1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,080 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:45,080 for the life we're searching for. Well, this morning we're going to be talking 6 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:51,000 about how we live and how it matters. Please take your Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 7 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:57,080 one today. We'll finish Philippians one, our tribe series. Of course, Friday night is our 8 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:02,120 great, great, good Friday service. We enjoy it so much and God works in such a powerful 9 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,120 way. Hope you'll be there for that. Easter Sunday morning, two services in this room. 10 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:11,120 So obviously we want you to be with us as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 11 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,520 And then on the other side of Easter, we'll get into Philippians chapter two, where we're 12 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,640 dealing with perspectives in life. Eight great attitudes that Paul says you've got to live 13 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,720 life with these great attitudes in order to have the joy that God promises you. But how 14 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:31,120 we live matters. And how we live is what the subject is today in Philippians chapter one, 15 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:35,080 beginning in verse 27. Please stand with me as we read God's word together, beginning 16 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:43,280 in that verse through the end of the chapter. Paul is writing to the church at Philippi, 17 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:49,520 the first church in Europe, as it moves west with the gospel, across the sea and later 18 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:55,200 on through all of what we now know as Europe, up to Great Britain, across the sea to America 19 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,800 today. I mean, this was the gospel movement that we're reading about beginning at the 20 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,200 church at Philippi. Read Acts 16 through 18, you see all the background of this. And we've 21 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,120 looked at how that's all unfolded, but just think of the significance of this church and 22 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:15,560 what Paul is saying. How you live really matters because how you live validates the gospel 23 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:21,440 as it moves across populations so that people will know the reality of the life that you 24 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,720 live and the message you preach. That's what he's talking about here in verse 27. Here's 25 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:31,320 what he says. I want to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ 26 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,320 so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear that you are standing 27 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:42,240 firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel in no 28 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:47,440 way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction from them, but of salvation 29 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:52,200 for you and that too from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not 30 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:57,680 only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, experiencing the same conflict 31 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:04,200 which you saw in me and now here to be in me. Father, I would ask you today that you 32 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:09,160 would use this text to challenge every one of us in this room today, those watching online 33 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:17,520 as well, that how we live should be in a manner worthy of the gospel. Lord, show us how that 34 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:22,120 works. Show us what we should do, what we should address in our lives, Lord, how we 35 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,400 should live together for your honor, for your glory. We ask all this in Jesus' name. And 36 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:32,760 all God's people said, Amen. Please be seated if you would. 37 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:39,540 My favorite war movie is Saving Private Ryan. The movie was made a number of years ago. 38 00:03:39,540 --> 00:03:45,160 Most of us have probably seen it or know about it at least. It was a riveting story of a 39 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:51,080 group of Army soldiers that were commissioned to go find one particular soldier, Private 40 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:57,040 Ryan, who was the sole survivor of his family. In other words, his brothers had been killed 41 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:03,320 in the battle and by the sole survivor policy of the United States of America, they wanted 42 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:09,080 to somehow rescue this one man, the sole survivor of his family and bring him home. So the whole 43 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:16,520 movie is the story of this group of Army soldiers he went to find and save Private Ryan. And 44 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,400 of course, we could talk about the movie all day, but the really riveting scene for me 45 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:26,120 is at the very end where the captain who was responsible for this group of soldiers finally 46 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:31,720 meets Private Ryan. The captain is literally dying of gunshot wound and with his dying 47 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:38,960 breath, he looks at Private Ryan and he makes this statement. He says, earn this. Go live 48 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:45,480 your life and earn this. Of course, what he's saying is the sacrifice we've made to get 49 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:51,960 you and all the lives that were laid down in order to rescue you, even mine. Now you 50 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:57,480 go live your life in a manner worthy of the sacrifice that's made for you. And I love 51 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:03,560 that line because it reminds me of what we've just looked at, living in a manner worthy 52 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,760 of the calling of the gospel. We're not talking about earning our salvation or purchasing 53 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:13,400 it in some way. We're not talking about somehow deserving our salvation, but what we are talking 54 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:20,440 about is the great sacrifice made to purchase us, to save us, to forgive us, to give us 55 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:25,080 life and that's the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. That's the gospel that 56 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:30,560 Paul talks about. And he's saying to all the people at Philippi and to us today, you see 57 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:36,000 that sacrifice that was made on your behalf that sets you free? I want to ask you to live 58 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:41,200 in a manner worthy of the calling of the gospel. You know, the reality is that Paul thought 59 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:47,120 about this a lot. Five times he mentions this phrase in various epistles. Live worthy of 60 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:52,840 the calling, live worthy of the gospel, live worthy of God and live worthy of Jesus Christ. 61 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:57,200 Even John mentions this, that we're to live worthy of the truth that set us free. It's 62 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:04,120 a big deal to live your life in a way. How you live matters as a believer in Jesus Christ. 63 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:09,560 So how do we go about that? Paul gives us some great truths in this passage and I want 64 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,360 to walk through about four of them with you if I can. First of all, I want you to notice 65 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,440 with me in verse 27 as he starts these, he basically reminds us that we need to live 66 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,560 as a member of the greatest kingdom. Do you know you're a part of the greatest kingdom 67 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:29,120 the world's ever known, the kingdom of God? That's what we're a part of. We're citizens 68 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,360 of the kingdom of God. Here's what he says in verse 27, only conduct yourselves in a 69 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:40,360 manner worthy of the gospel. And the whole passage comments to us, exhorts us, encourages 70 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:46,880 us to live as citizens of that kingdom. The word conduct in the original language is very 71 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:53,080 interesting. It's actually a political word. Paul at numitas is how the word is pronounced. 72 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:59,480 It refers to our divine citizenship. Yes, you're a citizen of this area, this country, 73 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,960 this world, but you're also a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. And that's what Paul is 74 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:10,000 reminding all of the church of Jesus Christ about. In fact, if you go over to Philippians 75 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,600 chapter three, just moving over a few pages, you'll see he says this in a different way. 76 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:20,260 In verse 20 of chapter three, he says, for our citizenship is in heaven from which we 77 00:07:20,260 --> 00:07:26,520 also eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're citizens of this kingdom, 78 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:31,560 citizens of God on this earth right now, and we're waiting for our savior to come. That's 79 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:36,880 another piece of this whole idea of living in a manner worthy. He writes to the church 80 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:42,040 of Ephesus and he says the same thing. Chapter two, verse 19. So then you are no longer strangers 81 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:48,600 and aliens. You are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household. I don't 82 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,640 know how that makes you feel, but that makes me feel like I'm part of something that's 83 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:58,240 pretty important, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught his disciples 84 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:03,120 to pray this way, part of the Lord's prayer, the disciples prayer is to pray, thy kingdom 85 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:08,500 come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And yet somehow we don't think much 86 00:08:08,500 --> 00:08:13,640 about being part of a kingdom. We think a lot about our salvation being personal and 87 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:19,520 individual and it is. We're only saved when we go one-on-one with God and surrender our 88 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,840 lives to Jesus Christ. You're not saved as a family, you're saved as an individual. But 89 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:28,960 once you are saved, once you give your lives to Christ, you're placed in a family. You're 90 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:35,040 placed in an army. You're placed in a body. You're placed into the bride of Christ. And 91 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:41,760 we become citizens of this amazing kingdom called the kingdom of God. So Paul is beginning 92 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:48,520 this section by simply saying, live in a manner worthy like you know who you belong to. I 93 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:54,600 have Warren Wiersbie's breakdown of what it means to be a member of the kingdom of God. 94 00:08:54,600 --> 00:09:00,520 He says that we are basically three things. We're sons and daughters, we're servants, 95 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:05,880 we're soldiers. You like that? I like the brevity of that. I like the idea that when 96 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:10,160 we first come to faith in Christ, all we think about is being sons and daughters. I'm now 97 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:16,480 a child of God. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. That's the old song we 98 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,680 used to sing. And you know, when we come to faith in Jesus, we're told, now God is your 99 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:26,880 father. You are heirs of the father. Join heirs with Christ. We're brothers and sisters 100 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:32,240 in the kingdom of God. So first of all, when you come to faith in Christ, you're sons and 101 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:37,840 daughters. Secondly, we're servants. The idea that we are called to serve Christ is very 102 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,960 clear all the way through the scripture. Jesus, in calling the disciples, says, if any man 103 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:46,640 wishes to come after me, let him lay down his life, pick up his cross daily and follow 104 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:52,920 me. Denying himself so that he can follow me. Jesus said about leadership, he said that 105 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:58,240 the servants, the greatest one among you is one that serves them all. I didn't come to 106 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:02,440 serve mankind, but I didn't come to be served, rather, Jesus said, but to serve and give 107 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,840 my life a ransom for many. That's what Jesus said. So first of all, we're sons and daughters, 108 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:12,920 then we're servants, and then finally we're soldiers. Part of the Lord's army. Not going 109 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,600 to sing the song or anything like that, but part of the Lord's army. And we are people 110 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:24,280 that are to stand for truth in a world that is anti-truth, that doesn't want anyone to 111 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:29,320 stand for the truth. So what Paul is saying basically is, think about all you are in the 112 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:35,680 kingdom of God and live in a manner worthy of that. Act like you know who you are. Act 113 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:41,080 like you are children of God. Act like you're servants of Christ. Act like you're servants 114 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:50,200 in the kingdom. So live in a manner worthy of the calling. Can you imagine how much it 115 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:57,000 pleases the Father whenever we live in a way that shows that we're aware of the greatness 116 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,840 of his sacrifice for us and the greatness of his love for us? I love watching that happen 117 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:06,480 in the human element. I think I've told you at least five or six times that I am now a 118 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:12,200 grandfather and I have the most perfect granddaughter on the planet. I mean, that's the way people 119 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:16,560 think when they have grandkids. And you may not have grandkids yet, but when you do, you'll 120 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:22,720 know that that grandchild is perfect and there is no cuter, no better grandchild on the planet. 121 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:28,280 I'm sorry, that's my perspective. I believe that's the way it is. But the great part for 122 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:35,880 me about being a grandparent is not just how cute that baby is, but it's watching my son 123 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:42,640 and daughter-in-law become parents. It's watching them all of a sudden make decisions in a different 124 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:48,640 way, talking in a different way, planning in a different way, working together in a 125 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:53,280 different way. All of a sudden, the sense of responsibility goes off the charts. All 126 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,440 of a sudden, they're actually planning their life out, right? It's not so random anymore. 127 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:03,040 And I look at them and I go, they're growing into this thing called parenthood. They're 128 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:09,000 living in a manner worthy of being parents. And it makes me proud in my heart, proud in 129 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:14,640 a good way. I'm thankful that it's like that. Now, what must you think the Father thinks 130 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:21,040 when you grow into your role in the kingdom of God? That's a son or a daughter that understands 131 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:26,800 what it means to live a life worthy. That's a servant of mine. They understand what it 132 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:32,400 means to live as servants of the Most High God. That's a soldier in the army of God. 133 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:37,960 They understand what it means to stand firm. That's the idea. Paul is passing on to this 134 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:43,420 group of people that he would call his spiritual children. The Father loves seeing us know 135 00:12:43,420 --> 00:12:51,480 the value of being His and living in a worthy way. You should think about that and think 136 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:59,640 about how that affects the Father. He loves us remembering our redemption. He loves us 137 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:06,180 being grateful for Jesus' sacrifice. He loves that we come to Him when we have a need and 138 00:13:06,180 --> 00:13:11,440 ask Him to help us with that need. He loves us depending on His wisdom and His law and 139 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:17,240 His truth. He loves for us to serve Him with a heart that says, I'll serve you in doing 140 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:23,040 anything you want me to do. The Father loves knowing that we quote Him, that we live by 141 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:28,480 His word. Act like sons and daughters. Act like servants. Act like soldiers of the Most 142 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:36,320 High God. That's what Paul is saying. Live in a manner worthy. How you live matters. 143 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,920 There's something else he says here that I want you to see in this whole idea of the 144 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:44,960 tribe that we're in, this body of Christ, the church, the tribe are synonymous for us 145 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:50,560 here. Secondly, he says basically live in harmony with the tribe. In other words, you're 146 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:56,120 not alone. Everything in this passage is in plural form. Every time you see the word you, 147 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:00,480 it's not in singular form. It's in plural form. So he's addressing the church as a whole. 148 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:05,240 In other words, the y'all part of this is coming out. It's not just you, but it's you 149 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:11,080 all that he's talking about. Notice what he says here in verse 27. So that whether I come 150 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:17,160 and see you, all of you, or remain absent, I will hear of you, all of you, that you are 151 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:23,600 standing firm in one spirit and with one mind striving together in the faith of the gospel. 152 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:28,800 Now I want you to pay attention to a couple of the words here. Because basically he's 153 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:35,400 telling us to be all in. With one mind is a reference to how we think. Intellectually, 154 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:41,760 with your mind, I want you to be able to stand firm in all that you know. And I want you 155 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:48,160 to strive together with others who are part of your tribe. Be of one spirit, he says. 156 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,960 Be of one soul, he says. And the whole idea is not just mental agreement, but also the 157 00:14:53,960 --> 00:15:00,920 mind, the will, and the emotion, the passion, and the heart. Bring it all in, Paul says. 158 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:07,120 And as a group of people, I want you to stand and strive forward all in together to advance 159 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:14,040 the gospel. Now this may not sound as important to you as it did to them. Here's why. They 160 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,720 were the only church in Europe at the time. At that moment, they were the only church 161 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:24,960 that had begun, and they were a young church. So Paul is basically saying, look westward. 162 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,440 Everywhere you look, people who don't know Christ. Look northward. Everywhere you look, 163 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,640 people who don't know Christ. There is no church to the west of you, no church to the 164 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:39,320 south of you, no church to the north of you. You are alone, responsible for taking the 165 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:46,200 gospel out. So with that perspective, stand together, strive together to move the gospel 166 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:52,800 forward. That's pretty important. Somebody did that in these past decades and millennia. 167 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,640 Otherwise, you would not be believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ today. You wouldn't 168 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:02,600 know about it. So I look at this passage and I think this is an incredibly important passage. 169 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:09,440 Notice something else about this, the phrase the faith. Together we stand as a church, 170 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:18,720 as they did, advancing the faith. The definite article there is to specify the gospel, the 171 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:23,880 reference to the gospel itself, faith alone and Christ alone, and the doctrine of the 172 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:32,000 faith delivered once for all for the saints. Now that doesn't just mean Jesus dying on 173 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,680 the cross, rising again the third day, as important as that is. Everything is built 174 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:40,360 on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but this is more than that. It's standing firm for 175 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:46,080 everything God's word says. We're not called to redefine truth. We're called to stand for 176 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,720 truth. We're not called to question truth. We're called to stand for it. We're to be 177 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:55,480 moving off doubts and getting those settled and standing firm and moving forward with 178 00:16:55,480 --> 00:17:01,920 all the truth that God gives us. We represent the gospel in a world that doesn't necessarily 179 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:06,080 want to hear about Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross. And that's a fight. That's 180 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,440 a battle. That means we have to be sons and daughters, but also servants, and we have 181 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:17,200 to be soldiers. At the end of Paul's life, in 2 Timothy, he's writing about his life 182 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,800 and his mission, and he says these words, you've heard them many times, I fought the 183 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:28,720 good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. That's all defining there. 184 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,680 It's been a fight to keep the faith. It's been a marathon to keep the faith, but I've 185 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:37,640 kept the faith. The faith, the same faith he's talking about right here. In the end, 186 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:44,560 we all want to say this. What does that mean for us as a church? Well, to the Philippians 187 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:52,640 it meant that he wanted the tribe to gather themselves together, to realize the darkness 188 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:59,200 in the world around them, and to not give an inch to other ideas, other philosophies, 189 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:05,840 but in love and kindness, but with perseverance and with boldness. So Jesus Christ is the 190 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:11,640 only way, the only truth, the only life. Come to him and be saved. And to move forward like 191 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:18,880 that into the western world. I'm a football fan. Most of you know that I'm a Dallas Cowboys 192 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:24,360 football fan, even though all my jokes about football are about the Dallas Cowboys, because 193 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,920 they deserve to be laughed at from time to time. Wouldn't you agree? Somebody say Amen 194 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:33,520 about that if you will. I'm not the only guy that thinks that way. But I also enjoy watching 195 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:37,000 another football team called the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not an 196 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:44,680 Eagles fan. But have you noticed a play that they have begun to run often in recent years? 197 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:50,520 That's a goal line. They need to make a first down, just a yard or two. And they all gather 198 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,080 together in a very unusual way. They're not spread out. They're not going to do a flea 199 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,640 flicker. They're not going to pass the ball or hand it to anybody else. They're going 200 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,400 to let the quarterback carry the ball forward, but they move together. I mean, they are as 201 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:06,760 tight of a formation as you can possibly imagine. And when the ball is actually high, the linemen 202 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:11,840 dive down as low as they can, and the quarterback begins to advance the ball, and the running 203 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,200 backs behind him that are not going to run with the ball get behind him and push him. 204 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,920 So he is moving forward. The line is moving forward. The backs are pushing him forward 205 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:26,160 to get just two and a half yards in order to score. Have you seen that? Would you raise 206 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,760 your hand if you've seen that play? Nobody else can seem to run it like the Philadelphia 207 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:37,840 Eagles can run it. You know what the name of it is? It's called the tush push. I was looking 208 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:47,360 forward to actually saying that from the pulpit today, tush push. That play reminds me of 209 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:56,080 these words. Now don't laugh. All together, tightly assembled, everybody's striving in 210 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:02,600 the same direction to move the ball forward. That's what we do when we serve in the church. 211 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:10,000 We're not spectators. We're not people that look for the most remote place to go to church. 212 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,320 We're people that are a body. We're part of a family. We're sons and daughters. We're 213 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:21,840 part of a group of people that serve Christ. We're part of a military group called the 214 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:28,680 soldiers of Christ. Our goal is not just to listen to somebody or to worship, but our 215 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:37,600 goal is to move the gospel forward. That's what we have to do in a dark, lost world. 216 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:43,000 We can never see it today. Paul said to the Philippians, you must move the ball forward. 217 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:48,560 Take the gospel forward by standing firm and then strive to gain ground. We talk about 218 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:53,200 the gospel. We defend the gospel. We share the gospel. We help other people do the same 219 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:59,040 thing so that the faith is front and center with all we say and do. Again, it means we 220 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:03,360 act like Christians. We act like sons and daughters. We act like service and soldiers 221 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:09,360 so that our message is not hypocritical. It is something that is in us and through us 222 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:15,960 and comes out of our mouths. We pray together. We give together. We serve together. We reach 223 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:21,680 together all together with the tribe of Jesus Christ. We move forward with the gospel of 224 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:26,080 Jesus so that in five years and ten years and twenty years, people that have not yet 225 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:33,320 known Christ will come to know Christ through the church of Jesus Christ. Live in a manner 226 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:39,600 worthy. You're part of the greatest kingdom the world has ever known or will ever know. 227 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:47,480 You're part of a tribe and you're not alone. Live in harmony with the tribe. Then Paul 228 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:53,000 encourages them. He says, live with the encouragement of certain victory. Do you notice what he 229 00:21:53,000 --> 00:22:00,140 says in verse 28? In no way alarmed by your opponents, which were formidable. In no way 230 00:22:00,140 --> 00:22:05,100 alarmed by them, which is a sign of destruction for them but of salvation for you and that 231 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:12,920 too from God. This is a reminder. You're a soldier as well as a servant and a son and 232 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:19,120 the battle is hard sometimes. Not everyone will agree with you about the faith. In fact, 233 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:24,120 some will push back. Some will argue. Some will doubt. Some will cast doubt on your character 234 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:31,520 for even believing the Bible, the scriptures or Jesus Christ. People will try to disparage 235 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,600 you. They'll try to discourage you. They'll do everything they can to try to make you 236 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,160 be quiet. And Paul is simply saying, don't be alarmed by this. Don't be alarmed by the 237 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,520 fact that you have opponents that want to hold you back. Don't be stunned when you encounter 238 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,840 spiritual opposition. We're shocked when there is spiritual opposition but when there is 239 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:55,720 spiritual opposition that's an indicator that you're probably doing something right. 240 00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:01,800 Keep in mind the fact that you can't be discouraged by a little opposition in a pagan world that 241 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:07,120 we live in. It's okay. It's just part of the world we live in. Keep moving the ball 242 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:14,320 forward. When I was in high school and college, my coaches would always tell me that even 243 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:18,440 when you're behind in the game and feel like you're behind and feel like it's too far 244 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:23,680 of a distance for you to win the game, don't act discouraged. Don't drip your shoulders. 245 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:30,680 Don't look down. Don't let your face or your body language say, I'm already done. We're 246 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:36,760 going to lose this game. Because the moment you do that, the opponent will press and he 247 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:42,200 will win. And so he said, recognize that in the teams you play against. When they're discouraged, 248 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:46,920 go after them all the more because they're nearly giving up. 249 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:53,920 Now, Paul is saying it's the opposite. Don't look down. Don't look discouraged. Don't act 250 00:23:53,920 --> 00:24:01,720 like that this is not going to be good in the end. Why? Because in the end, we win. 251 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:08,720 In the end, we win. Paul says the victory has already been secured. Don't be alarmed 252 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:15,640 in any fashion or form by your opponents. They're the ones that need to be concerned. 253 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:22,800 In the end, those who are part of the kingdom of God will win. You will win in the end. 254 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:28,560 Let me just say this to you just by way of personal exhortation. Don't be discouraged 255 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:37,800 even when there's reason for you to feel discouraged. Don't let how tough it's been in life or 256 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:45,160 in terms of people's interactions with you. Don't give up. Don't give up when you feel 257 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:49,760 like you're not gaining fruit, not growing like you need to grow, not maturing like you 258 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:54,440 need to mature. When people aren't being impacted like you want them to be impacted, don't give 259 00:24:54,440 --> 00:25:01,560 up because the battle is already won. We're operating from a perspective of victory, not 260 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:06,440 failure. God is going to win in the end and you are part of the kingdom of God who wins 261 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,400 in the end. Let's take a moment and just thank the Lord. Our sisters here are helping us 262 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:17,720 celebrate that a little bit. Let's go ahead and do that. In the end, we win. We win. Paul 263 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:26,040 said this in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 16. Most of us know this passage really well. He says, 264 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,720 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel 265 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,800 and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. And then we who 266 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:40,360 are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in 267 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:45,440 the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. If this is how it ends, I don't need 268 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:52,400 to be discouraged now. If this is how the Lord will close out the victory, then I don't 269 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,680 need to be at this moment looking ahead and going, gee, I don't know if it's going to 270 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:04,000 work out so well in the end. Because the scripture already says it will. In Revelation 19, in 271 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,160 fact, if you take your Bibles and turn to Revelation 19, it won't be on the screen, 272 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,640 so I want you to turn to the very last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 19 beginning 273 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:19,400 in verse 11. I just want to read it. All I want to do is read it. John's vision of heaven 274 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:25,400 that God gave him on the Isle of Patmos. And here's what he says he saw. And what an encouraging 275 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:31,320 passage it is. It says, And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat 276 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:36,560 on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war. His 277 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:42,120 eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written 278 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:47,640 on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, 279 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:52,480 and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven clothed in 280 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:57,200 fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes 281 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:02,440 a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations. And he will rule them with 282 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:07,880 a rod of iron, and he treads on the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And 283 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,800 on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written King of Kings. Say it with me, King 284 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:19,720 of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you're discouraged, I do not know why you can be. I don't know 285 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,240 how you can look at the future and say, it really looks bleak for us because victory 286 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:31,160 is coming when Christ comes back. Amen? That's what we have to look forward to. Paul says, 287 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:38,640 don't be alarmed. Don't be worried. Life is hard, it's tough, but Jesus is coming. And 288 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:45,400 the church needs to always be anticipating that. Finally, he says, live with the willingness 289 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:50,880 to give whatever it takes. Do you see what he says in the very last two verses of his 290 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:56,160 passage? It has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also 291 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:03,280 to suffer for his sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw to be in me. So for 292 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:12,480 Paul, and for many of the saints, that meant imprisonment, being beaten, mockery, rejection. 293 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,480 Sometimes for us in this present day, it means something a little bit less. I don't know 294 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:22,240 anyone in the room that's been placed in prison for their faith, but everybody pays 295 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:28,920 some price for being a believer in Jesus Christ. Not be a social stigma, that someone looks 296 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,640 at you in a certain way, rejects you, leaves you out of certain things because they know 297 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,800 you to be a believer in Jesus Christ. And you know, sometimes I think we get angry about 298 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:45,200 the fact that our culture has run away from truth, absolute truth. It's run away from 299 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:49,600 the idea and understanding of who God is, who Jesus Christ is, what Christianity is 300 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:54,360 all about. They've run away from that. And I think some of us are angry about that. It's 301 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:58,920 a frustrating thing, I know. But what we have to remember is that the gospel was actually 302 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:03,440 planted in that same culture where people did not know who God was, didn't know who 303 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:08,640 Jesus Christ was, wasn't really sure about the resurrection of a man from the dead. The 304 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:14,400 gospel was not well received when it was first preached in Philippi and other places that 305 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:19,080 we're talking about. Paul's day was not filled with people, admirers who came to 306 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:24,280 fill the stadium while he preached. Jesus did not meet with people who were in great 307 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:29,680 favor of him. Most of them rejected him completely. Don't be angry that the world around you does 308 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,840 that. It's just the world. It's just the way they are. It's who they are without God, 309 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:39,000 without Christ. All it should say to us is that it's important for us to live the gospel 310 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:46,000 out and to share the gospel out even more than ever before. Don't be discouraged. It 311 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:53,000 won't be easy. There will be some suffering. There will be conflict, as Paul says, but 312 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,680 in the end it will always be worth it. Whatever price you have to pay to live your life out, 313 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:03,040 live your faith out, pay the price. Whatever price you have to pay in order to be a witness 314 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:10,040 for Jesus Christ, be a witness. Pay the price. When I think it's hard to be a Christian, 315 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:17,040 I sometimes think about my friends in India. My friends that were coming to a Bible conference 316 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:25,000 years ago, 50 of them in the group, only about 10 of them made it three days late. When those 317 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:31,640 10 made it, we said, where are the rest of your people? They said, when the villagers 318 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:38,320 knew that we were coming to a Bible conference, they beat us. Most of them beat us with machetes. 319 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:43,360 Our other part of our group were in the hospital. We left them so that we could make the last 320 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:48,960 day of the Bible conference. Said, you left your spouses in the hospital to come here, 321 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,040 somebody teach the Bible. Oh, we desperately need to know God's words so that we can share 322 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:57,960 it with others. When I think it's hard to live the Christian life, I think about my 323 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:03,040 pastor friend in another village in India on the other side of the nation of India, 324 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:09,320 who was raised in a small village and came to faith in Christ. The village was not made 325 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:14,280 up of believers, but rather unbelievers, and they beat him for his faith. They beat him 326 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:18,440 and ran him out of town. A few weeks later, after he recovered from his wounds, he came 327 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,680 back to town and began to share the gospel again, and they beat him again. This happened 328 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:28,240 five times until finally he came back on the final time, and the village elder said, look, 329 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,680 we're tired of beating you up. We know you're not going to shut up. Go ahead and tell us 330 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:38,680 what you want to tell us. I met with a blossoming church in a garage-like setting with 50 people 331 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:44,440 crammed in there, and all of them came to faith because of this one young man that had 332 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,880 been beaten up five times and just kept coming back. Yeah, I thank God for saints who would 333 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:55,320 do that. When I think it's hard to live the Christian life, they remind me that they're 334 00:31:55,320 --> 00:32:02,320 paying a great price. That's Paul dead in prison writing letters. Okay. How you live 335 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:10,880 matters. It makes a great deal of difference in the world around you. Live in a manner 336 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:17,880 worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You live in the greatest kingdom. You have the 337 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,600 greatest tribe that you can be in harmony with, and everybody needs a tribe. Live in 338 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:28,880 courage because in the end Jesus comes back and sets everything right, and live willing 339 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:35,220 to give whatever it takes to advance the gospel for the glory of God. I want you to bow your 340 00:32:35,220 --> 00:32:40,800 heads for just a moment. I want you to ask yourself the question, am I living in a manner 341 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:47,800 worthy of the sacrifice and the calling of Christ? This is not about making someone toe 342 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:54,800 the line. Their life is not in order. This is about you saying that you understand what 343 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:02,000 Jesus did to secure your salvation, and you're living in a way that is worthy. He doesn't 344 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:09,480 require that you do that on your own. He has given you the Holy Spirit by which you will 345 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:16,480 be empowered to live that life. Are you living a life worthy? Just a few more minutes and 346 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:22,520 I'll close in prayer. Three invitations to you. One is stop by the decision stations 347 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:28,000 that are at the back of our building inside the worship center. You'll see people that 348 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,760 are ready to pray with you, ready to talk with you. We'd love to talk with you about 349 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:36,660 your faith, whether you've placed your faith in Christ or not. If you haven't, today can 350 00:33:36,660 --> 00:33:41,360 be that day. We'll talk to you about any commitments you want to make to follow Christ if you're 351 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:45,280 already a believer, but let us talk to you about that. Second invitation, come to the 352 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:50,000 guest reception room outside the center exit doors across the hallway. I'd love to meet 353 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:55,840 you if you're a guest today. I'd love to just say hello and invite you to our church, our 354 00:33:55,840 --> 00:34:02,840 tribe. Thirdly, I invite you to remember that this week is really a special week. Good Friday 355 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:09,000 service, Easter Sunday morning. Come and bring somebody with you as we celebrate the death 356 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:14,760 and the resurrection of Jesus. Would you stand with me as we pray? Father, I'm so grateful 357 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:21,760 today that you have done all that is necessary for us to have salvation and for us to fulfill 358 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:30,880 a calling on our lives. Father, I pray that you would let the question of whether we're 359 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:37,520 living in a manner worthy be echoing in people's minds and hearts today and these days ahead. 360 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:42,720 We never want to take for granted what you did for us. We never want to take it lightly. 361 00:34:42,720 --> 00:34:47,760 We never want to be casual about something that you deem so serious. So Lord, today help 362 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:52,620 us to ask that question and answer it in our hearts. I pray for those that have yet to 363 00:34:52,620 --> 00:34:57,560 begin a faith relationship with Jesus and help them take that step today and for all 364 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:02,920 those that we're inviting that we will bring back that they'll hear the gospel, they'll 365 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:09,920 come to faith in Christ. Lord, thank you that you love us with such dedication that Jesus 366 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:16,920 died for us. Thank you Father, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless. Have a wonderful 367 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:40,920 day.