Living is Jesus

Sermon: FCC Afton 9-18-2022 Living is Christ Scripture: Philippians 1:20-30 Recap: Two weeks ago, we took our first look into the real meat of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. We examined the process in which Paul built upon his introduction- the entire letter, this entire instruction manual for the Believer's life, is built upon the foundation that Paul laid, particularly his posture before the Lord: I am a slave of Christ. Everything about our lives as Believers, everything involved in having a Biblical worldview, is built upon that same posture before God: we are slaves of Christ because He first had compassion on me when I deserved none, He covered me in His grace when I was living in active rebellion against Him; I owe Him everything, I surrender all I am to Him, because He first saved me when He did not have to, when it would have been much less hassle had He not, had He simply called a redo on humanity. So, everything that comes after, all of Paul's teaching, everything about Christian life, is built on that foundational truth: that my posture before God is that of a sold-out, dedicated servant before His benevolent Master. Remember also the context of this letter: Paul has endured repeated trials, has been beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and treated unfairly, and now sits in chains awaiting his execution. But still, his sentiment is always: if I am a slave of Christ, where better to be than in actual chains for my Master? Paul declares: "All of this that has happened, beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, house arrest, waiting on execution, I count it all as good because it has furthered the Gospel and the Kingdom of God." Two weeks ago, we discussed Paul's calling, that of a defender of the Gospel and his repeated prayer that he would be equipped to boldly preach the Gospel wherever his mouth was opened. On top of that, we discussed Paul's desire that Christ would have nothing to be ashamed about when looking at Paul's life- indeed, that every part of Paul's life, including the circumstances of his death, would bring honor to Jesus. This week, we are examining Paul's immediate follow-up to what we covered in the last section of this survey- we are actually going to begin by going back through the last verse that we covered last time: Paul's desire that everything he did, every aspect of his life, would highly honor Jesus, that nothing about his life would bring shame to the name of Jesus. This is made even more striking when we remember who Paul was before he became Paul- Saul, the persecutor and murderer of Believers of Jesus Christ. So, we have this striking change in him, where he says, "From this moment forward, I want my life to look nothing like what it used to. I know that so much of my life was dishonorable and shameful to Jesus, so now I will do the opposite and give Jesus no reason to be ashamed of me." Read Philippians 1:20-30 Pray here! -Main Idea: Just like Paul, our greatest desire in this life should be to make sure that Christ is never ashamed of us- and that in every aspect of our lives, He is highly honored. -Remember, the entirety of this letter, and you could say all of the Epistles, is a reflection on Paul's opening line, that he is a slave for Christ. Paul realized a truth that we need to also realize: that when I accept the gift of salvation and surrender my life to the Master, my will must disappear- I no longer get to decide who I want to be, where I will go, or what I will do with my time here in this life- I am a slave; I am bound to the will of the Master. There is no longer, "I love Jesus, but I also cuss a little," or "I love Jesus, but I also go out and get drunk on the weekends. I know He loves me and will forgive me." I'm not speaking here about continuing to struggle with sin or struggling against your flesh; I'm talking about willfully sinning and just expecting Jesus to continue paying for the debt of sin that you keep racking up! Living in direct opposition to His will, living in a way that continually offends God or breaks His moral standard, means that you are not surrendered, that you have not adopted a position of enslavement to the Master's will. It means that you want the grace of Christ but that you also want to keep doing things your own way. Paul, in his second letter to the church at Corinth, tells us this: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come" (2 Cor. 5:17). Then he follows up with this: "Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God. (2 Cor. 7:1). My will must go- I am set on a path of sanctification, every day becoming holier than I was yesterday. His will must become my direction. Truth #1: Paul was done; he was ready to go home, but he understood the purpose of his life: to serve until the Master called him home. -Paul expresses in verse 21 the hope of every Believer: to live is to serve my Savior, but to die is to go home to be with Him, to put this old flesh behind me, and to enter into my reward beside Jesus. Paul's declaration here is that life in this flesh, these temporal jars of clay, as Paul calls them in 2 Corinthians 4:7, that continually war against our spiritual selves, that we have to beat down and make slaves to God's will, is given to us for a purpose: to be fruitful in the work for the Kingdom of God. Staying here in the flesh is not our hope, but we have important work to do here while we remain. It is the same as being in school, when the day is done and being free to go home, but staying after school for important extra-curriculars- I would much rather go home to rest, but I know that I have important work to do here. To live is Christ- to live according to His will, to honor Him, and to accomplish the good works that He has prepared for us to do. Staying here in this flesh is not my hope, it's not what I most desire, but it is what He has for me to do. Paul says that he is torn between the two: to die, to reach the end of the race, to cross the goal line and obtain the prize that has been promised by God's heavenly call, or to live and be effective in the work that Christ had called him to. Paul declares here that going to be with Jesus is the far better option- it is the greatest hope of everyone who has surrendered to the Master, and one that becomes clearer as one grows in spiritual maturity, as all of the enticing things of this world begin to pale in comparison to what we gain in life with Jesus. But while it is the better option, it does not mean that it is the right option, because God has something for you to be doing. Remember the setting here: Paul is sitting under house arrest and awaiting execution. Paul could have set back and said, "I've done my part. Time for me to enjoy whatever time I have left." But he didn't. Instead, he says, "I know it is more important for me to stay here and continue this work. I don't even know what I can do except write these letters, but I will do everything I can possibly do for as long as Jesus keeps me here." Life will get tough. You may be ready to throw in the towel. Every day, you may be saying, "Take me home, Lord!" or "Come back, Jesus!" You may be on the 2-yard line of life, looking the end right in the face, but let me tell you: it may be easy to just say "I'm done" or "I've done my part and given all I've got," but that is not the best or right option! There is no retirement in the Christian life. Until the day that Jesus calls you home, He has something for you to be accomplishing, something important for you to be doing. This is why Paul says that he must stay here in the flesh, compelled to stay in this wretched body, to stay under house arrest and facing the chopping block, in order for him to continue encouraging the Believers and churches, to keep them progressing in their faith, to help them grow in confidence about doing God's work. He understood that, despite his desire to go and be with Jesus, it was more important to remain and do God's work. Truth #2: Paul understood the importance of the Barnabas/ Timothy relationship for the Christian life. -Paul says, "I will remain and continue with all of you- for your joy and progress in your faith and for your confidence in sharing your faith." Paul understood the importance of mentorship within the Christian faith because he began his faith journey in the same way. In Acts 9, we read about Paul's conversion and the beginning of his ministry. After coming face-to-face with Jesus, being blinded, led into Damascus, and then healed by Ananias, Paul stays in Damascus with the Believers there, preaching boldly in the temple until the Jews there began plotting to kill him. So, the Believers sent him to Jerusalem, but the Believers there refused to believe that he had become a disciple and follower of Jesus- he had been a persecutor and murderer of Christians just a couple of months before, after all. Barnabas stood and vouched for Paul before the church at Jerusalem- still, the church leaders decided to send him home to Tarsus. In Acts 11, Barnabas is sent to Antioch as a missionary on a relief mission and he first goes to Tarsus to get Paul, then still called Saul, of course, and they go and work in Antioch for a year. At the end of Acts 12, Barnabas, Paul, and John Mark return to Jerusalem, where the church finally accepts Paul. At the beginning of Acts 13, Barnabas and Paul are set apart, anointed for ministry, and are sent off on a mission to reach the Gentiles for Jesus. Then in Acts 15, we see a marked shift in the relationship of Paul and Barnabas- no longer are they referred to as Barnabas and Saul, now they are called Paul and Barnabas. Not long after this, of course, Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways, with Barnabas mentoring John Mark and Paul mentoring Silas and then Timothy. However their relationship ended, maybe sour and fractured or maybe healthy but simply moving in opposite directions, it is likely that Paul would not have become Paul, never moved beyond ministering in his hometown because nobody trusted his conversion, without Barnabas pouring into him and encouraging him, without Barnabas saying "Saddle up! You're going with me to Antioch. We've got work to do!". Like Barnabas, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, you need someone in your life who is pouring into your life, mentoring you and helping you develop spiritually. You need that person who will stand up and vouch for you and give you opportunities to serve even when no one else will, even when everyone else knows who you used to be and doesn't think you are a mature enough Follower of Jesus. [Share about Terry Byrd mentoring you and telling you to stop being an idiot in high school.] And you need to become that person for someone else, as well. Just as you need a Barnabas who is mentoring you, you need to be the Barnabas for someone else. Who is the person in your life that may not develop spiritually, may not develop a mature, active faith, without you mentoring them and pouring into their life? Who is the person who is actively pouring into you and helping you develop your faith? You need to find them! This is a vital part of the life of a Believer! You cannot do this on your own- you need your Barnabas and Timothy! Truth #3: Live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ! -Paul ends this section of the letter with an encouragement that is similar to the desire he shared in verse 20. Where he ended the last section by stating his desire that he never dishonor or shame Jesus, now he gives us the exhortation: you live your life in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ- of the Good News of Christ; of the grace and mercy poured out on us; of the compassion that God had for us when we were still in the midst of our rebellion and stuck in the filth of our sins. Paul says here: "Make a conscious effort to make your life worthy of the grace given to you. Make a conscious decision, not only to not displease or dishonor the Father, but also in a way that honors and glorifies the Gospel and demonstrates an example for others of the life-change that Jesus did in your life." He reminds us again that we are partners in the faith and that living in a way that honors the Gospel brings us a few things in this life: security and bravery in the face of opposition, deliverance, rather than the destruction promised to the opponents of God, but also the honor of suffering for Christ in the same way that He did for us. Paul reminds us here that this life we live to honor Christ is not going to be easy, but we do it because Christ has poured out His grace on us. Paul once again expresses his hope that he will be released from prison to come see them. This doesn't happen, of course, but it demonstrates the ever-present hope that Paul maintains in the Father and for good reason: Paul has seen God perform miracles time and again. Even his first time in Philippi, God opened prison doors for he and Silas to be free. This is just another reminder of the hope that those of us who live for Jesus have- there is nothing that our God cannot do, nothing that He will not do for those walking in His will Invitation: Are you living your life to serve Christ today? Are you sticking in there when you really want to give up, throw up your hands, and say "I'm done!" Are you being effective for the Kingdom of God, even if you can't see how God could possibly use you, even when you think there is nothing for you to do except writer encouraging letters to others? Are you mentoring someone in their faith? Are you living in a way that honors the Gospel of Jesus and the grace that He poured out on you? If you haven't surrendered your life to the Master, let's talk. Or maybe you've been a Believer of Jesus, but now you are ready to put aside your will and adopt a posture of enslavement before the Master, to let His will be the guide and direction of your life, let's talk. Today can be the day that you really surrender yourself and that God can really begin using you in a powerful way for the Kingdom of God!