Philippians 1:27-30 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him…”

Ephesians 4:1-3 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

The bible teaches us one unalterable truth—we were made for one purpose, to worship God.

I.  Be Bold “I will know that you stand firm…” (Vs. 27)
There are three types of believers:
1) Poser
2) Passive
3) Passionate

II.  Be Unified “In one spirit contending as one man…” (vs.27)

Ephesians 4:1-5 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism;”

Ephesians 4:12-13 “…to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

Philippians 2:1-2 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, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Diakrino = Grk = The act of determining

The Word of God was not given to validate the acts of man, but rather given to man to validate the love of God and His redemption of man.

III.  Be Courageous “Without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you…” (Vs. 28)

IV. Be Committed “But it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him…” (Vs. 29)

We face three types of suffering:
Physical
Mental
Spiritual

There are many reasons we face suffering:

1. To produce Fruit.
James1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

2. To Silence the enemy.
Job 1:8-9 “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’ 9 ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied.

3. To Glorify God.
John 9:1-3 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

There are many reasons we face suffering:

4. To make us like Jesus.
Philippians 3:10 “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”

5. To teach us Dependence.
2 Cor 12:7-10 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

There are many reasons we face suffering:

6. To Refine our lives.
Psalm 66:10-12 “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. 12 You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”

7. To Refine our sin.
1 Peter 2:20-21 “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

1 Peter3:17 “It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

There are many reasons we face suffering:

8. To Enlarge our ministry towards others.
II Cor. 1:3-7 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”

Audio File: 

2009-08-16-1030 Jawbreakers 1.mp3

You can download the audio and sermon notes by clicking the links above.

Subscribe to our Podcast to have new sermons automatically downloaded onto your audio player.