Citizens of Heaven: Living Worthy of the Gospel in a hostile World - Phil 1:27-30

Good morning. What a blessing it is to study God's Word with you today.

My name is Pastor Simon, and I want to welcome you to the preaching ministry

of Dillingham Moravian Church.

Here at DMC, our focus is to make disciples of Christ throughout Bristol Bay

and Alaska as we study the Word of God together.

I was born and raised in Canada, and my wife and I have been living in the United

States for 21 years, and I am now a U.S. citizen.

Americans are extremely patriotic, and that's one thing I love about America.

Even more so in rural areas amongst the military and their families and veterans.

Patriotism in America has permeated not only the public realms,

but also the religious and individual spheres. especially amongst Christianity.

In fact, Christians, especially evangelical Christians, may be among the most

patriotic in American society.

I share this observation to display just how patriotic Americans are compared

to many other countries.

Canadians, on the other hand, although they love their country,

have traditionally not been as patriotic as America.

Patriotism is just not ingrained in the Canadian psyche as it is in the American one.

And I'm not here to say which political system is better since both have their

good aspects and God has worked in their histories.

Rather, I am pointing out that God commands us

as Christ followers that we are first

citizens of Christ's spiritual kingdom here

on earth and in heaven and we are citizens of our earthly country second let's

pray father we are grateful we're grateful that you are gone that you have saved

us in christ saved us from your wrath.

So that we can now go to heaven when we die, so we do not end up in hell like

those who do not believe in you.

And Lord, I pray today that you would speak your word through me, Lord.

Teach us. Show us who you really are.

Show us what you want for us, Lord, and how to apply it to our lives.

And may you empower us by your Holy Spirit to be able to do so,

so that we rise up and be the people that we are called to be in you.

In your precious son's name, Jesus Christ, I ask this.

Amen. Recently here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we have started a preaching

series on Paul's letter to the Philippians.

Last week, God Through Paul taught the Philippians and us that Christians are

to believe and trust that our greatest value in both life and death has to be Christ alone.

Secondly, Christ followers are to work hard for the Lord, confidently trusting

that the Lord will bring much fruit out of our gospel work.

And thirdly, believers are to delight in the spiritual progress of the disciples

of Christ we are making and the ones in our church family in Christ so that

we desire to be with them, to serve them and love them.

Lastly, Jesus Christ must be our greatest treasure so that we long to be with him in heaven.

And today we're going to continue in Philippians chapter 1 verse 27-30, where Paul wrote,

Philippians 1:27–30

Only live your lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,

so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about your circumstances,

that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind contending together for the faith of Christ,

in no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them,

but of salvation for you, and that too from God.

For to you it is being granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him,

but also to suffer for His sake,

having the same struggle which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

The first point in our passage today that I want to share with you is that as

Christians, we are to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Paul wrote in Philippians 1, verse 27,

Philippians 1:27

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,

so that whether I come to see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that

you are standing firm in one spirit,

with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

In this verse, there are two observations that I would like to make.

The first observation is that regardless whether Paul was able to visit the

Philippians in person or hear about them from prison, Paul instructed the Philippians

to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

The word that Paul used for conduct meant to live as a citizen,

to live in accordance with the civic duties of one's state or body politic.

The word that Paul used for worthily referred to a manner befitting or deserving

of some person or other object.

According to one Bible encyclopedia, when Paul came to the city,

it still reflected its Latin military heritage.

Situated on the Ignatian Way, it was one stop on that great military highway

connecting the Adriatic and the Aegean.

It possessed a distinct civic pride inasmuch as it was a Roman colony,

enjoying numerous privileges such as tax exemptions, promoted Latin as its official

language, and hosted numerous Roman citizens.

Its government was modeled on the municipal constitution of Rome,

its leader bearing Roman titles throughout.

And the people lived as if they were indeed located in Italy.

As Luke records in Acts 16, verse 21, the citizens viewed themselves as Romans.

Acts 16:21

Another commentator made this really clear. It is as if the apostle were saying,

you are Roman citizens and proud of it.

But constantly bear in mind that what matters most is the fact that you are

citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Continue, therefore, to exercise that citizenship in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

The verb has reference accordingly to Christian conduct, a manner of life that

befits a citizen soldier who belongs to the kingdom and army of Jesus Christ.

To exercise their citizenship in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ means

to conduct it in harmony with the responsibilities which that gospel imposes

and the blessings which it brings.

I share all of this with you to say that when Paul wrote to the Philippians

and instructed them to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,

Paul was using the language and imagery that the Philippians would have understood

being proud Roman citizens.

The city of Philippi was extremely pro-Roman and very proud of their citizenship

of Rome, especially since many of its inhabitants were ex-Roman military.

And thus Paul was urging the Philippian believers to live as citizens of Christ's

kingdom in a manner befitting or deserving of Christ's gospel.

The second observation I want to show you is that whether Paul was able to visit

the Philippians in person, or he heard about them from prison,

Paul wanted the Philippians to stand firm in one spirit,

with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

And this concept of standing firm in one spirit and striving together for the

faith of the gospel was a military idea.

Remember that the Romans used wall shields in battle.

Wall shields were about four to six feet high, and they were interlocking.

The classic mode of defense and attack was to crouch behind their shields,

lock them all together, and no arrow could penetrate that huge shield.

They would also lock the shields together, and there was a hole in the shields

where they put their spears through, and they would march and mow down anyone

in their path. No one would escape.

Back in Philippians 1, verse 27, Paul was writing about standing firm and striving

Philippians 1:27

together as the military would as they were marching ahead towards the enemy.

The believers in Christ were to march ahead, standing firm, striving together

for the gospel amidst the culture that was at war against Christians.

Remember, the Philippian culture was super Roman. They were filled with ex-military

who worshipped the emperor as God and supreme king.

Now, the faith of Christ proclaimed that Jesus Christ was Lord, God, and King.

And although Jesus was their spiritual king,

it was easy for the people to be riled and to see that or to hear lies about

Jesus being their physical king.

And it was the kingship of Jesus that brought Christians into the line of fire

from the citizens of Philippi.

Just as the wall shield was Rome's most dangerous weapon and effective defense,

Paul taught the Christ believers in Philippi that living in constant unity and fellowship,

with other believers in Christ is an effective defense against the attacks of

Satan and it's also a tremendously effective weapon.

Against Satan and his plans.

Standing firm in the one spirit of Christ, striving together with one mind to

live out the gospel while making disciples for Christ is an amazing witness

to those who are unsaved.

When they see a whole community faithfully believing in Christ together,

loving each other, keeping each other accountable and living life together,

especially as they're going through suffering.

How can we as Christians today apply these truths to ourselves?

There are two applications that we can draw from Philippians 1.27.

First off, we are to live as citizens of Christ's kingdom in a manner keeping

with Christ's gospel as we live out the truths, principles, and commands of God's word.

It is essential for us to know that although we as Christians physically live

in our countries, in our states, cities, regions, and villages,

this world is not our home.

Christ is our home.

And where is our home?

Philippians 3, verse 20 to 21 proclaimed.

Philippians 3:20–21

For our citizenship is in heaven,

from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body

of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself.

As human beings, we get so attached to our bodies our comforts,

and pleasing our desires.

We can get so dependent on the country or region we live in and even come to

love our country since it may have a certain amount of Christian heritage like America does.

We can love our country because that is where we live and our families before

us, and there are good people here in America.

It's a great country. Yet, like what happened in Philippi, too strong patriotism

can turn to persecution towards the church of Christ.

Our only true king, if the country's value system changes, and that's what's

happening right now in America.

No matter what is happening now or in the future, Christ has bought our lives,

and we belong to him, and he, my friends, is our home.

And thus, we as Christ followers are to live as if our true citizenship is with

Christ in heaven and here on earth with his people. And this leads us to the

next application I wish to bring to your attention.

Secondly, as Christ believers, we are to stand firm in one spirit and with one

mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

As I said earlier, cultures can turn on Christians when the faith of Christ

comes into direct conflict with the culture's values.

Just as Paul used military terms

to illustrate that the Philippian Christians were in a spiritual war,

so also we who serve Christ today are in a spiritual battle Satan controls the

cultures and systems of this world.

And although we do not yet have a culture-wide persecution in this country,

Satan is still attacking us, tempting us to focus on ourselves rather than on God.

You know, it reminds me of cooking crab and lobster for us who know about that here in Alaska.

We start cooking them in cold water and slowly turn off the heat until they're

boiled and they don't even realize it.

Satan's attacks here in America or in the Western world are much more subtle.

So as we don't realize we've been compromised until it's too late.

But make no mistake, we are at war and we, you and I must stand firm together

on the truth of God's word as we abide in Christ and obey his word in the unity of Christ's love.

As Christ's disciples, we are also called to strive together to break through

the enemy's lines, to bring the gospel to those who are enslaved to the darkness.

So far, we've learned that Christians are to conduct themselves in a manner

worthy of the gospel of Christ, standing firm in one spirit as we strive together

with one mind for the faith of the gospel.

The second point I want to share with you is that for us to stand firm in Christ

and faithfully share the gospel amidst suffering, we must follow the signs that God has given us.

I've used this illustration before, but signs are an important part of life.

We who live here in Bush, Alaska, know that when hunting or fishing,

there are signs as to whether there are fish or game around.

When hunting, there are tracks to follow, disturbed grass, ground or trees,

or the sounds of an animal's call.

During commercial fishing, when the fish are jumping, we put our nets up.

When driving, there are signs to follow to keep us safe on the road.

Signs that tell us when and where to stop. signs that tell us how fast we're

able to drive to be safe and keep others safe.

Signs that tell us of upcoming road hazards. To be successful in fishing,

hunting, or driving, or in all of life, we have to follow the signs.

And this concept of keeping focused on the sign available to them is what Paul

was explaining to the Philippians in Philippians 1, verse 28 to 30.

Philippians 1:28–30

In no way be alarmed by your opponents which is a sign of destruction for them

but of salvation for you and that too from God for to you it is being granted

for Christ's sake not only to believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

having the same struggle which you saw in me and now here to be in me.

I want you to see in this verse that Paul encouraged the Thessalonian Christians

that they were not to be alarmed by their opponents because their opponents

were destined for destruction and the believers were destined for salvation from God.

The word for destruction was used to mean of eternal destruction as punishment for the wicked,

sign of god's destruction for the

opponents of christ's people was their attacks on god

people why because they were really

opposing god paul explained this

concept well in second thessalonians chapter 1 verse 6 through 10 since it is

2 Thessalonians 1:6–10

right for god to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to give rest

to you who are afflicted and to us as well at the revelation of the Lord Jesus

from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,

executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey

the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,

away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might,

when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled

at among all who have believed, for our witness to you was believed.

Back in Philippians 1, verse 28, the sign of salvation from God for God's people

Philippians 1:28

was a unified church living together with the gospel,

standing firm together against Satan's attacks while striving together to share the gospel.

The word for salvation that Paul used referred to the state of being delivered

or preserved from harm, of judgment, especially as what that state entails, a safe haven in heaven.

The salvation mentioned here is not regarding our initial salvation where we

were saved from the wrath of God by Christ substituting Himself for us,

paying the blood debt that we owed so that we could be forgiven by the Father.

Rather, the deliverance that Paul used here will be God's rescue of His children

from His final destruction upon the earth when Christ returns in His mighty power.

And when we are delivered to heaven by Christ.

You see, Paul was encouraging the Philippian Christians by explaining that although

they are going through terrible persecution.

Their persecutors would not go unpunished, that there would be justice done,

that those who have refused Christ and opposed God's people will suffer God's wrath.

Also, Paul also wrote to the Philippians that to live worthy of the gospel as

they stood firm against persecution,

striving with one mind for the faith of the gospel, they must keep focused on

the future hope of the final deliverance from God's physical wrath upon the

earth and from these mortal sin-infested bodies.

There are three ways that I see that we can apply these truths to ourselves.

The first way is that we can live worthy of the gospel while standing firm against

persecution and striving with one mind for the faith of the gospel,

by being certain, here it is, by being certain that the wicked who persecute

God's people will be destroyed and sent to hell forever.

It's difficult for us here in the United States to understand what it was like

living under constant persecution and torture and threat of death.

As Christians, we are also called not to return violence for violence and to

take our own vengeance upon those who have hurt us or our loved ones.

This is what God commanded through Paul.

Romans 12, verse 17-20 Never paying back evil for evil to anyone,

Romans 12:17–20

respecting what is good in the sight of all men, if possible,

so far as it depends upon you, being at peace with all men.

Never taking your own revenge, beloved. it.

Instead, leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written,

Vengeance is mine I will repay, says the Lord.

But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he is thirsty, give him a drink.

For in doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Secondly, to stand firm against persecution and to strive together worthily

for Christ, we as Christians must keep focused on the hope of our final rescue

from God's destruction upon the earth and our deliverance to heaven.

Paul taught in 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 9-10, For they themselves report about

1 Thessalonians 1:9–10

us what kind of entrance we had with you and how you turned to God from idols

to serve a living and true God.

And listen to this, And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from

the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

Lastly, we as Christians can go through persecution and trials faithfully because

of the example of other Christians in the past and in the present who were and

are now faithful to Christ amid suffering.

Just recently, I was listening to a podcast from Pastor John Piper where he

explained a habit of his where he routinely reads biographies of the lives of

past saints who have been faithful in ministry, even unto death.

Why is this such a helpful exercise for our faith?

This is helpful because it gives us examples that people can be saved by the

gospel of Christ, transformed by the Holy Spirit, and be faithful in the midst of overwhelming odds.

And they do this all with great joy in Christ. Reading about the faithfulness

of believers, both in the past and the present, grows our faith in Christ and

makes us want to imitate those who have followed Christ so joyfully and faithfully.

Additionally, hearing and reading about the atrocities that many believers have

gone through with great faith and joyfulness in Christ serves to bolster our courage.

So as we realize just how little trials that we're going through right now,

What more trials we really could endure by faith in Christ Jesus?

What then have we learned from the Scripture today? The first foundational truth

that we have learned is that we are to live as citizens of Christ's kingdom,

in a manner keeping with Christ's gospel, as we stand firm against persecution

and strive together in unity for the faith of the gospel.

The second point that God through Paul has taught us is that for us to stand

firm in Christ and faithfully share the gospel amidst suffering,

we must focus our hope on two signs that the Lord has given us.

First off, that the persecutors of Christians will be paid back by the righteous wrath of God.

Also, that Christ's believers will be saved from God's destruction upon the

earth and be delivered to heaven.

Lastly, we were instructed to be faithful to Christ amidst suffering. We must remember that.

The faithfulness of others who have been and are faithful to Christ now emits persecution.

Again, for most of us who are listening to this message, we are not being persecuted

for our faith in Christ yet.

But the principles of Paul's message to the Philippians are just as helpful to us as it was for them.

You may not be persecuted right now, but you do have trials.

Trials like the death of loved ones, illness and pain, opposition,

often disliked by other people for your faith in Christ.

You may be receiving unfair actions towards you in your workplace or within the community.

Whatever issue you're going through right now, for you to be faithful in Christ

amidst these challenges, together in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

We must strive together to make disciples of Christ, share the faith of Christ

and stay together in the love of Christ wherever we go.

But we also must remember to keep our spiritual eyes focused on what Christ

has done for us on the cross and what he's going to do for us in the future

when he returns and destroys all the wicked upon the earth and raises us up into his glory.

Do not forget that in the body of Christ, you are not alone.

You have brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world,

even in your own communities.

And we're all in the same battle as you are.

Trust in God together as you imitate those faithful saints who have gone before you.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so, so grateful.

We're grateful that you are our God.

And you are our king, and that you have made us, by your grace,

citizens of your kingdom here on earth as we strive by your grace and your love

to make disciples of others,

to strive together against the advance of Satan and his people and his powers.

And we are triumphant because you, O Lord, have gone before us and are going

before us always triumphantly.

Thank you, precious Father. Thank you for your Son and your Holy Spirit.

Use us today and wherever we are to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ

and to be faithful amidst trials and suffering.

You are our God. and we desperately need you and we love you.

Please grow our love in you, oh precious Father.

In your son's wonderful name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.