Philippians 1:27-30 | Worthy of the Gospel | Kurt Petersheim

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be honest with you for just a second.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just to just, just to just, just right now, I'm gonna be honest.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even as I'm standing right there and I'll stand right here just a few minutes ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: I still, in this moment, I don't know if I'm preaching the sermon I wrote today or if I'm preaching something different.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're gonna pray, if you guys will pray with me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lower down.

[SPEAKER_00]: Got you good.

[SPEAKER_00]: And your faith.

[SPEAKER_00]: And on.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I just think maybe you have changed some direction this morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, God, I just want to listen to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And do what you say.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lead us, learn, lead me.

[SPEAKER_00]: And really, all of us just let us hear your word today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus name, name him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, we're not doing Ephesians today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Philippians.

[SPEAKER_00]: You guys turn over a book.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sorry, Carl, thank you for reading that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Next week, next week, Ephesians 2, 14 through 18.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's connected.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's about it's about unity and being the church that God has called us to be.

[SPEAKER_00]: We were singing,

[SPEAKER_00]: We're the of all the praise we could ever bring.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're the of every breath we could ever breathe.

[SPEAKER_00]: We live for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what we were singing a few minutes ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I came back to my seat.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just, I did not have a promise you.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is not scripted.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just was sitting there and thinking and praying and we were taking communion and things like, man, I know.

[SPEAKER_00]: hurt Peter Shine.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's who I know.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know him really well.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to know him better.

[SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, Jesus knows me perfectly and I want to sometimes just know myself as he knows me and see myself as he sees me and I know you know you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't always live my life.

[SPEAKER_00]: Every breath I breathe for him.

[SPEAKER_00]: giving myself truly to him in every aspect of life.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know I don't, I know you don't either.

[SPEAKER_00]: And of course we're not going to be perfect on this side of eternity.

[SPEAKER_00]: We all know that.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like, I think sometimes though, it can just become sort of this, I don't know, go in through the motions, kind of laziness and faith.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just being honest.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I had those times, y'all ever had those times?

[SPEAKER_00]: Man, my pastor, I'm not supposed to, I guess, but I do.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm just, I don't know if there's maybe just laziness, I guess that's my best work for it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm sitting over here and I'm telling you, I came up here, we just did an ounce of all that stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm still thinking about it, I'm going right here and I'm like, okay, Carl, there's reading the feeds into, I'm praying as she's reading, I just got, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what I'm supposed to,

[SPEAKER_00]: Philippians 1, 27, whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, then whether I come and see you.

[SPEAKER_00]: are only here about you in my absence.

[SPEAKER_00]: I will know that you, and this is you all, church you, you all, stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a sign to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved and that by God, for it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw that I had, and now here that I still have.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think the Lord just

[SPEAKER_00]: description of my heart.

[SPEAKER_00]: Can I just comment to you guys real quick?

[SPEAKER_00]: Just the value of being in God's word every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: every day, consistently, and listen, this is not to judge or condemn you.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're not, or if you're struggling with that, like I said, I mean, I have seasons of life where I just feel like I'm going through the motions and not really pursuing the Lord of all my heart, but I think even in those seasons as much as we can, and I say that because, I mean, in a moment like this, really.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm able to pull out the sword of the Spirit here and which is the Word of God and know what it is that God's kind of just leading my heart to say to us today because I know this word.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know this scripture and that's not to puff me.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just just to say thank God He's put it in my heart in my mind and then I can just I knew where to go.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is where I wanted to go.

[SPEAKER_00]: This Word God wanted me to go for us today.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says whatever happens

[SPEAKER_00]: Think of all the circumstances in your life right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is, and it looks, some of y'all could take a poll of the room right now and some of us are just in such a great season and a happy season that joyful season of praise.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, for those seasons, some of y'all are right there and it's so good, and I praise God with you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you are in seasons of waiting,

[SPEAKER_00]: You're not really knowing what the next thing is.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right?

[SPEAKER_00]: You nod your head if that's you today.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're a bit of that waiting season.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe his job, stuff, and he's family stuff relational things, whatever that may be.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of those seasons.

[SPEAKER_00]: Life is seasons.

[SPEAKER_00]: You all know this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nice to see Solomon's wisdom to us in Ecclesiastes.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a time.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a time in a place for mourning.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a time for rejoicing.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a time for sewing and a time for uprooting.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?

[SPEAKER_00]: some of y'all are in a season right now of morning, of grief, of heartache.

[SPEAKER_00]: Philippine's 127 doesn't give us a reason or a way to kind of wiggle out of giving our lives to Christ in everything.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, whatever happens,

[SPEAKER_00]: Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm in a worthy of the gospel of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, that word, word, the here's what I know about that word.

[SPEAKER_00]: It does not mean that whatever happens, you better be perfect at your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: You better have it all together.

[SPEAKER_00]: You better get it all right.

[SPEAKER_00]: You better show up today with a smile on your face, live in your life the right way, doing the right thing, saying the right things, being the right person, performing for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not what it means.

[SPEAKER_00]: That word, word, it means simply this.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you claim Christ as Lord, if you claim the gospel as the truth that you live by, that your life should simply look like it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, when people see you, they should see the gospel in you.

[SPEAKER_00]: People see you, they should see Christ in you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not perfectly, it's not about perfection.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is a lot of Philippians.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not about perfection.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's about the direction of our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: Where am I going?

[SPEAKER_00]: Where am I walking?

[SPEAKER_00]: What's the truth that I'm holding to, clinging to is my life being lived in a manner?

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever happens, worthy of the gospel of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're in a season of mourning, mourn like you know the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're in a season of joy, you rejoice, like you know the gospel in Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're in a season of waiting, you wait on Christ because you know the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're in a season where the paycheck ain't coming,

[SPEAKER_00]: You go through that, and this is Philippians 4.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know how to abound, and I know how to have nothing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I can do all things across your strengthens me.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's saying, if the paycheck's not coming, you do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like you know the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you are abounding, you better be rich like you know the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's probably harder.

[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of rich people forget the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I mean, just money, I mean, comfort, worldliness, materialism, like we don't know the gospel of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I wanna live my life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Paul says, then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Here's the result for living our lives, worthy of the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just again, not perfection, direction, just trusting in Jesus, waiting on Jesus, hoping in Jesus, living in the truth of the gospel of Christ as if grace really has changed us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then he says, I will know that you stand firm, stand firm.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now that's a word for our day, I think.

[SPEAKER_00]: Stand firm in the gospel, stand firm in grace.

[SPEAKER_00]: And how do we do that?

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, in one spirit, that's us together, unified in the spirit of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in the mindset, really, that's a mindset that the spirit changes the way we think, changes our paradigm of life.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I want to give everything I have every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whether I'm running on Bumes or I got a full tank, it's for the gospel Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: that he takes me, has me use is me.

[SPEAKER_00]: We say that they I am yours and your ours.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are yours, your ours.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we belong to him, he belongs to us.

[SPEAKER_00]: We stand firm in that, we stand firm in one spirit, containing as one man for the faith of the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: When is the last time you felt like your life was contending for the gospel?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be real, man, like there are days where I read something like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just like, what am I doing?

[SPEAKER_00]: Why am I so comfortable?

[SPEAKER_00]: Why am I so afraid to say what's true sometimes in certain conversations or circumstances?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not contending.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says contend as one man, and so again, that's us together.

[SPEAKER_00]: United in faith, united in the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he says without being frightened in any way,

[SPEAKER_00]: But those who oppose you, y'all, I just don't, I do.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to burst your bubble for a second.

[SPEAKER_00]: This world is not getting easier to share the gospel in.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not getting easier to follow Jesus in.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not going to.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think so.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, I mean, I guess we have two choices there.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can live frightened by those who oppose.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or we stand firm in the faith of the gospel, we live our lives worthy of it, and we stop being afraid.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he said, this is a sign to them that they will be destroyed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now that's harsh language, I know.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's just Paul's way of saying, when Christians live their lives worthy of the gospel and live their lives without fear,

[SPEAKER_00]: in the gospel of Jesus, from the gospel of Jesus, for the gospel of Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: It shows the people who aren't in Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's just on my people who aren't in Christ, people who aren't Christians, it shows them.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are different, and it gives them reason to maybe even pause and think, maybe there's something about the truth that they proclaim in the way that that live, that guy has no money in his pocket.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's living with joy, that guy just lost, she just lost,

[SPEAKER_00]: That person's rich and abounding and yet they're not greedy and prideful and arrogant they're living with humility and modesty and meekness and giving and serving and loving.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is living our lives where they're the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's different than the world and the world sees it and it helps them to see and to know something is unique, something is different and so many of us, so many of us want to make a difference in the world and we don't want to be different than the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: would be like the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'd say that as one of us, uh, just, this is what it is.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think if anything else today was just, God kind of saying, Kurt, I know you're struggling with it at Psalms and maybe there's others that are, we live in our lives where we leave the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he says,

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a sign to them, of their destruction, but he says, for you as well, that you will be saved and that by God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think his point being just man, as we are entrusting ourselves to him, living our lives worthy of the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we're not trying to save ourselves from embarrassment.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're trying to save yourself from being uncomfortable,

[SPEAKER_00]: Feeling awkward in a conversation, like being embarrassed sometimes, trying to save yourself from not having the things in the world that you so crave to have, no, as Christians, and we live our lives, whatever happens, worthy of the gospel of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we know that God is the one saving us.

[SPEAKER_00]: God is one redeeming us.

[SPEAKER_00]: God is the one changing us on our best days, on our worst days.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, for it has been granted to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all, this is a gift.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want to hear the gift that God has given us?

[SPEAKER_00]: How good has God?

[SPEAKER_00]: He's given us this gift on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's your gift.

[SPEAKER_00]: You still want to be a Christian today?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a real question.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's been granted to you to suffer for Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever opened that gift?

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever enjoyed it?

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever rejoiced like Peter and John who got beat for preaching?

[SPEAKER_00]: Told not to preach.

[SPEAKER_00]: Walked out of the synagogue praising God that they just got beaten for the name of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: Man I want to die that kind of death.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just being honest right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to live that life.

[SPEAKER_00]: I do not want to die a death.

[SPEAKER_00]: That means nothing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not saying, I'm going to be martyred or you are anything like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not up to us.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just saying, I'm going to want my life to matter in the kingdom.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want your life to matter in the kingdom.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that's it, I guess that's it today.

[SPEAKER_00]: That our lives would be lived in a manner where the of Christ, where the of the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's my prayer for me today, it's my prayer for you today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I don't have a boat of time on that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it's just something we need to sit with for a minute.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we planned on doing that new song again, right here at the end.

[SPEAKER_00]: But you know what, I think Scott, sorry, if you can hear me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's just, we're not, here's how we're going to end today.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you know what, we're not going to put on music.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry.

[SPEAKER_00]: That makes you uncomfortable.

[SPEAKER_00]: So much noise in our world.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, y'all.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just cranky today, I guess.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we're going to be quiet.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to pray for me, and I'm going to pray for you, and I want you to pray, and if you're sitting by somebody you love, pray for them, and pray for yourself, and listen.

[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't let you say this before we did.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't even know what I'm talking about right now, if anybody in this room is just thinking, man, like, yeah, I get the church thing and understand who Jesus said, but I don't understand live in my life worthy.

[SPEAKER_00]: of Christ, and I don't even have a desire to do that, or I don't really know what that means for me, and then look, I'll be right here.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would love to have a conversation with you today, about maybe what that means, and maybe if you're actually, if you know Christ, you're walking with him by faith, I'm telling you y'all, he's good.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've been granted to suffer for him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'll do it, you wanna do it?

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever that looks like let's do it, but let's do it together.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, let's do it together.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, let's do it together.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to have a conversation about man first, you got to you got to know him.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're not going to suffer for anybody.

[SPEAKER_00]: You don't know and love.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so if you don't know and love Christ, let's talk about that today.

[SPEAKER_00]: But let's let's pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's pray if you as will just then listen seriously if you want to

[SPEAKER_00]: Come down if you're on the prayer team and you see somebody come down and you want to come down and pray with anybody just we got 10 minutes in here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's just do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to hang out if anybody comes down.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll pray with you too.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to shut up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: Continue to pray if you pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just want to pray over us before we're done here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lord, I pray that we all this morning who are in Christ, God, that we feel a true, deep conviction in our hearts to live our lives worthy of your gospel, not to live our lives,

[SPEAKER_00]: Whereas religious people, as a facade, and I don't want to be a white-washed tomb.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I pray that our church would not be beautiful on the outside and dead on the inside.

[SPEAKER_00]: I pray that we would be alive.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we would be dangerous people in the kingdom of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: dangerous in the sense that this world will know that we will not be quiet, we will not be ashamed, we will not be frightened by opposition, by enmity, God of persecution ever comes, prepare us,

[SPEAKER_00]: As we live in a culture that no longer looks upon, you no longer looks upon, Christianity is a favorable thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: That even still, we would stand firm, stand firm in your truth, and we would live our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: together united in your spirit as one new humanity, as we read in Ephesians, says one united people worthy of the gospel of Jesus, that it would just be evident by our words, by our actions.

[SPEAKER_00]: by our schedules, by our calendars.

[SPEAKER_00]: It would be evident by our bank accounts.

[SPEAKER_00]: It would be evident by the way we raise our children.

[SPEAKER_00]: It would be evident in our marriages.

[SPEAKER_00]: It would be evident to our neighbors.

[SPEAKER_00]: It would be evident to our bosses or our employees, our co-workers, our classmates, our teammates.

[SPEAKER_00]: It would be evident that we are your sons and daughters.

[SPEAKER_00]: and we don't just preach making a difference without being willing to be different and be humble and make loving, compassionate, kind, gracious and also standing firm and truth never compromising the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let us go and let us live that way this week.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Lord, if there's anybody in this room right now who is just struggling with that,

[SPEAKER_00]: And I pray that you give them the boldness today to just go ask somebody a brother or sister in Christ for prayer, for help, for encouragement, to lift up their arms this week, so that they would be strengthened.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Father, for any of our friends who sit in among us this morning who don't know you yet yet.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we pray that today or tomorrow, that they would know you.

[SPEAKER_00]: that they would see that your Son Jesus is the only way.

[SPEAKER_00]: The gospel is the only way.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I pray that they would be saved.

[SPEAKER_00]: They would know here's Son Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lord, thank you for this church.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for space for us today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just to do this and thank you God for telling me that my sermon was not ready for this morning and you had a better one.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you just lead us, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: We love you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Jesus name.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, sorry for all the crying.

[SPEAKER_00]: You all, I love you guys so much.

[SPEAKER_00]: You all have a great Sunday.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have a great Sunday.