This is Living - Week 1 (Philippians 1:21-30)

This is ERC Sundays, the messages from Emmaus Rd.

Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people

devoted to knowing Jesus and making him known to others

through our faith, words and actions.

Find out more about our church at emmausrdonline.org.

Here's this week's message. We are starting a new series

this morning in Philippians. We'll be in there the next 4

weeks and we're just taking a little blurb from each chapter.

I would encourage you right now, certainly break out your Bible.

The words will be up on the screen.

But if you want to take it in, in your hands, in your physical

Bible, take some notes and encourage you to do that.

I would also encourage you over the next 4 weeks.

This is a short letter. You could read this letter every

day for the next 4 weeks. If you wanted to enter.

It would take like 13 minutes to read the letter each and every

day. Immerse yourself in this

Christian living that Paul is writing to the church in

Philippi. We're doing chapter 1 this week,

234 over the next 4 weeks. If you want a bigger, fuller

picture of all these things that he's saying and writing, take in

this letter each and every day over the next 4 weeks.

Before we jump into God's Word, I want to start this morning

with a question. If someone followed you around

for the last seven days, the last week, and watch how you

spoke to your family, how you handled stress at work, how you

spent your time and your money, how you treated people who

disagree with you, would they say that's what it looks like to

follow Jesus? Definitely wouldn't for me.

All of the 168 hours of this past week.

It's a sobering question, isn't it?

We're starting this series today called This is Living.

We're going to journey through Paul's letter to the Philippians

and discover what vibrant, joy filled, Christ centered life

really looks like. Today's chapter 1, the Apostle

Paul is writing from prison, literally imprisoned.

He doesn't know whether he will live or die.

He doesn't know what tomorrow may bring.

And yet in the middle of that hardship, he makes one of the

boldest declarations in the Bible For me to live is Christ

and to die is gain. This single sentence, this

sentiment from Paul captures the heart of what we're diving into

today, a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let's look at Philippians one together.

We're going to be starting at verse 21 towards the end of the

chapter, reading in Jesus name. For to me to live is Christ, and

to die is gain. If I am to yet live in the

flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far

better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your

account. Convinced of this, I know that I

will remain and continue with you all for your progress and

joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to

glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

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 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.

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 I had. And now here that I still have

this is the word of God engaged in the same conflict.

Paul writes from prison, wrote those words to a people that

definitely weren't in that same prison cell with him.

And Paul says for me to live is Christ.

He doesn't say for me to live is to chase success or comfort or

respect. He says Christ is his everything

for living in the middle of Romans 8, if Christ is all we

are to live for, Paul reflects on this, that the Spirit bears

witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.

And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and fellow heirs

with Christ, provided we suffer with him, in order that we also

may be glorified with him. So to live is Christ.

And if we are living with Christ in Christ, then we are children

of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

Thereby we are all God's children, sons and daughters of

the King. We are Princess and princesses.

All you girls right now want to be princesses when you grow up.

Wish granted, there you go. You got all you ladies grown

already wanted to be princesses. Here you are living the fabulous

life. But think about that.

What's what's the primary job of an air of royalty, of a Prince

or a Princess? What's the primary vocational

responsibility? Their main job is to support the

reigning king, to protect the reputation of the throne, to

live your life in a manner worthy of that title.

Think about that Princess and princesses.

We don't have a lot of them in modern society, but they it

still happens. Every decision they make as they

live their life needs to be made through the lens of what would

my king, my father do, How would he act?

What decision that I could make in this moment?

What decision makes him look good?

And that might sound oppressive or restrictive, but when you

have a perfect Father, as our Heavenly Father is perfect,

then, then yes, those questions are a part of how we should

consider living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus

Christ. For Paul, Jesus was not an add

on to his life, He was his life. Whether Paul lived or died, his

highest goal was to glorify Christ and enjoy him.

He lived to support the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in heaven

and on earth. Look at verse 22 Speaking of his

his work on earth. For me to live his Christ, if I

am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

I'm not down here just slogging through this Christian

discipleship stuff begrudgingly. Oh yeah, I guess I got to go

deal with people again today. I love him like Jesus does.

Pray that means fruitful labor for me.

He, he had, he had this enjoyment, this excitement to go

share Jesus and his love with people.

So much so I'm torn to live as Christ, as guy, to die as gain.

Which shall I choose? I cannot tell.

I'm hard pressed between the two.

He's echoing the words that that he wrote in Ephesians 4.

Therefore a prisoner for the Lord, talking about himself.

I, therefore a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a

manner worthy of the calling to what you've been called.

How do we do it? Verse three with all humility

and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in

love. These are the things he was

excited about. He was looking forward to living

his life with humility and gentleness and patience, bearing

with difficult people in love, eager to maintain the unity of

the spirit in the bond of peace. So the first, first part of

living in this chapter is Christ the center of your life right

now? Are you compelled to live your

life in this manner? Is he the center or is he just a

part? When you make decisions about

your time, your money, your relationships, your

entertainment, is Jesus the deciding factor this week?

Pick one area of your life to surrender over to Him, to

consciously put Christ at the center.

Maybe it's your marriage, your work, your thoughts, your

downtime, how you use your phone.

Make Christ the center of your life this week and moving on,

But make the change this week. This is living in Jesus his own

words. Seek first the Kingdom of God

and his righteousness and all these things will be added to

you. Not worrying about food or

clothes or what we should drink or what we will wear.

Seek first the Kingdom of God. That's Christ centered living.

Paul continues in our chapter Philippians von One verse 27.

Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

This phrase manner of life is powerful in the original

language. In the Greek it means live as

citizens of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Do you live in a world where the goodness of God is the center?

Where the free gift of God is your life force, manner of life,

citizens of live as citizens of heaven in such a way that your

everyday life is worthy of the good news you claim to believe?

The gospel is not just something we believe with our minds, it's

something we live with our lives.

Does your life make the gospel compelling, or does it make it

confusing? When we wax and wane and waver

in belief, is Jesus really on the throne?

I think so. If he is the tomb still empty,

anything's possible. Do we live our lives in such a

way? Practically?

What does this mean for us to? How do we live our lives in a

manner do those around you? Do your coworkers, friends,

neighbors, family? Do they see something different

about the way you live, about the way you work?

Does your family see the love of Christ in how you speak to them

and forgive them? Do you act online in a way that

reflects the love of Christ? A life worthy of the gospel

advances the gospel through both our words and our walk.

The next part of this Paul is wanting the church, encouraging

the church to root out dissensions.

He wants to hear that the church is standing firm in one spirit

with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the

gospel. Unity is not optional for a

gospel worthy life. We are not made to live at odds,

in conflict with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul writes in Colossians 3 what this again practically looks

like. Put on then phrase literally

means to clothe as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved.

Put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and

patience bearing with one another, and if one has a

complaint against another, forgiving each other.

As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Above all these things put on again.

Clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together in

perfect harmony. Is that how you act?

Do these words inform and inhabit your daily actions?

When you lose your temper or say a quick harsh word, are you

reminded? Didn't put, didn't put the love

on this morning. Left my compassion at home.

Need to go get that. Above all, put on love, which

binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Unity, a unified people of God, living lives in a manner worthy

of the Gospel that requires humility, patience, and love.

It means we fight for each other instead of fighting with each

other. So this week, children of God,

pursue unity on purpose. Forgive quickly, speak kindly.

Look for ways to build up the body of Christ rather than tear

it down. Pursue unity on purpose.

Finally, at the end of our chapter, verse 29, back in

Philippians 1, a life worthy of the gospel fights spiritually.

Paul reminds them, it has been granted to you for the sake of

Christ. You should not only believe in

him, but also suffer for his sake.

If you're not familiar with the Bible, especially the New

Testament, there are not promises of prosperity, at least

not in this life. Heavenly reward?

Yeah, sure. There are more promises about

suffering and hardship in a life that is following Christ,

engaged in the same conflict you saw I had and now here that I

still have, again, writing from prison, literally imprisoned for

the faith that he professes. I saw a meme next week that it

was things keeping the early church from going to church,

Beheadings, persecution, prison, things that keep the Gospel Belt

from going from going to church, the Bible Belt, football games,

kids sports, air conditioner went out.

Our conflict isn't the same it was meant to be.

Paul writes this another way in Second Corinthians.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according

to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare

are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy

strongholds. Our weapons, the weapons that we

possess in Christ, have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We destroy arguments in every lofty opinion raised against the

knowledge of God. How?

By taking every thought captive to obey Christ Church.

This is why it is so important for you to be in His Word daily,

for you to know what His voice sounds like, so that when

there's a thought, a leading, a nudging in your life, you can

take that thought and compare it to the blueprint of God's Word.

Is this in His graces for me? Is this in His character?

Is it in His will? What are the areas of my

marriage, my household, my workplace, my downtime that are

not in alignment, that I have not taken these temptations

captive and covered them with the blood of Christ?

We're not created for a spirit of fear or envy or bitterness or

lust or lies. We fight those things.

Paul's words here said that in Christ we have this divine power

to fight against these weapons of the Spirit.

So we stay rooted in prayer and in God's Word.

Living a life worthy of the gospel involves standing firm.

When culture pressures us to compromise church, we are in

spiritual warfare. Jesus has equipped us with the

weapons to fight. I already blew right past the

three-point part of the sermon with that fourth point.

So we're going to go into a fifth one since we already threw

that out because I did bounce around and do a couple other of

Paul's writings. And this is my favorite passage

of Scripture in in the Bible. Colossians 312 through 19,

really. But we're going to take a couple

verses here, 15 and 16. And this is for those who are

weary of trying, of trying to live out a life in a manner

worthy of the gospel. And you feel like you've done it

with all of your effort, how you are able, casting off your

experiences or, or, or your shortcomings or your past that

seems so dark and broken. And you are sick of trying in

your own strength because it hasn't done it so far.

Colossians 3. Let the peace of Christ rule in

your hearts, to which indeed you are called in one body, and be

thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in

you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all

wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with

thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Christian living is this simple. I'm not dismissing the rest of

God's word or its usefulness. It is this simple, and there's

two really easy phrases and words in there.

Let the peace of Christ rule. How much effort are you putting

into unseating the peace of Christ in your life?

How much effort are you putting into avoiding the Word of God

when Paul's instruction here is just to let it dwell?

Let the peace of Christ rule the the phrase in the Greek is, is

is like an arbiter. It's the peace of Christ is

what's making decisions and judgments in your life in his

peace. Let it, let it act, let it

decide. Let the word of Christ tell you,

Richard, he doesn't require your effort or your strength.

It's already there. You just have to accept the

gift. Live that out, Yes.

And singing songs of praise to him with thankfulness in your

hearts. Paul's message is clear in this

first chapter of Philippians. A life that is worthy of the

gospel of Jesus Christ. It's Christ centered, it's

gospel advancing not just in our words but in our actions.

It's firm in unity. It's strong in spiritual battle

and a life lived in the manner of the gospel.

Let's Christ rule and reign in your life.

So, Church, will you make Christ the center of your life this

week and you stay forward? Will you live in a manner worthy

of the gospel as sons and daughters of the King, raising

the reputation of the crown? Will you pursue unity and fight

the good fight with divine weapons from the Son of God?

Let's pray our Lord Jesus, you never ask anything of us that

you have not already defeated. May we let your peace rule and

reign in the areas of our lives that we're not willing to turn

over to you. Thanks for listening to ERC

Sundays. To support the work that God is

doing at Emmaus Rd. Church, visit

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