Cause and Effect

Cody Hale

Philippians: Durable Joy • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

0 ratings

· 514 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Introduction

Doing something hard creates confidence. When you were starting your company, you were at the bank signing the business loan, and your hands were all sweaty and your voice was a little shaky because you were really scared to death. You weren’t certain that things were going to turn out okay. But, they did, and now you look back on that day when you were so nervous and so uncertain as a source of confidence for you to take the next uncertain step in your life. And, the opposite is true, too. Avoiding something hard creates doubt. It’s amazing how naturally it comes to us to cower down instead of step up, isn’t it? The biggest regrets in our lives are usually the result of our unwillingness to do what is hard in the beginning. We give in to the temptation to live like everyone else, because it’s easiest, and then we pay the price. We avoid marriage or children or career opportunities because they are terrifying, and the longer we live under the rule of fear the more our cowardice erodes our confidence. So, doing something hard has the effect of teaching us that we can and avoiding something hard has the effect of teaching us that we won’t. And, those realities begin to define our future decisions and our future joy.

And, it’s this cause and effect that stands behind the Christian life. Why is it that God doesn’t make our lives easier when we commit to him? Why is it that, in fact, our lives become more difficult and more treacherous when we begin to follow after Christ? It’s the design of God to increase your joy in him. That is, hard lives have the effect of increasing our confidence in the gospel and decreasing our reliance upon ourselves. Hard lives repeatedly call us to bank our livelihood on the sufficiency of Jesus, increasing our confidence in God as He comes through time and again in ways that we couldn’t foretell. So, we’re going to see this morning that we are called to live a life worthy of Jesus and that by living that hard life our joy and confidence in Christ will increase.

hard lives serve to increase confidence in the gospel decrease confidence in ourselves.

God’s Word

Read

Live as Citizens of Heaven

v. 27 “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” Verse 27 is a penetrating verse, isn’t it? “Let you manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” And, if you’re like me, you immediately think “Not in a million lifetimes could I be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” In fact, that is the gospel, isn’t it? The gospel is quite literally that you are unworthy of God, but God loved you and came to you in your unworthiness so that you might be saved to an inheritance that you are unworthy of. The gospel demands our belief in our own unworthiness of God’s kindness so that we might receive it based on his kindness alone and not our worthiness. So, it’s strange when Paul tells us to live worthy of the gospel of Christ because it almost seems counterintuitive to the gospel itself. But, the instruction is not to live worthy so that you may receive the gospel. It’s not make yourself worthy of God so that God will love you. Rather, it’s live worthy because you have already received the gospel. You have been received into the household of God so now live one who is worthy of your new last name. Your living didn’t give you that name. Your Father’s love did. But, having received it, now live like you understand its worth and its value and its honor. The word translated as ‘manner of life’ is actually the word that we get the word ‘politics’ from. It means to live our faithfully your civic duties as a good citizen. So, Paul is saying to the proud, nationalistic Roman colony at Philippi: “As you proud as you are of being Roman, you are citizens of a greater Kingdom. Your Lord, your Master, your King is not Augustus. Your Lord is so mighty that mountains tremble before him, so holy angels are traumatized by his presence, so sovereign that the oceans obey his command, and yet you are his chosen people. Live worthy of his name. Live as faithful citizens of heaven even though you reside in Philippi. Live so that your King looks good.

Belief and Behavior

There’s a relationship here betwen belief and behavior that’s important for us to see. There seems to be two different camps within Christianity that are equally lethal to the joy of Christians. There are some who focus only on belief. That is, it doesn’t matter how you live or what you do so long as you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. But, James says that this is no better than how the demons believe about Jesus. It’s a joyless, powerless, glory-less, salvation-less perversion of the true gospel. There’s another camp that are only concerned about your behavior. There’s no concern with your abiding in Christ but rather your performing for Christ. So long as you watch the right kinds of movies and avoid the wrong kinds of drinks and attend the proper number of church services then God is pleased with you. And, this is a joyless, powerless, glory-less, salvation-less perversion of the true gospel. But, what we see here is that the true gospel calls for attention to both and in the right order. The gospel begins with belief as the cause and behavior as the effect. Because I believe the gospel with all of my heart, I will now live out the gospel with all of my life. I am a child of God so I will live like a child of God. Belief is the cause and behavior is the effect, and they work in concert with one another so that your ‘manner of life (is) worthy of the gospel of Christ.’

APPLICATION: Living “worthy” of Christ begins with the belief that Christ is “worthy” of all of your life. It is to recognize Jesus as the only prize worth having and so live with a tunnel-visioned pursuit of that prize as a result. So, how do I know what I believe about Jesus? How do I know if I find my joy in Christ alone? I look at my life. Is my life a living monument to the glory of Christ? My life is the effect of my belief. And, faulty behavior reveals faulty beliefs. Right now, is there anything that you could be offered that you would be willing to lessen your devotion to Christ for? If the right man said the right things to you, would you be willing to compromise what Jesus says about sex and lust? If the right job opportunity came along, would you be willing to compromise what Jesus says about priorities and family and church commitment? If the right trip presented itself, would you be willing to compromise what Jesus says about money? It’s because in the recesses of your heart, despite what you might say and despite what you wish your character was like, you believe that whatever it is that your willing to lessen your devotion to Christ for is a greater source of joy and a greater prize to receive than Christ himself. Lock your eyes on the prize of Christ alone! Believe on Christ for joy. Believe on Christ for peace. And then, let that belief shape your budget and schedule and priorities and marriage and career and Netflix account. See the worthiness of Jesus so that you might live as one worthy of the gospel!

Stand in God’s “Spirit”, not your “Strength.”

v. 27 “standing firm in one Spirit” And, what we’re given are specific instructions to live worthy of the gospel of Christ (headline beneath ‘living worthy statement’) If you’ll notice the descriptions that he gives, you’ll notice that each of these make clear that this isn’t for the faint of heart. ‘Stand firm’ implies that you’ll want to waver. ‘Strive side by side’ implies that it would be easy to back down in isolation. ‘Don’t be frightened’ implies that there will be attempts at intimidation used to stifle you. They all speak to how difficult life is in this world for the Christian. And, these examples are meant to build one upon the other so that we can understand the glory that stands behind our hardness of life as we follow Christ. The difficulties that you experience in your life are not without purpose and not without gain. In fact, they are both an effect and a cause as we’ll see.

So, how are we to live worthily of Christ? Stand in God’s “Spirit”, not your “strength.” Paul tells the Philippians twice to ‘stand firm.’ Once here, and once in chapter 4:1 when he says, “Stand firm thus in the Lord.” And, I want you to notice that in both cases their standing firm is linked to being in God. “IN one Spirit.” “IN the Lord.” That is, your ability to stand firm in the battle is because God is strong and God is willing and God is with you. Last year, GK was helping me move something heavy at our house. And, you could tell that her performance was exceeding her own expectations, and she said, “Dad, let go. I’ve got it.” I tried to reason with her and to convince her that she needed my help and that I was only letting her feel a little bit of the weight. But, she wasn’t convinced; so, I let go. As soon as the full weight was on top of her, she started yelling, “I don’t have it! I don’t have it! Help, dad!” You aren’t strong enough to bear the weight of your life alone. You aren’t capable of living in a manner worthy of the gospel for five seconds. Alone. You need help. You need greater strength. ‘Standing firm’ is the picture of a platoon of soldier behind enemy lines making their last stand, regardless of the costs. And, what you must understand is that the God is advancing his Kingdom behind enemy lines through you. You are to love those who hate you, offer joy to those who attack you, be kind in the face of hostility, and be self-controlled in a world of temptation. And, these are impossible for you. And, these are the fruit of the Spirit. The only way to live for God glory is to live by God’s power. Do you see the cause and effect? Do you see the link between belief and behavior? Do you believe that you are in Christ? Do you believe that the Spirit is with you and working through you and holding you up? Then, as the bullets fly and the days get hard and the nights get long, stand firm!

Strive “Together”, not “Alone”

v. 27 “with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” Building upon the first, we get the second instruction for living worthy of the gospel: Strive “together”, not “alone”. Too many have learned this lesson. You want to honor God and live worthy of his Name and do great things for his Kingdom. And, man, you strive after it. You work toward it. You set your alarm earlier and chart out a Bible reading plan and write the mission trip on the calendar and pray that God would let you share your faith and plan on the ministry to young girls that you want to start. And then, Monday comes. Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” How many of us would describe our pursuit of Christ that way? You see, we are called to stand, but not alone. We are called to pursue, but not alone. We are standing together in one Spirit. We are striving together with one mind. It’s not one person in a tunnel-visioned pursuit of Christ. It’s a whole church. It’s all of us. He shifts metaphors a bit in verse 27. In standing firm, Paul uses a war metaphor, but in striving side by side he uses an athletic metaphor. It’s team that is so tightly bound, so well-balanced, so united in their pursuit of victory that it’s like they come together to form a single person. It’s not my ego or his agenda. It’s our team. Striving after Christ is a team sport. If I’m going to live worthy of the gospel, I need you to live worthy of the gospel with me. If our young men are going to live worthy of Christ, our senior adult women must live worthy of Christ. We have been brought together to stand together and strive together with an uncommon, supernatural tenacity that isn’t possible alone. You see, the unity of the church is meant to be a billboard to the world of the worthiness of Jesus Christ for their devotion. For if Jesus can take an elderly woman and a young man and disabled veteran and a teenage girl and give them one spirit and one mind, then He is mighty enough and He is good enough to do anything through anyone.

APPLICATION: Iron City, we’ve got to be a team. And, see the cause and effect here. He says that we are to stand firm in one Spirit. And, it is the Spirit that spiritually binds us together. says that we have been baptized into one body by one Spirit. Is it any wonder most of the fruit of the Spirit are relational? Love one another and be gentle with one another and be patient with one another and be kind to one another and be at peace with one another so that you might strive after Christ without interruption and with one another. You see, brothers and sisters, when the spiritually bound church becomes visibly united for the Gospel, Christians are no longer devoured and dismayed alone; they strive forward in pursuit of the prize and communities are reached with the gospel. I need you. I want to retreat, and I need you to push me forward. I have a vision, but I need you for it to become a reality. I’m easily discouraged, and I need you to let my head and remind me that it’s God’s church and God’s mission and God’s power. I want to know God, but I need you to hold me accountable to seek him and his word, not my leisure and my convenience. I need my team!

Seek “Courage”, not “Comfort”.

v. 28 “not frightened by anything by your opponents” The third instruction for living worthy of the gospel is Seek “courage”, not “comfort.” See how these are building? See the cause and effect here? If you seek to live worthy of the gospel, if you stand firm in the Spirit and don’t waver on the truth, if you strive together and don’t back down, it’s going to make your life harder, not easier. You will be opposed, not agreed with. In other words, it’s going to bring suffering to you. It’s going to bring hardship to you. A life committed to Christ will require courage. The picture he’s painting for them with the word ‘frightened’ is of horses that are spooked and run frantically away. A harmless noise or a tiny animal is able to spook a horse, and when horses are spooked that often injure themselves or one another. Brothers and sisters, if the enemy can’t compromise us and the enemy can’t divide us, you better believe that he’ll try to scare us. If he can’t have you physically, he’ll pursue you psychologically. He wants to intimidate you into a life more comfortable, a life more common.

v. 29 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe but also suffer for his sake.” That’s why he elaborates on courage in the face of suffering more than any of the other instructions. It is the ultimate effect of pursuing Christ, and it is the ultimate cause in affirming your salvation through Christ. That is, your suffering is because you love Christ, and your suffering will be used by Christ as proof of his love for you. He says something that seems crazy in verse 29, doesn’t he? He says that we’ve been given two gifts for the sake of Christ. We’ve been given belief, and we’ve been given suffering. It’s granted that we would believe in Christ as his people, and it’s granted that we would suffer for his sake. But, how is suffering and opposition and this hard life that we’re being called to a gift from God? On a podcast last week, I heard former CIA deputy director Richard Kerr say: “Out of chaos comes opportunity.” That’s what suffering is for us. That’s what opposition presents us with. Opportunity. Suffering is life’s greatest opportunity to display the “worth” of Christ, and suffering is faith’s greatest opportunity to be shown “secure”. You see, look at these instructions in reverse. Suffering creates opportunity for courage. Courage in the face of suffering is found in unity within the church. Courageous unity within the church is proof the Spirit’s presence and the Spirit’s power. That is, it is proof that your suffering and your opposition and your hard life evidence and assure that you are a child of almighty God! Christ Jesus has been raised as the firstborn among many brothers, and you are one of those brothers! It is proof that through Christ and now through you, the Kingdom has come, and those who oppose the gospel will be destroyed no matter how strong, and those who love the gospel and believe the gospel and live the gospel will be saved no matter how weak! So, live worthy of the gospel of Christ, hard as it is, because you have been saved and you are being saved and you will one day be finally and ultimately saved. You are assured, and you are secure.

v. 29 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe but also suffer for his sake.” That’s why he elaborates on courage in the face of suffering more than any of the other instructions. It is the ultimate effect of pursuing Christ, and it is the ultimate cause in affirming your salvation through Christ. That is, your suffering is because you love Christ, and your suffering will be used by Christ to assure you of security in him. He says something that seems crazy in verse 29, doesn’t he? He says that we’ve been given two gifts for the sake of Christ. We’ve been given belief, and we’ve been given suffering. It’s granted that we would believe in Christ as his people, and it’s granted that we would suffer for his sake. But, how is suffering and opposition and this hard life that we’re being called to a gift from God? On a podcast last week, I heard former CIA deputy director Richard Kerr say: “Out of chaos comes opportunity.” That’s what suffering is for us. That’s what opposition presents us with. Opportunity. Suffering is life’s greatest opportunity to display the worth of Christ, and suffering is faith’s greatest opportunity to be shown secure. You see, look at these instructions in reverse. Suffering creates opportunity for courage. Courage in the face of suffering is found in unity within the church. Courageous unity within the church is proof the Spirit’s presence and the Spirit’s power. That is, it is proof that your suffering and your opposition and your hard life evidence and assure that you are a child of almighty God! Christ Jesus has been raised as the firstborn among many brothers, and you are one of those brothers! It is proof that through Christ and now through you, the Kingdom has come, and those who oppose the gospel will be destroyed no matter how strong, and those who love the gospel and believe the gospel and live the gospel will be saved no matter how weak! So, live worthy of the gospel of Christ, hard as it is, because you have been saved and you are being saved and you will one day be finally and ultimately saved. You are assured, and you are secure.