THE POWER OF FOCUS
Philippians 1:3-11
Introduction:
A. We are to live a victorious lives in our Christianity!
1. How many times do we feel defeated ?
How many times do we feel like we cannot live up to the life of Christianity?
This morning we’re beginning a new series I’m calling “The Empowered Life” based on the first chapter of Philippians.
In this chapter we are given very clear and helpful instruction on how to live the kind of life that Jesus has asked us to live.
The problem most of us have is not that we don’t understand what kind of life God has called us to, but how to actually pull it off - how to move beyond theory to actual practice.
(theory) the idea of what kind of life.
And one of the reasons we so often fail in this area is because we have had trouble having the proper focus - it’s like knowing that our destination is Ft. Worth, Texas, but not having a map that will show us how to get there.
When something similar to that happens to us as Christ followers we find ourselves living spiritually and emotionally confused lives, because we have some idea of where we should be, but have no idea of how to get there.
The answer to our dilemma is learning to live life with the proper focus - by learning to see what God wants for us so clearly that we can’t possibly miss it.
Today I want to share with you four areas of focus that will give us the power and ability to live God-honoring lives.
FOCUSING INWARD - WHERE I AM HONEST WITH MYSELF AND WITH GOD
It is really difficult to get a handle on external behaviors until I first get a handle on the person that lives inside of me.
When you look at me on the outside, you have no idea of what is really going on inside my head, how I really feel about a particular issue or person, or what is taking place in my spiritual life - the same is true when I look at you.
And what is also true is that most of us have not taken the time to internally reflect on ourselves to the point that we really understand those things either.
In other words, we are often strangers to ourselves, not really knowing the inner person much better than our friends or families know us.
And the reason for that is often because we don’t really want to know what is going on deep down inside our souls - there is a certain fear of being exposed.
Yet, until we are willing to really examine who we are, and what our core values are, and what really makes us tick, it will be difficult to focus on the other important areas that we’re going to be talking about today.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
2 Cor. 13:5
Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. - 2 Corinthians 13:5 (MSG)
What happens to most of us who become Christ Followers is that we get busy doing “church stuff” and very quickly forget about the inner person.
- What is necessary is a regular internal check up - how do you do that?
- Let me suggest some questions for you to use when you are in your quiet time.
1. Do I truly strive to live my life as Jesus lived His?
2. Is God my first love? Do I do things to demonstrate my love for Him? If so, what? Make a list.
3. If I died today, what work for God’s kingdom would go undone because of my absence?
Am I closer in my relationship to God today than I was last year? 10 Years ago?
Now that should be enough to get us started - the idea is to expose our inner person - to get it all out on the table before God, and then to begin working on those areas where we find we fall short.
When I seriously focus on the inner person, I find that my vision becomes more clear, allowing me to serve God in an eternally satisfying way.
FOCUSING UPWARD - WHERE I ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S ROLE IN THE PROCESS
When I was a kid I used to love going to the playground and riding the merry-go-round - you know, the kind where someone runs alongside and makes you go faster and faster and faster?
If you’ve ever ridden one of these you probably discovered that to experience the maximum G force you needed to sit and hold on close to the edge.
But if you move closer to the center of the merry-go-round, the more stable the ride becomes.
This is an important principle - The faster your life goes, the more focused you must be on your center if you're to survive and thrive.
And what or who is the center of your life? It's not your family or career; it shouldn't be your golf game or favorite football team - It's God.
What we need to do is center ourselves by keeping our focus on God’s role in the process of developing us throughout our lives - we need to focus upward.
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. I always pray for you, and I make my requests with a heart full of joy because you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. - Philippians 1:3-6
Notice that even though much of Paul’s focus here in on the Christians in Philippi, everything that he says about them, or himself, is centered in his focus upon God and God’s role in the process.
“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to God.” “I am sure that God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work…”
I need to focus inward and open myself up to God, but I also need to focus upward and recognize that any progress I make in my spiritual walk is possible because the mighty hand of God is working through me.
When we become a Christians we make a basic commitment - we will follow God’s direction, and He will transform our lives.
And while my role and obedience to God is extremely important, I must never forget that God is the one who is actually doing the good work within me. (Not I or anyone or anything else)
3. FOCUSING OUTWARD - WHERE I EXPRESS MY TRUE FEELINGS FOR OTHERS
The New England Patriots were a surprising success in the first half of the 2003-04 NFL season.
Despite using eight rookies to replace injured veterans, the Patriots led the AFC Eastern division, with a 7-2 record.
Part of their success is due to an unselfish mindset adopted by coaches and players alike.
The VP of player personnel, Scott Pioli, displays a sign in his office that summarizes it best-WE ARE BUILDING A TEAM-NOT COLLECTING TALENT]
In the past years as we moved into this building, and working to grow the Kingdom of God, I have learned the value of teamwork.
I have discovered, as have many of you, that to accomplish what God has in store for us, we must focus on building relationships with each other and focusing together, as one person, on the vision that God has given to us.
It is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:7-8
Paul was building a team, not collecting talent.
There is a unity that we share as Christ Followers, not just because we believe the same things, but because we are working together toward the same purpose.
Like Paul said to the Philippians, I can say to you - “You have a very special place in my heart…we have shared together the blessings of God…we have defended the truth together, and witnessed together…I love you, and long for you.”
I think the problem many of us have is not that we don’t feel that way towards each other, but that we have trouble expressing it.
And sometimes, in the midst of our attempt to reach the goal, we unintentionally step over each other in the process.
There comes a point where we find ourselves forgetting about the importance of other’s ministries in the kingdom, and begin to entirely focus on our own.
Rather than recognizing everyone’s contribution, we can even become jealous of the way God is working through other people.
Let me tell you what is a really healthy exercise that would help us all in this area - go through your quite time this week, or dont' just listen to the announcements but write down, and being praying, for the people mentioned or for all the people you know involved in all the various ministries that are taking place around here.
Begin looking around you on Sunday morning and consider all that has taken place to make this a worshipful time for you.
Think about all those who are involved in ministering to our children, all who are maintaining our building, all those who are working on outreach to our community, all who work in a leadership position, all who teach, and all who serve in some way here at the church - just take some time to really think about it.
And very soon you will find yourself focusing outward, and thanking God for all those people around you, and you will begin to recognize the importance of the team
But I think we need to take it a step further than that, and actually let those who serve in the various areas of the church know that we truly love them - not just for what they do, but for who they are; our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
That is something I know that I need to do more of, and I’m sure that you do too.
FOCUSING FORWARD - WHERE I USE MY SANCTIFIED IMAGINATION FOR GOD’S GLORY
As I’m thinking about you, and praying for you, and letting you know how much I care, I also need to do something else. I need to begin focusing forward, using my imagination to see how God might use all of us together in the future.
Do you ever picture in your mind what our church will look like one, five, ten years from now? Twenty years from now?
I think about it all the time - I sit back and dream about us growing closer together, loving each other more deeply, leading more and more people into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Often I think of different individuals here in our church, and as I see God working through them, I imagine how God might use them in the future.
Paul did something similar to that with the church at Philippi.
I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God. - Philippians 1:9-11
Paul is using his imagination and praying for some very specific things he would like to see take place in the lives of the Christ Followers at Philippi.
He dreams of their love overflowing, of their knowledge growing, of them understanding what really matters, and living as Christ would want them to. He clearly sees their lives being used in the future to bring glory to God. I can look out at this group and dream of what God has in store - there are some here I see leading their friends to Christ, others I see building our children into fully devoted followers of Jesus, others I see working on their musical talent and bringing God glory in that way, others becoming model parents and teaching others how to do it right, others being an example of humility before God.
I can close my eyes and begin to imagine each one of us as individuals and collectively as the church growing, building, maturing, becoming, everything that God wants us to be.
To focus forward is to picture things as they might be, and praying toward that end as it brings glory to God.
This is true for us as the church, but it is also important to use our imaginations in the process of personal transformation.
What I am asking you to do might be somewhat foreign to you- those of us in the evangelical tradition have often only been receptive to what we can see in black and white, yet God calls us to begin to see things through the eyes of the Holy Spirit.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NRSV)
It is the Spirit inspired “seeing” of Jesus, or we could say the use of our sanctified imaginations in the seeing of Jesus, that changes our being and circumstances.
As we imagine His glory, we are transformed into His likeness “from one degree of glory to another.”
This is, in essence, how the fruit of the Spirit is produced in our lives.
When we cease from striving in our own effort and yield to the Holy Spirit, and when our faith ceases to be merely intellectual and rather becomes experiential and concrete, our lives begin to reflect Christ’s image.
As we behold through our imaginations the glory of the Lord we are transformed into that glory.
It is what we see in our minds, not how hard we strive, that determines what we become.
Throughout history God has worked through images that He has placed in our minds that allow us to picture Who He is, and what He does, and how He cares.
And it is through the sanctified images of our imagination that God often becomes more real to us than ever before.
What I’m asking you to do is to begin to take the time to imagine yourself with God, with His loving arms around you, and acknowledging you as His child.
I’m asking you to picture yourself literally standing at the throne of the Father, with Jesus sitting at His right hand, as you offer Him your petitions and prayers.
What I’m asking you to do, is to allow your mind to transport you back to the Cross of Christ and see the drops of blood flowing down His body, and with every drop that hits the ground experiencing the reality of His sacrifice for you.
I am asking you to picture being with God at this very moment and imagining just what it is that He has to say to you today.
It is a matter of moving beyond the verses of the Bible and allowing the experience of God Himself to come into your mind and transform you.
It is taking this idea of focus to another level, where we fully expect God to move into our lives, transform us, and by doing so He will be glorified. I understand the danger - of allowing our minds to run wild, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about using our imaginations as they are in agreement with what God has revealed to us in His Word about His nature, and His character, and so on…and then allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the images that God places within our minds.
It is something that has the potential of taking your focus to a point you might have never been before.
And it is all done for the glory of God Himself.
CONCLUSION:
There are four areas of focus we’ve looked at this morning:
Focusing Inward; (Looking to the real you what is the center of your life!)
Focusing Upward; (Are you looking for God to work it out ?)
Focusing Outward; ( Do you see those around you serving you?)
Focusing Forward. ( Do you see yourself as God see you in your future)
I’d like to ask you to do yourself a favor and pick the area that you feel you need the most help and begin taking steps toward that area of focus.
As you work through these I have no doubt that your focus will become the same focus that God has for you.
And when that takes place you will begin to live a life of satisfaction beyond anything you’ve ever experienced before.
THE POWER OF PURPOSE
Philippians 1:12-19
Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in Southern, CA wrote a book to help people discover their purpose in life.
That book, The Purpose Driven Life, was published in October of 2002.
By January 2003 it had hit the New York Times best-seller list, where it remained accumulating sales of over four million copies in less than nine months.
A #1 seller in the Christian marketplace, the book has also been #1 on the New York Times hardcover advice list, #1 on the Publishers Weekly religion hardcover bestseller list, #2 on The Wall Street Journal hardcover nonfiction list, #7 on Amazon.com, and #20 on the USA TODAY top-50 best-selling list.
The success of this book has been absolutely incredible for any type of book, but it is especially incredible for a book with a completely Christian theme.
Now we could list many reasons for the success of this book - they did a great job marketing it - it already had brand recognition from Warren’s previous book, The Purpose Driven Church - it was connected with a 40 Days of Purpose Campaign for Churches to use - and was also published in conjunction with a similarly themed small group curriculum.
But most of all, I believe we can attribute the book’s success to the great need for purpose in the lives of people.
Warren struck a nerve in the hearts of churched and unchurched alike, by giving them a means to discover why they were here on planet earth.
This morning I’d like to share with you the story of another man who had a lot to say about this subject many years before - a man we know as the Apostle Paul.
Paul made it very clear in his writings in the Bible that our main purpose as human beings was to live our lives, not for ourselves, but for the glory of God.
And the thing that I have discovered, as have many of you, is that when we seek first and foremost to bring glory to God, our lives are blessed as a result.
There are five specific lessons about purpose in the text we’ll look at today.
1. PURPOSE DEFINES WHO WE ARE
If you asked the average person on the street to define themselves they most likely would tell you about their occupation, where they’re from, how many kids they have, or something along those lines.
We tend to find our identity in the things that we do and from personal experiences.
When our core purpose is to bring glory to God, we find our identity, not in what we do, or in where we’re from, but in who we worship.
The focus in directed away from ourselves and toward our relationship with God.
When we know why we are here, and dedicate ourselves to living out our purpose, that purpose begins to define who we are.
We could say that our purpose not only tells us where to go, but that if we truly adopt it as the goal for our lives, it will transform us into different people.
Now when Paul wrote to the church at Philippi he was doing time in prison for preaching the Gospel of Christ.
And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. - Philippians 1:12
So Paul is in prison, most likely shackled to a prison guard as he is writing this letter, with all the trappings of prison life surrounding him, and he says in so many words, “my present circumstances will work towards fulfilling my purpose.”
He doesn’t say, “You know, this really stinks. I’m out here working for God and I end up in this lousy prison. Where is God at when I need Him the most?”
Instead, he looks at his circumstances and says, “How can God use this to be glorified through me?”
He does not define himself or his situation by what has went wrong in his life, but by who it is that He serves - in other words, he long ago discovered that he lived not for himself, but for the God who created him.
When we take this idea of bringing glory to God seriously, every circumstance we find ourselves in will be defined by our commitment to serve our Maker.
2. PURPOSE DIRECTS OUR FUTURE PATH
When I know why I’m here on this planet, it determines where I’m going to go with my life, and how I will deal with whatever life hands me.
It is my Christian road map to God’s preferred future.
Now let me take a moment to explain what I mean by that - I don’t mean that my purpose makes things happen the way I want them to, but instead, it gives me the ability to contend with whatever happens to me in a God honoring way.
So even when negative things take place in my life, even those things that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, I still can rest in the security that God has not left me, and live in the assurance of His grace.
And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. - Philippians 1:12
Notice what he doesn’t say - he doesn’t say, God planned for bad things to happen to me; things like prison, a thorn in my flesh, persecution, and so on.
But instead he says that the way he has dealt with these negative situations has helped “to spread the Good News.”
If Paul had not been living according to his purpose most likely his reaction to the adverse circumstances of life wouldn’t have helped to spread the Good News, but instead would have reflected negatively on the God he claimed to worship.
When we truly understand and accept our purpose our future path might not be lined with peace and prosperity, but that path will be directed by God, used by God, and will bring glory to God and to His kingdom.
My preferred future is not one where I expect God to give me every desire of my heart, but instead is a place where God will be glorified, come what may.
So how do we apply this practically to our every day experience?
Before making a decision, or before reacting to a crossroads that has come into our life, we ask God the question - “How might you best be glorified in this? Which path would lead to the spread of God’s good news in Jesus? If I take the other path, what will happen to my Christian witness?”
Those answers are usually not hard to come by - what is difficult is focusing on God’s glory, rather than in our own - but it must be done that way, if we truly are going to experience God at the most intimate level.
PURPOSE TESTIFIES TO OUR FAITH
Al Braca worked as a corporate bond trader.
His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center.
A week after the tower was hit and collapsed, Al's body was found in the rubble.
According to his wife, Jeannie, Al hated his job; he couldn't stand the environment - It was a world completely out of sync with his Christian values.
But he wouldn't quit - He was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness.… The Bracas learned that Al had been ministering to people during the attack.
Reports trickled in from friends and acquaintances.
Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent e-mails to a loved one saying that "a man" was leading people in prayer - A few referred to Al by name.
When Al realized that they were trapped in the building and wouldn’t be able to escape, he shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer.
Soon after those twin towers fell, I would sit and reflect on what it would have been like to be in that building, still alive, but knowing that death was on its way.
Would I look forward to meeting my Maker? Would I be thinking about my wife and kids? Would I be so scared that I couldn’t think at all?
I don’t have an answer to that, but the story I just told you is of a man that knew his purpose and lived it our in the waning moments of his life to bring glory to God.
When Paul was in his prison cell, he was using his purpose to do the same.
For everyone here, including all the soldiers in the palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. - Philippians 1:13
Have you ever read this and wondered how the soldiers in the palace guard knew that Paul was in chains because of Christ? I believe it was because he wore his purpose to bring glory to God like a garment. It wasn’t an “in your face” type of a thing, but the living of a life that was so determined in its desire to serve the Lord that it couldn’t be missed.
Paul's imprisonment, instead of shutting the door to the Gospel, opened the door to new spheres of work and activity which he would have never penetrated otherwise And with a willing participant declaring His name, God was able to use these circumstances to grow His kingdom and spread the message of His Son. We live in a world where very few people understand their purpose in life, and so when you who are sitting here understand your purpose and begin to live it out, the people around you are going to stand up and take notice.
PURPOSE EQUIPS OTHERS FOR MINISTRY
As I just said, living out your purpose will be a testimony to the unchurched, but it will also be a testimony to those who are in Christ, yet who have yet to discover what it means to live their lives on purpose.
And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here have gained confidence and become more bold in telling others about Christ. Some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know the Lord brought me here to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. - Philippians 1:14-17
There were two very different reactions to Paul’s imprisonment by those who claimed the name of Christ. One group saw Paul’s example and it equipped them to take a much bolder stand for Christ than they had previously.
The other group, who were preaching from false motives, actually worked toward making Paul’s prison experience more difficult in some way that we are unclear on
I think we see similar reactions when we are living out our purpose, even in times of adversity, but I’d really like to focus on the first group, as the other group is out of our control.
When I live my life with the purpose of bringing glory to God it is going to be noticed by those who are not quite as mature in their faith.
And the result of that should be that they will take my example, see the positive results of it, and begin applying it to their own lives.
It is one thing to hear someone tell you about the purpose driven life, it is quite another to see someone actually living it out on a day to day basis.
Now what happens when you live your life on purpose, and I live my life on purpose, and this church as a whole lives life on purpose?
We slowly but surely begin to effect and equip those around us to live similar lives.
And what is the result of that? Again, God is glorified and our purpose is fulfilled.
5. PURPOSE CAUSES US TO CELEBRATE
But whether or not their motives are pure, the fact remains that the message about Christ is being preached, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. For I know that as you pray for me and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will all turn out for my deliverance. - Philippians 1:18-19
What an interesting passage this is: there are people who are preaching the gospel with impure motives, yet Paul still rejoices because the message is preached.
Perhaps this should teach us something about those who teach the Gospel, but do not live it out - while they themselves live in jeopardy, they are still being used by God to lead others into the kingdom, and for that we rejoice.
When we live by our purpose to bring glory to God, we will, in fact, find many things to celebrate that otherwise we would not have.
CONCLUSION:
- Now what I’m wondering is where you are at on this issue of purpose, and I don’t really have any way of knowing, or of getting inside your head.
- But I recognize that the decision you make to find that purpose in God, and live by it, is the most important decision you will ever make.
- Let’s pray about that decision together.
THE POWER OF EXPECTATIONS
Philippians 1:20-30
Introduction: Review last two weeks
Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and landed in a barnyard with some chickens.
- He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens.
- After a while that goose thought he was a chicken.
- One day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home.
- They gave a honk up there in the sky, and he heard it.
- Kierkegaard said, "Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn't used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less."
How many of us are settling for less than God intended?
How many of us have gotten our hopes up only to have them dashed?
How many of us have heard the call of God upon our lives, upon our families, upon our careers, gotten inspired, began to rise to the call, and then let it fizzle out?
There are a number of reasons for why we don’t always live up to our calling, but I believe the biggest one is that we have not tapped into the power of expectations.
If the truth were known, we would find that most of us are not advancing spiritually, experiencing God more fully, or developing personally because we do not expect for those things to happen any more.
Somewhere along the line we gave up hope for a better tomorrow, and in the process forgot what it was like to live in anticipation of a bright future.
As we return this week to the first chapter of Philippians, we find the Apostle Paul still holed up in his prison cell writing to the church at Philippi.
And rather than finding a man who has given up hope for the future, we find a man that is still filled with the power of expectation.
Let’s make his story our story this morning, and begin to experience what it means to live our lives fully expecting God to do great things.
We’ll do that today by answer three basic questions.
1. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I LIVE IN EXPECTATION?
As I said, some people have simply stopped expecting.
They have accumulated enough of life's disappointments to become afraid to dream, to reach, to stretch, to broaden their horizons.
But God wants to free us into tomorrow - to show us that there is always something to reach for, something better just over the horizon.
Paul wrote: - For I live in eager expectation and hope… Philippians 1:20a
If there was ever a guy we could excuse for not living in eager anticipation and hope, Paul would be the guy.
Yet he lives his life with the power of expectation, even from a prison cell.
What happens when I live with the power of expectation?
I RISE ABOVE THE NORM
When you take the steps that we will look at in just a moment, you will be one of a very small percentage of people living on this planet.
You will be focused, not on just who you are, but on who you will become.
And you’ll very quickly find out that you are one of the few who live with the power of expectation - waiting to see what God will achieve through you.
You will rise above the norm, because your outlook on life, and the potential of what can be accomplished through God’s power, runs completely contrary to how most people view the world around them, and their own place in this world.
I ACHIEVE WHAT I CAN CONCEIVE
Paul said: For I live in eager expectation and hope… Philippians 1:20a
The phrase “eager expectation” is only one word in the original language, and it is only used one other time in the New Testament.
For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. - Romans 8:19
The word literally means “to look away from the head” - to look forward toward something that you know is going to take place - it is living in expectation.
It is seeing with your mind’s eye what it is that God is going to accomplish in this world, in your life, and in your church.
It is living in the realm of what will be, believing in faith that God will accomplish exactly what He has promised.
When you can conceive that, you will begin to achieve it - not because you are a powerful person, but because you have placed your faith in our powerful God.
Once a man came to Jesus to see if He could cast an evil spirit out of his son - the man pleaded with Jesus, saying “Do something if you can.”
Jesus replied, "What do you mean, `If I can'?"…Anything is possible if a person believes." - Mark 9:23
When we live in expectation we are not asking “If you can,” but rather, stating by the way we live our lives, “We know you can.”
I MOVE FORWARD IN CONFIDENCE
When you live your life in expectation of God’s great work in you you will set your sights on the future, confident that come what may, God will accomplish whatever He has set out to accomplish.
Rather than sheepishly going through life wondering if anything will ever come of God’s promises, you will stand upright, with your chest thrust forward, claiming the promise of Philippians 1:6: God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
2. HOW DO I BEGIN TO LIVE IN EXPECTATION?
What I am talking about this morning is so far outside of the realm of most people’s way of thinking, that it deserves a “how to” kind of explanation.
Thankfully, our Bibles come to the rescue for us again.
LIVE FOR CHRIST, NOT FOR YOURSELF
If you’re thinking that so far I’m talking about the power of positive thinking, like so many secular sources will point you to, you’re completely mistaken.
I am talking about living a life that is entirely focused on Christ, rather than self.
For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. - Philippians 1:20-21
Paul eagerly expects and hopes for 3 things here that we need to pledge ourselves.
(in unison) “I live in eager expectation and hope that…
1) …I will never do anything that would cause shame;
2) …I will always be bold for Christ;
3)…My life will always honor Christ.
This begins by admitting that I am not number one in my life, but Jesus is.
It’s really as simple as that.
LIVE TO SERVE, NOT TO BE SERVED
Ann Jeffries said that her pastor was organizing an evangelistic outreach using small acts of kindness to demonstrate Christ's love.
He phoned several neighborhood grocery stores and Laundromats for permission to do specific services. On one call, the employee who answered the phone hesitated, then said, "I'll need to ask the manager, but first, let me make sure I understand: You want to clean up the parking lot, retrieve shopping carts, hold umbrellas for customers, and you don't want anything in return."
"Yes, that's right," her pastor replied.
After disappearing for a moment, the employee returned to the phone. "I'm sorry," he said, "we can't let you do that because if we let you do it, we'd have to let everyone else do it, too!"
I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that that wouldn’t have been a problem for them.
We have been conditioned to serve ourselves, or even better, to get others to serve us - but living with expectation begins with serving, not with being served.
For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ. I really don't know which is better. - Philippians 1:21-22
The power of expectation doesn’t revolve around what I’m going to get, but on what I’m able to give.
What I am looking forward to is not what God can do for me, but what God can do through me.
LIVE TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS
Rather than investing our time, talents, and efforts toward only improving ourselves, those who live in expectation recognize the importance of working toward improving the lives of the people around them. When I focus only on improving myself there is much that can be accomplished, but when I focus on improving your life we both benefit greatly.
I'm torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live. I am convinced of this, so I will continue with you so that you will grow and experience the joy of your faith. Then when I return to you, you will have even more reason to boast about what Christ Jesus has done for me. - Phil. 1:23-26
Paul knew that in death he would be with Christ forever, but in life he would be able to continue to improve the lives of others
You see, the power of expectation is not only realized through the anticipation of what God will do for us, and through us, but on what He will do through us as we minister to other people.
When I look at you and try to discover what it is that I can do or say to improve your life, I am living in expectation of a greater future for us all.
That is the kind of thing that God blesses.
3. WHAT DOES LIVING IN EXPECTATION LOOK LIKE?
Let’s say that you adopt the discipline of living in expectation, and so do I, and so does everyone who is attending this church.
What would our future together look like? If we could gaze forward a few years from now, after we’d been putting this into practice, just what would we see?
WE SEE CHRIST HONORED
There can be no doubt that Jesus would be greatly honored by our actions.
But whatever happens to me, you must live in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ, as citizens of heaven. - Philippians 1:27a
And what does it mean to “live in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ”? It means to live in the way that we’ve been looking at this morning.
As we honor Christ today with the way we live our lives, and as we honor Him in the same way tomorrow, and in the days yet to come, something wonderful happens.
Jesus is fully aware of what is taking place, and as we live our lives in imitation of His own life, He is honored and glorified and pleased to call us His own.
WE SEE THE CHURCH UNITED
Disunity and division comes to a church that is not living in expectation, that has members focused on self instead of the Savior.
But the church that is living in expectation becomes a united, impenetrable force.
Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the Good News. - Phil. 1:27b
The church whose members are equipped with the power of expectation is a church that stands together, as one person, facing a common enemy, yet also serving a common Lord.
It is a church, one like this one, where we fight, not each other, but we fight together for the Good News of Jesus Christ and its spread throughout our world.
We see the Church united, not because we are all alike, but because we serve the same Savior and have welcomed the fact that His agenda must be adopted as our own.
WE SEE THE ENEMY DEFEATED
The united front that we present is one in which Satan, the great imposter, cannot penetrate, try as he might.
Don't be intimidated by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. - Philippians 1:28
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. - Romans 16:20a
We fully live in expectation of his demise, and will see His demise, because we know that God’s promises to us are true, and what He has begun, He will bring to fulfillment.
WE SEE VICTORY IN THE STRUGGLE
Some people are quite discomfited that God does not promise those who live in expectation a life without suffering and struggle.
But comfort can be found when we see the picture God has presented, not of a life without struggle, but of a life where victory can be found in the struggle itself.
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this fight together. You have seen me suffer for him in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of this great struggle. - Philippians 1:29-30
How foreign this is to our thinking - to imagine, for even a moment that suffering for Christ could be considered a privilege - but that is what it is.
As you struggle, and I struggle, we lock arms with each other and with the Christ who suffered more than any of us, and we move forward hand in hand, supporting each other through it all as we move forward, in expectation, to that final victory that God has promised.
That is a picture of what God has in store when we live by the power of expectation.
CONCLUSION:
Some of you have only recently begun to attend this church, and for some, today is the very first time.
What I can I tell you about what to expect here?
I can’t tell you that we’re perfect and I can’t tell you that we’ve never made any mistakes or that we’ve always done everything exactly how it should’ve been done
But I can tell you that we are a church that lives in the power of expectation, and what we expect for you today is that you will be filled with the fullness of Christ and that hopefully, you will join us as we move forward together in faith.
For those who have been with us on the journey up until now - we must continue to hold each other up, and live with the expectation that God’s blessings have only just begun.
