Earn this…A Veteran’s Day Message
Pastor Glenn Newton, November 10, 2013
Life Worthy of the Gospel - Philippians 1:27-30
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 the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one 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 in 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.
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day. A Time to honor those who have fought and served, and who still serve our Country and protect our freedoms and our homes. We want to say how much we appreciate your dedication and your willingness to sacrifice for your country and its people.
We live in an area of the country that respects our fighting men and women a great deal, and I love that about Arkansas…we have some very patriotic values and Biblical values in our area, you can be proud to call Arkansas home. Every place our Football team went this year, not only did we stand and pledge allegiance to our flag….there was also a prayer, prayed in Jesus Name! I want you to know that doesn’t happen everywhere in America anymore, but it does around here!
When I think about the privilege of serving in the military, I always think of the big idea, that a soldier has to believe in the idea of being a part of something that is way bigger than them….what they are doing is more important than what they could ever accomplish on their own…there is a greater good that drives them through the horrors of war and combat.
How many saw the movie “Saving Private Ryan”? The movie is set in France during World War II.
The defense department receives notice that a family currently has 4 sons serving in the war. Three of those brothers have been killed. Their 4th son is somewhere in France. The Army decides that no mother should suffer the tragedy of losing 4 sons to war. So they send a team after this last son; Private Ryan.
The team must overcome countless obstacles, not to mention the enemy, in their search for Private Ryan. Along the way, members of their team are wounded and killed.
They begin to ask the question: “Why is the life of this one private more important than the lives being sacrificed to bring him home? Why is his life more important than theirs?
Tom Hanks is the leader of the outfit in search of Ryan. He does his best to maintain the focus of his men. He tells them that it’s not their place to question, but rather to accept their mission and carry out their orders. Their duty is to their country. And their country has asked them to “SAVE” Private Ryan.
Finally, they locate Ryan. They tell him that they have orders to get him home. But Private Ryan doesn’t want to leave his unit. Ryan’s unit has orders!
They must keep a group of German tanks from crossing a bridge, until adequate air support can arrive. If they can’t hold off the tanks, then they must blow up the bridge.
Private Ryan’s honor and sense of duty to his unit would not allow him to walk away from a battle that could cost his Army buddies their lives.
He didn’t feel justified in leaving for freedom and safety and leaving them to fight. Private Ryan convinces Hanks and his outfit to stay and fight. He promises to leave with them after the battle.
Well, Hanks agrees, but only if Ryan will stay out of harm’s way, so he can make it back home.
A bloody battle follows in which many lives are lost. Hanks’ entire outfit is killed. But they save Private Ryan.
There’s a touching scene at the end. Tom Hanks is dying. Private Ryan comes to help. But Hanks tells him to go on. And then he says to Private Ryan, “Earn this.”
In other words, go home and live in such a way… That you deserve the lives sacrificed to save you!
Transition: In our Bible text this morning… Paul is writing to the Philippian Christians. And he tells them, “Earn this:” Live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let’s think about that for a moment! Living a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You realize that Jesus died for you so that you could live for Him….God the Father sacrificed His Only Son…so that you could live…not just live a life, but live a Life that is contending for the Faith and the Gospel of Jesus Christ….my friends, that is an awesome calling and responsibility.
Are we doing that? And what exactly does it mean to live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Well, that is the lesson from today’s Bible text.
1. It means to stand firm in one spirit.
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 the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
One of the more difficult things for any group is to stand united in one spirit.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a political group, an athletic team, a school board, or even a church. Standing united in one spirit is difficult!
WHY?
Because it means putting aside one’s self for the sake of the group, for the sake of the unifying spirit.
Paul’s request of the Philippian Christians is that they stand firm within the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Guess what? The message for us is today is the same! Stand firm in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Yes, Christians are going to disagree. Members of the same church are going to disagree.
If you put 10 of us in a room and ask us what color should we paint the room….we might get 10 different answers….10 different opinions. What makes the church different from other organizations is that we don’t do things on personal preference…we believe in allowing the Lord to lead us in our decisions, and we believe in putting others first. Amen?
Now, I’m not sure the Lord cares what color the room is…..but what I know He cares about is how we treat each other coming to that conclusion…amen? You can be so right that your wrong!
Standing firm in one spirit means putting aside personal preferences and personal agendas, to truly discover the Lord’s leadership.
Our Veterans who are here today could talk to us about a kindred spirit that you have with those men and women that you serve with, that you train with, that you trust to have your back…those in your group become as close as family….and the military trains you to put aside your personal needs and wants to protect the unit….to do what is best for the whole, not just yourself…this selfless attitude is key to being effective in battle….and it’s also the kind of attitude that Jesus has called his disciples to demonstrate…a selfless, Christ centered attitude.
The spirit that enabled the men to save Private Ryan was the spirit of standing firm in their service to the United States. Like many men and women who served in our military, they never saw the completion of the mission. But they served faithfully because of their commitment to duty.
This happens because the military places great emphasis upon the chain of command and the carrying out of orders. The chain of command is important! Because if in the heat of battle the chain of command is broken, communication is lost, and chaos is the result.
The same can be said for Christians and the Church. Our chain of command is important! We must obediently carry out missions from Jesus. His orders are found in the Bible.
Much like the military, it is when we insert personal preferences and agendas, that the chain of command is broken, and chaos results.
It is our responsibility as individuals and as a church to stand firm in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. When we agree to follow the chain of command our missions and ministries are more successful and meaningful.
Much like those who died serving in the military, we may never ultimately see the completion of our mission. But we must remain faithful! We must be dedicated to the cause of Jesus Christ! We must stand firm in one spirit. What exactly does it mean to live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
2. It means to strive together side by side with one mind.
Once we stand firm, establishing our ground within one Spirit, we are then empowered to move forward, side by side with one mind. In the military, there are times where you remain united, stand firm, and hold your ground.
Battle strategy dictates that you stay put and protect what you’ve got. But there are also times when you have to move forward. There are times when you fight together…side by side.
The only way Tom Hanks could successfully carry out his mission to save Private Ryan was to keep his men striving forward side by side. If they were not united, they would not successfully complete their mission.
The same truth applies to the Christian life. Jesus never intended for his people to get down in fox holes in order to hold their ground and stay in one place. Jesus told the disciples to go.
Mark 16:15
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
And what did those disciples do? Well, listen to Mark 16:20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Jesus told His soldiers of the cross “GO! GO! GO!
It means going out and doing it! It means striving side by side with one mind. Don’t be ashamed of your Christian faith! Don’t retreat whenever you suffer a setback! Be committed to the mission and to each other. When it comes to living a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it’s all about “we,” And not just the “we” gathered in this place. It’s about going out to rescue others so they can become “we.”
3. It’s about the privilege of suffering for Him.
The Apostle Paul often speaks of his present suffering. And he says it is a privilege to suffer for Jesus Christ.
Some of you may wonder, what’s the big privilege in suffering? Pain and suffering are not aspects of life that we willingly volunteer for.
Most of us have experienced pain, both physical and emotional. Last Thursday our Westside Football team played their last game for this season, and we played a team from Hector that was by far the best team we had played all year, they were big and physical and they used us as a tune up for the playoffs. Many of our kids were pretty intimidated, literally shrinking back from contact…but one of our smallest players, Wesly was playing with great passion and heart, he was running the ball with no fear and was about the only running back making yards because he was running full speed. Right before halftime he got hurt, he hurt his ankle…he was devastated. When we got him to the lockerroom, I realized he wasn’t going to go back in, he couldn’t put any weight on his ankle, but he was in more pain emotionally than physically because he knew he couldn’t be out there helping his teammates…that’s the kind of teammate you want…he was experiencing both physical and emotional pain…and we all have at times in our lives.
No one enjoys suffering, but there is such a thing as counting it a privilege to suffer for a cause that is bigger than you…Paul counted it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ….our veterans count it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Freedom….and it takes courage to do both of those things…it takes a commitment….it takes a belief that what I’m doing is more important than what happens to me….. Do you feel that way about your Christian Faith?
Pastor Saaed in Iran…imprisoned because of his Faith (update)
Illustration: @ Branson on Friday, surrounded by veterans….. I wondered if we have another generation being raised up that will be willing to sacrifice as all those men and women did that were walking all around me on Friday? Are we raising up our children to be self-less? Do your kids and grandkids practice this Christian principle of self-sacrifice? Do they see you practice it?
The truth is our kids will do exactly what they see us do…isn’t that scary. What are they learning from you?
Veterans often speak of their pride in having worn the uniform, their pride in having served their country. It’s not a, “Look at me, I did this,” But it’s pride in being part of a unified force that stood firm in one spirit, fought side by side with one mind, knowing that the man beside you would be there for you. And they considered it a privilege to sacrifice and suffer for the cause, because it was bigger and better than they.
Paul’s intention was to encourage the Philippian Christians in the face of persecution. They were suffering because of their faith in Jesus Christ. And that’s where the privilege lies.
When we profess our faith… When we state with integrity our belief, ridicule and pain and suffering may come our way. But the privilege comes in knowing that we stood firm…We fought side by side with one mind for something bigger and better than ourselves.
Parents, how many times have you saw your sick child and said, “I wish it were me”?
Your love is so deep that you would willingly volunteer to accept your child’s suffering for yourself. That’s what Jesus Christ did! And that’s the commitment and the privilege that comes with suffering.
CLOSING:
“Saving Private Ryan” ends by flashing forward about 50 years. Private Ryan is now an old man.
He is standing with his family among thousands of white crosses in a cemetery for those killed in WW II.
He’s standing at the graveside of Hanks’ character, remembering those events in France.
And with tears running down his face… He turns to his wife and asks, “Did I earn it?”
Amen.
