Please join me in the book of Philippians once again, there in your New Testament. And by the way, if you've never taken the time to memorize the order of the books of the Bible, as a Christian it would be well worth your investment, being able to navigate through the Word of God, see how it ties together some as a larger book, the Bible as a a library of sacred text. You might even start with just memorizing the New Testament. I would encourage you to do that. Well, we're here in Philippians. Paul has told his readers about his circumstances and then about his own outlook on his life. Paul was a man living for Jesus. That's what he relates to his readers. And, you know, it was true. History bears testimony to this that Paul was a man who lived for Christ but here now in our text as we come to the end of chapter one Paul wants his readers and by extension he wants you and I then to do the same and so here's where the rubber meets the road now is the first command that we see in this letter and it is really directed to anyone who would like Paul seek to follow Christ. Why don't we stand out of respect for the reading of God's word. Let's read our text Philippians chapter 1 verses 27 through 30. There Paul says, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or remain absent I will hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. in no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you and that too from God, for to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear to be in me. That's the reading of God's word. You may be seated. Let's ask our Lord to speak to us through this text. Holy Father. We are so privileged to be able to have this time in this convenient place at this convenient hour. and the health and opportunity just to gather around your word. What a tremendous blessing. We think of people around the world that do not even have the word of God in their native tongue. And we have multiple translations and we have all these churches and we have this opportunity to come on this Lord's day and hear your word. God, we thank you for this awesome opportunity we have. And we pray it would not be lost on anyone here. But we pray that each and every person here would receive the truth that your spirit would desire to communicate. We pray that you would soften our hearts. We pray that you would grab our attention. Lord, we know the sometimes the weeks are long. And at this time, in this early time of the beginning of the week, we can be tired and given to fatigue. And we pray, Father, that as we know, the flesh is weak. We know the spirit is willing. We pray that all of your people would have power by your spirit to hear exactly what you tell them to stay attentive. And God, would you use this in your church to rouse us and to raise us up as one to do your gospel work in this place in the world. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen. Last Monday was Martin Luther King Day. And as I was preparing the sermon and studying in this text that we just read, I was reminded of this man. who lived a remarkable life, this man whose life clearly sent a loud message, a clear message. King was arrested and imprisoned on April 12th, 1963 for leading a peaceful demonstration in protest of Birmingham, Alabama's racial segregation laws. sitting alone in his jail cell there, someone smuggled him a copy of the day's paper. And the paper featured a call for unity by eight local clergymen who are urging those there in Alabama, those in Birmingham, to stop protesting, to cool down, to slow down, to use the courts, not protest in the streets. King responded with his own famous letter, a letter from Birmingham Jail. You may have read it. And like his critics, he also called for unity, but his was a unity around the rights of all men. And in the end, it was this man's undying passion that would win. In prison, out of prison, whatever adversity, whatever the circumstances, it proved that this man's life, Martin Luther King Jr.' 's life, was his message. His life would become a symbol, a representation of the cause he sought to represent. If I even mention the name Martin Luther King Jr., you will, you can't help, you will think of civil rights. You will think of the equality of all men, something like that. You couldn't get near, anywhere near MLK without knowing what this man's life was about. And beloved, there are similarities that we find with the man, the author of this letter before us. The author of the letter to the Philippians. Paul was himself writing from a place of imprisonment. Himself also being unjustly imprisoned. Paul was also writing to urge his brothers and sisters to unite around a common cause. And like MLK Jr., Paul's personal sacrifice for his message that he preached gave him a unique platform to represent this message. People knew he believed what he said. So they listened to him. But ultimately, Paul was also the kind of a man whose very life was his message. You knew what his life was about. You couldn't get anywhere near Paul without knowing the fact that his life was about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was, in a sense, a walking, talking gospel, pointing to the good news of Jesus that had changed his life. And here's the bottom line of verses 27 through 30. As was true of his own life, Paul charges now his Christian readers that your life ought to advance the gospel. You ought to live in a way, only live in a way, that advances the gospel of Jesus Christ. The message here for any Christian listening is that your life should be about the gospel. Certainly there are times when we must speak the gospel. But notice Paul's focus here in these verses is really upon our life's conduct. The way we live. To Christians, Paul says your life should be about the gospel. And he gives three guidelines for how your life should be about the gospel. How your life can be about the gospel. The first guideline for a life resonating with the gospel is you must submit to the fact that your life is about the gospel. You must submit to this fact. Paul begins verse 27. with this imperative, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. To this point, he's greeted his readers. He shared with them his prayer to God on their behalf. He has discussed his own circumstances and his own commitment to Christ in the face of it all. But now he turns the corner. And finally, in verse 27, is his first imperative. And notice, Paul leads with a command then. He leads with a command, not a suggestion. Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. He doesn't ask, what is your life about? He commands his readers, make your life about the gospel. On what basis can he do so? Well, Paul knows, as you will remember, I'm sure, back from verse 6. that his readers belong to Christ. Christ has begun a good work of salvation in them. Paul is confident of that. And Paul is equally confident that he who began this good work will continue it. That Christ will continue to work in and through these people for his sake. Paul knows further that every Christian is called to be a witness of the gospel of Christ. That is the commission we've all received from our Lord. And thus, after describing how his own life is sold out to Christ, Paul now commands us only conduct yourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. He expects the Philippians, those Christians who read his letter, to share his conviction. What conviction? To live as Christ. To remain on in this life in the flesh is to remain for the purpose of laboring. Fruitful labor. What kind of fruit? Bearing spiritual fruit. Fruit for the kingdom of God. That's why you're here. And so your life, Paul's saying, is to be about advancing this message, the message of Christ, his gospel. Now, Paul's command here follows from the fact that his readers are heavenly citizens. with heavenly obligations. This isn't obvious or perhaps isn't obvious from many English translations but the imperative translated conduct yourselves is an interesting word. It's the Greek word a Greek word that means to literally perform your obligations as a citizen. And let me explain why this is significant. Before the time of Christ, Caesar Augustus had made Philippi a Roman colony. Meaning that its citizens would have enjoyed all the privileges and prestige of those living in Rome. So the Philippians took great pride in their Roman citizenship. Even being located in Greece, they were all considered Romans. Completely, just as Roman as those in Rome. And it's been pointed out that because this is the only time Paul uses this word, it's likely due to the fact that his readers were appreciating this. Paul is perhaps appealing to something that especially mattered to them. Namely their citizenship. And of course Paul will remind them in chapter 3 verse 20, for the Christian our citizenship is in heaven. So many scholars believe Paul actually has in view a play on words here. Where he's appealing to his readers citizenship as Romans. They were very proud of that. They were very conscious of that in Philippi. While he's also appealing to the fact that they are citizens of Christ's kingdom. They are citizens to the king of kings. They have dual citizenship, just like every American citizen here, who is also a citizen of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his kingdom. You have obligations to your country here, but you have ultimate obligations to the Lord Jesus Christ, do you not? And here I believe that Paul is ultimately calling on his readers to recognize their obligation to their heavenly king. The context will of course bear that out. Notice how further Paul will say that our obligation to our king of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, confines us to a gospel worthy behavior. Your obligations as a citizen of heaven, if you belong to Jesus Christ, confines your behavior, confines it, limits the way that you are to conduct yourself. By commanding these Christians to only, he says, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, Paul saying only behave in a way that would point others to believe this message, you believe. only point others to the gospel. Your life as a Christian ought to be a signpost, an advertisement, a walking, talking promotion for Jesus Christ. Wednesday evening, we were discussing various respectable sins in the church, so-called. That is, sins that we sadly come to tolerate in our lives. And at one point, we were discussing the sin of complaining, like, when we are unthankful to God and we just broadcast this to those around us. When I used to work in a family medicine center, we used to complain to one another about the certain patients. But I remember the Lord at a time convicting me about my attitude on the job, my attitude with my colleagues in this manner. And I came to realize that my complaining was simply failing to conduct myself worthy of the Gospel of Christ. You see, in what sense? Well, in other words, I recognized that it would be completely hypocritical for me to go from one moment complaining about these wretches that come into this clinic and all, And then the next moment, switching to say, how amazing grace, you know, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Jesus saved a wretch like me. But those wretches out there, you know, I want to complain about them. Well, I realized this was hypocrisy. My conduct was not worthy of the gospel of Christ. And so I had to approach these persons and apologize to them and confess them. This is not wrong. And I asked them to forgive me. You say, was that embarrassing? Absolutely humiliating. Yes. But if you're going to conduct yourself, as Paul is commanding here in a manner worthy of the gospel, you are either going to live a life of constant perfection or. You're going to have to live a life marked by humble and honest confession. You perfect, if you're not, we need to confess our sins to those we sin against so that our life can point people to Jesus. You cannot follow Christ like Paul or like the Philippians unless you get a hold of the fact my life is about leading others to Jesus. leading others to believe the gospel. Any behavior that would deny, confuse, or undermine the gospel has no place in the Christian life. If you're a Christian, it has no place in your life. And you need to get rid of those stumbling blocks. It's not enough to merely confess the gospel so long as our life is giving off mixed messages. You know what I mean? We cannot tell our children God is important when we do not prioritize worshiping Christ on the Lord's day. We cannot tell our neighbor I love God when it's clear we hate those of the other political party or we will not forgive those who have sinned against us. We cannot tell our colleagues I follow Christ while we are dishonoring Christ on the job. Mixed messaging. Mixed messaging will kill your witness for Christ. And maybe someone in this room, if you'd be honest with God, you'd have to say, you know, I need to talk with someone. I need to approach someone. Why? Because you'd have to admit, I've been failing to live a life that points others to Christ. You might say, well, if I do that, then they're not going to take me seriously. I'd shoot my credibility. I'd undermine my testimony for the gospel. No, my friend, that is the only place you can begin. The way forward is back. And you will find, I assure you, you will find that by honestly confessing your sin to those that you've sinned against, if you've been a poor testimony for the cause of Christ to your spouse or your neighbor or those on the job, wherever, by confessing your sin honestly and humbly, I tell you that is a tremendous place and no better place than to begin a witness for Jesus Christ, to point them to the gospel. Your life will not resonate with the gospel until you first submit to the fact that your life is about the gospel. But a second guideline for a life resonating with the gospel here, Paul would have us to know, is strive together. You must strive together with Christ's church for the gospel. Submit to the fact your life is about the gospel, strive together with Christ's church for the gospel. Verse 27, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Now, Paul expands on what he's expecting of the Philippians so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, whatever happens, Paul says, whatever happens to me, I want to hear that you're standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Sure, every Christian's life is about the gospel. We must recognize that. But everyone living for the gospel is playing on the same team. You are a part of the same unit. And Paul uses military language to describe what he's after. This is language that would certainly not have been lost on those living in Philippi in a Roman colony, a military colony. He says, if you're going to live in a manner worthy of the gospel, you're going to have to stand with your brothers and sisters. You're going to have to submit to the fact that you're a part of a unit and you are not the team. There's no I in team. We need to stand firm in one spirit. Historians generally recognize Gettysburg as the turning point in the Civil War, the most, the single most important battle that turned the tide against the Confederacy. But it's also been said that the battle for Gettysburg came down to a fight for a single hilltop called Little Round Top. On a sunny afternoon of July 2nd, 1863, an engineer of the United States Army was surveying from this hilltop when he looked out and saw 15,000, about 15,000 Confederates advancing toward his position. He realized that if they took Little Round Top, they would effectively outflank the entire Union army. This could be disastrous. A runner was sent, and Union soldiers scrambled up the hill. Their orders? Stand firm. Hold the position. Hold your position at all costs. Minutes later, just minutes later, wave after wave of Confederates come crashing up against the hilltop. But the men on little round tops stood firm. And their stand would prove effective. It would be recognized as critical in the entire outcome of the war. Christian, the Bible teaches there is a position that you are to hold at all costs. It is more important than your life's comfort. It is more important than all the things on your wish list. It is the very purpose for which God has you. If you are a Christian, it is the very purpose for which God has you here for such a time as this. 1 Corinthians 15.58 says in the NIV, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, let nothing move you. Stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. What exactly is this position we are to hold? We are to stand firm on? Well, in Philippians 4.1, Paul will say stand firm in the Lord. Perhaps a little more clear is 1 Corinthians 16, 13, where he says to the Corinthians, be on the alert, stand firm in the faith. Even here, though, in Philippians 1, 27, Paul's talking about standing and striving together. He will go on to say for the faith of the gospel. That's pretty specific. for the faith of the gospel. And in 2 Thessalonians 2 15, he shows us that the position we must hold is broader than just the gospel. Where he tells the Thessalonians that brethren stand firm, hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by the word of our mouth or by letter from us. The position that you are to hold, that you are to firmly stand upon is the teaching of God's word. And this is significant because you cannot stand firm upon God's Word if you do not know it. We cannot stand firm unless we first know where to stand. And so implied in Paul's command is your responsibility as a Christian to carefully know the gospel. You have a responsibility to know what the Word of God says. Because how else are you going to defend it? How else are you going to not be moved from it? How many Christians are being moved from God's Word and they don't even know it? They're in churches this Sunday morning, partying, singing around, sing, sing, sing, sing. And most people don't have a clue of what they're singing about. And if you ask them to defend the doctrines of the faith, they couldn't do so. They think that's the pastor's job. But Paul's not talking to just pastors. He's talking to Christians, to those who know Christ. You stand firm. You hold the line. Some think that just because they have Jesus in their heart. I've heard people tell me that. I have God in my heart. They think that means they're standing firm. When all the while it's clear from their life they're giving ground to the enemy. They don't even know it. Paul says he wanted to hear the Philippians were standing firm. Of course upon God's word in one spirit. And by one spirit he may be simply describing the unity that we would have with each other. with one another spirit or unity with the Holy Spirit. Either way, Paul can. I hope it's clear. He can only be calling us to unite with the Holy Spirit because he's certainly not calling us to unite with another spirit. And if we all stand firm in the same purpose of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Spirit. Well, guess what? We will all be standing together. We will. The spirit of God is going to unite his people. We will be one spirit. One pathos. One passion. And Paul adds, with one mind. You know, it's like this. He just wants to be clear. He's leaving no room for so-called Christian mavericks. So-called Christian individualists. I'm just going to do my own thing. I'm not a part of organized, they'll tell you, I'm not a part of organized religion. What they mean is they don't want to be under the authority of a local church. insubordination, individualism. Imagine if you can, all the Union soldiers there at Gettysburg, when the message comes that 15,000 enemies are advancing toward Little Round Top. And the colonel orders all the men up the hill to immediately dig in and stand firm. Do you think someone objected? Colonel, hold on a moment here. You know, when I signed up for this, when I enlisted in the army, I wasn't actually thinking that this might cost me my life. I think I just need to sit this one out. I need a break. This is not what I reckoned on. Or maybe another guy said, can you imagine, you know, Colonel, I really want to help. My prayers go with you. I send with you all my empathy and sympathy to the men there laboring. I pray the Lord will protect them, be with them. But you'll have to give me some time to think about this, because I'm not sure this is the best move. No. How ridiculous. How absurd. You know that wouldn't have happened, and you know why. Because just like there's no I in team, there's no I in the military. This is a unit. These were men that were working, united under one flag, wearing the same uniform, one uniform, marching to the beat of the same drum. They had the same superiors, same orders. Joining up in the military means the surrender of your individuality to the unit. And Christian, if you have enlisted in the service of Jesus Christ, have you done that? Have you enlisted in the service of Jesus Christ? If you have, you surrendered your individuality, you surrendered your autonomy to Christ. He is now your commander. And it is his. Plan revealed in his word that you would be under the authority of a local unit. Not doing your own mavericky thing, as convenient as that would be, but striving together, united, standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the same faith. Paul concludes verse 27 saying, I want to hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. If anyone thought standing firm was passive, Paul just completely destroys that. If you thought that you could stand firm, this is what you're to do as a Christian. I just have my convictions as a family. I have my convictions as a Christian individual without standing together with the church. Paul destroys that notion. Because he says, we're not just standing together, we're struggling together. That's the idea of the striving, whether it's sports or combat or ministry. Working together is essential for fulfilling the ultimate objective. And so Paul urges his readers to struggle with one mind. That's because the struggles always going to be for the same purpose. We have to be like minded because we have a similar purpose here, the same purpose. In this case, Paul saying we're striving together for what purpose? For the faith of the gospel. And actually, Paul's military language to those living in a military colony reminds me of those ancient legendary Spartans, those who lived not far from where this location of Philippi was. The Spartans would be remembered as locking shields. They would lock shields so that their shields would join together and form a wall. The shield on your left arm would protect the comrade to your left. And by standing shoulder to shoulder, locking shields, they would form a shield wall just where you'd have protruding weapons. It was a wall of shields and weapons. And the Greeks called this formation the phalanx. Where everyone fought, they strove together as a single unit. The phalanx formation involved individuals with one mind striving together. No gaps, no holes, no going rogue, no lone rangers. Just a solid wall of locked shields and weapons. And this wall sometimes proved impenetrable. In the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persians sent a force of well over 100,000. Some reckon up to 300,000 men against the Greeks who were defending the straits there. And yet the Spartans were able to effectively keep the enormous Persian army at bay by blocking their way at the pass of Thermopylae. Until, that is until, a fellow Greek, a local, betrayed his countrymen by showing the Persians a secret passageway behind the Greek lines, behind this wall, this solid phalanx, this wall of shields and weapons. You know, Jesus said that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church. And history has proven this fact. But what history also shows us is the devastation that has caused When there's treachery, when there's infighting, when someone says, I have this spirit of God, just like the leadership of this church. Let's just do it my way. Listen to me. And in a matter of moments, what all hell could not accomplish is suddenly achieved by the unwitting treachery of an insider. Beloved, we've been blessed in this church, but beware If we're not standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the same faith of the gospel. Well, the efforts of years could be undone in a single day. We could quickly fall. Gospel centered living is not about simply sharing the gospel yourself. Gospel centered living also demands locking shields with your brothers and sisters in Christ. locking shields with those in the church, striving together for the gospel. This is functioning as the part of a same gospel unit. And let's just face it. If you look out, take a moment to look out among you at those around you in the congregation, you will see plenty of people that can do things far better than you can. We're all gifted. We're all gifted in different ways. God didn't make us all the same. He didn't want us all to be the same. He designed us all to function in different ways so that we could complement one another in the body. You know, the longer I live, the more I realize there are so many people that could do so many things far better than I can or ever will. And that's beautiful. That's a beautiful fact. This church should not be this church would not be possible without the cooperative effort of God's saints, his people. And if this church is going to continue to grow and thrive spiritually and be a lighthouse in this community we're going to have to work together like one body with many members like one team with many players working together not hogging the ball but working together using our abilities for the same cause if your life's going to be about the gospel you must submit to the fact that your life is about the gospel and you must strive together with Christ Church for the gospel But third, you must suffer whatever opposition comes against the gospel. If you're going to remain standing firm and striving together for the gospel, of course, you've got to be willing to take whatever comes against the gospel. So as we're striving for the faith of the gospel, Paul adds that you are to be, verse 28, in no way alarmed by your opponents. The word alarmed means to be intimidated. Of course, this is exactly what those opposing the gospel want. They want to break you down. They want to scare you, scare you away, intimidate Christians from advancing the gospel. Nowhere does Paul actually identify these who are opposing the Philippians. He will go on to say in verse 30 that his readers are now experiencing the conflict that he once was when he was in Philippi. So it's safe to assume that some of the same forces that attacked Paul in Philippi when he was there are perhaps now coming against the Christians gathered in this local community. Now they're feeling this opposition. Yes, opposition will come against you. Paul wants them to know, don't be intimidated. Don't let them scare you, because there's three things you should recognize about this opposition. First, he wants us to know this opposition is good evidence you are a true believer. Verse 28, he says, be in no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you and that too from God. Now, first off, how is this opposition? a sign of destruction for our opponents. Well, by opposing opposing us as we preach the gospel, they are opposing the gospel message itself, we could say. And by opposing the message of the gospel of Christ, they're opposing Christ. They're opposing God. Their every action against God and his word, his gospel. Guess what? That is being recorded. When the Nazi war criminals were being tried, After the war, it is said that a clear turning point in the trial was the impact of an hour-long film titled The Nazi Concentration Camp. And it's reported that after the film, when the lights came back on in the room, all assembled there sat in silence, disgusted. The evidence was disturbing and damning. And there's coming a time when the wickedness with which many are now opposing the gospel, so flippantly, so arrogantly, so fearlessly, there's coming a time when all this opposition to the gospel is going to be played out again. Only next time it's going to be in the courtroom of heaven. Every evil committed against the gospel will be a sign of destruction for the offender. That's not to say there's never any hope for those who are now opposing the gospel and persecuting the church. Just look at the life of Paul. Paul once persecuted the church and the Lord mercifully saved him. But Paul was brought to repentance. I hope it's clear. Aside from repentance, there is no salvation. Paul was brought to repent of his sin and turn to Christ. But these who carry on persecuting the church without repentance, they are only digging their own grave. And aside from repentance and the mercy of God, they will not escape. Their opposition to the gospel will prove devastating evidence against them in the last judgment. Paul says their opposition is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation, a sign of salvation for you and that from God. What is evidence incriminating those that oppose us is evidence of salvation for us. For us who believe, Jesus said in Matthew 5 10. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He said in John 15 19, if you were of this world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of this world, the world hates you. Because of this, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, the servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3.12, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Peter said, don't think it's strange when the fiery ordeal comes upon you for your testing. This is a fiery ordeal coming upon them for their faith in Christ, because they wore the name Christian, and they wore it proudly, and they represented Jesus. And people knew that their life gave off the gospel message. And so they received persecution. Peter says, don't think it's strange. Let me tell you, you are to think it's strange if you don't receive any opposition. Because if you're not receiving any opposition in your life for the gospel, that means you don't represent the gospel. Your message is not clear. Don't be intimidated, Paul says. Opposition will come to gospel-centered living. Beloved, don't be intimidated. This is good evidence of a faith that is genuine. But secondly, you should recognize this opposition is God's gift to you. Verse 29, he says, For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. If something's been granted, obviously we could say it's been gifted. And what has been gifted? Not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer. Now, don't miss this. This is really neat. What Paul says here and really significant. I've heard preachers insist faith is not a gift. Faith is not a gift. They score in the idea that God would give us faith. And they insist that this would mean that we were entirely passive in our salvation. Like we were dead in sin and Christ had to just breathe life into us. Like that's how it all started, right? Well, we're gonna talk about this more in Philippians chapter two. But for now, please understand scripture has much to say about faith being God's gift. That your faith, if you have faith in Jesus Christ, began with God. It began with the Lord. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, Jesus said in John 6, 44, And the Philippians knew this. They knew faith had to begin with God. Salvation had to begin with God. Because the very first convert in their church was a woman named Lydia, of whom we are told in Acts 16, 14, that as she was hearing the preaching of God's word, she's listening to Paul, then the Lord opened her heart so that she could believe. The Lord must give a sinner the heart to believe. And you know, I'm so glad God graciously does. He is in the business of saving souls. He still is. But we should understand if we have faith in Christ, this is God's gracious gift to us. Praise be to him. We exalt Christ for our salvation. We don't take credit for believing on Christ. We say, Lord, thank you for giving me faith to believe. To you, it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer. Yes, we have to continue. We have to study all the word of God. You heard the man. In addition to giving us faith, Paul says God is also giving you suffering. Now isn't this just what you want to draw out of your little promise card box or what you want to receive on a Hallmark card? What a beautiful promise. To me, Lord, it is given to suffer today. Thank you, Lord. I claim this promise for my own. That's usually not the way we feel about suffering, is it? Probably not. It's certainly not a message preached in many churches. But that's biblical. It is God's gift to you. The trial is a gift. We might wonder how this is or in what sense. But it is God's way, the suffering that comes to you for Christ's sake is His way of preparing you for the glory that is to come. Jesus would say in Matthew 5 that blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely see all kinds of evil against you because of me. And he says rejoice and be glad. What? That doesn't make sense. I'm being slandered and accused and beaten and all this stuff, and I'm going to rejoice and be glad? Yes, he says, because your reward in heaven is great. God is doing something beautiful in your life, building your faith, preparing you for glory, and the suffering you are receiving for the sake of the gospel is his gift to you. What do you do when someone gives you a gift? Well, you may not like the gift, right? Wow, that was really thoughtful of you. What should you do when you receive a gift? Whether you like it or not, thank you. Thank you. We ought to thank God for the gift of suffering that comes to us for the sake of Christ. Do not be intimidated. Opposition will come to gospel-centered living, but this is good evidence you are a true believer. This is God's gift to you. And thirdly, you should recognize this opposition is a great honor. A great honor you share with all heroes of the faith. Paul concludes in verse 30. As we're suffering, he's saying you're experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me and now here to be in me. Act 16 actually recounts the conflict that Paul experienced when he was ministering in Philippi. He was accosted and arrested. He was beaten and. thrown into prison and shackled in the stocks. And he was left to rot. And some of these in Philippi, Lydia included, that they actually saw this, they saw Paul experiencing this conflict and doubtless, they would have told this story to every new convert in the church who hadn't known it already in their church's short history. They would have loved to tell this story. Paul knows they knew it. Paul knows that they knew this. But now, years later, the Philippians were no longer seeing Paul, but they were now hearing of the conflict he's experiencing for the gospel. And though we don't know the details, we can gather things were now heating up in Philippi. Things were heating up in this community in Philippi against the Christian church there. Because Paul says to them, welcome to the club. Welcome to the club. What you saw happening to me, you're now receiving, you're now experiencing it. You know, the Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are killed or wounded while serving. While I'm no Purple Heart veteran, I am sure that those who do receive this badge of honor, they are proud to wear it. They are honored to be a part of a community of heroes. And it might be difficult for us as Christians to appreciate this because we've never been in prison for preaching the gospel. But Paul wants his readers to know they are now sharing his suffering. And for the Philippians, this could have only met a purple heart. A badge of honor. Here was their hero in the faith, a man who had given all for them. And now they are joining rakes with him. Even Jesus described suffering for righteousness sake as a badge of honor when he said, this is what the prophets experienced before you. The prophets in the time of Christ, they were regarded as the heroes of the fief. Now, beloved, opposition will come to us at one time or another, in one way or another. But in the meantime, these words of Scripture, should inspire us, should inspire us to remember our brothers and sisters across this globe who are locked in a conflict on account of their faith. We ought to pray for them. We ought to pray for these brothers and sisters. We ought to pray that God would fill them with strength to endure. Pray that God would give them love, love that would abound for their persecutors and joy in the midst of their suffering. Ask that God would give them victory. Ask that God would advance the gospel through their suffering, through their lives. Christian, your life should be about the gospel. Your life should be about the gospel. And for Paul, life was about Christ. It's impossible to think of this man without thinking of the gospel, without recognizing what he was about. So what about you? What characterizes your behavior beyond your confession, beyond what we tell others we believe? Let me just put it this way. If the secret police were to tap your phone and well, I don't know they're about to do this anytime soon, but maybe they have already. In this day and age, people are always listening. Big Brothers listening, right? If the secret police, though, were to tap your phone, your car, your home, listening to your every conversation watching you, watching your movements, tracking your movements, both in church and out of church, tracking your internet searches, monitoring how you spend your time and money. In such a case, would they conclude this man, this woman, is a genuine Christian? Or might they, after careful surveillance, conclude he or she confesses the faith, they are a confessor of the faith, but their life's not centered on the faith. They're not really about the gospel. You know, my friend, the world is watching. And the world needs to witness gospel centered living. The church needs gospel centered Christians like Paul. And like those who will respond in obedience. to the charge of the apostle and the words of Christ here in this text. If you have any questions today about the gospel or about how your life could be about the gospel, please let me know. Let's pray.