July 25, 2021: The Trinity: The Son of God; Philippians 1: 15-26

There is a good story of a popular evangelist who was carted all over by faithful driver. They went everywhere together and the driver listened to every sermon that the evangelist preached. One day when the evangelist and the driver arrived at their destination for the evening conference, the evangelist went to the chapel to pray. The driver walked around the facility and arrived at a cavernous auditorium where the evening event would take place. He walked out on stage and said to himself, “I have heard the evangelist’s sermon so many times that I can give it myself.” And so off he went, preaching the sermon, hand motions, changing his voice at the right time, walking around the stage,… everything. When he gave the altar call so people could come to Christ, the janitor who had been listening without the driver’s knowledge came forward. The janitor said, “I heard your invitation. I’d like to accept Christ.” The driver looked at the janitor and said, “I’m just the driver!”

Today we’re talking about the Son of God. The Son is in some senses in the middle of the Trinity, with the bookends of the Father and Holy Spirit both pointing people to the Son. God often shares the son with others through us when we least expect it as those who don’t know Christ are watching us. When they watch us, what will they find? Will they find someone whose life is a testimony to Jesus so that they can come to know Jesus as well? Hopefully they will find the Son Shining through us!

Today’s Scripture comes out of Philippians 1: 15-26. I invite you to stand for the reading and hearing of God’s Word:

15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. 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.[a] 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. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

May glory be to God for the reading and the hearing of His word this morning, “Thanks be to God”… you may be seated.

Who is the Son of God?

As a beginning point, Jesus is coeternal with the Father and Holy Spirit. That means that he has existed since before the beginning of time. Maybe you’ve heard the big phrase “The incarnation of God”. I used to wonder as a child what that meant. I thought it had something to do with a carnation flower. But it doesn’t! The incarnation means that Jesus is God in the flesh. When Jesus walked on the earth, he was every bit as much God as when he was in Heaven. And yet, he never sinned. He was tempted and he struggled just like we do. He even asked his Heavenly Father in John 17 to take the responsibility away from Him so that he did not have to die on the cross. But even then, he stayed the course and remained faithful to the plan set in motion since well before he walked the earth. Looking back at Isaiah 53:3 it says, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” And he died on the cross for us. Isaiah 53:5 continues: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” He was given up by his Heavenly Father so that he could take our place so that instead of getting what we deserve in God’s wrath, judgement, and damnation, we receive what we don’t deserve in God mercy, grace, love, forgiveness, and eternal life. Jesus was the atoning sacrifice… the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means that a price had to be paid for us to be forgiven and redeemed and Jesus through his death and delivery to hell paid the price for our sins.

John 3:16 is one of the best known bible verses in the world because it so beautifully and succinctly captures what God has done for us in just a couple of short sentences. As you’ve heard me say, I like to pair John 3:16 with John 3:17, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

There is a true story of a little boy who was struggling with remembering the words of John 3:16.

The boy struggled to get the Bible verse out of his mouth. "For God so loved.....for God so loved." That is all he could remember.

"Who did he love?" asked his Sunday School teacher.

The boy tried again. "For God so loved THE WORLD that He.....gave His only......His only......His only." He couldn’t go any further.

The teacher tried to help again by asking, "What did give? Who did He give?"

The little boy thought deeply and said: "For God so loved the world.....that He gave.....HIS ONLY COTTON PICKIN’ SON!"

In that moment, HE GOT IT! I think that while it deviated from the original text just a bit, it captures the spirit and meaning of the Bible.

Some of us hear today probably feel inadequate or fearful when it comes to sharing Christ in our personal lives or inviting someone to church.

Notice what Paul says in Philippians 1: 18, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice!” We may say to ourselves, “Who am I?” We feel that while we measure up sometimes, there are other times that we could do so much better.

The good news is that we are not alone in that feeling. Moses was called by God but Moses didn’t think his speech was good enough, so… God gave him Aaron. The important thing is that we do seek to share Christ at all times as we are able. We may be in the grocery line and can be a witness in some respect. We may be sitting in a restaurant and some strikes up a conversation. Someone may have a flat tire and we help them fix it. Opportunities are everywhere for us to connect with people and to point them to Jesus. That’s why today’s Scripture says, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Every waking moment should be another opportunity for us to bring honor and glory to Jesus. At the same time, when people do revile us and speak ill of us because of what we do, Scripture has the anecdote for that as well.

Romans 12:18-20 says, “18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Paul goes on to say in Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Even when we can be confident in nothing else in this world, we can find confidence in our relationship with Jesus.

It’s not about the quantity of how often we share Christ, it’s about the quality with which we tell people about Jesus.

We all know what it’s like to be there physically but not to be there emotionally. In a word, sometimes we are checked out to those that we love the most. Gary Chapman, renowned author of the Five Love Languages, developed five different ways we can love our spouse, our children, and friends. Quality time is one of the five. The Five Love Languages are so important to understand with our spouse that I’ve even used it in my premarital counseling. So, quality time… it’s just what it sounds like. It refers to showing love and affection by spending dedicated time together. For people whose love language is quality time, "nothing says 'I love you' like full, undivided attention from those you love.

Now think about that in terms of our relationship with Jesus. In one of Joyce Meyer’s books, she talks about how Jesus is our best friend. Maybe that is the best way to think about the Son of God today… both in terms of how we relate to Jesus and how we share Jesus with others. Our best friend is someone with which we can let our guard down. A best friend is someone that we take pride in introducing them to other people. And, a best friend is going to be in our lives when everyone else is running the other way. I am blessed to have an earthly friend who is that person for me. What’s even better is how Jesus, God in the flesh, is that person. He took my place and your place on the cross. He died for us. I don’t know too many earthly friends who would take our suffering and pain upon themselves, but our friend Jesus did. And not just that, but because of what he did, we have eternal life forevermore.

Just like an earthly best friend, nothing says ‘I love you’ to Jesus like giving him our undivided attention. Not just that, he wants us to point others to Him as we help them to show their undivided attention as well.

Conclusion

You may feel like your just the driver… you’ve heard the message so many times that you can share the message with your eyes closed. You may feel inadequate or fearful when it comes to sharing Christ. One of my go to passages is Luke 12:12 (NIV), “12 The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say at the moment when you need them.”

The Good News of the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life found in Jesus is the greatest message in all the world. As a reminder, let’s hear the familiar words of John 3:16 and 17 again today, “For God so Loved the World that He gave His one and only Son. For God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” He is the Son of God.