The Standard of the Faith

Sermon: FCC Afton 11-13-2022 The Standard of the Faith Scripture: Philippians 4:1-7 Recap: -Last week, we went running- we looked at Paul's encouragement for us to rake seriously, to run well, this race that we are running. We discussed the truth that the race is real and happening- whether you are running toward eternal reward with the Father or toward eternal destruction, separation from the Father. We looked at the underlying message that Paul's readers would have instinctively understood: that being a participant in the race would have required training and commitment to maturation; that there is a high risk for disqualification, especially with an enemy who is actively trying to trip us up before the finish line, and a great deal of shame that accompanied being disqualified; and also that there is an amazing prize just across the finish line. We discussed how we are each running our own individual race. While we have the same general goal as the church, we will each be held to account individually for how we run our own races and what we accomplish while running it- and we will be rewarded based on our individual races, as well. In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, Jesus makes this clear- each of the servants is judged according to how he individually did with what the Master had given him; they were not judged collectively, nor were the two good servants held to account for how the bad servant did. We also discussed how you cannot ride the coattails of your parents' races, either. You have your own race to run and your own prize to attain. But you cannot earn the prize if you never leave the starting line; the race is one of spiritual growth- it can never be won through stagnation. And we discussed as part of this idea, our need to find others who are running their race well and who are living as good examples of the truths of Christ, and then to watch them, to learn from them, and then to follow their example- and eventually to be that same example for those who are less spiritually mature than you. Our task, then, as Believers, is as much about running the race well ourselves as is it about being a good example for others to watch and be able to follow. Today, we are going to examine Paul's follow-up; in typical fashion, Paul moves back to his pattern of establishing a doctrinal truth and then gives the application for how to live it out; he gives practical lifestyle instruction. That was what you need to know and understand about the Kingdom; now, here is how you should practically apply it to your life. Read Philippians 4:1-7 Pray here! -Paul starts off here with "So then," which is simply another saying, "Ok, now that you've understood all that"- now that you understand all of the truth that I just shared, now that you have grasped this doctrinal truth, now here is how you live it out- here is how your life should look while you are in this race. -Main Idea: Paul's closing statement to the church is a purpose statement: there is a standard, for the Church and for the individual Believer, in order to be effective. -Paul begins his conclusion to his letter to the Philippians by addressing some issues concerning the church at Philippi- drama in the church and also personal spiritual issues that serve to distract Believers, to draw those within the church away from their commitment to Christ and away from being effective in making disciples for Jesus. We are going to dig into this standard that Paul sets, but it is all built upon the foundation of truth that Paul has already shared: forgetting everything about who I used to be, I run this race and pursue the prize that Christ has set before me. How do I run the race? How should every Believer run this race? This is what we are going to examine today. Paul starts out his conclusion by reminding the Believers at Philippi how much he loves them and how much they mean to him- but it's not necessarily the glowing, positive inflection that most read this conclusion with: "My brothers, I love you and long to see you again. You are my joy in this life and my crown of victory at judgment." There is definitely love in Paul's statement, but when you put the statements together, this is an introduction to tough love on Paul's part: "Hey guys, I love you, but there are things that need to change." To me, this sounds just like how I begin the process of disciplining my kids: "Adelle, you know I love you. You are my favorite girl in this world and the joy of my life"- then draw her in close and get on her level- "but you've done something bad and there are consequences for your behaviors." Paul does the same here- "I love you, but this stuff has got to stop. The church cannot be unified- you cannot be effective- while these behaviors are happening in the church." There is a standard that must be met for the church to be unified and effective. There is a standard to be lived out in order for us to be effective in making disciples, to keep our focus squarely on Jesus, and run our races well. Truth #1: The Standard for the Church -Of the two issues introduced by Paul, this first one is by far the more pressing: 1. Putting an end to drama and conflict within the Church: Paul very clearly calls out some type of drama that is happening in the Philippian church; he doesn't explain what it is, but they would have been very familiar with it. It's serious enough that it has reached Paul in house arrest in Rome and serious enough for Paul to call these two women out by name. Some translations use the word implore here; Paul implores them to agree and to stop the drama. Obviously, we will never completely achieve unity in all things- we will always have disagreements, but what Paul is addressing here is whether these small disagreements will cause division amongst Believers or will we be unified through our faith in the Lord? When we are of one mind in the Lord, we are able to put the petty, personal things that cause drama and division in order that the Lord may be magnified and His work advanced. We must put aside the things that cause drama and conflict in the church, the things that split churches, and instead find unity in the Lord. The enemy wins when the church is unified, when the church is divided because of drama and conflict. 2. Laboring together in the work of the Gospel: Paul moves on here to ask the recipient of the letter to the church at Philippi, whom Paul calls his true partner in the faith, to be helpful and supportive to those who labor together for the Gospel. There is not a lot addressed here except for the implication for the church- for the church to be effective, we must all be laboring together toward the same goal, the same purpose. This continues what Paul addressed just before. We must be unified in the work that we are doing; we must be unified in the truth of the Gospel. We do a disservice to our Savior when we are divided, when silly disputes and drama keep us from working toward the same goal and adhering to the absolute truths of Scripture. I don't mean that churches are not free to focus on different aspects of serving- obviously one church may be much more engaged in helping with addiction recovery while the next might engage more in helping the homeless- what I am referring to is the division in the church caused by a lack of adherence to the truth, to Jesus' standard: where one church will abandon the truths of the Gospel because they do not want to offend people or because they want to bring as many people into the church as possible, so they stop preaching the true Gospel. This cannot be. The church must support those who are willing to serve in the work of the Gospel, while also making sure that it is standing firmly in the true Gospel message. Truth #2: The Standard for an Individual Believer: -Paul moves on from addressing the drama and disunity issues, things that the church needed to stop doing, things that were keeping the church from being effective, to now changing his focus to things that individual Believers need TO DO in order to be effective in their individual races and effective in making disciples. 1. Rejoice in the Lord, continuously! We just covered Paul's instruction to rejoice a couple of weeks ago, so I will not spend a ton of time here, except to say that Paul reaffirms the idea once again after spending considerable time on it, so we should understand that this is an important topic that Paul wants the church to grasp. Joy, if you remember, is a deep, abiding contentment alongside an attitude of thanks and peace. Where happiness depends on what we are going through and can cause us to be tossed about by the sadness and depression of the storms of life, joy is an anchor in the midst of those storms of life. A life of joy depends not on what we are going through, but on whom we are going through it with- living a life centered in joy is a choice that we must make- a choice to put our focus on Jesus and to not let anything knock us off course! When Paul says to be joyful continuously, he is saying to choose to focus on Jesus and to abide in His joy, to be anchored in His peace and in thankfulness to the Father. Rejoicing continuously does not mean that we will never experience sadness or even some kinds of depression, but that we will not be trapped there; rather, we will strive every day to live in the joy that God makes available to us. If we are to be effective in changing this world and in making disciples for Jesus, and if we want the church to be effective, then we must choose to be joyful on a daily basis. We must choose, in every situation, to rejoice- to give our thanks, and to give up the things that are dragging us down, to the Father and respond to every trial with joy. 2. Let Your Graciousness Be Evident to All: When Paul says graciousness, he is not talking about having good manners or etiquette, being able to walk prim and proper with a book atop your head and entertain a host of people with your wit- although some of those things do manifest themselves in Godly graciousness. Rather, Paul is instructing us to live our lives with an attitude of humility, always pointing others toward Jesus rather than to our own glory, and to sum up the golden rule: to show others the grace that you wish would be shown to you- even if the other person never responds in kind. Paul is saying: let others see you being an example of Christ's grace. People should be able to tell whom we serve by the attitude that we live with. It's very hard for someone to look at a very self-centered, conceited person and be able to believe that they are a Follower of Christ- beyond more than a lip-service Follower. When people observe us, they should see an attitude of humility and grace; they should see us treating others graciously; they should see us handling defeat and disappointment with grace; everything about our lives should point to the grace that has been poured out on our lives- and they should want to know that grace because of what they see in us! 3. Don't Worry About Anything! How hard is this last one for us? Most of us live in the mindset of "Well, I will trust God in these things over here, but the really important things... they need to stay over here in my control- I need to fret and worry about them rather than surrender them to God." But we are called to surrender every part of our lives, including our worries, so that we can instead focus on Jesus and what He desires for us to accomplish in our lives. Paul, of course, is only reaffirming what our Savior has already told us. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus tells us not to worry about anything: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus asks the question: Can your worrying do anything about the issue? No. But God can. So, seek Him, His Kingdom, and His righteousness- AND then all the things He determines you need will be given to you- It may not be everything you want or everything you think you need, but when you focus on Jesus, your thoughts about your wants and needs will change anyway. Focus on Jesus rather than worrying about things; trust in Jesus rather than worrying; stay in step with the Holy Spirit and let Him work in and through you rather than worrying. Paul says it this way: "In everything, with serious prayer and with thanks to the Father, bring your desires and needs to Him." Your worry accomplishes nothing. You have put your faith in the One who accomplishes everything, so why do struggle to trust Him with everything? Do not worry about anything is not a suggestion; you must learn this before you can grow in spiritual maturity. Jesus even says that: "You of little faith, why do you continue to worry? You've got the Creator God, the Master, the King of Everything watching your life- He is aware of your every need. Just take it to Him." Truth #3: The Result of Living Out This Standard? -Paul ends this section with a powerful promise from the Lord for those of us who can live out this standard for our faith: for those of us who can live out joy, who can show humility and grace, and who can stop worrying and instead trust the Father. Not only will you be more effective as a Believer in doing the work that Christ has called you to do, the Commission to go into all the world and make disciples, but also we will gain the covering, the protection, of the peace of God, which surpasses every thought! What an amazing thought! It's almost as if our thought process gains an upgrade: we gain the peace that passes every understanding. When you choose to rejoice, then you will be invaded by His joy and peace- it will come bursting forth out of you. When you learn to live out His humility and grace, then you will be transformed by His peace into a better reflection of who He is. When you learn to stop worrying, then you learn that there is no reason to worry, because you are filled with God's perfect peace. Invitation: Are you living your life to serve Christ today? Are you setting an example for others to follow?