Shine (Phil. 2:14-18)!

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Shine! (Phil. 2:14-18)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on August 20, 2023

Sir Leonard Wood once visited the King of France and the King was so pleased with him he was invited for dinner the next day.

Sir Leonard went to the palace and the King meeting him in one of the halls, said, “Why, Sir Leonard, I did not expect to see you. How is it that you are here?”

“Did not your majesty invite me to dine with you?” said the astonished guest.

“Yes,” replied the King, “but you did not answer my invitation.”

Then it was that Sir Leonard Wood uttered one of the choicest sentences of his life. He replied, “A king’s invitation is never to be answered, but to be obeyed.”[1]

How are we doing with obeying the Lord?

We have been walking through Philippians. Today, we talk about obeying the Lord, letting our lives shine for Jesus.

My theme today is:

Paul exhorts the Philippians to let their lives shine.

  1. Remember the context.
    1. In Phil. 2:12-13 Paul exhorted the Philippians to let God’s work in them flow out of them.
    2. Philippians 2:12–13 (ESV)
    3. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
    4. God is working in them; let God’s work flow out of them.
    5. Remember, this all follows the Christ hymn. This all follows the beautiful writing about Christ’s example for us in Phil. 2:6-11.
  2. Don’t complain (Phil. 2:14)
    1. 2:14: Do all things without grumbling or disputing…[2]
    2. Verse 14 is a command: Do some things? No, do all things without complaining. That is difficult. First, you need to know that Paul likely has in mind Deut. 32:5, in which the Israelite people were described as a crooked and twisted generation. They grumbled and complained against God.
    3. So, this likely means don’t complain against God. But this also has to do with the negative attitude that we can have so much. When this noun is used in the New Testament, it concerns complaining.
    4. I agree there is a legitimate time to state your opinion. That is okay.
    5. But we must stop having a constant negative attitude.
    6. Next, do all things without disputing.
    7. This is unnecessary arguing. It is okay to have legitimate, friendly disagreements. It is not okay for Christians to be taking other Christians to court. This happened in 1 Cor. 6.
    8. This can be better understood when we understand that the Philippian Christians were going through persecution.
    9. In Phil. 1:27-30 Paul writes about their persecution.
    10. This passage may be an encouragement to the Philippians.
    11. So, they are going through trials and tribulations. Paul is in jail for his faith. Others are too. Paul is saying even with this going on, don’t argue unnecessarily. Don’t complain about God.
    12. Also, in Phil 2:3-4, Paul tells them to do nothing out of selfishness but to consider others more important than they are.
    13. Then guess what? You will be a witness. Look at verse 15.
  3.  Shine!
    1. Philippians 2:15 (ESV)
    2. 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…
    3. You will be blameless. This doesn’t mean perfect. It means there are no continual outward lifestyle sins.
    4. “Blameless” describes a life that cannot be criticized because of sin or evil. “Innocent” describes a life that is pure, unmixed, and unadulterated with sin, much like high quality metal without any alloy (cf. Mt 10:16; Ro 16:19; 2Co 11:3; Eph 5:27). [3]
    5. You will be children of God or basically followers of God.
    6. Even though you are in a messed-up world.
    7. You will be lights in the world.
    8. When you work out your salvation and allow God to work in you to make you more holy, you will be light in the world. You will be light to the world.
    9. People used to use the stars to know where they were.
    10. People should be able to look to Christians as examples of integrity.
  4. Hold to the Word of life.
    1. Philippians 2:16 (ESV)
    2. 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
    3. Paul can be proud that he worked with them. He can rejoice as he is prepared to die a martyr’s death. That is what it means in the next verse.
  5. Rejoice with Paul in his sacrifice.
    1. Philippians 2:17–18 (ESV)
    2. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
    3. Paul is ready to die for the faith.
    4. This means being completely “spent.”
    5. Drink offerings would be taking something valuable and pouring it out for God. Paul is willing to be completely spent for God’s Kingdom.
    6. Paul did pour out his life, eventually being martyred.

Tony Evans shares:

A while back, Jackie Chan starred in a movie called The Tuxedo. He played a taxi cab driver. His job was to serve his customers. He wound up becoming the driver for Clark Devlin, a top secret agent.

During one scene in the movie, the car comes under attack and Clark Devlin becomes critically wounded in the attack. Mr. Devlin tells Jackie Chan to put on a tuxedo located in the car that will give him extraordinary power. The injured passenger told Chan, “When you put my coat on, then you will share in my glory.” Jackie Chan put on Clark Devlin’s tuxedo and he found powers to walk on walls, do all kinds of flips, and overcome the enemies who would seek to bring destruction—all because he wore the clothing of another.

When you and I put on Jesus Christ and when we wear His character and His glory, we share in His greatness. Don’t think you are going to be great if you are not willing to put on His jacket, which is always the jacket of servanthood. If you really want to be somebody in time and in eternity, ask yourself if you are serving others more than they are serving you.826[4]

 Prayer

[1]Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 2:14.

[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Php 2:15.

[4] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 277.

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