From Passivity to Purpose
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
To all who are weary and in need of rest
To all who are mourning and longing for comfort
To all who fail and desire strength
To all who sin and need a Savior
We, Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church, open wide our arms
With a welcome from Jesus Christ.
He is the ally to the guilty and failing
He is the comfort to those who are mourning
He is the joy of our hearts
And He is the friend of sinners
So Come, worship Him with us.
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Stephan Choo, Scripture Reader
Scripture
Scripture
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
After Scripture Prayer
After Scripture Prayer
Pray.
Introduction
Introduction
Thank you to Stephan Choo for reading the scripture this morning, and how about a big thank you to everyone who made last Sunday so special. Loads of behind the scenes work happened to make it go off, so thank you!
A special thank you is in order for those who helped serve our children and nursery:
Ed & Justin Nagayama
Irene Jai and Family
Amy Johnson
Gabe DaSilva
and Dave Sylvester — and if I’ve missed anyone, THANK YOU!
We’d love for you all to begin praying how God might be calling you to serve our Kids and Youth at MVPC. Don’t say no, just give it up to prayer. I don’t believe that any Christian will have ever “done their time” in serving kids, and for others, they’re really not that scary. We don’t do childcare. We don’t do babysitting. We are creating an environment where children are meeting Jesus — this is discipleship. If you’d like to serve, please find me or Pastor Dave after the service and we’d love to launch you on your next steps.
Alright… let’s look to the Word for our time together this morning.
I mentioned last week that we started a short series called “Best to Come” where we’re asking the Lord to open our eyes to the Best to Come at this church. It won’t be because of me, Dave, any Elder, Deacon, Staff Person, but it will be because you have come alive to the truth that Jesus sees you, He loves you, and He has set you apart for a purpose.
And this morning we’re going to be looking at Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. Philippians is such a rich book that we ought to return to often… unfortunately it probably doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and the limited amount of attention we give it is probably reserved to a 30,000 foot view as a book in the Bible about joy or an isolated look at Philippians 4:13 where Paul says: Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Culturally, that verse has made it onto a lot of folks as a tattoo, and it’s on the bumper of a few luxury vehicles.
Philippians is a deep book, it is a wide book, and — and it ought to be an anchor for the church in Northern California, and my reasoning for saying that is because it gives us a perspective for a hostile world, and I want to show you a bit of what I mean this morning before we just into Philippians 4:8-9 — so before we hit verses 8-9, I want you to look at verses, Philippians 4:4-7:
Body of Sermon
Body of Sermon
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4 actually begins with Paul reminding two feuding ladies to calm down… which, by the way, is how you know Paul was single — but he’s reminding them they are one in Jesus, and it’s almost as if he turns from those two women to address the church in Philippi and he reminds of the joy that is before them.
Paul’s ability to speak of joy is, in many ways, ironic. He’s under house arrest in either Rome or Ephesus, and things aren’t looking so hot for him — and I’m sure whatever squabble Euodia and Syntyche are having, seems very miniscule to him… And He’s got good reason for this, and so he goes on and gives some really wonderful instruction to this church. He says in verse 6, “don’t be anxious, but be prayerful and full of gratitude, and turn over these things to the Lord.” And the reason why they can turn these over to the Lord is because God Himself has given them peace.
They have this beautiful peace through what Jesus has done for them, and our reality is rooted in His work at the cross, which is what is guarding our hearts and minds. One pastor said that this is heart-level, trouble-removing peace (John Piper).
This gift from God goes two ways. It’s peace from God: which is peace with God, and it also means we have peace with others. Vertical and horizontal.
Look with me at Ephesians 2:13-18 and what Paul says about this peace.
Ephesians 2:13–18 (NIV)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (PEACE with God, made by Jesus. Our record has been set straight!)
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one (Paul is speaking about Jews and Gentiles in conflict with one another, so He means horizontal or relational peace with others) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Paul is saying in Philippians, “if you just could see Jesus in the middle of your circumstances, then you’ll be okay...” — and this is coming from a guy who is essentially awaiting a death sentence. What an invitation though, “if could you just see Jesus in this moment,” —
and so this whole conversation overflows into what we see in verses 8-9, that the peace of God results in a certain kind of thinking, and a certain kind of practicing — Why? Because verse 5 said, “The Lord is near.” — He is in the middle of our circumstances… if we have God’s peace, then what on earth should my mind be doing?
Look with at the end of verse 8:
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Paul says, “Here’s what your mind should be doing...” thinking about these things, and he lists them, he repeats “whatever” 6 times whatever’s true, whatever’s noble, whatever’s right, whatever’s pure, whatever’s lovely, whatever’s admirable, and then sums it up with two words: excellent or worthy of praise — we are to think on these things.
Think is a kind of word that might mean to ponder, to put into perspective things as they really are — to see the truth in light of Jesus, in the middle of my circumstances, and to know that peace.
Filtering the world through the thought lens of what Jesus has done is essential to our growth. Here’s my very short explanation of why that is important:
“I am formed by what I am informed by.” Or another way to phrase it would be, “Who am I becoming by what I’m doing?” It matters with the thoughts first. From a discipline of our minds.
Pastor Sam Storms said, “An undisciplined mind is the enemy of Christian growth and maturity.”
I’m going to refrain from defining those 6-8 items that Paul lists, because we don’t need to make them into legalistic checklists. These are principles of the peace of God. I’m filtering everything back through what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. The reason why I called this a principle, is because a principle or set of principles don’t have right or wrong answers, for the Christian it is to filter it through the lens of good, better, and best. What is the MOST excellent thing God has allowed me to dwell on? What is BEST form of praise I can give to God in this moment? What’s a better use of my time as I seek to make an eternal impact with the people around me?
When these things come down through the filter, what we’re going to find is that the peace of God does not produce passivity. - We end up reaping what we sow.
We’re growing, molding, shaping, changing. — but it passes back through the lens of Jesus. Jesus is at the forefront. When our feet hit the floor in the morning: Jesus. When we lay down at night: Jesus.
Remember, not passive — but with the Spirit’s help, becoming more like Jesus.
Every thought we think, in every hour we live, must be, not necessarily about Christ, but it must be the thought Christ would think were he placed in our circumstances and subject to our conditions.
Hannah Whitall Smith
There’s going to be a lot of other things that will be worthy of our time, worthy of our consideration, worth going up in arms about… but Jesus is the main thing. Our highest priority. Our first love.
The Best to Come at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church will come when we keep the main, the main thing.
And the main thing is Jesus. — The main thing in our worry and anxiety, the main thing in our triumphs and moments of deep grief. The main thing in restoring us back to God. The main thing in us finding healing we need in our earthly relationships.
Paul has written elsewhere that the main thing is Jesus, and even spells it out for us:
Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
We have to compare v 8 to verse 9… thinking is followed by doing… this is one thing that that separates me from 49er’s Quarterback Brock Purdy… I think I can do the job… He is actually doing the job.
Let’s look at verse 9 together:
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
The Peace of God has been slowly moving us from passivity to purpose. Our lives are being redeemed for God’s great purpose in the world. Notice how Paul says “put these things into practice…” He doesn’t say:
Go home and do it when you’re less busy in 6 weeks
Write down on a piece of paper who YOU think should be doing these things, rather than yourself
Go and hold a Bible study with your friends about how you put these things into practice
He says in the Greek: “put it into practice.”
When we come to the threshold of what is MOST excellent for God, what’s most pure, more noble, more lovely — we do it, we put it into practice.
If you’re like me, I’m really tracking with these scriptures, I’m nodding my head in agreement, I’m making notes in the margin of my Bible, and then I get to the point of putting into practice, and the first question I have is, “Okay… put what into practice?”
Paul gives the Philippian church four guidelines. He says in verse 9:
What you’ve learned
What you’ve received
What you’ve heard about
And finally, Paul says… What you’ve seen in me
Paul is giving a framework for discipleship:
I’ll give you an example…
Let’s say you’re thinking about the very noble, the very right, and the most excellent thought of needing to make amends with someone you love… maybe a sibling, a parent, a child… we should want to practice the discipline of forgiveness, because we know what it is to be forgiven, and now we’re running it back through those four guidelines:
What have I learned about forgiveness
Have I received any forgiveness
Is mercy and forgiveness talked about in my community?
How has Paul, or others, demonstrated this level of reconciliation?
If it’s one or more of those categories, then do it!
Here’s another one for good measure...
Let’s say it’s a Monday, and you’re on Facebook, and your Cousin Ted, who doesn’t think like you, or vote like you, and he’s very outspoken, has just posted something very stupid… and your blood boils a little bit, and you think to yourself, “Alright, Ted, I’m going to banish you to the shadow realm,” — at that moment, we need to do a couple of things:
In what way is this related to the peace of God?
Is what I’m going to say “true?” Maybe.. Is it noble? To some. Is it right? Well… we like to be right. Is it pure in its intentions? Eh… Will it be lovely? No.. this will not age well. Admirable? Not in the slightest. And will it be excellent and deserving of praise to God? Those are some good filters for our thought life.... Is there a better or best way to respond as I reflect the peace of God in my own life?
But if you’re still not convinced, we can run them through the other guidelines… what you’re doing is stirring up conflict:
Who did you learn this from? If it isn’t traced back to Jesus, just leave it alone.
Do you like to be on the receiving end when someone is stirring up the pot?
Are there stories of unresolved conflict in my life?
Does Paul, or other spiritual leaders in my life, engage in this silliness?
I think what we’ll find is our answer: log out of Facebook and go pray for your Cousin Ted.
Again, this is the process of discipleship that we’re learning to engage in. This is exactly what I said earlier… “I am formed by what I am informed by.” or “Who am I becoming by what I’m doing?” Thoughts and Actions matter to the formation of who God is calling us to become, because thoughts and actions are the basis of the formation of our discipleship to Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:2 talks about this…
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
We’re always in the process of handing off what we’re learning, what we’ve received, what we’ve heard, and what we see in others.
Paul has been very clear about this...
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Knowing God’s peace and creating an environment for others to bask in that peace will be Good News to our neighbors, good news to the lost, it will be appetizing and appealing for our greater community.
The Best to Come at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church will be when we’ve taken what we’ve learned, received, heard about, and seen and put it into practice.
We can start today by keeping Jesus our main thing, and by handing off to others the best of what we’ve learned, received, heard about, and seen from others.
Let’s pray together.