Foundation
Notes
Transcript
I saw a story that was really interesting this past week. There was a tower called Oceans tower in Rio Grande, Texas
and this tower was supposed to be the highest tower of luxury living in Rio Grande.
I mean if you look up photos of this thing it was going to be awesome.
And not only that but it was a monster because it was 31 stories high making it 445 feet tall.
And they constructed this thing extreamly well. Because they used reinforced walls to make sure that there was no chance wind could move this huge structure.
so not only did this structure look nice but it was also built extreamly well where there was almost no chance that this building could fall apart.
But whats amazing is right after the body of this building was constructed it actually began to sink into the ground.
and it kept sinking into the ground a total of 16 inches in some areas
And even though they used some of the best materials to construct this building to ensure it was safe it not matter because the foundation was not secure.
And because of it the building began to crumble.
And before it was even finished the building it was demolished.
You know if you are ever building somthing you need to make sure that the foundation is strong
Because you can do everything else correctly but if the foundation you build on is bad then nothing else matters.
And heres what I want you to get because all of our lives are built on something
Some of our lives are built on our family
Some of us build our lives around a career
Some of us build our lives off of money
And these are not bad things, but the issue with these things is that they can crumble.
But what is so great is that when we build our lives on Christ He will not crumble so when everything else falls apart He stands firm.
And really this what Paul is talking about in the passage we just read, because what he is talking about is the foundation his life is built on (Which for him is Christ) and then he talks about what has happened in his life as a result of having Christ as his foundation.
And my hope for us today is to see what happens when our lives our built on Christ because it really does change everything for us.
So we will be jumping around a lot in this passage today but we are just going to start at verse 21 which is really short but it is really the heart of the passage that everything else flows out of
So verse 21 just says this:
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
I love the literal translation of this because the first part is litterly translated “To me life is Christ”
Basically Paul is saying for me the reason I live and the foundation that everything else is built on in my life is Christ.
and I love the second half because Paul says “and to die is gain”
In a way what he is saying if I live Christ in the foundation of my life, but it I die I get to go to heaven and be with Christ.
So in a way he is saying regardless of whats happening my foundation is Christ.
It almost like this a few years ago I was on one of those
high rope courses and if you have ever been on one they are really high up in the air.
And they have different obstacles that made from ropes where you have to try and cross them to get to the other side
And so some are pretty easy but then there are some where you really get an adrenaline rush because it is like you are walking on a tight rope.
But the thing that makes the course a lot less scary is the fact that you are in a harnest so if you fall you fall maybe a foot before the rope catches you.
And in a way this is what Paul is trying to say, because our lives can look like a rope course
There are times in our life where we are crossing obstacles easily and things are not challenging,
But then there are times where it feels like we are literly walking on a tight rope.
And we feel like we are going to fall.
But whats amazing is if we have Christ in our life we have that assurance that He is the one holding us so regardless of what path we are on whether that is in life, death or somewhere in between we have Christ with us.
And this is so powerful, because we can have the ground beneath our feet give way our life can just shatter, but our God is holding us.
Well look at the second point in verse 27 because when Christ is our foundation He does not just hold us, but He impacts the way we live.
Look at verse 27 because Paul says:
27 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
So Paul is saying regardless of what happens whether you are going through a good time of a terrible when Christ is your foundation you are called to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
and I love that word worthy, because for Paul like we talked about last week Paul loves to use word pictures and this word worthy is a word picture.
Because in Biblical times what they would do is they would use those those old balancing scales where you would put a weight on one side of the scale and say the weight was one pound.
So then say they were measuring out flour they would keep adding flour to the other side of the scale until both sides were even.
And once they were even they would say that these items are worthy of eachother.
They are even.
And so what Paul is saying is that when you look at your life when it is compared the the message of the gospel
This message that says you are free from sin and can live for Christ now
Are you living a life where the scale would be even?
Are you living a life where you can say I am living a life worthy of the gospel of Christ?
because if we have said yes to Christ then He desires our lives to be changed where what we say, do and even think should be aligned with Him.
And there may be days we fall short, whether its because we are hangry, or we have some sort of addiction, but long term we want to be able to see the scale in our life align with Christ.
Can you say that your life is aligned and worthy of Christ call?
And look what Paul goes on to say because when our foundation is in Christ it impacts how we live, but it also impacts what we should fear.
look at verses 28-29. It says:
28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,
So like we talked about last week this church Paul is writing to has had people who have persecuting them for their faith.
And Paul is telling them in this passage do not be afraid of these people
Because they can cause issues, but ultimately God will prevail.
Because He is the one in authority
Its almost like if you have ever recieved a scam call from someone.
and when you pick up that call usually says that you are behind on some payment and if you fail to pay this over the phone and provide us with you social security number you are going to jail.
and when I receive those calls I might think in my head for a second did I do something to go to jail?
And most of the time the answer is no
And then I realize this is a scam call and I am not to worried about this person.
Why because they are not in authority.
And Paul in this passage is acknoweldging there is evil in this world because of sin.
And you might suffer and possibly have a lot of suffering,
There are people that may do you wrong
But ultimately God is in authority.
And Paul is telling these people do not be afraid, because even if you are suffering God is in authority.
And if you are living a life worthy of His calling it leads to life where in the middle of the suffering their is joy.
And really this is the last point I want you to get because we are going to end on the first few verses we read which are the second half of verse 18 through 20 because Paul realizes there is suffering and in the middle of it he says this:
Philippians 1:18–20 (NIV)
.... And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
You know this part is so powerful, because Paul recognizes there is suffering, he recognizes he is in jail he recognizes the situations that him and this church are facing, and he is not making lite of them.
But what he is saying is whether I am delivered from being freed from prison or getting killed I am rejoicing
And if you are like me you are asking Paul how could you be rejoicing right now? you might be dying soon?!
but it all goes back to this idea of Paul having a firm foundation.
Where everything else in Pauls life has been shattered, but because Paul has built His life on Christ He is able to not just survive but rejoice in his foundation.
You know this morning Christ has given us the ability to rejoice whether what we are facing is life or death.
And I want to be clear we are not rejoicing in the situation, but we are rejoicing in our savior
but I know there are some of us who are looking at the situation you are in this morning and probably asking how could I rejoice in this?
Do you know what our finances look like this morning?
Do you recognize the chronic pain I have every day?
There may even be a hand-full of us that may be facing a situation that is literally life or death?
and I am going to be honest I have not been there so I can’t speak into the situation.
But Paul who wrote this letter was and in the middle of a terrible situation.
He wrote yes, I see the situation but yes I see my savior and he is with me in the middle of the situation.
And because of that I will continue to rejoice.
This morning I want to encourage you to rejoice in Christ, because whether your situation is life or death
whether you are on an easy path this morning or a hard path, Christ is the one holding you.
Will you pray with me?
