1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000
And we're reading from Philippians chapter 1 verse 27 to 30.

2
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,000
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

3
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,000
Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,

4
00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:27,000
I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,

5
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,000
striving together as one for the faith of the gospel,

6
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:36,000
without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

7
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000
This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed,

8
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000
but that you will be saved, and that by God.

9
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,000
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him,

10
00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,000
but also to suffer for Him,

11
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,000
since you were going through the same struggle you saw I had,

12
00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000
and now here that I still have.

13
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,000
Thank you, Thelma and Eric.

14
00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000
Good morning, everyone.

15
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:16,000
It's indeed wonderful to be together on this warm day,

16
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:21,000
and to be looking at a wonderful passage of Scripture together as the Lord's people.

17
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:26,000
There was those very wise words from the Apostle Paul

18
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,000
written to the church in Ephesus all those years ago.

19
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:36,000
I pray that the eyes of your hearts are enlightened to know the truth,

20
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,000
and that's what we want this morning.

21
00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000
We want to know the truth.

22
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:47,000
So would you please pray with me as we ask our Father to help us.

23
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,000
Father, we thank you so much that we are indeed

24
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,000
around the words of eternal life this morning,

25
00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,000
that these are your words to us.

26
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:03,000
We ask, Father, that you would, by the work of your Spirit,

27
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000
hold the Lord Jesus Christ high in our midst,

28
00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:13,000
and draw all manner of people to yourself this morning through these words.

29
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,000
We ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen.

30
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:26,000
Some time ago, the National Museum of Australia put on a fascinating exhibition

31
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:32,000
in which they displayed some relics of Australia's bush-ranging past.

32
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,000
Of course, when anybody thinks of bush-rangers,

33
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:42,000
they're naturally drawn to Australia's most famous bearded bush-ranger,

34
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000
the most famous bearded folk hero, Ned Kelly.

35
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,000
Now, I was in Melbourne when this exhibition was on

36
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000
and was really excited to go, not just to see his armour,

37
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,000
but also to see the famous Gerald Derry letter.

38
00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:03,000
Now, why was I excited to see this letter, you might wonder?

39
00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:09,000
Well, it's because it was the only one of its kind in existence

40
00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,000
that had an active criminal on the run who was also attempting

41
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000
to write letters to the public via the newspaper,

42
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:23,000
all in an attempt to explain and excuse his actions.

43
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000
Now, if you've ever seen the letter in the flesh,

44
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,000
well, let me just say it's absolutely impossible to read,

45
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000
as the handwriting is like something that's been created

46
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,000
by dipping spiderwebs in ink and then throwing it onto a page.

47
00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:47,000
However, the National Museum's website has done a full transcription of the letter.

48
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,000
And I must say, it's a pretty interesting read.

49
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:58,000
But what's most peculiar is how Ned made all these claims and defences,

50
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,000
and then at the very end, he switches.

51
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:07,000
He switches from justification of his actions to demands and threats,

52
00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,000
ending his letter by saying, quote,

53
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,000
I'm a widow's son, outlawed, my orders must be obeyed.

54
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,000
Why did he write this?

55
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000
Well, historians agree that he was attempting to strike fear

56
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,000
into the hearts of his readers.

57
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,000
Meet my demands or I'll get you kind of thing.

58
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:37,000
This morning, we too come to a part of our letter in which the apostle switches.

59
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:44,000
He switches from telling his friends in the church about how he's going,

60
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:51,000
about what he's praying for, about the absolute joy he has when he remembers them,

61
00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,000
about the confidence he has in their mutual faith and salvation

62
00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:02,000
and how the gospel is flourishing even in his chains,

63
00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,000
to bringing things a little closer to home.

64
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:11,000
And he does this by exhorting his listeners with what we are to do

65
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:16,000
as we live out our Christian lives on this earth.

66
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:21,000
In fact, these exhortations or commands are going to take our attention

67
00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:29,000
over the next few weeks as they pepper most of what is written up to chapter two, verse 18.

68
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:34,000
But what we're fast going to see with our apostles' words to us

69
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,000
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

70
00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:43,000
isn't a demand of our lives that motivates fear,

71
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:50,000
but commands that encourage us to live out the great work of Jesus Christ

72
00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,000
that is already happening in our lives.

73
00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:59,000
So with that said, let's get into our passage with looking at the first part of verse 27.

74
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:00,000
Paul writes,

75
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:09,000
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

76
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,000
Now I just want to have a think about why Paul starts by saying,

77
00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,000
Whatever happens.

78
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:22,000
Well, this phrase is deeply tied into what came before in the preceding verses,

79
00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,000
which we looked at last week,

80
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:32,000
in which Paul was saying to his friends that he had a great couple of options that he was facing.

81
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:38,000
Either he was going to be released or he was going to be executed.

82
00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000
Now before you start scratching your head and say,

83
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,000
well, only one of those sounds like a good option,

84
00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,000
well, we know that both were great options for Paul

85
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:55,000
because he saw his life as totally in the hands of God.

86
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:59,000
And because of the work of Jesus Christ on his behalf,

87
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:07,000
he was faced with either staying here on this earth to continue to do great ministry

88
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:13,000
or to leave this earth and meet Jesus face to face.

89
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,000
That's what we saw last week when Paul said,

90
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:22,000
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

91
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,000
What an incredible hope in the face of such uncertainty.

92
00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:33,000
And that hope, as we saw, wasn't just for Paul or the Philippians,

93
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:40,000
but a very present hope for anyone who has put their trust in Christ.

94
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,000
Death is but a servant that takes us heavenward,

95
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:50,000
the grave, a mere door to the presence of Christ.

96
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,000
However, if you were with us last week, you'll also remember that, yes,

97
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:59,000
Paul certainly was confident that God would keep him around a little while longer

98
00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:06,000
because he knew that his gifts for ministry still had a purpose to serve on this side of yonder.

99
00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:13,000
But this is the interesting thing that we see with the words that Paul has employed here.

100
00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,000
He says, whatever happens.

101
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000
In other words, he's saying, though I'm confident that I'll see you again

102
00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,000
and we will be together at some point,

103
00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,000
this is the one thing that I want you to do in the meantime.

104
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:38,000
You are, and it's in the rest of verse 27, to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

105
00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,000
Now, it's very important that we understand what he means by that,

106
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:50,000
because for anyone who has put their trust in Christ, who is part of the body of Christ,

107
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:56,000
then this command is a direct obligation for us as well.

108
00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,000
So let's ask the question.

109
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:10,000
What exactly is the gospel of Christ so that we, as the church, can conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of it?

110
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000
Well, quite simply this.

111
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,000
The gospel is the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

112
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,000
And it's the greatest announcement that this world has ever heard.

113
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:31,000
It is the glad tidings that this fallen human race may find salvation from the wrath of God

114
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:37,000
through the sinless life and substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.

115
00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:45,000
That's because Jesus obtained perfect righteousness by living the perfect life that we could never live.

116
00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:55,000
Further, he purchased our freedom, our pardon from sin by his death upon a Roman cross

117
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,000
through the shedding of his blood and the giving of his very life.

118
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:08,000
And by this sin-bearing substitutionary act, Jesus redeemed all those who he came to save,

119
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:13,000
and absolute and total forgiveness of sin is offered to all

120
00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:20,000
as a free gift that is received by faith alone, apart from any good works.

121
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,000
Let me reiterate what I just said.

122
00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:30,000
This offer is a free gift that is received by faith alone

123
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,000
and given to anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord.

124
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,000
You might think about it like this.

125
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:44,000
The kingdom of God is open to anyone who will turn around from the way that they are going

126
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:51,000
and are welcome to enter into the kingdom of God by simply coming to Jesus.

127
00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:58,000
That, my dear friends, is the gospel of Christ, and it is indeed good news.

128
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:06,000
So when Paul says we're to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of this good news,

129
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:13,000
he's simply saying that because we've been rescued from the clutches of this world

130
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:19,000
and all its wicked and dark ways, because we've been torn out of the kingdom of darkness

131
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:29,000
and grafted into the kingdom of light, then live as a citizen of that country that you're now part of.

132
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,000
Live in a law-rebiding manner.

133
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:40,000
In other words, if you've seen your sin for what it is, if you've seen Christ for who he is,

134
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:45,000
and you trust him, then live in accordance with that reality.

135
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:50,000
Live in accordance with what God would have you to do.

136
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:57,000
It's as John Simmons famously wrote all those years ago in his famous hymn,

137
00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:05,000
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.

138
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,000
Think about it like this.

139
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:13,000
Criminals are criminals because they break the law of the land.

140
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:21,000
Well, as Christians, we're citizens of a new country and part of a new people,

141
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:27,000
the kingdom of God, so don't live like criminals in that land.

142
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,000
Live like good law-rebiding citizens. Obey God's word.

143
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,000
That's Paul's command here.

144
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:42,000
To put it simply, if you're a Christian, then we are to live what we believe in our hearts

145
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:48,000
and confess with our mouths out in our actions in this world.

146
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:54,000
It's how we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

147
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000
This is the thing.

148
00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:05,000
This conducting of ourselves in a worthy manner isn't always that easy.

149
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:11,000
I mean, think about the direct context that our letter was written into.

150
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:18,000
Our author was in chains and his recipients were being persecuted.

151
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:29,000
So how were they to go about living their confession of Christ in such hostile environments?

152
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:37,000
Well, they were to do that in the way that any Christian in any circumstance throughout time does.

153
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:45,000
Not in our own strength, but in the grace and the power of the Spirit of Christ.

154
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,000
You see, that's been Paul's objective all along.

155
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,000
That's been his point that he's written to the Philippians.

156
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:55,000
Not I, but Christ who lives in me.

157
00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:01,000
I mean, for example, he has given them an update of where things are at and how things are going,

158
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:09,000
all with the objective to point them every step of the way to where his great hope was coming from,

159
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,000
his source of great strength, if you will.

160
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:18,000
And that was to the work of God in all of them.

161
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,000
That was his point in chapter one, verse six,

162
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:31,000
when he said, he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

163
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,000
Here, who was at work in them?

164
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,000
God himself.

165
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:42,000
And with that in mind, what God had started, he was going to finish.

166
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:50,000
That's why Paul could pray with such confidence because he knew that there was something huge going on,

167
00:14:50,000 --> 00:15:00,000
something massive at play, and that was God himself rescuing his people in the Lord Jesus Christ.

168
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:06,000
That's why he could say with such confidence in chapter one, nine through to 11,

169
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:12,000
this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

170
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:18,000
so that you may be able to discern what's best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

171
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:26,000
Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

172
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:32,000
Hear that, hear how Paul could pray for his friends with such confidence.

173
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:41,000
It was because he knew that they had a work that had started in them, and that was by God himself.

174
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:51,000
And because of that grace, they had Christ, or better yet, Christ had them.

175
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,000
That's why Paul could pray with confidence that they would grow more and more,

176
00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:02,000
because he knew that none of it would come about by their own efforts alone,

177
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:08,000
but through, as he says, Jesus Christ, and vice versa.

178
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:15,000
Paul knew he could endure his trials on this earth, saying in chapter one, verse 19 through to 20,

179
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:23,000
for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

180
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000
what happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

181
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:32,000
I eagerly expect and hope that I won't be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage,

182
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:42,000
so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death.

183
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000
Brothers and sisters, this is the Christian life.

184
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:52,000
Our living for Christ comes through Christ first living for us,

185
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,000
so that when we turn to him, he might live in us by his Spirit.

186
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:03,000
It is then and only then that we can walk out our Christian life in this world,

187
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:11,000
because we're not living by our own strength, but in the grace and the power of another.

188
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:18,000
It's what theologians refer to as sanctification, a separation, if you will,

189
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:28,000
from our old and dead ways and walking by the Spirit in our new and born again ways more and more.

190
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,000
So who's worthy among us? None.

191
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:40,000
But there is one who was and always will be, whose Spirit is at work in and through his people.

192
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:47,000
We can only walk in a manner worthy of the gospel if we have the worthy one with us.

193
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:54,000
In other words, our actions grow out of a new life in Christ.

194
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,000
And that's where Paul takes things here in the rest of our verse.

195
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:06,000
He says, do this, live like people who are worthy of being part of God's people.

196
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:13,000
And then he directs us in how we are as Christians to live out our new lives in Christ.

197
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,000
And that's going to go all the way through Philippians.

198
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,000
But we're just going to concentrate on our passage this morning.

199
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:29,000
He wants us to know how to live out our new lives in Christ as citizens of God's heavenly kingdom,

200
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:34,000
while still very much being part of this world.

201
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:38,000
Look with me, if you would, at the rest of verse 27.

202
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:43,000
Paul says, then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,

203
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:53,000
I'll know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.

204
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,000
OK, so we don't want to miss what Paul's saying here.

205
00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:05,000
And so I want to break down this sentence into four different things that I think Paul wants the church to get.

206
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:14,000
And that's that we are to have tenacity, to walk in mutuality, to be active in our confession

207
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:19,000
and to live out gospel unity in this world.

208
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:24,000
So for you note takers out there, first, tenacity.

209
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:32,000
Paul directs us in that way of thinking by saying, stand firm.

210
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:40,000
In other words, we're to be persistent in our clinging to the hope of Christ through it all.

211
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:46,000
Now, again, think of the original recipients of this letter.

212
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:57,000
There's a whole load of things going on in this church externally and internally that was causing pressure for them to recant.

213
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:06,000
If we think of maybe just one in the historical context, they were under tremendous pressure to recant their faith and confession

214
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:13,000
that Jesus is the Son of God and admit that that title only really belongs to the head of the state, Caesar.

215
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:20,000
That was a thing in the Roman world. And Philippi was very much part of the Greco-Roman world.

216
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:26,000
That's what was going on here. And Paul directs them in saying, stand firm, friends.

217
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000
Be consistent, be persistent through it all.

218
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:39,000
That is how we conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.

219
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:50,000
Now, we're very blessed in this nation of ours that we don't have the government telling us to give up our Bibles and buildings and seminaries.

220
00:20:50,000 --> 00:21:01,000
But we also must be keenly aware that there are external pressures on Christians to change what we believe on certain central matters

221
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:10,000
to make our message more palatable in this egalitarian society that we find ourselves in.

222
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:17,000
And so with that comes the external pressure to change the message and the meaning of the gospel.

223
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:29,000
That Jesus Christ is the way, that he is the truth, he is the life, and there is no other way to the Father except through him.

224
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:37,000
And so there is a pressure to pull up the anchor and drift with the tide of the nation.

225
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:49,000
No, says Paul, stand firm, don't get pulled around by other forces, but rather be anchored in one place, in the hope of the gospel.

226
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:58,000
Because as he says elsewhere, it is the gospel that is the power unto salvation for all who believe.

227
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:05,000
So that's first, we are to be tenacious in our holding to Christ.

228
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:09,000
Second, we're to walk in mutuality.

229
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:18,000
That's why he goes on to say in the rest of this sentence, stand firm in the one spirit.

230
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:24,000
As I've already pointed out this morning, we don't live our Christian lives out in our own strength,

231
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:30,000
but in the grace and the power of another, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

232
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:39,000
And when the spirit of God opened our hearts to the gospel so that we might throw ourselves on the Lord Jesus Christ,

233
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:48,000
there wasn't just a change of heart, but there is a changing of the mind as well, a renewing of the mind.

234
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,000
And that's what Paul is drawing on here.

235
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:58,000
He's drawing on our drive, our new drive and our new motivation for living.

236
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:05,000
And that's the thing, brothers and sisters, that we have in this world that no other community has.

237
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:13,000
It's a deep seeded, born again commitment to God and his mission in this world.

238
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:23,000
In other words, we have the same spirit in us doing the same work and driving our very lives in the same way.

239
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:34,000
That's why you can travel anywhere in the world and meet any born again believer and have instant rapport and love for them.

240
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,000
It's because we have the same spirit.

241
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,000
Jesus is working in us.

242
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,000
He is driving us in all that we do.

243
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:55,000
And this is the thing, that is a gift of God that we don't obtain, but are to maintain in us all.

244
00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:02,000
So Paul says, stand firm together with that oneness that you have in Christ.

245
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:12,000
Work together in the same convictions of truth and hold each other in that same allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.

246
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:19,000
It's how we conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.

247
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:24,000
We're to be tenacious and to walk in mutuality.

248
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:29,000
Third, we are to be active in our confession.

249
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:36,000
Now I say that because of the very important word that we find here in verse 27.

250
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,000
It's the word striving.

251
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,000
Paul says it right there in verse 27.

252
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:49,000
And this isn't meant to be taken in any way as a passive thing.

253
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:59,000
And that's the danger we run into when we come to grips with the grace of God at work in our lives.

254
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:07,000
We can, if we're not careful, come off the road and go into a ditch on either side of the road.

255
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:14,000
On the one hand, you have those whose mantra is just let go and let God.

256
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:24,000
It's kind of like taking your hands off the wheel and getting in the back seat and thinking everything's going to be OK because, hey, I have cruise control on.

257
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,000
It's an unbiblical concept.

258
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:35,000
The Christian life isn't one of passivity, but activity.

259
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:40,000
In walking out our confession of what we believe.

260
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:50,000
But we also need to be careful of that, that that activity isn't the thing we look to as the means of our salvation.

261
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:59,000
As I said before, salvation is a free gift that is received by faith alone, apart from any good works.

262
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,000
So, church, how do we hold it in balance?

263
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:07,000
How do we strive without falling on either side of the ditch?

264
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,000
Well, it comes back to the gospel.

265
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,000
It always comes back to the gospel.

266
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:21,000
It comes back to the life Jesus has won for his people already before our heavenly father.

267
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:30,000
Brothers and sisters, if you have called upon the name of the Lord and you are trusting in his perfect work on your behalf,

268
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:37,000
there has been a supernatural work in your life in which you have, as the Bible says, been born again.

269
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:48,000
And that heart of stone that you once had towards God and his law, it's been replaced with a heart of flesh,

270
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:56,000
one that loves our heavenly father and all his ways.

271
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,000
And so, we strive from that place.

272
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:11,000
We strive from that new heart to want and desire what God would have for us,

273
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:19,000
not to earn, but to please our father who we know has rescued us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

274
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:25,000
And notice this, notice the unity Paul always drives at.

275
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,000
He's not encouraging individualism here.

276
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:33,000
We are to strive together.

277
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:38,000
That's how we conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.

278
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:48,000
We are to be tenacious, walk in mutuality and be active together and strive together in our confession of Christ,

279
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:56,000
which naturally leads us to the fourth thing, and that is we are to live our gospel unity out in this world.

280
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,000
We are to live it out.

281
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,000
Notice this, notice what Paul is saying here.

282
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:10,000
We are not to live out our unity for unity's sake, but live out our unity from and for the gospel's sake.

283
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:17,000
That's why he says, strive together as one for the faith of the gospel.

284
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:27,000
Brothers and sisters, we will only ever have tenacity, walk in mutuality and strive together actively in our confession

285
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:35,000
if we have really been born again and believe that the gospel actually does something in this world.

286
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:42,000
In other words, we will only ever really be united in one spirit, striving together,

287
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:53,000
standing our ground in promoting and preaching the gospel in this world if that gospel work has genuinely taken root in us.

288
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:59,000
That's how you can tell the genuine from the non-genuine, the real from the fake.

289
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:06,000
Born again people can't help themselves but trust and obey.

290
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:13,000
We won't get it perfect, but there is a great want and desire.

291
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:20,000
Because we've come to the knowledge that there is no other way.

292
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,000
The Lord has the words of eternal life.

293
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:34,000
We have no other want to live out our lives on this earth, even as Paul said, if we're killed for it.

294
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:40,000
As he said, for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

295
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:48,000
That's the only way in which any of what Paul is commanding us to do will come about.

296
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:58,000
It's that we have been born again and given such a heart and mind to want to strive together in our mutual faith of the gospel.

297
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:10,000
It's because of Christ in us, working with us, that we will conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.

298
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:23,000
And because of that work in us and for the gospel, for us in the gospel, we will want to share it with everyone.

299
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:29,000
And the gospel, and why wouldn't we? The gospel is such good news.

300
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:36,000
That sin can be forgiven, lives can be changed, people can be set free.

301
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000
Such wonderful news for the world to hear.

302
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:51,000
But believe it or not, the world doesn't always want to hear it and will in fact hate us for living by this truth.

303
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,000
That's why Paul has been commanding the church.

304
00:30:54,000 --> 00:31:02,000
Friends, stick together, strive together, believe together for the gospel's sake, because you will be opposed in this world.

305
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:13,000
And as you're opposed, your oneness, your unity, your togetherness will in fact be a testimony to the world that they will be destroyed.

306
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:18,000
Verse 28. What's Paul saying here?

307
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:25,000
He's saying you're going to face opposition because you're Christians.

308
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,000
Stick together.

309
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:33,000
That is what Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit is writing to the church.

310
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:43,000
He says when you're opposed and you will be, stand firm in your faith as one, which is the work of God among us.

311
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:58,000
Because conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, even under opposition, will act as a sign to those who want to destroy us that they will in fact be destroyed themselves.

312
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,000
Notice what else he goes on to say in verse 28.

313
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:14,000
He says your oneness in the faith is a sign that those who oppose you will be destroyed, but that you will be saved. And that by God.

314
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:29,000
You see, the church isn't just some organization that happens to like the same values, the same hymns, the same tea and bikis on a Sunday afternoon.

315
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:41,000
Now the church is a worldwide organism that has been called out, put together and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ.

316
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:50,000
The church isn't a building, but a spiritual temple that's been filled with the very Spirit of God himself.

317
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:56,000
In other words, we are God's blood purchased precious children.

318
00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:04,000
And so in a very real sense to oppose God's people and the message of the gospel is to oppose God himself.

319
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:12,000
That's the kind of father we have. He's a father that doesn't let his enemies get away with injustice forever.

320
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:23,000
Now there will come a time where every wrong will be made right, where every evil will be punished and when every enemy of God will come to an end.

321
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:31,000
So this morning we have seen a shift, haven't we? We've seen a shift in Paul's purpose in this letter.

322
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:36,000
He's gone from informing his friends to commanding the church.

323
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:47,000
Not to strike fear into our hearts, but to direct us in the way that we are to live in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus.

324
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:51,000
And we will be exploring it over the next few weeks.

325
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:58,000
And as we've seen just this morning, we are to be active in these instructions.

326
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:09,000
Active in tenacity, in walking, in mutuality, in striving together in our confession and living out our gospel unity in this world.

327
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:19,000
Because our obedience will be assigned to the world that they're not just fighting against the church or the gospel, but God himself.

328
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:29,000
But don't fear little flock. We have Christ. Or better yet, Christ has us.

329
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:34,000
And God is fully and utterly in control of it all.

330
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:45,000
With Paul's situation, with the Philippians and with us here 2000 years later, as our apostle reflects.

331
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:52,000
For it's been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer.

332
00:34:52,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Granted. Since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had and now still know that I have.

333
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,000
Verse 29 and 30.

334
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:15,000
Church, as we've heard this morning, all those who have turned to the Lord Jesus Christ are a new creation with the spirit of Christ working in and through us.

335
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:25,000
But as you've also heard, the Christian life is not a passive life, but an active striving to trust and obey.

336
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:30,000
And we are to trust and obey God in all that we do.

337
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:41,000
And as we do, as we trust and obey in the power of the spirit, we will be opposed for what we stand for and share with this world.

338
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:47,000
And so church, salvation and suffering can't be divorced.

339
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:53,000
And we must not live our lives as though what we have seen this morning doesn't apply to us.

340
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:59,000
We never want to be needlessly offensive.

341
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:07,000
But we are called to speak and live out the truth and love in our suburb city and nation.

342
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:14,000
However, as we do, we must understand that there may be a price to pay.

343
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:19,000
But what we have in the gospel is such good news.

344
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,000
It's not easy news to hear, but this is the thing.

345
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:35,000
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is life transforming, eternally liberating awesome news.

346
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:44,000
And so we know that it is worth the sacrifice because quite simply, we once were opposed to the gospel.

347
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:54,000
Enemies of God and his people, yet through faithful men and women who loved us enough to share this good news.

348
00:36:54,000 --> 00:37:01,000
That's how we came to know that the gospel really saves any and everyone who believes it.

349
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,000
And we are testimony to it.

350
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:12,000
And so would you join me in praying this morning, in praying that we would be a people that would be united in the gospel,

351
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:20,000
a people that won't compromise on our faith, but live in the way that we have been called to live,

352
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:29,000
as redeemed people who live in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this world, no matter the cost.

353
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:35,000
Would you pray with me?

354
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:45,000
Father, this morning we began our time by asking that you would enlighten the eyes of our heart

355
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:55,000
and that you would hold Christ high in our midst and draw all manner of people to yourself.

356
00:37:55,000 --> 00:38:03,000
Father, we thank you that for many of us in this room, that is a reality that we live in.

357
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:11,000
You have by your spirit worked such a work in our hearts that you have brought us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

358
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:21,000
That we have turned from our dead and dark ways to the truth, to the living God.

359
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:31,000
And so Father, we would ask that you would continue to use us to share the gospel.

360
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:40,000
Use us Lord, this community here in Armidale to be a light, a city on a hill.

361
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:45,000
That we would be faithful with the message that you have given us.

362
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:57,000
That you would use us to make disciples and to celebrate with you all those that you are bringing into your kingdom through the Lord Jesus.

363
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:04,000
Give us boldness, courage, tenacity and might we be united in the work.

364
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:31,000
We ask for this in Jesus' name, Amen.