A Worthy Life Strategy

Claim - A Gospel worthy life is one of: rejoicing, gentleness, free from anxiety, prayerful and at peace with God. To achieve this, dwell on ‘good things’ and practice what you hear from scripture.

Focus - The life everyone really wants is the one described here, but the only way to find it is by living for and like Jesus (not for ourselves)

Function - To excite us to rejoice in Christ, praying, living worry free, and gentle lives that trust in God’s word and ways above all.

Joke of the week for you.

Last week I suspected that someone had stolen a petal off every flower!

As I suspected, someone has been adding soil to my garden.

This week, I’m certain someone has been adding soil to my garden.

The plot thickens!

PRAY

If you’ve joined us for the first time here at GC, then if will be useful for you to know

that

start here if no guests

we don’t just believe in the idea of God,

and make him up to be whatever we think he’s like from our heads.

He’t not a complete mystery, like my thickening garden plot.

start here if no guests

God wouldn’t be much of a God if he hadn’t revealed himself to us in a way that we can understand.

And he wouldn’t be much of a God if he didn’t reveal himself in a way that gives us the oppertunity to have a relationship with him.

And so, that is the purpose of the bible.

Which itself claims to be the revelation of who God is and how we are to know Him.

So, as a church we go through a book of the bible,

a book at a time, to ensure we have understood God correctly.

That we understand our relationship with him, and so that we can live now for him.

Only say the next line if there are guests

So we will spend the next 25 mins taking the bible very seriously.

Today, we are almost at the end of a short book called Philippians - from the apostle Paul,

who lived at the time of Jesus and met Jesus after his resurection.

Infact Paul persecuted Christian’s for teaching that Jesus was the Risen saviour

that the world was waiting for.

He didn’t believe them at all!

He was a Jew, trying to be right with God through obeying the law of God as we saw 2 weeks ago in chapter 3.

In other words, he was what today we’d call a ‘good person’!

He called it living in the flesh - doing what was best, to the best of his own abilities.

And we all like to think that’s us, don’t we!

Christian or not!

I’m on the PTFA,

I give to charity,

I try to be nice to my neighbours,

I’m a fair boss

and so the list goes on.

But the message of the bible is not, try hard to be a good person and you will be right with God.

For no-one is good enough!

But to trust in Jesus, the only man who was ‘that good’.

The man who despite his goodness, died on a cross at the hands of mankind,

But did so as part of God’s plan to take the punishment we deserve for not being good enough!

Jesus faced God’s right judgement,

so that those who trust in Jesus for salvation,

for the forgiveness of sins,

for a relationship with God,

Can receive all that, for simply repenting and believing in Jesus!

And nothing else can save you!

Philippians 3:7–11 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, 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 is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

phil 3

No good works can qualify you,

And no bad works can disqualify you!

It is all by the love and grace of Jesus, taking our place of punishment before God!

And then we, through faith in him,

receive his righteousness - his right relationship with God.

Of course the bible tells us that Jesus rose again,

In fact the NT was written by eyewitnesses, who would go on to die for what they had seen!

And Jesus’s resurection gives us hope

- hope that there is life after death,

and for those that trust in Jesus,

that there is a life of joy with God forever.

That is why we must get this right.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that salavtion can be acheived by good works!

No!

Simply have faith in Jesus.

Or, to get to our passage today,

Philippians 4:4 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

phil 4

1 - Rejoice in the Lord always

Rejoice in the Lord Jesus, why?

Well we have alluded to 1 key reason -

So that we’re not tempted to rejoice in our ‘good works’,

What a travesty that so many in this world

think they can earn a way into God’s heart.

So many false religions and moralistic world views that are peddling

the unachievable message, of ‘be good enough for God’.

No - rejoice in the Lord always - for only he can save.

The other reason to have this attiitude towards Jesus, is so that we are not

So we are not tempted to despair when our circumstances are bad!

Paul as he writes this letter was languishing in a miserable Roman prison!

Of course he must have been miserable,

stressed, uncomfortable, hungry.

Perhaps God doesn’t exist, perhaps he’s forgotten me.

Surely I’ve done enough good things for him to help me out now!

But what does Paul keep telling himslef?

Rejoice in the Lord always!

He has saved me - he has already given me more than I can ever repay!

My circumstances are simply an opportunity for me to relate to Jesus’s own suffering,

and remember the miserable death that Jesus went though on my behalf!

Rejoice in the Lord always

1 - It stops us thinking our relationship with God is based on good works - It’s all through faith in Jesus.

2 - It stops us thinking our relationship with God is based on our circumstances!

Rejoice in the Lord always

But remmeber from chapter 3 if you were here,

just because ‘doing good’ can’t save you,

But just because doing good can’t save you, does not mean we now make no effort to obey Jesus if we have accepted his salvation.

does not mean we now make no effort to obey Jesus, to do good,

if we have accepted his salvation.

Being a Christian is a very real and practical life.

We don’t drift off into airy fairy spiritualism where life happens around us,

but not to or involving us!

No, the bible is very realistic about life.

Paul doesn’t just say Rejoice in the Lord - and that’s it!

No, we want to do good works - or, better still, be obedient to to God.

That is what Phillipians has been teaching us,

we want to know God’s will, we want to live a gospel worthy life.

for something is only truely good if it is done for and inline with God’s will.

Obedience is now the way we want to live,

becasue of what Jesus has already made us.

We are right with God through his death and ressurection,

So now if we have accepted that,

will want to live for him.

We now do press on, strive forwards, in doing the right thing by God.

And if you’ve spent much time as a Christian, that can be hard.

Not becasue we don’t want to, but because we find ourselves abttling against selfish, old desires.

And so, There are a few practical obedience things that this chapter help us with

around this principle of ‘Rejoicing in the Lord.’

In other words, to help us alwasy rejoince in the Lord, there are lots of practical things we can do!

And if you’ve been here for this series, then you’ll remember this series is called:

‘A life Worthy of the Gospel’ based on Phil 1v27

The New International Version Chapter 1

27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

So these practical steps are Paul’s starergy if you like to live this gospel worthy life.

2 - A worthy Life Strategy

Not how to live to receive the gospel - the good news of salavtion.

This is how we live to enjoy what is freely given to us in the gospel.

And there are 5 things to remember

So l’ve put them on the hand out to help you think, pray and implement them this week.

Stand Firm in obedience - v1 (1v27)

Seek Unity with each other - v2-3

Be Gentle before all - v5

Don’t worry, instead pray - v6

Dwell on Godly things - v8

We’ll go through each very briefly.

Stand Firm in Obedience - v1 (1v27)

in v1 Paul urged them to steadfastness.

But obviously meeting someone who has risen from the dead would cause any of us to think twice about our convictions!

Philippians 4:1 NIV

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

Paul is urging his friends in Philipi to stand firm - to remain steadfast.

Likely the language came from the military and, therefore,

had significant meaning for the city populated by military families.

The Roman armies were known for standing unmoved against the enemy.

The church was to stand firm in the same way.

We, together are to stand firm in the same way.

How are we to stand?

The word ‘therfore’ at the beginning of this passage, tells us to look back at the rest of the letter.

To consider what Paul has already wirtten and ‘stand firm in that’

TO summarise whats just gone before,

The church is not to be weakened by disunity, turmoil, or wrong values.

It is to stand firm, together, to accomplish God’s will.

As we’ve said already, it is to live a life worthy of the Gospel.

That is to stand firm.

Seek Unity with each other - v2-3

Philippians 4:2–3 NIV

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

No-one knows exactly what the issue is between these 2 ladies, Euodia and Syntyche.

It’s clearly not a heretical gospel issue, for Paul says they are still in the book of life - IE - saved Christians.

This debate about t

But unity is key in the church is his point!

We need to Rejoice in Christ, not rejoice in prooving ourselevs to be right over another!

Unity sets us apart from the world that is constantly disunified!

Don’t hold unnesserasy grudges,

Don’t judge others

Don’t make the smaller things of theology big enough to disunify us.

And Paul suggests a way forward when this becomes an issue.

He refers to his ‘’true companion’ to mediate and help these 2 women.

He’s almost certainly referring to an elder, or the pastor.

As presumably everyone knew who Paul was talking about.

So, if you can’t resolve an issue bewtewen yoursleves,

Church government is another interest sparked by this passage. Some suggest that the women had leadership roles in the congregation. However, Paul said nothing about the offices of these women. Nor did he say they preached as they labored for the Lord. Nevertheless, two indications of church order emerge here. First, Paul’s appeal to an individual to mediate the problem may indicate that this individual was in a place of authority. Everyone knew both his identity and his right to intervene. Perhaps he was the pastor of the church. Second, the matter became public, and the church was to handle such matters in a way that few do today. The congregation was a partnership. As the body of Christ, the members were to address such matters objectively, frankly, lovingly, and spiritually.

v1 Stand Firm Friends -

come speak to me, or an elder, or our pastoral care workers, Bob and Dorthoy.

Don’t harbour and grow disunity!

Be Gentle Before All - v5

Philippians 4:5 NIV

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Such a simple verse.

And related to disagreements particualriy - but be gentle towards all.

The world ought to look in at our church and see something deifferent.

We don’t fight for our rights, our needs,

We gently deal with difficult situations,

we love others before ourselves.

And Paul drops a theological motivation in for us!

‘The Lord is near!’

When Jesus returns, you don’t want to be found being

aggresive,

unkind,

judgemental and harsh towards others!

That;s not how Jesus treated us!

Let him find us a church of gentleness.

Don’t Worry, instead pray - v6

Philippians 4:6 NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

This has to be one of the most attractive offers available to humanity today.

Military -

Worry and anxiety cripples us doesnt it.

Perhpas some of you don’t worry about anything,

but for most people across the world, this a difficult reality to life.

Worry about relationships,

finances,

addictions,

death,

illness,

comfort,

safety.

Our status

Let alone all the anxiety we have over our children, and relatives!

But Paul is reminding us,

If we rejoice in the Lord (that big principle) - trusting in him for salvation, and his sovereignty in life, then there really is no need to worry.

He is in control of all things.

To worry is in reality, to be doubting God’s plan and overarching good purposes for our life!

But, don’t start condemning yourself for worrying!

That will only give you something else to worry about!

Even Paul acknowledges that he also suffers from anxiety in 2v28.

Instead do 2 things when we feel anxious or worried.

1 - Rejoince in the Lord - knwoing he is in control of your faith and your life.

2 - Pray!

Tell God how you feel,

what you are worried about,

raise your petitions Paul says.

But also pray with thanksgiving!

As we raise our worries to God,

we should be doing it in a way that reminds us we need not have them as worries!

For we give thanks that God will answer,

he has a plan,

he will either remove the issue we have,

or he has a good purpose in allowing the issue to remain!

But if we truely belive that Jesus has made us right with God through his death,

Then we can trust him with the everyday things of life as well!

Pray, present your requests - not arrogantly,

not according to your own will and anxiety -

no-one should want God to answer according to their own will!

Surely we want God to answer according to his perfect, glorious and loving will.

And that is something to give thanks for, knwoing that he will!

Finally,

that we have a better responce to those very real issues in life.

Prayer.

Dwell on Godly Things - v8

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.

p

It shouldn’t suprise us that the world has found that the way to improve mental health and well bein is to concentrate our minds on good and wholesome things.

Listeneing to and enjoying nature.

Excersising our bodies.

Doing acts of kindness,

Seeing the best in others,

The best sumamry of these things we should think about to live a life worthy of the gospel,

is to simply say they are all godly things.

Things that God approves of.

True - here is being used in the ethical sense -truthful and dependable - God loves trustworthiness

Noble - things worthy of respect, honourable. - God loves that.

Right - meaning just and good in God’s sight - God loves that.

Pure - or holy things - God loves that.

Lovely - things, attitudes, creation that are lovable and beautiful in the world - God loves that

Admirable - things that are worthy of praise - God loves that

Excellent - implying moral excellence - God loves that

praiseworthy - things that cause us to praise and honour God. - God loves that

That’s a whole load of things to be thinking about in this life!

A whole load of things to keep us rejoicing in our Lord.

A whole load of things to do instead of worrying!

I’d like each of us this week to read this verse a few time and think about how it impacts on our lifestyles.

I suspect it ought to change quite alot of our lives practically.

what we watch on Netflix.

What we read.

What we expose our chidlren to.

How we treat our collugues.

What we do as hobbies,

What clothes we wear

What we allow our children to wear!

And so we could go on!

It all sounds like a big list, but really I think it’s the common sense of the Christian church as taught by the bible and modelled by so many Christians striving to live a gospel worthy life.

The New American Commentary: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (3) Exhortation to Joy and Peace (4:4–9)

Paul addressed the thought life first. He identified seven qualities which should characterize Christians. “True,” in the ethical sense as used here, means “truthfulness, dependability.” “Noble” translates a rare word which has a broad meaning. Used primarily by Paul in the Pastoral Epistles, it has the idea of “worthy of respect, honor, noble.” It is primarily used of church leaders, where various persons are urged to be respectable. “Right” is a translation of the Greek dikaiosynē, normally translated “just” (KJV). It implies giving to God and people a justness that is worthy of them. This definition differs from Paul’s normal use, but it well describes the ideal Christian virtue. “Pure” translates a word meaning “pure” or “holy” in relation to God. “Lovely” is found only here in the New Testament and has a fundamental meaning of “that which calls forth love” (prosphilē). It covers a host of qualities but basically means that the person should be attractive, lovable. “Admirable” occurs only here in the New Testament, and it means whatever is “praiseworthy, attractive,”92 therefore likely not to offend. “Excellent” (aretē) means morally excellent. The word was seldom used by Paul, but in 1 Pet 2:9 and 2 Pet 1:3, 5 the word describes Christian virtue. Finally, “praiseworthy” means worthy of praising God. These characteristics would unite the church and present a good testimony to the world.

The New American Commentary: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon Exhortation

Out of this friendship grew exhortation. Paul urged them to steadfastness. Perhaps the language came from the military and, therefore, had significant meaning for the city populated by military families. The Roman armies were known for standing unmoved against the enemy. The church was to stand in the same way. A more significant question is, How was it to stand? The words “that is how” translate the Greek houtōs, a word that shows manner. The church was not to be weakened by disunity, turmoil, or wrong values. It was to stand together to accomplish God’s will. The exhortation recalls 1:27, and it was an important aspect of church life.

So these are the ways we are to live a life worthy of the gospel.

Philippians 1:27 NIV

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel

Why don’t you be one of those examples this week.

v2-3 Stand Unified Friends

Striving

The New American Commentary: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (2) Exhortation to Unity (4:2–3)

Church government is another interest sparked by this passage. Some suggest that the women had leadership roles in the congregation. However, Paul said nothing about the offices of these women. Nor did he say they preached as they labored for the Lord. Nevertheless, two indications of church order emerge here. First, Paul’s appeal to an individual to mediate the problem may indicate that this individual was in a place of authority. Everyone knew both his identity and his right to intervene. Perhaps he was the pastor of the church. Second, the matter became public, and the church was to handle such matters in a way that few do today. The congregation was a partnership. As the body of Christ, the members were to address such matters objectively, frankly, lovingly, and spiritually.

PRAY

v4-7 - Peace in troubled times

v8-9 - Peace in All times

v9 - Stand firm in the Word