Let You Shine
Text: Phil. 2:12-18
Introduction
1. Illustration: Jesus himself said to his disciples, "[L]et your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) This is a concept that is sometimes a challenge for us. In fact I recently read about a little girl who came home from Sunday School right after studying this verse. She asked her mother, when she repeated the verse, what it meant. Her mom said, "Well, it means that when you are good and kind and thoughtful and obedient, you are letting Christ’s light shine in your life before all who know you." The very next Sunday in Sunday School, the little girl got in a bit of a fracas with another student and created somewhat of an uproar--to such an extent that the Sunday School teacher had to go and find her mother to get her settled down a bit in the class. Her mother was concerned when she got to the classroom and said, "Sweetie, don’t you remember about letting your light shine for the Lord before [others]?" The girl blurted out, "Mom, I have blowed myself out!"
2. Now I don't know about you, but when Jesus tells me I am the light of the world it makes me feel pretty good about myself. Maybe I'm not so bad after all!
3. However, the reality for all of us is at times we let our light go dim, and we come to the sobering thought that being the light of the world is going to take some work.
4. Being the light of the world means...
a. You Are A Work In Progress
b. You Are A Light In A Dark Place
c. You Are A Trophy
5. Let's stand together as we read Phil. 2:12-18.
Proposition: Being the light of the world is a cooperative effort between God and ourselves.
Transition: The first thing we have to come to grips with is...
I. You Are A Work In Progress (12-13).
A. For God Is Working In You
1. Anyone that has ever driven the Interstate highways in Ohio knows all about a work in progress. We were officially declared a state on March 1, 1803 and we're still being built it seems like. By the time they finish work on one stretch of highway it is time to tear it up and start all over.
2. What we need to realize as Christians is that we are a work in progress. When we constantly compare ourselves to others wishing that we could be as "spiritual" as they are we do ourselves and our spiritual growth a great disservice.
3. That's what Paul is getting at when he says, "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear."
a. Once again we see the Pastor's heart of Paul. We can see over and over in this letter the genuine love that he has for the believers in Philippi.
b. He mentions how they had always followed his instructions, but what instructions is he talking about?
c. Whenever Paul talks about following instructions or obedience to his teaching, he is always talking about instructions about Christ.
d. For Paul faith in Christ is ultimately expressed as obedience to Christ and coming totally under his lordship.
e. This is the only type of instruction that Paul is concerned about.
f. He commends them for following his instructions when he was with them, but he says that it is even more important that they follow those instructions while he is away from them.
g. Paul then takes it a step further by telling them to work hard to show the results of your salvation.
h. I like the translation here in the NLT, because traditionally this phrase has been translated to "work out your salvation."
i. The idea of working for or earning your salvation is the furthest thing from Paul's mind here.
j. He is not talking about earning your salvation. Rather Paul is talking about living out your salvation. He is talking about walking the talk.
k. He is talking about living out the difference and transformation that Christ has done in your life.
l. What Paul is talking about here is walking in obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.(Fee, 232-235).
4. For many of us this seems like a tale task to accomplish. But Paul gives us some very good news here. He says, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."
a. Paul now shows them that they have the power of God living in them that enables them to live out their faith.
b. The idea that Paul is expressing here is not that God is doing the work for them, but rather that he is empowering them and enabling them to live out their faith.
c. In addition to giving us the power to live out our faith, but he also gives us the desire to live it.
d. He gives us the desire and the drive to please him. He not only gives us what to, but also the want to.
B. Patience
1. Illustration: "Church history is the story of God’s incredible patience with his wayward people." John Stott
2. One of the great things about God is that he is patient with us even when we are not patient with ourselves.
a. Romans 9:22 (NLT)
In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who were made for destruction.
b. We serve a righteous and holy God.
c. But we also serve a patient God.
d. We serve a forgiving God.
e. We serve a merciful God.
f. God realizes that we are imperfect, weak, and sinful.
g. He wants us to be holy, but he knows that we will sometimes fail.
h. And when we do he forgives us, wipes us clean, and gives us the strength to change.
i. He is not only the God of the second chance, but he is the God of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chance.
j. He is the God who forgives seventy times seven!
Transition: God is patient with us because he has a purpose for us.
II. You Are A Light In The Darkness (14-15).
A. Shinning Like Bright Lights
1. Have you ever had the experience that when someone discovers that you are a Christian that they immediately start treating you differently, as if they were waiting for you to fail?
2. The fact is many unbelievers are waiting for us to fail. That's why Paul says, "Do everything without complaining and arguing,"
a. Paul says to do everything without complaining. He is making an obvious reference to the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness most specifically to Num. 14.
b. The people had complained about God and he told Moses that he was going to destroy them with a plague.
c. Moses then has to plead with God to have mercy on them.
d. The word itself means the quiet, soft, behind-the-back, undertone of murmuring and grumbling.
e. It is the kind of criticism, dissatisfaction, fault-finding and gossip that goes on within small groups or cliques.
f. Then Paul adds to the imperative to not to argue.
g. The word for arguing has a legal connotation and may refer to the Philippian Christians going to civil courts to settle their differences, an action Paul condemned elsewhere.
h. Complaining and arguing are completely opposite to Christ’s attitude, which believers are to emulate.
i. They also give people a bad impression of the church, and no one should be able to speak a word of blame against the believers.
j. If all that people know about a church is that its members constantly argue, complain, and gossip, they get a bad impression of Christ and the gospel.
k. Unbelievers then feel justified in criticizing the Christians. Probably more churches have split from causes related to arguing and complaining than from heresy (Barton, 852).
3. Then Paul gives the reason why we shouldn't do these things. He says, "so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people."
a. The reason that we are to live out our faith, both in front of others and among ourselves, is for us to be blameless in regard to our behavior.
b. People already watch us just looking for us to make a mistake. So Paul is basically telling us not to give them any ammunition.
c. Believers’ lives ought to be clean, meaning beyond reproach, incurring no justifiable criticism.
d. This does not mean sinless perfection; instead, the church was to be beyond the criticism of the unbelieving world.
e. Their lives also ought to be innocent. There ought to be nothing within the church that would weaken its strength or contaminate the truth.
f. The church’s members then could be children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people.
g. Without a doubt, the Philippian believers lived in a generation filled with dishonesty and perversion.
h. While believers are rescued out of the present evil age and are no longer of the world, they are not taken out of the world.
i. They are “in” the world and have been given a commission to go “into” the world with the Good News.
j. The church of Philippi needed to fulfill its mission in the world, and it could best do so by being clean and innocent children of God right in the middle of the depraved culture.
k. The contrast with their culture would be so stark that the believers would shine brightly. They bring the light of truth into the darkness of depravity, as stars light up the darkness of the night(Barton, 852).
B. City On A Hill
1. Video "City On A Hill" by Third Day
2. We have been called by God to shine brightly in a world filled with darkness.
a. Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
b. We have been called by God to shine.
c. To shine like a bright star on a cold, dark night.
d. We have been called by God to let our light shine so that the people living in darkness can see the light.
e. We have been called by God to not hide our light, but to let it shine.
f. We have been called by God to be luminaries of truth.
g. Let your light shine in darkness!
Transition: You are a work in progress, you are a light in the darkness, and...
III. You Are A Trophy (16-18).
A. Did Not Run In Vain
1. Every Pastor, teacher, and mentor wants to be proud of those they lead. Paul was not exception.
2. Paul expresses this to the believers in Philippi saying, "Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless."
a. The Philippian church should hold tightly to the word of life by spreading the truth of the gospel beyond the doors of the church.
b. To do this, they must be grounded in the truth, refusing to compromise.
c. When Paul saw the church remaining clean and innocent and holding tightly to the truth as they reached out to a depraved world, he would be proud that his work among them was not useless.
d. Paul had been the first to bring the gospel to Philippi; the church existed because of his preaching.
e. Paul’s boasting was not prideful, as if he had built the church with his own hands.
f. Instead, his boasting would be like that of a parent over a child who has done well (Barton, 852).
3. Then Paul reminds them of what he knows is coming for him. He says, "But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy."
a. Paul’s reference to being poured out like a drink offering was an allegory for martyrdom.
b. The drink offering was an important part of the Jewish sacrificial system.
c. It involved wine being poured out on an altar as a sacrifice to God.
d. Because the Philippian church had little Jewish background, Paul may have been referring to the wine poured out to pagan deities prior to important public events.
e. Paul regarded his life as a suitable offering to complete the Philippians’ sacrifice of faithful service, and he willingly offered it for the sake of Christ’s gospel and for the many who had believed in Christ because of his preaching.
f. Yet even through these somber words a ray of light was shining. If Paul were indeed to die, he would rejoice and desire that they would share his joy.
g. Paul was content, knowing that he had helped the Philippians live for Christ.
h. Paul was able to have joy, even though he faced possible execution. When you are totally committed to serving Christ, sacrificing to build the faith of others brings a joyous reward.
i. Paul considered it a privilege to die for the faith, and he wanted the Philippians to take the same attitude in the case of his death (Barton, 853).
B. Treasure
1. Illustration: In 1947, someone came across some old jars. These old earthen vessels contained the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are a very valuable source of study for the Church. The jars themselves were not so valuable, but the treasure of God’s word inside was priceless.
2. You are a treasure inside a broken down vessel.
a. 2 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT)
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
b. We may be broken old pots but we are God's treasure.
c. We may be fragile and decayed by sin but we are God's treasure.
d. We may be imperfect and prone to mistakes but we are God's treasure.
e. We may be ostracized, ridiculed, and persecuted by the world but we are God's treasure.
f. The Almighty has a plan for us because we are God's treasure.
g. We shine like bright lights in a dark and lost world because we are God's treasure.
Transition: No matter what the world or the enemy may through at you rejoice because you are God's treasure!
Conclusion
1. Being the light of the world means...
a. You Are A Work In Progress
b. You Are A Light In A Dark Place
c. You Are A Trophy
1. Are you letting your light shine, or are you hiding under a basket?
2. You are the light of the world so let you shine.
