not my game but some of them are genuine Brothers and Sisters in Christ who were just proclaiming the Gospel and sure we don't have a street preaching Ministry but I've got to the point where I'm like you know what.
Look in the mirror bro they've shared the Gospel with more people in the last five minutes than you have in the last five months so like just calm down and if they they're preaching Christ then like it's not my style but like I'm going to pray I want to pray for that dude I want to pray for them that the Gospel would actually sink into the hearts of those who don't believe we should Rejoice with people who are proclaiming the Gospel we should check our own s to.
See if we're actually sharing the Gospel or if we just think we can friend people into the kingdom and never use words which doesn't work totally fine with friending people but you got to share words at some point and I feel that within my own self we should rejoice when those who proclaim the Gospel and that means that we should be willing to acknowledge in the times where we're not doing that we need to if listen if we're not willing to get in the fight and share the Gospel with a friend with a neighbor with a coworker it's either.
Because we don't love this Gospel nearly enough or we love ourselves in our comfort way too much we should rejoice when the Gospel is preached and we should embody the part of the Roman Church that made Paul just joyful and he said out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel that should be us that that the latter do I love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel may we be a people that embodied that.
But out of love for the message in Christ and of love for those who do not have ears to hear and a love for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who will be emboldened to share the Gospel if we do it we should out of love preach Christ and then rejoice when those and rejoice in those who do let me pray heavenly father I pray that you would help us love your message so deeply that we would repent of the own sin our lives that keeps us from being Messengers and Heralds that bring you glory I pray that you would use us in spite of our sin in spite of my own folies.
God I pray that you would help us celebrate at the proclamation of your wonderful Gospel and the Eternal change that can happen because of it I pray for brothers and sisters that that may Proclaim Christ for selfish motives that you would lead them and and me into regular repentance upholding you as more glorious than our ourselves so that out of love we would stand on the Gospel and Proclaim it regularly to your glory and not our own in Jesus name amen man's going to come up and we're just going to close out in worship and singing Take a couple minutes to reflect we don't just like to hear the word.
But we like to be doers of the word but in doing the word and practicing this we must stare Within and see the sin that's within us must be repented of but that's not even possible if we don't actually believe the Gospel in the first place so first you got to love Christ and you got to love the good news of the Gospel you got to admit your own need for a savior and see that God loves us so much that he did come to rescue us and to put all of our chips on that and to make all of our Hope on that and from that belief we get to.
Look at the sin within us repent of it and then be those who proclaim the Gospel and rejoice in those who do.
The Gospel Through Suffering (Philippians 1:12-14)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Abounding in Love (Philippians 1:9-11)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here if you will grab your Bible and go to Philippians uh chapter 1 we're working our way through the book of Philippians if you don't own a Bible grab one of the blue ones in the seat in front of you in that little rack and it's on page 570 this is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi while he was in prison and so he's writing this letter to instruct the Church they have just sent a gift to help care.
For him because while in prison he's in house arrest where he would have been chained in Rome to a guard um but while you're under house arrest you have to provide for your own means you have to cover your own food and everything so he's at the mercy of those outside to tend to him and the Church at Philippi sent a gift 800 miles to him so that he might have his needs met and he's writing this letter back in thanks and appreciation and um talking to them about what it is to follow.
Jesus and what they should look like as a Church how do you go about making decisions there there are some things in life you didn't get to pick you didn't get to pick your parents you didn't get to pick where you were born you didn't get to pick uh some of your genetics I mean there's no you didn't get to pick any of your genetics sorry made it sound like you could pick some you don't get to pick any of them uh there's some things that you don't have any choice over there are things that happened to you in life that you had uh you just have to deal with that you didn't get to.
Choose but then there are a lot of things in life that you pick that you choose whether you're going to give energy to you're going to give attention to you're going to give effort towards that you're going to do this or not do that you're going to to pursue this or not pursue that and how do you go about making those decisions because we're going to see this morning In this passage that we're looking at verses 9- 11 in chapter 1 that Paul's talking about a prayer that he has.
For them and one of the things that we're going to see is that how we love and how we think affects what we choose which affects the trajectory of our lives so how we love and how we think affects what we choose the choices that we make the things that we bring in or reject and that affects the trajectory of our lives and Paul is writing to Christians which is very important for us as we understand this that this letter is written to Christians those who have trusted in.
Jesus and who have had him uh atone for their sins who have accepted his sacrifice on their behalf and he's talking about what it looks like as they follow Jesus and what his prayer for them as they follow Jesus and so this doesn't apply in general to all people but it applies specifically to this Church that he's saying as y'all are following Jesus this what I'm praying for you so let's read the passage together we'll pray briefly together and then we'll walk through it bit by bit.
So we're looking at chapter 1: 9-1 and it is my prayer that your your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God father as we study this passage this morning this is our prayer for our Church family that we by your grace and by the work of your spirit would abound more and more in love with all knowledge and discernment.
So that we may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God help us to understand this and to get to walk in it by your grace in Jesus name amen all right so he says and it is my prayer that's the first thing we're looking at is this is a prayer and he's bringing them in on this is a prayer.
Now I would ask do you pray for people and if you do what do you pray for people and this is a good one so maybe start including this as a a thing that you would pray for yourself you would pray for others uh there are several prayers found in Paul's letters they're helpful for you to go you know I want to pray for my Church family I want to pray for my community group I even want to pray for myself as I follow the.
Lord what should I pray for and there are some that are in Scriptures this is a good one write it down h mark where it is and use this to help guide some of your prayers but he says this is what I'm praying for you on he says that your love may abound more and more we got to talk about that word your for a second so in English the word you can mean singular or plural so you you this is this is unclear at times someone's looked at you and a group of people and said all right you can come and you do that just me all these people also all of the.
And if they turn around and walk off you'll look at each other like did they make eye contact was there a point do they mean and and so in all the places in the country we've basically we've just fix this we have things like 's and you guys and yans and you guys all of which are dumb and so we say y'all we've got the best one and if you're angry you say all y'all and then you tell them what all y'all can do you know the this word you're here in Greek they don't have this problem they have plural youu and and singular you and this is the y'all version of you in Greek.
So that's y'all's it is my prayer that that y'all's love may abound more and more or some of y'all say y'all's for some reason y'all's love would more and more but that's who he's talking to he's talking to the Church and so I want you to hear this not as just a singular you which it does include you but he's writing to y'all he's writing to I don't know if you've ever been on a team and somebody was given the pregame speech or whatever and they said I want you to fight I want you to overcome you understood they meant you.
But they meant all y'all and so that's what he's talking about this is to the Church this is to us together to them together the Church of Philippi and they would have understood that when they read it so it's that y'all's love may abound more and more that's the first thing he says is that your love may abound more and more now he's not going to say love for what he just means love that that it would be not just love directed at this certain thing.
But it would be that you would be loving people that you would abound in love that you would have a source of love that would grow and grow his prayer would be that y'all were loving people I think sometimes the American version of praying that prays for abounding we want to abound in what abundance stuff yeah when we pray for abundance we mean you know more and people like more of what it all of it the good stuff and I think in Life As Americans most of us have probably had more of a taste of abounding in abundance we more often have overeaten overindulged partaken in things that were I mean we we live in.
A historically globally y'all we live like kings I read sometimes about King Solomon and it talks about that the Queen of Sheba came and visited him and it said at no other time in in Israel was there ever that amount of spices and I'm like I can I mean there's an international aisle at the food Lon I can go hit that up I think if I could go back in time and just hand King Solomon a MoonPie he'd be like you're a world-renowned chef I'd be like.
Well I mean let me you don't had even met Debbie she got all kind of stuff like the amount that we get to participate in all of this abundance and that's what we so often are craving and wanting and praying for but y'all have you abounded in love have you ever had a season of life where you were surrounded by love where you dwelt in love where you in a household of love when you were in relationships filled with love when you were in a Church filled with love and that that is way better than this.
So let's quit praying for this and start praying that we might abound in love that that might be what this is like and I just want to say Church family I think that we've tasted this as a Church family I don't think we're an unloving group but the hope is that we would grow and grow and grow and that five years from now you'd be more loving than you are today that the trajectory of the Christian Life is that we would grow in sweetness and kindness and patience and graciousness towards one another.
So let's read about love for just a second so we might understand exactly what is he talking about what does he mean when he says love well Paul defines love gives us a lot of tangible handles on it in 1 Corinthians 13 I know it's hard for us to read this passage without first hearing Canon and D but this isn't just about romantic love while it applies to that it's much more broad it's written WR to the Church and so this is what he says love is patient and kind is that one of the beautiful things about people who are loving does they have space.
For you you ever noticed that you need something you need help you show up at the doorstep and they have space it's one of the things that love does it creates room for people it's patient and kind love does not envy or boasts you ever seen somebody get something good and the first thing you think about is yourself I wish I had that rather than being able to just Rejoice with them that they have a thing that they got a thing it's not envious it it Delights with everything that other people get it joins in.
And then it doesn't boast on the other side when they have something good for yourself you're not bragging about it you just appreciate it but you open handedly hold it it's not arrogant or rude it does not insist on its own way love is not irritable and resentful I I love that because irritable and resentful are like the front end and the back end of anger irritable is easily angered resentful is angered for a long time holding on to it.
When it comes to your relationships with your Church family are you trying to abound in love or do you show up to hang out with your community group irritable ready for these people to get on your nerv again you ever show up on Sunday just walk around and be like watch watch how they going to act ain't nobody going to talk to me you're not talking to anybody and you're making a face like you don't want people to talk to you.
Because you're judging all of them but you're waiting to prove it you've shown up irritable you're ready for them to offend you or do you ever the other side of that where it's you hold on to something you rehearse in your mind things that have happened to you a long time ago oh what if we abounded in love what if if we weren't irritable or resentful wouldn't that be nice and I'm talking about you not the person you're thinking about I wish they weren't irritable no that's not what I'm talking about I'm talking about you growing in this sounded like resentment honestly.
When you said it it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth love bears all things believes all things hopes all things endures all things Love Never Ends specifically verse 8 that's the beginning of it it goes on to say that there are other things that basically don't carry into eternity but loved uses but y'all if you have a Church family that Bears all things believes all things hopes all things endures all things and we can get through all things.
So he's saying to the Philippian Church H I pray that y'all be a people who abound in love love is the foundation but it's also the furniture the walls the roof it's everything love is what we're supposed to dwell in and abound in that we would grow in that that we'd be blessed in that that we'd be the type of people who overflow in love so he says my prayer that your love may abound more and more so he's told us basically the quantity of love that there would be it would be abound in it there' be more and more.
But he's going to give a qualifier he's going to give quality of that type of the type of love that we're about to have he says with knowledge and all discernment so what kind of love we would have would be an informed love it's knowledge discernment means judging rightly so an informed and choosy love a picky Love A Love That rightly chooses what's good and not good that this is the type of love that the Church is meant to be marked with abundant love that's patient and kind endures Bears isn't resentful isn't angry.
But that doesn't Rejoice with wrongo doing but rejoices with the truth a love that's filled with knowledge and discernment the the difference between knowledge and discernment first of all one of the things he's saying to them is that they would know their Bibles they'd know the the teaching of the New Testament they'd know the teaching the letters that he's writing they'd know the teaching of the Apostles and for us that means that we would know our Bibles that's the knowledge we're meant to have not just general knowledge.
But that we would have specific biblical knowledge that we would know what is true and good and right from the Scriptures that we would be Bible people so that we would grow in knowledge but then we would use that knowledge practically for helpful decision making that we would judge what is right and wrong and good and bad the the distinction between uh knowledge and discernment is shown to us in like a ton of our television sh so Sherlock Holmes he has knowledge.
But the whole point of the show is that like put knowledge together and then he's the one who's able to decipher how that knowledge applies in a helpful way and the really good ones are when you already had all the pieces of evidence and then they explained at the end you're like a but that's a ton of our shows that's Sherlock Holmes that's house house is just Sherlock Holmes but he's a doctor Monk Is Just Sherlock Holmes but he has OCD Psych is just Sherlock hes.
But he thinks everything's a joke and Bones she's Sherlock Holmes but a lady and a doctor with OCD who thinks nothing is a joke so these are these are our TV shows where they they build up knowledge but then discernment is the ability to use it in a helpful way to make a right choice and that's the type of love we're supposed to have as a Church and just so you know as soon as knowledge and discernment are added we we leave our culture behind cuz America us culture we could stand at an inauguration and say we pray that your love would abound more and more.
And then just close the Bible and everybody in our culture would go yes it's exactly what we want but as soon as you say a choosy Discerning love that knows right from wrong it's like oo no because what we celebrate culturally is approval love I'm just on your team that real love culturally this is what we celebrate is for me to say I just want you to be happy and I'm not evaluating what makes you happy I'm just saying I want you to be happy I'm just on your team whatever you say is good.
For you is good for you whatever you want that's I'm I'm on your team I'm not ever going to tell you that you're wrong about anything I'm just going to tell you I'm on your team like I thoroughly enjoyed the movie wreck at Ralph and then the second movie came out and the little girl girl in the movie was like I'm going to leave my video game and go live on the internet and Ralph says that's a bad idea and I thought what a hero.
Because if a little girl tells you she's going to go live on the internet you should say no that's a bad idea the internet is is not don't do that but the the movie was that he's the bad guy he turns into a big monster at the end because he didn't just celebrate what she wanted and he has to learn to just let her have what she wants that's the that's the story that's at least how I took the story and you might have taken it differently.
But I'm still mad about it because culturally the hero is the person who says I just want you to be happy and anybody who would step in and say I don't think that's good for you is actually not right but we also overreact to this as Christians and we have knowledge and discernment without love which is just we know what's right and they're wrong well they're wrong they're idiots they're they're wrong about this there's tons of YouTube channels videos that you can watch where someone just I would say sometimes very rightfully walking through the Bible and saying this is right this isn't right this is wrong.
But they do it gleefully like they're happy and angry that that all of this it's weird it's this weird mix of angry and happy of like I'm mad at them but I'm also so happy that it tastes so good to be right and for us to to operate the way we're supposed to we're supposed to be abounding in love and a love that has knowledge and discernment so that we know our Bibles and we choose well and it's quite possible that you lean in one of those directions that it's easier.
For you to just be gracious and kind and welcoming and patient really hard for you to look at someone and say I think if you choose that it'll be bad for you but discernment is wonderful because there are are things that are bad for you and if you have no radar for that if you have no ability to to know what is good and right and wrong and choose well it harms you I have I have a son who uh was born with food allergies we were walk we were carrying him around I always feel bad about this we were we were with him somewhere he was a little baby and somebody looked at us.
And said what's going on with his skin and we were like I don't know he's itchy and they were like he looks like he's allergic to milk we were like you think and they were like yeah guess what he was allergic to milk we were harming him he was also allergic to oats which we started adding to his milk I guess to try to absolutely destroy this child but we also found out he was allergic to eggs and milk he eggs milk and um wheat which means you can't have anything that tastes good there's no no cake no can candy no cookie no I mean like it just he cut out all kinds of stuff.
There were many a night where he ate green beans while the rest of his family ate pizza because we're not going to not eat pizza cuz you can't it's tough man it's going to be your whole life just I don't know eat your beans let's go but he's had to learn to have a discernment for what he takes in he's got to be able to approve he's got to be able to choose whether or not it's good or bad for him he's got to be able to do that all the time even as a four five six-year-old and he's thankfully outgrown some things.
But here's what's happened to him he's begun to do what this what Paul says is supposed to happen here because Paul's about to tell us what matters why this matters why it matters that we would abound in love with all knowledge and discernment with knowledge and all discernment verse 10 so that when you're reading your Bible those phrases are very important so so that if then any of those kind of things help you understand how the flow of thought works so that.
So the reason that we're abounding in love with all with discernment with knowledge and all discernment is so that you may approve what is excellent and so that we'd pick the good stuff in life we choose what was right we choose what would bring life and joy and Delight what's funny now is that when we when him and his brother are having to eat like regular healthy meals his brother would be like I don't like this and he's younger so he always be yeah me neither.
And then he'll start eating and go it's actually okay because he's so used to eating just butter beans and green beans and white rice you can just feed him healthy stuff and he just tears it up I know some of you are like white rice isn't healthy well you should see how we the other meals we eat white rice is great it's basically a vegetable but he takes in what is good for him and that's what he's saying is that we would learn how to approve approve what is excellent how to approve what is healthy that we would learn what is right and wrong and good.
And then we would choose it now that's a prayer that you would learn how to love what was excellent look Step One is knowing what is excellent step two is being able to discern well to choose what is excellent and many of us are there a lot I mean as a pastor sometimes we talk to people and they'll say I know the Bible says I just don't want to do that yeah I know what it says I don't want that we plead with them and by God's grace some of them as the spirit Works in them still choose what is good and some of you that's where you are you're like I know what's right.
And so I'm choosing it I don't like it yet I like Jesus I love him I wish this weren't true but I'm going to choose it because it's what's excellent it's what he tells me will be good for me it's what he tells me will bring joy even though doesn't feel like that but the hope the prayer would be eventually we wouldn't just approve what is excellent but we would also love what is excellent we would Delight in what was good and that we would Delight in Christ as we Delight in what is good and that we would grow to have a discernment radar and choose what is good.
Because how do you choose right now what you want so often we do we base it off of what we think and what we feel which is what he's talking about that you'd have knowledge and discernment that's the thinking part and that we would abound in love that's the feeling part but the hope is that we would do all of that in Christ it would be Christ empowered love Christ empowered knowledge and discernment so that we would choose what is excellent.
But so often we're just you know how many decisions you're making all the time big ones little ones sometimes you make big intentional ones sometimes you make little ones over and over and over and over and over again that make a really big decision for you so it's never a big decision it's just a repeated little decision but it makes a massively big decision for you we do this all the time based off of what we think and what we feel and what he's saying is his prayer is that would be.
God empowered Spirit empowered Bible aligned that Jesus would be at work in it that they would abound in love but it would be a knowledge and Discerning love so they might choose what is excellent so this why does that matter he says and so so this is the next part so he's saying that you would abound in love with knowledge and all discernment so that you might approve what is excellent and so so if we're doing that if we're abounding in love with knowledge and discernment and approving what is excellent.
If the Church is doing that if Philippi is doing that if we're doing that here's what happens next and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ often when the Bible refers to pure and blameless in Paul's writing he means eternally theologically accomplished by Jesus on your behalf here he means practically in life because he's talking about the choices that they're making that they would approve what is excellent and so as they continue to do that their life would have a tenor of being pure and blameless and there are other places where he uses blameless kind of in that way and even this word blameless is translated a Greek word that usually the.
Word blameless in your text is is not this Greek word this Greek word kind of means un undamaged so he's saying that we would abound in love with knowledge and all discernment so that we might approve what is blame us so that we could drive the course of life without running into the wall y' that's what we want if you belong to Jesus that's what you want that's sounds wonderful that we might abound in love that we might make good decisions and that we'd be walking through life.
Well for the day of Christ and the day of Christ we looked at last week is the day that he judges the world it's the day when everyone presents thems to Christ and Christ displays the Church in glory and Christ judges those who rebelled against him it's the day and he's saying that we would make it to that day undamaged now in verse six which we looked at last week he says I'm sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of.
Jesus Christ we celebrated that Jesus if he's at work in you on that day he makes you whole and complete and this is talking about now his work that's for the day of Christ meaning that he's at work in our lives practically as we go so that it's both that at that that day he makes us whole and complete through his work but also through his work he's working in us now I heard a comedian one time say I'm sick of following my dreams I just want to find out where they're going and meet up with them later and sometimes I feel like that's the way we feel about us growing as a Christian really.
Tired of the process super looking forward to the awesome version of me later and I'm just going to wait till he shows up but that's not how it works it's a daily thing where he works in us to grow Us in patience and kindness you actually have to grow to be less irritable as love is at working you to abound being irritable sometimes is kind of fun way more fun than feeling irritable and controlling that resentfulness sometimes is like a security blanket there is I'm secretly mad at them take that I don't know why we think that feels good.
But it does there's something to it and it's like no we're actually supposed to be repenting of these things we supposed to be growing in love and this is going to happen us over time as we walk in Church family and as we carry this out and it's going to be something he does in us over time as he develops us and works in us and if you're paying attention this prayer is for their entire life here's my he says here's my prayer.
For you you'd bound in love more and more with all knowledge and discernment so that you might approve what is blameless he's now talking about the decisions they're making and what they're choosing what they're putting in their life and what they're doing so that on the day you meet Jesus that's their whole life on the day you stand before him and he judges the world this this a lifelong process and a lifelong prayer and a lifelong hope and a lifelong work that he does in us I want you to.
See what happens next next because this is a lifelong work that he does in US it says this in verse filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God now if you're not a Christian and you're not familiar with the Scriptures that logic feels broken feels like his argument just broke down and what he just said doesn't make any sense because the way that sentence should work if we're following this logic is we following this progression is it should say filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through what good decision making that discernment we just talked about choosing what is what is excellent like it.
Should say something like that it would have to do with how you picked the things that were in your life and then it would say to the praise and glory of you or your discernment or your good decision-making you'd get to the end and you wouldn't have wrecked your life and people would say how'd you not wreck your life and you'd say cuz I'm smart I have this thing called discernment ever heard of it maybe you've seen the show House he had it whatever you it would be you at the end that people would celebrate and clap.
For and be excited for it would be the glory and praise of you that would be the logic of this statement but if you're a Christian you see this and you immediately go yes exactly that's exactly how this works we're filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus because he's the one who's at work in us to do this there's nothing good in myself but it's Christ at work in me to accomplish these things that Jesus is the one who's accomplished this.
And then ultimately will stand with any amount of righteousness we have both uh theologically eternally and also practically in life and we'll say all glory be to God who's this good who's at work in me in this way Praise Jesus that he did this and praise God God that his glory is manifested through fruitfulness in life and y'all that's the hope that's that's wonderful that's what we want that's why Paul's said I'm praying this for you he's actually he's praying that.
Jesus is going to do what Jesus does and y'all we should pray that when you're facing sin and Temptation you should say hey I pray that you'll break me over this you'll lead me to repentance you'll do what you do you'll grow this in me that you'll help me walk away from this that you'll put in me your spirit so that I might walk with you that you'll do what you do to help walk in me to keep me from running this off the road and yesterday I got to my day was filled up we went to um a a funeral visitation and we went to my uh granddad's 95th birthday party and can't help.
But consider the impact in those situations the impact that our lives have on other lives the Practical real impact of living a life and making decisions and choosing to be this way or that way to pour your energy into this or that and how that affects people and this is the hope that at the end of all of it Jesus says a a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree will bear bad fruit and when when we become Christians he changes us from from The Roots up from the inside out.
So that Christians should bear good fruit but as we do it the hope is that it's this we're filled with fruitfulness that was brought through Jesus to the glory of God so that's the hope is that at your 95th birthday party or your funeral service it'd be packed out with people who'd say they did this they love me in this situation they didn't have to you don't know how secretly generous they were you don't know the time that they they talked me off a ledge that they got me to make a wise decision they kept our marriage together that they fought.
For this that people would come and gather and they'd say oh and then they'd all go Praise Jesus for a life like that oh may God be glorified with a life like that and that one day the whole Church will be gathered in front of the Lord and He unveils Us in righteousness that's not our own filled with righteousness that's not our own and it's it's this display of all that has happened in our lives and all the things that we fought.
For worked for and labored over and repented of and worked in and all this would be to praise the glory of God as he's worked in sinners like us to bring about being filled with the fruit of righteousness there's not a there's not a Bear tree in the place but we're filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God that's our hope that's the prayer that we would be people who would abound in love more and more with knowledge and all discernment.
So that we might approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ Jesus filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus to the glory and praise of God let's pray Lord we ask for the work of your spirit that we would abound in love you'd help us to repent of all the places that we're impatient unkind irritable resentful all the places where we've rejoiced with wrongdoing or failed to Rejoice with the truth we pray.
Lord that you would be at work in us that we might be a loving people that our Church might be a loving place and Lord we pray that we would be filled with love that is anchored in your word so that we might fight for what is true and good and right in a gracious and kind and patient way that we would tell each other you're wrong here but we would do it because we love each other so deeply that we cannot watch someone walk off into sin and pain and hurt and choose something that is not excellent.
Because we so love them we ask Lord that you would help us to approve what is excellent forgive us for all the times that we have approved of something that isn't Lord keep us pure and blameless to the work of your spirit in US fill us with the fruit of righteousness and may your name be praised may this be a place and our community groups be places where when someone comes around who doesn't know you that they hang out for a.
While and they don't come to the conclusion what nice people but they come to the conclusion how good is Jesus that people would see our lives and walk in our lives that we would love and serve and care and that eventually someone would just go oh praise God that he's at work we love you Lord in Jesus name amen the band's going to come back up and we're going to sing and I would encourage you to take a moment to consider how you make decisions whether or not you need to grow in love whether not you need to grow in discernment whether or not it's like I need to start reading my Bible.
Because I I feel loving and I feel like I'm gracious and patient but I just don't know what's right I don't know how to choose some of you you know what's right but you need to grow in your patience and your kindness towards others but we need to ask the Lord for a moment just take a moment and say Lord help us here some of you know people you've been irritable or resentful towards you need to go talk to them to work some of these things out as we grow to be a place where we Bear all things believe all things hope all things things and endure all things together to the glory of.
God and then we'll sing.
Carried to Completion (Philippians 1:3-8)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here if you have a Bible grab it go to Philippians chapter 1 we are working our way through the book of Philippians if you don't have a Bible there should be a blue one tucked under the seat in front of you uh if you're sitting on the front row I guess you should have brought a Bible because it's hidden but um if you grab that blue Bible it'll be on page 570.
If you don't own a Bible we'd love for you to take that Bible home with you that'd be our gift to you we'd love for you to own a Bible we are working our way through the book of Philippians together and Paul is writing from prison to a Church that has been supporting him and we're going to work through this I um I get to coach flag football I've coached flag football for the past couple years now and uh there's a spring league and a fall league and I've been coaching flag.
Because that's the age my sons are and that's kind of the without having to track travel that's the age of football they're in and uh it's a lot of fun coaching flag football is is a lot of fun I I like football I like coaching one of the things I've noticed and I've been surprised by is that the first practice goes really well I always expect the first practice to be difficult because we've never done any of this with these with these children they're learning it all.
But it's like they show up zoned in ready to go and the first practice usually goes well and in the first couple of weeks their knowledge football because with a lot of flag football I've had practices where at the end of it I say who's played football before like flag football before and they all just and I'll say who who hasn't sorry and they all rais their hand and I'll be like okay my whole team it's like all right this is a football like we've got to start at the very Basics.
But they learn a ton of stuff in the first couple of weeks like their amount of knowledge is just it's an explosion of football knowledge in the first couple of weeks because when they show up they don't know anything and I realize this you're you're you're trying to instruct them but you're speaking a different language you're looking at the kids going you got to get up you got to get on the line you got to get on the line and they will.
Look for a line well there is no line it's an imaginary line attached to the football we had a kid one time we put him in the back we said this is your spot you're you're running back you're about four yards off the thing he said okay he lined up we ran the play we gained like five yards we lined the ball back up everybody get your spot get your spot he runs he's like 12 yards off the ball and I was like hey man your spot's right here and he goes no it's not I marked it and we're like oh no that's going to move it's going to move you have to mark it.
In relation to the ball he had he had dug a little hole in the ground it was pretty smart but it was like it's not going to work um so it's a thing where they they grow and then all of a sudden after a while they kind of know what we're doing they they show up to practice they know kind of the drills we're going to run they know the words we're going to use and now it's work it's practice we're going to do the same stuff we've been doing we're just going to try to get better at it the amount of effort that it took to learn and to grow on the.
First practice was very little the amount of effort it takes on the 12th practice the 15th practice you're actually now working on a specific thing that you're not good at that's why we keep talking to you about it you're having to grow in this area and one of the things that I've noticed about that is that that's similar in some ways to what it looks like to follow Jesus at times we have these explosions of growth when you first become a Christian it's like everything is new everything.
If you're taking it all in if you're new to Christianity Today even as we sang read parts of the Bible you might have only understood like every third word you were like what what's that word mean what's that word mean what what are we talking about here why we all think about blood a lot what's that about like we're just there's a whole lot of things where it's like you're new to it and you're learning you're growing and then at some point you kind of know the stuff.
But now it's time to practice it and so we have seasons where we feel like we're growing then we have seasons where it's like this just feels like a lot and then there are times where we thought we were doing pretty well and then we fall into sin or we have relational difficulty and it's just like I just don't even know there are times as you're following Jesus you really oh God just I don't know if I'm going to make it I don't know.
If I'm going to get to the end of this I don't know if I'll still be standing when all this is over I just don't know and so I want you to take a moment if you're a Christian you've placed your faith in Jesus to just consider where are you right now just in your own heart and before the Lord just are you are you zealous for the Lord is this a season of growth for you you wake up excited to read your Bible and to study and to love your community group.
When when you're hosting and getting your house ready for your group to come or you're on your way over there are you whistling and happy and just praying for the Lord to minister through you to these people and to be a blessing or did you have to give yourself a pep talk to get in the car you're like I'm not sick but I feel kind of sick and someone near me coughed today and I might have CAU that and I'd hate to give it to my group how can I word this text.
So it's not a lie but they don't ask a lot of questions like is that what you had to do you had to talk yourself out of that you had to go get in the car you had to go like where where are you right now in your Zeal for the Lord where are you right now in your desire to grow and to minister and to serve because what we're going to see that Paul says in chapter 1 to the Church in Philippi is wildly encouraging as we try to follow.
Jesus day in and day out for the rest of our lives which if you're a Christian that's what you're going to do you're going to follow Jesus every day for the rest of your life and this is very encouraging so look at chapter uh chapter 1 verse three is where we start we read this last week just trying to get our head in the right space I thank my God in all my remembrance of you so this is Paul writing to the Church in Philippi whove blessed him with a gift as he's been in prison they're helping take care of him always in every prayer of mine.
For you all making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now verse 6 and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ that's the verse we're going to spend our time this morning considering that I'm sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
But we're going to read verses seven and eight and follow the logic in them because it ties back to verse six and then we'll spend our time on verse six it is right for me to feel this way about you okay what he says in verse S and 8 is weird and has always been very confusing to me and I think I actually now have an understanding of it so I'm very excited to share this with you but it's going to take a.
Second to just start to articulate what he's talking about here what he says is it is right for me to feel this way about you well what way does he feel about him he feels that he's sure that he who began a good work in them is going to carry it to completion okay I want him to say it is right for me to feel this way about you because of what Jesus is like and we're going to see that that actually is baked into how that works is it's based off of who.
Jesus is but that's not what he says he says it's right for me to feel the way about you because I hold you in my heart for you are all partakers with me of Grace both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel so at first this sounds weird because you need to be in Christ not in Paul and when they go face Jesus at the end of time they don't get to go I'm in Paul's heart.
Let me in that's not how it works so it's weird for him to base is certainty off of that but there's a word in here that makes a very big difference what he says is it's right for me to feel this way about you because I hold you in my heart verse six is true for all Christians and we'll see that in a second what he's saying is I'm confident you actually belong to Christ I'm confident that you Church in Philippi are really Christians I'm saying this to you specifically and I'm confident.
For you specifically so what we're going to see is it's true for all Christians because of Jesus but Paul's certain it's true for them because of how he feels about them so he's taking an objective reality and adding this subjective layer that makes him more certain and here's why he says this because you're all partakers with me of Grace both in my imprisonment and the defense of the confirmation of the Gospel meaning you've joined me in what I'm having to face right.
Now imprisonment in my imprisonment and my defending of the Gospel and declaring the Gospel to those who I've been prisoned who've imprisoned me for God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus not the affection of Paul he says Jesus is at work in me to love you in such a supernatural way that I'm confident that you belong to him and so I don't mind saying about you specifically not about Christians in general but you specifically this is what's true and maybe some of us have experienced that in the Church where we love one another in a way that's like no this is.
Jesus at working me to love you like this this is a Jesus at work in us for us to have this kind of relationship and I'm confident that he's at work in you because of how he's empowering this love in me and if you haven't prayer would be that we would grow in our love for one another but that's what he's ba he's basing it off of so we're going to go back to verse six so he says his confidence in them specifically is based off of how he loves them.
But we're going to look at verse six which is true for all Christians and we're going to spend our time just breaking this sentence down because it is a wonderful sentence and it says something that the Bible says all over the place this is not like this is one place where it says this it says this idea all over the place we're going to walk through it so he says this I am sure of this it's so first thing he's certain this is a reality this is true it's a certainty there are some things where Paul says I hope even in this letter he says I hope to do this or he says I'm not.
Quite sure what's going to happen but he says I'm sure of this I'm certain this is solid this is true this is real what's he sure of that he who began a good work in you okay so we need to know who he is what's the he who began a good work so who's that that's God or more specifically Christ so if you're a Christian that's true for you that he began a good work in you he began it you know you ever try to get in a situation where you're trying to uh figure out what's going on between kids and they'll yell he started it.
Well we get to gloriously declare he started it he he began this he's the one who did the work if your relationship to Jesus is you know one day I decided I was going to get it together the reason I'm a Christian and the reason I'm a part of a Church is because I decided you know what I got to get my act together I'm going to start doing this right I'm going to become one of the good ones you don't belong to.
Jesus because it's not about you starting it it's about him starting it he he does this work he rescues and redeems let me show you this is uh John this is Jesus speaking in John chapter 6 he says no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the land last day now you might in that moment feel like I'm I'm following Jesus I'm choosing to do this and that you that's part of it.
But it's also because he's allowing you and he's calling you and he's pulling you forward that's what Ephesians 2 says Ephesians 2 this is a longer section I've chopped it up a little bit it's still the same idea I haven't cut out anything that changes the meaning but it says this and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked but God being rich in Mercy because of the love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by Grace you have been saved.
So if you belong to Jesus you were dead rebellious in your sin and because he loved you and because he's wonderful by Grace he brought you to life we sang a song about that this morning I once was dead in sin alone and hopeless then we sing we've been made alive that's Jesus's work in us to begin this work that he starts it it says you've been saved by grace by Grace you have been saved Grace is unearned favor undeserved Merit somebody taught me a a little um we use the.
First letters poem a crostic is that what it's called a crostic is that what it's called did somebody say that to me thank you yes I'm very smart I knew it was a acrostic I was just seeing if y'all did um God's riches at Christ's expense that's what Grace is you get God's riches because Christ paid for it you didn't earn it it's been given to you it's granted to you so you've been saved by grace and you're like is that really what that means.
Well he verse eight for by Grace you have been saved through faith this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast if you brag about a gift you brag about the person who gave it not about you like if if I'm wearing a new shirt and you say that's a nice shirt I say thanks I I don't mean to brag but I did do Christmas this year You' be like what do you mean i' be like you know I guess it's kind of like a trophy cuz I went you know was at Christmas and my mom gave it to me it's.
Like I think they just your mom's nice I don't even know what you're talking about it'd be weird that's what he's saying nobody boasts nobody stands before the Lord and says look at how wonderful I am in any sort of way that points on us it's that he began this work okay that's great news that he who began the work in you that he's the one who started it and then he says this so I'm sure of this let's go back to verse six that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of.
Jesus Christ will bring it to completion what is it what's he bringing to completion the good work that he started Jesus finishes what he starts oh y That's So Good your Christian walk goes from Jesus to Jesus you're there but he's the one at work to accomplish it he starts it he finishes it so much better than what this could say it'd be theologically inter inaccurate but what if Paul had written I know you're going to make it to the end.
Because y'all are great I know you're going to make it to the end because you don't mess stuff up we're in uh just finished the college football playoff and the national championship and this Pros playoffs I was watching a basketball game yesterday we just been enjoying a lot of sports at my house I have a a six-year-old who wakes up in the morning other kids want to watch cartoons he says there a football game on it's like dude it's 6: a.m.
But we recorded one so you can watch that watch a lot of sports but there's these moments at the end of games when it's close the ball's got to go into somebody's hands some somebody's got to run the ball somebody's got to throw the ball somebody's got to catch it somebody's got to take that final shot we got 5 seconds left we're going to try to get in this guy's hands he's going to take the shot now it's encouraging when someone says you're taking the shot we believe in you it's like yeah.
Okay but also that's a lot of pressure you ever had someone look at you and go I know you won't mess this up I know you won't mess this up because you don't mess stuff up and you're like do what someone say I know you'll handle this right cuz I just I know how you handle things it's like do you cuz I'm I mess up stuff like all the time I hurt people all the time I I do things poorly all the like that one of the main things I do actually it's not that.
Jesus gave you a clean slate handed it to you said all your past sins are forgiven then leaned in real close and said don't mess up see at the end no he he began the good work he's going to complete it Jesus finishes what he starts that's wonderful if you belong to Jesus if he began a good work in you he's going to finish what he started when he says he'll never leave you or forsake you he means it he's going to bring it to completion and here's another thing that we need to.
See in this this sentence he began a good work in you in you I think so often we just think about it being for us it is something he did for us that he died for us and he did he did die for us but his work that he's doing is in you we're going to talk more about this next week but that means you're going to be there the whole time it's not just something that's in impersonal and that's happening out there it's something that he's doing at work in you that he he's changing you that he's redeeming you that he's working in you that you're going to grow and you're going to develop.
So it's going to feel like repentance it's going to feel like effort it's going to feel like uh confession it's going to feel like service it's going to feel like ministering and caring for others and he's going to be doing this at work in you the whole time I love what John Piper said about this he said it's not an inoculation he gave you when you were 6 years old an inoculation is where they give you a little bit of something.
So your body will develop your own immunity to it like Polio I have never once worried about Polio I was inoculated to it I did get Chickenpox what they now have an inoculation for and I learned that there's a whole group of people right up underneath me who didn't get chicken box but I got chicken boox I'm a little salty about it but it's fine it's nice that we you know my dad got Ms I didn't have to get that so I mean it's nice that that we have inoculation.
But he says this that's not how this works it's not like Jesus brings you in one time says all right get out of here you don't have to worry about this anymore you don't have to think about this anymore he says no it's not an inoculation it's dialysis dialysis is when your kidneys fail and you have to go in four to six times a week for 3 to four hours and have them cycle your blood and filter it for you and he says it's in you and it's beautifully wonderfully Personal.
Jesus is doing this work in you do you know that you growing as you follow Jesus is not something you're doing on your own or that he's impersonally doing he's the one at work in all of it to grow you to develop you to change you he's there he set it up it's dialysis and he's the one doing it he set it up to where he's never not the one working on you so it's not just something that's going to happen in you over time.
And then he'll see you at the end and see how it turns out it's something that's going to happen in you overtime daily all the time and he's doing it do you see how close he is how much he cares when you struggling to grow to repent to confess to work do you see how near he is in all of that and because it's going to be in you and because it's going to be completed I want you to know to the glory of Christ he's going to do it.
So right now if you're in a Zone where you just think I just don't know if I'm going to make it the question isn't am I strong enough the question is do I really belong to Jesus because if you do you're going to make it but also if you're thinking maybe I'll just choose this sin maybe this will be one I just don't repent of if you belong to Jesus Jesus says the kingdom of God is like leaven that's put into a lump and it works its way through the whole lump I know that in my personal life there's been every once in a.
While where I'm like Jesus you can have all that stuff over there but this right here I know kind of what the Bible says about it but I that's why I don't want to talk to you about it this one's still mine and Jesus is like you know I'm going to finish what I start right and and to his glory and for our Grace and for our good he doesn't Lo he doesn't lose those he claims that territory my suggestion would be surrender knowing that he's good.
Because he's going to finish what he started there's a CS Lewis quote where he says in his book the problem of pain he says we are pauses not metaphorically but in very truth so we are and this is true a Divine work of art something that God is making and therefore something with which he will not be satisfied until it has a certain character that he's at work in you on you and he's not going to stop till he's made you perfect which is wonderful.
So he began the work he's going to complete the work it's going to be done in Us by him as he works uh in US by his love and his goodness to change us to grow us to develop us and then it says this bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ let's take a second what's the day of Jesus Christ well Isaiah 13 the Old Testament will refer to it as the day of the Lord quite often Isaiah 13:6 says whail.
For the day of the Lord is near as destruction from the almighty it will come so the day of the Lord is a day of Destruction from the almighty Ezekiel 33 says for the day is near the day of the Lord is near it will be a day of clouds a time of Doom for the Nations Jesus talking about Luke 17 says the day of the Lord is his it belongs to him he refers himself as the son of man but he says.
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other so will the son of man be in his day the day of the Lord is Jesus's day of Judgment of Reckoning when the world is stripped bare brought down to its foundations in second Thessalonians says this verse uh chapter 1 verses 6 and 7 since indeed God God considers it just to repay with Affliction those who afflict you talking to the Church and Grant relief to you who are afflicted as.
Well as to us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels so the day of the Lord is the day of judgment but it's very different experientially for those who belong to Jesus and those who don't when Jesus calls everyone to account and we're all going to pay for our sin what Paul says is on that day if you belong to Jesus you won't have any sin to pay for you'll be perfect so you might be picturing in your head that one day.
Jesus is going to judge everybody and in that moment you're going to feel shame and guilt and fear and doubt you're going to want to shrink back you're going to want to hide and press yourself up against the wall and just hope that you make it out not if you belong to Jesus that'll be the day that the Church is unveiled in its Perfection that'll be the day that we are displayed in all the Glorious Wonder as a completed Masterpiece accomplished by.
Jesus do you understand that if on that day Jesus is like I'm here to judge the world and look at this ragtag bunch of scamp weirdo dirty punks all right you're in Father this is my Church kind of gross that would besmer his glory that's not what he's going to present he's going to unveil the Church in Beauty and glory and completed Perfection that on the day that he judges the world do you understand that the Church will walk forward not shrink back.
But be made perfectly whole perfectly perfect without a spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing holy and blameless and above reproach presented F and blameless above reproach before him that we've been washed by his work and there will be no spot wrinkle blemish or any such thing so if you have in your mind that you're going to make it in like Indiana Jones just as the door drops and barely get your hat and then push yourself up against the wall as the one little creature that snuck into the Church that's dirty and gross not.
If you belong to Jesus because he's going to make you glorious to the praise of his glory if you stare at a masterpiece it proclaims the work of the master he's not going to be done with you till he's perfected you and on that day you'll be perfect if Jesus has begun a good work in you he's going to complete it and there's going to be a day when we stand glorious whole restored new perfected to the praise of the glory of Christ who gets to display his glory in how he's redeemed Sinners and made us whole some of us understand rightly that we're sinners in need of Grace.
But we somehow fail to realize you've received Grace I'm a sinner in need of Grace yes and by Grace you have been saved you needed it you have it pick your head up yeah there are times to get before the Lord and say have mercy on me a sinner and then stand up and say thank you Jesus that you have mercy on a sinner I'm going to be whole in that day we're not limping in we're not a straggling mess we're being made complete in us he will have done his work and before him will be presented glorious and wonderful he's presenting us to himself to the.
Father and all of our Glory which represents his glory that's why in Thessalonians it says 2 Thessalonians if you go further in verse 10 it says to be glorified in his Saints I think we would always want a word that as by his Saints but he's going to be glorified in his Saints as he displays how good he is you know the best hospital around here is the one that takes the sickest people and lets them walk back out that's the best one.
Now if they were like we're able to pack the most sick people in here it's like okay okay do they leave nah it's like I'm going to go to a different hospital we'll take the sickest people you fix them Nah if there was a hospital that said only well people you need to be kind of already okay our emergency room is more like an inconvenience room that wouldn't be a glorious Hospital the most glorious Hospital in our area is the one that takes the sickest people and lets them walk back out to the glory of the hospital that's what.
Jesus does on an eternal scale in you if you belong to him he takes all that's twisted and sick and broken messed up deceased disgusting and he renews it restores it until it is glorious and it proclaims and shines to the glory of to the glory of Christ in his work and to the glory of the father so that when someone sees us in that day they will go oh isn't Jesus wonderful I think sometimes specifically people who don't know Jesus will.
See a passage like this and will say well if that's true if he starts the work and he finishes the work and he's going to perfect you then you know take a nap don't worry about it he's just going to do it wouldn't that just make you want to quit wouldn't that just make you want want to stop not if you really know Jesus this is the sort of thing that makes you go Jesus I trust that you actually are going to fix this in me I trust that you actually are going to work in this I trust that you are here right.
Now performing Dialysis in my soul on all the things that I want to fight you over and I want to read my Bible and I want to pray and I want to study and I want to go be around my group because I want you to be at work in me and I want to be presented complete and whole in that day to the glory of your name this grants us courage as we seek to follow him if Jesus has not begun the work in you ask him to ask him to save you ask him to redeem you.
But if he has oh on that day we will be made perfect because Jesus finishes with he starts let's pray Lord we come in here functionally and practically as those who follow you we come in functionally and practically in different places but Lord we come in theologically in the same place that you have us that you hold us that you keep us that you protect us that you lead us that you work in us that you will never leave us or forsake us that you will get us to the finished line that you will present us holy and blameless and above reproach before yourself to your own Glory that you will bring us made new.
And whole and righteous and perfect without spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing and so Lord while we may be more or less tired with more or less relational difficulty with more or less enjoyment and delight and Zeal at this moment we do not have more or less of you and more or less of your promises and more or less of a certainty of the end result of those who belong to you so we ask by your spirit that there would be courage to cling to your promises and to hold to the hope.
Lord we thank you that you finish what you start in Jesus name amen the band's going to come back up we're going to take communion together as.
Introduction to Philippians
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
I've had my mic on all morning and turned it off before I came up so if you thought the singing sounded extra good um I have the distinct pleasure this morning of uh catching everybody up who who has not already been caught up on how our give projects finished up this past uh Christmas so in December we um take time to focus our attention on generosity um in the middle of when we can get whipped into a consumer frenzy we try to take some time to to give some money away as a Church and this past year we did something a little different we picked three different give projects and we announced them over time.
The first one was Shop with a cop and we raised $2,000 for that to help KCPD yeah excited to get to do that the second one was uh for Providence home to redo their flooring in a men's home they have in downtown Columbia and we raised $10,000 for that in a week and we're able to to do that and the third one which was a little more open-ended was our uh work we got to do with Oliver Gospel Mission we contacted Oliver Gospel Mission and we asked them uh what can we do how can we partner with you is there anything that you need and they said we need a new roof and we said.
Well how does half a roof sound uh because we don't think we'll be able to you know be able to do all of that but we'd love to be able to Kickstart that we'd love to be able to get that started if you went around to other donors and said hey somebody's helping us get a roof and so they thought it was going to be about $43,000 and that's well beyond anything We've Ever Raised Even in our whole give project we'd already given away 12.
And so we just said hey let's try to see what we can do to get this started for them they uh contacted us and let us know that someone came walking in off the street which doesn't usually happen and just says walked in and said I'd like to make a donation people come in off the street all the time that happens at Oliver Gospel Mission people don't walk in off the street and say I'd like to make a donation and uh got to talking with them and they that person uh puts roofs on buildings and they said hey interesting uh and they started talking to them and that person works with an organization that will.
Um offer a cheaper uh prices on materials and they'll offer cheaper prices on labor and so they were actually able to get a bid for a nicer material for less money and so they got a bid for nicer material for $33,000 instead of $43,000 so less $10,000 less and uh nicer material that was going to have a longer warranty on it at that same time our Church was raising money and uh had been doing pretty well and then at our Christmas Eve Gathering raised another $177,000 and we raised $39,000.
For all ofer Gospel Mission so they're going to get to do a whole roof and we got to participate in that which means that over Christmas our Church was able to give away $51,000 praise the Lord and so let's just take a second I just want to pray as we consider that let's pray and then we'll study the Bible together this morning Lord you are so generous and you provide all things and Lord we're thankful that we got to participate in you blessing that we got to participate in seeing how you provide and how you work and how you orchestrate and how you take care of your people.
And so Lord we're thankful for your generosity to us in Christ we're thankful for your generosity to us Us in every blessing we've ever received in every day that we've ever eaten and lived and breathed and we're thankful that we got to participate in just a taste of your generosity and we ask Lord that by your grace our Church will get to continue to do that in Jesus name amen so happy New Year do you make New Year's resolutions is that a thing is that a thing you do every year I my assumption is.
If you're the type of person who makes New Year's resolutions you're also the type of person who doesn't mind raising your hand so raise your hand if you make New Year's resolutions this is the thing you do yeah we got a handful of people okay anybody doesn't make New Year resolutions but did this year like you're like I'm in this year I'm going to do it yeah all right anybody usually makes uh New Year's resolutions and we're just like I'm done I'm not doing it this year I'm out all right cool that actually is almost the amount of people that make them that's interesting we got we're falling off here the um here we're going.
To look this morning and we're going to start the book of Philippians so if you'll turn to Philippians chapter 1 we're going to work our way through the book of Philippians at the beginning of this year and there's something as we start this book and we look at it today we're going to see a characteristic of Paul an aspect of who he is and how he lives that I think if you could have this become part of your life a characteristic of yours an aspect of who you are and how you live you would be blessed by it your year would be better whether you make New Year's resolutions or not that you would.
If you could take on this characteristic of Paul it would be good for you and if you could get to the end of 2024 and that be a reality for you if you can get to the end of 202 if that could be how the rest of your life looked you would be blessed and so as we study this this morning we're going to try to understand this characteristic of Paul and how it's actually accessible to us in Christ and how we can live this way and have this and I want to tell you what it is as soon as I introduce Philippians.
So I'll tell you what that characteristic is in just a second but look at chapter 1 verse one Paul and Timothy Servants of Christ Jesus okay so this this is a letter and at the beginning of their letters they put who it's from so we put that at the end so you know it's a real surprise you get to the very end you don't know who this Letter's from and then you finally see who wrote it but they don't do that they tell you right at the beginning who it's from.
Okay Paul and Timothy Servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ so it's to all the saints in Christ Jesus now Saints just means all those who belong to Jesus all Christians there's not a special class of Christians that are Saints it's all Christians have been made Holy by Jesus and so it's all of them.
Then it says and to the uh overseers and deacons and those are two offices in the Church overseers or elders and then deacons and Deacon just means the word servant but it's a a specific set aside office and so he says to the whole Church and then to the overseers and deacons and this is the Church at Philippi so let's get to know the city of Philippi for just a second so that we can a little bit understand uh what the city's like.
And then why Paul's writing this letter to them and what his relationship to the Philippians is and so this is a map that I got from the internet and that's why Antioch is on there even though we're not going to talk about it Jerusalem Philippi Rome so Jerusalem is where the Gospel starts that's where Jesus uh where Pentecost happens where Jesus has been crucified where his Church is praying where the Gospel spreads and then it works its way around and we're in the city of Philippi.
Now now Philippi was originally called kennedies and it was uh a part of the thian people live there and then Philip of Macedon conquered it and he renamed it and can you guess who he named it after he named it after himself yeah so if I was a more violent man there might be more places in South Carolina named Chester but there's just the one so he renames it Phillippi and Philippi is strategically located so it's Inland from a bigger Port City it is next to a big plane where there's uh fertile crop growth opportunities it is at the base of and on top of an acropolis which just means Hill it's the Greek term.
For Hill so that's why the Acropolis is in Athens but all of their cities were on Acropolis which is a strategic position to be able to defend the city so the top part is on the top of the Acropolis and the bottom of Philippi is at the base of it and so uh it was conquered by first it was thians then the Greeks move in and then the Greeks are conquered by the Romans and Philippi becomes a Roman city and then they build the ignatian way that runs all the way across the top of uh from this area over here that's galatia all the way across Macedon right there.
And so it's this large road that runs across here and so there's this large fertile area an acropolis and a mountain that had gold people liked Philippi and they F about it a good bit it's also the place where Octavian and Mark Anthony right in that same big plane defeat Brutus and cassus that the the Brutus and cassus that killed Julius Caesar at two brute and all that o Octavian and Mark Anthony kill them defeat their army right there next to Philippi.
And then it was shocking to everybody Mark Anthony and Octavian start not liking each other as soon as the other guys are out of the way and they battle and then Octavian wins and he becomes Augustus Caesar and he relocates a whole bunch of retired Roman soldiers to Philippi to accomplish two things one get them out of Rome that has too many people and two make Philippi very very thankful and gracious to him so that's the Augustus Caesar that you read about at Christmas that s a decree that all the world would be taxed that's that guy.
And so that all happens so the city of Philippi large city well off filled with Greek people and Roman people and very loyal to Rome and the Gospel begins to spread from Jerusalem Paul becomes a Christian begins to travel around he's trying to go to a couple of different places and the Holy Spirit's not letting him and then he has a dream and this is all in Acts 16 he has a dream of a Macedonian man saying come so he wakes up says Silas we're going to Macedonia which is where Philippi is and it says they went to Philippi.
Because it was one of the leading cities probably traveled right along the ignatian way as they're going to proclaim the Gospel they go to Philippi they show up to Philippi it was normal for Paul to go to a synagogue on the Sabbath and proclaimed the Gospel but it doesn't seem like there was a synagogue or he couldn't find one and it says that he went to the river where he assumed there was a place of prayer he goes to the river there are some ladies there praying one of those ladies Nam is Lydia he shares the Gospel with Lydia Lydia is a seller of purple goods and has her own household she's a well-off lady.
She becomes a Christian and then she says to them where are y'all staying and they tell her and she says no you're staying with me and they're like no we're fine and she's like that wasn't a question and that's basically how it reads it says she she impressed upon them uh that they're going to stay with with her so they go stay with her while they're in the city of Philippi to continue sharing the Gospel this again acts 16 so they're sharing the Gospel.
While they're sharing the Gospel in Philippi there is a slave girl who begins to follow them around it says that she is demon oppressed and she begins to follow Paul and Silas and yell loudly walking behind them these men serve the most high God and preach to you the way of Salvation it's interesting probably helpful she does this for 3 days straight and then it says Paul becoming greatly annoyed sends the the demon out of her he turns around and rebukes the demon and sets her free from demonic oppression I find it very interesting that his reasoning was annoyance.
But it was a blessing to this girl but her uh she was a slave her Masters are not happy because they used her to do fortune telling and now they've affected a a business they were running a side hustle and so they go complain to the authorities Paul and Silas are taken just a complaint taken arrested stripped beaten and then it says they were put in stocks and their ankles their feet were put in stocks in the in the prison so this is all in Philippi they're in Philippi having been beaten in the center part of this this jail and they are singing and praying and it says the whole jail was listening to them.
I don't know if they sang well if it was just odd that anybody would be singing and being happy some more amount of joyfulness I don't know what they were seeing I don't know how lamenting this was what was going on but it says that they're praising God and then there's an earthquake and all the doors open all the chains fall off all the stocks break that around the ankles and everything which is just so you know earthquakes shake things they don't usually pop every chain in a room you know.
But this one's special because the Lord s it and so everybody's suddenly free the Jailer wakes up looks sees that all the doors are open and thinks oh oh no worst thing that could possibly happen if you run a jail and then all the doors are open you're going to get fired probably but in his case he's pretty sure he's going to get executed so he goes to kill himself Paul yells don't do that we're all still here he comes in and and is like what what on Earth.
So he takes them out cleans their wounds they share the Gospel with him him and his whole household become Believers so you've got Lydia who's well off her whole household has become Believers you've got this Jailer who's Lydia's probably most likely Greek this Jailer most likely Roman he's he's a Roman Centurion or a Roman Jailer and he's his whole household becomes Believers and then you've got the slave girl who we don't know if she became a Believer or not she did.
If she listened to herself she said these are Servants of the most high God and they're telling you the way of Salvation And then she was set free from demonic activity so it's possible she did but the text doesn't tell us that's the beginning of this Philippian Church well-off Greek working class bluecollar Roman potentially a slave girl we know that the the Church spread amongst uh people who were in slavery like and so if you've ever thought your community group was awkward it's possible they had a hard time figuring out things to talk about other than how good.
Jesus was and the the people come to Paul in jail the Jailer comes they they basically say y'all can let Paul and Silas free now I think I always read this text and I think that I would have said thanks Paul says no no no no um we're Roman citizens we didn't have a trial they stripped us and beat us we're not leaving quietly tell them to come down here and talk to us we'd like to know why they treated Roman citizens like this and they freak out.
Because they should not treat Roman citizens like that they show up they tell them they're sorry for the beating yesterday walk them to the edge of town and say will you please leave Paul goes to the Church encourages them and then leaves we see in the book of Acts that he does come back a couple of times it's not Philippi is not mentioned but uh they go through the Macedonian churches and so it would be highly unlikely that they would go through the Macedonian churches and circle through and encourage everybody and not not go to Philippi.
So they go back through about twice to re encourage this Church now move ahead from acts 16 about 10 years Paul got arrested in Jerusalem they they found out there was a plot to kill him so they moved him to cesaria which which is up towards Antioch and then he appeals to Caesar and they move him to Rome Paul's in Rome in prison when he writes this letter and the way this works is if you got arrested in Rome you would quickly have some sort of a trial usually usually would happen fairly quickly depending on what it was they would often beat you and release you make you pay a fine release you they could.
Put you in a debtor's prison where you worked off a debt there were underground prisons for people who weren't Roman citizens or who people were people who were going to be executed quickly Paul's not put there if you're a Roman citizen but you're not well off you were put in house arrest but you were chained to a guard that seems to be the situation that Paul's in he's under house arrest chained at all times to a Roman guard um that's why he refers to his chains multiple times in his letters.
Remember my chains he says I write this chain as a criminal we don't think he was being uh dramatic we think he had chains um but we know he was under house arrest and when you're under house arrest you have to supply your own needs they don't feed you they don't take care of you so you're on the the mercy of your friends and family to take care of you and so he was chained to a uh just so you know.
If you're a well-off Roman you could be under house arrest and not be chained up but Paul fits in the not well-off Roman situation the Philippians find out Paul's in in jail in Rome he's under house arrest and they decide to send him a gift 800 miles away this Church says no this is Paul this is Paul that helped us get started this is Paul that we love this is Paul that's our missionary that helped us plant us and has gone on we've helped sin and they've partnered with him throughout and they.
So they send apodus to take a gift to them apodus almost dies trying to do this but he gets the gift to him Paul now receiving this gift to help provide for his needs while he's in house arrest writes this letter and sends it back with aitis it probably took aitis he would have taken the ignatian way we don't know if he walked rode a horse paid for somebody to take him on a cart but it probably took him and then he could go up and around or he could go across the water.
And then up which is probably what he did but it probably took him six weeks to six months depending on how he traveled to to to deliver this then he would have stayed with Paul a little bit and was sent back that's the letter that Paul's writing back to the Philippians in thanks for their partnership look at verse three I thank my God in all my remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.
Because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now now something interesting shows up right here in this text and that's what I want to point out to us today as we begin trying to wrap our head around the message of Philippians and and the tone of Philippians arguably things aren't going great for Paul he's been under arrest for quite a while now from Jerusalem to cesaria and over to Rome and if you'll read in Acts his trip to Rome wasn't a nice one there was shipwrecks and problems he got they he got Shipwrecked he survives that they build a fire to dry off a snake comes out and bites him that's.
A bad day y'all like it just is a continual just everything's kind of going poorly and he's in jail now and in prison now in house arrest in Rome and he's having to he needs people to supply his own needs like he's he's in trouble and he writes this letter and do y'all see the word joy in verse four says always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy that's the first time it shows up in Philippians.
But it's not the last time it shows up in Philippians people refer to this as the joy epistle the The Joy letter that's what epistle is so if you ever hear of someone called refer to the Pauline Epistles they just mean the letters written by Paul but this is the joy one he's joyful y this whole letter the tone of it Paul's posture his heart in this letter is joyful hopeful and confident joyful hopeful and confident now I imagine whether you make New Year's resolutions or you don't and since we raised our hands earlier most of you don't.
But I imagine that if you could know that at the end of 2024 the way your year would have been described was joyful hopeful and confident you'd be like yeah sign me up sounds great if you could know that your life played out and on your on your Epitaph on your Tombstone was a couple of dates a little Dash and it said joyful hopeful confident okay that sounds good because I'm not sure that's how you would describe 2023 maybe it is by Lord's Grace may maybe it is maybe that's how you would describe this past year maybe you'd use words like anxious sad maybe just things like tired bored fine y'all Paul's Paul's in prison.
So so this tone of life for him is not based off of his circumstances but so often ours is when someone asks how are you doing I can answer that question but I report on it like I'm reporting the weather I can just tell you what it's like but it's just based off of what's going on are things good or are things bad like I'm somehow just I'm I'm a victim to it I'm just participant in it I just see it.
But I I don't have any control over it there's it's based off of my circumstances it's what's going on around me and if you'll think about a lot of the goals that we set in life whether you make them every year or you just have them going on in your head but a lot of the things that you're striving for looking forward to chasing after are circumstantial things things that you can gain or lose things that can be good and if you don't have them can be bad and much of your life has been after circumstantial things it's been a a relationship or a job or a house a physical trait it's been something you.
Could own that therefore could be broken or stolen like it's circumstantial but Paul evidently is a part of something tapping into something existing in a situation where it's not circumstantial because if it were circumstantial this letter would read differently but let me show you how this reads I want to show you joyful hopeful confident we're going to go through all of this whole book together uh over time but I'm going to show you some highlights today look at verse six which we'll spend time on next week I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of.
Jesus Christ if you're looking at asking what does Paul have that helps him exist in a non- circumstantial way where there's joy and hope and confidence in the middle of difficulty well here's the first answer Jesus he says I'm sure of this he who began a good work in you I'm I'm certain of who Jesus is I know who I believe in I know what he's like I know how good he is I'm trusting in Jesus and if you're surprised to hear that it's.
Jesus we're glad that you're here at mil City Church but that's what we talk about it's Jesus that's who we talk about and how good he is and how wonderful he is because that's what the Bible talks about that's what Paul's talking about that he has Jesus we're going to see he has something else as well but he's got Jesus vers uh chapter 1 verse 20 it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed but that with full courage.
So we already saw he's sure now he's got hope and courage full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by death for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain so if some of you were thinking well maybe he's hopeful because it looks like it's going to go in his favor he just says I'm fully courageous fully hopeful that whether I live or die because he's facing execution as a real possibility that Christ will be glorified.
So it's not that he's hoping his circumstances will get better it's that he has something beyond that chapter 2:10 he says so that at the name of Jesus he's talking about Jesus and who he is and what he's like he says every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth under the Earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father that Paul's eyes are on Jesus that's what he says in chapter 3:20 our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior the.
Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious Body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself Paul's in prison and he says oh my eyes are on Jesus and my eyes are on that day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses my eyes are on that day when this lowly chained up body is transformed that I have hope Beyond these four walls that I have hope Beyond these circumstances because I have Christ and everything's in him that's that's good that's a wonderful place to be chapter 4.
Verse 4 he says rejoice in the lord always again I will say rejoice Rejoice means to show joy to participate in to experience joy we don't use the word Rejoice much it's not like like what you probably didn't use it yesterday you weren't like my team won we must Rejoice probably didn't happen and for Colts fans it definitely didn't he says to show joy to experience joy and here he says why let your reasonabl be known to everyone the Lord is at hand here's why there's joy here's why there's rejoicing.
Jesus he's imminent he's King he rules He reigns he'll return all of our joy is bound up in him the Lord is at hand he ends of the book and my God Will Supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus Paul's in prison but goodness doesn't he sound happier than us to hear the way he speaks the where his heart is where his head is where his Joy is and the way we walk around.
See he doesn't just have Jesus he does and I think Paul might would I don't like the way I said that because I think Paul might would argue with me when it boils all down he does he just has Jesus but because he just has Jesus he has something else that I want us to see he's got purpose he's got a why Beyond his circumstances there's a a man named Victor Frankl who was a Jewish man who lived in Austria uh was born in 19 teens 1920s.
And so was just coming of age uh getting out of school getting married when the Nazis began to take over Austria and as a Jewish man his his world was getting tightened in on him where he was allowed to work what he was allowed to do was tightening and tightening and I want to read this quote about his life it says this in 1942 just nine months after his marriage Frankle and his family were sent to Terin zad concentration camp his.
Father died there of starvation and pneumonia in 1944 Frankl and the surviving members of his family were transported to aitz where his mother and brother were murdered in the gas Chambers his wife Tilly died later of typhus in Bergen bellson Frankl spent three years in four concentration camps he was rescued he was released and he wrote a book called man search for meaning because he was a a doctor and a psychiatrist and he said that when he was in the concentration camps that there was it did things to people that there were three primary things that it did there were some people who kind of just turned into animals they went into survival mode they.
Became brutal and harsh and did whatever they had to do to make their life and existence there better he said some people with all hope and all joy and everything taken away from them just gave up all their Circumstances had gotten so so bad they just they just quit and they died before they died and he says there was a third type of person that remained human continued being able to show compassion continued to be able to exist in this sort of framework and he said he noticed that about those they were able to.
See something beyond the Concentration Camp they had something further out to hold on to there was something Beyond the Horizon for them and so in trying to discuss this he puts it this way he says those who have a why to live can bear with almost any how another way he puts it is in some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning Paul has Jesus but the reason he's in prison is for the sake of the advancement of the Gospel which is.
So that other people might have Jesus some of us need to get a better why in 2024 need to get a better meaning in 2024 because so much of what we're aiming for is circumstantial so much of what we've planned out for this year and what we're hoping for in this year that we could get or lose or gain or lose but at the end of it if you get it does it matter in two years does it matter matter in 10 does it matter in 5050 does it matter a 100 million years later.
When we're in eternity proclaiming the glory of Christ see Paul says this in verse 3 45 he says this I thank my God and all my remembrance of you always and every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now he said you've joined me in the Gospel you've joined me in the proclamation of the Gospel you've joined me is going to later say in my imprisonment and my defense of the Gospel that y'all have participated in something that lasts and matters some of you should be full-time foreign missionaries and some of you should participate in a Church plant some.
Of you should go into preaching Ministry pastoral Ministry but there's a whole lot of people in our Church that are lyas and Ethiopian and jailers and Philippian jailers we're going to work but my goodness what if this year instead of losing 10 pounds you pray daily for three co-workers what if that was on your list what if this year instead of running a half marathon you invited every person on your street to eat dinner at your house and you labored that there might be more tongues and mouths proclaiming the glory of Christ in eternity what.
If we participated in the Gospel and so that at the end of all of this at the end of our Lives when anything ran into us to cause US problems or to mess us up when our circumstances changed it actually didn't matter because we were eternally focused on the Glorious King and his goodness and rescue and hope in the Gospel and so our circumstances are just our circumstances but our mission stays our mission and so suffering isn't wasted because it has a meaning and honestly suffering can't take it away from us difficulty can't take it away from us.
Because the hope of the Gospel remains and the glory of Christ remains I'd love for you to lose 10 pounds and run a half marathon put the sticker on the back of your car we're proud of you that takes work it takes Focus but Paul says it's good but when you die it's over your abs don't go to heaven but there are people around you who might and they might not up and there's a hope of a Gospel that's worth it.
So by God's grace and as we study Philippians may we tap in to partnership with Paul in the Gospel for the glory of Christ in all of eternity let's pray oh Lord we're thankful because of Jesus our circumstances won't win our sin won't win the enemy won't win because you have gloriously redeemed a people for yourself and Lord we ask that we would lift our eyes and that we would await a savior from heaven and that our life would look like that's where we're at that that's where our hope is that that's where our courage is that that's where our joy is and may we be a people who participate in the Gospel praying.
Laboring for our neighbors and our co-workers and our friends hosting and welcoming and sharing and declaring for the sake of the glory of your name among all the nations Lord may you call people right now to quit their job pack their bags and go to another Nation Lord may you call people right now to begin to commit to participating in a Church plant in an area that needs one and Lord may you call people right now and bring to mind those people that they already work with that they already live near and may they participate fully in the Gospel and partner just as the Philippians did with Paul and by your grace may we get.
To do this in Jesus name amen band's going to come back up we're going to sing I would encourage you to take a moment and to consider where your energy going where your efforts going what your meaning is what your why is and begin to ask the Lord to help you see how you might partner in the advancement of the Gospel who you might begin to pray for who you might begin to labor for what you might begin to take on what you might begin to get rid of.
So that you have more room to the praise of his glorious name.