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So as we begin to look at this text for this morning, I want to start by taking you to James chapter three, and we're going to read verses five and six to begin with. And we want to read what James has to say about the tongue. James 3:5-6 James says, "So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." James says that despite the relatively small size of our tongues, relative to the size of our bodies, it has the potential of creating big problems for us. According to James, the uncontrolled tongue is like lighting a match and dropping it on the floor of a very dry forest. So it works like this: a comment is made, a gossip is spread, and before you know it you have a fire that is burning out of control. And notice that James says that the improper use of our tongues stains the whole body. Meaning a reputation is ruined by what is said. A Christian testimony is voided because of careless and thoughtless speech. A lifetime of achievement is shattered in a moment of time by a crass comment. And I'm really afraid that we as Christians, we don't pay as much attention as we should to our speech. We don't pay as much attention as we should to the way that we talk. And not only to what we say, but also how we say it. Now I'm afraid as Christians, we severely underestimate the power of our words. We severely underestimate just how much damage our tongues can do. But we also underestimate the power of our tongues, of our words, of our speech, to provide comfort, to provide guidance, and encouragement to those that we interact with. Solomon said in one of his Proverbs, "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver". Which simply means that our words can be a beautiful thing. Our words hold the potential to heal as well as to hurt. Our words hold the potential of causing damage or they can be a source of encouragement. Our words have the potential to either build up or tear down. And I don't know if you've ever done a study or a search in the scriptures to see, but the Bible has so much to say about our tongues. The Bible has so much to say about our speech. The Bible has so much to say about how we communicate with one another. And how we use our tongues, how we think-- because thinking, your thinking ultimately governs what you say-- how we think and how we talk is part of the process of working out our own salvation. And perhaps we thought, well, you know, if I would just read my Bible more, if I would pray more, perhaps I'd memorize more scripture. And in 2021, I'll try and meditate on scripture. And that should be enough to work out my own salvation. Paul says, not so fast. There's another area of life that we need to address that will help you in working out your own salvation. So briefly, just let me remind you that we are in the portion of Paul's letter to his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ at the church of Philippi. And in this letter, he is encouraging them to apply the will, as well as the work of God, to their own lives so that they will be able to work out their own salvation, as Paul says, with fear and trembling. So as we saw a week or two ago, perhaps last week I forget, that God supplies the will, which means God gives us the desire to do the work. And the work that God provides for us is literally the power, it's the energy for us to carry out his desire for us to become like Christ, as Paul says, according to His good pleasure. And when we do things, and we work out our own salvation, incredibly, we bring pleasure to God, we bring satisfaction to God, as he sees the very purpose for which he saved us is being worked out in our lives. So what Paul is doing here, he's laying out for them what it means to grow in Christ's likeness. He's showing them the path of sanctification that all Christians must travel on their way to reaching their final character destination, which is conformity to the image of Christ. So part of our sanctification is the taming of our tongue. How we talk matters. The words that we choose to use matters. And the attitude behind our words matters. And you've heard people say this, and unfortunately some Christians say this, and they almost say it like a badge of courage at times. They will try and justify their unkind words, they will try and justify their unChrist-like speech by saying something like, well, that's just the way that I am. Have you ever heard somebody say that? You know, they know that they shouldn't have said what they said, but they try and justify by saying, well, that's just the way that I am. But I don't care, Christian or non Christian, frankly, it's not a valid excuse. There's never an excuse to use the gift of language that God has given to us, given to us to praise, to courage, to build up and use it to tear down to snipe and complain about others. It's particularly not becoming for a Christian, to use that kind of excuse. You say why? Because salvation brings a total transformation that must include the use of our tongues. You can't find anywhere in Scripture that's- you say, now you're being ridiculous. I'm being ridiculous to make a point-- but you can't find anywhere in Scripture that says, well, everything about you changes but your tongue. If any man be in Christ he is what? He is a new creation. Is your tongue part of that new creation? Absolutely it is. So therefore, we can't use the kind of really lame excuse of saying, well, that's just the way that I am. The Christians should never say that. The Christian should be constantly reminding themselves, that may have been what I was but that's not who I am now. And by the grace of God that I will never be like that again. Our speech is an indication of the conditions of our hearts. We all know this, but let me remind you, Luke 6:46 [6:45], "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." The tongue only says what's in the heart. The tongue is simply displaying the overflow of the condition of the heart. Go back to James chapter three with me. This time, let's read verses 7-12. James says. "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." Now as you read that, I don't know why, but the image that came to my mind when James says that, you know, we've tamed every kind of bird and beast and reptile and sea creature, I immediately thought of the lion tamer, right? You ever go to the circus and see some guy, frankly, that must be just a half a loaf short of a full loaf of bread in there with the the lion and he's cracking his whip and he's got his pistol and he got those balloony pants on, you know, it looks kind of funny. And he's supposedly taming the tiger. And do you see people who get a grizzly bear and they try and tame a grizzly bear or they keep some other kind of wild animal. And James says, you know, it is possible that you know, we have tamed some of these things. But you know, there's one thing that we cannot tame: our tongue, our tongue. Say, how do we know that that's really true, James? Well, I think if we're honest with ourself, our own personal experience validates exactly what James says. That we're not in control of our tongues. There's too many times that we don't control our tongues. And why don't we control our tongues? Because humanly speaking, we can't control our tongues. Your personal experience is all the validation you need that what James says is an indisputable fact. The tongue is powerful, it can't be tamed. So if that is true, then you must admit that human strength and your willpower is not enough to tame the tongue. Say well, how then can the tongue be tamed? The tongue can only be tamed as we are what? Filled with the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit supplies the necessary power. The filling of the Holy Spirit supplies the necessary capability of making sure that our words are helpful, that our words provide encouragement. Encouragement both for ourselves and for the sake of others. Now, you may be wondering at this point, how does any of this relate to unity in the church, which is what Paul has been teaching us here in Philippians chapter two. Well look at it this way. How many churches have been destroyed by gossip? How many churches have been split by angry words exchanged in a church meeting or a church service? The number is too high probably to count. And the quickest way to alienate someone is to let them find out that you've been talking about them. You know, as a pastor, I can always tell if mom and dad have been talking about me. It shows up in the kids. The kids haven't developed the ability to be hypocritical, so to speak. Mom and dad are kind to the pastor's face, but he's the subject of Sunday dinner. He's being roasted. And this shows up in the kids. I always think of the verse "be sure your sin will find you out".But that's beside the point. Part of the working out of our salvation is living with humility, which allows us to live in unity with one another. But when we talk about one another, when we gossip about one another, we are not living with humility and we're certainly not living in unity. So as we

I would like for you for just a moment to think back in time. Think back to the time when you became a Christian. Think back to that time when you knew that God had done something in your life. Think back to that time when you first took notice that your thinking and your desires began to change. And as best as you can remember when you became a Christian, did you immediately become like Christ? Say why of course not. Good answer. James Montgomery Boyce wrote in his commentary on this passage, he said, "When a person comes to the truth of the gospel, he is not much different from what he was in the moments before he believed. He has heard the gospel preached and has responded to it. Before he believed he was filled with misconceptions about God and himself. He had problems that he could not solve. He was doing many things that were against the will of God. After he believes these things are usually exactly the same. He still has the same problems, the same misconceptions, the same sins, sometimes even the same doubts. But it now begins to dawn on him, that many of these things must change. He now has the Holy Spirit within his heart. And as he responds to the work of the Holy Spirit, he begins to see that the salvation he already has must express itself in action. It must be seen distinctly in his conduct." Now, what pastor Boyce is referring to is our sanctification. When God brought us the faith in Christ, he did so in order to make us like Christ. Therefore, our conduct, as Pastor Boyce says, must change. Now, I'm a realist. The struggle to change is a real one. The struggle to change is a real one and it's a real hard one. Unfortunately, there are believers who never seem to change. Despite all the prayers offered on their behalf, despite the sermons they hear, preach, despite the time they spend in discipleship, despite their faithfulness and attending church, they never seem to make much progress in becoming like Jesus. So I asked myself, could the reason be that they struggle to change, that they never seem to make much progress in becoming like Christ is really, we can pinpoint it very simply, could it be a simple lack of effort? Now, I want to be charitable here. I do want to allow for the possibility that a professing Christian's lack of effort could be the result of poor teaching on sanctification or perhaps no teaching on sanctification. Perhaps they've never heard Philippians 2:12-13 in the way that they should hear it. I will allow for the possibility, as we talked about three weeks ago, that they are of the persuasion, perhaps they've been taught this way, that all that they have to do is to let go and let God. They just have to sit back and let God do all of the work. But I find that mindset hard to justify, if not impossible to justify, based upon what the Apostle Paul teaches right here. And if I may be so bold, I believe it'll be hard for you to justify holding that position based upon what you've already heard and what you will hear both this week and the next. Sanctification is a matter of obedience Now, as I said three weeks ago last time I preached-- and I thank Ben for helping out the past couple of weeks-- sanctification is a matter of obedience. Sanctification is a matter of obedience. So as the Apostle Paul begins verse 12, what does he address? He addresses the subject of their obedience. He reminds them that their lives were characterized by obedience in the past and he encourages them to continue to be obedient despite the fact that he is not physically present with them at that present time. So your obedience, the believer's obedience, is a sign of your conversion. I know that's radical in today's church world. But apart from obedience, there is no conversion. Say now that's awful harsh. Well, take it up with Jesus, Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord, yet you don't do anything that I say?" And what do you follow that up with? "Depart from me I never knew you." I never knew you in a saving way. So your obedience is a sign of conversion. So I want to emphasize this again, working out your own salvation is the process of becoming like Christ. Working out your own salvation is synonymous with sanctification. Now notice Paul does not say work for your salvation. Neither does Paul say work in your salvation. Paul says you are to work out your salvation. Well, what exactly does that mean? Well, in very broad strokes, if I can do it, say it this way this morning, we'll look at more detail next week. Working out your salvation is the process of you becoming the person God saved you to be. Working out your salvation requires that you be an active participant in your sanctification. Working out your salvation means that you are actively cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit as he changes your character and your understanding of the world. You cannot separate sanctification from your obedience. But if we're honest, we struggle to obey don't we? We have the best of intentions to obey. But when push comes to shove, guess what gets shoved out of the way? Our best intentions. Would you know this? Your flesh is a bully. It's a bully! And your flesh is such a bully that he will try and have his way every day. So therefore, we need to be aware of that. And because that is true of all of us, it's so easy to become discouraged. It's very easy to become frustrated. It's very easy to just want to throw up your hands and simply give up. Now, if any of that or all of that is true of you this morning, then Paul has incredibly good news for you. Paul says, it is possible for you to obey. Paul says it is possible for you to grow in becoming like Jesus. Paul says it is possible for you to make progress in sanctification and holiness. Say, well, why is this possible or how is this possible? Verse 13, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Now, as I read and meditate particularly on verse 13, there were four things that came to my mind that I want us to take a look at this morning. Four key words, if you will. In verse 13, we find comfort, encouragement, challenge, and a warning. So comfort, encouragement, challenge and a warning. Comfort So verse 13, I find it to be a very comforting verse. In fact, if you take the time to meditate on verse 13, you can't help but be comforted by what Paul says. In our struggle to obey, in our struggle to grow spiritually many of us still have a tendency to try and take on too much. We take too much on ourselves. In other words, we adopt a motto that I said, I spoke of before, if it's got to be, it's up to me. And so what do we do, we set out with the best of intentions. We make our resolutions, we make our promises to God, we steal our resolve, we try and stiffen our backbone and we say that we are going to be a good boy or a good girl. But what happens? We fail. Despite our best intentions, we fail. Despite our promises, we fail. Despite everything that we swore that we would do we still fail. We find that we simply cannot live up to God's standard in our own power or in our own strength. But as I properly understand verse 13, I find comfort. I'm comforted by the knowledge that I am not in this alone. Yes, there is work to be done, but is not work to be done in my own strength. It is not work to be done in my own power. See, this is where I begin to understand both intellectually and experientially what Paul meant when he said when I'm weak, then I'm strong. This is where I come to understand what the Bible means when it says that his strength is made perfect in my weakness. Listen to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12: "But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you." All right. Now how do we know that his grace is sufficient for us? For my power is made perfect in weakness. Now, how did Paul view that? Was Paul offended by that? Was Paul upset by that? Did Paul say how dare you think that I can't do this on my own? No, Paul says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Paul boasted in the fact that he was weak. He was not afraid to admit that he was weak. That seems so un-American. We don't dare admit any kind of weakness. But Paul says the only way to know the power of Christ is to admit our weaknesses. Jesus has promised you that if you are in Christ, if you are truly his that his power is made perfect in your weakness. I find that to be incredibly comforting. I don't have to put on a façade. I don't have to act like I'm He-Man, I'm spiritual He-Man, I can conquer it all. I can do it all myself. I'm not Cam Newton scoring a touchdown and pulling back my shirt like I got Superman on my chest. I don't. If I got an "S" for anything it's for simpleton, simpleton. No, see, this is this is incredibly comforting knowledge for me. As I meditate on verse 13 I understand why Paul told us in Ephesians 6 to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. He understood. The success in sanctification comes from admitting our weaknesses and trusting in the power of Christ. So when I'm strong in the Lord in the power of his might, when I understand that it is God who works in me both to will and to work for his good pleasure I can move on from both my discouragement and my depression over my failure, over my lack of progress. And I experience comfort as I realize that the motto that perhaps I've been living by-- if it's got to be, it's up to me-- is all wrong. It's a falsehood, it is not true. It's not a Christian way of thinking. So I take comfort knowing that God is at work within me, as John MacArthur says, while the believer is working out, God is working in. Encouragement I'm not only comforted by verse 13, I'm encouraged by verse 13. So where's the encouragement in verse 13? The encouragement is found in the knowledge that God is at work in me. The encouragement is found in the knowledge that God is actively now in this passage doing two thi

Paul teaches us in the book of Romans that God saves us in order to conform us to the image of Christ. So I would ask you, how would you measure yourself against that standard? Are you satisfied with your current level of Christ-likeness? Another way of asking that question is do you feel like you have arrived as a Christian? Are you satisfied with your progress in sanctification? Do you feel like you're as holy as you should be, and more importantly, as God is ultimately desirous of you to be? If we're honest, I think all of us would have to admit that we're not satisfied with our progress. We know that we're not in danger of being mistaken for Jesus anytime in the next couple of weeks. But that's not to say that we haven't made progress. That's not to say that we are not continuing to make progress. We're just not where we want to be and where God is ultimately taking us. We haven't reached the goal that God has set for us, and I realize that we'll never reach it in this life, but just because we can't reach it in this life doesn't give us license or the liberty to stop trying. But many Christians are not sure how they become like Jesus in day-to-day life. They are pretty much clueless, sadly. Many Christians are confused about sanctification and maybe confused about what the word means. So, let me give you a working definition of what sanctification is, that we will explore here in the coming weeks. Sanctification what is it? Our working definition of sanctification is really very simple. It's becoming like Christ. Sanctification is living out the mind of Christ. Sanctification is progressive growth in holiness. Sanctification brings about a decrease in the frequency of which we sin in our lives. Now, this week Ligonier published their annual 'The State of Theology', and if you read any part of it at all, you know how the thinking of the evangelical mind is clearly muddled. Therefore, we would expect to find the same kind of confusion as to what sanctification is and how sanctification actually takes place. So, how does sanctification work? Let me quickly give you a couple of possibilities. Let me start by asking a question. Is your sanctification all up to you? Is your sanctification based upon your effort and God just stands on the sidelines and kind of roots you on? Does God save you, then leave your sanctification solely in your hands? Or does God do it all? Does God say to us, "Just stand back and watch me work"? Is that how sanctification works? Well, there are Christians who believe that sanctification is all up to God. Those who hold to this kind of belief are called quietists. You could think of perhaps the Quakers or the Church of the Brethren. You'll commonly hear something like this. This is kind of like Keswick theology. "Let go and let God." Implied in that statement is that God's going to do it all, so therefore, we have little responsibility, but just let God do it. They believe that the believer is passive in sanctification. They believe that God will keep a person from sin and lead them into faithful living if that person is totally submitted to God and dependent upon God. Now, this is not uncommon among lots of Christians. They would say trying to strive against sin or to discipline one's self in order to produce good works is not only futile but unspiritual and counterproductive. They would say that if you try and work out your own salvation, you would find yourself at cross purposes with God. Don't just sit there do something! There's another group of Christians who are equally sincere in their beliefs, yet they hold to the exact opposite view of sanctification. Where the quietist is passive in sanctification, the pietist is aggressive in sanctification, and I might even say very aggressive of sanctification. And the pietist can be commended for the emphasis that they place on Bible study and for the emphasis that they place on holiness in everyday life. They are to be commended for the emphasis that they place on self-discipline. Pietists, for instance, would look at a verse such as 2nd Corinthians 7:1 where Paul wrote, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." They would read that verse, and they would see that as a clear call by the Apostle Paul to exert whatever level of human effort is necessary in order to rid themselves of sin. But their emphasis is totally on human will. Their emphasis is totally on what they can do in their own strength. They look to the words in James 2:17, "So also faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead." So, they read that and they say, "I've got to get to work". And they become very aggressive in their pursuit of holiness and in their pursuit of Christ's-likeness, and there is something to be commended about that. As I've said several times here the past few weeks, many Christians need a good shot of aggressiveness in their faith. We are far too passive, not only in our sanctification but in our witness. We could use a healthy dose of aggressiveness, but it must be an aggressiveness that is properly motivated and aggressiveness that is properly resourced. So the kind of aggressiveness that should characterize us as Christians is modeled for us by the Apostle Paul. Look to Philippians chapter three, verses twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. This is the kind of aggressiveness that we should have as believers. Paul says, "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." Now, you'd be hard-pressed to read those verses and not see the desire and the effort just kind of oozing out of them. Paul says he presses on. He says he's straining forward to what lies ahead. In other words, Paul is saying, "I am in no way, shape, or form passive, nor am I an idle spectator in my sanctification." He says in the clearest possible terms, "I take an active role in working out my own salvation. I am an active, daily participant in becoming like Christ." And why did he do this? Because he says, "Jesus has made him his own" (Phi. 3:12). Danger, Danger! But the pietist, like the quietest, makes a fatal error. The error of the quietist is just let go and let God. They remove all human effort from sanctification, while the error of the pietist is their elimination of any divine help. They would never say it this way, but in practice, this is what they're doing. They were saying, "God, I don't need your help in order to become like Christ. I can handle this on my own. I can work out my own salvation. You just cheer me on." They place the emphasis on human effort alone for their sanctification. Now, what happens when we begin to emphasize human effort apart from God's help? You know what happens. The pietist will very quickly become a legalist. They will become self-righteous. They will develop a judgmental attitude towards others. They will often find themselves filled with pride, and ultimately, they don't end up like Christ. They end up as hypocrites, because they cannot, despite their best intentions, despite their best efforts, live up to their own standard, much less the standard of God. And many times, because they can't live up to their own standard, they become frustrated. And frustration leads to bitterness, and they have unwittingly robbed themselves of joy. So which view is right? What is the biblical view of sanctification? Paul presents the biblical view in verses twelve and thirteen. Sanctification is not either-or, meaning it's not either you or God. Sanctification is both God and you. It is God and you working out your own salvation. Let me be clear about this. Paul does not say work for your salvation or work toward your salvation. He says, "work out your salvation" (Phi 2:12). This is the salvation that you already possess. There's nothing in here that hints that Paul was saying you've got to work for your salvation. "For by grace are you saved through faith" (Eph 2:8). There is no other way. You can't earn it. You will fail, and you will doom yourself as you continue to try and earn God's grace through your efforts. All our righteousness is as "filthy rags" (Isa 64:6). We have absolutely nothing to offer that is pleasing to God, so stop it. That's the message of the gospel. Who does what? So, Paul answers the question of what God's role is in our sanctification and what our role is in our sanctification. Our role in sanctification is spelled out in verse twelve, and then God's role in our sanctification is spelled out in verse thirteen. So, what we have here is two parties both working for the same goal. It's God's goal for you and me to be conformed to the image of Christ. It is also the goal of every believer to be conformed to the image of Christ. If you do not have the desire to be conformed to the image of Christ, I doubt that you're a Christian. If all you're worried about is escaping the flames of hell, you better check up on your fire insurance policy. When God saved you, he gave you a new nature. You are a new creation. The old passed away. The new has come (2 Cor 5:17). Do you think a part of "the new" that has come is a desire to be like Christ? Of course, it is. Go back to Galatians 2:20, "The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." That's the Christians desire. Weak at times? Yes, but never non-existent. So we have two parties here working for the same goal, and we see this mutual working in other passages of Scripture. For instance, Peter wrote in Second Peter, chapter one, he said, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life in

Paul was concerned. The latest message from Phillipi was disturbing. Word has come to him that cracks are starting to develop in the church division and strife are threatening the fragile unity of the church. But he has a problem. He's chained to a Roman soldier. He's under house arrest. In  different times, under different circumstances, he would immediately make plans to go to Phillipi and help them navigate through the choppy waters they were facing. Of course, he's concerned for them. He has many friends there. He loves them, they love him, he is ministered to them, and they have ministered to his needs many, many times. And because of his affection for them, he is deeply concerned for them. But his greatest concern is for the advancement of the gospel, he is afraid that if unity and strife continue to grow inside the church, he knows that the gospel advancement will be slowed, maybe even halted. Well, the good news is that even though he's in chains, his hands are not tied, so he does what he can. He picks up his pen and puts it to paper and begins to offer counsel to them by way of the written word. And now he's not searching for his theme, he's not searching for where to begin, he knows exactly where he needs to begin he knows exactly the issue that needs to be addressed. He knows he must go directly to the heart of the matter. He understands that the root of strife is pride. He knows their unity is threatened by their wrong thinking. The problem has been created by getting their priorities out of order and thinking of themselves more than they think of others and not counting others more significant than they're counting themselves. And he also understands until their thinking has been corrected, until they begin to think properly, they will never act properly. But it wasn't so much a lecture that they needed. What they needed was a lesson. They needed a living lesson. They needed a flesh and blood lesson. They didn't need a lecture on humility. They needed a living lesson on humility. They needed the example that they could look to. They needed the example that they could meditate on. They needed the example that they could look to frequently. Of course, the example that Paul has in mind would immediately smash their pride, it would melt all resistance away, and so that they would be able to live in humility and thereby have unity with one another. And of course, we know the example that Paul has in mind is the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about the Lord Jesus Christ. He went from the savior. He went from the Sovereign to a servant. To the Savior. And the example of the Lord Jesus, Paul is going to show them to teach them. Demonstrates to them that God is not going to ask them to do anything that he wasn't ready to ask his son to do, in fact, indeed that he had asked his son to do and his son had done it. Of course, there's no better example than the one Jesus provides for us, Jesus provides all believers, all places at all times with a very vivid and very dramatic demonstration of the humility that promotes and creates unity. And Paul does this by describing a series of downward steps that Jesus took. A series of steps that took Jesus from the glory that he had eternally shared with his Father to the grave. And from there, the Father exalted him to rule and reign as Lord. Jesus made the journey from a Sovereign to a servant, to Savior to Lord of all. Your God. You're all powerful, your power is unlimited, your power knows no boundaries, you are totally self-sufficient and you have never been contained or constrained in any way. Your existence cannot will not ever be threatened. You've never needed any kind of help. You will never need any kind of help. You are God. Yet God, through an intentional act of his will placed himself in the womb o f a young teenage girl. With intention, the creator not only of mankind, but of everything that exist. Became a part of his creation. So how did this happen? Well, Paul describes here in our text what Jesus did in order to become a man, Paul describes a humility that Jesus displayed. In order to become one of us, in order to live among us so that he could die for us. So Jesus, who from all of eternity has existed in the form of God. He was God. To be in the form of God is equal to being God. John MacArthur says Jesus was equal to God, the Father in every way Jesus Christ is always has been and will forever be divine. Paul emphasizes truth of the Colossians. He said he referring to Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. Yet Jesus, the firstborn of all creation, in a tremendous display of humility and a tremendous act of humility, did not count or did not consider his divine equality something to be grasped. Jesus didn't see the need to hold on to that equality. He didn't see it as something that he had to cling to. And what very well may be has to be the grandest act of selflessness, Jesus refused to cling to his favored position of power and glory. And then contrast that with the human race. When people find themselves in positions of power. More often than not, they will do whatever it takes to hold on to that position of power. Whether it be a politician who is long past their prime. But yet continues to run for office, why they're intoxicated by the power. It could be a CEO of a company. He's no longer fit to run the company, but. Because he loves the power, he hangs on to the power. It can happen as parents with our children, we've had power to a degree over our children's lives and sometimes we don't want to give up that power. It happens through all strata of society, we love power, we crave power, and many times we will even go to illegal lengths in order to hang on to that power. But Jesus didn't do that. His attitude must also be our attitude. Every believer should display the same level of selflessness, meaning that we are willing to give up whatever is necessary for the sake of others, we are willing to count others that count others simply means to consider others more significant than ourselves. And this is important because it is one way that we demonstrate that we actually do possess the mind of Christ. It's important because it's one way where we demonstrate that we are actually in Christ, it's an outcome of our union with Christ. Therefore, if we just can't do this or we won't do this, we need to seriously consider our profession of faith. Because as we saw last week, what we do as believers is simply exercise the mind of Christ that we already possess through our union with Christ. So it should be our attitude. And Jesus proved that he was not willing to cling to his divine prerogatives by emptying himself and taking on the form of a servant. Now, as you might imagine, this particular passage in this verse in particular has caused a certain degree of controversy and confusion down through the years in the history of the church. But I don't believe that it needs to do that. The key is really properly understanding. That phrase emptied himself the word empty. It means abased. Here's what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that Jesus emptied himself of his deity. It does not mean that Jesus exchanged his deity for humanity. Jesus did not swap out his divine nature for a human nature. When Jesus emptied himself, he set aside for a time some of his divine rights, some of his divine prerogatives, and he added something to himself. He gives up some things for a time, but at the same time, he adds something to himself he takes on. Paul says the form of a servant. So when Paul says that he came and the emptied himself and he says he took on the form of a servant servant servant excuse me again, he's not losing anything. He's actually taking something on Dennis Johnson comments, Christ was and remains equal with God, but he did not regard that equality as a perk to be exploited for his own advantage, a windfall, a fortuitous springboard to be used for self promotion. See, when Jesus empties himself, he did no way diminishes his deity. When Jesus became a man, he never became fully less than God. Now, there are those who will say that, yes, Jesus emptied himself of his deity. But there's a huge problem with that, and here's the huge problem. If he empties himself of his deity, then he could not die on the cross for our sins. Only God could die on the cross for our sins. So be very careful about wanting to rob Jesus of his deity because you rob him of his potential as your savior, so we need to be careful about that. If he had ceased to be God, he would not have been able to die on the cross, he would not have been able to die for the sins of the world. And you think about who Paul is writing this to, Phillipi Roman colony. Rome was tolerant of all kinds of false gods and false practices, as long as you recognize Caesar's lord, you could pretty much do anything else that you wanted. And these false gods, these pagan deities, they weren't known for being benevolent. They were always making demands of those who worship them, they were always having to be appeased. This is the way the mind of man works when it creates a false god, I've got to keep that god happy. They didn't see these false gods as being willing to give up anything on their behalf yet. What do we have here? What a contrast this must have been to the believers of Phillipi that, hey, here is a God who willingly Emptied himself on my behalf. He was a guard who was willing to give to give up the exercise of what was rightfully his for the sake of others. And I think that based upon our limited understanding, granted our limited understanding of the Lord's actions, we should take the time to try as best that we can to gain some kind of a perspective on the depth that Jesus lowered himself to in the incarnation. For just a moment, let's just try and fathom. Let's just try and think about the vast, even the infinite gap that. Exist

I'm just going to focus on [Philippians 2] verse five this morning because I believe it's so important for us to really wrap our minds around this truth. If we don't wrap our minds around this truth, these verses will not have nearly the impact that they should have and could have. So here we go. Paul has shown us that is impossible for you and I to be unified apart from each of us living with humility, and humility is essential in our ongoing battle against self promotion and thinking ourselves better than others. But as we live in humility, we will be able to count others more significant than ourselves, and we will be able to put the needs of others before our own. So Paul, having called the church of Philippi, to be of the same mind, to be like-minded, now is going to begin to explain this mindset. He's going to begin to explain this attitude that is available to them because of their union with Christ. There's no secret here. I want to say this time and time again. This mindset is only available to us because of our union with Christ. It is not something that we have to come up with on our own. It's not something that we have to grit our teeth and do it. We don't pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. It is something that is already ours in light of our union with Christ. And because Paul instructs us to have this mind among ourselves, we must be absolutely clear in our understanding of what this actually means. There's two things I want to point out this morning. One is just a couple minutes long. First, we need to understand the nature of this mind. Then second, we must understand the meaning of this mind and how it relates to the phrase, which is yours in Christ Jesus. So, what is the nature of this mind? Well, just a couple of very brief thoughts. First of all, Paul teaches us it's a shared mind. They are all to share the mind of Christ. He says to them and to us, "Have this mind among yourselves" (Phi 2:5). So, each one of them are to have this mindset. Each one of them are to adopt and to exercise this attitude. And of course, this makes absolute sense, in that if we are going to be unified, then we must be like-minded. If we are all going in our own direction or doing our own thing, then we're not going to be unified. We would say today that we all need to be on the same page. It is possible for us to be on the same page when it comes to the essentials of the gospel and when it comes to the truths of the gospel that we cannot compromise on. We all can be of the same mind because we all share the mind of Christ. It's also a corporate mind. We need to remember that Paul has written this letter, not to just one or two individuals, but he has written it to the church at Philippi. He has written it to the corporate body of believers at Philippi. He has written it to this local church at Philippi. And if this local body of believers had any hope of experiencing the unity, which is necessary for the advancement of the gospel, then corporately they must be of the same mind. So what is this mind? It's a shared mind. It's a corporate mind. But where we really struggle is understanding what exactly Paul means here. When Paul calls them to have this mind among themselves, he is calling them to have the same attitude, the same mindset, the same disposition, as was in the Lord Jesus. He's calling them to have the attitude of Christ Jesus. Paul says that when it comes to the important things, when it comes to those things that are absolutely essential to the Christian faith, and when it comes to the essentials of the gospel, we all must be like-minded. We all must think the way that Jesus Christ did. And because you and I are in Christ, we should think about the various situations that we encounter and are faced with in the same way that Jesus did. The idea here is that your will, your affection, and your conscience are all involved here with the mind of Christ. Now, as we will see as we move through this, Paul's obviously talking about the way that we think, but this presents a challenge for modern day believers because we live in a culture that really doesn't prize critical thinking very highly. We live in many ways in what is a mindless culture. We have mindless entertainment. We have mindless social media. We have mindless TV programs. Lots of things don't require much thought. And we find ourselves surrounded by that kind of attitude. And we, as Christians, are not immune to that. Many of us, many Christians have lost the art of critical thinking. They can't follow the author's argument in a book. They can't follow the pastor's logic in his sermon. We're so used to 140 character tweets and 10-second sound bites that anything beyond that is very difficult for us to be able to follow and to comprehend. But, as believers we need to work hard at learning how to think. Alistair Begg likes to say that we need to think it through. But again, it's hard to find yourself being able to "think it through" when you find yourself immersed in a culture that, for the most part, has been has become an un-thinking one. And in our culture, we are far too quick to simply react and far too slow to stop and think things through. But please understand this. Christianity is a faith of both the head and the heart. It's a faith of both the mind and the emotions. If you would rather quickly flip to Psalm chapter one. I want to show you something here to kind of illustrate what we're talking about. Psalm chapter one, verses one and two is familiar. Many of us could probably stand up and quote a large part of it, if not all of it from memory. But it holds an important truth for us. In Psalm chapter one, verses one and two, the psalmist writes, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the council the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." So, the one described here by the psalmist is the one who delights in the law of the Lord. What is delight? It's an emotion, isn't it? It's an emotional experience. We need to ask ourselves what is the source of his delight? Was it some mindless activity? No. In fact, just the opposite. The source of his delight came from or is that the fact that he meditates, meaning he thinks on the law the Lord continually, both day and night. His delight, his emotional response, came from the way that he was thinking. His delight, his emotional response, came from his meditation on the Scriptures. This delight was fueled by the activity of his mind. Could that be part of the reason why we have so many unhappy, frustrated people today? They constantly bombard themselves or immerse themselves in mindless activities, and they never give any thought to the deeper things of life. And even Christians fall into this trap. And therefore, we don't experience joy. We don't experience delight. But this man here, he understood that as he frequently and continually meditated on the scriptures, it would be a delight to a soul. So, if you and I want to be better Christians, if you and I want to grow in Christ-likeness, if you and I want to see spiritual growth and spiritual fruit in our lives, then guess what we need to do? We must engage our minds. Spiritual growth and spiritual fruit does not just automatically happen. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phi 2:12b). We need to engage our minds. We need to think it through. Well, let's go on. The first thing that I want to take note of here is that Paul says to them, "Have this mind among yourselves" (Phi 2:5). He is not making a suggestion. He's not making a recommendation. He's not saying, "You know, this would be a good thing for you to do." It's not like it's as if the end of the year was coming up, and Paul knew that they were going to be making their next set of New Year's resolutions, and he says, "Hey, you might want to consider putting this on your list. It'd be a good thing for you next year to have the mind of Christ." No, that's not what he's saying that all. Paul, with the authority of an apostle of Christ Jesus, commands us to have this mind. "Have this mind" is actually a verb, which means we have to take some action, and it's also an imperative. An imperative in the Scriptures is a command. So Paul commands them, as well as you and I, to take some action in relation to the mind of Christ. Please keep that in mind. Paul issued a command to all believers at all times in every place, that they are to take some action in regard to the mind of Christ. So, right away we learn something about humility and unity. What is it that we learn? Both of those items are acts of the will. They are acts of obedience for the Christian, but this is not obedience that is carried out in our own power and our own strength. All of our obedience as Christians is always to be carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, we can look at this from a negative perspective. The Christian who does not live in unity with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is not just a crank. They are a sinning Christian. A Christian who will not live in humility with their brothers and sisters in Christ is not just proud and arrogant, though they are, they are actually defying the will of God as revealed in the Word of God. It is not enough to say, "That's just how I am." No, God saved you, so you wouldn't be a knucklehead anymore, if I can put it that way. It is the highest of cop-outs for a Christian who is in Christ to fall back and say, "Well, that's just the way that I am." Then please, I beg you, make sure that you have truly been converted. If you are what you've always been, the Bible says you've got a problem. So, this obedience like all of our obedience is powered by the Holy Spirit. That means if we struggle to live with humility and if we struggle to live in unity, where would be the place to begin? Where would be the place that we should begin to check

How can you and I as Christians demonstrate the reality and the power of the gospel to those who are closest to us? How can you and I as Christians demonstrate the reality and the power of the gospel to those who are watching us from afar? If we could ask the Apostle Paul that question he might say, well, one way that you can show the reality in the power of the gospel is by living in unity with your brothers and sisters in Christ. And that's the case that the Apostle Paul is making here as he opens his letter to his friends in Philippi. And in this particular portion of his letter he begins to narrow his focus, he begins to zero in on a key element of unity. And what is the key element for us in order for us to experience unity? Boiled down to one word it's the word humility. Humility. And when we hear that we should immediately have some idea of why we struggle to live in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, because what is the opposite of humility? It's pride, it's pride. We all struggle with pride. And because our pride causes us so much trouble, the Bible, as you might expect, says a great deal about it. And we could go to many passages in the Scriptures, but let me just give you two of them from the book of Proverbs. For instance, Proverbs 16 says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It's better to be able to lowly spirit with the poor than to then to divide the spoil with the proud." Then Proverbs 11, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." So the quicker that we acknowledge our struggle with pride. The quicker that we acknowledge that we have this ongoing struggle, we have this desire, this tendency to always want to put ourselves first. We will always struggle in fulfilling Paul's command here, to put the needs and the interests of others before our own. And the reason that we struggle this way is very simple. It's pride. It's pride. So what's the antidote? What is the cure for pride? Well, Paul, again gives it to us. It's humility. The foundation for our unity that flows from our humility are the four realities that Paul outlined in verse one. Look at verse one again, "So if there's any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy," he goes on to say, "complete my joy." So our unity, which comes from our humility, is rooted, is based upon these realities that Paul has already shown to them. So these four realities create responsibilities for us. In other words, if these things are true then these other things should naturally follow. If we've received all these blessings in Christ and from Christ, then we are responsible to live to Christ and for Christ. And based upon those realities that he has shown them in verse one, he makes a simple request of them, and that is simply that they would complete his joy. That term “complete my joy” means to make his joy full. It doesn't mean that Paul didn't have any joy in his life, and that they were solely responsible for creating joy in his life. No, he already has joy, we know that. But what he's saying to them is, you can fill up my joy you can enlarge my joy, if you will do these following things. Paul says, since you have experienced these wonderful realities in your union with Christ than you should and you could and you will be able to make my joy complete. Now you may think that he has his words out of place. After all, he's about to tell them that they need to put the needs of others first and that they need to count others more significant than themselves. But here he begins by asking them to make his joy complete. So what's happening? Is he putting his joy above their interests? Or to be blunt about it, is Paul acting hypocritically here? Is he telling us to do one thing but he's actually doing another? No, absolutely not. Perish the thought. What he's trying to do, he's trying to help them understand that there is a better joy, there is a more satisfying joy than the joy they falsely believe they might experience when they put themselves first. What is the philosophy of our world? Put yourself first and then you'll be happy. Take care of your own needs first and then you'll be happy. Take care of you, look out for number one, and then you will experience joy. But Paul says just the opposite. No, true joy, lasting joy comes when you as a Christian begin to put the needs of others first. The greater joy, the true joy is the experience of seeking the welfare of others. The true joy, the lasting joy comes from helping others grow and mature and become like Jesus Christ. And Paul says complete my joy. In other words, he's not ashamed to ask them to do something on on his behalf. And we see in the New Testament that there are several places where the scriptures instruct us to make sure that we live and conduct ourselves in such a way that the leaders that God has put over us can experience joy. That they serve you with joy. For instance, in 1 Thessalonians, Paul wrote, "We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work." And then he says, "Be at peace among yourselves." One way that you show your respect for those God has put in a position of authority over you is simply by living in peace with each other. In other words, having unity. Likewise, the writer of Hebrews said, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." So your actions, and I really don't know if the average church member thinks about this. Your actions have a direct impact on your pastor. We grieve at your sin. We can be discouraged at the slowness of your growth. We are discouraged when we see you act in a way contrary to the things that you've been taught. But the average church member again puts their own needs ahead of anybody else's, including the pastor's, and they become once again they take on that American spirit. I'm going to do it my way, I'll do what I want to do with little or no regard as to how it affects other people. But Paul says complete my joy. And he doesn't ask this in a selfish way. He knows that his joy will be enlarge. And they will also experience joy at the same time as they do what? As they put the needs of others first. Again, this is so backwards from what we hear. This is so backwards, this is so opposite of all the messages that we hear in our culture and our society. Sinclair Ferguson writes, "In the most gentle of ways, Paul is challenging them: which is more important your self indulgence are giving me, who brought the gospel to you, the joy of seeing you live mature and gracious Christian lives?" And then he says "At the lowest level, our failures bring sorrow to those who first pointed them to Christ." Wise words from pastor Ferguson. You know, it's apparent throughout Paul's letter to the Philippians, throughout the entirety of the book, that he shared a unique relationship with this particular group of believers. You can see the obvious affection in his words and his attitude towards them. And you can see their obvious affection for him and how they wanted to take care of his needs. They had a unique and special relationship. You know, he understood as he asked them to make his joy full again, they would be helping themselves. They would be helping themselves to experience joy as they learn to serve others and put others first. You know there's one other thing that I see here, I'll just hit this very quickly. And that is how we act as Christians impacts those around us. How we act as Christians has a direct impact on those around us. How we conduct ourselves as believers has a direct impact on those closest to us. Has a direct impact on our family and our friends. So we need to ask ourselves this question: is my conduct bringing those who I am closest to bringing them joy or pain? Just something to think about, isn't it? So what's Paul's reasoning here as to how they could complete his joy? Well, Paul says, if you have experienced these things, then you should complete my joy. But the question is, how could they complete his joy? And we can boil it down to one word with several components. That one word is like-minded. If they would be of the same mind and have the same love, that was the beginning of how they would be able to complete as joy. Paul says, be of the same mind. Literally he says to them, be thinking the same thing. We'll see this again in verse five when Paul tells them to have the mind of Christ. So in order to maintain unity in the church, they must be like-minded. He draws a contrast later in his letter to those who think differently in 3:15, and those who set their minds on earthly things in 3:19. But Paul is asking them, he says, for the sake of the advancement of the gospel, and for the glory of God, please set aside your differences. Please set aside your quarreling, stop your quarreling and I need you to fix your minds on Christ. But let's make sure that we understand exactly what Paul is saying here. Let's make sure we understand what Paul's asking us to do. He is not telling them that they have to agree 100% on absolutely everything. He's not saying you all have to like vanilla ice cream and you can't like chocolate. He's not saying you have to agree the team that wears scarlet and gray is the best team in the land and not the team that wears burnt orange. Right? He's not saying anything like that at all. He's not saying that we have to be clones of one another. Have you ever been to a church you felt like you were a member of this movie that was out years ago, Stepford Wives. Nobody knows what that is. Anyway, this was cloning before cloning was. In this little neighborhood you know, they had all th

January 31, 1945, was the day that the life of Eddie Slovik came to an end. Eddie didn't die of natural causes, nor did Eddie live a long, prosperous, and glorious life. No, on January 31, 1945, private Eddie Slovik became the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion. He was executed because he deserted not only his country but those who needed him the most, which was a time of war. And when they needed him the most, when they thought they could count on him, not only to protect their nation but to protect their own lives, Eddie deserted them. And we may look at the penalty for desertion as rather harsh. Why would the military put a man to death? Well, the military understands the power and the need for unity. The military understands that there is strength in numbers. The military understands that if you can get people all working together for the same common goal, united against a common enemy, that they can do what seems to be impossible. They understand the need for unity. They understand that there's a tremendous strength that takes place when people of various backgrounds all come together and work towards a common goal. In their case, the goal was to win a world war. The Goal of the Church In the case of the church, our goal is the advancement of the gospel. And if you doubt, the power of unity, I would encourage you to go back to the book of Genesis and read the account of the Tower of Babel and see what God had to say about them as they began to work together. But in our text, in the previous paragraph, Paul said that for him to live was Christ. And when Paul said that he's referring to real life, he's not talking in theory. He's not talking in abstraction. He's referring to life as we were created to live. He lives to glorify Christ, he lives to enjoy Christ. He lives to love Christ. He lives to obey Christ. He lives, if need be, to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ. When Paul says "for to me to live is Christ" he is telling us that he finds his fulfillment in Christ. He's telling us that he finds his satisfaction in Christ. He has found what so many people spend their lives desperately looking for. He understands that satisfaction in life, contentment in life, joy in life, peace in life does not come from all of the empty wells that we go searching through in order to find peace and contentment and joy and satisfaction. Paul is saying that anything that is worthy of the word life is found in Christ. And we know the Bible tells us that God gives us all things richly to enjoy. But none of those things is to take first place in front of Christ. None of those things are to be the priority for us. Christ is to be the priority. And really that's a call for us all to examine our own lives and say, what is it that we are finding our enjoyment in? What is it that gives us the most enjoyment? For parents that could be their children. For husbands and wives, it could be each other. For some, it could be a career or it could be a multitude of other things. But we need to check up on ourselves and see what it is that brings us the greatest source of enjoyment, the greatest source of pleasure. What is it that is the priority in our lives? We are to enjoy nothing more than we enjoy Jesus Christ. And how would the world be changed if they saw Christians who actually lived that way? How would this world be impacted if they actually saw Christians who lived out what they believed? Instead of chasing the same goals that the unbelieving world does. Instead of trying to find their satisfaction, their joy, in the same way, in the same empty wells that the unbelieving world tries to find it in. Well, now in the paragraph that follows Paul tells us as believers that we are to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Now, I want to be sure that we understand Paul is not introducing a new subject here. There's a tremendous unity to Scripture, obviously, and a tremendous unity to Paul's letter to the Philippians. So he's not introducing something new here. He may be explaining it in a different way but he's not necessarily introducing a new subject. He's continuing to show us what it means for us to live like Christ. He's continuing to show us what a Christ-centered life looks like. And when Paul summons us to live a life worthy of the gospel, he's issuing a call to self-examination. I wonder, do you on a regular basis take the time to sit down and reflect on your life and see why you're making the decisions that you're making? Do you ever sit down, just you and your conscience, and ask yourself what is it that is motivating me? What is it that is causing me to make the decisions that I'm making, which in turn leads to my actions, which in turn leads to my lifestyle? So here in Paul's summons, to live a life, to live in a manner worthy of the gospel, there really is a call to self-examination. To stop daily, frequently and examine ourselves, and if necessary to repent of what we see. A call to self-examination If we never take the time to examine ourselves, to see why we're doing what we're doing, why we are motivated in the way that we're motivated, we probably will never repent of those things that we need to repent of. See, even as Christians, we can sear our conscious and we can engage in sinful activities to the degree that after a while they lose their sting. And the weight of conviction is not felt as it should be. And before you know it, we don't even consider it a sin anymore. We don't even think about it anymore. We don't get that knot in the pit of our stomach, that kind of a warning bell saying, wait a minute, hold on, you shouldn't be doing this, check yourself. So implied here in the call to live a life worthy of the gospel there's a call to self-examination. We need to examine ourselves. And then Paul goes on to help us understand what the characteristics of a worthy life are. And he's going to flesh them out for us. He's not going to leave us in the dark at all. He's going to show us how this truth, and, this is key, he's going to show us how this truth can be applied during a time of suffering. We must never ever forget that Paul writes to this church to this book to the church at Philippi as they were suffering. Yes, he writes them to help them to live with joy. But the backdrop of that is that they are suffering. They are a group of suffering believers, he makes that clear in his letter. And so he writes to them and says, hey, this is how you can, even in the midst of your suffering, even in the midst of your persecution, even during the time of darkest trial, you can still live in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. And as I said last week, he does so by drawing on two images that were very familiar to them to demonstrate what this all looks like. The first image, as we saw last week, was that of being a good citizen. Some of the believers in Philippi had achieved status as a Roman citizen. And those who had certainly taken great pride in their citizenship. So Paul uses that image to help them understand how they should live because they are a citizen of a much greater kingdom. They are a citizen of a kingdom that is beyond compare. He wants them to help them to understand this is how you should live because you are a kingdom of heaven. You are citizens of heaven. This week, I read some stories of those who immigrated to the United States and became citizens and the common thread when people become US citizens is they have great joy. They take pride in the fact that they have been able to accomplish a goal, a dream for them, and they have become a US citizen. And I thought to myself, what about us as Christians? Do we have the same kind of joy? Do we take the same kind of pride in our heavenly citizenship? Or do we slink around, not wanting anybody to know, living on the fringe, living on the edge, never telling people who we really are? What if Christians in this country, in this world, would stand up in mass and say, I'm a citizen of heaven? That's the most important thing. Yes, I was born in America. I was born in Canada. I was born in Istanbul, but I'm a citizen of heaven. And that means more to me than any other citizenship. Do you think the world would take notice of that? What if we quit fighting over the things that aren't going to matter for eternity and say, I'm a citizen of heaven. And so as a citizen of heaven, Paul says, you need to live in a manner that reflects that. So here's the big picture. In order for us to show the world that we are citizens of heaven and in order to live as citizens of heaven, we need to live in unity. That's the big picture. And then there are three things in the text that Paul is going to show us, that demonstrates how we can live in unity. So here's the first one. By the way, let me just back up. I don't want to forget this. You know, there is tremendous power in unity. We've heard now since March "we're all in this together". And I know we may not, we may be sick and tired of hearing it, but the reality is, we are all in this together. And we can fight, kick, scream, whatever, but that's not changing the situation. And the reality is if we would understand that we are indeed all in this together and that we would be unified in what they would say is the possible solution to all this perhaps this would all be over much sooner. I said in the first service, I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog Day, it's just the same after the same, after the same, after the same. I was at the dry cleaners and the lady said, "oh, it's it's almost the first of August." I say, can we just skip the rest of the year and go right to 2021? I'd be much happier that way, you know? The power of unity Unity. There's power in unity. The world understands the need for unity. The world understands that there's power in unity, but sadly, many Christians do not. And they show it by their actions. And Paul is advocating that Christians of all peop

In 1976, some 44 years ago, a man, a Christian author by the name of Francis Schaffer, wrote a book that asked the question of believers, "How Should We Then Live?" Now the book, and the question that he asked, arose from his observation and understanding of what was going on in the culture at that time and what he saw was taking place throughout Western civilization. And while many believers were completely oblivious to the pace of change and the pace of decline that was taking course in our society, he saw it coming. He understood that it was just the first of many changes that would come and that there would be even more seismic shifts, if you will, in the future. A few years ago either 2016, or 2017 Dr. Albert Mohler was writing about Francis Schaffer and he said this "He [Dr. Schaefer] was also asking precisely the right question. How should we then live? That question which troubled Schaffer so much in 1976 troubles all of us now. We're about to find out if Christians in this generation are going to believe and live authentic, biblical Christianity." And Dr. Mohler asked the question, how will we live now? How Then Should We Live Why would Francis Schaffer ask that question? Why would Albert Mohler ask that question? And we can go back 2000 years and ask why did the Apostle Paul ask the same question. Here's the reason why. How we live matters. Paul understood this. That's why he instructed the believers in Phillippi to live in a Christ-honoring, gospel-honoring way. Now let's think this through. What happens when the grace of God brings a person to faith in Christ. What happens when our lives are touched by God's grace? Nothing? A little something? Or does a radical change take place? Well, the Bible would say that when a person comes into saving contact with the grace of God, a radical and dramatic change takes place in that person's life. I mean, let's think about this. Before God's grace intervened in our lives, the Bible describes us as being in a state of spiritual death. But once we come in contact with the saving grace of God, we pass from death unto life. In fact, Jesus calls it "abundant life" (John 10:10). Before God's grace intervened in our lives, we were slaves to sin. We were slaves to our bodily passions. We were slaves to the desires of our flesh. We were slaves to our emotions. Before God's grace intervened in our lives, we lived in fear of death. We had absolutely no hope for the future. Before God's grace in our lives, nothing about us was acceptable to a holy, righteous God. But when the Holy Spirit drew us to Christ and granted us the twin gifts of repentance towards God and faith in Christ, everything about us changed. The Bible says that we became new creations. The Bible says "the old has passed away and the new has come" (2 Cor 5:17). So I ask you, does your life reflect this kind of radical change? Not that you are perfect, but fundamentally, are you different from the person that you were before you came to Christ? Your affections should be different. Your attitudes should be different. Your action should be different. your desires, your purpose in life, all those things should be different. And if they're not different, please do the wise thing and ask yourself, "Am I truly in Christ? Have I truly been converted? Has there been an inward change or am I just conforming to some external standard? Am I living up to my own standard of righteousness?" So I ask you, does your life reflect this kind of radical change? Paul, here in the text, draws on two images that the people of Philippi would have been very, very familiar with. One is the image of being a citizen, which we'll look at this week. And the other image is that of being part of the Roman military. And we'll examine that next week. So the first image that Paul draws on is their citizenship. Remember that Philippi was a colony of Rome. It was some 800 miles or so from Rome but they were very loyal to Rome. Now, Rome, different from our country, the United States, in that, just because you were born in Rome or in a colony of Rome, that did not mean that you are automatically a citizen of Rome. Here in the United States. If a person is born on United States soil, they are automatically a citizen of the United States. But that wasn't the case in Rome. Say, "well, how did you become a citizen of Rome?" Well, you could purchase it, or it could be conferred upon you, you could be granted citizenship. You remember Paul with his dealings with the Philippian jailer told the Philippian jailer that he was indeed a Roman citizen and Philippian jailer said "well, I am too but it cost me a great deal of money in order to become a citizen." So, to be a Roman citizen, was a great source of pride for those who were indeed, Romans. Roman citizenship was coveted as a prize. To be a citizen of Rome meant that you had rights and privileges as well as responsibilities, that those who weren't citizens of Rome didn't have. And a citizen of Rome was to live in a manner that was worthy of the name of being a Roman. Roman citizens were to recognize that to obey the laws of Rome, they were to be loyal to Rome, they were to, yes pay their taxes to Rome. So Paul draws on their understanding of what it means to be a citizen of Rome to teach the believers of Philippi to teach the church of Philippi that although they may have been citizens of Rome, not all of them probably were, but for those who were and the others would have been familiar with the concept, they were also citizens of heaven. They were first and foremost citizens of heaven, and therefore, their lifestyle should be a reflection of their true citizenship. In fact, later in the letter in chapter 3, verse 20, Paul reminds them "but our citizenship is in heaven." And by the way, this is just an aside. As you focus on becoming the best citizen of heaven that you can be, you will automatically become a better citizen of the country where you hold your citizenship. Okay? That's Paul's whole point. I'll say this dozen of times. Paul's whole point is: focus on the fact that you are first and foremost citizens of heaven and you are citizens of Rome, a distant second, okay? We are citizens of heaven! So since we are citizens of heaven, and that means that our lifestyle should be governed by and should conform to the mandate of God's kingdom. Now, I realize that when you hear a statement like that, it's very possible that you immediately begin to think negatively. You think, "Oh, well, here goes another sermon about 'gotta do this. You got to do that. Don't do this. Don't do that.'" That's not what Paul's driving at here at all. The reality is, and I'm afraid we don't focus on nearly enough as believers, there are so many positives and privileges of being a Christian, or being a citizen of heaven, that it seems like we rarely ever focus on. Perhaps even more rarely are they ever preached upon. But let's not miss that. Since our citizenship is in heaven, what Paul is saying is, that must be you're, not just your primary focus in life, your only focus in life. Let me show you where I get this. Look at verse 1, "only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of you that you're standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." The first thing that Paul says is: 'Whether I'm there or not, you need to live the right way.' It's a real sign of spiritual immaturity if you can only act right when the preachers around. Right? So Paul says 'whether I'm there or not if I get released from prison, I'm coming back to you if I don't, if I'm executed in prison, obviously I won't be coming back. but whether I'm there or not, this is the way you must live.' Okay? So when Paul says only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, He is calling us to make a  concerted effort, to focus on our citizenship which is in heaven. Not our earthly citizenship, but our heavenly citizenship. Now, one important phrase is "manner of life." It translates a Greek word that has to do with being a good citizen. So Paul uses a bit of wordplay here. 'He says even though you live in Philippi, even though you are a citizen of Philippi, even though you may take great pride in being a citizen of Philippi never forget that you are first and foremost, also a citizen of heaven and therefore, you should be a good citizen of heaven,' if I could say it that way. You should pay attention to your responsibilities because you're a citizen of heaven, but you should also pay attention to your privileges because you are a citizen of heaven. So let's think this through. The Church of Philippi, as we've seen earlier, was under a great deal of pressure, they were being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Now, what happens in our lives, in our hearts and our minds, when we have some kind of external trouble? Isn't that where we always focus our time and attention on? That's where our thoughts always go to? We're always focused on the problem. The tyranny of the moment takes over, the tyranny of the urgent. Somebody says something to us and that's all we can think about. Somebody does something to us and that's all we can think about. Don't give others emotional power over you! I told Ben here a few weeks ago, I have come to the point in my life where I do not grant anybody emotional power over me. I will not do it. You are not going to control the way that I think, the way that I act, the way that I live. Try as you might, it ain't happening. You're wasting your time. And I would encourage you to do the same. Do not give people emotional power over you. Why would you want to do that? The only person that I'm going to give emotional power over me is the Lord Jesus Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit. Other than that, I'm not going to do it. But so many Christians, what do they do? They just can't get o

I don't know if you've ever heard this saying, but I find it a little humorous. And that is "hermits have no pressure". I think it's funny. And when you think about it, it's really true. To live with others means that you have to deal with pressure. And pressure has a way of revealing who we really are. Pressure has a way of revealing what we are truly like. Pressure does us a favor by revealing the cracks in our character. A few winters ago, it's been several years ago now, I made the mistake of not removing my garden hose from my outside spigot. And of course, you know what happens when you do that. It can be the smallest amount of water, but once it freezes, it's all over. It froze and not only broke my hose, but it also broke my spigot. And the bad part was I didn't know that it happened until the next spring when I turned it on and it flooded my garage. Unrelieved pressure will blow things up. Paul understood that. The church at Philippi was under pressure. And they were under pressure on two fronts: there was the external pressure that arose from them simply being Christians in a pagan culture and there was also internal pressure that arose from the conflict that existed between members of the church. So there was cultural pressure from the outside being exerted on the church. And then there was also internal pressure that was being exerted on the church. And we've heard so often that the book of Philippians, the theme of Philippians is about joy, and that that is certainly a theme that's found in the book, but what you may not know quite as much about is that there was tremendous pressure that the church in Philippi was experiencing. And that is one of the large reasons that Paul wrote to them. The church at Philippi was suffering persecution because they were citizens of heaven living in a Roman colony. And as a Roman colony, you can imagine the people were extremely loyal to Rome. Philippi was a remarkably diverse city. There were Greeks that lived there, there were Romans who lived there, there were also Jewish people who live there. There were working-class people who inhabited the city and there were wealthy elites in the city as well. And it also was a favorite retirement spot, believe it or not, for many people who had served in the Roman military. And because of the strong Roman influence in Philippi, the Roman emperor was worshipped as a god, he was worshipped as a deity. Historians and theologians refer to this as the Imperial Cult. But along with the Imperial Cult, there were other various pagan gods and false religions that were active in the city. And we really can't understand what the background of Paul's letter is to the church at Philippi without going back to the book of Acts. If you turn back to Acts chapter 16 with me, because this is really where the story of the church at Philippi begins is in the book of Acts, chapter 16. And we will begin reading at verse 16. Acts 16:16. Dr. Luke is writing, he says "As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl," Acts 16:16, "we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.'" Now she was doing this in a mocking fashion. So wherever Paul went, she would follow them around and she said this in a mocking way. She was mocking Paul. Well, Paul put up with it for a little while, and the Bible says that this she kept doing for many days. "Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit," not to her, but to the spirit, the evil spirit, "'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out that very hour. But when her owner saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said 'These men are Jews and they are disturbing our city.'" This was a bad crime in Roman society. If you created any kind of civil unrest, it wasn't tolerated. "'They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.' The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison ordering the jailer to keep them safe. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks." "Paul was teaching that Jesus was Lord, and that contradicted the narrative that the Roman emperor was lord."  So what's the accusation here against the Apostle Paul? Well, the accusation was that he was teaching that he was advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice. Well, why wasn't it lawful for them to accept or practice? Because Paul was declaring, Paul was teaching that Jesus was Lord, and that contradicted the narrative that the Roman emperor was lord. Paul's preaching resulted in people being converted, which ultimately led to his arrest and his imprisonment. And as a Roman colony, Philippi was heavily dependent upon the good graces, the goodwill of Rome and so they want to stay on the sunny side. So therefore they would not tolerate any teaching that claimed the exclusivity of Christ. That was Paul's crime. That is why he was arrested. That's why he was beaten. That's why he was put in prison. Now with that backdrop and with that understanding, we understand his words in Philippians 1:27-30, in a much better way. Look at Philippians 1:27-30. Paul writes them he says, "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 that you are," Now notice this, it's very important for what Paul's going to teach here, "that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents." Those who were persecuting them, your persecution. "This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 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, engaged in the same conflict that you saw that I had [Acts 16] and now hear that I still have. [I'm in prison in Rome.]" So Paul knows firsthand by experience the pressure that they were facing. And he knows that the pressure that they were experiencing had already begun to reveal cracks, divisions, and conflict in the church. One commentator wrote this, he said: "These pressures and fears that cause them anxiety are compounded by the fact that their leader Paul is now very possibly going to be put to death in Rome." If that happens, what will the Philippian authority say about them? What will the Philippian authorities or any other of their opponents and Philippi say or do to them if Paul is put to death? Well, that puts greater pressure on them. Will their status as Christians come under even greater disrepute if their leader's put to death by the Roman authorities in Rome? Can Paul's trial in Rome, on the other hand, be a defense or any vindication of what they believe. You see, they were anxious they didn't know what was... not only was Paul facing uncertainty, they were facing certainty as well. "What is the divine solution that keeps the church from blowing apart at the seams? He exhorts them to have the mind of Christ." Now, let's think about this for a moment. If Rome decided that Paul's offense was guilty of death, and they were aligned with Paul, believed the message of Paul, preached the message of Paul, guess what? They very well could be next. They were suffering under this anxiety, this persecution. So the Philippians Christians, are under external pressure because of the circumstances that existed outside of the church. And again, these were circumstances that they had absolutely no control over. Again, Paul understands their experience. He understands what they're going through. He understands that pressure so he writes to them and encourages them to make sure that they did not allow the pressure to build up in order to blow things up and destroy the church and harm the gospel. Because of the persecution that was taking place and the circumstances that they were facing in a pagan culture. He writes to them, to encourage them to maintain their unity in Christ. A unity they did not create but a unity that was created by their salvation, a unity that shows that Christ would not be dishonored and that they would display a unity so that Christ would not be shamed by their conduct. And so what is Paul's Holy Spirit given counsel to the church? What is the divine solution that keeps the church from blowing apart at the seams? He exhorts them to have the mind of Christ. Now time this morning does not allow full exposition of verses one through four, that will come at a later date, but let me highlight and summarize the truth. Paul begins chapter two by saying "So if there's any encouragement in Christ" and then he goes on and he lists several things. Now, we will see this in our study, but would you please take my word for it this morning, when he says "so if there is any encouragement in Christ", it's the same as if he was saying "since there is encouragement in Christ" and he lists all these other things. So Paul says since these things are true of Christ and because you are in Christ, these things should be true of you as well. These things are true about Jesus, these things are true in Jesus, therefore all these things should be true about you. And now notice he begins by highlighting everything that they have in common. He begins by listing all of the things that bind them together. He reminds them that they have been brought together by Christ. And then in verse two, he say

Self-centeredness is a cancer that robs you, as a child of God, of the joy that is your spiritual birthright. The paradox of the Christian life cannot be found when we focus on ourselves. The joy of the Christian life can only be found, can only be experienced by denying self and focusing on the needs of others, and the first chapter of Philippians teaches us that there is joy in self-denial. If you remember from the first message in the series a couple of weeks ago, I said that there was a problem in the church of Philippi. And what was the problem? Well, the problem was a problem of self-centeredness that had reared its ugly head between two of the members of the church. Now Paul, he does address the problem head-on, but he doesn't do so until chapter four, which means that he spends three-quarters of this letter laying a foundation to show the church that self-centeredness has no place in the church. And one of the ways he does this is by real-life example. Paul does not talk in theory. Paul does not deal in theory. Paul does not deal with abstract, abstract truth. No, Paul brings it right down to where we live. He deals in real life. And so, in this passage we have before us this morning, what Paul does is he uses the real-life circumstances that he is experiencing. He uses his own life as a demonstration, as an illustration of what it means to live a life that stands in stark contrast to self-centered living. So, Paul teaches us that as we put the needs of others first, we live, not only as Christ lived, but we live as Christ would have us to live. So, in the preceding verses, verses twelve through eighteen, Paul rejoiced at how the gospel was being advanced by his imprisonment (Phi 1:18). And in verse eighteen, at the close of verse eighteen, which we just read, he says that he will continue to rejoice. "Where does this joy come from?" Now, we have to ask ourselves a very important question. The subject of joy has been mentioned frequently this morning. So, we have to ask ourselves, where does this joy come from? After all, we all want to experience joy. Let's be honest. But, we live in a world of uncertainty. We live in a world filled with both emotional pain and physical pain. We live in a world where we experience death and loss. We live in a world where we suffer abuse. We suffer through fractured relationships. We want joy. We could say more strongly, it's more than just wanting joy. We need joy. The problem is, even as Christians, we find ourselves repeatedly searching for joy where it can't be found. And because as Christians we still battle with sin and we still have to fight our fallen bodies, our fallen flesh, every moment of every day and because our minds have yet to be completely renewed, we continue to look to the dry wells of this world in order to try and satisfy the thirst of our souls. We need joy. We want joy. So, where does this joy come from? Where can joy be found? Well, if we learn from the Apostle Paul, we learn where it certainly cannot be found. Your joy, as a Christian, will never be found in your circumstances, regardless of how good they may be at the moment. Too many Christians believe that joy comes from their circumstances. So, as a result, what do they spend so much of their time and their energy doing? Trying to control their circumstances and manipulating, easy for me to say, their circumstances. They try and change their circumstances. We're desperate in this. But remember, beloved, that our circumstances are used by God for the accomplishment of His eternal purposes. So, therefore, to try and control the uncontrollable will not bring us joy. What will it bring us? Frustration. We'll live in a constant state of frustration because we're always out there trying to control what we think will bring us joy when in reality, our circumstances were never designed by God to bring us joy. And Paul's life certainly teaches us that, and just think about this. The reality of life is that our external circumstances constantly change. Our external circumstances can change in the blink of an eye. As hard as it may be to believe, we are already halfway through the year 2020. Yesterday was the fourth of July. This time last year, schools were preparing for the beginning of another school year, and guess what? They were preparing as they had been preparing for years, but not this year. Schools, just like the rest of us, are facing uncertainty. Students and teachers here in Berea and Madison county will have to wear masks. They're going to have to have plexiglass installed, I believe, between the desks. There's no changing of classes. There's no recess. Poor, poor teachers. So, our circumstances have changed dramatically and they have changed quickly. We were all caught off-guard. This was not how 2020 was supposed to be. So, let me ask you. Has there been much joy for you in 2020? Considering everything that has gone on, can we look at our circumstances, can we look at our society, can we look outside of ourselves and say, "Yeah, this all makes me very joyful"? I don't think so. And as we read Paul's words, all we need to do to see through the fallacy of thinking that the joy of the Christian comes from our circumstances is to simply stop for a moment and think about Paul’s circumstances. "First, he has lost his freedom. Second, Paul was dealing with uncertainty. Thirdly, he lost friends." There are three things that are apparent to me from Paul's circumstances. First, he has lost his freedom. Right? For the past four or five years, he has been in chains. We looked at this last week. He was a man who had a desire to preach the gospel to as many people and in as many nations as possible, but he's lost that freedom. He no longer has that freedom. He's not been able to do that for a long time, but yet, what does he say? "I rejoice. Yes, I will continue to rejoice" (Phi 1:18b). Second, Paul was dealing with uncertainty. I know that we are dealing with a certain amount of uncertainty, but you talk about uncertainty, Paul was dealing with uncertainty. Say, "What was he so uncertain about?" Whether he would live or die. Can you imagine living day after day, knowing that the knock at the door one of two things could happen? Either, you would be set free, or you would be killed. Now, think about that. That is the height of uncertainty. "Does the knock at the door mean that I've been set free? Or does it mean I'm on my way to the executioner's bench?" That is incredible to think about. He lived with that day after day after day. But yet, he says, "Yes, I will rejoice" (Phi 1:18b). Thirdly, he lost his friends. We seem to forget that when Paul went to Rome, people forgot about him. He wrote to Timothy in Second Timothy. He said, "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains..." Now, listen to this, "...but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me" (2 Tim 1:16-17). You know what I take away from that? The believers in Rome had forgotten all about him. Perhaps, they were afraid to be identified with him. Perhaps, they were embarrassed by him, but here he is, when he needs his friends the most, he's been deserted. And how bad was the situation? Well, this man, Onesiphorus, he wants to come, and he wants to minister to Paul, but he gets there, and he starts asking around, and nobody knows where Paul's at. Can you imagine the heartbreak? Can you imagine the loneliness? Paul, sitting there day after day, with the expectation that perhaps he dies, and he knows he's going to die all alone. You know, one of the tragedies of the past few months is these poor folks that have to die all alone. And we recognize what a tragedy that is, but here's the Apostle Paul, the man who had given his life in service to the Lord and had helped so many people, here he is. He's been completely forsaken and forgotten, and he very well may die alone. But yet, he says, "Yes, I will rejoice" (Phi 1:18b). So, if you think that you're going to find joy in your circumstances, something's wrong. Paul certainly didn't find any joy in his circumstances. He didn't even begin to look for joy in his circumstances. Why? Because he knows he's not going to find it there, and neither will you or me. If we continue to look to our circumstances, we will never experience that the joy, excuse me, that God wants each one of His children to experience. Would you fix this fact in your mind? God wants you to experience joy. That doesn't mean that everything is going to be happy-clappy in your life. Do not make that mistake. God does not want us to go around looking like we've been all sucking on 'Sour Patch Kids' or whatever those things are. There should be some real joy in our lives, not because of our circumstances, but because of our relationship with Christ, and that's what Paul understood. "His joy came from the purpose of his life..." So, if Paul's joy didn't come from the circumstances, then where did it come from? Again, his joy... This is so simple, we'll just gloss right over it. His joy came from the purpose of his life, and it was a purpose that Paul would hope would soon be vindicated. Look at verses nineteen and twenty. He says, "For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death (Phi 1:19-20). Paul rejoices that through the power of the prayers of the Philippians, as well as the power of the Spirit of Christ, that his uncertain circumstances will turn out for his certain deliverance. Now, what does he mean by deliverance? He means his spiritual salvation. The underlying word there is the same word that's translated elsewhere as 'salvation'. And remember, the man who wrote these words to

If you knew that before the clock struck midnight tonight that your life would be over, would you be happy with the way that you have used the gift that God has given to you? When you face your Creator, do you think you would hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant?" (Matt 25:21). Or would you hear, "What were you thinking?" Would God say to you, "You've been a good steward of the life that I gave you, and you made the most of your life. You made your life count." And don't we all want our lives to count for something? The Apostle Paul certainly did. He wanted his life to count. He wanted his life to make an impact, not for his own legacy. A lot of people want to leave some kind of lasting legacy. But he wasn't concerned in a legacy built around himself and his accomplishments. He wasn't concerned about his own glory. None of those things mattered to Paul. He wanted his life to count for Christ. He wanted to make the most of his life for Christ. He told Timothy, as he approached the end of his life, 'Timothy I fought a good fight. Timothy, I've kept the faith Timothy, I have run the race. I've run a good race. Timothy, I've done everything that I could to make sure that I have made the most of my life.' (2 Tim 4:7). So the question that faces each one of us is, "How can you live your life so that when you come to the end of your life, you can say with Paul, I made the most of my life?" Well, there are three lessons that the Apostle Paul demonstrates for us here in our text. "You make the most of your life when you devote your life to a cause bigger than yourself." Here's the first one, number one: you make the most of your life, when you devote your life to a cause bigger than yourself. Look at verses 12 and 13. "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ." (Phil 1:12-13). Now remember, as I just said a few moments ago that Philippians was written during Paul's time as a prisoner. Now, the word 'imprisonment' here really means chains. I think we probably read Philippians, and understandably so, we think that Paul has been thrown into some rat infested, dark, damp cell. But that wasn't really the case. Paul lived in a house that he rented, that he had to pay for, but he was never alone. He was constantly chained to a Roman soldier, and try and imagine how difficult that must have been for a man like Paul. You don't find Paul's sitting around very long, do you? Paul was a man on the move. Paul was a man that was highly motivated to take the gospel around the world. He's driven, he's motivated. His ambition was to take the message of the resurrected Christ to every corner of the world that he could reach, as far away as Spain, to make sure that they heard the message of Christ. He was a man on the move, he was a man on a mission, but now his wings have been clipped. The man who had a desire to take the gospel around the world has been, for the last four or five years, chained to a Roman soldier. Of course, we all have just come through, and many are still in the midst of, some sort of a lockdown and isolation. And we don't like it, do we? We don't want any part of it. In fact, what do we see? We see rising rates of mental illness, and sadly, suicide. Why? Because we're not meant to be stationary. We are meant to be out and active. And here was the Apostle Paul. He was the Rambo of the Christian faith, he was on the move, he was a warrior for Christ, right? And now all of a sudden he's chained to this soldier, he has knowwhere to go. He wasn't under house arrest for a few months. He was under house arrest for a few years. Yet what do we find Paul doing? Or better yet, what would we do? What would you do? Well, in verse 18, Paul says he's rejoicing. We gotta say, "Paul, how can you have joy when you've been chained to another and your ability to move, your ability to preach, has been restricted?" Another man might say to Paul, "Paul, you're getting up there and age, pal. You don't have much time left. Paul, you've always been a man on a mission. Paul, you're driven to advance the message of Christ. Paul, how can you rejoice in such a situation?" And you know what Paul would say? "You don't get it. It's not about me. It's all about Jesus. I live because of Jesus, I live for Jesus, and I will gladly die for Jesus." See, Paul lived for something much bigger than himself, he lived for Christ. He lived to see the message of Jesus communicated to as many people as possible. And guess what? In Paul's way of thinking, if it took a prison cell to accomplish that, so be it. He didn't live for himself. Later right here in chapter one, verse 21 he says, "For me to live is Christ," and what, "to die is gain." Is there any hint of self in there? The only hint of self is, 'I'll be glad when I'm dead.' For me to live is Christ. In other words, I'm going to live for Christ. Everything that I do is going to be driven by Christ. But if I die that would be gain for me. Paul didn't live to please himself. Paul was not concerned about his comfort. Nor did Paul complain because of his circumstances. Listen, please listen. Paul understands that God uses the circumstances of our lives to accomplish His eternal purposes. You're not the victim of fate. The world has not played a cruel joke on you. The universe is not against you. That's all baloney, that's all garbage. Your circumstances, when you are a Christian, will always be used to accomplish His eternal purposes. That's why, we as Christians, face suffering differently than the unbeliever. It's just as painful, the outcome may be just the same, but we know there is a real purpose to our suffering. We know that through our circumstances, God is accomplishing His eternal purposes. Paul lived for something bigger than himself. And what do we have? What is our culture characterized by today? Selfie this, selfie that. I want this, I want that. We have millions and millions and millions, literally millions and millions of people who are only living to please themselves. And not surprisingly, what what else do we have? Millions and millions and millions of people who are unhappy, they're frustrated, and all they can do is vent on social media. So I need to ask you, what are you living for? Is it money? You can lose it. Status? You can achieve it and lose it. I could give you probably 20 names right now. People who achieved some status in this world, but they've lost it. But what happens if you never achieve the status you're living for? Will you consider your life to have been wasted? I would. It's not a sure thing is it? Earthly goals, they won't matter when you die. Take a good hard look. What are you living for? What are you living for? Paul could rejoice because he understood that in the wisdom of God, and through the sovereignty of God, the gospel would best be advanced by him being in prison. You say, "That doesn't make sense." Humanly speaking, it doesn't make sense. Here's Paul, the great evangelist, perhaps the greatest evangelist the church has ever known, and he's chained to this soldier. "God, it doesn't make sense," does Paul ever hint at that? Does Paul ever say, "Hey God, do you want to reconsider this?" No. We wonder how can this be? Well notice that because that Paul has been in chains, he reached a group of people, that apart from him being in chains, he never would have reached at all. The gospel was advanced, he says it himself, "I want you to know, brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." He's not upset about this. He's not discouraged about this. It was advanced to an unlikely group of people because Paul was in chains. The Gospel is made known throughout, his own words, the whole imperial guard. The knowledge of the gospel was growing throughout a very specific group of soldiers. Say, "Who's who's the Imperial Guard, is that just a title?" No, they were the elite of the elite. They were the Navy Seals. They were SEAL Team Six. They were Delta Force. They were Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris all rolled up into one. They had one duty and it was to protect the Emperor. There were some 9,000 of them, and that's what they trained for. They were highly skilled, they were the best of the best, and Paul says that the Gospel's being spread throughout their number. So we have to ask ourselves, "Were they actually using such elite soldiers to guard Paul?" We really don't know, but what we do know is that Paul was sure that they were hearing the message of the gospel. Say, "Well how can that be?" Well, perhaps Paul was guarded by soldiers from another squad. And perhaps his guards came into contact with these elite soldiers down at the cafeteria, or in the barracks, or on the training ground, we don't know. But maybe during the course of their conversations, you know how employees are; "Hey, what've they got you doing? What they got you doing?" And the people who are guarding Paul said, "You're not gonna believe this. You're not gonna believe this. I'm not sure I signed up for this. They got me chained, eight hours a day, to this little Jewish fella. And he just keeps banging on and on and on about somebody named Jesus Christ." He said, "You're not gonna believe what he says about Jesus. He says that Jesus died and he rose again. Have you ever heard anything so absurd and all of your life?" His buddy says, "No way, does he actually believe that?" "Yeah, he does. And you know, he's pretty convincing with his passion, his logic, and his arguments. He says that there's only one true God and I said, 'Now, wait a minute. We know the one true God, it's Caesar. We worship Caesar. And by the way, if I don't worship Caesar, it's off with my head." And Paul says, "No, no. There's one true God," and he tells the soldier, "you're responsible to Him, everybody's respon

Are there any more self-centered, self-absorbed people in the world than celebrities, professional athletes and politicians? And many are so self-centered that they are actually clueless as to the extent of their self-centeredness. Let me give you one example. If you're a baseball fan, you know the name of Alex Rodriguez. It's been several years ago now, Alex Rodriguez signed one of the biggest contracts in Major League history with the New York Yankees. He signed at that time, which has been eclipsed several times, but he at that time, he signed for a quarter of a billion dollars for the New York Yankees. And to say that he was self-centered would be a gross understatement. And Tom Verducci, an excellent sports writer, wrote a book called "The Yankee Years" and in that book, he describes some of the behavior of Alex Rodriguez. And he relays one incident where the manager Joe Tory was concerned about just how self-centered Alex Rodriguez was. Alex Rodriguez wanted to have his own clubhouse attendant. Now in a major league baseball clubhouse, they have these young chaps that are probably high school or early college age, and they attend to the needs of the players. If they need a cup of coffee, or they need a ham sandwich, whatever it may be, these guys take care of it for them. Well, Alex Rodriguez wanted his own personal clubhouse attendant. He wanted his own Jeeves, he wanted his own Butler, as it were. And Joe Tory obviously was concerned about what the effect of this could be on the team and he called Alex Rodriguez aside and he said, ‘you know what, it'd be a good thing if maybe, just to kind of show that you're part of the team, if you would just go get your own coffee.’ So later that afternoon, Alex Rodriguez came back to the manager and said, ‘hey, I wanted you to know I went and got my own coffee.’ What was that? It was another display of his self-centeredness. I did this I want you to know what I did. Well, Joe Tory obviously understood that self-centeredness would negatively impact the performance of the team. "We all are far more self-absorbed than we realize." And we look at things like that. And we say, oh, those people, they're so selfish. They're so self-centered. Oh, they're so self-absorbed. Well, you know what? Self-centeredness certainly is a problem. But here's the deal: we all struggle with it. Every one of us struggles with it. We all are far more self-absorbed than we realize. And left unchecked, our self-centeredness will negatively impact the mission of the church. And even the secular world understands what a cancer self-centeredness can be. I just went and did a little research this week and pulled out three quotes from three secular writers about their feelings on self-centeredness, here's what one had to say: "Self-centeredness is the basis for all sorts of immoral behavior as well as all the sorrows of humanity." That's pretty true, isn't it? Another said, "All conflicts in the world are the product of humanity's innate self-centered activity." I really like this guy. He's practicing a little bit of wit here. He said, "If it's about me, I can be assured that there will be a bunch of empty chairs in the auditorium of my life save the one I'm sitting in." In other words, self-centeredness does what? It drives people away, it turns people off. But here's the deal: we're all self-centered. Self-centeredness is universally recognized as a problem and we as Christians, we are not immune to the problem of self-righteousness, or self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is more than just a problem, it's actually a sin. So self-centeredness must be seen and understood for what it is. As one pastor wrote "There's no room for selfishness in the church. Everything about the gospel, everything the church is designed to be, and everything we learned from Christ's example strikes a blow at the root of human pride and self-centeredness." Now, I wouldn't have been at all surprised this morning when you heard me announce my text as from Philippians chapter one, that you mainly thought, “Oh, good, we're going to hear a sermon about joy. Because after all, everybody knows that the theme of the book is joy.” Well, you're not going to hear a message about joy. Instead, you're going to hear a message about the enemy of joy, which is self-centeredness. You will never know Biblical joy if you are self-centered. If you are unhappy as a Christian, examine yourself, and see are you self centered? You will never know Biblical joy if you are self-centered. Well, what is self-centeredness? Well, to put it very bluntly, it's the opposite of biblical Christianity. It's the opposite of the way that Jesus lived his life. So how did Jesus live? Well, Paul helps us understand that right here in the book of Philippians. You want to turn to chapter two, we'll read verses 5-8 together. Paul says, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." So, therefore, if you are a disciple of Christ-- and by the way, don't just assume that you are-- the Bible would encourage you to examine yourself to see if you're thinking, acting, and living as a disciple of Christ should. But if you are a disciple of Christ, your life should reflect this attitude of Jesus. Paul said directly, before what we just read in verses three and four, the same chapter, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more signet significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others." "First of all, remember who you are." So what do we have here? We have the opposite of self-centeredness. Counting others more significant than ourselves and looking not only to our own interests but to the interests of others. That's what it means to be a Christian. Self-centeredness was a problem for the believers who belonged to the church at Philippi. But it's a problem for the believers who belong to the church, Grace Community Church of Berea. And because of your tendency towards self-centeredness, what steps can you take to win or to defeat the enemy of joy, which is your self-centeredness? First of all, remember who you are. Remember who you are. This comes from verse one. "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons." Now, there's a tendency because the Apostle Paul uses very similar greetings in many of his epistles, there's a tendency to think that we kind of know it all when we read those greetings and so we just kind of blow by them, as it were. But this is more than just a greeting. As we study the book of Philippians very carefully, we will see right from the very beginning that the Apostle Paul is setting the tone for the entirety of the letter. In other words, there is a problem that he is going to address, that needs to be addressed in the church. And so he very wisely and almost very subtly sets the tone for correcting the problem, right from the very beginning of his letter. And he does it in his greeting. There was a problem with self-centeredness in the church. You say, wait a minute, I've always been told that the book of Philippians is about joy. It is about joy. But until they could experience that joy, the problem that was preventing them from experiencing the joy had to be dealt with. And here's the problem we have as Christians, we want the joy but we don't want the pain of dealing with the problem that's keeping us from joy. Say are you sure about this? Well just go read Philippians 2:3-4, we just read, chapter two verses 14-15 and chapter four, verses 2-3, and you'll see the struggle that was taking place in the church. So Paul knows in order to solve the problem of our self-centeredness, there must be a change in our thinking, there must be a change in our thinking. And in this instance, they needed to understand who they were in Christ. This is such a familiar theme in Paul's writings. We saw this time and time again in the book of Ephesians. It is so important for you and me to understand who we are in Christ, what our identity is in Christ. Paul, now think about this, Paul had the authority as an apostle to simply write to them and say, "stop it". Did he not? He was an apostle, a divinely appointed apostle. He had the stamp of authority from the Lord Jesus himself. He had every right to open up his letter to them by simply saying you're being self-centered, stop it. But he didn't do that, did he? He eventually points out the problem and he offers solutions to the problems. But he doesn't just force his authority upon them and say, you've got to stop doing this. Now, don't get me wrong. There are times when you have to do that. If you're a parent, if you've been a parent for 10 minutes, you know there are times when you have to do that. But that's not always the best approach and that's not the approach that Paul takes here. So Paul does want them to stop being self-centered, but he understands that the root of their problem is twofold. First of all, they had a problem with their will. They were expressing their self-centeredness in their actions. But he also understood that the reason they had a problem with their will was because they had a problem with their mind. They were thinking incorrectly about themselves. They were not seeing themselves for who they truly were. I'll say it again. They had an identity problem. And still today we have the same problem. We have to constantly battle to remind ourselves of who we are as Christians. So Paul opens a letter to them with a reminder of their identity. Now he does so by way of example. He describes to them

The book of Jonah is a great story. But God didn't include it in the Bible purely for its entertainment value. There is a point to the story. As I said last week, there's always just one point to a story. But that doesn't mean that we can only learn one thing from the story. There are several things that we have learned already, and there could be, would be much more that we would learn from the book as we continue to read and study and meditate upon it. So, so far, what have we learned from the book of Jonah? Well, on the positive side of the ledger, we have learned about the sovereignty of God. We've learned about the power of God. We've learned about the persistence of God. We've learned about the providence of God. We've learned about the grace of God. And we also learned about the compassion of God. On the negative side of the ledger, here's what we've learned. We learned that we as Christians struggle with people who are different from us. We have learned that we, Christians, many times struggle with obedience. We, as Christians, many times have a hard time believing that people who are not just like us are worthy of God's grace. For instance, Jonah. One of the big problems Jonah had was that he saw the God of Israel as their God and their God only. And he was upset that the national God of Israel would extend the offer to grace to anyone else. I'm afraid if we are honest, there are times as Christians, we hold that same point of view. "Ah, they are this. I don't want them to have God's grace." Or "They are that. I don't want them to have God's grace." And as I said, I believe, in the very first week that the book of Jonah is a mirror that when we hold it up to ourselves, it clearly reflects our biases and our prejudices. But there's more to be learned. Is there one big point to the story? And if there is, then how does it apply to us today? Well, to understand the story of Jonah, first of all, we need to understand something of the backstory, if you will. We need to understand something of the historical context of the book. So what are some of the events that in the life of Jonah and the people of Nineveh in the nation of Assyria, the ten northern tribes... What are some of the events that we need to take into account? What are some of the events of Jonah's life that factor in the story? By the way, each and every one of us has a backstory, if you will. There is a context to our life. There's a history to our life. And we're... seemingly fall on two ends of the teeter-totter if you will. Many times people underestimate the effect of the backstory of their life. They downplay it. They don't take it into account. The other extreme is that they overestimate it. They, they give way too much credit to it. We want to try and find a perfect balance. But either way, we are all affected. Our beliefs, our values, to a certain degree, are all shaped by this backstory, the backstory of our lives. So what was the backstory of Jonah? Well, we've seen this. So just quickly, we'll go through it. Jonah was a prophet of God to the northern tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel. And from what we know of him in the Scriptures, he was a faithful prophet, and he had always been an obedient prophet until God called him to go to Nineveh, but not only do people have a backstory, so do nations and cities. So what would be the backstory for the city of Nineveh? Well, Nineveh was a prominent city in Assyria. Some believe that perhaps it was a capital city of the Assyrian empire. God Himself describes it as a great city. It was great in size. It was great in population, but it was also great in its wickedness. And the wickedness was the reason that God told Jonah to go out, to go to Nineveh, and call out or cry out against it. The nation of Assyria, they have their own backstory as well. And their backstory is one of brutality. They were a people, a conquering people, a warring people, and they went out, and they conquered other countries, and they kept those other countries in line through their violence and through their cruelty. They ruled with fear and violence and intimidation. And then, finally, we have the northern tribes or the ten tribes of Israel. And they shared a border with a territory of Assyria. The northern kingdom was well aware of the brutal reputation of the Assyrians. And the Assyrians would be God's sword that He would use in just a few short decades to put an end to the northern kingdom of Israel. So the Assyrians were always a threat to Israel. Jonah's hometown was not far from the border. So, imagine the tension. Imagine the fear that Jonah grew up with. From the time he was a little boy, he lived in a town that had to endure the constant threat of invasion and violence from the neighbors from the north. It would be like today, the border of North and South Korea. We have that zone there, and there's always this tension there. You never know what the neighbor to the north is going to do. Well, this is what Jonah grew up with. He grew up with this tension. And he had to surely have heard the stories of how the Assyrians conquered, how they treated people, how they were so brutal, how they cut the thumbs off of people, cut the lips off of people, and cut the heads off of people. Imagine the impact that would have had on him as he grew up hearing those stories time after time after time. Well, one day God comes to Jonah, and He tells him to go to Nineveh, but Jonah has other ideas. Jonah has a plan of his own, and his plan is to get as far away as possible. So what does he do? He goes, and he buys a ticket. He plans to get on board a ship and go as far away as he can. He tries to go to the far side of the Mediterranean Sea. God allows him to make his way to Joppa. God allows him to buy the ticket. God allows him to get on the boat. Now, there's an important detail in the text that I want to deal with here for just a moment. It tells us that Jonah went down, in chapter one, that went down to Java. And the Bible says that he paid the fare (Jon 1:3). Now, that may seem like an insignificant detail until we stop for just a moment and think about who Jonah was. Who or what was Jonah? He was a prophet. He was a man of God. How do you think a prophet was supported? Primarily, by God's people. In other words, here's Jonah, using God's money to fund his disobedience. We would liken it to something like this today, that you own a company, and you tell one of your employees to fly to New York City to close the biggest deal in the history of your company. Well, you learn that your employee has taken your company’s credit card. And instead of buying a ticket to New York, they have bought a ticket to Osaka, Japan. And you're upset. And so, you know, by the time that they land in Japan, they're going to have a message on their phone. And as soon as they take their phone off of airplane mode, guess what? You're going to give them what for. You're going to let them know exactly how they feel. There's a pretty good chance you're going to fire that employee. Well, Jonah is just like a bad employee. He used God's money to go against God's will. He used God's money to fund his disobedience. So, we have to ask ourselves, why did God insist on using Jonah? Why didn't he just let him go? Why didn't he just say, "You're fired. I'll go find somebody else."? So God lets Jonah board the boat. He lets the ship set sail. God lets the boat get out to sea, and then God acts. What's He do? He sends a storm. What a storm it was. It's the... Bible tells us that the sailors were deathly afraid. They were so afraid that they began to pray (Jon 1:5). But guess who's not praying? So-called man of God, the prophet of God. He's nowhere to be found. He's below deck. He's taking a little nap. The question comes to my mind again, why did God insist on using Jonah? The sailors begin to cast lots. The lot was used to determine why they were in trouble, who was a source of their trouble. And you know the story. The lot falls on Jonah (Jon 1:7). So what does he do? He kind-of answers their questions and he says, "Hey, if you want to escape, if you want to save your life, here's what you need to do. You need to pick me up, you need to throw me overboard." They didn't want to do that. So what did they do? They tried to step up their game. They thought that more human effort would be able to save the day, so all their strength and all their skill they applied to try to get back to dry land. But, ultimately, they saw that it was futile. All human effort was futile in the face of God's power. So what did they do? They finally consented. And I do believe somewhat reluctantly, they picked up Jonah, and they threw him overboard. And the farther he sank, the calmer the winds became. And by the time he was out of sight, they were out of danger. Next thing Jonah knew, he had been swallowed by a great fish. It's interesting. The Bible says that the fish was actually appointed by God to be at that place at that time for that very purpose (Jon 1:17a). In other words, God was not going to let Jonah die. God's plan was for Jonah to go to Nineveh, and Jonah was going to go to Nineveh. So, Jonah spends three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. Just use your imagination, and try and place yourself in his position. It had to be dark. It had been incredibly slimy. It had to be somewhat uncomfortable and cold. Imagine the smell. Imagine the constant motion of the fish as it swam through the sea. I don't think it just laid there like a blob, do you? It was a fish. What do fish do? They swim. This man... He's in, in this fish that swims mile after mile. And imagine the pain Jonah must have experienced as this great fish would dive deep into the seas and rapidly come back to the surface. Say, "Why would that cause Jonah pain?" Do we have any scuba divers in the house? One of the perils of scuba diving is if you go down too deep and come up too fast, you get

Do you love a good story? I know I do. I can remember the very first book that I read that didn't have pictures in it. The schools used to have a program, I don't know if they still do or not, probably not. But they used to have a program called Scholastic Reader. And every so often the teacher would send home with us this little catalog of books that we could order. Of course, I would pester Mom and Dad for them to order me a book. And the very first book I can ever remember reading came from that catalog. There was a book that you can still get today; I checked, just Friday, to see if it's still available. It is, it's still available through Scholastic Services, by the way. It was, I did a little research, it was an award winning book. It was written in 1963. A movie was made about it a few years ago, which didn't nearly do it justice. But the book is called 'A Wrinkle in Time'. Perhaps you've read it. If you haven't read it, I would encourage you to read it. You say, "Well, I'm a, I'm an adult". It's okay. It's a great story. It's a great story. 'A Wrinkle in Time'. I still remember Meg, the main character, I still remember the cover of the book. I read that book over, and over, and over, because it was such a great story. And still today, I love to read great stories. And there are some great storytellers out there. I've read every 'Jack Reacher' novel. I set my yearly calendar by the publication date of the 'Walt Longmire' mysteries, comes out every September. I preorder it as soon as I can, so that it ends up on my porch and I read it in about a day and wish September would come around again. Craig Johnson, he's the author of the 'Longmire' mysteries. He's a great storyteller, the finest non fiction, fiction excuse me, the finest fiction...fictional paragraph I ever read was written by Craig Johnson. I read most of the Harry Bosch detective novels I've read most of the Digger Graves books written by Jonathan Gilstrap. I just love a great story. But those are all works of fiction, but there's something that I like even more than fiction, and that's biographies. The finest book I've ever read outside of the Bible is a book called 'Unbroken', which is the life story of Louis Zamperini, if you even if you don't like to read, you need to read that book. I read the biographies of President Truman, President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, who is an utterly fascinating man, do yourself a favor and read about Churchill. President Lincoln, President Washington, I've read the biography of Steve Jobs. Which is the saddest biography I've ever read in my life. I've read of the biography of the genius of Albert Einstein and learned what a moral failure he was. I've read the biography of George Whitfield. I would say that the the biography of George Whitfield is the second best biography I've ever read. I've read the biographies of Jonathan Edwards, I've read the biographies of Charles Spurgeon. If I haven't, I'm very close to of having read all of the biographies of the good Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones. And the lives of all these men, they were great stories. I mean, really, who doesn't love a story? We read stories to our kids and now we read stories to our grandkids. Why? Because we all love stories. And even as adults, we love stories. Now the stories for adults nowadays, unfortunately, primarily come through TV. I mentioned the show 'Lost' last week. Up to the last episode, that was great storytelling. Perhaps the greatest TV show of all time was '24'. Now, that was storytelling, right? We never outgrow our love for stories. Stories are powerful. Stories have the power to inspire us. Stories bring back pleasant memories of days gone by. Stories entertain us and most importantly, stories have the power to teach us. That's why Jesus told so many stories. Do you realize that somewhere between 60 and 70% of the Bible is stories? Think about that. 60 to 70% of the Bible is made up of stories, and the Bible contains the greatest stories. Why? Because the Bible is a book about God, and who's greater than God, and what can be a greater story than the story of God. God is the hero of the story. God is the hero of the Bible. You and I are not the heroes of the Bible. The Bible is not about us. What we see about us in the Bible is not pretty, it's not flattering, it's rather embarrassing. But everything we see about God is great, and glorious, and wonderful, and grand, and marvelous. So Jonah, as it is a book of the Bible, as it is a story, it is a great story. Unfortunately, the Old Testament is so neglected that many of these great stories get ignored, and the full impact of them we never experience. I want to apologize to you. If I had to do this over again, I would have preached the entire book in one message because a story is only about one thing. One thing. Say, "Why didn't you do that?" Because I didn't realize it till I got three weeks into it. Forgive me. Next week, I'll show you that one thing. And whether we realize it or not, Michelle could, and Victoria could validate this, stories share some common characteristics. Every story has a protagonist. The protagonist is the hero. Every story has an antagonist. That's the villain, that's the bad guy. Then there are what they call foils, f-o-i-l-s. Foils are characters in the story that aren't really the main characters, but they contribute some context, and some texture, and some color, and some depth to the story. As we read the story of God told in the book of Jonah, we need to understand that God is the protagonist, God is the hero, God is the good guy. Therefore, Jonah is the antagonist. He's the bad guy. He's the villain, if you will. Say, "Well, who are the foils in the story of the book of Job?" They would be the sailors, be the captain of the ship. It'd be the people Nineveh, it would be the king of Nineveh. They add some context to the story. They're kind of incidental to the story. Another thing that makes a story great is tension, its conflict. It's the tension, it's the conflict of the story that keeps you up at night, reading page after page after page, you just have to see how it's all going to work out. I have to be very careful when I read certain books. I have learned that I can't read on Saturday nights. You know why? Because I get so engrossed in the story that I want to find out who old Walt Longmire is going to arrest, amen? So I don't read on Saturday nights because I know that I'll stay up way too late and I won't be at my best on Sunday morning. Well, Jonah's a great story because it oozes with tension and conflict. And sadly, because we are so familiar with the story of Jonah, we've lost that sense of tension and that sense of conflict that exists in the story. This loss of the conflict and the tension deadens, lessens, the impact of the story that it has in our lives. But if we pay careful attention to the book of Jonah, we see that there's tension and conflict all the way through the book. The book of Jonah opens with tension. It opens with a conflict. The word of the Lord came to Jonah and gave him a direct command to go to Nineveh and call out against it. But Jonah had other plans. He would rather die than go to Nineveh. He would rather leave everything he loves. He would rather leave everything behind that he knows, then go to Nineveh. So he makes his way to the seaport of Joppa. He finds a boat headed to someplace called Tarshish. He buys a ticket he gets on board. The boat sets sail to a faraway destination where Jonah hopes that he can escape the presence of God. And perhaps Jonah believed as many do today that just because the door was open for him to sail away, it was all right for him to head that way. See, Jonah made the mistake, that many continue to make, and that is making the mistake that is mistaking and open door as a sign of God's approval, even as a sign of direction from God. They mistake the open door as what the Puritans would call a Smiling Providence. The logic goes like this, the argument goes something like this. "Well, the doors open. It must be what God wants me to do." We've all been there. We've heard somebody say that. We've probably done it ourselves. Jonah couldn't believe his good fortune. He finds a ship that's going exactly where he wants to go, as far away as possible. The ship even had room for one more passenger. He had money in his pocket so that he could buy the ticket. Surely this must be okay with God. Surely this must be God's plan. Surely this is what God wants because look at how easily all the circumstances are coming together. Well as Jonah would soon learn, and as many since Jonah have learned, an open door does not necessarily signify God's will. An open door's not always God's stamp of approval. An open door is not an automatic green light from God. I have been in the ministry now for over two decades. I know I look much younger than that, but yep, it's true. And I can tell you, in all seriousness, I can tell you of families who just knew that it was God's will to take a certain job or to move to this state. It had to be God's will because it all came together so easily. One family specifically comes to mind. They continually assured me and assured themselves that it was God's will for them to move to another state. And despite all the counsel to the contrary, they made the move. "It was God's will, Pastor Craig, it's God's will, just know it's God's will." But it wasn't long before the husband and wife were divorced. The daughter's moved in with her boyfriend, children were born out of wedlock, and it was God's will? That was God's will? "But it is Pastor you don't understand all the right doors are opening. All the circumstances are coming together. The wind is filling our sails and the sea is so peaceful, this has to be God's will." That's what Jonah thought too, but be careful, just because the door is open, that doesn't mean it's God's will. That open door could very well turn out to be a t

Joseph, Joshua, Esther, Nehemiah, Paul, and Jonah were all raised up by God at various points in world history and were given specific assignments, specific tasks if you will. For instance, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. And years later when his brothers discovered who he was and they feared for their lives, Joseph spoke to them some of the most memorable words in Scripture. Genesis 50:20 Joseph said, "As for you, you meant evil against me," but here's the key, "but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Joshua was chosen by God to be the successor of Moses and he was given the task of leading the children of Israel into the promised land and to take possession of the Promised Land. Israel, excuse me, Esther was chosen by God and placed in a very unique position, a position in which she was able to prevent the genocide of the Jewish people. Nehemiah, here's the cupbearer to the king. Again, a faithful Jewish man who was elevated to a position of prominence. He was a cupbearer but he was also chosen by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The apostle Paul was chosen by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles for which each one of us should be eternally grateful. And then there's Jonah. Jonah too was chosen by God for a very specific assignment and that was to go to Ninevah and to call out against it. In other words, he was to go to Ninevah and to call them to repentance. Now, each one of these characters that I've mentioned this morning, they all have something in common. Despite having lived in different times, and some even in different countries, they all shared a common characteristic. Each one of them was chosen by God and had been given a specific task or an assignment to do. And each one of them did it. Now granted, some of them may have had some questions as to how and what God wanted them to do but they completed the assignment that God gave to them. But Jonah was just a little bit different. Jonah is the only one out of the list that I mentioned who just flat out refused to do what God asked him to do, what God assigned him to do if we want to look at it that way. And I think it's probably better to look at it that way. So Jonah is unique in that respect, but despite his initial refusal to do what God had given him to do, he ultimately fulfilled the call of God on his life. You know, unbelievers may read the Bible, they may read the story of Joseph or they may read the story of Esther, and look at the events of their lives and think, well, isn't that nice all that just happened to work out. Right? They think it was just random events, you know, this could have been any two people and it would have worked out the same for anybody. No, no, not at all. As believers, we read the Scriptures through the lens of God's sovereignty. And as we read the Scriptures we understand that behind the public events and circumstances of the lives of the people that we read about in Scripture, we understand that the invisible hand of God is constantly at work directing those events and those circumstances for our good and for his glory. A favorite verse for many of us Christians is Romans 8:28, "All things work together [for what?] for good." Now, do we have an illustration of that from any of the characters in Scripture? Well, my mind immediately goes to Joseph. Here was a guy who seemed like everything was going wrong, right? He has a dream, he gets a coat, he brags about his dream, he ends up in a pit, sold into slavery, gets a promotion over Potiphar's household, gets lied on, thrown in a prison, interprets some dreams, promised to get out, gets forgotten, eventually gets out, becomes the Prime Minister of Egypt. Was he just lucky? Was he unlucky at the start of his life and all sudden he got lucky? No, behind the scenes God was at work and every step of his life and ultimately he worked it out for good. Listen, as believers, we need to understand and come to grips with the reality: yes, others will hurt you. You may have had some terrible experience in the past from other Christians. I have, I'll be the first to admit that. You may have been hurt in ministry. I have, I'll be the first to admit that. How do you deal with that? How do you deal with that? How do you cope with that? By believing that all things work together for good, by believing Romans 8:28. That's how you deal with the hurts and the pains, the mistreatment, the problems of life. But what about our own sin and rebellion? Let's use Jonah for an example. Did Jonah's sin, Jonah's rebellion, did it derail God's plan? Not at all. And so I think sometimes we think to ourselves, well, you know, I have messed up so badly here that I have messed up God's plan. Listen, God is not going to let your sin mess up his plan. That's not a license to keep on sinning. But the reality is God will accomplish His purposes, even through sinning people at times. And the book of Jonah shows us how God's will is accomplished despite the sin and the rebellion of his creation. And as you read the Bible, please read it with the understanding that what you are reading is the unfolding plan and purpose of eternal God. Let's be honest as well, at times it is ugly. Sometimes it's very, very ugly. And yes, sometimes from our limited understanding there are questions that arise that we simply cannot answer. Sometimes for in our limited understanding, things can be quite confusing. There are things that we simply don't understand. There are times when we read, like the book of Judges, it seems as if it's all chaos and there's no rhyme or reason to it at all. But even in all of these ugly circumstances, even in the midst of what appears to be chaos to us, God is working. He works both directly and indirectly to bring about his plans and his purposes. There are two ways that God works. God works directly. For instance, God said "Let there be light" and there was what? There was light. There are other times where God works indirectly. Some people would say he works through indirect means or secondary causes, secondary means, meaning that he can use the actions of other people in order to bring about his will. And we see that in the life of Jonah. Were there any people in the life of Jonah that God used to bring about his will? Well, how about a boat full of sailors? How about those old boys that picked him up and threw him overboard? Whether they realize it or not they were helping to carry out God's plan and God's purposes. So each one of the characters I've mentioned this morning were destined to do what they did. So I wonder about you. Do you have a conscious sense of God's destiny for you? Have you ever stopped and considered that like Joseph, or Joshua, or Esther, or Nehemiah, or Paul, and yes, even Jonah, that you are destined to do something for God? I don't know how many of you watched the television series a few years ago, Lost. I thought it was a great show until the last episode then I thought it was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen in my life. But anyway, I've recently started watching it again. And I noticed something this time that in the first few episodes, they have these repeated flashbacks into the lives of the main characters. In other words, they have these... if you're not familiar with the premise of Lost, let me give you the Cliff Notes version. These people board a plane in Australia and it crashes on some island somewhere in the South Pacific. And nobody knows where they're at, okay. Hence the term "Lost". Brilliant, I know brilliant. But they use these flashbacks to show how these different people ended up on this plane. And there was one character by the name of John Locke. He's kind of a creepy character. And in his flashback, they first showed him as kind of like a middle manager at some company and he was into these war games and he called himself Colonel and he had a code name like Colonel, you know. And then in another flashback, they showed him in Australia where he was going to go on something called a walkabout and apparently a walkabout is some kind of spiritual experience where you connect with the land. And so in this flashback, John Locke is in the, looks like a travel agent's office, and he's arguing with the walkabout guide that he needs to go on this walkabout. And the guide's saying, no, you can't go and John Locke's saying listen, I paid my money I've got to go on this walkabout, I've got to go. And the guy keeps saying no, you can't go, you can't go. And finally, the guide walks out the door and he gets on the bus and John Locke is screaming, I've got to go, I've got to go on this walkabout and about that time the camera pulls back and John Locke is in a wheelchair. And John Locke screams I've got to go, I've got to go, this is my destiny. Joe and Ben and I were talking about Ulysses S. Grant the other day. Ulysses S. Grant, you may or may not know, was the 18th President of the United States. You may or may not know that he was also a very successful general during the World [Civil] War. Something else you may or may not know is that before the war Ulysses S. Grant was a total flop in life. Even after the war, yes, he became president but after that, he again was a total flop in life. We would call him the Charlie Brown of the 1800s. I mean, this guy couldn't get anything, right. But there's one thing that he was good at and that was a military genius. We might say that was his destiny. He was destined to do that. So I ask you again, do you have a conscious, conscious sense of God's destiny for your life? God did not save you to be a lump on a log. God didn't save you to be a person in a pew. God saved you to be like an Esther for such a time as this. And a sense of destiny, of God's calling on your life, is a tremendously motivating factor. And granted you and I may not be destined for the spiritual fame of a Joshua or Joseph or Paul or David or somebo