Standing Firm In The Lord
#PowerfulPassages
Dismiss Grove KIDZ
PAUL - 2000 years ago, shortly before he would be executed, (beheaded by the Romans) wrote these words to Timothy…
NOW – many of us read them on Friday of this past week in our FCFH reading.
BTW – a new one kicks off tomorrow…
I will be sending out the link to this new bible reading plan later today… and I also posted on today’s Facebook livestream.
AGAIN – words from Paul
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. – 2 Timothy 4:6-8
QUESTION – when you get to the end of your earthly life
(and understand, with every tick of the clock, you are getting closer to that day)…
SO - when you get there would you rather be able to say the words in column A or column B.
Column A Column B
I’ve fought the good fight I didn’t fight the good fight
I finished the race I didn’t finish the race
I kept the faith I didn’t keep the faith
Now, I know… Now, I am very unsure…
QUESTION
SO – did anyone choose column B?
I didn’t think so.
LIKE – I mean, who would choose that… who would choose those words to summarize their life, when they come to life’s end and stand before the Lord.
YET… YET… - I am afraid that many will end up living a column B life.
AND LISTEN – that’s because being able to say what Paul said, when his death was imminent, is not simply going to happen within any effort on your part…. GET IT?
Which brings us to our new series, “Powerful Passages” that we kicked off last week, by diving into Philippians chapter 3
UNDERSTAND – in Philippians chapter 3 Paul lays out 7 keys, 7 truths, 7 actions steps, that (if taken) will enable us to stand firm in the LORD.
AND – how do I know that this is what Philippians 3 is all about? BECAUSE – of what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:1
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that (in other words, all the stuff I just said in Philippians 3) is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends… - Philippians 4:1
NOW – last week we unpacked 3 of those action steps…
SO – let’s do a brief review, FIRST…
Standing firm in the Lord is the fruit of…
Rejoicing In The Lord
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again,
(See, Paul likes reviewing stuff too)
and it is a safeguard for you. – Philippians 3:1
QUESTION - how is rejoicing in the LORD a safeguard?
UNDERSTAND – anytime your life lacks joy…
YOU ARE - extremely vulnerable to attacks from the evil one.
TO FALL - into his depression
TO ACCEPT – his offer to find joy in other places, in very destructive places.
MGCC – here’s the deal…
Your earthly circumstances often change and head south,
BUT LISTEN - the Lord and His plan, His purposes and HIS promises never do! AMEN?!
YES LIFE…
CAN BE - (hard and difficult), (hurtful and discouraging)
I MEAN – there are times when joy and rejoicing could not seem further away. BUT B/S – we can always rejoice in Him
• in who He is, in what He has done
• in what He will do, in His mercy and His grace
• in His unfailing, reckless and unstoppable love
• in our salvation
• in our guaranteed blow our minds forever with Him in heaven
IF YOUR – greatest joy really is in HIM, THEN YOU - really can do what Paul says in Philippians chapter 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! – Philippians 4:4
Standing firm in the Lord is the fruit of…
Heeding The Warning Of Putting Confidence In The Flesh
Putting confidence in our own effort, in order to be right with God.
Now understand, at one time that is exactly what Paul had done, as he anchored his confidence to be right with God, in such things as…
• Family heritage
• Social status (having a good reputation)
• Biblical knowledge
• Religious activity
• Moral lifestyle
BUT THEN - Paul came to the point in His life,
WHEN - he realized…
• THAT - those good things,
• THAT - having confidence in them
• THAT – having confidence in his own effort…
Could not save Him
Could not make Him right with God.
We will never save ourselves by being good, because we are just not good at being good.
Standing in the Lord firm is the fruit of…
Considering Everything A Loss Compared To The Surpassing Greatness of Knowing Christ Jesus Our Lord
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. – Philippians 3:10,11
I want to know…
• Christ
• the power of his resurrection
• the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,
I want to….
• become like him in his death
• attain the resurrection from the dead.
Okay – that was last week..
It is no trouble for me to teach the same things to you again,
Standing firm in the Lord is the fruit of…
Straining Toward What’s Ahead
AND MGCC – that is exactly what Paul is telling us, telling me and telling you, in verses 12-14.
UNDERSTAND – if you want to be able to stand firm in the Lord such that you will be able to say, ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith…’
You need to be straining forward to what lies ahead.
NOW – I first want to read all three verses and then we will unpack them a verse at a time.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect…
AGAIN – who wrote those words? Paul, right?
• Paul, the guy who wrote 13 or the 27 books of the New Testament
• Paul, the guy who performed miracles (even raised the dead)
• Paul, the guy who had an in person encounter with the risen Lord
• Paul, the guy who shared the Gospel and planted countless churches from Jerusalem to Rome
• Paul the guy who endured, lost, suffered and sacrificed so much for the cause of Christ and the expansion of His church… (prison, beatings, shipwrecks, floggings, hunger, thirst,…)
UNDERSTAND - Paul in verse 12 is making a sober assessment of his life and he concludes that he has not arrived…
I have not reached the goal, I am not ‘perfect’
(Greek word means mature or complete).
NO - I am not fully mature, I have much more growing to do when it comes to my faith and walk with Christ….
NOW REMEMBER – at one time Paul thought that ‘he had’ arrived, ‘regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.’
BUT THEN – Paul met the standard, he met Jesus.
AND – that is when he realized that he had so far to go.
UNDERSTAND MGCC – it is extremely dangerous to sit back and to be content with where you are in your walk with Christ, to think that you have already arrived.
I MEAN – if Paul had not arrived, then neither has a single person in this room or watching on line, has… AMEN?!
“I have not arrived” “You have not arrived”
AND LISTEN – in this verse not only do we see Paul making a sober assessment of his life but we also see him giving a strenuous effort.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect… but I press on
Press On (dioko) – to move rapidly and decisively after an object. To run swiftly in order to catch another person.
It is a word used for running a race.
SO – the picture Paul is painting is of a runner widening his stride, pumping his arms, accelerating his legs and pushing out his chest for the finish line.
AND – why was Paul pressing on…
To take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me
Now that word ‘Take hold’ (katalambano) is a pretty strong word, it means… To sieze upon, To forcefully take possession of, To make one’s own
Mark 9 – used to describe how the demon took possession of the son of the Father who said, ‘I do believe, help me with my unbelief’
In John 1:5 – to describe how Jesus is the light of all men and how the darkness could katalambano it.
but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
OKAY – here’s the deal, Paul knows that Jesus
Took hold of Him (made him His own) for a reason, for a purpose… AND UNDERSTAND – at its core, that purpose, is the very same reason that Christ takes hold of each and every one of us… SO THAT – we would both grow in our knowledge of and become more like Him.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. – Romans 8:29
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:21
Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
– 1 John 2:6
To stand firm in Christ is to become like Christ by pursuing Christ.
AND UNDERSTAND B/S – here is we see the great tension that is our Christian journey.
Human effort though not the means to our salvation is always the results of our salvation.
YES - we are saved but grace through faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.
IN OTHER WORDS - there is nothing passive about the Christian life… IN FACT – Paul said the following earlier in Philippians chapter 2…
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. – Philippians 2:12,13
Paul says that you must continue to do what?
work out your salvation with fear and trembling
continue to work out what God has worked in.
AND PAUL – wrote the following in 1 Timothy 4…
For physical training is of some value,
but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
That
(the trustworthy saying that spiritual training has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come)
is why we labor
(now the word used here carries the idea of striving and working to the point of exhaustion)
Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. – Luke 5:5
and strive (agonizomai) ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee (agony)
because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
– 1 Timothy 4:8-10
UNDERSTAND – like Paul, each of us
(if we want to stand firm in the Lord), MUST…
• Make a sober assessment of our spiritual life,
and then we must
• Put forth a strenuous effort
AMEN?!
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
In Paul’s day (and before 1896, only the winner )
Run in such a way as to get the prize
(katalambano)
Run in such a way to get the prize/to win!
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave
I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave
UNDERSTAND – that is what all athletes do, they make their body their slave, they tell their bodies what to do
LIKE - when to get up, what to eat, what not to eat, when to work out, how much to work out… AND OFTEN - it is not what the body wants ,or feels like doing.
IN LIKE MANNER – we are to do the same thing…
UNDERSTAND - our body may not want or feel like…
• Going to church
• Reading the bible
• Praying
• Doing ministry
• Serving others
• Giving our tithe
• Sharing our faith
• Putting the needs of others before ourselves
QUESTION – why does Paul make his body his slave?
so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
SO WE SEE – Philippians 3:12… Paul making a sober assessment of His life and also giving a strenuous effort.
He continues… Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
‘Consider’ - Logizomai log-id'-zom-ahee (Logarithm)
to reckon, count, compute, calculate, to take into account…
UNDERSTAND - Paul is doing the math, he is taking into account, he is calculating, weighing who Christ is and who he is… AND WHEN - he does, it becomes blatantly obvious that he has a lot of ground to make up
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:
Not 2, not 3 things…
No 1 thing I do, and everything else is a distant second.
And it’s here that we see Paul’s singular focus
UNDERSTAND – Paul is saying, THAT…
• One thing rises to the top,
• One thing dominates his life,
• He has one supreme goal, one highest priority,
• one overriding ambition,
One that demands his full and undivided attention…
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
UNDERSTAND – runners do not win a race by looking back over their shoulders…
NFL – running for the end zone, looks over his should, his stride shortens, he slows done and gets tackled or knocked out of bounds.
To stand firm in the lord you have to forget (you have to put out of your mind, whatever is behind), PAST…
sins, failures, hurts, ways of trying to measure up, successes, victories…
And listen past victories can be very dangerous, they can led to us hitting cruise control… and just coasting the rest of the way.
You can’t move forward if you keep looking back.
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62
QUESTION – what in your past do you need to leave behind so that you can stand firm in the Lord?
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
Straining toward – (is actually one word… it is a verb with 2 prefixes in front of it… out and upon)
SO – the picture is of someone, stretching out, to lay their hand upon what is ahead of them.
I press on
Present tense… SO - it’s an everyday pressing on
Not just - church on Sunday morning, not just a men’s or ladies bible study, some conference or event,
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
UNDERSTAND - winning the prize is why we play the game!
And what is the prize?
Literally the ‘upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’
LISTEN - everything in Jesus is an upward call, AMEN?!
UPWARD – to a life lived like His
UPWARD – our eventual forever in heaven
Standing firm in the Lord is the fruit of…
Living Up To The Truth We Already Know
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.
What things?
• Rejoicing in the Lord
• Heeding the warning of putting confidence in the flesh
• Considering everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
• Straining Toward What’s Ahead
A VIEW – that we must do these things in order to stand firm in the Lord.
And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
QUESTION…
Do you think differently
Do you live differently
THAN - what Paul is teaching in Philippians 3?
AND THEN – Paul writes…
Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
– Philippians 3:15,16
QUESTION – to you agree or disagree with the following statement…
We all would be better Christians, and the world would be a much better place, if we would simply live up to the truths we already know.
LIKE…
• Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength
• Loving our neighbor as ourselves
• Reading God’s word
• Praying more frequently
• Forgiving those who hurt us
• Attending church consistently’
• Sharing our faith
• Reaching out and helping the least of these.
Standing firm in the Lord is the fruit of…
• Rejoicing in the Lord
• Heeding the warning of putting confidence in the flesh
• Considering everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
• Straining Toward What’s Ahead,
• Living up to the truth we already know, and
Following Godly Examples
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. – Philippians 3:17
UNDERSTAND - Paul is a great example of what it means to follow Christ…
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
– 1 Corinthians 11:1
And in his writings and in the book of Acts, we powerful portraits as to the kind of life that he lived.
Paul says follow my example and also the example of others who live according to the same pattern…
And in Philippians 2 he actually names 2 of them.
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 2I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me. – Philippians 2:19-30
SO – we need to follow Godly examples if we want to stand firm in the LORD…
Do you have any?
Are you following them?
Are you being a godly example to others?
BUT LISTEN - we also need to avoid following ungodly examples (and they are all around us, just as they were all around Paul)
For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears,
many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
– Philippians 3:18
They lived as what?
UNDERSTAND B/S – the Cross Of Christ, is central to Christianity… Just a few verses
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. – Gal 6:14
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18
QUESTION – so who are the enemies of the Cross?
#1
Those who doubt it’s sufficiency
Like those who Paul already addressed in this letter and that he addressed in many other of his letters.
The people know as ‘Judiazers’
THOSE – who want to add human effort to the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Those who teach, believe and live as though salvation is
Jesus + something else.
Another enemy of the cross are
Those who mock and take offense at its necessity
Even most unbelievers admire the teachings and the holy life of Jesus. But the cross is a stumbling block to them. The cross tells us that we are unclean sinners, so foul that the perfect one had to die for us. The cross sweeps away all of our pride in human wisdom and knowledge.
The cross says, “All your knowledge and morality does not impress God a bit. You must come to the cross in sincere recognition of your utter sinfulness if you want to be saved.”
Such implications are foolishness to the worldly wise.
- Wilbur Fields
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Those who deny and ignore it’s call
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? - Luke 9:23-25
Paul continues…
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach,
In other words their god, is their own appetite
They worship whatever feels right or feels good to them.
UNDERSTAND – their own desires are so elevated, that they have become the divine authority in their lives.
and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. – Philippians 3:19
They take pride in things that they should be ashamed
In actions and behaviors that are the very reason that Jesus had to be nailed to, and die on, a cross.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. – Isaiah 50:20
Standing firm in the Lord is the fruit of…
• Rejoicing in the Lord
• Heeding the warning of putting confidence in the flesh
• Considering everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
• Straining Toward What’s Ahead,
• Living up to the truth we already know
• Following Godly Examples, and
Waiting Eagerly For Our True And Future Home
Now as Paul wraps up this section he calls their attention and ours, upward to heaven in anticipation of the return of Jesus.
But our citizenship is in heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
– Philippians 3:20,21
UNDERSTAND MGCC - in that decisive moment, everything will undergo a radical transformation.
Our bodies will be glorified, our sinful nature will be eradicated, and our souls will be made into the full likeness of Christ.
MGCC - this future glory must occupy our minds and capture our hearts as we live in this present "not there yet state."
LISTEN - we must never forget that each of us who name Jesus as King is a citizen of a higher kingdom.
This world is not our home, but as we live out our days here on earth,
WE MUST - maintain our greater allegiance to our Sovereign Lord, who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. WE MUST - never cave in to the surrounding pressures that are always trying to squeeze us into the mold of this rebellious world. Instead,
WE MUST - set our minds on things above, not upon things below. We are heading for the finish line. We are headed for home. That is where we belong, and
WE MUST - run hard until our King returns, or until he calls us home.
• Rejoicing in the Lord
• Heeding the warning of putting confidence in the flesh
• Considering everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
• Straining Toward What’s Ahead,
• Living up to the truth we already know
• Following Godly Examples, and
• Waiting Eagerly For Our True
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends… - Philippians 4:1
