Standing for Jesus

Standing for Jesus

Philippians 4:1-9

INTRODUCTION:

Several years ago, many of the professors of our Southern Baptist Colleges and seminaries came together and voted to rebuke the Sunday School Board for publishing a book by Dr. W. A. Criswell. In his book, Why I Preach That The Bible is Literally True, he unashamedly expressed how he felt about God and the Bible He held a firm conservative stance from which he never wavered.

Paul told the Christians at Philippi to stand fast in the Lord. Their reward for doing this was to be the peace of God. We live in a world today where it has never been more urgent for Christians to stand for Jesus. Yet so many Christians seem uninterested in standing firm. To some it appears as if standing for Jesus is next to impossible. What can we do to stand and be counted for Jesus Christ? How can the world recognize us as a people set apart, changed, different for the world we live in?

In order to build a strong foundation for a deck or pier good strong wooden planks must be used. If one of your planks is weak, you risk the whole structure crashing to the ground. The Christian life is the same way, we must build our foundation on solid planks. I see four strong planks for the Christian to build upon in today’s scripture.

1. The plank of having a right attitude.
2. The plank of right praying.
3. The plank of right thinking.
4. The plank of right living.

I. The Plank of having a right Attitude verses 1-5

The first five verses of chapter four deal with our attitudes. We are encouraged right in the first verse to stand firm. To stand up for what we believe in, and never to back down. Evangelist Jay Strack said one time "Your attitude determines your altitude". We should consistently check our attitudes and see if they meet scriptural commandments!

a. We should have a right attitude toward God!

A Christian should place God first in their lives. We should recognize God as the supreme being that he is, and offer him the ultimate respect which he deserves. He deserves our total loyalty and devotion. When God is active in our lives, everything and everyone else takes second place.

b. We should have a right attitude toward God’s people.

We should get along well with each other, and should support and encourage each other. Euodias and Syntache, two prominent women in the local church, were begged by Paul to put aside their differences and agree together in the Lord. Each of us is different, and we have different dreams and desires. We have different methods of going places, doing things, even different methods of worship. To get to Speedway Blvd., I may go back up over the bridge and take US1, but you may drive down A1A and watch the beach go by. We both will end up at our destination, but we have chosen different routes. We should not disparage someone and discourage them from doing God’s work simply because they go about it differently than we do. An exception of course is when ones method contradicts the Word of God. That is unacceptable. Jesus commanded us to love one another, Paul (in his letter to the Thessalonians) commands us to encourage one another. They seem to me to go hand in hand.

c. We should have a right attitude toward God’s program.

God has given us our marching orders in Matthew 28:19-20 when he tells us:

"Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

As Southern Baptists, we use a variety of methods to achieve this goal. We utilize Sunday School, discipleship training, choirs, evangelism, and scores of other programs. While it is not necessary to have all of these programs to have a thriving congregation, we are obligated to fully support those programs that we do have. These programs are designed to share God’s love with those around. 100% support for the work of God is the only answer, and the only way we can assure that our foundation is secure.

d. We should have a right attitude toward God’s possessions.

Tithing is not an option for the Christian who has a right attitude. It is required. God commanded us to give back to Him 10% of that which he has given to us. It has been my personal experience that God honors our gifts, and supplies our needs, but when we neglect to give Him His portion, we pay a penalty. We should also have a right attitude toward God’s house. We should respect our place of worship, and treat it accordingly. Children must be taught not to destroy items they find in the pews, write on the tables, and disrespect the furniture in God’s house. While the temple is indeed our own souls, the physical house should be kept up.

II. There must be the plank of Right Praying. Verses 6-7

Prayer is more than saying our prayers. It is communion with the Lord who wants to give us His mind, guidance, and power. Most of all, He wants to give us the gift of Himself.

a. Christians need to stop praying foolishly.

Many people, Christians and non-Christians alike turn to God in times of extreme need. The old saying is that there are no atheists in a fox hole. That saying has quite a bit of truth to it. It is foolish for us to only pray when we encounter adversity. Our God is much bigger than that, he wants to hear our small desires and needs also.

It is also foolish to pray ALWAYS DEMANDING from God. We are owed nothing from him, and we have no right to demand anything from God. He knows our needs and will supply them. He paid a huge debt for us, one he didn’t even owe, we should be grateful, not greedy.

We should also never pray with unconfessed sin in our lives. Norman Vincent Peale tells the story of when he was a small little boy:

It seems that one day he decided he wanted to smoke a cigar. He snuck out behind the barn and lit one up. While smoking the cigar he heard his father coming and quickly stuck it behind his back. His father asked him what he was doing out behind the barn, and needing a quick excuse he spotted a billboard advertising the circus in town. Rev. Peale told his father he was looking at that sign wishing he could go. His father told him he should never ask for favors when the evidence of misdeeds was smoldering behind his back.

We should never ask favors of God when the evidence of our misdeeds are apparent to him. We should request forgiveness and repent prior to conversing with the Lord.

b. Christians should pray more frequently

We are told in the scripture to pray without ceasing. Our world today is a world of instant communication. We can keep track of one another with beepers, cellular phones, electronic mail, and countless other conveniences. We should apply the same desire for communication to our relationship with the Lord!

c. Christians should pray more fervently.

James 5:16 says "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

III. There must be the plank of right thinking. Verse 8

Garbage in equals Garbage out. We say and do what we hear. The food you feed your mind determines who (and whose even) you are. As Christians we need to think on:

A. Real Things

B. Respectable Things

C. Repeatable Things.

If we cannot repeat it in church or among our Christian friends, we have no business dwelling on it to begin with.

IV. There must be the plank of right living. verse 9

This final point goes hand in hand with the previous one. When we think on all these things that Paul has encouraged us to, what then? We have to put them into practice. We should learn from Paul’s example. He tells us to do the things we saw in him. This was not mere boasting on Paul’s part, but was a sincere plea for Christians to do the right thing. We have to live according to the Word. It is not enough for us to simply accept Christ and go about our merry way. We have to live totally according to the principles laid out in His Word.

CONCLUSION

In order to build and maintain a firm foundation, we must put our planks in order. Our attitude, prayer life, thinking, and life style must be in accordance to God’s Will. Where do you stand today? Is your foundation firm, or do you have some planks that may be beginning to rot? We will not always live up to these goals, but we should continually strive to achieve them. You have that opportunity now.