Philippians 1.27.2.2 Contemporary Servcie (3)
First B Jackson
2017-11-26

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Yes. Let's stand to our feet. We've got a reason to praise from Psalm 100. Shout with joy to the Lord all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before him for him with singing and joy. Shall we do that? Alright. Let's warm up a little bit. I can see we're a little bit tired but let's warm up.

Alright. Before the day, let's sing this. Before the day, before the light, before the world revolved around the sun. Got on high, got on high, stepped down into time, and brought the story up still for everyone. He's filled our hearts.

He has filled our hearts with wonder Alright. All we are and all we have. Let's sing now. All we are and all we have is all a gift. It's all a gift from God that we receive.

Right to life, we open up our eyes and see glory of the king. He's filled our hearts, and he has filled our hearts with wonder so that we'd always remember, You and I made to worship. You and I called you and I forgiven and free. You and I embrace surrender. You and I choose to believe.

You and I will see who we were meant to be.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements this morning, I think. December 10. So, that is two weeks from today, December 10.

We have a combined service. It's going to be at 10:00 in the morning, 10:00. So, both services at 10:00. It'll be a Christmas play, the spirit of Christmas. Looking forward to that.

That'll be fun. Same evening, we're doing a chili cook off that evening and that'll that's always a good time. So, chili cook off and Christmas carols happening on December 10. That's in the afternoon starting at 04:30 for caroling around town and 06:00 is going to be for the chili cook off December 10. Combined service 10:00 in the morning.

The ladies Christmas luncheon, this is the invitation for it. It will be held December 13. That's a Wednesday at noon from noon to two in Snow King's Grand Ballroom. And please do RSVP to Nancy Irwin and her number is on this invitation. If you don't have one and you want one, see me afterwards and I'll give you one.

You should be receiving one here soon. If you would like to help us out and volunteer for childcare on Christmas Eve services, 04:30 and six. There are two services, 04:30 and six. You could attend one and help with the other or just do what however you wanna do it. But Christmas Eve services, we could use some extra help with the babies downstairs.

Monday nights at first b. You you never know what you're gonna get.

Yeah. Except for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a meal music message and we're talking about letting the light of Christ shine through. So, love to have you. Doors open, 06:00.

Alright. For all your other announcements, there should be in your bulletin, the paper bulletin. If you didn't get one coming in, you can grab one going out. Is there something I've missed? Alright.

Well, then, would you stand and greet one another? We'll bring you back together with another peppy song.

And excellent word. What more can I say than to you? He said to you who for refuge did Jesus have fled. Alright. Fear not.

Fear not. He is with us, so be not dismayed. For he is our God, our sustainer and strength. He'll be our defender and cause us to stand upheld by his mercy for almighty hand. Alright.

How firm a foundation. Alright. The soul that is trusting. The soul that is trusting in Jesus is Lord will press on enduring in darkest of storm, and the weave in hell should endeavor to shake. They'll never, no, never, no, never for the sake.

Our affirm, our foundation, how sure our salvation and we will not be shaken. Jesus' earned foundation. Alright. Let's sing h to h, he stands. H to H, He Stance.

Faithful to the end. Don't may fade away, Alright. Let's sing blessing. And let sin be your name in the band that is plentiful, where streams of abundance flow. Blessed be name.

Alright. Blessed be your name when I'm found. And blessed be your name when I'm found in the desert days. I will walk through the wilderness. Blessed be mine.

Never blessing you for I'll turn back. Him blessing you for I'll back to pray. When darkness closes Amen. Would you pray with me? God, as we sing that, that's a hard song to to sing when especially in in loss.

And so, God, would you teach us? Because this isn't something we just learn on our own. Would you teach us to say, blessed be your name. You give, you take away, but still blessed be your name. I thank you, God, just for your for your sovereignty above everything.

We we have a limited view of understanding, and you don't. So thank you, God, for that. Thank you for being wise, for being powerful, for being strong when we are weak. And, God, I pray that our circumstances would cause us to trust you more. The both the good ones that are just wonderful and we're we're flying through life and and the ones that really those those valley times that where where we're not, and it's it's hard just even to get up in the morning.

So, God, thank you for being present with us this morning. And, whether we eat, whether we drink, whatever we do, may it bring glory to you. Amen. Alright. Before the world was made, before the world was made, before you spoke it to be, you were the king of kings, and you were, and you were, and now you're reigning still in the throne above all things.

Angels and saints crying out. We join them as we sing glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God forever. We sing glory.

We sing glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God forever. Forever. Alright.

You gave me breath to praise. Let's sing this. Creator God, this. Life and let it be yours. And we sing, we sing glory to God.

Glory to God. Yes. We do. Glory to God forever. We sing glory to God.

Glory to God. Glory to God forever. Forever. Amen. Amen.

You all can have a seat. I'll invite the the frontline team to come forward. And as they're coming forward, I'd like to pray where, this is the part of the service where we participate here through the worship, through giving, just giving thanks, and, I'd like to pray. God, I I thank you for everything that you have given. God, indeed, it it it doesn't come from nowhere.

It comes from somewhere and then and comes from someone, and then someone is you. And so we pause for a moment just to give you thank for thanks for every gift that you've given, including the talents that we have to serve one another, and be united to one another, and I pray God for more of that. You we love because you first loved us. And so I pray that with the gifts that you have given, God, I pray that that would be our cue to serve one another in love just as you have served us. You set the example, and I pray God that we would follow.

Thank you. Amen. You unravel me with a melody. You surround me with a song, often different from my enemies. Too long my fears are gone.

I'm no longer a stay to fear. I am a child of God. I'm no longer stay to fear. I am a child of God. From my mother's womb, you have chosen me.

Love past twelve months, we can sing with if you'd like. I've been born again, and to your family, right through it. My fears, I'm drowned in perfect love. You rescued me so I could stand and see A hymn, a child of God. A hymn, a child of God.

A hymn,

Amen. Thank you, Carl. It's time for kids church downstairs. Peak Children's Church is starting. There they go.

I love the band. I don't know if you all know that. We are having a ball up here whenever we get together and play, but I asked Carl to throw that no longer a slave to fear in there today. So we threw it in an offering. We're going forward in Philippians and Philippians one twenty seven through 30.

When I looked at this actually and you have up through two two, I think in your bulletin. When I looked at this, I thought, well, two, three through 11 is my favorite scripture in the whole Bible. That's my favorite and I'm just kind of looking forward to getting to that and we gotta get through this before we get there and I was completely surprised by God this week and last week when I was preparing for this, thinking about it. Philippians one twenty seven through 30. And last week, getting up and talking about Paul saying, to live is Christ and die is gain.

I felt like was the sloppiest sermon I have ever given and I told you when I started, I felt like I was more scared than I had ever been up here but praise God, he uses that sort of thing sometimes and a lot of y'all responded by saying, I have been answering the questions and they've been out of whack to live for me has not been Christ. It's been something else and to die has been something that I wasn't really wanting to consider at all. So the foundation of this message comes from last week and really the whole first chapter of Philippians but one twenty seven through 30 starts off this way. 27 says, only, just one little word right there, only let your and when I got just that far, I said the yours in here, the yous and the yours, there are singular yous and there are plural yous. And when I hit a plural you, I always say y'all.

Y'all hear that, right? There are no single yous in Philippians. None. Now, as Americans, we tend to be pretty individualistic and we take our faith as very individualistic. We don't think of it nearly as collectively.

I think as some societies might but I thought, well, I'm going to look through and see, you know, because there's some things in Philippians where it says, God who has begin begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ and I think, well, that's good. That's something I hold on to but it's not just individually in me. It's in us. It's in all of y'all. Paul's writing to a bunch of people that he knew were Christians.

He's writing to Christians. He says it over and over in this book and when he's writing to Christians, he's writing to them collectively as the body of Christ continuing going forward, carrying out the will of God. There are no singular use in Philippians. Only let your conduct. I hit conduct and thought, wow.

This is the new King James version that I'm using up here. Only let your conduct or y'all's conduct, alright? This is all of y'all. Let y'all's conduct, and I wanted to say a word about this too. Do you see politusto there, polite or political, you might see that in there.

That word is to be living the life of a citizen, to be conducting oneself as a citizen. Now Philippi was a kind of a retirement community for old Roman soldiers. It was very much a part of the Roman structure of society. So citizenship was a big deal in ancient Rome. And when Paul uses this to the Philippians and he says, be conducting yourselves as good citizens.

There are people that argue he's saying, just be a good Roman citizen but I think that he's saying and he says it in chapter four further. He says, be a citizen of heaven. You're a citizen of heaven. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Conduct yourself in a manner that's worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Is he saying to do first and then do so much and so great that you'll be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Is he saying that? No. Impossible? Not a chance that that's what he's saying at all.

He's saying conduct yourselves worthily since you have accepted the gospel of Christ. Live it out. Other people around you see the good news in the way that you live your life. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Does that sound familiar where he says worthy, walk worthy?

We just hit it. It should sound familiar. Thessalonians two, this was a long time back. This is four years ago that we were studying Thessalonians. Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Walk worthy. Colossians, just a few months back, walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. And just last month, walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called. This worthiness that he's talking about is not prove yourself worthy. He's saying since you have the gospel, walk it out so others will see the worthiness of this good news and gospel.

So let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, the anointed one, the only way to the father. Walk it out. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. So worthy, worthy, I've covered. So that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, remember last week he said that if I go on living, it will mean fruitful labor for me.

I hope to come see you. He's hoping. He's in jail at this point. He's writing the Philippians and saying, whether I come see you or I'm absent, that I may hear of your affairs. Actually, literally, you remember when he said in verse 12, he said, the things concerning me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

Literally, right here, it says, I may hear the things concerning you. He's equating their circumstances and his circumstances so that I may hear of the things concerning you that you stand fast. This is what I want to hear, that you're standing fast. Now, we have we heard that? Does that sound familiar?

Very recently, yes. It should. Galatians five one was a while back. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

That's a long time back when we studied Galatians, but this was just a few weeks ago. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, may be able to stand, stand firm, stand your ground, and you, after you have done everything, to stand. Paul is encouraging us not to give up. He's encouraging them not to give up. Ephesians six fourteen, stand firm then, stand fast with the belt of truth buckled around your waist with the breastplate of righteousness.

That's actually walking worthy right there. That blessed breastplate of righteousness. So this is what I want to hear Paul says, that you stand fast. I know that you're Christians. I know you accepted this.

I know that y'all have been a support to me for the last eleven years. Since the very first day, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you from the first day until now and those two other visits he made at least. He wants to know that they are standing fast, that they're not giving up and not giving in and he goes on to say, in one spirit. Now, I'll capitalize that S. I think he's saying in one spirit and the Holy Spirit, you are one.

That you're standing fast in that one spirit. You're not being divided by political pressures. You're not being divided by other pressures, temptation even. You're standing fast and there's one way to do that in one spirit, the Holy Spirit. Then he goes on and says, with one mind.

I mentioned this to somebody earlier in the week that with one mind, he goes, I don't like that because I don't think like other people and he's a bit of a contrarian. So, he's right. He doesn't think a lot like other people. It actually says instead of mind, it says soul. Since we're heading towards chapter two and Paul says, be of the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, sharing the same life or sharing the same soul that was in Christ Jesus, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, one soul.

That's a unity that's very very hard for us to grapple grapple with as Christians. We know that there is a spectrum of Christianity in The United States denominationally speaking and people are on a continuum from this ism to that ism all over the place, But he's saying pull yourselves into the center of the gospel, into the center of the spirit of God, and standing as one soul, all of you together, striving together. I love this word, striving together. Do you see right up there with a a t h l right in the middle of that word? Synathlon test is what that word is.

The syn part of it, the s y n is meaning with, and then the Athlon test is athlete, competing together with others on the same team. It's not competing against others. Okay? Competing together with others to be cooperating vigorously. It's about the effort that is being made.

Now, I always say, it's not about what you do, your salvation. It's not about what you do. It's not about what you do. First, be. Remember that?

BE. First, be a Christian but then action does follow that and effort makes a difference. Do you think it that Paul had put out a lot of effort by this point? Yeah. Yeah.

He had put out a ton of effort. Do you think people came to Jesus because of Paul's effort? Blessed by the Holy Spirit. Yes. Yes.

Because he was competing together with others, putting forth effort together with other people, cooperating vigorously with them. I want to hear that you're standing fast. I want to hear that you're in one spirit, that you're one soul, one mind striving together for what? What are you striving together for? Building program?

What are you striving together for? For the faith of the gospel. Amen. This is not about your own personal faith. You're not striving together so that you can convince yourself even more than you already believe.

This is about the ongoing of the faith. Christ Jesus building his church. Our personal faith is really not in view right here. The personal faith is what gets us to the place where we are in one spirit and in one mind and we're striving together but that's not what we're striving together for is our own personal faith. It is for the increase of this faith, the advance of this gospel.

Are you with me? That we're barely into this. This is just one verse right there. I was looking just to get up to two two. Have the mind of Christ, you know?

That you're standing fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, for the faith of the gospel. There is but one way to the father and that is through Christ. The message of the cross. It's foolishness to those who are perishing but it is the power of God to those who are being saved. So this is what we want to hear that y'all stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, not just for your faith, not just for your feeling good about your future or you've been able to get through your individual personal issues.

It's about the faith in Jesus and the sacrifice made on the behalf of whosoever will believe. So, he goes on to say, and not in any way terrified or frightened by your adversaries. This is verse 28. Not in any way terrified or frightened by your adversaries. I read something that Piper wrote this week.

John Piper said, we are living worthy of the gospel when we are striving for the faith of the gospel with fearlessness and unity. We're not afraid and we're unified. We are living worthily when we're fearless and unified. He states it differently later in the paragraph. The mark of living worthily of the gospel is a unified fearless striving together, I would add, for the gospel, the faith of the gospel.

Are you with me? This is what we have to offer. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Can we gather around that and promote that? I say that right now because we're about to get into some suffering.

Not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, the New King James says, or destruction, some versions say, error, some others say, but to you of salvation and that from God, to them a proof, that word proof, there is sign, a sign from God. It's like a billboard from God. If they're arguing with you over the simple gospel, it is a proof or a sign from God of their destruction and your salvation. And it's from God. It's a sign from God.

It's foolishness to those who are perishing, the cross of Christ, but it's the power of God unto salvation for all of those who will believe. Okay, this is the R McD version. This is the Ray McDaniel version of this. Just this, he gets past the point of for me to live as Christ and to die is gain and I can't tell which one I'm going to do. I'm going to do would it be better to go?

Yes, it'd be further by far better to go and be with Christ but if I remain in the flesh, it will mean fruitful labor for me and it will mean your joy in this faith. It will mean your growth in this faith. And then it comes up to 27 and says just this, folks. Y'all be conducting yourselves worthily as good citizens of the gospel. The gospel is where you live.

The good news of Jesus. You're heaven bound. You're living in the gospel. The good news of Christ. Worthily as good citizens of the gospel so that whether having come and having seen you or being absent, I might hear the things concerning y'all, that y'all are standing firm in one spirit with one soul, striving together, or cooperating vigorously.

That's not just for us that are in the four walls of this church this morning. We are to be cooperating vigorously with all of the other Christians in town who are meeting this morning too in different places, in different ways. We're really supposed to be striving together for the advance of the gospel. Cooperating vigorously for the faith of the gospel. Not any one brand of faith, not any one denomination of faith, but the gospel.

And not being frightened in any way by those opposing y'all which is to them a sign of destructive error but to y'all of salvation and that from God. For to you, Philippians, and I would say to you Christians here today, for to you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ. Now, I say it has been granted. That is what it says in the in the New King James Version. The word there is charitzema.

It's not didima or didami. Didami is to give but you can give someone a kick in the groin, okay? You can give someone something that's not good for them. You can give them a present that's not good for them. You can give them something they might not like, but charitza mai, the word is to have graciously given or have graciously shown someone favor in giving them some.

Now, I clarify that before getting to this because it says, it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only for you to believe in him, but for you also to suffer for his sake. That seems kind of upsetting, doesn't it? I've had several of y'all come up to say, I'm not experiencing a whole lot of suffering. Well, praise God. That's an honest answer.

I don't I don't see myself suffering a whole lot. Have you had a discussion with anybody about your faith recently? Because unless it's with somebody in this room or maybe in one of the other churches in town, you will encounter opposition. If you really have the nerve to trust the gospel, you will encounter opposition from people. And even in a super tolerant society that we live in, where we'll tolerate everything.

Right? To you, it has been granted folks on behalf of Christ not only to believe in it, but also to suffer for his sake because you have the nerve to believe that God loves you enough to give his son to pay the penalty for your sin and your error. Having the same conflict which you saw in me. Now what happened to Paul the first time in Philippi? We see in Acts 16 that he met up with Lydia and the Philippian jailer and the demon possessed slave girl and when he cast the demon out of the demon possessed slave girl, he immediately changed the economy of her masters, her owners, and he was beaten and jailed, opposed.

He suffered, right? Having the same conflict which you saw in me. All of y'all saw what happened eleven years ago while I was there. It might happen again on his second and third visits. We don't know.

In which you now hear is in me. I'm literally chained to a prison guard. Now, back in verse 12, he has already told him that it's meant the furtherance of the gospel into the whole Praetorian guard knew about the gospel because he was there. Having the same conflict which you saw in me and now you hear is in me. Do you all remember the whole by the will of God?

This this is something that comes back to me from time to time. It's the sermon we did a while back, beginning of Ephesians, and this was a declaration. Here then are six clear declarations of God's will for our lives and this is taken from various places in scripture where it flatly says, and this is the will of God concerning you. God wants for us to be saved. First things first, he wants for people to be saved.

They are in peril. He's made a way for them to be saved. He wants for us to be spirit filled. Even in this section that we're showing right now, it says, what I want to hear is that you are of one spirit. That's the Holy Spirit.

He wants for us to be pure, walking worthy. He wants for us to be thankful. He wants for us to be submissive and ready to suffer. Richard Strauss says, seek God's wisdom in applying them to the next decision you face. And here they are.

First things first, God wants people to be saved. He wants them spirit filled. He wants them pure. Submissive. That was never fun to think about.

Thankful. Thanksgiving's last week. We saw gratitude and thanksgiving as actually the antidote for sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthy talk, coarse jesting, and the like. And God wants for his people to be ready to suffer. Have you all read Letter from a Birmingham Jail?

Have you all read that by Martin Luther King Jr? Oh man. One of the best things that I have ever read. And it's because he was suffering, he was in that position to write it to southern pastors. Have you heard about Coryton Boom?

Have you heard about The Hiding Place or The Tip of the Spear? Have you heard about all these missionary stories? Do you remember the guys that were beheaded on the beach recently in their orange jumpsuits by ISIS? Do you think that that has furthered the gospel or retarded the gospel? To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Do you remember my story about doctor Cashin, one of my professors in seminary? He went to Bangladesh. He was there for several years and it was pretty unfruitful while he was there for several years. He had another fellow on his team that came in and someone stole his camera and he got very angry and he quit. He went home because someone stole his camera.

Doctor. Kashan was beaten within an inch of his life. He was blinded in one of his eyes and was dragged through the streets of Bangladesh and he stayed. And after he stayed, there was incredible fruit for that ministry. The good gospel of Jesus Christ that gave him assurance and gave him joy in all of those circumstances moved with great power because he was willing to suffer for the name of Jesus.

God does want his people to be ready to suffer. Some of us will suffer more than others. I think that's probably true. First Peter also tells us don't suffer because you're an evildoer or malefactor. But if you're suffering for Jesus, that is redemptive, not just for you but for others.

The one point I guess from today's sermon is this, stand fast, people. This is the gospel that you've accepted, the gospel that sets you free, the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sin. Stand fast in that with that one spirit, with one mind striving together, cooperating vigorously with one another for the faith of the gospel. And that is for the faith of the gospel, not some certain brand of it. If the gospel's worth worth having, it's worth sharing.

Most of the sermons that I heard growing up were either about evangelism, we ought to be doing it more, reading our Bible, we ought to be doing it more, or sinning, we ought to be doing it less. If you get the gospel, if you get it, it's worth sharing. We're living worthy of the gospel when we're striving for the faith of the gospel with fearlessness and unity. So I changed my question just a little bit. Instead of, would you rather God work through your obedience or in spite of your disobedience?

I've changed it just a little bit. Would you rather have God work through your striving together or in spite of your indifference? Because it really is one or the other. Praise God, He is going to do the work. He is going to work.

It's amazing how he empowers you when you feel like it's something that he's bringing to the fore. He's bringing it into your world and he's saying, this is what I have for you to do. We're his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which he prepared for us to do in advance. Steps that we should walk in them. It's amazing when you start walking in those steps what it is that God will do.

Now, cooperating vigorously is not all doing the same job, Right? Unity is not uniformity. I don't expect for all of you to do exactly the same thing. There are some of you who are really good with your hands or some of you who are really, really good with your words. There are some of you who are great with connecting people to this church, to other churches, to each other.

There are some of you who are just plain kind and joyful. Some of you are artistic. Some of you are very, very practical, reasonable, philosophical. Can I just pray for y'all and for me right now? God, would you use us in whatever way you would want to use us?

I pray that you'd take this life and let it be, Lord, consecrate it to you. That everything that I do when I wake up in the morning, I think, God, what would you have me do for you today and tomorrow and the next day? God, I pray it for every single person out there under the sound of my voice that they would hear from you what you would have them to do, Lord. That you'd give them the strength to walk in it, that you would give them a mind to understand. God, I thank you that it's your work and you are going forward with your church.

You're growing it. God, I pray that you'd use us striving together for the faith of the gospel. In Jesus name, amen. Carl, would you come on back up? I had one more little quip that didn't make the slides.

Paul's writing to Christians. I'm I'm speaking to I know the majority of this room are people who have accepted Christ. I understand that. Paul seems to me to be saying, you got this. Okay?

Instead of saying now act like it, he's saying now act on it. You got this. Now act on it. Can you you you can't even imagine what it is that God will do if you just start saying yes to the inclinations that he puts in your heart. In Jesus name, Lord, would you do that through us?

Amen. Would you stand with us? Yeah. Let's sing

one last song together. Very, very, very much on the topic of here, knowing Christians by our love. In the spirit. We are one in the Lord. We are one in the spirit.

We are one in the Lord. And we pray that all you need. May one day be restored, And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by houndup. Yes. They'll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other. We will walk in and we will walk with each other. We will walk in and in. And together, we'll spread the news that God is in our land. And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

Yes. They'll know we are Christians by our love. Christians by our love. And all praise and all praise to the father from whom all things come. And I'll praise to Christ Jesus, his only son.

And I'll praise to the spirit who makes us one. And they'll know we are So,

as we go into this whole Christmas season, let's do this. Let's stand fast in one spirit with one of mine striving together for the faith of the gospel. In Jesus name, this is my prayer for y'all. Amen.