HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND STILL ENJOY LIFE
THE FOUNDATION FOR JOYOUS LIVING
Sunday January 28, 2007
Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:1-2
Intro.
A. I have spoken to you on numerous occasions about the importance of a solid foundation. You do not have to be a contractor or home builder to understand the importance of having a solid foundation before you begin to build a structure. I mentioned to you back in December about my desire to help our sister church in San Vicente build a new home for the pastor. One of the reasons this is needed is because the original foundation was not solid and is literally sinking into the ground. Jesus understood this principle and that is why we read these words of his in Matthew 7:24-27 NLT “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.26 But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
1. I would suggest to you today that a major reason why so many people who call themselves Christians fail to experience this joyous living that Jesus promised in John 10:10 and other places is because we are building on a faulty foundation. We must be willing to take an honest look at our lives and answer the question, “Where am I trying to find my joy in living?” It is my belief that if we are honest we will discover in too many instances that the answer will be in things like finances. If we just had a little bit more money then we could be joyous. Or it will be employment; if we could just have a different job or a different position at work then we could be joyous. Then of course there is the ever popular, Stuff! If I just had a few more “things” or if I had that one special “thing” then I would be happy. Of course we all know even though we don’t always live this way that none of these things will ever provide us with real happiness or joyous living.
2. In these first two verses of Philippians I believe we can discover what the real foundation is for having a joyous life.
B. Before we explore what these two verses tell us let me say one quick thing about how Paul begins this letter. In all the letters Paul wrote only 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Philemon are begun without Paul using the word “Apostle”. The reason this is important to note is that the use of this word is meant to remind the readers of his authority in their lives and if you read these other letters you will discover that in each of them there are some serious problems that Paul had to deal with. Philippians is one of the only letters Paul wrote that as almost expressly to encourage and build up the church. Only at the end of chapter three and the very beginning of chapter four do we hear Paul speaking about some problems.
Trans. OK let’s begin our first look into this wonderful and encouraging letter. The first thing I would point out to you that Paul tells us is that discovering joy in this life begins with understanding who we are.
I. JOY BEGINS WITH UNDERSTANDING YOUR TRUE POSITION IN LIFE.
As Paul opens this letter he shows us that understanding this position in life begins with leadership.
A. This Understanding Begins With Leadership.
1. I am reminded of something one of my professors in Bible College told us, He said, “You can never expect the spiritual level of your church to rise above that of its leadership.” He also went on to add that if it does we need to resign immediately and get out of the way because we are no longer leaders or pastors. I think we can see this very principle quite clearly here in Philippians. How could Paul say as he did in 4:11,12 for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. How could he say something like this if it were not the way he was also living his life? How could he say this if at the same time in this letter he was whining and crying about his situation and begging these people to get him freed from prison. Now it is certainly not that Paul didn’t want to be released but he also knows that begin in or out of prison were not the reason for joy in his life. He proved this back on his first visit to Philippi when he and Silas were in that dungeon sings praises to God in the middle of the night!
2. Notice how Paul describes himself and Timothy, they are what? They are servants of Christ Jesus. What was Paul’s understanding of servant hood? Well I think we can see that in this letter as well. Turn with me to 2:19-22 (read). What did Paul say was a characteristic of someone who is a servant? He said it was someone who looked out for the interests of others. Isn’t that again what I just said about Paul a moment ago? Here he is writing a letter to a church that owes much to him and yet he asks nothing from them, in fact instead of being all wrapped up in his situation he can’t seem to get these Philippian Christians out of his mind or of his heart.
3. Now let me ask you, “What is the role of a servant? Is the servant’s role to say to his master, “Here is what I am willing to do for you and here is what I am expecting you to do for me in return?” Sadly we see this sort of mindset in today’s job market all the time, just ask any one in this congregation that employs people. Employees think that the employer is there to serve them and if the employer does not perform to the employee’s expectations then the employee looks for ways or opportunities to under perform because they feel they are not being adequately compensated.
4. Here is a verse that brings our position into perspective, 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. You are not your own so what makes you think you can say to God, “Here is what I am willing to do for you and then here is what you must do for me in return?” How can a true servant say such a thing to his real master?
5. Now notice also whom we serve. Paul said we are servants of Christ Jesus. Now does this mean that our servant hood only relates to what we do for God or for the church? You see here is the place where some Christians try to compartmentalize their lives. We try to say, “Well what I do at home or at work or in my free time is my business and is not connected to my spiritual life and what I do at church, they are two different things.” It was Jesus who told us in the sermon on the mount that you cannot serve two masters. What this means is that you and I cannot live as we want when we are away from church or other Christians and then live a totally different life when we are at church or around other Christians. We cannot serve sin and serve Jesus at the same time. Now we will explore this a little later in this message but look at what Paul said in V.2 “To all the saints in Christ Jesus… It is the words, “in Christ Jesus” that I want you to see. When is it that we are not “in Christ” if we are truly his followers? In case you don’t know the answer it is NEVER!!! Now as I said you will understand what this means in a few minutes but what I want to make clear right here is that we are Christ’s servants ALL THE TIME or not at all. You cannot be a servant of Christ on Sunday and then a servant of Satan on Monday, and let me just remind you that there are only two master’s whom you can chose to serve and they are either God or the Devil and you have already made that choice as you sit here today.
5. Now we are talking in this series about learning how to live a joyous life. I have to tell you that I have never met someone living a double life that was joyous or enjoying life. The person who is having an affair is not enjoying life. There will certainly be moments of pleasure but life is not enjoyable when you are trying to live a double life. I have seen a lot of miserable marriages where one of the spouses felt a need to try and please their parents and their spouse at the same time and it never works. This is why the bible says that we leave our fathers and mothers and cling to our spouse. That is not to mean that we ignore our parents or that we don’t care about them anymore it just means that my first loyalty is to my spouse. When I try to walk this tight rope of pleasing parents and pleasing my spouse I am miserable and so is my life and marriage. The bible makes this principle clear as well, James 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Trans. Well there is much more I want to say here but I really want to keep this message to one part so before we move on I want you to consider this question: What evidence is there in your life to prove you are a servant of Christ Jesus? Is that evidence only visible or apparent in church or is it visible and evident in every part of your life? Let me be frank, if your so called faith is only evident on Sundays or when you happen to be around other Christians then it is not real faith. You can’t be in and out of Christ like a pair of shoes.
Trans. Now Paul moves on in V.2 to address another position we have in life.
B. Do You Understand What You Are?
1. Paul said that you and I are saints. I think from now on I would like you to refer to me as “Saint Sheldon” that has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? (lol) Now I am well aware that we have a real aversion to considering ourselves or calling ourselves saints, and even though that may never change I would like to challenge why we feel this way. You see if the Bible has no problem considering me a saint then why should I? Our reason in part for feeling this way is because we see saints as the spiritually elite. In our minds saints are the people who are above and beyond the norm of normal Christianity. They are the people like Mother Teresa or Billy Graham, or like the Apostle Paul, but I remind you again that this is not the way the Bible sees saints.
2. So what is a saint? If you go back to what I was just saying you will discover that we normally equate sainthood with certain performance levels. This is why we look at certain people like Mother Teresa or Billy Graham as saints and not ourselves. We would say things like, “I don’t measure up because I haven’t done the sorts of things that these people have done.” So what we are saying is that the qualifications for sainthood are performance, but here is what the Bible says. The Bible says we are saints not by our performance but by our position. Now as I promised earlier I will elaborate on this more but just give me a few minutes. Notice that Paul says we are saints, “in Christ Jesus”. We are saints not because we go to church or pay our tithe or teach a Sunday school class or because we try really hard to be good people. We are saints because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Here is what the bible says, Hebrews 13:12 NLT So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. The root word used here for “holy” is the same word used in Philippians 1:1. In other words what Hebrews 13:12 says is that we are made holy because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and then Philippians 1:1 states that this position of being a saint comes from being in Christ Jesus. Now I have talked about this a number of times but to be holy means to be set apart and as we are taught here by Paul we are set apart not by performance but by Christ, by accepting what he has already done for us on the cross. Let me read for you something that I found in my studies of this passage that I think will be very helpful here. (Read the excerpt from the Philippians commentary.) I love what this man said because as human’s we are so geared to over reaction. We over react to the things the church used to tell us we could not do and still be holy people but in our over reaction we blurred the lines of separation. Yes I know the devil does not hide out in the popcorn machine at the theater. He hides out in your hearts and it is there that he virgously works to blur the lines of what it means to be a holy people. Our effort should not be to set up more rules to try and live by so we can call ourselves holy our goal should be to strive for greater Christ likeness. Let me share some words that John Wesley’s mother Suzanne Wesley told her children about how to determine what is right or wrong for us to do. “Take this rule; Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish for spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind: that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be itself.”
Trans. Now let me do as I promised several times already in this message and speak to you about this phrase Paul used “In Christ Jesus”. As I have just been saying, what we find here is the authority of our sainthood.
C. The Authority Of Our Sainthood.
1. Most of us have certain phrases we like to use. I am sure you have had someone ask you to identify a person by a phrase they use. [] Let me give you a for instance. Can anyone here tell me who I am talking about when I say, “What are you thinking right now?” Right, it’s Mike Bayer. Now let me try a more humbling exercise, Who can tell me what my favorite or most used phrase is (and let me say That I am not sure what it is so I am wondering what you think it is). Well for Paul his favorite phrase was “In Christ” or “In Christ Jesus” or “In the Lord”.
2. The reason this phrase was probably so popular with Paul is that it is being “in Christ” that unites us no matter what our difference may be. Being “IN Christ” goes beyond what church or denomination we belong to. Being “In Christ” removes the barriers of theological positions. Being “In Christ” removes the language and cultural barriers that can divide us. Let’s consider what Paul told the Corinthians church (which by the way was a very much divided church, probably the most of any church Paul founded). Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 (read). Once again, if the theme here is joy then how can joy exist where there is competition between those who are supposed to have the same goals the same objectives? I think that Paul confirms this unity that we have in Christ when he says in the rest of this verse, together with the overseers and deasons” The words “Together with” reminded the Philippians as well as they remind us that even though there are differing offices, ministries and positions in the church we are nevertheless one. As we just saw in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 in Christ there is no choosing up sides. We are all in Christ and therefore we are all one because Christ is not divided.
3. For Paul as it ought to be for us as well, the whole of our lives ought to be “in Christ”. Christ ought to be the whole itinerary of our lives. Everything that we are and hope to be in found “In Christ”. Look with me at how Paul said this in his letters. Philippians 2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, Our encouragement comes from being in Christ. Philemon 8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, Our boldness is in Christ. Romans 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ. We speak the truth in Christ. 1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are wise in Christ. I could go on but what we need to see here is that our lives begin, continue and end in Christ. He is or must be everything to us. Allow me to share one other quote that I feel really helps solidify what it means to be In Christ. This quote is from a man named William Barclay. (read Quote).
OUR NEXT STEPS:
A. As we conclude today let me ask you a simple question; “Can you truly describe your life as one that is joyous?” Now if you have been listening to me this morning then hopefully you understand that this joy I am talking about is not the result of things outside of you being good or in perfect order. What Paul has told us in this opening verse is that our joy is not based on things outside us it is based on what has happened inside us. Ask someone today who is not a follower of Jesus Christ if being a servant brings joy. I can tell you they will give you a funny look at best. To this world in which we are called to live being a servant is what you want to get others to do for you not what you want to do for others. But let me remind you that Jesus told us that we are not of this world, John 17:16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do.
B. Paul also taught us in this verse that our joy comes from having an undivided heart, he described it as being a saint or as we learned, being holy set apart. [] Tell me, what is easier to walk on the edge of this platform or to walk out here in the middle where there are not edges? The answer is obvious and yet how many of try to do this very thing in our spiritual lives? Rather than walking in the fullness of God’s grace and power we try to walk on the edge. We try to live pleasing both our sinful nature and pleasing God and in doing so joy eludes us. Isn’t it better to live your life walking upright than walking bent over? In Christ you and I can walk each and every day upright with Christ’s power and with Christ’s joy. As always the choice is ours. What will your choice be?
