Heavenly Citizenship

A Song of Ascents. Of David. 1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Prayer

Introduction

In previous section we looked at last week, Paul has gone to great lengths to share his joy with the Philippians. He wants them to find the same fulfillment and satisfaction and joy that he does. There is only one place to turn to find that type of joy during trials and tribulations, and that is to Christ. Only by looking to Christ and His perfect and complete and endless glory can the Philippians hope to not only weather the storm, but to actually glory in it and be joyous. With that theme in mind, we come to our passage today.

Passage

This morning we will be looking at . If you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s Word. We do this to show appreciation to God for His Word and in recognition that these are truly the most important words we can hear today. says,

Philippians 1:27–30 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Thank you, you may be seated.

Sermon

When I was a student at College of the Ozarks, during the summer I would work at a summer camp for underprivileged children in the area called Camp Lookout. The first year I worked there, I worked as a camp counselor over one of the various cabins. Each week a new batch of kids would come through and as we were getting them settled into their rooms, I would gather them around and tell them that I only had two rules. That got their attention! Only two rules? Those two rules were 1, to do what I asked when I asked it, and 2, to have fun. Really, I only had the one rule which was pretty much all-encompassing. To do what I said. The kids were free to have fun, but if I told them to stop doing something, they needed to listen. The point here is that when I told them I only had two rules, that got their attention.

So, when Paul is talking about glorying and finding joy in Christ and he stops and says, “Only do this one thing,” the Philippians are going to listen up. They want to know what that one thing is. And much like my rule, Paul’s one thing is really all-encompassing. To let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Paul is actually quite masterful here. Not only does he grab the Philippians’ attention by telling them the “one thing” they need to do, but also the way he tells them is really significant to them. Remember, Philippi is a Roman military colony. When we think of colonies, because of our American experience with being colonies, we tend to think of it as something bad. Something to be thrown off, but in the Roman world, being a Roman colony was a big deal. Not only were you protected by Rome, but you had all the rights and privileges of a Roman citizen. In fact, you would be a Roman citizen with your name on the roles of the citizenship in the city of Rome.

Without getting overly technical, the word Paul uses here for “manner of life” would have resonated with the Philippians. The word he uses would call to mind the obligations that citizens have in their community. These proud Roman citizens would have been struck by the word and reminded that they have Kingdom obligations that are greater than even their proud earthly obligations.

We would be wise to hear what Paul is saying. Paul doesn’t rebuke the Philippians for being proud of their Roman citizenship – there is no sin in being proud of your earthly citizenship – as long as you remember that you have a higher citizenship that surpasses this earthly one. In much the same way that the Philippian’s names were on the Roman citizenship role because they were Roman colonists, so too are their names on the Heavenly citizenship roles. Paul is pointing out to the Philippians that they are a Heavenly colony and as such, they should live as good citizens of their greater and higher Kingdom.

Their citizenship expectations – their Kingdom obligation is simple, to live a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ. To live on earth as they will in Heaven so that whether Paul sees them or only hears about them, it will be evident which Kingdom they are serving.

So, what do we do with this one, all-encompassing rule? There is no aspect of our lives that it doesn’t apply to. What we say, what we do, what we eat or drink, what we wear, what we think – everything must be filtered through this one thing - filtered through our Kingdom obligations.

Paul gives the Philippians three things he wants to see from them. These are three practical ways that the Philippians can and should be conducting the manner of their lives in accordance with the Gospel. These three things are not exhaustive by any means. These are simply 3 things that the Philippians specifically needed to be encouraged in. Those three things are “standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and not being frightened in anything by their opponents.

Before we address these things individually, let’s look at them as a group. Again, Paul is being quite masterful in speaking the language that the Philippians would understand. Philippi is a Roman military colony, and Paul encourages them in these three things using military language. Stand firm – as in formation. Strive as one mind towards the objective. Don’t be frightened – this term is actually used of horses that get spooked, especially in the noise and confusion of battle. Paul is speaking their language and encouraging them to contend and fight together for their Kingdom – That is part of their obligations as citizens of Heaven.

So, first of all, they are to stand firm in one spirit. Regardless of all the trials that they are under, they are ultimately one body with one spirit not giving in to the enemy that is battering their ranks. This is a church that has some disagreement in it, but Paul calls upon their higher citizenship to remind them that they are united in one spirit and must stand firm.

Secondly, they are to strive side by side with one mind for the faith of the Gospel. Not only are they called to weather the storm by standing firm, they are called to push forward towards their objective. Here again we see the importance of unity in the mission. Why is that? Because our goal is not for our own glory, it is for the glory of Christ.

Have you ever played a team sport with a show boater? Maybe you’ve watched a game on television and there is this one person who hogs the ball and will not pass it – he tries to score every point. That person is not seeking the glory of the team. That person is seeking their own glory. In our church when people start contending for various goals, they stop seeking the glory of Christ and start seeking glory for themselves. Like the Philippians, we need to be reminded that we are called to be building and striving for Christ’s Kingdom, and not our own. It isn’t about us. If we strive to receive glory here, we have gotten our reward and stolen Christ’s.

I can’t say this any clearer. Disunity in the Body of Christ – not striving towards one goal as one, in body and mind – disunity harms the church, damages our gospel witness and is sinful.

The third thing Paul encourages the Philippians in is to not be frightened. We read that maybe a bit too easily. Here is a people who are actually facing persecution. They are in a place where everyone around them proclaims “Caesar is lord!” while they are called to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. Remember, this is a proud, military colony. This is not an easy message. They have to shed the pride they hold in their earthly kingdom and take on a pride that to the rest of the Roman world looks ridiculous. Jesus was crucified by Roman officials. What kind of lord is that? Caesar has already seemingly crushed this Jesus, and anyone who follows Jesus is an enemy of the state just like He was and is deserving of the same treatment.

Proclaiming that Jesus is Lord in a Roman military colony opened the Philippians up not only to ridicule, but also to very real and severe persecution. But standing firm in these trials is a sign of destruction to the enemies and a sign of salvation to the believers – and that, from God.

Look at verse 29 with me again. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake”. Well, that doesn’t sound very encouraging to me. If I’m the Philippians, I want Paul to tell me ways to mitigate and decrease my suffering and persecution. I mean, I still want to be faithful, but I want it to be easy.

But Paul suggests that this persecution that they and Paul himself is suffering through is on behalf of Christ and that it had been granted or given by God. Literally this word here is the verb form of grace. God graced them belief and suffering. Let that sink in for a second.

says,

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Paul is taking the absolute truth that God has given or granted or graced us with belief. He is taking that point and adding something to it. That in the same way, God has graced us with suffering. God – not lord Caesar – God has brought this suffering on the Philippians.

I don’t know about you, but my natural inclination is to avoid pain and suffering and difficulty. I like comfort and ease. Am I the only one? Why then does God give us trials?

I have been very clear about how much I hate the prosperity gospel. It is evil and wicked and destitute of the real Gospel of Jesus Christ. The prosperity gospel – name it, claim it people – encourages you and me to avoid suffering. To reject illness and trials and struggles. They appeal to the natural man, to the flesh, to sinful hopes and desires. They say that God doesn’t want us to suffer. That is a lie from the pit of Hell. God says he graces us with suffering.

Suffering is not something to be avoided at all costs. It is something we stand firm in one spirit through. It is something we press on and strive through with one mind. Suffering is not something to be frightened by because ultimately God is sovereign over it, so our enemies, even Caesar himself, is powerless to persecute us outside of what God graces us with.

Bearing with all of that only makes sense if Christ is Lord. It only makes sense if Christ is awesome and glorious and valuable. If we understand that the glory of Christ surpasses all the riches and all the glory of the entire universe. We can struggle through suffering for the sake of Christ because He is worth it. If God has granted you belief, then He has granted you suffering.

Suffering is by definition difficult. It feels unnatural. Like something to be avoided, but if we are to be made more and more into the image of Christ, it is necessary. I fear that many of the problems that Christians in America have stem from our lack of suffering and our avoidance of it. I fear that we do the same thing in our church. Instead of striving side by side for the gospel, we can so easily start striving for a lesser glory. We can start striving for comfort, for control. We can so easily fall into this trap of fortifying these little earthly kingdoms and committees and groups when we should be striving for something higher. We should be living as citizens of Heaven. When we seek control, comfort or glory, we steal glory, honor and praise that rightly belongs to Christ.

Conclusion

Maybe you are here this morning, and you are not a believer. You hear about Jesus being crucified, and you mock it. You may think that it is silly that the “Lord of Heaven and Earth” was nailed to a tree and died. And I agree, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who do not believe. But, here’s the reality of the matter. Jesus is the Lord of all. His suffering was to bear the sin of His people. He was raised from the dead, proving that He is and was the perfect sacrifice that pleased the Father. And most importantly, He will return in glory and judge the living and the dead, and on that day, all mocking will cease. You will see what foolishness is as all who continued in their rejection of Christ are forced to bend their knee to the Lord of Lords as they are conquered by the Mighty One. You can bend your knee now in humble repentance and faith and obedience, or you can bend it later in judgment and condemnation. But you will bend your knee.

If you are a believer, this passage has lots for us, but one thing is of utmost importance. Let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. That has far reaching implications. Specifically, we need to pay close attention to our hearts and attitudes and actions. We must watch ourselves to make sure we are not stealing glory from Christ or bringing shame on His name through sin and selfishness and disunity and infighting. We are called to function as one body seeking one goal even through adversity – and that goal is the glory of Christ in the Gospel.

Let us remember that this world is not our home, we are just passing through. Maybe we ought not try to get so comfortable here since that is the case. Let us be repentant over that sin in our lives and let us rejoice that God has graced us with not only believe, but suffering for the sake of Christ. May He be glorified in all that we do.

We are about to transition into a time of worship through response. We believe that any time we hear the Word of God, we respond either in worship or rebellion. I beg you to worship our great and mighty Lord. I will be on the front row worshipping with you. If you need anything at all, feel free to come up and talk to me. I’d be happy to chat with you or pray with you. We can talk about what it means to repent and believe, or we can talk about joining this covenant community of believers. The front is also always open if you’d like to pray up here. Let us worship our awesome and mighty Lord together. Let’s pray.

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