Sermon Nuggets Mon Sept 27 Shining as Stars
Verses - Phil 2:12-18
12 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,
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
16 as you hold out the word of life-- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Shining
When I was working in an office in Detroit while going to High School a number of telephone calls came at once with the other party saying, "I want to be a star". I told them they had the wrong number, but calls persisted. About every half hour another few would call "I want to be a star". Finally I asked one of the callers where he was getting the information. It seemed that Motown was having auditions and letting the listening audience call and say, "I want to be a star" and they'd give them the proper information. Our number was one digit off. I was able to get the correct number and inform the misdialers how they might be a star. It begins by dialing the correct number.
I don't know if I talked to any future Motown stars that day, but I doubt it.
When I was in elementary school a neighbor girl was describing the mystery of death and informed us kids that when someone dies and they are very good they become stars in heaven and we can see them at night. I learned differently in Sunday School.
In our passage Paul talks about shining like stars in the universe. You remember the theme of Philippians is joy. Paul is writing this after suffering persecution and is jailed for his faith. He is delighted to see many come to Christ. He calls the church to unity and put aside their egos and selfishness for God's sake get along as He intended.
He called them to Have the attitude like Jesus Christ who gave up all his rights of Godhood by becoming a man and suffering in order to save us by dying on the cross. Of course, Jesus was the greatest victory and is to be praised for all eternity.
Now the call to continue your growth in the faith is presented in this ways. As they continue to grow in their faith Paul points out their lives should be shining brightly I comparison to the dark and perverted world around them.
How much are we different from those who are unsaved? Can people tell a difference? Even more importantly, how we let God work in and through us develops character not only now, but does make a difference to God and how He wants to use us as individuals and as a church body.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Sept 28 –
Phil 2: 12 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,
Shining in Perseverance.
We come to the phrase "continue to work our your salvation." That may appear to be a contradiction when the Bible clearly says that it is, ”by grace that you are saved through faith, it is a gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast." Over and again the clear message of grace is that you cannot save yourself. You must respond by accepted God's offer of salvation by believing and acting upon it by asking Jesus to come into your life and turning your will and your ways over to Him.
In the original, the word means, “working something to completion.” To work out our salvation with fear and trembling” is to complete that which was already begun by the person and work of Christ on the cross. Since salvation is a gift, we must be good stewards of the gift of salvation that Christ already has given us purchased by His own blood. The context of the passage talks of conforming ourselves in a humble and obedient manner. We must live out our lives until our task is completed that God has for us.
Paul is concerned that they live right when he is around and live different when he isn't. I remember when our minister would pay a surprise visit on our house mom, would rush around and have all us all, dash madly around the house to clean it up as much as we could with the 2 minutes warning. Now I wonder how much dashing around is done when I knock on the door? As a pastor I generally don't make surprise visits like the older days.
But one of the great side benefits of being a pastor is that people generally act nicer around you than when they don't know I am a pastor. I have heard some pretty good cursing, but when they embarrassingly discover I am a pastor most will clean up their language, and their jokes. They will apologize by saying, "O sorry, pastor"
To live the life that honors the Lord takes effort and persistence.
Salvation is described with three tenses. We have been saved from guilt and sin-that is the past tense. We are being saved from old habits and dominion of sin in our lives- that is a present process of salvation. And some day we will be saved in conformity to the character of Jesus Christ. We aren't there yet, but hopefully as we grow we allow the spirit to do more of a number on us. That is the future tense.
I hope you have been saved and accepted Jesus into your life by prayer and will. Now we are in the process of being saved from fleshly desires to spiritual desires, from pride to humility, from the fruit of the flesh to fruit of the spirit. That will be all our lives. We might think of working out your salvation with fear and trembling to be the call to persistence in holiness. This comes with the right relationship with the Lord. It is the continual walking and talking with the Lord that causes us growth in our Christian life..
Keep doing what you know God wants you to do. One preacher who shined in perseverance was John Wesley. He wrote in his diary for example:
Sunday, A.M., May 5 - Preached in St. Anne’s. Was asked not to come back anymore.
Sunday, P.M., May 5 - Preached in St. John’s. Deacons said "Get out and stay out." Sunday, A.M., May 12 - Preached in St. Jude’s. Can’t go back there, either.
Sunday, A.M., May 19 - Preached in St. Somebody Else’s. Deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.
Sunday, P.M., May 19 - Preached on street. Kicked off street.
Sunday, A.M., May 26 - Preached in meadow. Chased out of meadow as bull was turned loose during service.
Sunday, A.M., June 2 - Preached out at the edge of town. Kicked off the highway. Sunday, P.M., June 2 - Afternoon, preached in a pasture. Ten thousand people came out to hear me.
Wesley knew the people needed to hear the message and his call kept him going out of obedience. I am afraid I would have concluded about the second time I didn’t have the gift of preaching.
When it comes to living and serving the Lord from a Biblical manner, don’t give up. Keep following through with the end in mind. Persevere.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Sept 29
Verses- Phil 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Shining in Participation
Now there is mentioned God's part and there is our part. God's part is not only to save us, but to offer within us the power to be what he wants us to be and to do what he wants us to do. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives as a living member of the Godhead. So in that sense Christ lives in us.
I watched with amazement the abilities of a Brett Favre or Adrian Peterson. The Lord has never given to me the ability to be very athletic. But I can dream.
I don't know if you ever read the book the secret life of Walter Mitty. He is a fictional character, but I can identify with him. Walter is sort of a weak, untalented, mousy sort of character; but in his mind he imagines scenarios where he makes himself out to be a hero, very uncharacteristic to reality.
I imagine in my mind what I would do with the football if I got it, how far I could throw it. How at the last minute of the game I would catch a running and leaping catch that would cause all the fans and roars in excitement.
But what if, just what if, somehow the person of a Adrian Peterson could supernaturally be implanted in my body so I wouldn't be doing the running and the catching, but Adrian would through me? Wouldn't that be great? Dream on.
Now here is the analogy. Christ works through us so that it isn't our weakness or our inability, but His abilities to do whatever we allow Him to do according to His game plan. Now our part of it is to will it, and to do it. That doesn't mean He will do what I want and my will to be done, but rather I am willing to give him permission to work in me in the power of the Holy Spirit to do His will and carry out his purpose. In that way He partners with us by using us to accomplish His will for His glory.
What is it that Christ came to do? He came to redeem the world, but also serve others. He came to show them love, and forgiveness and kindness, and to teach truth. He came to show us how to pray and how to persist when the going gets tough. I don't have the propensity to do that. He does and is willing and desirous to work through us to accomplish his purpose and in you as well. Will we let him?
Christ is asking permission to be Lord over you life. There is one major problem- we still want control.
Bruce Wilkerson in his book, Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs uses an illustration of the 3 chairs. Each chair represents a person’s spiritual status before God. The first chair is not only saved, but has gone beyond accepting the gift of salvation to willfully giving permission to Christ to have authority and direction over his life. This person knows the Lord as a personal friend and Savior and is developing a meaningful and growing relationship with Him for himself and those he's responsible for.
The second chair Christian represents someone who has received new life in Christ but hasn't decided how little or much they will follow Him. They will give him permission in certain areas of their lives, but not all areas. He follows the Christian lifestyle in outward ways. But instability and inconsistency mark his course. In time, second chair person tends to slide farther away from their First chair and move close to the third chair. After awhile they may become completely indistinguishable from the person who does not know Christ as Savior. Paul calls this the carnal Christian.
This person is known as compromiser. Christ is part of the persons' life, only part.
The third chair is reserved for both the religious and non-religious person who is unsaved. This person may have grown up in a Christian family and knows about church. He may look, act, feel and think like a Christian but really never made a personal decision to invite Christ in his life. Sin characterizes the barrier between God and this person. Oh he may have gone forward at a meeting or at camp, but there is no life, no fruit, no desire for spiritual things. He lives as if God doesn't exist except when there is emergency or tragedy. But when the personal crises is over he quickly forgets about God.
You might say the first chair one has a close relationship, the second chair an acquaintance, and third chair an awareness of God. A first Chair person seeks to be shaped by the Bible, The second chair believer watches others and even other Christians and compares his life with theirs. The Third chair person looks to society and gains his values by the culture. One lives by convictions, the others by beliefs and the third by opinions. The first chair Christian submits himself to the Bible.
Christ has permission to do whatever he wants and partners with that person. The second chair Christian respects the Bible and tries to put some of the principles into practice when it seems to make sense. The third chair might own a Bible and some of the words seem inspiring, as do others thoughts. The call to permission to have this partnership is a call to will and act by the power granted to the Holy Spirit within you to obey.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nugget Sept 30
Verses Phil 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
Shining in Positiveness
Christians should be different from non Christians. So often you cannot tell the difference. Instead of being people who are constantly arguing or complaining, be known as an encouragers and peace loving. Are you known as a complainer? Are you one who is in conflict with lots of people? Then there is a spiritual problem and spiritual immaturity.
Don't be grumblers, complainers, people who murmur and dispute. That described the words used of the Israelites when they were coming from slavery into the promised land. Poor Moses, I really felt sorry for him. The people complained about everything. They wanted to go back to how they had it, but there never liked it how they had it when they had it that way. So many people like the good old days, but when they were living in them they were complaining just as badly.
The Israelites didn't like the food, they didn't like the journey, they didn't like the getting settled and moving around again. They didn't like it when he was up the mountain, they didn't like he when he returned. They complained about the lack of water and finally even the Lord got tired of it all.
Paul’s appeal was that the Philippians not follow in the path of the Israelites. God saved them from Egypt, but he had even more in store for them. They couldn’t get past their own petty selfishness. As a result, they spent 40 years wandering in the desert. That entire generation (with the exception of 2 men) died, never knowing the joy God had in mind for them. Let your conduct be pure and blameless, so that you can have the fullness of salvation rather than just experiencing a piece of the gift.
We don't always agree on matters. There needs to be an expression of difference of opinion when after a decision is made unless it is of course, unbiblical, then what good is it to keep brining it up again and complaining an grumbling about it. In a marriage when there is a mistake made, how many times does the husband or wife keep bring it up. It is in the past, let it go, forgive.
Be positive and uplifting. Be centered on the word of God and not trusting your own feelings. Don't live in the dark but live in the light.
Did you see the cartoon of Zits? The teen son is gloomy and mom tells him to cheer up. He puts on this phony smile and mockingly goes around the house sarcastically saying how wonderful everything is. In the last frame he walks out the door, and says “oh nuts, I do feel better.”
We are to be a star. Like a star shining righteousness in a world that doesn't know Jesus Christ. We are to be different than those around us. We are to have an influence on the world, instead of the world influencing the church. And some practical ways is in the way we talk and have our conversations. But when Christians can’t get along, the stars of the universe are obscured by the dark cloud cover of discord.
When Paul Stookey became a Christian I attended a concert to hear his testimony. In one of his songs he included this phrase, "Remember what the stars and the moon are all about." A star is a light shining in darkness. But it gets its light from the sun. The purpose of the heavenly bodies are to reflect the light of the sun. The beauty of them comes from such a glorious reflection. Paul is saying when we reflect Jesus to the wold we are performing like shining stars for His glory. This is a call to being positive.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Oct 1 –
Verses- Phil 2: 15b -18 …shine like stars in the universe16 as you hold out the word of life-- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Shining in Proclamation
Now we are to hold out the word of God so others not only see the witness of our lives, but also the truth that brings to them salvation. How are we to live? By following the instructions in the book given to us by God. Paul was obedient to the call of God in his life and gave his life to sharing this word to Jews and Gentiles alike. He went where no one else would go and proclaim it.
Paul worked and prayed and helped the church to grow. He was the founding pastor of Phillipi. He didn't want to see his work and performance go down the drain. He called them to continue in obedience and in their example to pass on what they were taught. He had the baton and passed it on to them, who responded by faith. It doesn't stop there. Pass it on to others. If you let it drop Paul feels as if the work he did would have been in vain.
We have received the blessings of God through the work and labors and vision of those who went before us. They proclaimed the Gospel in word and deed. They passed on the word of God to the following generation. This church could be closed in 10-15 years unless we also renew the vision and the call to pass on the faith, not just to our children or our grandchildren, but to those God gives to us in this community.
I applaud an 11 year old student has sued her Florida school district and individual school officials for confiscating Bibles that she passed out to classmates after a 6th grade book report. She presented an oral book report on the Bible. She chose this topic because she said she believed the Bible is a very important book, which can serve as a guide for daily living.
During the next period in school the math teacher interrupted her next class and demanded that any child who had received one of the testaments had to immediately turn it over to him. She was called to the principle's office and had been told she had broken the law. Her attorneys claimed that the school violated her constitutional rights of free speech. There is the policy allowing the study of the Bible as part of a secular program of education. For some passing it on can be persecution. That is what Paul is talking about pouring out his life in energy, time, but also in suffering and death.
The day of Christ refers to his coming again and when one will received his rewards because of Paul's willingness to share this word and gospel and not keep it too himself he will be rewarded. So will we. There is the joy of the future as well as the joy of the present. There is no greater joy than to share with you the joy in the Lord with someone and that person or people accept it for themselves and they too enter into a relationship with God himself. Nothing pleases me more as a pastor to have someone have lifted off the burden and guilt of sin and respond in freedom in Christ and then see God working and dwelling in his, or her, life. But don't stop there. Continue to spread the gospel by witness and word while the baton of testimony is proclaimed.
In these verses, Paul is comparing his imprisonment to that of a priest in the O.T. who pours out a drink offering. A drink offering was a portion of wine that was offered burned by fire that had an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Paul’s imprisonment was a trial by fire—there was the possibility that he would be put to death. Yet, from Paul’s vantage point, it would be a joyful and willing sacrifice for Christ’s sake on behalf of the church. Sacrifice and service are two qualities that mark a humble, obedient, Christ-like spirit. Make my joy complete to see you also as the reason for my pouring my self out. You will not longer be depend upon me for your leadership, but Jesus Christ himself will be your leader. Your fidelity and Christian loyalty are already a sacrifice to God and if death for Christ should come to me, I am willing and glad that my life should be poured out like a libation to the lives on the altar one which your sacrifice is being made."
Paul was willing to die that others might believe. He was willing to give his time and energy to see them grow in the faith, but the proof in the pudding is to see them commitment to passing it on, to proclaim the truth.
Pastor Dale
