Permission is granted to reproduce the following Sermon Outline for corporate worship distribution. The manuscript, which follows the outline, contains the text needed to complete the handout. For further sermon resources or help, contact Rev. A.S. DiCostanzo at adicostanzo@pastors.com
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TODAY’S MESSAGE:
"Becoming United"
Philippians 1:27-2:4
Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together ---Vesta Kelly
Are you proud to be a citizen of the United States of America? How well do you take advantage of your religious freedom? There are innumerable Christians in other parts of the world who are unable to worship with the same liberty and openness for fear of
imprisonment and/or death. Yet, regardless of the risk, many of them still fearlessly live as citizens of the Kingdom of Christ in the hopes that others will come to know their savior—Jesus. Do you live with the same passion and purpose? What does real biblical unity look like?
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ by…
1. _____________ ___________ in one spirit. (Phil.1:27; Acts 4;32)
2. Having __________ _______________ striving together for the faith of the Gospel. (Acts 2:44; Phil. 1:27; 2 Cor. 13:11)
3. Living ___________________ together for the
advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.(Luke 12:4-7; Acts 5:41-42; Phil. 1:28-30)
In Philippians 2:1-4, Paul gives us a picture of unity that involves:
-being like-minded
-having the same love
-being one in spirit and purpose
-in humility consider others better than yourselves\
Memory Verse: Philippians 2:4
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”
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Introduction:
Illstration:Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Indian warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, “What are we going to do?” Tonto replied, “What you mean ‘we,’ Whiteman?”
--In search of Unity, Edward Dobson
Sadly, that sometimes seems like the behavior we see and experience in the church.
Have you ever felt like the Lone Ranger?
Let’s begin with some of the most profound words ever spoken in all of scripture:
"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."
Those are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ from John Chapter 17.
The prayer of Jesus is for a unity among His followers that would be unlike anything that this world has ever seen.
We’re called to change the world, and it shouldn’t be the other way around.
Illustration: Miss America 2003, Erika Harold, yesterday said pageant officials have ordered her not to talk publicly about sexual abstinence or to promote her pro-chastity opinions. I guess they thought it wasn’t good for ’Business.’ The world’s values are always being pressed upon us.
You see, secular society, the media and the rest want to shape us. They want to influence/give us our value system.
They want to shape the way we think. They want to influence what we spend our money on and how we spend our time--just consider televison commercials or Billboards by the side of the highway. But we’re called to be different.
The world wants you to believe otherwise, but make no mistake about it, it’s attractive, alluring and magnetic to be a strong Christian. They gathered in droves to see and hear our Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes trampling over one another to get to Him.
Walking like Christ will result in people following you, as well. At very least, people will be watching you. What do they see when they watch you?
The question is this: Who are you influencing and how?
-How would your Husband or wife describe your faith?
-What type of faith do your children witness at home?
-How much of an impact are you making on your friends?
How about the countless people that watch you every day whether at work, school or your neighborhood?
Are you making a Godly influence on the world, or is the world making a greater influence on you?
What are they seeing when they watch you?
Paul wants the church at Philippi to know that they’re to live always as if they were being watched! That’s why Paul says, “whether I come and see you or only hear about you” vs. 27
However, it’s not by accident that Paul has preceded those words by first talking about his personal passion for Christ and eternity. Your passion for God and your relationship with Him must be the driving force for all that you do. Why? Because in the end what we do isn’t as important as who we are. God wants your heart before he wants anything else(Rev. 2:1-5).
Paul has now finished discussing his own affairs and passion for Christ, and so he turns his attention to the affairs of the Philippians.
Whenever you translate from one language to another you always risk some degree of loss in the
translation. The Greek word translated into the English word, "conduct" can be more accurately translated as, "to live as a citizen." So we can read verse 27 as, "Whatever happens, live as a citizen worthy of the gospel of Christ."
The church at Philippi, to which this letter was sent, was a Roman Colony and as a result many Roman veterans (probably retired Roman soldiers) and Roman citizens were settled there. Therefore, many in Philippi were loyal and proud to be citizens of Rome.
Paul uses their Roman citizenship as a picture of their heavenly citizenship and responsibilities in the church and to the gospel (cf. 3:20)
Paul knows they take pride in their Roman citizenship, but he wants them to know that they have another citizenship that’s of much greater value.
How much value do you put on your heavenly citizenship? Do people around you know that you have a heavenly home? Do you live worthy of that home?
1 Peter 2:11-12- Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Paul will also say, “our citizenship is in heaven” Phil 3:20
When you hear the word "citizenship," what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it your country? You may also think about the people that make up the population of that country. Though you may think of independent lifestyles, your mind begins to paint a quick corporate image/picture.
Would you agree with that? How about this one: Do you envision unity among those people, and how would you define it, anyway?
Illustration: There can be union without unity: tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline.
Unity is powerful and we need to exhibit it if we’re going to capture the world with the Good News of the Gospel.
Follow along with me now as walk through our outlines together.
Whatever Happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ by…
1. Standing firm in one spirit.
When Paul says “Stand Firm”, he’s using metaphor to drive his point Home!
The word has the impression of a Soldier standing at his post—A soldier who is unwilling to turn away or lose focus on his task.
It means to persevere, not give up. Don’t back down or back up,don’t apologize for the Truth, but rather lean on its power(Heb.4:12)
Be resolute; know what you believe and why you believe it. Many cults are established and thrive on people who are not grounded in the Truth. It is hard to stand firm on something that you either don’t believe or don’t understand. But when you want to really know the Truth, God will reveal it to you.
Three things we need to watch for are the following:
*Materialism
*The sin of Unbelief that can strike at the heart of any Christian when things get hard.
*False Doctrine
All three of these things can be directly affected by our moods. As Christians we shouldn’t be lead by our moods. We shouldn’t be lead by our emotions. I’m up. I’m down. I’m over. I’m out. In the end, it all leads to discontent and loss of focus, which can bring great disunity. That’s another reason why Paul’s heart remained so committed in His love for Christ (Phil. 1:21-27). Focusing on Christ is focusing on the one who never changes (Heb 13:8). We may change, but he doesn’t and He never will.
We also need to remember, however, that we are not called to do this alone.
We conduct ourselves worthy of the gospel by...
2. Having One Mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel
Now there’s a trick huh? Have one mind with the person sitting next to you. Sound hard or easy? Let’s see how good we are at that.
Illustrative Exercise: Turn to the person next to you and look into their eyes and blurt out a color, maybe your favorite(Red, Pink, Blue,whatever). Don’t think too long about it. Just shout it out. Ready. Set. Go!
How did we do? How many of you agreed on a color?
I would guess that it wasn’t very many of you. Although, it wouldn’t matter anyway if all of you agreed and here’s why;
Because, we’re not just talking about our favorite colors, or foods, or cars. We can have the same mind on some of those things…maybe. Yet, if we disagree, it really doesn’t matter a whole lot, does it?
But we’re called to live as one body, with one purpose and that’s infinitely more important than colors, cars, whatever.
Our common purpose has to be the Faith of the Gospel, our purpose is to see it shared and lived out in the lives of each other.
How? We stay in the word, share the word, give the word—together, to each other and to the world.
Turn to Acts 2:42-44;They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Notice the words used; They, All, Everyone! They were seen as a group, not just as one or two individuals
Paul used another metaphor: Contend or Striving together literally means “struggle along with someone” it has the impression of a team striving for victory. All athletic teams want to win. The most successful teams know that in order for victory to happen consistently, they must share the same desire and stick together in pursuit of their common goal.
However, in order to win in ‘this’ game, you need to have the right attitude, as well. That means...
3. Living Fearlessly together for the advancement of the Gospel.
Illustration: Ann Landers Columnist receives an average of 10,000 letter each month, nearly all of them with problems. She was asked if there was one predominant theme in the letters she received, She said, “the one problem above all others seems to be fear. People are afraid of losing their Job, their wealth and their loved ones. People are afraid of Life itself.
Illustration:This past week a Christian Woman was Burned Alive In India because she counted her faith in Christ more important than her own life.
It’s doubtful that you’ll face the same persecution. But just how willing are you to overcome and face your fears for the sake of promoting your heavenly citizenship?
Some have stated that it’s impossible to meditate on two things at the same time. In other words, you can’t dwell on Jesus and His glory and be afraid at the same time. Try it!
Illustrative Exercise: Close your eyes. Take a moment and dwell on Jesus Christ. I want you to fill your mind with thoughts of His person and strength. Okay, open your eyes. While your mind and heart were focusing on Him, did you feel anxious or fearful?
I doubt that you did. Do you know why that is? It’s truly not possible to focus on Christ and fear at the same time.
There is no fear when you look at Him, there’s only fear when you look away from Him. There should be no fear when you hold the hand of the one who has the power of life and death in His hands
For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you–-Isaiah 41:13
Is he holding you by your right hand? Would you like to receive His love, life, and protection? Would you like to live with a sense of purpose and passion as you share in a unity like nothing this world can offer? Pray with me and give Jesus your life.
