Series: On The Way to Joy: A Study in Philippians

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Before we begin, we are not saying...

• That we are at war against the culture around us
• That we are defined by who we stand against

I heard that Christians were protesting Heath Ledger's funeral and wanted to protest the protestors.

• Heath starred in Brokeback Mountain
• But he was also a loving father
• He was a broken person who had either overcome or was struggling to overcome chemical dependency
• Jesus is not well served if we go to battle against him and all those like him.
• In fact, our battle is for people like him.

Ephesians 6:11-12 - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

That said, there is something in us that rises up to the battle.

William Gurnall - It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.

It is also the image of God reflected in you that is enraged by hell.

Psalm 18:1-2 - I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:7-15 - The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him- the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

Psalm 18:32-39 - It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

Revelation 19:11-16 - I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

Scenes like this put a fire in our hearts.

1.  The War Starts with our Identity

"conduct yourselves in a manner worthy"

Greek Word = politeuesthe

            Polis = city

            This is conduct expected of a citizen of this city state

Philippians were citizens of Rome.

• Battle between After Julius Caesar was assassinated, Mark Anthony & Octavian stayed loyal and went to war against Brutus & Cassius.
• Mark Anthony & Octavian won.
• Octavian was crowned Caesar Augustus
• Philippi was given honors
• They became a Roman Colony
• As such, Philippi became a miniature Rome
• Every citizen of Philippi became Roman Citizens
• Taxes, property ownership and other rights were given as if they were on Roman soil
• They even had their own senate and magistrates, with Roman Law and the Latin language

On a Roman citizen's rights:

Foreigners and women were treated very, very poorly. Roman Citizens were technically the only people with real rights, and these superseded most of the rights enjoyed by others.

• vote
• hold public office
• marry other citizens
• commerce (property, contracts, inheritance)
• trial before urban praetor
• appeal criminal case to Rome
• wear toga
• bear 3 names (middle name = family name)

Roman citizen's responsibilities:

• pay special taxes (e.g. inheritance)
• military service (The early Roman Legions were only comprised of citizens)

Philippians 3:20 - But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

A bigger battle was fought to determine the ruler of the Heavens and Earth

• The Victor disarmed his enemies with a grand procession
• Colossians 2:15 - And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
• In the wake of this victory, grace was extended to people of every tribe, nation and language

Paul says - You've been living lives worthy of your Roman citizenship.

            * Its time to live a life worth of your citizenship in heaven.

If you have faith in Jesus, then this is your true identity!

You are a citizen of heaven!

You are completely accepted by Jesus.

Loneliness and disenfranchisement don't define you

You are accepted

You are incorporated into a larger group

2.  What is the key to our success?  - UNITY

Two Words Define Our Worthy Walk As Citizens of Heaven:

Stand Firm (stekete)

Contending as one man (synathlontes)

Illustration: Spartan Shield Wall 

(Movie Clip - 300, ch 14 - begin at beginning of chapter.  End - if you want to help, clear the field of the dead and tend the wounded.  As for the battle, I have no use for you)

Recap - The strength of the Spartan Army came from its phalanx

A - Stand Firm

            B - In One Spirit  (unity of spirit)

            B' -  With One Soul / Mind (unity of heart and mind)

A' - Contending As One Man (unity of action)

This unity is developed more in Phil 2:1-4

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:1-4

• Standing Firm under attack, while it requires stern resolution on the part of each individual, is a corporate matter, an activity of the fellowship.
• Steadfastness requires your unity of spirit and soul, your cooperation battling for the faith you hold in common.

3.  Can We Form One Wall?  The Problem

3500 churches close every year

In every one of those stories, there is a place where people refused to overlap shields.

65-90% of 18 year olds leave the church

In every one of their stories there is a place where the people around them did not overlap shields with them.

Scott Scruggs - Director of College Ministries at Menlo Park Pres

            The #1 request of young people in the Church

• Not for louder music
• Not for more attractive members of the church
• Not for the phone numbers of those attractive people
• But "do you think someone would mentor me?"

Psalm 145:4     One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

People Under 30 Feel that the Church is at best Irrelevant, at worst Dangerous

UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity...And Why It Matters  by David Kinnaman"

• Surveys 16 to 29-year-olds outside the Christian faith
• This group represents 40% of an age group that consists of 24 million people in the United States.

"... many outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders.  They admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians."

What does this group value?

• Relationships is a driving force.
• Though they esteem fair-mindedness and diversity, they are irreverent and blunt.
• Being skeptical of leaders, products, and institutions is part of their generational coding.
• They consume more hours of media from more sources than do older generations.
• In a nearly constant search for fresh experiences and new sources of motivation.
• They prefer casual and comfortable to stuffy and stilted.
• They view life in a nonlinear, chaotic way, which means they don't mind contradiction and ambiguity.

Spirituality is important to young adults, but many consider it just one element of a successful, eclectic life.  Fewer than one out of ten young adults mention faith as their top priority, despite the fact that the vast majority of Busters and Mosaics attended a Christian church during their high school years (emphasis mine).

One of the generational differences that they noticed was an increase of hostility and resentment toward Christianity. 

• In 1996 they discovered that 85% of outsiders (all generations) were favorable toward Christianity's role in society.
• These days nearly two out of every five young outsiders (38 percent) claim to have a "bad impression of present-day Christianity."
• one-third of young outsiders said that Christianity represents a negative image with which they would not want to be associated.
• one out of every six young outsiders (17 percent) indicates that he or she maintains a "very bad" perceptions of the Christian faith.... this group is three times larger than it was a decade ago.

This is hostility is toward all things Christian, but mainly are most frustrated with how Christianity is expressed (especially their impression of born again Christians/evangelicals).  They are also aggravated by Christians themselves as well.   Why?

• We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than what we are for.
• We are perceived to have an "us-versus-them" mentality.
• Many believe that Christians do not like them because of what they do, how they look, or what they believe.
• They feel demonized by those who love Jesus.

The three most common perceptions of present-day Christianity are antihomosexual (an image held by 91 percent of young outsiders), judgmental (87 percent), and hypocritical (85 percent).  These "big three" are followed by the following negative perceptions, embraced by a majority of young adults: old-fashioned, too involved in politics, out of touch with reality, insensitive to others, boring, not accepting of others faiths, and confusing.  ...This is what a new generation really thinks about Christianity.

Victoria, a 24-year-old single mom was one who was interviewed by the authors.  She said:

Everyone in my church gave me advice about how to raise my son, but a lot of the time they seemed to be reminding me that I have no husband - and besides, most of them were not following their own advice.  It made it hard to care what they said.  They were not practicing what they preached.

4.  Can We Form One Wall?  Some Solutions

Our difficulties are not reason to abandon hope.

The conflicts and struggles we face for the Gospel are signs that we are on the right track.

Philippians 1:29-30 - For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

"Granted" = a gift

- same root word we get "charismatic" from

"for it has been granted to you ... to suffer for [Christ]"

Paul's point = 

The conflicts that you are experiencing may appear frightening and thus threaten to discourage you, but you cannot allow that to happen.  Perhaps you see these conflicts as a bad omen, as though God is displeased with you and intends to destroy you.  But that is exactly wrong!  You must interpret what is happening as evidence of God's design to save you!  Why?  BECAUSE suffering is the way to glory.  Suffering is God's gift of salvation to his children.

5.  Is there Joy Here?

Philippians 1:9  And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.

• Knowledge = experiential knowledge
• epignosis
• Stephen Ambrose knows about WWII
• My grandpa, and some of you, knows (epignosis) WWII
• The fear and adrenaline
• The dirt, canned rations and long slow walks through snow and ice
• How good a warm shower felt when he was able to get one
• In this battle we assimilate our knowledge of Jesus
• From knowing about Jesus
• To knowing Jesus