HoHum:
Especially for children (Pass out pictures of cement trucks to children)- I like concrete trucks and mixers from Patrick in Thomas and Dizzy in Bob the builder. They are so big and noisy and they have that large container in the back that turns and churns as it mixes the concrete. Exciting to watch as concrete was poured from a big truck to form a sidewalk or a driveway. Sometimes concrete is made by mixing cement, sand, and water, by hand, in a wheelbarrow. That is for a small amount to set a fence post, a flag pole, or a mailbox in place.
Once concrete has dried, it becomes solid and lasts for years so we can walk on a sidewalk without damaging it. It forms a solid block around a fence post or mailbox and holds those objects firmly in place.
In the Bible the apostle, Paul tells us to "…stand firm in the Lord…" (4:1). Perhaps we've all had times when we have wanted to do something that we know we shouldn't do and we must remember to "stand firm in the Lord."
From Lectionary.org at: http://www.lectionary.org/ChildSermons/NT/11-Phil/Phil.3.17_4.1-StandingFirm-Edstrom.htm
WBTU:
As long as I can remember, I have heard sermons exhorting the church to be steadfast – or as the New International Version renders it, “Stand Firm.” Read Philippians 4:1
And yet, we waver – and many fall asleep (and fall away) from the Lord. We cry out, almost in despair, “Lord, HOW CAN I Stand Firm when there are so many pressures on me day after day and night after night?” Philippians 4:1 gives us the answer.
When we boil this verse down by taking out Paul’s loving description of the Philippians Christians, what we have left is “Therefore… that is how you should stand firm in the Lord….”
Someone said, “When you see ‘Therefore’ in the text, you need to ask yourself, ‘What is it there for?'” To understand this therefore we have to go to what has come before in Philippians. This verse unquestionably belongs to the preceding chapter.
Thesis: Let’s explore this “therefore” of Philippians 4:1
I. Philippians 3:17-21
We cannot stand firm without a firm foundation. This world is perishing – it is not firm! But our citizenship is in heaven – not here. As the great old song says, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through….”
We are different from those who live as enemies of the cross. They are headed for destruction. They serve their own stomachs. They boast of their shame! They mind the present, not the hereafter. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food--but God will destroy them both” 1 Corinthians 6:13. Take little thought of the future. But we are different now – and will be even more different. This is because Christ Will Transform Us at his second coming.
But even now, he is changing us. Do we think that is an empty promise? Many Christians do not down-deep-believe that Jesus changes us very much – but the text is clear:
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18.
One Sunday on their way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me." The mother said, "Oh? Why is that?" The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?" The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true honey." "And he also said that God lives in us? Is that true, Mommy?" Again the mother replied, "Yes." "Well," said the little girl, "if God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"
Verse 17 said we are to join with others in following Paul’s example. What was his example? For the answer, let us look at 3:12-16.
II. Philippians 3:12-16
We Do Not Stand Firm by Standing Still.
Christ does not call us to be idle. When Israel was at the Red Sea with Pharaoh coming behind, when Moses said, “Stand firm,” God said “Move on!” God is always calling us to move up, to advance as He calls us heavenward.
When He first called us by the gospel as our hearts were touched by the love that reached down to us in our sin, He was calling us heavenward. When we left the fold and finally like the prodigal son we came home, the father rushed out to greet us and restored us and helped us to get back on the heaven’s road. While we are growing in grace, He continues to call us onward and upward to better things ahead – as we moved heavenward. When we are mature in Him, He still spoke warmly to us and urges us to come even closer to Him as we move heavenward. Then, when it comes time for us to cross over to the other side, He will still be there to greet us and welcome us home – as we move heavenward again.
Paul did not think he had already reached his goal. He knew he was not yet perfected. What he did say was, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me!” Reminded of the hymn, “I’m Pressing On the Upward Way. New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day!”
Self-satisfaction is the death of progress. Dissatisfaction with past accomplishments is the mother of invention. Because man was dissatisfied with carrying and lifting loads on his shoulders, he invented the wheel and the lever. Because he was dissatisfied with walking, he invented vehicles to ride in. Many Christians are self-satisfied with their Christian lives because they compare their spiritual progress with that of other Christians, usually with those Christians who are not making as much progress as themselves. But Paul did not compare himself with others. He compared himself with himself and with Jesus Christ! Paul says that he had not arrived at perfection. One mark of spiritual maturity is realizing that we aren’t perfect. The process of becoming like the Lord Jesus Christ is much like riding a bicycle: either we keep moving forward, or we fall down!
A successful coach reported that he lived by a very simple creed he found one time: Press on. Nothing in the world Can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; Nothing is more common Than unsuccessful men With talent. Genius will not; Unrewarded genius Is almost a proverb. Education will not; The world is full of Educated derelicts. Persistence and determination Alone are important.
Paul is saying to us, “Forget the past. Stretch for the future. Press toward the goal! Keep moving nearer to God’s voice calling you heavenward!”
Verse 12 began by saying, “Not that I have already obtained all this.” What had he not obtained? Let’s find the answer in verses 7 – 11.
III. Philippians 3:7-11
What did he say he wanted? First, he wanted to know Christ. He did not say he wanted to know about him. He wanted to know him in an intimate and personal way.
How much did Paul want to know Jesus? He wanted to know His sufferings. He wanted to experience the sacrifice of Jesus in leaving heaven – by giving up all he had considered important. He wanted to know his trials in this world by following Jesus and being rejected as Jesus was rejected. He even wanted to know his agony in Gethsemane and at Golgotha by being crucified with Jesus.
He also wanted to know the power of His resurrection as he found new, real, life in Jesus. We are raised in Jesus to walk a new life! “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:3, 4, NIV. When we are baptized that power if available to us to change us and transform us. The HS lives within us. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Romans 8:11, NIV.
The same power that rose Jesus from the grave; The same power that commands the dead to wake; Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks; The same power that can calm a ragin' sea; Lives in us, lives in us, He lives in us, lives in us!
A young girl once consulted with her minister. “I cannot stick it out any longer. I am the only Christian in the factory where I work. I get nothing but taunts and sneers. It is more than I can stand. I am going to resign.” “Will you tell me,” asked the minister, “where lights are placed?” “What has that to do with it?” the young Christian asked him rather bluntly. “Never mind,” the minister replied. “Answer my question: ‘Where are lights placed?’ “In dark places,” she replied. “Yes, and that is why you have been put in that factory where there is such spiritual darkness and where there is no other Christian to shine for the Lord.” The young Christian realized for the first time the opportunity that was hers. She felt she could not fail God by allowing her light to go out. She went back to the factory with renewed determination to let her light shine. Before long, she was the means of leading nine other girls to the Light.
So What?
John Gill- "“Stand firm in the Lord”- or "by the Lord"; by his power and strength, which is only able to make to stand fast; we are liable to failing, and would fall, were we not upheld with his right hand, and kept by his power; we only stand fast, as we stand supported by his strength, trusting in his might, and leaning on his arm. Christ is the only foundation where we can stand safe and sure." Are you in the Lord? The Lord is our cement.
