No Matter What
Sermon Notes
The Perfect Book for this season
Written…
By a guy whose plans had completely fallen apart, for whom everything that could go wrong did
To a church that was struggling to live out their new identity in an old place
In a world that was increasingly dark and difficult
The message:
“He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it.”
And, if we take seriously our partnership with Him (He will not complete the work in us without us) that this work that He is doing in us will be conspicuous and redemptive. In fact, Paul says that we can “shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life.”
The rest of the conversation: what does it mean to partner with Him in that work?
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 the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 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. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:27-30)
Worthy of the Gospel
“Whatever happens” (aka, no matter what, your top priority)
Whenever you start a sentence with, “Whatever happens” (no matter what) you know two things:
What you say next is going to be really important.
This is often what someone says when their giving their final instructions…
Paul wasn’t sure but kind of suspected that he might be doing just that.
Turns out, that’s exactly what he was doing.
Doing that really important thing will not be easy
If someone says, “Whatever happens,” they’re expecting that stuff is going to happen.
Which means that the thing we’re being asked to do will need to be done regardless of the circumstances.
We need to learn to be circumstantially independent
This, as we will discuss in a moment, is all about the source from which we are fed (cistern vs well, thermometer vs thermostat)
Now, what are we supposed to do no matter what?
“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ”
This is not the way I grew up hearing about and thinking about the Gospel.
For me, I’ve spent most of my life thinking of the Gospel as a gift that I have been given.
The problem with that perspective is it gives me outsized significance in the story.
I receive the gift (and am, therefore, the focal point of the story: watch the Christmas videos you took of people opening their presents and you’ll know what I mean).
What matters most is what I do with the gift.
Am I living it out?
Am I putting it into practice?
Am I wasting it?
And, it raises all sorts of interesting questions about the potency of the Gospel as it relates to me.
Is it strong enough to save me?
Can it change me?
None of this is to say that the Gospel isn’t a gift of that we shouldn’t ever think of it in those terms (in fact, the Bible often talks about it in those terms).
I’m simply suggesting that we can’t start or stop there. If I call the Gospel a gift, then, I am the center of the story and the Gospel has meaning as it relates to me and my life.
Heresy is not often outright lies; it is rather partial but incomplete truths.
How, then, does this passage ask us to think about the Gospel and ourselves in relation to it?
Not as a gift that we have received but as a new reality into which we have been received, a new world, a new Kingdom.
The “Gospel of Christ” (that is, the “Good News of Messiah”) is the truth that the King has come, that He has conquered, and that His Kingdom (a new reality of restoration and flourishing) is real, present, available, and advancing.
Now, it is certainly a gift to receive an invitation into this Kingdom, but one would never describe the Kingdom in those terms. “Someone just gave me the greatest gift I’ve ever received. It’s this whole new reality where God is with me. Where He speaks to me. Where He gives me His power for life. Where He makes me more like Him. It’s this place where I flourish and thrive and become who I was made to be, where the work I dedicate myself to has meaning.”
Here’s the thing, all of that is true. But, what’s the problem with this way of describing the Gospel? Well, it makes it all about me when the simple fact is, all of that is true of the Gospel whether I choose to participate in it or not. Not a gift I have been given but a world into which I have been invited.
It’s not about me. It’s not about you.
It’s about the Kingdom that God has brought whether you choose to be a part of it or not.
Now, the amazing part is that He has extended us that choice…
This is the same of thinking about Jesus as personal Savior vs. thinking of Jesus as Lord and King.
A personal Savior saves me for my sake
A King saves me for His.
Biggest difference between a gift and a Kingdom
A gift is used at the discretion of the recipient
A Kingdom operates according to the will of the King
We have to live a life worthy of the Gospel, live up to the standards of King and Kingdom
That’s actually what Paul is saying here.
“Exercise your citizenship worthily…”
Together…
Why did I make such a point that it’s not about me (you)?
Because that means it’s first and foremost about God and what He’s doing in the world.
And, it’s second about “us.”
A Kingdom is first about the King and then about the citizens who live out the King’s culture
So, by saying that we are to live worthy of the Kingdom into which we have been received, Paul is saying…
That we live lives of obedience to our Kingdom
That we live together:
Shared values
Shared mission
Shared power
No matter what…
Seek to embody the example of your King
Live by the power of the Spirit
Stay in it together