Sermon Tone Analysis

Call To Worship Scripture

Philippians 1:21-

Sermon Scripture

THE HISTORY

The book of Philippians is a thank you letter of sorts.

The church at Philippi had sent Paul a gift upon hearing of his imprisiment in Rome.

Paul in writing this letter/epistal to thank the church at Philippi, take the occasion to

Report his own circumstances

encourage the Philippians to stand firm in the face of persecution and rejoice regardless of their circumstances (the soverignty of God)

Exhort them to humility and unity

Comment Timothy and Epaphroditus to the Philippian church

Warn the Philippians against Judaizers (legalist) and antinomians (libertines) among them.

Now...

In the second chapter of Philippians we have a variety of different things addressed as to unity and protection of the church and how they are to be found, known and exercised within the church of Christ.

Let me ask this to you who are in Christ…Have you ever in Christ sought, encouragement, comfort, participation, affection, sympathy?

Have you sought the completion of joy or wondered where it comes form or a unified love?

What about hope or a secure trust?

It seems that these things would be used to describe a utopian of sort home and family life.

Like a Rockwell painting of the family around the dinner table with the sun shinning in the window, smiles upon the faces, with everyone together as the steam carries the smell of turkey to all, that is the impression and/or description that these words give.

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ” is how begins.

Can you picture in Christ…that is, within the family of Christ, the church, believers.

And what is described henceforth is described in a descriptive and assertive manner.

That is, it is described with the thought that indeed it ought to be as described.

Within the home, the fellowship, the gathering of believers there must be...

encouragement - in Christ

The encouragement in Christ is in the example of Christ.

The highlighted point of the example of Christ is His willing submission.

comfort - from love

The love is found and applied in selflesness, which is able to be done by a firm trust in God’s perfect will.

This unified unselfish love is what has brought us to be able to in joy and comfort rest in Christ.

participation - in the Spirit

To be of something is to participate in it.

We each through the submission of Christ, an by the love of Christ have been given opportunity to participate in the things of Christ, the things of the Kingdom of God, that is the family of God.

This is indeed the description of life in Christ and as such it is also a description of the godly family.

Just as Christ is head of the church, so husband/fathers you are the head of the home.

Your submission to God and to His commands and to His church order and service must be demonstrated.

And in this, I say to the wife and mothers, that you indeed play no less of a role.

for you submission and honor to Gods established order is either a great stregnth to the family when faithfully adhered to, or a great crutch when rebelled against.

Just as submission demonstrated Christ as the rightful head of the church, so also is that submission a necessary requirment of the godly home and all godly position and offices to be held.

But why do we submit to God’s designed order?

Is it under compolsion?

Absolutley not.

It is in love.

When you go into a house and feel a legalistic dominance or a passivist neglect, then you can be certain what you won’t feel is comfortable.

It is because when love is absent, when self sacrifice is absent and personal interest are supreme then a home grows cold, as affection for one another fades.

When this happens the the very unity, the single mindedness, the identitiy, the spirit of the family is lost.

When a mother and father submit to their God givien position, and oporate in love then the comfort of a home is unmatched, and what follows is a unified identity, where just as mom and dad oporate, so does everyone in the home have a God given position that helps to make up the identity and blessing of the home.

And just as this is true in the family, it is true in the church.

And when these things come together then the home, the church becomes filled with...

affection - a true, a real caring

sympathy - a compassion

a full joy - a deep breath, a all is right with the world, a pride absent of conciet

oneness of mind - lonliness and purposless defeated.

(a recent study showed this generation of young, at home on their facebook, twitter accounts with a million different activities going on are the lonliest generation that we have seen)

unselfishness - people not living for themselves but for the glory of God, for the fulfillment of the calling that He has given them

humility - more than our own instant grativication, we want a smile upon those whom we love.

hope - in Christ

trust - in Christ

So now hear God’s word on our example in Christ of submission of the mind.

I say the mind, for when the mind submits, so then does the heart and with the heart so does our being.

THE EXAMPLE

Now following this, Paul continues with submission by explaining the dynamics or mechanics of it.

When one submits it means that they...

Do all things without grumbling or complaining.

To be disciplined in this, guides us as children in protecting our innocence even in the midst of a crooked generation.

Hold fast to the word of life

Rejoice

Now having been given an example of submission and shown the mechanics of it within the Church, the family of Christ, we continue on in our text.

“In this paragraph Paul is still discussing the submissive mind…Paul introduces us to two “ordinary saints,” men who were not apostles or spectacular miracle workers.

He wants us to know that the submissive mind is not a luxury enjoyed by a chosen few; it is a necessity for Christian joy, and an opportunity for all believers.”

- Wiersbe

I cannot now preach the remainder of this message without first highlighting something of the time and season that we are at as the church.

By time and season I am meaning generationally what has been passed down and what we must be aware of.

In the 60’s through the 70’s of the church there was a huge movement called “the Jesus movement”.

There were many good things that took place and many bold and faithful Christians.

However within this movement, this hippie-ish Jesus movement there was an attack or a minimizing of a few things within the church that for the past 40 years the church has been increasing seeing the maturation of (in a negative sense).

You see when you think of a movement you think of something that comes and goes.

When you think of the hippie era, you think of free thinkers, free movers and so on.

If anything is held to “faithfully” it is an ideology or a cause, not a authority or people.

What was minimalized then in the church around this era was accountability and commitment.

I have seen it first had.

I have seen those who have such great gifts and talents and passionate hearts for the Lord seem to spin tires because life and ministry was spent chasing a movement and avoiding accountability and commitment to the church body.

You have all seen it and heard it… “I am commited to Christ alone” is often the modo.

The issue is that you cannot be commited to Christ without also being unyieldingly commited to His church, and you cannot be commited to His church without knowing her faces and submitting yourself to her members in full commitment and accountability.

The church is a body and one cannot be a blessed, thriving, healthy part of it by physically removing themselves from it, or by opporating outside of how God has fashioned the church body to oporate.

We have seen the sad effects of commitment and accountability within the church.

In this era of the past 40 or so years since such submission, commitment and accountability was abandoned we have seen it effect our families, our ministries and the churches elders and pastors.

We have seen divorce and the very fabric of the family fall apart (not just in the world) but in our very churches.

We have seen scandals on the rise.

We have seen ministries based on fad rather than command

We have seen commited lifetime pastors become increasingly obsolete, just as we have seen multi-generational lifetime church member communities abandoned as the church becomes a seasonal try on, like a work out routine, or a gym membership, the church local is a dating game for what the individual can get, more than a family to encourage, comfort and participate in.

I have seen pastors crushed and paranoid by abandonment of the saints.

I have seen saints embittered by the abandonment of pastors.

i have seen children lost in depression and anxiety by the abandonment of their parents.

And at the heart of much of this I have seen “on fire believers” caught up in a Jesus movement while fighting against and dodging every call of submission and ounce of accountability or commitment to the church that comes their way.

I tell you today my friends it is one of the greatest under-minding attacks on the church in our day, and it has left the church greatly vulnerable.

Seminaries have not helped, but in our day have rather become increasingly liberal and separated from the church, serving as an escape root, where those who are unwilling to submit to the church and faithfully serve, can hop around and wave a certificate for accreditation rather than a life of righteousness and faithful service.

I have heard far too many times an individual remove themselves from accountability by saying “God called me to this.”

An abstract calling of God does not free one from the definitive calling of God found in the scripture.

I’m not saying that one cannot have a calling of God, or certain thing or ministry impressed upon their heart by God.