Slaves for Christ

Sermon: FCC Afton 8-21-2022 Slaves for Christ Scripture: Philippians 1:1-7 Today we begin a survey of the Book of Philippians for the purpose of developing a Biblical worldview in you, individual Believer, in this church and in your families, growing your understanding of your faith and how to approach daily life from a place of readiness and preparation. We are seeking to lay a foundation of Biblical understanding that will strengthen and develop your faith, but that will also shape how you will act and react in everyday situations. When faced with the worries of the world and the trials of daily life, let alone the big moments of disappointment and heartbreak, will you approach these situations from a perspective that seeks to honor and glorify God or one that puts you first? Having a Biblical worldview as your foundation means that you will approach life from that place of readiness- that you know what to do, how to do it, and most importantly, why you are doing it when every situation comes at you. We are approaching the Scripture from the idea of a survey- this is not a survey that you fill out after eating at a restaurant to complain about your service, but rather like an old-time prospector, a surveyor, who stakes a claim on a mountainside and then spends time diligently digging through what's there, sifting through shovelfuls of dirt and materials in an attempt to find nuggets of gold or other precious items. We are going to do the same here: we are going to take a bit at a time out of Philippians' four chapters and sift through each week's shovelful to see what nuggets of truth that God will reveal to us, so that we can examine them and then store them away in our hearts. Read Philippians 1:1-7 Pray here! The letter to the church at Philippi is one of Paul's later letters, written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome and while he awaited his execution for his faith. We read in Acts 28 that Paul spent two years at the end of his life under house arrest, boldly preaching the Gospel to anyone who would come to his home, as well as to the Roman centurions to whom he was chained; but he also wrote many of his epistles during this time. The congregation at Philippi was established by Paul in what is now modern-day Macedonia on his second missionary journey, along with the congregations at Ephesus and Corinth. Philippi is north of both of those locations, Ephesus being in what is now Turkey and Corinth being part of Greece. This congregation is considered to be the oldest Christian congregation on the continent of Europe and was the launching point for many missionary journeys deeper into Europe and the Western Roman Empire. -Main Idea: This letter was written as an encouragement and an exhortation for fellow Believers, for a congregation that was very important to Paul. -In Acts 16, we get an amazing account of Paul's first interaction with the city of Philippi and an introduction to some of the first members of the Philippian church. [Read Acts 16:12-34] I imagine that after performing a miracle by driving out a demon, being arrested, having revival in jail, God doing a miracle to open the prison, the jailer and his whole family becoming Believers, and then watching this little church grow, this congregation was dear to Paul's heart. So much so that he wants to write them a last letter from his home, under house arrest in Rome- along with the churches at Corinth, Colossae, Ephesus, and Thessalonica, as well as personal letters to Timothy and Philemon, Paul begins to pour out his heart to these people whom he has loved, nurtured, and cared for- giving them last instructions for what Christian life means and how to be faithful to God. This letter to the church at Philippians, then, becomes part of Paul's instruction manual for a life of surrender to God- a letter from an old missionary, waiting on his death, wishing to see his friends one last time, but most importantly, wanting to pass along important guidance to the church and advice to his friends on how to live for Christ. So, let's begin digging through this chapter of Paul's Christian Walk instruction manual. We begin our survey of Philippians and let's just see what nuggets of truth God has for us to learn today. Truth #1: We are called to be slaves of Christ. -We begin our survey through Philippians with Paul's opening statement: that he is a slave to Christ. This one little verse sets an impactful tone for the entire letter and reveals to us Paul's purpose. Paul's statement here does a few things to set up the rest of his introduction. Paul declares to the churches that he is a slave for Christ while he is sitting in house arrest in Rome, literally chained to a Roman Centurion who is there to make sure the preacher cannot leave his rented home. Paul regularly uses the terminology of "prisoner for Christ," but the meaning is the same; he is literally imprisoned, enslaved for his faith- it is a reflection of his current situation. It is also an expression of his credentials before the church: not only was he in chains for the work of the Christ, but on a spiritual level, he expresses here that he was completely sold out for Jesus and willing to joyfully endure chains and persecution. Now, Paul doesn't make this statement to brag. Indeed, Paul is quick to point out his flaws. In 1 Corinthians 1:15, he calls himself the chief of all sinners and in ultimate need of God's grace and salvation through Christ's sacrifice. Truthfully, I don't think Paul ever forgave himself for his aggressive role in persecuting and killing Christians and so he willingly endured suffering and pain on Christ's behalf as a sort of personal penance. Rather, Paul uses the term slave- this term that carries such a painful, negative connotation- to perfectly illustrate God's rightful position in our lives and to illustrate what our posture before God should be as followers of Jesus: He is Master, we are slaves. In order to authentically surrender our lives to God, in order to accept the free gift of salvation from Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, we must willingly adopt the position of slave before the Father. This is not some call for beating or any kind of self-debasement; rather, it is an honest call to understand that following Jesus means that you have surrendered every aspect of your life to the Master- that you no longer have any control or any say over any part of your life. You must give up your plans, give up your goals, give up your rights, all for His instead, knowing that His will always be a million times better than yours anyway. Following Jesus means that you take off your captain's hat, let your Master take the wheel in this ship of your life, and you begin to serve at His pleasure, because He is holy and worthy of your praises, but also because He has shown how much He loves you by dying for you and saving you from an eternity of suffering and separation from Him! Do you think Paul, after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus and being blinded, felt like continuing on to Damascus and waiting for some random Christian guy to show up to help him? When he had been on his way there to persecute and kill Christians? No, I imagine his desire was to return to Jerusalem and find a doctor. But a changed life, a life committed to Christ, is a slave's life, and so Paul followed the direction of the Spirit and continued to Damascus- he was healed and immediately began preaching about Jesus with such fervor that those who heard were astonished and began asking, "Isn't this the man who was killing those who called on this name?" Do you think that Gideon wanted to have his army of 32,000 whittled all the way down to 300 right before battle? No, that is crazy from a military tactic perspective. But he was obedient. Do you think Joshua approached Jericho thinking 'Wouldn't it be cool if we just march around the city blowing horns? That's the best way to take this heavily fortified city.' Not at all. But he was obedient. And God was faithful and victorious in both of those situations. But examine the story of Samson, who was not obedient to God's plan. The lack of obedience on Samson's part led to his dishonor in God's plan- God's plan was still accomplished, but Samson is not the hero of the story that God had for him to be. The saved life is a changed life- it means being obedient to what God calls you to do; the changed life is a surrendered life- the surrendered life is a slave's life. If someone claims to follow Christ but there is no change in their life, if they still control their life, then I'd dare say their relationship with Jesus is inauthentic. And so, Paul begins this letter by identifying himself as a slave to the best Master- and setting the standard for the rest of us as followers of Jesus. In 1 Cor. 11:1, Paul tells the church at Corinth: "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." Almost as if he is telling us, "I am a slave of Christ. This is the way; follow it. If you will be authentic followers of Christ, you must be slaves of Christ, as well." Truth #2: We are partners with Paul- in grace and of the ministry of the Gospel. -Paul continues his introduction in verses 2-7. Interestingly, he begins with a brief overview of the leadership structure of the church: saints, along with overseers (pastors and elders), and deacons. Paul doesn't address any issues here; this is a simple acknowledgment, so I will not spend more time here, but I think it is worth noting the brief glimpse that Paul's introduction gives of the Biblical model of church leadership. He continues with a blessing over the congregation (remember, these are friends of his), and then launches into an exhortation of partnership, reiterating the message from the beginning of his introduction: Believers of Jesus are partners, with Paul and all the saints, both in receiving the Gospel of grace and in the outward ministry of sharing the Gospel. In verse 7, Paul states that we are partners both in his imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the Gospel. So, this exhortation has two parts. Obviously, the church at Philippi, much less we here today, were not literal partners with Paul in imprisonment, but on a spiritual level, the Believers partnered with Paul in supporting him in prayer. This is, indeed, a reminder for us that we are to support each other in prayer. The second part of the exhortation is that God has a purpose and a job for each of us to be doing. We are partners with Paul in the defense and establishment of the Gospel, echoing Jesus' command in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and to make disciples, teaching them the things He taught us and sharing the Gospel of salvation with everyone. God has work for you to do in the Kingdom- I don't know what that looks like for you, but what I do know is that if you are a surrendered Follower, a slave of Christ, then there is no reason why you are not actively doing the work that God has purposed for you to do! Truth #3: God is faithful to finish His good work in you. -The last part of Paul's introduction to the church at Philippi, the last piece that we are covering today, is a promise. Paul reminds us that God is faithful- not only is God faithful in starting a good work in us- the Spirit's prompting toward salvation, as well as calling us to a purposeful service within the Kingdom- but God is faithful to see that good work through until finished! God will not call you to do something for the Kingdom without giving you the tools and equipment you need to do it, nor without making a way for it to be accomplished successfully- it may not be an easy way, or the way you would choose, or a way that you can see clearly; in fact, it might be the hardest thing you've ever had to do, but He is faithful to sustain you and give you the opportunity to finish that good work if you are faithful to Him, are obedient in doing the work, and you give Him everything you've got. Conclusion: So, what does all this mean? What does it mean for you individually? What does it mean for this church? 1. You've got a specific work that God has called you to do. Likewise, this church, made up of each of us who have specific works to do, has a specific purpose to accomplish. Likewise, the church is called to be a place where you come to get equipped for the week before you get back out there to do the work of the Kingdom. 2. God is faithful to prepare and equip you for the work that He has called you to do. He will never call you something that has a zero percent chance of being successful. It may be a hard road, but He will see you through if it are faithful and obedient. 3. The proper posture for the life of an authentic Follower of Jesus is that of a slave: to be completely sold out and committed to serving the Master of this life- to take off that captain's hat and never try to grab it back from God. Invitation