“Conduct Yourselves”
Philippians 1:27-30
PHP 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
INTRODUCTION
• This morning, we are going to continue the series we began from the book of Philippians
• There are three areas where Paul told the members of the church in Philippi to conduct themselves properly.
• Let’s take a look at those areas today and apply them to our lives
I. ACCOUNTABILITY {vs 27}
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
• Paul reminded them that THEY were responsible for their own spiritual growth…no matter what happened to him
II. ADVANCEMENT {vs 27-28}
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God.
• The phrase “conduct yourselves” literally means “to live as a citizen.”
• One thing the people of Philippi were very proud of was their roman citizenship. They took great pride in it and tried to live up to it.
• As they were to advance in their walk with the Lord, there were three characteristics Paul encouraged them in:
1. UNWAIVERING (27)
• No matter what happened, they were to stand firm
• Friend, what a message to us as well. No matter what comes our way, we need to be a people who will stand firm spiritually!
2. UNITED (27)
• They were to be united in thought and in action in the work of the Lord
• Friend, the same applies to us. We are not competing against each other…we are on the same team here!
3. UNDAUNTED (28)
• There were enemies and persecutors who would try to frighten them away from their stand for Jesus.
• A great sign of weakness to any enemy is fear
• Friend, God is greater than your enemy and you have reason to be frightened this morning.
ILLUSTRATION
BLACK BART
HE WAS A professional thief. His name stirred fear as the desert wind stirs tumbleweeds. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevadas, spooking the most rugged frontiersmen. In journals from San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. During his reign of terror between 1875 and 1883, he is credited with stealing the bags and the breath away from twenty-nine different stagecoach crews. And he did it all without firing a shot. His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was intimidation. A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a shot or took a hostage. He didn’t have to. His presence was enough to paralyze. Black Bart was a hooded bandit armed with a deadly weapon.
As it turns out, he wasn’t anything to be afraid of. When the hood came off, there was nothing to fear. When the authorities finally tracked down the thief, they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley, they found a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He was Charles E. Boles—the
bandit who never once fired a shot, because he never one loaded his gun.
III. AFFLICTION {vs 29-30}
29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
• Paul reminded them that they had the privilege of believing in Jesus Christ.
• Paul also reminded them that they had the privilege of suffering for Jesus Christ as well!
HEB 2:10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
JAS 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
I PET 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
• In verse 30, the word “struggle” literally suggests a contest that is seen by many people
• May I remind you that we are in a struggle…a contest…and how we respond to this struggle of ours will be seen by many people.
ILLUSTRATION
THE THUNDERING LEGION
In the winter of 320 AD, the Emperor Licinius ordered all Roman soldiers to offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Licinius was persecuting Christians at this time. His edict reached the Thundering Legion at Sabaste, and the order was passed down to the legionaries. Forty Christians in the legion refused to obey the edict, choosing instead to obey a higher authority: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them"
In retaliation, the legion marched the men to a frozen lake where they were ordered to remove their armour and clothing and stand naked, as a form of torture to death, on a frozen lake. The legion lit a large fire on the shore with a warm bath and food to tempt the Christians to make the pagan sacrifice, renounce their Christian faith, and save their lives. The men began to pray,
One legionary eventually did succumb to the temptation and left the ice for the warm house that was guarded by a centurion named Sempronius. On the ice, the remaining Christian legionaries continued to cry out, "O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for thee. Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!" In response, Centurion Sempronius confessed Jesus as Christ, removed his armor, weapons, and clothing, and joined the 39 remaining Christians on the lake. The next morning the Forty Martyrs of Sabaste were found on the ice and forever recorded their faithful resistance in the annals of history.
RESPONSE
• How has this Scripture spoken to you this morning?
* In the area of ACCOUNTABILITY?
* In the area of ADVANCEMENT?
* In the area of your AFFLICTION
