Better Than a Bracelet
Introduction: Scripture memorization is a powerful tool in our daily walk with our Lord. The reason it is such a compelling tool is because you can recall a passage that God has placed on your heart at a moment’s notice and use that passage to combat Satan’s attacks.
One such verse for me is Philippians 1:27a – Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. I discovered that verse a couple of weeks ago in my personal bible study time, committed it to memory and I have used it everyday since.
The whole book of Philippians revolves around this passage. Dan Wust referred to this passage last week when he shared with us about the work he has been called to lead. I then began to wonder which is worse – a guest speaker failing to show up or a guest speaker using the Scripture text you planned to preach the next week? Anyway, I decided to conduct myself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ and not make a big deal out of the whole thing.
This passage (as well as any other Scripture passage), when committed to memory, will stop you dead in your tracks. Back a couple of years ago, the WWJD bracelet was the big thing. They were a great idea. Their job was to remind the wearer to ask oneself, “What Would Jesus Do?” But like most good ideas, it became over-commercialized and the bracelets sort of lost their effectiveness. But this passage, “Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” – when committed to memory, is much more powerful than an embroidered piece of cloth wrapped around one’s wrist.
But what does this passage mean? Well, it obviously has something to do with one’s behavior – we are to conduct ourselves in a certain way – in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. But what exactly does that mean - manner worthy of the gospel of Christ? What does the gospel expect? Does it expect perfection? Oh, lands no. Let’s go to the other extreme. Does the gospel expect us to live however we want? Absolutely not. So we have deduced that to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ means that we find a happy medium somewhere between Jesus Himself and Bill Clinton.
Let’s break this verse down today from back to front and see what it means for us to live the way God wants us to live. First of all…
I. A Manner Worthy of the Gospel
If one is going to find out how to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ then one would be best off answering this question: What is the gospel of Christ? The gospel of Christ is the word of God – the Bible. The gospel is the truth, the gospel is all the things we see in the Bible. Not necessarily a list of do’s and don’ts, but an instruction manual designed to help us get the most out of life. So to live a life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ is to discover what the Bible says and then do it.
James 1:22 tells us, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says. We can all sit here today and hear the gospel (I will personally see to that); but it is pointless if you fail to apply it to your life and begin to make some changes (That part is up to you).
When I first graduated from college I got a job working at the Goody’s Department Store in Bedford while I waited to be called to my first ministry. I can remember whenever the district supervisor was coming to town, the store manager would be a mess because she only cared what the store looked like when her boss showed up. We would spend three days getting that store in tip-top shape so that everything was just right when the district supervisor took her five-minute pass through the store.
I have heard of dignitaries visiting cities. Where the dignitary would pass they would paint the front of the buildings in the poor broken down areas leaving the backside broken down. They painted just the front so the dignitaries would see fresh paint as they passed by. It was a façade. Paul says in the latter part of Philippians 1:27, whether I come or do not come you are to be living a life worthy of the gospel. To live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ is an ongoing lifestyle. Not just when you are in the presence of other Christians and putting up some kind of front. Living worthy of the gospel means walking with God day in and day out.
This world is not our home. As Christians, we are citizens of Heaven. We are citizens of heaven and we need to live worthy of that calling as citizens of heaven. It says, whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. So as believers, our whole life needs to be conformed to Christ. Our focus is really on Jesus and we are living and walking the lifestyle Christ has for us - that we are living a higher duty as citizens of heaven.
The idea that Paul is bringing about is like a group of soldiers standing together in battle. It is as though they are trenched in and holding their ground and won’t move. They are not going to yield to circumstances. Paul knew the Philippians faced many difficulties. They had to go against the Roman law that seemed to be directly against their Christian stance. They had the problem that public opinion was against the Christians. They had problems of unbelief in their midst and they had the problems of skeptics around them. Paul is saying live your life worthy of the gospel. Do not compromise, but make a stand. Allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives so we live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
II. Conduct Yourself
A. How you livin’?
Paul offers some suggestions throughout his letter to the Philippian church – Consider others more highly than yourself. Do everything without complaining or arguing. (HA! Like that’s going to happen.) It is possible to do this, you know. If it were impossible to do, it would not have been placed in God’s word.
You see, God’s word is not burdensome. As a matter of fact, 1 John 5:3 reads, This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
But, in order to do this point justice, I think we must consider that living a life that is unworthy of the gospel of Christ is to live a life characterized by sin.
You remember sin, don’t you? It’s a word we don’t hear too much about these days. Steven Clark Goad writes, “Sin has received a lot of positive press in recent years. In some circles sinning has become politically and socially correct. What used to be called ‘sin’ is now called ‘in.’” He goes on to write, “We have redefined sin. Adultery is too vulgar for enlightened minds, so we have replaced that dissonant word with ‘affair’ or ‘unfaithful’. Theft has become an appropriation of needed goods. To lie is to stretch the truth. To covet is to have a strong desire for what another person has. On and on it goes. We dance around the truth. Gossip is sharing information. Murder is called choice and pride is referred to as high self-esteem.”
But Paul tells us in another of his letters that to be in Christ means doing away with certain behaviors. (Read Galatians 5: 16-24). But again, we are not called to perfection because perfection is impossible for us. Paul told the Philippian church that he too struggles with living the life that is required of him, but he presses on. (Read Philippians 3:12-14).
To conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ is difficult, but not impossible. We must remember that the main aspect of the gospel of Christ is a little word called grace. We will fall from time to time, but if we are pressing ahead and striving for what God desires according to His word He will reward our efforts through His marvelous grace.
B. Consider your influence
Who are you when nobody is watching? What kind of parent? What kind of spouse? What kind of employee? What kind of a Christian are you when you think no one’s looking? We have to be careful that our public confession matches our private conduct.
As believers we’ve got to be careful. People won’t buy what we confess in public if we’re not conducting ourselves with integrity in private. You might think that nobody’s watching, but sooner or later you’ll get caught. If you’ve gone to church and length of time I’m sure you know this principle of walking your talk or practicing what you preach. People don’t take hypocrites seriously.
As Christians, we must follow through on our convictions and commitments especially when it’s tough. We must do what’s right even when we don’t feel like it. Stand up for God even when we’re afraid. Character counts when it comes to lasting joy. We must make sure we don’t compromise.
In his recent book Integrity, Ted Engstrom told this story: For Coach Cleveland Stroud and the Bulldogs of Rockdale County High School (Conyers, Georgia), it was their championship season: 21 wins and 5 losses on the way to the Georgia boys’ basketball tournament last March, then a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the state finals. "But now the new glass trophy case outside the high school gymnasium is bare. Earlier this month the Georgia High School Association deprived Rockdale County of the championship after school officials said that a player who was scholastically ineligible had played 45 seconds in the first of the school’s five postseason games. ’We didn’t know he was ineligible at the time; we didn’t know it until a few weeks ago,’ Coach Stroud said. ’Some people have said we should have just kept quiet about it, that it was just 45 seconds and the player wasn’t an impact player. But you’ve got to do what’s honest and right and what the rules say. I told my team that people forget the scores of basketball games; they don’t ever forget what you’re made of.’
Character counts for lasting joy. Christians must be careful not to compromise and conduct ourselves in a way that is inconsistent with what we profess while sitting in church.
III. Whatever Happens
This is the hard part. Whatever happens. You could be faced with a very difficult situation and you say to God, “You expect me to conduct myself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ even though all of this is going on?” And His reply will always come back, “Yes, I do. Show some patience and self-control. Exhibit my peace and goodness. Demonstrate some kindness and love. Prove your joy.”
Those two words at the beginning of that verse seal the whole deal for me – Whatever happens! Whatever!
I get up at 5:00am most mornings and go to Kokomo to play basketball. Most of the guys I play with are Christians, many are not. Sometimes when things do not go someone’s way, they get angry and demonstrate in ways that are not consistent with Scripture. For example, one way disapproval is shown is through hard fouls. If something does not go a particular way for a player, he may get upset and vent his frustration on anther player through a hard foul. I have been the recipient of some of those in times past. Now, 4 or 5 years ago, I did not handle these things the way I handle them now. Sometimes even 3 or 4 weeks ago I did not handle these things the way I do now. Two words – “Whatever Happens…” pop into my brain.
Now, when I get knocked down or hacked across the forearm I have to ask myself, “Am I going to conduct myself in a manner worthy of the gospel?”
I am competitive by nature. Even though we know that the main reasons for these basketball games are fun and exercise, we all still play to win. But now, when I am lying flat on my back I have to just get up and continue to play rather than do what my competitive nature says to do and force-feed a basketball to someone who is asking for it. Because force-feeding a basketball to someone is not biblical – you can check it out, it is not there. But if God ever decides to change his mind on that issue I have my guys picked out.
Now, is this an easy decision on my part? No. Is it impossible for me to respond in a Christian way? No. Does it take a conscious effort? You had better believe it! But it is a choice. Either I glorify God and react in a way that will bring glory to Him or I ruin any chance I would ever have to introduce that person to Christ later on. Because you never know when someone may ask, “How can you remain so calm after being flattened?” And my reply will be, “I am a Christian.”
Many people explain away their ungodly behavior by saying, “Well it’s just my nature.” “It’s just my nature to be bitter.” “It’s just my nature to be critical.” “It’s just my nature to cuss when I am angry. I only do it when I’m mad.” But if you are a Christian, then it is not your nature to do those things. The Bible tells us that in Christ we are new creatures, the old is gone and the new has come. So to explain it away by saying “Well, it’s just my nature…” or “I can’t help it…” is an out and out lie and a cop out.
The Bible tells us that “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” To know and to practice this is going to serve you better and last you longer than a $.99 bracelet.
So What? What can we take away from today’s message that will benefit the Kingdom of God? I think Paul gives us his own “So What?” in this passage. I think Paul’s “So What?” in this passage is at least two-fold: 1. The church must be unified and 2. The advancement of the gospel.
Paul desires that the Philippians church “stand firm in one spirit” and that they would “contend as one man for the faith.” Those two phrases are speaking to the importance of unity.
It is getting to be that time of year when football begins. College football is such a great part of American tradition. It all builds up to the bowl games at the end. That is what people are waiting for, to win the big bowl game. There may not be another bowl game more prestigious than the Rose Bowl. College players will dream of making it to the Rose Bowl to play under this great college football tradition.
One man who actually lived out that college dream was named Roy Regal. He made it to the Rose Bowl and was able to play in this great game. He did more than just play. He got his hands on the football and he ran. He ran all the way down the field almost the full one hundred yards, making it almost all the way across the goal line before he was finally tackled.
He lived out the dream. Yet this dream was not the dream he thought it was. There were two problems with the run that Roy Regal made. One is he was going the wrong direction and secondly he was tackled by his own player.
This is a picture of disunity. The team normally goes one way together across the goal line. Can you imagine if in a church there is this kind of disunity? Could you imagine a church where someone is running in the wrong direction and being tackled by their own teammate. Church unity is so important.
And finally, if we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, no matter what happens – and if we are unified as believers and not fighting against one another, the world will take note. I mean, think of it the opposite way – if our conduct is questionable and we are always fighting amongst ourselves, do you think anyone would want a part of what we have?
Bottom line: of our conduct is worthy of the gospel then the church will be unified. And if the church is unified, then the Kingdom of God will benefit from that. You see, if the church is a loving community, first time seekers will sniff it out and say “I want in.”
Invitation: Are you outside of Christ today and wanting in? If so, you’re in the right place at the right time. We are about to sing a hymn of decision. It’s called a hymn of decision because right now many of you have a decision to make – will you come forward accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord or will you stay there and take your chances on another time. It’s your decision.
Let’s stand and sing…
