Radiant Living

Well, get your Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Boy, Rick and I are so excited about this new series, and I know you've enjoyed Pastor Rick, what a great preacher he is.

And he started this series last week in chapter one because we're doing the book of Philippians.

I call it the joy book of the Bible.

But also the title of our new series is Thankful Living because we are in the Thanksgiving season.

And what a background of Thanksgiving and the leaves.

Oh, how God has so blessed America.

And we need to be praying for our America because there's such division and there's such animosity and pray for the unity.

In fact, that's what we're going to be talking about today.

We're going to be talking about chapter two.

What a fantastic chapter.

And it really deals, if you took the whole chapter, which we can't preach a whole chapter in 40 minutes, but we can give you the main part of the chapter, and it's really God's grace bestowed upon us so that we can live a radiant life.

I'm talking about a dynamic Christian life.

The Bible says in Psalms 34, 5, those who look to Him are radiant.

They shall never be ashamed.

And so today, what we're going to be doing, we are going to be looking at how you and I can live that radiant life, that unbelievable, I'm talking about brilliant life and an exciting life as a Christian.

So let's start by looking at verse 1 through 4.

And it's a powerful verse.

It really is.

And it literally says, if therefore be what?

If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bows of mercy, fulfill ye my joy.

Verses 1 and 2.

And that little word there, if, oh my goodness, it literally means sense.

It means because of.

So what he is saying here, and what Paul is meaning, because there is, are you ready?

Consolation, comfort.

We're talking about excitement in Christ, living for Christ, that then we should be radiant.

And what I see in these two verses are two, I'm talking about fantastic principles that Paul gives us in these first two verses that really is the outline of the rest of the whole chapter.

And that is that we have two unbelievable points, he says.

One, we have the spiritual motivations, and secondly, the spiritual obligations.

So let's begin, first of all, looking at the spiritual motivations.

And that means, why do we have this radiant life?

Why should we be so excited?

Why should we be living in the joy of the Lord, which is our strength?

Because, first of all, of the external motivations.

And what are they?

Here they are: the exhortation of the Son of God.

Listen to what he says.

If there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ.

Now the word consolation is really very similar to the same Greek word for the Holy Spirit.

And it is parakaseus.

And it literally means that as Christ comes alongside of us, as Christ encourages us, as if Christ comes alongside of us and counsels us and guides us and builds us up.

That's why we ought to be radiant.

Because we've got Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit who's building us up and hey, giving us the joy of the Lord.

And see, it's kind of like this Christ is being the consolation.

All right.

He is our consolation.

Hey, the Holy Spirit, then, is our medicine.

So it's exciting as we see God the Son and God the Holy Spirit working together to encourage us.

In fact, the word exhortation here is that external motivation for radiant living.

And it's because if Jesus said, if you love me, you keep my commandments, and that exhortation, now listen, don't miss this.

That exhortation comes through the word of the living God.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, because I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts, Jeremiah 15, 16.

And then there's also the, hey, the inspiration of the Spirit of God.

Notice what he says in verse 1 again.

If any fellowship of the Spirit, the word there is Koania, and it literally means joint participation with the Spirit.

Now, what does that mean?

You and I participate with the Holy Spirit of the living God.

More than anything else, the Spirit of God desires to help us.

What?

Now, watch this.

Live out those commandments.

And He's our helper, He's our Comforter, and He's our teacher.

Oh, yes.

In fact, think of it this way: What do you and I share in the life of the Spirit of God?

This is exciting.

We experience the power of the Spirit.

He says, You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in all Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Acts 1.8.

But we also experience the grace of the Spirit.

Listen to this.

He says, All grace is given to us.

All grace, all sufficiency, and all things to do the work of God.

2 Corinthians 9.8.

And then we also experience the love of the Spirit.

He tells us that God's love, hey, is commended to us by the Holy Spirit.

And then we experience the wisdom of the Spirit.

He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12, 9, hey, it is his Spirit, by the Spirit of the living God, that we have the wisdom of God to walk through all the trials and tragedies and situations and circumstances that comes our way.

And then lastly, there's the courage of the Spirit.

He says, it is the Spirit that quickens the flesh profits nothing.

These things that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

Oh, ladies and gentlemen, whoo! I'm about to have a spell here.

Listen to me.

Look at what he's saying here.

The inspiration of the Spirit of God, the exhortation of the Son of God, it's why we ought to be so radiant.

And both of these come through our relationship with the Word of God.

Now, I found as I was working on this message a tremendous, I always do research and look for good illustrations.

And two of my favorite old-timey theologians back in the 1800s, Dr.

F.

B.

Myers and also Dr.

C.T.

Studd, back in the 1800s, they were doing a revival together.

And they were in a hotel together.

And all of a sudden, we see that Dr.

C.T.

Studd had gotten up early, about 4 o'clock in the morning, and started reading his Bible.

And then Dr.

Myers was awakened and he looked up and he asked C.T.

Studd, Dr.

Studd, he said, What are you doing?

He says, Well, God woke me up and I decided to read through the New Testament and look at all the commandments of God.

And I was making a checklist for all the commandments that I was keeping.

And then he said, I was putting an X by all the commandments that I was not keeping.

And oh, how it brought shame to me.

Wow.

Did you hear what I just said?

What an illustration.

I meant he was going through all the commandments saying, thank you for this.

Thank you for I'm keeping this one.

But then he was Xing the ones he wasn't keeping.

So that's what we're talking about.

If you and I, if we are going to live that dynamic, radiant life, we've got to love God and keep his commandments.

The second thing I see under this powerful principle is not only the external motivations, but the internal motivations.

Look at verse 1 again.

If any comfort of love, if any bowels and mercies, here we have the persuasion of a responsive love here.

If there be any persuasion of love, he said.

If we have experienced the love of God's Son, then we ought to love him back.

It's that simple.

And that's what he's talking about here.

And we ought to love, not only love Christ back, but we ought to love, we ought to love other people also.

Excuse us.

Hey, that's what happens when we lie, but that's okay.

Hey, and that's the key here, folks.

We not only do we love Christ back, we love each other back.

And then we see the word there when he says, not only the persuasion, but the compassion of a redemptive life.

If any bowels, listen to what he says and tender mercies.

Now let me tell you what that means.

The thought behind that, the bowels and tender mercies is pity and sympathy are the expression of basically compassion for others.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you what makes CCW so loving and so real.

We're not perfect, but we're real.

We have love and compassion for people in our community.

Everything we have done here at CCW, the new building, our new multi-purpose building, the floors in, now we'll have basketball, we'll have pickleball, we'll have volleyball, we'll have concerts, we'll have every kind of thing to bring people into our community.

Do you realize what we just had?

We, and I'm sure Rick made a statement of that last week, we had our harvest jam.

Do you realize we had almost 1,200 people we know of that was registered?

Now we probably, I think we had a lot more than that, and it was freezing and it was misty.

That was fantastic.

And all because we did it all for our community.

We are a community church, a loving church, because we have compassion for our community.

We have compassion for our community.

So, that we see.

Number one, the spiritual motivations.

Now, let's look at the second thing I want to deal with this morning.

Not only do we have spiritual motivations if we're going to have that radiant life, but we also want to look at spiritual obligations.

We have obligations to fulfill because of the Holy Spirit living in us, producing that radiancy.

By the way, you become a very attractive Christian when you are radiant.

Listen, what does that really mean?

Okay, Pastor, what does that mean to be radiant?

Here's what it means.

And we're going to look at that in a minute.

But just quickly, it means that Christ is living through us in our actions, in our attitudes, in everything that we do, which means that we are exalting him in our lives.

And he says in John 12, 32, when I am exalted, I will draw all men unto myself.

That's what it means.

Radius.

It means a light set on a hill.

Hello?

A light set on a hill cannot be hid.

People see the joy of the Lord.

People see the joy and comfort of a peaceful, restful life that nothing upsets you, nothing causes you to stumble.

And because of that, they say, I don't know what you got, but I sure want some of it.

Amen.

I want some of it.

And so that's what it means.

But let's look in detail what that spiritual radiancy really means.

First of all, number one, here's what it means.

Here's our obligations if we're going to live out that spiritual life.

This is worth you filling in the notes and they're up there, but you've got to listen to me.

This is how you detect if a person is a radiant Christian.

Number one, here we go.

Don't miss this.

It's a life of harmony.

It's a life of harmony.

Notice what he says in verse 2.

Fulfill ye my joy.

Wow.

That ye be, now watch, like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, and of one of mine.

In other words, fill up my cup of joy.

And he urges, here the apostle Paul urges us by living in harmony.

Then he proceeds, are you ready?

To explain what it means.

Now don't miss this.

To live in harmony.

Listen, this is exciting.

This is exciting.

But now don't miss this.

Number one, when you and I are living in a life of harmony, there's oneness of purpose.

Oneness of, look what he says.

Be like-minded.

That's good.

Like-mindedness is one in aim and it's hey, one in its aim, one in its purpose, and one in its feelings.

That's what he's talking about here.

The scriptures make it clear that the supreme purpose of every local church, now watch this, is, hey, and I love this, is the glory of God in all things.

1 Corinthians 10, 31.

What does he say?

Whether we eat or drink, of whatsoever we do, we do all to the glory of God.

So we have one in purpose.

And what is that one in purpose here at CCW?

To use everything that we have that God has given us and paid for.

Amen.

Debt free, other than the parking lot, and we're working on that right now.

But it's been unbelievable to see how he's provided.

But our one in purpose is to bring people onto this campus in all the sports arenas we can for what?

To present the gospel.

And you're gonna see that in a minute.

So there's oneness of purpose, but now watch this.

There's oneness of passion if we're living in harmony.

Look, be like-minded.

That's one in purpose, but now having the same love, oneness and passion.

We are so excited.

We're one.

We're one at CCW.

We have one heart, one purpose.

We love God, and here's our whole propositional statement out of Luke 10, 27.

Loving God and loving people.

Is that not exciting?

Loving God and loving people?

Now watch this.

Here's our theme verse at CCW.

Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

That is our oneness of purpose and also our oneness and passion.

But it's also, now watch what he says else in that verse: oneness in power of one accord.

In the original, the idea that in this word is the word accord is that of uniting.

Now watch this, and harnessing our energies so there's no waste.

Oh my friend, no waste whatsoever.

Unity we see right here is the key.

It's our strength, especially when integrated by the Lord Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

For example, let me, I don't know about you, but the 300 Spartans.

Have you ever watched that movie where they just for days keep off the thousands these Greeks uh do?

And the question was asked when you read about this the Greek Spartans.

Here it is.

The king of Sparta was once asked, why is it that his famous city was not surrounded by walls?

Now watch this, folks.

This is powerful.

Pointing to the citizens, the king looked and said, See all these citizens here?

He said, and see how they are filled with enthusiasm, or another way of saying that.

See how they are so radiant?

Alright?

He answered, these are the walls of the Sparter state.

With these separate men, hey, yet one in power, all enemies can be repelled.

And I thought to myself, oh my goodness, in a time in America, if there's ever been a time that the church could show their strength, show their victory.

And how did they do that?

Not because they have walls around their churches or gates around their churches.

It's because they are one in purpose.

They are one in passion.

Oh my friends.

And then lastly, they're one in program.

And what is that program?

One of mine?

Hey, and minding the one thing, and what is that?

Are you ready?

Right here.

One thing here is the gospel.

Six times over.

The gospel is mentioned in chapter one of the book of Philippians.

So we're one in program.

And our program is to present the gospel to our community, to hurting people, to love on them, to help them in all the ways that we can.

So it's a life of harmony.

That's what a radiant life is.

But secondly, it's a life of humility.

Look at verse 3.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.

Andrew Murray, a great theologian back in the 1800s, rightly said this.

Now don't miss this.

The outliving, in other words, our testimony of true holiness is humility.

Wow.

It's humility.

It's death to selfish rights.

It is death to selfish rights.

Let nothing, look at verse 3, be done through strife.

Nothing.

Strife is caused when people assert their selfish rights over everybody else.

It's what they want instead of what, hey, is good for everybody else or good for other people.

Whether it's in the home, hey, the work arena, the church, it doesn't matter.

But to know the life of Christ is to know the death to self-rights.

But it's also, hey, the death, are you ready for this?

To selfish reputation.

See, it's not all about you.

It's all about him.

And when it's all about him, listen to me.

When it's all about Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit working in you, hey, it's not all about you.

It's all about him.

And when it's all about him, it's all about others.

Endeavoring to keep the peace and the bond of unity and look not on you, hey, hey, on your own, but on the self-interest of others.

Amen.

Amen.

And amen.

And then also, it involves the death of selfish respectability.

That's it.

Yep.

In other words, what does that mean?

I'm guilty.

I know you're guilty.

Especially if you're kind of like me a coler.

I like to be honored.

I like to say, look at the preacher, look at this.

Whether I'm preaching, whether I'm playing pickleball or whatever I'm doing, oh, I want glory and honor brought to myself.

That's that selfish, fleshly desire.

We want to be exalted.

We want the best position.

We want the most powerful position.

We want the number one position.

We want to win the goal.

We want this.

We, we, I, I, I, I.

Let me remind you, Galatians 2.20, not I, but Christ.

And when it's not I, but Christ, it will be others.

It will be others.

So we see, and then the third thing, what is a real radiant life?

Woo! Yes, it's a life of harmony, it's a life of humility.

And then number three, are you ready?

It's a life of helpfulness.

Look at it.

Look, not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others.

Verse 4.

What a powerful word.

And when you look in the Greek, the term here from which we get our idea of scope, of scope, Paul is telling us here that we should show fellow Christians.

Now, listen sympathetic consideration.

It.

That's what we do, what we do, and why we do it.

It's to love God and love you.

We love you.

Listen to me, community.

We love you.

We are here to be a blessing to you.

We are here to help you come and bring your family to this campus and enjoy a dynamic Christian atmosphere, knowing that you're loved.

I mean, this whole thing that we did, and it did cost us some money to put on this harbor harvest sub jam.

But we did it for you.

We sacrifice for you because we love God and we love you.

So, and by the way, if you do not have a church home, now if you do, you get involved and you stay involved.

Or you find a place you can get involved.

But if you don't, we just ask you to come visit one Sunday.

That's all we asked.

You hey, one thing I've learned, we love people when you walk on this campus.

And we're excited about loving Jesus.

And we wear bracelets that says Jesus is awesome everywhere we go.

Loving God, here's who we are.

Right here.

Loving God and loving people.

That's who we are.

And I've learned something.

Out of 10 years coming up, January be 10 years.

Actually, uh, January 1, March.

March, the end of March is 10 years.

We start.

Are you ready for this?

You either love us or you don't.

Or maybe that's maybe I should have said it that way.

Either you like us or you don't.

Or maybe you like us, but it's not your cup of tea.

Okay?

That's why you have a lot of churches in this area.

Because people have different interests, people have different likes, people have different a lot of things.

Okay?

Aren't you glad we're made different?

I am.

But let me say something.

We're all fearfully and wonderfully made.

So we want you to just check us out.

We may not be for you.

I've had people come and leave because we were not what they wanted.

Not that they were upset.

They enjoyed it, but it just wasn't for them.

So that's okay.

That is okay.

After 45 years of ministry, I've learned that's okay.

That's okay.

But just check us out.

But we see right here that that's what it is: a sympathetic consideration for people.

And then the last thing that there is is Christ-like selflessness.

Look, not every man on his own things.

Paul was grieved here when he's writing this, that so many at Philippi were doing just the opposite.

So he issues a stinging.

Now listen, CCW.

Now I'm talking to CCW and I'm talking to Christians.

He's issuing a stinging, are you ready?

Found.

Rebuke.

All seek their own and not the things which are Jesus Christ.

That's what he says in Philippians 2.21.

He longed that his readers might come to know the spirit of the master who pleased not himself.

Are you ready?

Listen.

Jesus Christ pleased not himself.

He thought it not robbery, hey, to be equal with God.

In fact, he left all of his rights with God the Father and humbled himself and became obedient, even obedient to the death of the cross, so that you and I could have life and have it more abundantly.

Oh, he took on a fleshly man.

He became a man.

Did you understand that?

He became flesh.

John 1.14.

And when you go over to Hebrews 4, hey, he says, don't worry.

Everything and everything you and I ever go through or are going through right now, he's already gone through and he's been victorious so that if we are Christians through the power of the whoo, I'm about to have a smile, Holy Spirit of God can be comforted and walk through every situation we face and be victorious and be radiant.

So this morning, I want you to think a minute.

Just look at it.

It's not I, it's Christ.

And if it's not I, and it is Christ, it is others.

Christ was motivated by this word in his life and death.

Are you ready?

Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring.

It wasn't about him, it was about others.

So this morning, CCW, you that are watching, and we have hundreds that watch us every week.

I hope you've enjoyed this service this morning.

I hope you've enjoyed the view.

We tried to do something different and special for this Thanksgiving month in a special setting.

And what a joy for our guys.

And I want to compliment and say thank you to all our guys that made this possible that they came up from Chattanooga so we could have a special Sunday for you.

For you.

And that's how much we care for you and we love you.

So let me recoop and reiterate.

Here it is.

We've seen in this message, chapter 2, verses 1 through 4, the heart of the whole chapter, the standard of radiant living positively revealed in spiritual motivations and spiritual obligations.

So, you know now what you must do and what I must do in order to be that radiant Christian.

So let me ask you right now, if you're to die right now, are you sure you'd go to heaven?

Because if you're not saved, you don't even have the power of the Holy Spirit living in you to make you radiant.

You don't have the power of the Holy Spirit to live or hey, in harmony and be helpful and live holy.

You don't have that power.

So right now, wherever you are, would you pray what we call the sinner's prayer?

The prayer doesn't save you, but opening your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ does.

Would you pray this prayer with me?

Would you say, dear Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner and I can't save myself.

But right now, dear Jesus, I'm asking you to come into my heart and to come into my life and to save me.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, right now for saving me.

Now listen, we have a multitude of ways to get a hold of us.

And if you just prayed that prayer, we got a little booklet we want to send to you.

So you can call us, you can email us, you can text us, you can go online right now if you're right there.

And hopefully, if you're watching right now live, go on there and say enjoyed it, or go on there and just hit it and say, good message to Pastor Depp, whatever.

Just let us know you watch it.

And we have a bunch that watch.

I know that.

And I want to say thank you.

And I'm glad we can be the means by which you can have church if you can't go to church.

Thank the Lord for that.

Thank you, God, for that.

But right now, please, if you made a decision for Christ, would you go and call us?

We want to pray for you.

Give us prayer requests, whatever.

We pray every Wednesday as a full staff.

We pray and we pray for you too if you give us those requests.

And then, all right, Christians, listen to me.

Here's the second part of this invitation.

Are you living a radiant Christian life?

If you're saved, are you exemplifying who Christ is?

Are you loving God and loving people?

Or is it all about you?

All about me.

Let's ask God to forgive us and let's repent.

And not make it all about us, but make it all about you.

Could you do that with me?

Would you do that with me?

Father, right now we ask you as Christians to help us to crucify our ego, our pride, and all the things that so try to destroy our testimony and our radiancy in our own lives.

And God, let us be that light that's set on the hill.

Let us be that radiant Christian so we can draw all men to you.

And we'll thank you for that in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, God bless you.

I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Have a blessed week and remember, Jesus is awesome.