Serving And Struggling Together Series

Serving and Struggling Together

Philippians 1:27-30

Rev. Brian Bill

February 8-9, 2025

When we bought our house in Central Illinois, one of the things that came with it was an obnoxious doorbell chime. Not only was the unit big and ugly but when someone rang it, it would blast out Beethoven’s 5th or blare out all the verses of Auld Lang Syne. As hard as we tried, we couldn’t get it to just ding-dong like a regular doorbell. Finally, out of exasperation, one day I ripped it off the wall.

A few days later, I decided to purchase and install a new doorbell and chimes. I knew I was in trouble when the lady at Ace Hardware told me it was a simple project anyone could do. When I got home, I studied the back of the package for about ten minutes, scratched my head a couple times, took a deep breath and went to work. Incidentally, Beth always clears out of the way when I tackle a DYI project because she’s seen the shrapnel fly before. She doesn’t want to witness me lose my sanctification.

After hooking up the wires in several different ways, creating more sparks than chimes, I jumped off the ladder, shoved the new doorbell back in the package and told Beth I needed my dad to do the job. I felt like a ding-dong. Once again, things did not go as I had planned. So much for it being quick and easy.

After pouting for a few minutes, I decided to lumber back up the ladder and tried again. Somehow I figured it out. I went out on the porch and rang that puppy for about a half hour, surprised that it now worked (Beth was even more surprised), and we were both thrilled not to hear a symphony every time someone came to our door.

My guess is things have not always gone as you have planned either. Your life has been anything but easy and your walk with Jesus has more worries than victories. Sometimes things just don’t seem to work, even when you follow the directions. We’re going to see in Philippians 1:27-30 how Paul moved from his personal situation to the problems the Philippians were having.

So far, he’s shared four ways he discovered joy in the midst of all the junk he was going through.

• God will complete His work in us as we partner with Him in His work.

• When you love someone, you’ll lift them up in prayer. If you need help loving someone, pray until you love them.

• Since the gospel changes everything, it must change everything about us.

• You win either way when you live God’s way.

Now, Paul’s concern is for Christians in the church. He’s wondering if they will go in the tank when trials come. Will they pout when problems come? Will shrapnel fly when they start to suffer? Will they fold instead of being faithful? Will they get mad when things are bad? Will they turn on each other instead of working with each other?

Here’s our main point: It’s worth it to live a worthy life.

Let’s read Philippians 1:27-30: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am 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 hear that I still have.”

1. Conduct yourself like Christ. Let’s consider the first phrase in verse 27: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” The word “only” is emphatic and means, “Above all, at all costs, make this your one and only concern.” One commentator translates it as “just one thing.” Whether Paul is set free or perishes in prison, there is only one thing he wants the Philippians to know.

This shows Paul’s passion for the Philippians. He’s essentially saying, “Walk the talk” or “live up to who you are.” This is the first command in the letter and is in the present tense, meaning this is a call for continuous obedience because our walk is always louder than our talk. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “Your actions speak so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying.”

The Greek word translated “manner” is where we get “political” or “metropolitan” and is the main verb in these four verses, which in the original is just one long sentence. The basic idea is one of citizenship. Later in Philippians 3:20, Paul says that our “citizenship is in heaven.”