Serving With Passion - Philippians 2:16 Series

Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Introduction

It’s your very first day on the job. You’re a little nervous when your new boss comes into your office. But he smiles and sets you at ease by saying, “Don’t worry, I’m just here to give you the three things you’re going to need to be successful at this job.” First, he hands you the job description: “This is exactly what is required of you.” Then he gives you a sheet of paper that describes your salary and benefits, which are very generous. And third, he shows you your office, and gives you keys to a company car, and introduces your admin assistant – all the things you need to do this job. Those are the three things you need: job description so you know your purpose, the tools you need to get the job done, and a salary, which serves as your motivation – that’s why you are doing the job. And the reason I mention all that is because those three things: the objective, the necessary resources, and the motivation, are exactly the three things that God gives us in this passage with regard to our task.

If you are a Christian, then you are a steward in God’s household. A steward, in ancient times, was basically a staff person in the home who is in charge of various household tasks. Take a look at the banner over there to your left that says Joyful Servanthood. Those three banners are reminders of the three main things that we are currently working on as a church. And the theme verse for the Joyful Servanthood one is 1 Peter 4:10.

1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as stewards of God’s varied grace.

So each one of us is a steward in God’s household. Or to use another analogy, Scripture says the church is like a body. Every single one of us is a particular part of the body with a specific role. That’s why we have the phrase on that banner: “Every member a minister.” If we have 200 Christians in this church, then there should be 200 ministers. God has hired you on as a worker in his field, he has made you a steward in his household, and so you are going to need those three things I mentioned at the beginning: a job description, the tools or resources necessary to complete your task, and the incentive to get you moving. Or to put it simply, we are going to see the purpose, power, and passion of ministry. And the way the Lord does that in this passage is through the example of the Apostle Paul. So let’s begin with the purpose of ministry. What are we trying to accomplish? Take a look at what Paul was trying to accomplish.

The Purpose of Ministry

To Get People Ready for Judgment Day

Philippians 2:15 …so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

The purpose of Paul’s ministry was for the Philippians to become all of that.

Blameless means people who observe your life from the outside can’t find any fault or sin.

Pure - that’s more of an internal emphasis – uncontaminated by sin on the inside.

Without fault - that’s a sacrificial term.

When God said the people had to offer a spotless lamb, this is that word spotless – no defect. So when people look at your life from the outside, when you look at your heart from the inside, when God looks at the sacrifice of your life from above - from every angle, there is righteousness. And then one more descriptor – children of God. They were believers, so they were already children of God by adoption, but Paul wanted them to become children of God by resemblance. Like when you see someone acting just like his dad and say, “He sure is his father’s son” – that’s the idea here.

True Israel

Paul is using the language of Deuteronomy 32:5 where God makes the shocking statement to the people of Israel: you are no longer my children. Because of their grumbling and complaining and rebellion against God, he disowned them as his children. And he calls them a crooked and depraved generation full of fault. So Paul is saying, “Unlike apostate Israel in the time of Moses, who were crooked and depraved non-children of God because of fault, I want you to be true children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation against which we stand out in stark contrast like stars in the night sky.