Philippians - Obedience and Service
Last weekend, we had another double red flag warning, Beach Baptism. About 15 minutes after we began baptisms, a lifeguard blew her whistle and told us to get out of the water.
So, we waited.
It was not a form of persecution. She did not chase us out of the water with malice in her heart. All people had to leave the water up and down the beach because of the rip tide. They were doing their job and trying to keep us safe.
So, we waited.
Because going to a beach for baptism places us under the authority of the lifeguards there.
So, we waited. Longer than we want to. And waited.
Finally, the Lifeguard Supervisor agreed that we could continue if two people baptized one person at a time. So, we continued with their blessing. When we were leaving, I thanked the supervisor for allowing us to finish baptizing. Have you noticed that we are often asked to do things we may not want to do? We have to obey four-way stop signs while driving. We are asked to take off our shoes to go through airport scanners. We are asked to show our Sams of Costco card when we enter. Every single day, we are asked to follow others' instructions.
In 1971, the rock group “Five Man Electrical Band” wrote a song complaining about instructions called “Signs.” Tesla covered it in 1990. I was reminded of the song as I prepared this sermon today.
Signs, Signs, everywhere there's signs.
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the signs?
And the sign says, you got to have a membership card to get inside.
In today's passage, the apostle Paul emphasizes that following instructions is extremely important. Let’s read together:
Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT2)
12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
The first thing that we discover from this passage is that…
FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CONVEYS TRUST AND HUMILITY
At the birth of Christianity, the people who surrendered their lives to Jesus did not have Bibles to read, so instead, they clung to what the Apostles taught them. They didn’t know how to follow Jesus – so they listened to the instructions given to them. Paul also made it clear that he had not created the instructions. God chose to use Paul and the Apostles to give us clear instructions on how a follower of Jesus should live. God gave Paul instructions, which he passed on to believers verbally when he was with them and by letter when he was away.
Today, as a follower of Jesus, it still requires great FAITH to believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. At the birth of Christianity, believers had to have faith that God was speaking to them through the Apostles, through those who had seen Jesus face to face. Today, faith is still required to believe that the Bible is the everlasting perfect Word of God.
Faith is believing without seeing.
Faith is trusting without knowing for certain.
Following Jesus requires faith. You and I have never seen Jesus. You and I were not alive 2,000 years ago to see him change people's lives, pay the price for our sins on the cross, die, and rise from the dead. But, by faith, we believe in the eyewitness testimony of those who saw him. So, when it comes to following Paul's instructions, we must have FAITH that God chose to use him to pass on God’s message to us. Throughout his letters, Paul states over and over again that the instructions he gives to the believers are directly from God:
1 Corinthians 2:13 (NLT2)
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
1 Corinthians 14:37 (NLT2)
37 If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself.
2 Corinthians 13:3 (NLT2)
3 I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT2)
13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
Paul recognized that God had chosen to use him and the other apostles to pass on God’s instructions to others. And he also acknowledged that if people did not listen to his instructions, they were rejecting God.
1 Thessalonians 4:8 (NLT)
8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
I think you will agree; it requires FAITH to follow the instructions found in the Bible.
Dr. Calovini was my academic adviser throughout my college years. She made it clear on the first day of every class she taught that she was an atheist and did not believe in God. She was an English Literature expert, excited and passionate about what she taught.
Toward the end of my college career, I met with Dr. Calovini to discuss which classes I had to take before graduating. In that conversation, I shared with her that I was a youth pastor at a church in Nashville. She scoffed and said, “I can’t believe you would teach the Bible as truth. It's just a collection of myths and fairy tales.”
I said, “Well, I understand you have an opinion about it. What parts of the Bible do you take issue with?”
She said, “All of it.”
I said, “But what parts specifically?”
She said, “I have never read it.”
I said, “Wow. I can’t believe as well-versed as you are regarding world literature that, you have never read the Bible. It’s the number one selling book of all time – surely you could find value even in that?”
Following instructions from the Bible and others always conveys trust and humility.
So, Paul says, “You always followed my instructions while I was with you, and now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation.”
In other words, Paul told them to:
SHOW OTHERS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BY SERVING
If you follow Jesus, you prove to the world that you have been forgiven for your sin through serving others. You prove you have a relationship with God through “good works.”
Paul emphasizes to these believers that they needed to work hard to show the results of their salvation because doing good works and serving others is closely connected to our salvation.
In 1992, I had a 1979 Ford Fairmont. I asked a girl to go on a date Friday night, and she said yes, but there was one problem: My car was “up on blocks” in my neighbor’s garage, waiting for me to put on new brakes. I was paid on Friday, bought the parts, put the brakes on, hit the shower, and went out on the date.
One week later, I was driving in the city when somebody’s tire rolled past my car! I hit my brother in the arm and said, “Somebody’s tire!” At about that time, the front of my car slammed onto the road. It was my tire!
In my haste to put the brakes on the car, I had failed to tighten the lug nuts. Realizing that all my work and labor had been wasted was sickening. The reason Paul insisted that these believers followed his instructions and work hard to show God had changed them is because you and I will be rewarded for our good works:
Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 3:13-14 (NLT2)
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.
On Judgement Day, all of our “work” will go through a fire…and you and I will only receive a reward if the work has any value. Since you became a follower of Jesus, you have been building a pile of work for which God will judge and reward. The only work that survives is your good work because of your relationship with Jesus. I will not be rewarded based on the good works of anybody else. You will not be rewarded for the good works of your spouse.
That’s why we try to provide many opportunities for people to serve. We partner with Habitat for Humanity and build homes for families in need. We serve homeless shelters. We go on mission trips. And church life can be fun when we work together on teams.
We may have a place for you if you want to serve on the Worship team. We may have a place for you if you want to serve on the First Impressions team. If you want to serve as a Life Group leader, we may have a place for you. Children’s, Students, Safety Team.
We create opportunities for you to volunteer and serve the body of Christ every weekend because we want you to be significantly rewarded on the day of Judgement. Finally, we see another truth in verse 13…
GOD NEVER GUILTS PEOPLE; HE CHANGES DESIRES
“God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”
Raise your hand if you have ever felt like a church was trying to guilt you into serving. I was on staff at a church where the Pastor stopped in the middle of the sermon and announced that we had an overflow of babies that morning and that help was needed in the nursery. He had people raise their hands if they brought a baby that morning and asked them for help. He didn’t move on in the message until some parents finally got up to help out.
God never guilts people into serving, instead, he gives us the power and the desire to do what pleases him. And, when we do what pleases him, you and I will be rewarded. It may be that today, you learned for the first time that our works will be judged on the day of Judgement, and we will be rewarded for them.
I want each and every one of you to be blessed for all eternity because of the excellent work you have done on this earth. So, stop by Guest Central or fill out the connect card and drop it in the offering box. Please take the next step and let us know where you want to serve.