Sermon Tone Analysis

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I am sure that many of you are familiar with the well known expression, “throwing in the towel”.
This, of course, is a well known idiom that comes from the grueling and physically taxing sport of curling!
(Just kidding, I mean the sport of boxing!)
Throwing in the towel, means that the fight is being forfeited, it is being ended due to imminent defeat and one coach sees that his fighter has taken all that he can and so, the manager/coach throws in a towel or their sponge into the ring to signify, “STOP THE FIGHT”, we quit!
I think that there are many Christians who have felt this way, at some point or another within their walk with the Lord.
That is, you become battle wearied and you feel like you’ve taken enough blows from the enemy and you just want to have the towel thrown in; you feel like quitting.
I’m sure that we would like to think of ourselves more like the southpaw Joe Calzage , nicknamed "The Pride of Wales" or "The Italian Dragon," who has had 46 fights and won 46 fights.
Most definitely, he had his fair shares of hard blows and being knocked down to the canvas on numerous fights, and yet he always got back up, stood firm and finished the fight, with excellence and remained victorious!
This is exactly what we find the Apostle Paul telling us to do in ,
and in ,
Paul is saying to not move, do not quit and DO NOT THROW IN THE TOWEL!
In fact, you will see this same type declaration throughout the New Testament from the Pauline epistles, as well as others.
“if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard....”
, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard
, “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
, “Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.”
, “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,”
, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;”
, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”
, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”
And finally, ,
It is here, at this passage in , that I want us to put our focus and attention tonight.
Coming out of chapter 3, Paul has just finished giving that amazing decree of, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Having said this, he also urges the believers to imitate him and keep their eyes on believers such as him and his walk, because, as he states, there are many who’s walk shows that they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
Then as Paul moves into this last chapter of the letter to church at Philippi, he comes out in verse 1, with this statement, “stand firm thus in the Lord”.
The little word used there, “thus”, as we find in the ESV, is also translated as, “in this way”, in other translations.
The basic idea is that Paul is saying, “Stand firm like this”, or “Stand firm in this way in the Lord”.
And then he goes on to point out what he means about standing firm in verses 2-8.
So, let’s read the passage that we are talking about in its entirety and then look at these points that Paul gives us to help equip us to become immovable , or STAND FIRM!
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How many of you would say tonight that you want to be able to stand firm in the Lord; that is, that you want spiritual stability in your DAILY walk?
I think that anyone who is truly a blood bought child of God, should want greater stability and steadfastness so as to not falter or be moved by the enemy and this world, AMEN?!
Andrew Wyeth painted picture of General Lafayette’s quarters near Chadd’s Ford, Pa., with a sycamore tree behind the building.
When his brother first saw the painting, Andrew wasn’t finished with it.
Andrew showed his brother a lot of extra drawings of the trunk and the sycamore’s gnarled roots, and his brother asked, "Where’s all that in the picture?" "It’s not in the picture," he said.
"For me to get what I want in the part of the tree that’s showing, I’ve got to know thoroughly how it is anchored in back of the house."
I think that his perspective is remarkable.
The reason that he could draw the tree above the house with such authenticity, was because he knew exactly how the tree was in the ground; he knew how it was rooted.
This carries a lot of understanding for us as well.
If we want to be authentic as followers of Jesus and be firm and immovable in our faith, then we need to KNOW where and how our faith is rooted!
In , Jesus said this to disciples during His Olivet discourse, “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
But the one who endures (that is, the one who STANDS FIRM) to the end will be saved.
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
As you and I now do our individual parts and carry the great commission by spreading the gospel message to the our part of the world, Jesus said that we must “endure”!
This word in the Greek actually means, “to remain, not to flee; to persevere under trials and to hold fast to one’s faith”.
What is the reward for this enduring that He mentions?
Well, if we look ahead, in the book of , where Jesus is writing to the suffering church of Smyrna, He says this to the Christians there, “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.
The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you.
You will suffer for ten days.
But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.”
Did you hear that, “If you remain faithful (if you endure/ hold fast to your faith/ STAND FIRM in your faith), even when facing death, I will give you the crown of eternal life!”
Jesus is trying to warn us that not everyone will finish with Him, as He says a few verses earlier, ““Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed.
You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.”
If you and I do not learn to stand firm in our faith and walk dependently with and upon Jesus, then the enemy, the god of this world, our adversary, the devil, will push us and shake us (as Jesus said of Peter) until one of two things happens: we will either move out of the line fire because our faith has been shaken and unsettled and we can’t take the discomfort and pain, OR, we will remain ROOTED in and immovable in our faith in Jesus Christ!
WE WILL STAND FIRM and tell the our enemy, “Greater is He that is in me, than you are! I’m not moving over for you, so either turn around and flee, or get out of my way, because I am staying on this narrow path and there isn’t room for the both of us!”
In , Paul talks about a situation where there was disunity within the church body between two women.
They had been working diligently in spreading the gospel message and as faithful followers of Jesus and now there was an offense, a situation causing division in the church body!
This is the first thing that the church must have in order to be able to STAND FIRM for the Lord; UNITY!
In Jesus’ priestly prayer that He gave in , as I mentioned last Sunday, He said, “I am in them and you are in me.
May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”
It was Jesus’ prayer to the Father and His desire, that His followers (you and I) would have PERFECT UNITY, so that the world would know they were His!
A church body with division is unstable and not able to STAND FIRM!
In fact, if you go back just two chapters in this epistle, you will see Paul saying this to the church there, in ,
Do you see what Paul has been told to say to the church here?
The same thing that he wrote to the church in Corinth, the same thing that he wrote to the church in Colossae, the same thing that he wrote to the church in Ephesus, the same thing that he wrote to the church in Rome, the same thing that he wrote to the church in Galatia, and the same thing that Peter wrote in his first epistle; we must have UNITY!!!!
The next step in acquiring the ability to stand firm is in verse 4, ()
REJOICE!! (Everyone say, “REJOICE”).
If you look at what Paul says, you will see where he states that you and I are to derive and find our JOY; “ALWAYS BE FULL OF JOY IN THE LORD”.
You and I are to make God our source of all joy!
The moment that you come to know Him as Lord of your life, you are instantly given His joy.
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Our joy that we derive from the Lord is not circumstantial, but is a promise that we receive through Holy Spirit.
The closer you get to Him, the more of His fruit you develop.
The kingdom of God is not linked to or altered by the world, we are not bound to this world.
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Do you try and link your joy to this world, but rather make sure that your joy is from Him and Him alone.
This world has temporary and limited joy (rather happiness) and your circumstances will determine if you have any or not!
We are to REJOICE in all CIRCUMSTANCES, because our source is never ending and it grows within us; Like a tree being fed by an underground spring in the desert.
It grows and flourishes against the odds, because its source is not external, but internal.
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Next in the list of things that the church needs to STAND FIRM, is found in verse 5 ()
The word “reasonableness” is also translated as gentle, moderate, considerate, showing forbearance.
So, we are to be considerate, gentle to those around us.
We not to point the finger of blame and guilt at others when they falter and we are to be diligent to not retaliate against others who come against us.
This verse is probably more geared towards the outside of the church; we are to show the world what God has shown to us.....HIS GRACE!
uses this same word,
This step involves us being HUMBLE and esteeming others better than ourselves.
When you stop looking out for your own personal gain and start looking for the good of others, you will have removed a handle for devil to grab a hold of and drag you around with!
Paul finishes this verse with a staunch and sobering reminder of why you should always be gentle and reasonable to others and looking for their betterment.
BECAUSE THE LORD IS COMING SOON!
We do not know when He is coming and you do not want Him to find you acting in selfish ambition!
Next in the line is found in verses 6-7 and it has a perk attached to it.
(),
This step mirrors closely the same thing that Jesus instructed us in , where He taught us not to be anxious or worry about the needs of this life, because loves us and the things that we truly need, He will provide for us.
Jesus, said rather, seek the kingdom of God FIRST and all of the other things would be given to us.
So, in order to remain STANDING FIRM, we must remove all worries and doubts about our temporal needs and do as the verse says next; we must at all times and for ALL things, be in prayer and petitioning (requesting) FROM God.
And not just asking Him for these things, but we are commanded to do so with an attitude of THANKSGIVING!
If God LOVES a cheerful giver, how do you think that He feels about a demanding or ungrateful taker?
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Giving God thanks in all circumstances is required and DO NOT say that you can’t do it!
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