[0:00] Please take your Bibles and turn to the book of Philippians in chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, we're going to read verses 12 through 18. Therefore, my dear friends, as you've always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
[0:24] For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without faults and a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe 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.
[0:53] 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.
[1:06] So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. Do everything without complaining or arguing.
[1:20] Carrie, Julie, Jonathan, Krent. Do everything without complaining or arguing. I think we must have said that hundreds of times to our children as they were growing up.
[1:37] And rightly so. But if we're not careful, we might actually think that this is a command especially for children. And if we did think that, we would be mistaken.
[1:51] To be sure, there are such commands for children. Children, obey your parents. Honor your father and your mother.
[2:05] Remember your creator in the days of your youth. Now, while you're young. These are commands aimed directly at children. But the context of this command tells us otherwise.
[2:18] It's not addressed to children. Though it has general application to them. It's written for the whole church. At Philippi.
[2:29] At Bremen. It's for children, all right. Verse 15 says children of God. Whatever the age. Those who have been born by the Spirit in the new birth.
[2:42] Those who have received Jesus Christ. And have been adopted as his children into the family of God. So this is another church-wide command.
[2:54] For it was the church, not just the children, who were complaining and arguing. You see, Paul's still addressing the internal dissension that was disturbing the peace in the church at Philippi.
[3:07] He's still making his appeal for unity and harmonious relationships in the body of Christ. That's the theme. That's the drum he's been pounding on since chapter 1 and verse 27.
[3:19] And he's still piling up reasons as to why we should obey. And he adds more even today as he speaks to us on behalf of the Lord Jesus, the head of the church.
[3:33] So there's just two parts, two main parts to our passage today. We have another clear command to obey. And then we have, secondly, important reasons to obey.
[3:45] The command, verse 14, do everything without complaining or arguing. The reasons, so that your mission will not suffer. Our gospel mission of holding out the word of life to this lost and dying world.
[3:59] So Paul's going to show us that our unity here as a body is critical to our mission out there with the world.
[4:12] A grumbling and quarreling church torn by strife has never made a favorable impact upon the world. And it's just that point that the Apostle Paul is hammering home here.
[4:25] For the sake of the mission, live in harmonious unity together. So first of all, the command. Now earlier in verse 3, the Apostle put his finger on two attitudes that destroy unity.
[4:45] Selfish ambition and vain conceit or pride. Now he, in verse 14, he's exposing two activities that are equally destructive of unity.
[4:59] Complaining and arguing. Now I want you to notice the universal reach of this command. Just how much it covers of church life.
[5:11] Do everything without complaining or arguing. In other words, complaining and arguing are always off limits in whatever we are doing.
[5:25] Whether we are worshiping, singing, witnessing, working, eating together, fellowshipping, social distancing, mask wearing, business meetings, decision making, building projects, ministries, doctrinal discussions, casual conversations.
[5:43] There's never a place. For complaining or arguing. Everything in the body of Christ is to be done without these two activities.
[5:57] Now remember, the Lord wants to hear from us that sweet and pleasant sound of harmony. Remember we had Tom play harmony and how pleasant it is when notes go well together.
[6:10] That's what our Father in heaven. That's what our Savior is wanting to hear as we worship, as we live together. He wants to hear harmony.
[6:22] Rather than the grating and jarring sounds of unloving, complaining and arguing. Which in another place is called an irritating gong or clanging cymbal.
[6:35] Doesn't want to hear that one's harmony. So no room for complaining or arguing. But I hasten to add that there is room in the church for expressing a concern and even a contrary opinion.
[6:49] It's healthy for a church. It's one of the ways that we enrich one another, brothers and sisters. As we're strengthened and improved by a crossbreeding of our minds.
[7:05] A sharing. Of our insights. You see, we're not called to be clones. All walking in absolute lockstep together without using our own minds.
[7:17] Whatever the pastor says or whatever this one says or that one says. We put our minds at the door and we just do whatever we're told. No, no. We're meant to love God with all of our minds as we heard this morning in the worship.
[7:33] That idea of just putting our minds away and walking in absolute lockstep without ever expressing a concern or a contrary opinion.
[7:51] That's more cultic than it is Christ-like churchmanship. So yes, concerns and contrary opinions may be freely shared.
[8:02] But here's the kicker. Even this must be done without complaining or arguing. Because everything is to be done without that.
[8:14] But to be done in a harmonious spirit of love and mutual respect is dearly loved brothers and sisters in Christ. Now that's the hard part. Complaining, whining, grumbling, disputing, arguing.
[8:27] That's the easy part. And that's why so many of the churches in the New Testament that had letters written to them were reproved and instructed on this very thing. It's just all too easy to complain and argue.
[8:43] That was the repeated sin of the Israelites, you'll remember. As God in grace came down to Egypt where they were slaves of Pharaoh. And being abused and God redeemed them.
[9:00] He brought them out. And what did they do? The last time I read through the account, I numbered them in the margin. Eight different times.
[9:10] Major fits of murmuring and complaining against Moses and Aaron. And God did not take it lightly. We might think it's no big thing to complain or argue.
[9:25] But God does. And any reading of the scriptures will show us that fact by the punishment or discipline that he put on Israel for their grumbling and murmuring.
[9:38] He sent poisonous snakes to bite and kill them. Another time he sent a plague. Another time he punished it with leprosy.
[9:50] He even had the earth open up and swallow some grumblers alive. And so we, as a church, are warned along with the words of 1 Corinthians 10, 10 and 11.
[10:03] Do not grumble as some of them did. And were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. And in that we see just how important it is that we do everything without complaining or arguing.
[10:22] Now parents, did you have to teach your children the skills of complaining and arguing? Did you send them away to school to learn that?
[10:35] Or did they come forth from the womb well qualified in that department? You see, it's part of the sinful nature that we parents gave to them to complain and argue.
[10:49] And it can happen over anything. And that's why the world is so full of it. There's no Holy Spirit at work in them to counter the sinful nature.
[11:01] To empower them to be both willing and able to stop complaining and arguing. And to start loving and esteeming each other better than themselves.
[11:12] And so any glance at the world, we see this complaining and arguing. In broken relationships. In marriage. In the home. In the workplace.
[11:23] In schools. In sports. In politics. In society at large. Between neighbors. Complaining and arguing. Complaining and arguing is everywhere.
[11:34] It dominates the airwaves. Bringing us the news. It dominates the commentators on the news. And it's the thing that gets the most hits on social media.
[11:46] And the more heated the argument, the better. Bitter complaining and rancorous arguing have become the national pastime. And it's into such a heated environment that this command comes from our gentle and lowly Jesus.
[12:06] Do everything without complaining or arguing. So that's the command. Not easy. But Christ has given us his spirit to make us willing and able.
[12:22] No. That was verse 13 of last week. Now. The second thing we want to see this morning is the reason. What's the reason given? What's the incentive to move us to obey this command?
[12:35] This is the so that in our passage. You see it there in verse 15. Do everything without complaining or arguing. Why? So that you.
[12:47] Plural. You. The body of Christ. May become blameless and pure children of God without fault. In a crooked and depraved generation.
[13:00] In which you shine like stars in the universe. As you hold out the word of life. So the reason to do everything without complaining and arguing. Church. Is so that the mission might not suffer.
[13:13] But rather be advanced in. Great power. This is the unfinished business of the church. Until our Lord's return. It's the mission our Lord himself died for.
[13:25] And then left us to carry on. And to complete by the power of his spirit. To make disciples. To make converts. To Jesus Christ.
[13:36] Christ. And we do this. By holding out the word of life. And by doing everything without complaining and arguing. So that.
[13:47] You see that's the so that. And as we hold out the word of life. And as we do everything without complaining and arguing. We become blameless and pure and faultless children of God.
[13:59] Who shine like stars in the universe. In this crooked and depraved generation. Now there's a lot here. Let's unpack it together. Notice that our mission as the light of the world.
[14:12] Is to make disciples. And that's to be done with our lips. And our lives. Our lips and our lives. Let's look first with our lips. It's there at the end of verse 15.
[14:24] And on into verse 16. You shine like stars in the universe. As you hold out the word of life.
[14:36] So our mission is to proclaim. A word. That's a message that can be communicated.
[14:46] And must be communicated in words. We are to hold out the word of life. It's in the gospel. Isn't it? That we came to know.
[14:56] That our greatest problem in life. Was our sins against a holy God. And because of it. We were under his condemnation. Of hell forever.
[15:08] It's in the gospel. That we learn that Jesus Christ. Is God's one and only remedy. For our sin problem. That only Jesus can. Do helpless sinners good. Because he kept the law perfectly.
[15:19] And then he died an atoning death. For sin. And was raised again. For newness of life. For all who are united with him.
[15:31] It was the gospel. By which we were invited. To come to Jesus. And to share in this so great salvation. And were promised. In the gospel.
[15:43] That if we came to him. In repentance and faith. He would surely save us. That he would never turn us away. It's in the gospel. The word. Of life.
[15:54] That we learned. That. No one here. Who is saved. Was ever saved. Without hearing the word of life. Someone held it out to us. Didn't they?
[16:05] Probably more than once. So stubborn were we. And death. To hear. You remember.
[16:16] In John chapter 6. Jesus is preaching the gospel. One day. And he's. He's offering himself. As the bread of life. Which if a man eat. He will. Live forever.
[16:27] Many found his message offensive. And so they turned away. And followed him no longer. Then Jesus turned to the 12. And he says. You don't want to leave. Also do you? You remember Peter's reply.
[16:41] Lord. To whom shall we go? You have. The words. Of eternal. Life. You're the only one.
[16:53] There is no one else. To go to Lord. So. You alone have the words. Of eternal life. Jesus had just said. The words I have spoken. Are spirit. And they are life.
[17:06] He was holding out. The word of life. Exactly what we're to do. He was holding out. The word of life. The gospel message. That which is offered.
[17:18] And if received. Will bring new life. In Christ. Will bring an abundant life. Will bring eternal life. The very life of God. In the soul of man. Offered in the word.
[17:29] Of life. Now that's the light. That this world. In darkness. Desperately needs. As they're ignorant. Of their greatest problem. And ignorant. Of its only solution.
[17:40] In our savior Jesus. So we shine. As lights. In the universe. How? By holding out. The word. Of life. But it's not only.
[17:51] With our lips. Proclaiming the message. Of Christ. And him crucified. But secondly. We. We do this. By our lives. And the emphasis.
[18:03] In. This section. Is not on our. Our individual life. Me here. You there. No. The emphasis here. Paul's talking about. Our life together. Our corporate witness.
[18:15] Our corporate life. We shine. As stars. When we. Together. Demonstrate. The power. Of the gospel. To save. From sin.
[18:25] And specifically. Here. The sins. Of complaining. And arguing. To which he refers. For when we. As a church. Of Christ. Do everything. Without complaining.
[18:35] And arguing. We become. Children. Of God. Who are blameless. Pure. And faultless. Now.
[18:46] That's a triad. Of words. That are just. Piled up. To describe. The holy life. Expected. Of God's children. Blameless.
[18:58] That means. That we provide. No handles. On us. No. No handles. For the world. To grab hold of. With accusation. Of wrongdoing. No sinful habits.
[19:09] Of life. That would draw. Blame. From the world. Blameless. Second. Pure. This means. Unmixed. Uncontaminated.
[19:19] With. Complaining. And arguing. Third. Without fault. No glaring faults. That would. Invite. Criticism. From the world.
[19:30] That would. Stick. Because. They are deserved. Criticism. No. No faults. That would. Weaken. The power. Of our corporate. Witness. And testimony. To the world.
[19:40] But rather. We are to be. Children of God. Who are blameless. Pure. And faultless. In whom. The family likeness. Is seen.
[19:51] Children of God. Who are like the father. And like. Our elder brother. So this is. This is conducting. Your life. In a manner. Worthy of the gospel.
[20:03] This is working out. Your salvation. With fear and trembling. Because it's God. Who's working in you. Both to will. And to do. What pleases him. This is what pleases him. And this is our mission.
[20:15] To shine like stars. In the dark universe. Where we live. All right. Now let's talk a bit. About the light of the world. We're to shine. Like stars. The lights.
[20:28] In this dark world. So. Just who is the light of the world? Who is it that's shining light. Into this darkness? Well. You know. That the Lord Jesus.
[20:39] Made this claim for himself. Dindy. In John chapter 8. In verse 12. He said. I. Am the light of the world. And whoever follows me.
[20:50] Will never walk in darkness. But will have the light. Of life. There it is again. We hold out a word of life. We give off a light. Of life. And Jesus is that light.
[21:02] And he says. Those. Who follow me. Will no longer walk in darkness. But will have the light. Of life. And yet.
[21:13] The same Jesus. Says in Matthew 5. That you. Who are his disciples. His followers. Matthew 5. 14. And following. You are the light of the world.
[21:24] A city. Set on a hill. Cannot be hidden. Neither do people. Light a lamp. And put it under a bowl. Instead. They put it on its stand. And it gives light. To everyone in the house. In the same way.
[21:35] Let your light. Shine before men. That they may see your good deeds. And praise your father in heaven. So. Who is it? That is the light of the world. Is it Jesus?
[21:47] Or is it Jesus followers? Well yes. And yes. It's both. Isn't it? Consider. If Jesus.
[21:58] Is the light of the world. And he dwells in you now. By his spirit. Then you yourselves. Have become. The light of the world.
[22:10] Jesus is now returned to heaven. And has left behind. A million points of light. Or however many believers. There are on the earth. At any one given time. Right now. That is you and me.
[22:20] And all the others. In the world. Who belong to Jesus Christ. Christ. Than saved by faith. You. Are. The light.
[22:32] Of the world. Once we were darkness. But now we are light. In the Lord. His saving grace. Has lit us up. As lamps. With the very life.
[22:43] The spiritual life. Of Christ. Within us. You know. That the same spiritual life. That flows. In the vine. Is found. In the weakest.
[22:54] Branch. That is united. To that vine. The light of life. That is seen. Full. In fullness. In Jesus. The vine. Is flowing now. In his branches.
[23:05] And that's why. He's the light. And yes. We who are attached to him. We are the light. Of the world. And we're not to hide that light.
[23:15] Under a bowl. Now. Lighting a lamp. In those days. Was a whole nother matter. Than just flipping the switch. As we do today. You know. You would need to be sure.
[23:26] That the. The lamp. Was filled with oil. That the. The wick. Was properly. Trimmed. And. And then you had to fetch fire. To light the thing.
[23:37] I don't think they had. The. The grill lighters. So. You see. It was a big thing. To light a lamp. Much more big. Than. Than what we do today. So.
[23:49] If someone. Went to the trouble. Of lighting a lamp. It would not be. To then immediately. Put it under a bowl. Where it couldn't be. Seen. If that's what he was going to do.
[24:01] Why would he go to the trouble. Of lighting it. In the first place. Even so. Jesus. Didn't go to all the trouble.
[24:12] Of saving you. And lighting you up. With his own gracious. Life and spirit. In order for you. Now to hide that light. No.
[24:22] He wants you to put that light. Up on a stand. Where. Where everyone. In your circle of influence. Can see it. The light of Christ's life. Shining out.
[24:33] Of you. According to. Jesus. People are to see. Your good works. As well as hear.
[24:45] The word of life. That you hold out to them. That's our mission. That. Our mission. To shine. As the light.
[24:56] Of the world. So. Back to our text. Where. Does Christ want his lights. To shine. As stars. Where does he want. These lights. That he's lit up.
[25:07] To shine. As stars. And the answer is found. At the end of verse 15. In. A crooked. And depraved.
[25:18] Generation. In. A crooked. And depraved. Generation. Now that's not a flattering view. Of our world. It's crooked.
[25:29] It's. It's bent. It's warped. It's not straight. God's ways are straight. God's ways are right.
[25:42] And true. But the world's ways are crooked. And bent. Away from God. It's a depraved.
[25:53] Not only crooked. But depraved. Generation. Perverted. Distorted. Twisted. Generation.
[26:04] So. I. Thought about. The world's ways. Being. Twisted. I.
[26:16] Realized. That this world. Is under. The power. Of the devil. And. That's his hallmark. His hallmark. Is. Is to take.
[26:27] Something good. That God has made. And to. Twist it. Just. To. To. Twist it. With an. Evil. Twist. That.
[26:39] That perverts. God's good gift. Into something evil. And anti-God. Wasn't that what he did. With the. The fruit. The fruit. In the garden. That. God put there.
[26:53] But not for them to eat. And he just. Puts a different twist. On it. Didn't he? And pretty soon. Eve's eaten. And given it to Adam. That's the devil's hallmark.
[27:03] Paul. He take. He doesn't have anything. To use of himself. God's the one that's good. And is. Showered us with blessing. So what does he do? He takes God's good gifts. And he puts a twist on it.
[27:14] He. He perverts it. He. You look. And think that went through. With what you're seeing. Today. And think how. Satan has twisted it. So what is good.
[27:24] Is called evil. And what's evil. Is called good. And. This is. This world is a crooked. And a depraved generation. And.
[27:36] We might say. Oh. I don't want to have anything to do with that. Oh yes you do. That is exactly. Where Christ. Wants you to shine.
[27:48] As stars. In. A. Crooked. And depraved. Generation. In which.
[28:00] You shine. Like stars. In the universe. That's who needs the light. This dark. And depraved. Crooked. Generation. Is desperately. In need.
[28:11] Of the light. That you have. Christian. The groping. In darkness. Of sin. And ignorance. About. They don't even know. What their problem is. Much less. That Jesus is the answer. The groping.
[28:22] In darkness. And. God has lit you up. With his light. That. You might. Shine there.
[28:33] Into that darkness. Remember. You once yourself. Were darkness. You've got a story. To tell. To the nations. Of how he translated.
[28:44] You out of darkness. And into the kingdom. Of his dear son. You see. We're not to be. Withdrawing. From the world. As bad. And twisted. And perverse. As it is. It is a wrong.
[28:55] Thought. Believer. To say. I want to. Withdraw. From it. I want to run. From it. I want to. Retreat. Into some. Christian ghetto. Where I only meet. Christians.
[29:06] Now. It's a blessing. Of the Lord's day. The Lord knows. Where we live. He knows. We need. A bit. Of a breather. From this. Crooked. And perverse. Generation. So we. We get to spend.
[29:16] This day. Together. It's. It's a taste. Of heaven. It's. An outpost. Of the kingdom. Of heaven. And so.
[29:27] We treasure it. And we. We treasure each other. And we encourage. Each other. But throughout the week.
[29:38] We go right back out. Into it. That's where we're supposed to go. And we rub shoulders. With lost people. Still in darkness. We live. With them. We work with them.
[29:49] We play with them. We study with them. We shop with them. For how will they believe on him. Of whom they have not heard. Well they simply won't.
[30:00] Believe. They'll perish. In their darkness. And go into the outer darkness. Of hell. Forever. And ever. And ever. That's why the Lord lit you up.
[30:12] With his divine life. Do you know that's why you're here. And not there. That's why you're not in heaven yet. He's still got work for you to do.
[30:22] In this crooked. Depraved place. That Satan is hijacked. For his own purposes. That one day Jesus is coming back. To put all things right. He wants you to be here.
[30:33] Right now. Shining. Like. Stars in the universe. You do that by holding out. The word of life. And you do that by doing everything.
[30:43] As a church. Without complaining or arguing. A transformed life. Good deeds. That gives a luster. And a shine. To our corporate witness.
[30:54] To this dark world. So we're not ignorant of Satan's devices. And why he would do all he can. To stir up complaining and arguing. In the churches of Christ.
[31:05] Well to distract us from the mission. Out there. To spend all of our energies. Against one another. In here. To get us to bite and devour one another.
[31:17] As Paul says in Galatians 5.15. So that we might be destroyed. By one another. Oh that's Satan. The destroyer. To undermine our witness.
[31:28] To the world. To blunt it. By making us so very like the world. That we have nothing convincingly different. From the world. To offer them. I don't need to prove to you.
[31:40] That complaining and arguing. Is part and parcel. Of this crooked. And depraved world. You can't miss it.
[31:52] And it's getting louder and louder. But when the complaining and arguing. Goes on in the church. Of Christ. We're no longer blameless. Pure.
[32:03] And without fault. In the world. And our witness. As a church. Loses its credibility. Its integrity.
[32:15] Before the world. Why should they listen to us. When we hold out the word of reconciliation. With God. If we can't even be reconciled.
[32:26] With one another. Within the church. But are given to. Argument. And complaint. You see it. That's the point Paul is making. That's the very point.
[32:37] Paul is making. And for too long. The church has thought. That. Its influence in the world. Would be increased. If we could just become more like the world.
[32:49] And so the world becomes the model. And we. We try to shape our churches. After the world. And. We think that by doing so. Our influence.
[33:00] Will be the stronger. When in fact. It's just the opposite. It's when we are most. Not conformed to the world. But attractively. Different. From the world.
[33:11] That we have the most powerful influence. Upon the world. And that's what Paul's driving at. In his appeal. For harmonious church unity. For the sake of the mission.
[33:23] To give the gospel. A pedestal. To stand upon. Tertullian was an early Christian apologist.
[33:37] Writing in defense of Christianity. In a pagan world. That was hostile to it. Yeah. It was a. We see this. Crooked and perverse generation.
[33:48] It was. Crooked and perverse. In Paul's day too. That's the beauty of the scriptures. It's always been this way. Since the fall.
[34:00] And so here's Tertullian. An apologist. He's. He's. He's writing a defense. For Christianity. In the midst of a. A pagan. Roman world.
[34:11] That was hostile to it. And in his defense. He speaks of pagans. Looking at Christians. And saying. Behold. How they love one another.
[34:24] For the pagans themselves. Hated. Hated. One another. But. These Christians. They're ready to die. For one another. Whereas. We pagans.
[34:35] Are readier. To kill each other. Hmm. What's this? Behold. Step aside. Wonder. Look.
[34:46] Consider. How they love one another. Where does that come from? We don't. We don't have that. Where does that come from? And. Our difference from the world.
[35:00] At this very point. Of living in harmony together. As the family of God. Arrest the attention. You see. Of this biting. And devouring. Crooked generation.
[35:12] It's the power. The power. Of a shared. Holy life. Of love. The beauty. Of holiness. That adorns the gospel. That we're holding out. To sinners. Sinners.
[35:22] So that they. They say. Well. I hate them. I hate. Their God. I hate their. Their laws. Their moral laws.
[35:32] I hate their gospel. But. You have to say this much. They love one another. What's that. All about. God. And we can tell them.
[35:44] About a loving. Heavenly father. That so loved us. That he sent his one. And only son. Into the world. And damned him. That sinners. Deserving damnation.
[35:56] Might trust in this savior. And be saved. Behold. How they love. One another. I believe our text. Has much to say to us.
[36:07] As we see our nation. Today. Sinking into deeper. And deeper. Crookedness. And depravity. Into deeper. And deeper. Bitter. Complaining. And mean spirited. Arguing. But let's.
[36:18] Let's get a perspective. This morning. Folks. I'm. I'm preaching. To me. As much to you. This is just the world. Being the world. Let's not whine.
[36:31] And complain. At how bad. The world is. And let that be. The whole. Of our. Of our. Our life. And. Complaining.
[36:41] And arguing. Just how bad. The world's getting. The world. Is just. Being the world. It's being. The crooked. And depraved. World. That it has. Always been.
[36:52] Since the fall. Look at it. This way. So. Don't let the world. Suck you into. It's complaining. And arguing. And. And whining.
[37:02] And argumentative. Spirit. Look at it. This way. When do the stars. Shine. The brightest. In the sky. Well. It's not when. Is it.
[37:12] Is it not when. Things are the darkest. You know. They're shining. Right now. You went out. Into the. The. The parking lot. You know. The stars. Are up there.
[37:23] Kids. They don't go away. At night. And then come back. Or go away. In the day. And come back. At night. No. They're up there. Right now. And they're just. Shining. Their brightest. You just can't see them. Because it's so bright out.
[37:35] But let darkness. Steal in. Tonight. And if there's no clouds. Well. Then. Will be the star.
[37:45] Spangled. Heavens. Shining. In the darkest. Night. And that's what Jesus. That's what Jesus.
[37:56] Is saying through Paul. Here to us. Are things getting darker. Yes. May they get even worse. Yes.
[38:10] Is the nation. Hopelessly divided. In bitter animosity. And ugly disputing. Yes. But let's not whine. In self pity. About how bad things are.
[38:20] And let's not imbibe. The spirit of the age. Let's seize the day. For the Lord Jesus. For his mission. For his glory. In the church. Let's rise and shine.
[38:31] With the love. And light of the gospel. Let's make the most. Of every opportunity. To hold out. The word of life. And in our church life.
[38:42] To display. The supernatural power. Of the gospel. That makes us love. One another. As Christ. Has loved us. Remember. God. Is at work.
[38:52] Within us. Giving us. Both the desire. And the power. To act. To do the things. That please him. The darker it gets.
[39:03] The greater. Our opportunity. As a church. To arise. And shine. For our savior. For his glory.
[39:13] So there's the command. Do everything. Without complaining. Or arguing. There's the reason. For the. For doing so. For the sake. Of the mission. Is there not a cause? And there's another.
[39:24] Reason that Paul adds. At the end. It's one that the apostle Paul. Is. Is not afraid to use. With this church. Due to their deep affection. For him. And his for them. And it's Paul's own interest.
[39:38] In this matter. Of their doing everything. Without arguing. And complaining. It's Paul's own interest. Christ. Here's how he puts it. Verse 16.
[39:49] In order that. We've heard the so that. Here's another one. In order that. I may boast. I may rejoice. On the day of Christ.
[40:01] That I did not run. Or labor. For nothing. Now few things are more galling. Than to run for nothing. Unless you love running. To run for nothing.
[40:12] Or to labor for nothing. Suppose you've. You've disciplined. And trained yourself. For months. To run a marathon. And then you. You run it. Only to find out. At the end.
[40:22] That you were DQ'd. Because you stepped out of bounds. On the third mile. And so you ran. The whole race. 26 miles. All for nothing. Or.
[40:35] To labor hard. For many days. On some work project. For months on end. Maybe you were building. A building. And. And so you poured. Your labor. Into that. Only to find out.
[40:46] Much later. That the materials. Were inferior. The concrete. That was used. And the. The foundation. Didn't pass. The specs. It's. It's weak. It's not safe.
[40:56] And the whole. Abathus. Has to be brought down. It was. Labor for nothing. You need to start over. That's the picture.
[41:09] Paul's using. Here. And the situation. That he's dreading. Paul had invested. A lot. In this church. At Philippi. He'd shed blood. In Philippi.
[41:19] Just to bring them. The gospel. The word of life. He'd been flogged. Mocked. Shamed. Put in stocks. Imprisoned.
[41:33] He'd labored. In prayer for them. We've seen it already. In this letter. He wrote to them. He visited them. He sent associates. To go to them. With words. And he did not want to find out.
[41:45] In the day of Christ. That all of his labor. Was for nothing. There in Philippi. In the back of his mind. Is the scene. Of the last judgment.
[41:56] That he writes about. In first Corinthians three. When every gospel. Workers. Labor's. Will be. Put into the fire. Of God's judgment. And at issue. Will be the question.
[42:06] In building up the church. Did you build faithfully. Upon the one and only. Cornerstone. Jesus Christ. And at issue. Will be. Did you build. With the materials.
[42:17] Of gold. And silver. And precious stones. Genuine converts. That were added. Into this. Building. This household. Of God. Or were they.
[42:29] Wood. Hay. And straw. Mere professors. Claiming to be Christians. But lacking the power. Thereof. Well.
[42:40] It will be seen. In that day. For. Every gospel. Work. Worker's work. Will be shown. For what it is. Because the day. Will bring it to light.
[42:50] It will be revealed. With fire. And the fire. Will test. The quality. Of each man's work. And if what he has built. Survives. He.
[43:01] The Christian worker. Will receive his reward. And that's what Paul wants. A reward. In that day. But if. It is burned up.
[43:12] If they were false professors. And didn't make it through the judgment. He will suffer loss. He will lose the reward. He would have had. If he had built with.
[43:24] True. Believers. But he himself. Will be saved. Yet so is through fire. You see. Paul doesn't want to get. To the. To the end. To the. The final day. The. The day when.
[43:34] All of his labors. Will be put into the fire. The test. Of God's judgment. And. And to find. That his labors. For this Philippian church. Were all in vain. He wants to come.
[43:45] To that day. And rejoice. To see them there. To see. That their faith. Was genuine. That they really. Were born again. And had the power. Of the spirit.
[43:55] In them. Enabling them. To. To stop. Complaining. To stop. Arguing. To stop. Fighting. And to start. Holding out. The word of life. And to do so. With a. A.
[44:05] A. Blameless. Pure. And. Faultless. Church life. That would. Commend the gospel. Rather than.
[44:16] Defined there. In that day. That. They weren't. The Lord's. After all. Why does. Paul want that. Is he. Is he. Wanting to. To go around. Just saying. Look at me.
[44:26] I. No. He wants. To go there. And to see them. Rejoicing. In their salvation. He said. That will be. My crown. In rejoicing. To see you. There.
[44:37] Rejoicing. In the salvation. That is in Christ. Jesus. So don't. Don't. Don't. Let my labors. For you. Be in vain. Let's meet there. Around the throne. And rejoice.
[44:47] In each other. You see. The thrust. And Paul. Is. Is positive.
[44:58] And he's hopeful. That that will. Indeed. Be the case. And that they will. Be able to rejoice. In each other there. Even as they do now. Here. So there it is. The command.
[45:11] And. A main reason. The mission. And a secondary reason. For Philippi. So that Paul's labors. In them. Would not be in vain. Paul was living.
[45:25] For the last day. His life here. Would not make sense. Apart from the last day. Oh. But that day. Will make sense. Of every sacrifice.
[45:36] He made. It was worth it. It will be worth it all. When we see Jesus. My friend. Are you living. For the last day.
[45:46] Are you living. For some puny. Motive. To get. Your way. Here and now. Is that. Is that. What you're living for. To get something.
[45:57] That you want. Here and now. Learn. Learn. There's coming a day. When. The fire. Will test. Us all. Do you know.
[46:09] There is a way. To appear. In that day. Faultless. And with great joy. That's. That's the tail end. Of. Jude. Little book. To him.
[46:19] Who's able. To keep you. From falling. And to present you. Before his glorious presence. In that day. Without fault. And with great joy.
[46:31] To the only God. Our savior. The glory. Majesty. Power and authority. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. That's how. You can appear. In that day. Without fault.
[46:42] If you will appear. In Jesus Christ. Whose blood. Washes us. From our sins. And cleanses us. And robes us. And clothes us.
[46:52] With the very righteousness. Of God. In Christ. Don't come. To the final day. Without him. He's ready. And willing. To have you today. Trust in him. He is a gracious savior.
[47:04] He delights. To see. Sinners. Converted. And become. Light bearing. Lamp stands.
[47:15] That will burn. For his glory. Till he returns. A closing hymn. Is our prayer. May the mind.
[47:25] Of Christ. My savior. Live in me. From day to day. As his mind. His attitude. Is in us. This is the kind of life. We'll have. Not selfish ambition. And vain pride. Not complaining.
[47:37] And arguing. But. The things. That we'll sing about. That we're found. In our savior. Let's sing it together. Stand with me. Stand with me.
[47:47]