Christ in a Crooked Culture
Philippians 2:12-18
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. 17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
Introduction: To start the introduction to this message I’d like to focus on two things. First, this is a letter written by Paul while he was in prison to a group of believers at the city of Philippi. This church along with the church at Antioch were the two works that were the greatest blessing to Paul; Antioch at the beginning of his ministry and Philippi towards the end. These believers were experiencing persecution and needed encouragement.
I. The Command to the Church (…as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…)
a. There is no substitute for obedience in a crooked culture
The Philippian church has the glory of having always obeyed the words of the Apostle. But it is one thing to be obedient when someone has their eye on us, it is another thing entirely to obey when there is no one to hold us accountable.
ILL: There was a boy who went trekking on the mountain. He reached a great height when he realized that it was getting dark and he had to reach the bottom soon. He began climbing down. It was getting darker and darker, so dark that he could barely see. He was somehow managing to get down the mountain supporting with his hands and feet. Suddenly, his feet slipped. He fell and caught hold of the branch of the tree. He was holding the branch tight enough since that was his only support. He began shouting, “Is there anybody to help me out.” No reply! He kept yelling and yelling. Finally, he heard a soft still voice. “Yes, I am there to help you.” Greatly excited, he shouted, “Thank you, May I know who you are?” Quick came the reply, “I am God. I will help you, but you will have to remove your hands off the branch. Not willing to do so, the boy kept hanging all through the night and finally died. The next morning, the villagers saw the dead boy and found out that the branch on which he was hanging was just two feet above the ground. Had he listened to the voice of God, his life would have been saved.
1 Samuel 15:22b - Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams
b. Assurance of salvation is of utmost importance in a crooked culture.
Paul here is telling these believers to “work” out their own salvation with fear and trembling. We understand that Paul does not imply that we are to work for our salvation for that is impossible. But we are to work in the sense that we are to cooperate with God the in-working of God as he justifies, sanctifies and ultimately glorifies us in this gracious process called “salvation.” We are to make our calling and election sure! We must not leave it to chance. My friend I’m afraid that the events of this last year are revealing that there are many who profess to know Christ but they are not in Christ. How many in 2020 can say that “it is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure?”
II. The Conduct of the Christian (Do all things without murmurings and disputings…}
a. Our direction – “do all things”
He doesn’t say a few things, or even many things but all things should be done without whining and complaining.
THE WORLD IS MINE.
God allowed the Children of Israel to wander in the wilderness because of a COMPLAINING SPIRIT that was never satisfied with anything from God. God demands that we cast off the complaining spirit in Philippians 2:14 -- "Do all things without murmuring or complaining.”
Nothing in literature more profoundly shows how weak we are when we are WHINING instead of SHINING more than the following words shared with me by my mother when I was a child:
“Today, upon a bus, I saw a very beautiful woman And wished I were as beautiful. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one leg and used a crutch. But as she passed, she had a smile. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have two legs; the world is mine. I stopped to buy some candy. The lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. If I were late, it’d do no harm. And as I left, he said to me, "I thank you, you’ve been so kind. It’s nice to talk with folks like you. You see," he said, "I’m blind." Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have two eyes; the world is mine.
Later while walking down the street, I saw a child I knew. He stood and watched the others play, but he did not know what to do. I stopped a moment and then I said, "Why don’t you join them dear?" He looked ahead without a word. I forgot, he couldn’t hear. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have two ears; the world is mine. With feet to take me where I’d go…With eyes to see the sunset’s glow…With ears to hear what I’d know. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I’ve been blessed indeed, the world is mine.”
b. Our disposition – without murmurings and disputing’s.
Discontented people make one great mistake. They do not understand that they take their disposition everywhere they go!
“A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?” The monk replied, “Food bad.” After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, “Bed hard.” Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.” “It doesn’t surprise me a bit,” said the superior, “You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.” (Source unknown).
III. The Crookedness of the Culture (…a crooked and perverse nation…)
a. Our distinction - “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God…”
The light shines the brightest in the darkness. We need to be reminded that we are the children of God and as such we must let our light shine. The children’s song says it best, ”This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, ”This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…Hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine… Hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
b. Our difficulty – “…crooked and perverse…” Just think about the world the believers were living in. The world was ruled by Rome and there was no limit to the crookedness and perversity of this nation. Rome was greatly influence by Greek culture and philosophy which led to all kinds of excesses. Brutality, perversion, and social and political unrest was the order of the day. Sin is incredibly powerful with much destructive force.
ILL: This bomb was tested above the Arctic Circle on October 30, 1961. The explosion was so intense that the flash was visible over 600 miles away. People felt the air move over 160 miles away. Everything in a radius of 15.25 miles was completely destroyed. Very severe damage extended to a distance of 21.5 miles & the heat was so intense that people over 60 miles away would have experienced third degree burns if anyone had been there. All this came from a bomb that was a little over 26 feet long & with a diameter of a little over 6 feet. It was large to be sure, but it was tiny when you look at the power it packed. The point was that a small package can deliver an absolutely incredible punch. The same is true of sin, many people view it as, "no big deal," but God sees sin as a monster that brings incredible harm to those who are involved in it.
IV. The Cause of Christ (Holding forth the word of life…)
a. The Work – “holding forth”
James Draper makes a good point - We often think that some Christians do not witness, but they all do witness! The trouble is, some give the wrong kind of witness. They give a witness that says, "God is insignificant and unimportant in my life."…It seems to me that holding fast to the Word (and thereby being held fast by it) and holding out the Word of life are not incompatible interpretations. You can hardly hold it out unless you are holding it fast! The latter then implies the former.
b. The Word – “the word of life”
This is the Word of God, the Gospel of Christ. This is what is needed in this crooked and perverse world. Paul said that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it was the power of God to salvation. This is what the world needs to see (the life of a blameless and harmless son of God) and hear (the word of life.)
Paul closes with the hope that he has not “labored” in vain and that the “sacrifice and service of their faith” would be his greatest joy!
Conclusion: Right now we are seeing the crookedness and perversity of a nation and its leaders in a way that we have never seen before. Christians need to live lives that exalt the Lord and lift Him up for the entire world to see. If you will let you light shine will you say I will?
THE HERO AND THE SAINT
The late great German-born American Jewish rationalist intellectual, popular lecturer and writer, religious leader, and social reformer, Felix Adler (1851 - 1933), starts things off well when he said, "The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men [and, women] to see by! The saint is the [person] who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself [or, herself] a light!"
Source: From a sermon by George Dillahunty, Light Up Your World!, 6/18/2010
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Jesus stated that we are to be the "Light of the World", and that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. In the Canadian province of New Brunswick there is a church building on Deer Island that for many years has served as a physical light house to the fishermen of that community. It is not that the building has any unique architectural design that would resemble a nautical lighthouse. It fact, it resembles the style of many church buildings built a century ago.
It is the location of the building that makes it ideal as a lighthouse. The Worship House for the Church of Christ in Lord's Cove is elevated a few hundred feet higher than the Cove below.
For many years the fishermen returning to port could see the steeple of that Church building for miles from the water. In days before electronic equipment to guide them home the fishermen would aim for the Church building when returning to port. From miles away, the men would aim for the church, or the light in its steeple. That course of direction would guide them past all the ledges and shoals, and safely back to the home port.
In the 1960's the government installed navigational lights for the fishermen, but prior to that the church building had served as the Lighthouse. Just as the physical light of that building was a light that led many safely home, so also the Light of Jesus Christ leads all who will follow his light to their heavenly home. May we also serve as a light for Christ to guide others to the home port of heaven.
ILL: There is a third property of light. Light can show you the way. One summer as a kid I went into the woods with my cousins. One was older and one was younger. Stevie Joe was 2 years younger and Jerry was already in his teens, about 6 years older. Jerry decided to keep out after dark and then slip away leaving us alone in the pitch black woods.
Well he did. There we were, unable to see our hand in front of our faces and no one looking for us. We were terrified. Every sound became deadly; the rustle of leaves was a copperhead or water moccasin and any step, even our own echo enough that we thought we were being follow by a bear or a madman.
After we had stopped crying, we finally looked around. Off in the distance there was a faint glow of a light. We didn’t know where it was or how we would survive to get there but we started walking. Finally after what seemed like hours we came out of the edge of the woods to see our grandpa’s house.
We didn’t walk we ran to the house to find Jerry, sitting by the pot bellied stove laughing with the uncles that were there. When we told on him, with streams of tears coming down our faces, he got a whoopin. No a spanking, a good ole fashion whoopin with a stripped down tree branch he had to cut himself. Justice was done swiftly and harshly. We felt much better after that.
We would have never found our way in the dark had it not been for that ever so small light. Amazing, in the midst of all that darkness that one lamp in the window of the house led the way. The light Jesus does the same for us today. Jesus said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
