WEBVTT 00:00:06.062 --> 00:00:08.589 I want to give a shout out to our kids team ministry. 00:00:08.589 --> 00:00:11.108 Let's give them a round of applause doing a great job. 00:00:11.108 --> 00:00:15.391 Also want to say a huge thanks. 00:00:15.391 --> 00:00:23.868 We've got people in our parking team, in our hospitality team, our load in, load out team security team Spent a lot of time outside on Sunday morning. 00:00:23.868 --> 00:00:25.326 So God bless you, thank you. 00:00:25.326 --> 00:00:29.606 Let's give them a round of applause for how they serve and bless us. 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:36.968 You know, as Pastor James obviously is not here this morning, sam mentioned that and, of course, he shared in a video. 00:00:36.968 --> 00:00:42.488 He's able to take some time away with his family And that's tremendous, and he asked me to speak this morning. 00:00:42.488 --> 00:00:47.567 I served with our worship team and helped with a life group and it's a privilege for me to do that. 00:00:47.567 --> 00:00:54.426 He's been working through a series in Colossians, so come back next week and he'll pick that up and begin to move forward with that. 00:00:54.426 --> 00:00:56.665 Just a little bit about myself. 00:00:56.665 --> 00:01:02.068 We've been here my family for about four years and I've pastored previous to that. 00:01:02.068 --> 00:01:03.646 I'm not pastoring currently. 00:01:03.646 --> 00:01:05.406 I'm a commercial truck driver. 00:01:05.406 --> 00:01:06.009 That's what I do. 00:01:06.009 --> 00:01:08.549 I do a lot of container stuff out of the port. 00:01:08.549 --> 00:01:16.386 Sometimes I go across the country, so I get to see a lot of this country and it's been a privilege and a blessing for me and my family in many ways. 00:01:17.100 --> 00:01:26.126 But as I was preparing for this message, i was thinking about an event that happened in my life back in 2005, when I was getting ready to graduate from seminary. 00:01:26.126 --> 00:01:38.344 We had a mandatory practice, like most graduations, where you line up and you go through and they make sure they have everybody's names, that they can pronounce it correctly, and it was mandatory. 00:01:38.344 --> 00:01:41.989 So if you weren't there, you didn't walk, and that's pretty typical for graduation. 00:01:41.989 --> 00:01:46.645 Well, as we were preparing, there was a spot in the line in front of me and the guy wasn't there. 00:01:46.645 --> 00:01:49.083 I didn't even know him, didn't know who he was, never met him. 00:01:49.083 --> 00:01:54.847 But the next day, when we're getting ready to graduate, he's there, he's got his cap down and everything on and it's good to go. 00:01:54.847 --> 00:01:58.580 And so we're just talking because I'm curious about what was going on. 00:01:58.580 --> 00:02:03.127 I had no idea and he had literally had just gotten in from the airport. 00:02:03.127 --> 00:02:14.326 He had been in Turkey where he was serving as a missionary, and the reason that he was back so late is because he was struggling to find a safe place for a family to live. 00:02:14.326 --> 00:02:21.084 This family was in danger, because in a country where it is against the law to give your life to Jesus Christ, they did. 00:02:21.084 --> 00:02:28.079 They became followers of Jesus, and so they were under the threat not just from the law but from their own community. 00:02:29.429 --> 00:02:49.878 And it just grabbed my heart when he told me that, and it just instantly made me reflect and realize what a privilege we have to live in the United States of America, where we can gather together in the name of Jesus and worship Him and serve Him Without that kind of oppression or fear or persecution. 00:02:49.878 --> 00:03:02.640 We are tremendously blessed, and so, as a church, we should give thanks for the incredible freedom that we have in a society that was founded on and has been greatly influenced by, godly people. 00:03:02.640 --> 00:03:08.905 We see it throughout the history of our country that this freedom that we have is coveted, it is desired. 00:03:08.905 --> 00:03:13.057 People from all over the world want to come and experience that freedom. 00:03:13.057 --> 00:03:17.197 It is truly amazing, And so we give glory to God because we live in a nation. 00:03:17.197 --> 00:03:19.064 As Pastor James had mentioned. 00:03:19.064 --> 00:03:39.051 It's not perfect, it's often divided, but many godly people have been used in this nation to do good things throughout the history of this nation in the world, and so we thank God for that And we thank those who have sacrificed to confront the evil of tyranny, to preserve and protect and secure these freedoms, and those people are inspiring. 00:03:39.051 --> 00:03:42.350 You know, james mentioned one of the guys. 00:03:42.350 --> 00:03:47.953 He's the subject of the book in the movie Hacksaw Ridge, and so those people inspire us. 00:03:47.985 --> 00:03:49.451 And there were people like that in my life. 00:03:49.451 --> 00:03:57.718 My grandfather was wounded in France and 44 fighting against Nazi tyranny, strafed by a German machine gun. 00:03:57.718 --> 00:04:06.879 My father risked his life jumping into the ocean off the coast of Vietnam, as in the Navy, to bring up, rescue downed aviators. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:13.493 And so when the time came I was a young man when Desert Storm broke out I said, ok, i want to do my part. 00:04:13.493 --> 00:04:18.737 It was one of my I guess my life goals was to serve in that capacity in some way. 00:04:18.737 --> 00:04:22.976 So I joined the army and let me tell you, the army was fantastic for me. 00:04:22.976 --> 00:04:26.574 I know if you've served, maybe that's not your experience, but it was great for me. 00:04:26.574 --> 00:04:38.493 I learned so many practical things that I use today, like how to make a bed, how to get up on time, which, if you don't know what that's like, let me tell you it'll transform your life if you can get up on time. 00:04:38.493 --> 00:04:40.330 It just changes so much. 00:04:40.330 --> 00:04:46.774 Expert marksmanship with a rifle and hand grenades OK, not a lot of practical use for that. 00:04:46.774 --> 00:04:51.596 And if you play cornhole with me you've seen that it does not translate to my cornhole game. 00:04:51.596 --> 00:04:56.304 You would say there is no expert marksmanship going on in that guy's cornhole game. 00:04:56.304 --> 00:04:57.328 So I haven't figured that out. 00:04:58.004 --> 00:05:00.774 But you know I was talking to a veteran, another veteran. 00:05:00.774 --> 00:05:12.515 We were sitting outside of a warehouse, our trucks were getting unloaded and he was just kind of sharing some of his story And he kind of went deep fast and it was just talking about some of the places he had served. 00:05:12.515 --> 00:05:28.412 He had been in the service for 20 something years, been in some very difficult places Ramadi, Fallujah and Iraq, among of them, some of the most horrendously inconceivable evil things that you could ever see or hear about. 00:05:28.412 --> 00:05:36.576 He saw them And suffering and sacrifice that we just we can't even comprehend. 00:05:36.576 --> 00:05:42.549 And so he comes back, he's out of the service now, he's out of the army and he's just he's he's. 00:05:43.010 --> 00:05:55.949 There's a lot of pain and a lot of anger And I listened to him and some of it's directed towards politics, some of it's directed towards the culture and direction of our nation And as he was talking about those things. 00:05:55.949 --> 00:05:59.688 You know, i'm just listening and my heart breaks for him because of his pain. 00:05:59.688 --> 00:06:02.956 It breaks for him because of this, this frustration and anger. 00:06:02.956 --> 00:06:14.815 But my, my heart really breaks for him because his greatest hope and his greatest treasure is in an earthly citizenship, in a nation that is up for grabs. 00:06:14.815 --> 00:06:28.576 That's what he has, and so that that desperation, in a sense, that despair that he feels, in a way, it points us to this need that we have for something that transcends what this world has to offer. 00:06:28.576 --> 00:06:31.612 We need a greater hope and we need a greater treasure. 00:06:31.612 --> 00:06:39.375 And so, when we think about it this way, as we look at the scripture, as we look at what God has done, there's really only one way that we find that hope. 00:06:39.375 --> 00:06:41.951 It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:06:41.951 --> 00:06:47.796 It is found in a saving relationship with him, a life surrendered to him. 00:06:47.796 --> 00:06:54.347 And so, as we celebrate Independence Day this week, we also give God glory and thanks for all that He's done. 00:06:54.347 --> 00:07:01.455 But we focus on faith and freedom today, and we're going to do that by looking at something written in the scripture, in the book of Philippians. 00:07:01.564 --> 00:07:04.723 If you've got your Bible in the New Testament, right behind the book of Colossians. 00:07:04.723 --> 00:07:11.334 You can turn over to Philippians Here, the the Paul, paul that was mentioned previously, who's an apostle. 00:07:11.334 --> 00:07:17.837 He's a prolific missionary in the, in the midst of the Roman Empire, traveling all over planning churches. 00:07:17.837 --> 00:07:22.936 He writes to this church in Philippi that he established and he's writing to them. 00:07:22.936 --> 00:07:30.875 And these people that live in Philippi this is not in Italy, that part of the Roman Empire, it's over in Greece, but it is a major economic center. 00:07:30.875 --> 00:07:33.292 It is a significant and important place. 00:07:33.292 --> 00:07:41.891 The people that live there, many of them, have the privilege of Roman citizenship, many of them are retired Roman soldiers, and so this is where the church is. 00:07:41.891 --> 00:07:48.955 Some are citizens, some aren't, but they're proud to follow the customs and the laws of Rome and they're proud of their connections to Rome. 00:07:48.955 --> 00:07:54.176 That's a pretty significant thing in the ancient world to have a citizenship in this empire. 00:07:54.324 --> 00:08:00.930 So this is a church that also is facing a lot of the pressures that the church has always faced, that we face today. 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:05.493 They don't really know where they stand with the civil authorities at that time. 00:08:05.493 --> 00:08:07.147 Some of that's unknown. 00:08:07.147 --> 00:08:08.552 It's evolving, it's unfolding. 00:08:08.552 --> 00:08:20.827 They have cultural pressure from people who either think that the gospel is foolish or they become angry about this exclusive truth claim of the gospel that there's only one way to God. 00:08:20.827 --> 00:08:29.074 So there's a lot that's going on in this time for them, and we face a lot of those same things today And we'll see in chapter three and verse 17,. 00:08:29.074 --> 00:08:30.341 We'll start there in a minute. 00:08:30.382 --> 00:08:40.475 But we face a lot of the same challenges to the free expression of faith in the public forum, to the uncompromised preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the teaching of the truth of His word. 00:08:40.475 --> 00:08:42.029 We see challenges to that. 00:08:42.029 --> 00:08:45.333 We see challenges to the promotion of godly morality. 00:08:45.333 --> 00:09:00.549 We see a culture and we see people in all forms of leadership whether it's civil, in the media, celebrities, in the corporate leadership that are trying to force people to bow to an ungodly worldview. 00:09:00.549 --> 00:09:13.784 You know, maybe even just to just shut up and be quiet, but more so just to go along and say this is true when we know it's not true, to say that this is right when we know it's not right. 00:09:13.784 --> 00:09:16.871 That's the pressure that we face, and it's no different for the early church. 00:09:17.326 --> 00:09:20.105 And so Paul writes to them because they have a choice. 00:09:20.105 --> 00:09:21.511 They can choose to go along. 00:09:21.511 --> 00:09:24.612 Sometimes we may be faced with that. 00:09:24.612 --> 00:09:27.533 Well, if you can't beat them, join them. 00:09:27.533 --> 00:09:29.125 We'll just go along. 00:09:29.125 --> 00:09:30.664 It's good for my career or whatever. 00:09:30.664 --> 00:09:43.625 Maybe that's a pressure that you face, or maybe it's easier just to be silent and just if I don't say anything and if I just kind of keep to myself and keep my faith close and maybe I won't get into any trouble or have any controversy. 00:09:43.625 --> 00:09:50.382 But you know, there's another option, there's a better option, and it's what God instructs us to do as followers of Jesus. 00:09:50.382 --> 00:09:59.704 It is to stand firm, and we'll look at what that means as we look at the scripture this morning, because that's exactly what God's going to tell the people in the church of Philippi. 00:09:59.704 --> 00:10:01.824 It's what he's going to tell us today as well. 00:10:01.824 --> 00:10:03.923 So take a look with me at verse 17. 00:10:03.923 --> 00:10:05.732 That's where we're going to start. 00:10:06.533 --> 00:10:24.134 Paul writes and he says Brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eye on those walking according, or those who walk according to the example you have in us, for many of whom I have often told you and now tell you, even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:10:24.134 --> 00:10:27.784 Their end is their destruction or their end is destruction. 00:10:27.784 --> 00:10:35.817 Their God is their belly And they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. 00:10:35.817 --> 00:10:41.389 So Paul's saying to the church and God is saying to us listen. 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:44.985 There are people who have given us an example that we can follow. 00:10:44.985 --> 00:10:47.284 Obviously, jesus is the ultimate example. 00:10:47.284 --> 00:10:50.004 We can look in the scripture and learn from him. 00:10:50.004 --> 00:10:52.504 But there are people that maybe are in our lives. 00:10:52.504 --> 00:11:14.084 Maybe you grew up with parents or grandparents or some type of mentor that you saw them standing firm, you saw them living out this Christian faith in a world that was opposed to that, and so there are people that we can look at and follow as examples, because none of those people did that in the vacuum of a comfortable and peaceful, serene situation. 00:11:14.084 --> 00:11:20.504 It was always in the midst of difficulty, it was always in the midst of opposition, and so we learn from them. 00:11:20.504 --> 00:11:33.944 And that's why Paul says pay attention to look at, learn from those who are pursuing this upward call what he describes earlier in this letter to the Philippians as the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 00:11:33.944 --> 00:11:37.304 They're pressing on, they're straining forward. 00:11:37.304 --> 00:11:43.924 That's the way he describes it, and so we have examples that we can look to and learn from, and he's telling us to do that. 00:11:45.192 --> 00:11:46.884 But he also mentions that there is opposition. 00:11:46.884 --> 00:11:51.304 He describes this opposition as enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:11:51.304 --> 00:12:03.055 Now, in his context he's probably talking about our best guess is people that are opposed, many of them, his fellow Jews that are opposed to the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. 00:12:03.055 --> 00:12:11.225 He says in other places that to the Greeks this is foolishness, this idea that we need to be saved, that we need to be made right with God. 00:12:11.225 --> 00:12:15.784 They have their other gods that they worship, and so to them this is foolishness. 00:12:15.784 --> 00:12:21.524 But to many people this is a stumbling block, it's an offense, it's something that they get angry about. 00:12:21.524 --> 00:12:23.304 It's not any different today. 00:12:23.304 --> 00:12:36.115 You know, if you start talking about Jesus being the way of the truth and the life, there's no way that the Father, but through him, you've just cut a line right through the middle of our world, and people fall on either side of the line. 00:12:36.115 --> 00:12:42.172 They either believe the exclusive truth claim of Jesus Christ as the way of the truth and the life, or they don't. 00:12:42.172 --> 00:12:50.414 And so when you start saying those things the truth of the gospel you may encounter opposition, just like the people in the early church did, like Paul did. 00:12:50.544 --> 00:12:54.307 So he talks about these enemies with tears because they glory. 00:12:54.307 --> 00:12:59.033 Their glory is their shame, the thing that they celebrate. 00:12:59.033 --> 00:13:00.544 Now. 00:13:00.544 --> 00:13:01.850 This hits close to home, doesn't it? 00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:13.905 The thing that they maybe have parades about, the thing that they promote, the things that they're trying to push on other people, the things that they glory in, that they elevate that they? 00:13:13.905 --> 00:13:16.473 that is their shame before God. 00:13:16.473 --> 00:13:18.851 And he says their end is destruction. 00:13:18.851 --> 00:13:21.631 And he says this with tears. 00:13:21.631 --> 00:13:26.269 He's not angry about these enemies of the cross of Christ, he is grieved. 00:13:26.269 --> 00:13:28.211 These are lost people. 00:13:28.211 --> 00:13:32.730 These are people that don't know the grace in the mercy of God. 00:13:32.730 --> 00:13:38.095 These are people who are far from God, who have rejected him in the truth of the gospel. 00:13:38.204 --> 00:13:41.790 And so he says with tears yes, there are enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:13:41.790 --> 00:13:42.614 And he describes them. 00:13:42.614 --> 00:13:44.511 He says their God is their belly. 00:13:44.511 --> 00:13:47.793 Now, i thought about that in. 00:13:47.793 --> 00:13:50.731 I don't think my belly quite qualifies. 00:13:50.731 --> 00:13:55.511 Okay, you know, at different times in my life it has been more majestic than it is right now. 00:13:56.084 --> 00:13:57.209 But what does that mean? 00:13:57.209 --> 00:13:58.789 My God is my belly. 00:13:58.789 --> 00:14:08.411 Well, that means that my desires, the desires of my flesh, my body, my cravings, that those become the objects of worship. 00:14:08.411 --> 00:14:10.169 Now, can't we relate to that? 00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:13.092 I mean, think about what we're told in the world today. 00:14:13.092 --> 00:14:16.173 If you have a desire, satisfy it. 00:14:16.173 --> 00:14:20.096 If it's something that you wanna do, then go for it. 00:14:20.096 --> 00:14:22.513 We see people trying to change laws. 00:14:22.513 --> 00:14:24.265 I mean, i don't even wanna get into it Anyway. 00:14:24.526 --> 00:14:31.948 So there's so many things that are sinful nature, craves and desires And that's what Paul's saying is these enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:14:31.948 --> 00:14:38.071 They worship their own desires, their self gratification, and so they are lost. 00:14:38.071 --> 00:14:40.552 And so he has grieved over that. 00:14:40.552 --> 00:14:42.832 But there's good news, and that's where he's moving. 00:14:42.832 --> 00:14:54.650 He's moving to the good news that that does not have to be the end, that doesn't have to be where they stay, and so many of us, we may have been there, but that's not where we are today And we can celebrate that. 00:14:54.650 --> 00:15:04.691 And so, through the cross, god has made a way for us to move from that destruction to eternal life, a life that is now being transformed by the power of the gospel. 00:15:04.764 --> 00:15:06.191 Look what he says in verse 20. 00:15:06.191 --> 00:15:09.975 He makes a sort of a transition here, a contrast. 00:15:09.975 --> 00:15:18.869 He says but our citizenship he's talking about believers our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await. 00:15:18.869 --> 00:15:31.076 What a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 00:15:31.076 --> 00:15:34.131 So to this group of people, many of them. 00:15:34.131 --> 00:15:35.850 They're proud Roman citizens. 00:15:35.850 --> 00:15:45.451 He's saying you have a greater citizenship, you have the highest possible citizenship if you're in Christ, even if you're not a Roman citizen. 00:15:45.605 --> 00:15:47.391 Some of the people in that church weren't. 00:15:47.391 --> 00:15:49.550 Some of them were slaves. 00:15:49.550 --> 00:15:58.212 They didn't have the kind of freedom that the Roman citizens had, but they still had a greater citizenship, and it was a heavenly citizenship. 00:15:58.212 --> 00:16:00.231 It means that they belong to Christ. 00:16:00.231 --> 00:16:05.572 Now he's not saying their earthly citizenship is worthless, and I wouldn't say that about ours as well. 00:16:05.572 --> 00:16:09.675 He uses Paul, uses his citizenship to advance the gospel. 00:16:09.675 --> 00:16:16.252 He takes full advantage of his rights and privileges as a citizen of Rome And we are to be good stewards. 00:16:16.252 --> 00:16:24.334 I think we've already mentioned it this morning about being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us and the freedoms and the responsibilities that we have. 00:16:24.334 --> 00:16:25.549 It's just the same. 00:16:25.549 --> 00:16:33.388 So here he is pointing out this that as believers, you have a life giving eternal citizenship, which is incredible. 00:16:33.388 --> 00:16:35.634 Because what happens to the Roman Empire? 00:16:35.634 --> 00:16:36.629 Is it around anymore? 00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:49.366 No, nations empires they rise, they fall, they become the most powerful in the world and oftentimes they diminish, they divide. 00:16:49.366 --> 00:16:52.302 That's what happens. 00:16:52.302 --> 00:17:01.067 But in the eternal realm of God there is a citizenship that is undisputed and it is completely secure. 00:17:01.067 --> 00:17:13.648 And that's what we have in Jesus Christ And that's what Paul is pointing the church to, because they face polarization, they face division and uncertainty, just like we do, and in the midst of that we have a great hope. 00:17:13.780 --> 00:17:17.086 And the great hope is this it is that Jesus is coming back. 00:17:17.086 --> 00:17:20.307 Jesus will return for his church. 00:17:20.307 --> 00:17:23.129 Jesus will make all things right. 00:17:23.129 --> 00:17:25.528 Jesus will end suffering and pain. 00:17:25.528 --> 00:17:30.828 Jesus will transform our lowly bodies into the lightness of his glorious body. 00:17:30.828 --> 00:17:41.809 And that's good news, because when you're young you may not think that's a big deal, but when you get older and this body doesn't do what it should do and you're like come Lord Jesus any time now. 00:17:41.809 --> 00:17:44.307 I'm ready, lord, i'm ready. 00:17:44.307 --> 00:17:46.127 My family knows the Lord, i'm ready to go. 00:17:46.127 --> 00:17:47.445 Come on, let's bring it on. 00:17:47.445 --> 00:17:56.208 So this hope that we have is rooted in that we have a savior and that savior is coming back for his church. 00:17:56.208 --> 00:17:58.267 And so we think about it. 00:17:58.540 --> 00:18:05.589 Paul says that, talking about things being subjected, and we look around at the world and it's like are all things being subjected? 00:18:05.589 --> 00:18:08.247 Not yet, but there will be a day. 00:18:08.247 --> 00:18:09.284 He mentioned it earlier. 00:18:09.284 --> 00:18:11.083 If you've got your Bible, look in chapter two. 00:18:11.083 --> 00:18:19.984 There in Philippians, in chapter two and verse nine, he makes a promise here for the divine revelation of God, speaking of Jesus. 00:18:19.984 --> 00:18:42.927 In verse nine he says therefore, god has highly exalted him that is Jesus, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:18:42.927 --> 00:19:01.470 So a day is coming in a constantly shifting road We don't see all things being subjected but a day is coming when Jesus comes and returns and every knee will bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:19:01.470 --> 00:19:06.807 And so we live with that expectancy, we live with that hope, and maybe it'll happen in our lifetime. 00:19:06.807 --> 00:19:11.147 Perhaps we'll die and then go to be with the Lord, but it could happen in our lifetime. 00:19:11.147 --> 00:19:13.207 We live with that hope and that expectation. 00:19:13.207 --> 00:19:19.089 So there's the fact that we are citizens of heaven, the fact that we have this hope that is in Jesus. 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:25.451 Now Paul moves from this expression to begin to give us the call of heavenly citizens. 00:19:25.451 --> 00:19:28.870 What does it mean here on earth to be a citizen of heaven? 00:19:28.870 --> 00:19:31.286 He says in verse one, chapter four. 00:19:31.286 --> 00:19:45.330 Right there in verse one he says therefore, which means considering all that I've said to you up to this moment, my brothers, whom I love and long for my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 00:19:45.330 --> 00:19:46.264 We hear that again. 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:55.828 Ethan was reading from Galatians and we heard that stand firm, he's saying to the believers in Philippi stand firm thus in the Lord. 00:19:55.828 --> 00:19:58.168 This echoes what he said earlier in the letter. 00:19:58.168 --> 00:20:01.806 He talked about let the manner of your life be worthy of the gospel. 00:20:01.806 --> 00:20:08.207 He gave us the example of Christ, the ultimate example of humility and obedience, even to the point of death on the cross. 00:20:08.207 --> 00:20:18.410 He talked about living as light shining the world, imitating those who are following Jesus are standing firm lives that we can learn from. 00:20:18.881 --> 00:20:29.221 And so he's painting a picture throughout this letter of a church that is not weakened by disunity, that is, or weakened by drama or compromising the preaching of God's word. 00:20:29.221 --> 00:20:36.963 It is standing firm, it is unmovable, it is unshakable when the world comes against it, and it will. 00:20:36.963 --> 00:20:41.487 When you see what happens to the early church, you know, if you study your history. 00:20:41.487 --> 00:20:46.430 It does come against the church, but the church doesn't just survive, it thrives. 00:20:46.430 --> 00:20:49.967 We look in places in the world today where the church is being persecuted. 00:20:49.967 --> 00:20:56.690 It is powerful what God is doing through the church in those places, and it is not just surviving, it is thriving. 00:20:56.690 --> 00:21:07.286 So this is a picture of what we're seeing, of a church standing firm, of individual believers standing firm, and so we have that kind of banner if you will stand firm, thus in the Lord. 00:21:07.286 --> 00:21:09.065 But what does that look like for us? 00:21:09.065 --> 00:21:17.865 Well, he goes through this kind of rapid fire succession of elements here and versus following, versus two through nine, and we're gonna look at those real quick. 00:21:17.865 --> 00:21:24.247 But basically, this is like a recipe, if you're like okay, i wanna stand firm in the Lord, i'm accepting this mission. 00:21:24.247 --> 00:21:27.089 You know, i believe this is what God has called me to do. 00:21:27.089 --> 00:21:28.345 This is what it would look like. 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:32.406 And he starts with a personal matter between two ladies in the church. 00:21:32.406 --> 00:21:38.929 In verse two he says I entreat you, odea, and I entreat Sintake to agree in the Lord. 00:21:38.929 --> 00:21:50.168 Now, if you're looking for a name for a baby girl, maybe not these two, but these are two ladies that Paul personally knows. 00:21:50.168 --> 00:21:51.043 And look what he says. 00:21:51.043 --> 00:21:51.605 Verse three. 00:21:51.605 --> 00:22:05.345 Yes, i ask you also, true companion speaking to a leader in the church, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of the life. 00:22:05.345 --> 00:22:10.288 So these are two ladies that were a part of his ministry team when he was there in Philippi. 00:22:10.288 --> 00:22:16.388 They were a part of the church and they seem to be prominent in the church and they have some sort of disagreement between them. 00:22:16.780 --> 00:22:18.346 But he says in verse four, he goes further. 00:22:18.346 --> 00:22:20.626 He says rejoice in the Lord. 00:22:20.626 --> 00:22:21.247 Always. 00:22:21.247 --> 00:22:30.969 Again I will say this is very emphatic again I will say rejoice, let your reasonableness be known to everyone. 00:22:30.969 --> 00:22:31.961 Why? 00:22:31.961 --> 00:22:34.028 Because the Lord is at hand. 00:22:34.028 --> 00:22:38.184 He kind of puts that in the context that the Lord is at hand. 00:22:38.184 --> 00:22:47.406 And so there's this disagreement between these two ladies that were a central part of the team there, ministry team, and we don't know what's going on. 00:22:47.406 --> 00:22:50.365 It's possible that they got pushed into the party planning committee. 00:22:50.365 --> 00:22:51.242 You know how that? 00:22:51.242 --> 00:22:51.684 you know. 00:22:51.684 --> 00:22:53.605 It's just what are we doing for Christmas? 00:22:53.605 --> 00:22:58.725 And somebody wants, you know, clear lights and somebody wants colored lights, and you know, and it's like, do we get? 00:22:58.725 --> 00:23:12.128 you know, i'm a classic, you know the glass bald guy, and maybe they're no, i'm sure it was nothing that trivial, though that can get pretty intense, you know that bold thing, but anyway, it's probably nothing that trivial. 00:23:12.128 --> 00:23:23.028 But there's some sort of disagreement going on And what Paul is saying to the leaders in the church and people of the churches you need to come alongside these ladies, because this disunity is dangerous to the church. 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:33.149 It's not only harmful to them, but it's harmful to the church, because this is if you're writing anything down, this is how I would say it Unity among believers is essential. 00:23:33.149 --> 00:23:38.905 Unity among believers is essential to standing firm in the Lord. 00:23:38.905 --> 00:23:44.512 You know, we've heard it said from the scripture and from history that a house divided cannot. 00:23:44.512 --> 00:23:57.345 Thank you, yeah, i felt like I was at my dinner table with my young adult children, because anytime I bring up something from history, it's like crickets, unless it's Hamilton, which there's a musical and anyway, that's beside the point. 00:23:57.345 --> 00:24:00.420 So, yeah, we've heard that and it's true. 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:02.259 A house divided cannot stand. 00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:06.659 And, as believers, if we're gonna stand firm, unity is absolutely essential. 00:24:06.659 --> 00:24:17.161 And so Paul is calling for this unity, and an element of that is being able to reduce the need for unity and to be able to make it and being able to rejoice in the Lord always, you know. 00:24:17.542 --> 00:24:18.526 Let me back up for a minute. 00:24:18.526 --> 00:24:33.903 When we think about unity, we could take a survey today of who's been hurt by somebody in the church, and I think probably anybody that's lived for any period of time it's been a part of a church it's probably experienced a painful encounter or maybe a season. 00:24:33.903 --> 00:24:44.047 Some of us have some pain that is beyond description because of something that happened as a result of somebody in the church. 00:24:44.047 --> 00:24:46.865 So we have choices. 00:24:46.865 --> 00:24:51.028 When that happens, we can just rise up and go on the attack. 00:24:51.028 --> 00:25:02.470 We can defend ourselves if we feel like we're being attacked and maybe not listen if there's any truth in what's being shared with us, or maybe we just resign ourselves to bitterness. 00:25:02.470 --> 00:25:10.644 I'm just gonna sit here and stew and stir my pot of bitterness and resentment or maybe we just drop our ball and walk away and said I'm done with the church. 00:25:10.644 --> 00:25:11.503 And those are. 00:25:11.503 --> 00:25:12.708 Let me be honest with you. 00:25:12.860 --> 00:25:22.848 I taught to people throughout my life That probably is what most people wind up doing And that is not what God has called us to. 00:25:22.848 --> 00:25:27.450 You know, we can't be perfectly united all the time. 00:25:27.450 --> 00:25:31.628 People do hurt one another, but we're called to seek reconciliation. 00:25:31.628 --> 00:25:36.146 It's not always possible, but where it is possible, we should work for it. 00:25:36.146 --> 00:25:38.769 We should forgive as we have been forgiven. 00:25:38.769 --> 00:25:44.391 That's how Jesus taught us to pray Father, forgive my sins as I forgive those who sinned against me. 00:25:44.391 --> 00:25:52.288 I can't sit here and say, god, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, thank you for that forgiveness, but I'm not gonna forgive this person. 00:25:52.288 --> 00:25:56.949 That's an issue that I gotta work through and allow God to work in my life to bring forgiveness. 00:25:56.949 --> 00:26:00.265 It may not be instantaneous or overnight, but I need to work on that. 00:26:00.265 --> 00:26:07.467 You know that we need to work for reconciliation and we can pray for those and love those that refuse reconciliation. 00:26:07.467 --> 00:26:09.003 We can stand firm. 00:26:09.063 --> 00:26:15.364 But this idea of rejoicing in the Lord always, that might you're like okay, paul, well and good for you. 00:26:15.364 --> 00:26:20.067 You're an apostle of Jesus Christ, you do miracles, you get divine revelation. 00:26:20.067 --> 00:26:21.042 That's great. 00:26:21.042 --> 00:26:25.188 But if you had to work with the people I work with or live with, no, we won't go there. 00:26:25.188 --> 00:26:34.907 If you had to deal with the pressures that I face in my life, you wouldn't be telling me to rejoice in the Lord always And you wouldn't say again I say rejoice. 00:26:36.564 --> 00:26:40.507 Well, paul's not saying that because it's based on our circumstances. 00:26:40.507 --> 00:26:46.747 I mean, if you look at the circumstances of his life, a lot of what we go through doesn't even compare. 00:26:46.747 --> 00:26:49.989 He's not saying that based upon the cultural climate. 00:26:49.989 --> 00:26:59.903 He's saying that based on the secure hope of what our heavenly citizenship, that we belong to Jesus Christ, that we have a hope of a savior who is going to come and transform us. 00:26:59.903 --> 00:27:10.285 That is working in our lives now through his Holy Spirit, and so we have a tremendous hope that we're where, yes, in the midst of great tragedy, we can find hope. 00:27:10.285 --> 00:27:20.826 And rejoice Doesn't mean that we're rejoicing over the tragedy or rejoicing over the pain, but we're rejoicing in the one that we have trusted our hope to And that is the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:20.826 --> 00:27:25.744 He also says let your reasonableness be made known, or let it be made known. 00:27:25.744 --> 00:27:27.344 You know, i think about this. 00:27:27.344 --> 00:27:39.628 You ever, you ever noticed like when the tornado has gone through somewhere and the news media is looking for somebody maybe a fire or something like that They find some of the wildest characters. 00:27:39.628 --> 00:27:45.267 You know, you got that tornado came flying, my truck went flying up there And you know just all kind of stuff like that. 00:27:45.621 --> 00:27:52.946 Well, they kind of treat Christianity the same way, the people that are portrayed or depicted in our media and our entertainment as Christians. 00:27:52.946 --> 00:27:54.967 A lot of times it's not very flattering. 00:27:54.967 --> 00:28:00.342 Maybe it's backward or ignorant or they're just off the rails, angry And sadly. 00:28:00.342 --> 00:28:01.988 There's truth in some of that. 00:28:01.988 --> 00:28:07.325 Obviously, nobody here, but there's truth in some of that. 00:28:07.325 --> 00:28:09.646 You know, we think standing firm. 00:28:09.646 --> 00:28:13.089 Sometimes maybe that's a license to be a jerk for Jesus. 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:15.361 It's not. 00:28:15.361 --> 00:28:17.569 I had that T-shirt but I can't wear it. 00:28:17.569 --> 00:28:18.824 My wife won't let me wear it. 00:28:18.824 --> 00:28:19.903 I'm a jerk for Jesus. 00:28:19.903 --> 00:28:22.728 No, we don't have that freedom. 00:28:22.728 --> 00:28:28.748 You know, we're not about attacking people, we're not about going after people. 00:28:28.748 --> 00:28:33.762 I mean, we stand for truth, we're standing firm, we're praying about these things Absolutely. 00:28:33.802 --> 00:28:39.461 But we need to make our reasonableness, make that be made known, and how. 00:28:39.461 --> 00:28:39.984 What is that? 00:28:39.984 --> 00:28:46.065 That is our gentleness, that is our humility That should remind us of Christ. 00:28:46.065 --> 00:28:51.507 It is our lack of contentiousness that we're not the pot stirrer. 00:28:51.507 --> 00:28:53.566 We're not the grumble complainer. 00:28:53.566 --> 00:28:58.967 We're not the one that's always making the digs, we're not the always one that you know what I'm saying. 00:28:58.967 --> 00:29:02.369 That is not the reasonableness that we're talking about. 00:29:02.369 --> 00:29:02.600 Now. 00:29:02.600 --> 00:29:14.489 Maybe you look at your social media account and you're thinking man, i should have read this before I posted what I just posted this morning, or you know, that would be a great thing, you know, to put over our computer screen or whatever you got. 00:29:14.489 --> 00:29:18.146 Let the rejoicing in the Lord is my rejoicing in the Lord. 00:29:18.146 --> 00:29:22.185 What people are taking away from this interaction Is my reasonableness. 00:29:22.185 --> 00:29:36.051 What people are taking away from this interaction, those would be great things for us to think about, because this unity, this rejoicing in the Lord and making known our reasonableness, these are essential elements to standing firm in the Lord. 00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:38.729 He goes on in chapter four, verse six. 00:29:38.729 --> 00:29:55.048 He says this another element don't be anxious about anything, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:29:55.048 --> 00:29:58.086 You know, you think about where this church was. 00:29:58.086 --> 00:30:02.688 There's a lot that they could have been anxious about And I think about some of you here today. 00:30:02.688 --> 00:30:07.988 I don't know all of you, but I know some of you And there are things that are happening in your lives. 00:30:07.988 --> 00:30:17.888 There are grave concerns that you have And it would be easy to be overwhelmed, just like the early church, to be overwhelmed by everything that's happening around us. 00:30:17.888 --> 00:30:20.307 But God said you could have peace. 00:30:20.307 --> 00:30:29.845 There is a peace that guards hearts and minds if we will take those anxieties and we will lay and for me this is a daily thing because you know what I do I pick them back up. 00:30:29.845 --> 00:30:31.864 You know it's like God. 00:30:31.903 --> 00:30:45.506 I'm feeling this anxiety about what, this issue that's happening in our nation or in my family or in my work or whatever, and I lay at it his feet and then I pick it back up And so daily I have to surrender these things, these burdens, these fears, sometimes anger and frustration. 00:30:45.506 --> 00:30:50.006 I mean I get angry when I think about, you know, i have three young adult children. 00:30:50.006 --> 00:30:52.348 Some of you have children that are older, younger, whatever. 00:30:52.348 --> 00:31:04.269 But I listened to what the influences if I could say the word right Influencers in their generation are preaching and how ungodly a lot of it is. 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:16.070 There is some godliness in there, but there's a lot of ungodliness And it makes me angry that people are being lied to and deceived and they're being led down a path to destruction that's doing incredible harm. 00:31:16.070 --> 00:31:19.488 That makes me angry And I would like to say that's sort of a righteous anger. 00:31:19.488 --> 00:31:24.287 But I've got some of my own mixed up in there too, and I got to lay that down at the feet of Jesus. 00:31:24.287 --> 00:31:33.285 I got to give that to him because if I don't, that's going to consume me, just like the guy I talked to about earlier, the other veteran consumed with pain and anger, and I don't want to be there. 00:31:33.285 --> 00:31:43.908 I want to stand firm for the Lord And so we need to pray, we need to lay those things down, and there is a peace that will come from that, that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ. 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:46.085 Real quickly, verse eight. 00:31:46.085 --> 00:32:06.589 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things, what you have learned and received and heard and seen and me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. 00:32:06.589 --> 00:32:10.749 Let me just summarize what Paul's saying there in verse eight. 00:32:10.749 --> 00:32:13.605 You know there are a lot of things that you could give your attention to. 00:32:13.605 --> 00:32:25.468 There are a lot of things that you could be consumed with, you know, as you engage in the world or choose not to engage, whatever the case might be, but he's saying these are the things that, if you want the peace of God in your life. 00:32:25.468 --> 00:32:30.191 Follow my example and think about these things. 00:32:30.191 --> 00:32:42.208 Let these things be foremost in your thinking in the way that you it's like a corrective lens, if you will the truth of God's word, which all of these things reflect, the truth of God's word. 00:32:42.208 --> 00:32:52.809 Allow that to change the way that you view what's happening in your world, what's happening in your life, and the God of peace will be with you. 00:32:52.809 --> 00:32:56.328 You know, paul provides this example. 00:32:57.440 --> 00:33:02.746 Sitting in, he's under arrest, he's imprisoned, he's gonna be on trial for his life. 00:33:02.746 --> 00:33:08.710 So he's not the guy that's sitting in this nice comfortable place writing these things. 00:33:08.710 --> 00:33:09.963 He's writing to the church. 00:33:09.963 --> 00:33:12.871 He's focused on what? 00:33:12.871 --> 00:33:15.028 Not the situation that he's in. 00:33:15.028 --> 00:33:21.544 He's caught up in a huge event in the nation This, the beginning of the persecution of Christianity in the Roman Empire. 00:33:21.544 --> 00:33:25.283 He's right in the middle of it And he could die. 00:33:25.283 --> 00:33:26.326 He knows that. 00:33:26.326 --> 00:33:27.806 He talks about it earlier in the letter. 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:31.784 So it's not like he doesn't care about the events of the day. 00:33:31.784 --> 00:33:35.705 He does, but what he's saying is that there's something that is more important. 00:33:35.705 --> 00:33:39.042 And what he's saying to us, and what he knows, is this It doesn't. 00:33:39.042 --> 00:34:01.609 Yes, there are things happening in his nation, things happening in his culture, things happening in the lives of people that he cares about, but the life changing gospel that he's talking about, standing firm in this life changing gospel of Jesus Christ, it exceeds any political or social solution to the human condition, and so he's saying those are the things to focus on. 00:34:01.609 --> 00:34:20.427 Let that be what guides you as you engage with the world around you, because, again, there are a lot of things that we could give our thoughts to, our time, to our passion to, and we are to, engage, but we're to do that thinking about the right things, standing firm in the Lord, with our mind focused on those right things that we learn from the scripture. 00:34:20.427 --> 00:34:25.090 We possess the one true hope that can transform and save lives. 00:34:25.220 --> 00:34:39.079 I want to ask our worship team to come back and, you know, as we celebrate faith and freedom and Independence Day this weekend, we think about the price that has been paid for the freedom that we have. 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:39.762 We thank God. 00:34:39.762 --> 00:34:47.021 I mean the story that Pastor James shared about the soldier risking his life to save all those other soldiers. 00:34:47.021 --> 00:34:51.740 Those things are inspiring And we should honor and celebrate those, and hopefully you do. 00:34:51.740 --> 00:35:02.242 But we have this historically unprecedented freedom compared to how most people have lived in the existence of the entire planet. 00:35:02.242 --> 00:35:09.679 Our freedom is just crazy off the charts way better than anything that anybody's ever had in the world's history. 00:35:10.155 --> 00:35:13.401 So we celebrate, we give thanks for that, for our American citizenship. 00:35:13.401 --> 00:35:17.099 But we also recognize this is not the greatest hope of the world. 00:35:17.099 --> 00:35:23.385 This is not gonna change and transform lives. 00:35:23.385 --> 00:35:25.722 Yes, it can make people's lives more comfortable. 00:35:25.722 --> 00:35:31.983 You get a lot more opportunity in this country than you do in many other countries around the world. 00:35:31.983 --> 00:35:37.662 You get a lot more freedom than you do in this country than many countries around the world, and I wouldn't take anything away from that. 00:35:37.662 --> 00:35:44.604 Those are tremendous blessings, But it will not transform a broken life. 00:35:49.456 --> 00:35:54.838 You know, i think about it today Our citizenship. 00:35:54.838 --> 00:35:59.443 That transcends what happens in any kingdom, any nation. 00:35:59.443 --> 00:36:01.780 It is a true treasure. 00:36:01.780 --> 00:36:22.460 It is the greatest treasure And hopefully, as Pastor James had mentioned this morning, that we walk away having given our hearts and our attention and our thoughts to our King Jesus more than anything else, because he is the only one that could have purchased that for us. 00:36:22.460 --> 00:36:39.221 God didn't send armies and navies and air forces and Marine Corps and all these other thousands or tens of thousands or even millions to go and invade planet Earth and lay down their lives. 00:36:39.221 --> 00:37:00.958 He sent one He's only some Because only Jesus was worthy to lay down His life and take it back up so that you and I could become sons and daughters of the Most High God, so that we could cry out to Him and say God, save me. 00:37:00.958 --> 00:37:03.204 I put my trust and my faith in You. 00:37:03.204 --> 00:37:11.744 He is the only one, and thank God that He came And thank God we have the hope that He is coming again. 00:37:15.055 --> 00:37:20.584 You know, maybe today you think you know, i haven't really thought about standing firm. 00:37:20.584 --> 00:37:21.920 I've just kind of been doing life. 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:25.804 I haven't even wasn't even on my radar. 00:37:25.804 --> 00:37:32.721 And maybe you were challenged today And I would encourage you, if you were challenged like you need to seek some unity. 00:37:32.721 --> 00:37:37.342 Maybe you know the is the joy of the Lord. 00:37:37.342 --> 00:37:41.403 Missing in action is reasonableness missing in action. 00:37:41.403 --> 00:37:47.782 Is that what people are taking away from our interactions or are those things not present? 00:37:47.782 --> 00:38:18.639 Maybe we need to make some choices today about standing firm in the Lord, about taking our frustrations and our discouragement and our pain and our burdens And, instead of trying to carry them around ourselves, lay them at the feet of Jesus And if you have to do it again later today, or do it again tomorrow or the next day, do it again And again and keep doing that and keep giving that to the Lord And asking Him to do what only He can do So we can stand firm. 00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:27.885 You know, the reality is that maybe you're here today and you long for that peace that guards hearts and minds. 00:38:27.885 --> 00:38:36.041 You long for a hope that is more secure and greater than anything that can be found here on this earth, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus. 00:38:36.041 --> 00:38:39.083 Today you can enter into that relationship. 00:38:39.083 --> 00:38:40.942 It's very simple. 00:38:40.942 --> 00:38:47.200 You believe and put your faith in Him as your Lord and your Savior. 00:38:47.200 --> 00:38:51.039 You trust Him to forgive your sins, to make you right with God. 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:55.181 You surrender your life to Him And I would encourage you today. 00:38:55.355 --> 00:39:07.240 If today you see that God is telling you I want you to be my child, i want you to be my son, i want you to be my daughter, i want you to have this hope, this treasure, you can respond to Him today. 00:39:07.240 --> 00:39:08.157 Would you stand? 00:39:08.157 --> 00:39:09.481 this morning? 00:39:09.481 --> 00:39:31.423 We're gonna pray in a moment And then our worship team is gonna lead us in worship and here in Somerville Baptist we have what's called a response time, where I'll be right here down front If you want just to come talk with me for a minute or maybe you're making a decision for Christ. 00:39:31.423 --> 00:39:37.260 I would love to get to know you a little bit and pray with you about that decision. 00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:42.206 Maybe you have some real deep need in your life this morning. 00:39:42.206 --> 00:39:43.701 You just need somebody to pray with you. 00:39:43.701 --> 00:39:46.438 I'll be down here for a little bit, so I'm gonna invite you. 00:39:46.438 --> 00:39:51.023 If you feel led to do that, come down and we'll worship together. 00:39:51.375 --> 00:39:52.018 Would you bow with me? 00:39:53.195 --> 00:39:53.476 Father? 00:39:53.496 --> 00:40:00.095 we thank you that you are our God. 00:40:01.474 --> 00:40:04.277 We thank you for the gift of your son, jesus, and all that. 00:40:04.338 --> 00:40:08.625 That means, lord, that we have the greatest hope, the greatest treasure. 00:40:08.914 --> 00:40:30.934 We have a citizenship that exceeds anything that this world has to offer And, god, i pray that the truth of that would take root in our hearts and, god, that you would help us to take your word and apply it to our lives, so that we could stand firm as individuals, as families, as a church, so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could continue to advance through us and change. 00:40:31.740 --> 00:40:33.954 Lord, we see so many enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:40:33.954 --> 00:40:49.302 These are people that are lost And instead of being angry with them or attacking them, god, let us take the love of the gospel, let us take the truth of the gospels as we stand firm, so that they too might become children of God. 00:40:49.302 --> 00:41:02.421 God, i pray for any that don't know you here this morning, that you would just reveal yourself more and more to them, that they could put their trust and faith in you, jesus, and surrender their life to follow you. 00:41:02.421 --> 00:41:15.112 We thank you, god, for the precious gift of all that you have blessed us with in this nation, and for that we give you praise, we give you thanks, we give you glory, and we pray these things in your name, jesus, amen.