"Conduct Yourselves" Series

“Conduct Yourselves”

Philippians 1:27-30

PHP 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

INTRODUCTION

• This morning, we are going to continue the series we began from the book of Philippians

• There are three areas where Paul told the members of the church in Philippi to conduct themselves properly.

• Let’s take a look at those areas today and apply them to our lives

I. ACCOUNTABILITY {vs 27}

27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

• Paul reminded them that THEY were responsible for their own spiritual growth…no matter what happened to him

II. ADVANCEMENT {vs 27-28}

27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God.

• The phrase “conduct yourselves” literally means “to live as a citizen.”

• One thing the people of Philippi were very proud of was their roman citizenship. They took great pride in it and tried to live up to it.

• As they were to advance in their walk with the Lord, there were three characteristics Paul encouraged them in:

1. UNWAIVERING (27)

• No matter what happened, they were to stand firm

• Friend, what a message to us as well. No matter what comes our way, we need to be a people who will stand firm spiritually!

2. UNITED (27)

• They were to be united in thought and in action in the work of the Lord

• Friend, the same applies to us. We are not competing against each other…we are on the same team here!

3. UNDAUNTED (28)

• There were enemies and persecutors who would try to frighten them away from their stand for Jesus.

• A great sign of weakness to any enemy is fear

• Friend, God is greater than your enemy and you have reason to be frightened this morning.

ILLUSTRATION

BLACK BART

HE WAS A professional thief. His name stirred fear as the desert wind stirs tumbleweeds. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevadas, spooking the most rugged frontiersmen. In journals from San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. During his reign of terror between 1875 and 1883, he is credited with stealing the bags and the breath away from twenty-nine different stagecoach crews. And he did it all without firing a shot. His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was intimidation. A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a shot or took a hostage. He didn’t have to. His presence was enough to paralyze. Black Bart was a hooded bandit armed with a deadly weapon.

As it turns out, he wasn’t anything to be afraid of. When the hood came off, there was nothing to fear. When the authorities finally tracked down the thief, they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley, they found a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He was Charles E. Boles—the

bandit who never once fired a shot, because he never one loaded his gun.

III. AFFLICTION {vs 29-30}

29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

• Paul reminded them that they had the privilege of believing in Jesus Christ.