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Following Christ on the Path of Suffering

November 11, 2018 Speaker: Brian Wilbur Series: Philippians

Topic: Rooted in Christ Passage: Philippians 3:10–11

FOLLOWING CHRIST ON THE PATH OF SUFFERING

An Exposition of Philippians 3:10-11 (Part 2)

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date:   November 11, 2018

Series: Philippians: Gospel Partnership on Mission in the World

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

INTRODUCTION

“[Becoming] like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). These words should give us pause. This six-word phrase conveys to us both the glory of our calling as well as its cost.

What is the high calling to which we have been called? To become like Christ. The standard to which we must be conformed is not an abstract notion of goodness or righteousness. The standard is a Person, and not just any person, but Christ. And who is Christ? Christ is the divine Son who is equal with God the Father (Philippians 2:6). “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11; see also Philippians 1:2, 3:20). He is the powerful Savior (Philippians 3:20-21) who brings the Father’s grace and peace (Philippians 1:2, 4:4-7, 4:19, 4:23) to those who trust Him (3:1-21, esp. v. 9). Christ “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). To put it simply, Christ is God (John 1:1). Your calling, dear Christian, is to become like Him, to become like Christ, to become like the radiance of God’s glory. Most of you, most of the time, have set the bar way too low! You’re preoccupied with getting by, whereas you ought to be pursuing growth in godliness, Godlikeness, Christlikeness.

But as soon as we come face-to-face with the grandeur of our calling, we immediately encounter a paradox, a perplexity. When we think of Christ and of God we think of power and strength, vitality and life, glory and might – and so we should. But in Philippians 3:10 we must reckon with a surprising combination of words: “becoming like him in his death” (italics added). How can this be? How can God suffer death? Answer: by becoming a Man. And the God-Man Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory and Prince of life, did indeed suffer and die.

The glory of God’s grace, love, and righteousness shines in stunning splendor at the cross, where the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life as a sacrifice for sin, so that sinners like us could be redeemed and restored to God’s favor. At the cross we behold the self-emptying, self-giving, self-sacrificing love of God, embodied in Christ. Become like Him! Become like Him in His death! Become like Him by emptying and sacrificing yourself in love for others! Become like Him in serving, suffering, and dying! For your life ought to be a reflection of the Christ who loved you and gave Himself for you on the cross.

In last week’s sermon I sought to set forth the biblical foundation for following Jesus in the way of the cross – the way of suffering and death. The basic idea that we are dealing with here is that Christians are called to live and embody Christ’s story of suffering and death, followed by resurrection and glory. The call that goes forth to each believer is: deny yourself, lose your life for Jesus’ sake, take up your own cross and follow Him. This whole thing involves dying – dying to self, dying to sin, and dying to the world. The disciple who is “becoming like him in his death” is totally devoted to the purpose of God, is a living sacrifice always seeking to do God’s will, and is ready to endure hardship and opposition.

My aim in the last sermon was to show you these things in the Bible, so that you would be convinced that this is God’s will for your life. My aim in this sermon is to help you relate these realities in your everyday life. My desire is:

“that [you] may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible [you] may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

KEY PRIORITIES IN FOLLOWING CHRIST

I want to begin by highlighting six key priorities that we must have if we would follow Christ on the blessed path of suffering with Him. Then we will consider what it would look like for you to live this way in various aspects of your life.

These six key priorities are not intended to be comprehensive, but they will get you oriented to the kind of thinking you must have if you are actually going to follow Christ on the path of service and suffering.

1) KINGDOM-SEEKING, NOT COMFORT-SEEKING

First, we must walk away from comfort-seeking and embrace kingdom-seeking. This is, in fact, the very thing that Jesus did: He walked away from the comforts and privileges of heaven and embraced the discomforts and pains of life on earth, in order to bring God’s kingdom into our midst. And He tells us, “… seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Jesus bridged what seemed like the infinite divide from heaven to earth, and we have a difficult time leaving our own predictable little bubble in order to show love to someone! If you are addicted to comfort, if you are preoccupied with earthly security and worldly wealth, then how will you follow Jesus on the narrow path of righteousness?

“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”” (Luke 9:57-58)

Still want to follow? The point isn’t to artificially create discomforts for yourself. The point is to put God’s kingdom first. And when you put God’s kingdom first, your worldly comforts will often decrease and your worldly discomforts will often increase – because you are walking on the costly path of obedience, service, and love. But take heart: on the uncomfortable path of kingdom living, you will have the comfort of fellowship with Christ. Share Christ’s discomfort as you embrace God’s agenda for the totality of your life.  

2) RESOURCE-SHARING, NOT RESOURCE-HOARDING

Second, we must walk away from resource-hoarding and embrace resource-sharing. This will involve the suffering of less – less savings, less possessions, less gadgets, less that is new and shiny and upscale. And your less cluttered life will be a blessing to others. Scripture says:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Those who have been spiritually enriched by the generous, enriching grace of Christ learn that they must become the kind of people who live in order to enrich others, both in spiritual things and in material things. And if you’re going to live a life of enriching others, then you will have to be in the habit of devoting your resources to the good of others – these resources include your time, your money and material possessions, and your home. Those who live this way have less for themselves – for example, they have less time to play video games, and less money to buy video game equipment, and besides that they see their house not as a personal entertainment center but as a platform for ministry. So yes, they have less for themselves, but they are not bitter about it, because it gives them joy to have fellowship with Jesus as they share what they have with others.

In Acts 2 (v. 45) and Acts 4 (v. 32-35, below) we see resource sharing on bright display:

“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:32-35)

Those who us who are “of one heart and soul” because of our common faith in Jesus must be glad to share our stuff in order to meet each other’s needs. We must be willing to have less – and be willing for our children and grandchildren to have less – so that the blessing of provision can flow to others. And you will be blessed, because “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

In the same vein, following Jesus means that you will increasingly see your house not as a giant safe for resource-hoarding but as a doors-wide-open oasis of resource-sharing. In Acts 2 the early church was in the habit of “breaking bread in their homes,” which means that some folks were in the habit of opening up their homes to their Christian brothers and sisters. Remember the example of Lydia in Acts 16: after she was converted, she immediately converted her home into a base of operations for Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Romans 12 says, “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13). First Peter 4 says, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). I understand that Christian hospitality is broader than opening up your home, but even so, opening up your home is one of the best ways to share life together, get to know people, refresh others, and cultivate spiritual conversation. After all, our life is so bound up with our home – with our home base and living space – that it is difficult to imagine how we can be generous in sharing our lives with one another if we refuse to share our homes with one another. Share Christ’s poverty as you share generously with others.

3) THE WHOLE CHURCH, NOT CLIQUES AND COOL CIRCLES

Third, we must walk away from cliquishness and embrace the whole church, especially the more vulnerable among us. Some of you have a mental list of persons to potentially invite over to your home, or to potentially invite out for lunch, or to potentially go visit, or to potentially have a conversation with, and the reality is that some of your Christian brothers and sisters in this congregation are not on that list. For some of you, no one is on that list – you have no intention of getting to know anyone in a substantive way. For others of you, the list is limited to the cool church folks, according to your definition of cool. Here’s the thing: one of the ways in which you must walk away from comfort-seeking and resource-hoarding, and instead embrace kingdom-seeking and resource-sharing, is by loving people outside your comfortable little group of similarly situated Christian friends. Scripture says that we ought to “increase and abound in love for one another” (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and “always seek to do good to one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:15) and “[live) in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly” (Romans 12:16). Following Jesus means letting Him govern your guest list:

“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-14)

No one should feel unloved, neglected, forgotten, or devalued within the body of Christ. The question is: what are you doing about it? How are you “[looking]… to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4)? How are you lifting up the weary ones among us? To the degree that you refuse to connect with your brothers and sisters or limit your connection to a clique, to that degree you need to die to your self-preferences and learn to share Christ’s self-giving love to all, especially to the poor and the poor in spirit.

4) GOD’S APPROVAL, NOT MAN’S APPROVAL

Fourth, we must walk away from a concern for human approval and embrace the Father’s approval. How many people want recognition, want a good résumé to impress others, want to be accepted by their neighbors and peers. As Christians, our resolve must be to stand with God, submit to His Word, and speak forth His truth – and doing so will get us into trouble with the ungodly world around us.

Generally speaking, Christians aren’t hated and persecuted for being kind and courteous neighbors. We ought to be kind and courteous neighbors, but that’s not all we should be. The reason Christians are hated and persecuted is because our faith gets expressed in tangible words and deeds that are way out of step with the world, and the world gets enraged and opposes us. We represent Christ, we represent His kingdom and His truth, and the world that hates Him extends its hatred to His representatives.

Jesus said: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:18-20) Paul wrote: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) And what did Paul write to the Philippians? Paul understands that as the Philippians continue to “[strive] side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27) they would continue to encounter opposition. Paul tells them not to be afraid of their opponents (Philippians 1:28). Then he adds: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” (Philippians 1:29-30)

Suffering opposition and persecution for Jesus’ sake is normal Christian experience. ‘Persecution’ may be defined as hurtful actions taken against us by non-Christians because we are Christians. Of course, there are other kinds of persecution that occur in the world: people may be persecuted because they are religious or because of their ethnicity or because of their political stance or because of their socio-economic status. But specifically Christian persecution means that others are hurting us precisely because we proclaim and follow Christ. Christian persecution happens when others imprison us or torture us, or threaten to do so, because of our devotion to Christ. Christian persecution happens when others speak evil against us or slander us because of our loyalty to the message of the cross. Christian persecution happens when others look down on us or exclude us from their social circle because we are Christians, and when others malign us as narrow-minded and intolerant because we hold unpopular views – and we hold those views precisely because of our commitment to uphold the truth of God’s Word. Christian persecution happens when a Christian refuses to use his or her cake-baking or floral arrangement or photography skills to beautify and celebrate a same-sex wedding ceremony, and is then reviled and defamed or sued and slapped with a fine.

To the degree that you are not experiencing opposition and persecution because of your Christian faith, you ought to ask yourself if you have compromised your faith in order to be accepted by the world. Do not think that Christians are supposed to work hard at managing public relations with the world. What we ought to be doing is being faithful! Jesus said: “For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). We don’t want to be like some of the Jewish leaders in John 12 who “believed in him [Jesus], but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would be not put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:42-43).

It is the height of folly to care more about what “this adulterous and sinful generation” thinks of you than what Jesus thinks of you. Be sure of this: if Jesus thinks well of you, then the cool kids of “this adulterous and sinful generation” will not think that you are cool. They hate Him, and they will hate you also. But so what?

“and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” (Acts 5:41-42)

Share Christ’s persecutions because you are radically and publicly committed to Him and His cause.

5) GOD’S MISSION, NOT OUR OWN

Fifth, we must walk away from self-determined mission and embrace God’s appointed mission. What is God’s appointed mission? To make faithful disciples and build faithful congregations, which in turn continue the work of making new disciples and building new congregations – locally, regionally, and globally. If God’s appointed mission in and through the church is on the periphery of your life, then some other mission is holding you captive. You must die to that captivating pseudo-mission so that you can be serious about Christ’s mission!

Twenty-five or so years ago my Dad, then a high school chemistry and physics teacher, looked forward to a wonderful retirement of continuing to teach at the college level and also to do woodworking in his workshop. In one sense there would have been nothing wrong with these things, but God wanted my Dad to walk away from his self-determined retirement plan and more fully embrace God’s appointed mission. So his plan went out the window, and in his eighteen years of retirement he has given himself to the Lord’s work – for a time at CareNet Pregnancy Center, for a time as an interim pastor, for several years at the Evangelical Baptist Seminary of Quebec, and often as a deacon and teacher within the church. Healthy growth as a Christian means that you are less oriented to your own plans and more oriented to God’s plans, less driven into your own little world of personal self-interest and more driven into God’s church – the people that He is saving and sanctifying for His glory, the people that He has sent into the world to reach more people. And growing in Christ means that you are happy about these changes, not bitter or resentful.

6) INTREGRATED FELLOWSHIP, NOT ISOLATED INDIVIDUALISM

Sixth, we must walk away from an individualistic understanding of the Christian life and embrace the biblical call to integrated fellowship. Now there are all kinds of reasons why this is so important, but the one reason that is important to point out right now is the one related to suffering. As Christians we have a deep spiritual fellowship with one another – and if one Christian suffers, we all suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26). Which means that one of the ways to share Christ’s suffering is to share in the sufferings of Christ’s people. In other words, sharing Christ’s suffering isn’t just about your own direct experience of suffering, but actually has a lot to do with walking with your Christian brothers and sisters through their suffering, such that their suffering becomes in some sense your own. Isn’t this what we see in Philippians? The Philippians were partakers with Paul in his imprisonment (Philippians 1:7). They shared his trouble (Philippians 4:14). Epaphroditus “[risked] his life” to minister to Paul on behalf of the Philippian congregation (Philippians 2:30). The book of Hebrews speaks of Christians who were “partners” with persecuted Christians (Hebrews 10:33) and who “had compassion on those in prison” (Hebrews 10:34).

The beautiful resolve expressed in our Declaration of Independence ought to be experienced to a much greater degree in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, namely, that we “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.” Share Christ’s suffering by sharing in the sufferings of His people, by standing with them in Christian solidarity, by praying for them and showing them and their families compassion and generosity. 

Summary

Not driven by comfort, but by the kingdom of God. Not driven to keep, but to give away. Not driven to a preferred clique, but to love your whole church family. Not driven to win the world’s applause, but to delight in God’s approval. Not driven by a self-appointed mission, but by the great commission to bring sinners from death to life and growth in Christ. Not driven into your own little individualistic story, but into profound spiritual fellowship with all of Christ’s people in faithful congregations all over the world.

PUT THESE PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE

With these priorities in view, I want you to get a glimpse of what this might look like practically in terms of your personal life, your family life, your church life, and your mission to the world.

1) THE INDIVIDUAL DISCIPLE

First, the individual disciple. As an individual disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, you must leave the comfortable and familiar in order to follow Jesus wherever He leads you. Although Jesus doesn’t lead everyone into a geographic re-location, He does lead every disciple into a radical re-arrangement of priorities.

My wife Charlotta has had the opportunity to live Mark 10:29-30.

“Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”” (Mark 10:29-30)

Charlotta “left house” and family and the familiarity of life in southeastern Ohio for the sake of the gospel. One doesn’t realize the cost of this leaving until the number of kids are increasing, and the extended family that would gladly help to share the load isn’t around to do so. The loss and vulnerability and neediness in the distance from her original home is a real cost. And yet – wherever she has gone – the Lord has made good on His promise to provide spiritual family to encourage her and help her on the journey, both before we had kids and after. This is real blessing! Their names include Ed and Lindele, Josue and Terri, Pete and Barb, Joan, Joy, Allison, John, Nick, and a number of you. Just this past week Charlotta thought she would be working hard to prepare for yesterday’s open house, and instead the Lord slowed her down with a physical malady. Therefore she needed Caroline, Charity, Elaine, Barbara, Renee, Judy, and India to come over and help get things into a state of readiness. These ladies shared her trouble, and arranged their lives so that they could do something about it! This wasn’t the open house preparation that Charlotta had in mind, but the one that God had planned – which is always better – and as a result lives were brought together and harmonized with each other just a little bit more.  

In what ways does the Lord Jesus Christ want you to re-arrange your life so that you can more effectively serve Him, His people, and His mission?

2) THE CHRISTIAN HOME

Next, let’s turn to the Christian home. The individual Christian is called to deny self and take up his or her cross and die to self, and this suffering and dying with Christ is especially meant to get worked out in your home life. When you are part of a family, your family is your mission field!

A Word to Husbands and Fathers

All Christians are called to die – especially husbands. There is such a thing as self-indulgent husbanding. The self-indulgent husband believes that every other member of the family should lay down their life for his sake, to make his life comfortable and conformable to all of his desires. The Christian husband, however, should want to “share [Christ’s] suffering, becoming like him in his death.”

“Husband, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.” (Ephesians 5:25-28)

Husbands, suffer and die with Christ in your husbanding. Love your wife, serve your wife, speak truth to your wife, set an example for your wife, bear with her weaknesses, forgive her sins, see her not for what she is in herself but for what she will become by God’s grace, and do this unconditionally, even if she doesn’t appreciate it or thank you for it. Aren’t you glad that Jesus suffered and died for you, and still puts up with you, even though you are not all that you ought to be? So what you are complaining about? Christian husband, suffer and die for your wife, and imitate Christ’s patient and steadfast love toward her. Don’t calculate your actions as a way to get love from her, but rather live sacrificially as a way to give real, Christlike love to her.

Husbands, the apostle Peter referred to the wife as “the weaker vessel” (1 Peter 3:7) – think ‘expensive fine china’ – which means that you’re the stronger vessel, which means that you should expect to bear a greater share of the load. Don’t despise this, but consider what a privilege it is to represent Christ in this way. Share Christ’s suffering by pouring out your strength for her good!  Spend and be spent for the happiness of your wife! Labor not only for her physical well-being, but also for her spiritual well-being. Lead her and the family in devotion to Christ. Lead her and the family away from comfort-seeking to kingdom-seeking – which will be impossible to do unless you are weaned from the love of comfort. Lead her and the family away from resource-hoarding to resource-sharing, away from worldly approval to God’s approval, away from false missions to the true mission that the Lord has set before us, away from a schedule set by the world to a schedule that is set by biblical priorities and immersed in the life of the church. Don’t cower when she or the children push back against your leadership, and don’t succumb to anger, but be God’s man and hold your ground and stay the course and walk in love and lead the way forward. Sacrificial love doesn’t mean you sacrifice God’s agenda for the sake of pleasing your family members – that would be idolatry! Sacrificial love means that you are willing to be crushed and to endure hardship in order to implement God’s agenda in and through your home, patiently trusting the Lord each step of the way. As you do this, make sure that you practice what you preach, and be humble enough to learn from her, for she may surpass you in any number of Christian graces, and be humble enough to ask for forgiveness, which you will need to do many times. Oh for husbands who are ready to suffer and die for the salvation and spiritual growth of their wives and families!

A Word to Wives and Mothers

You wives and mothers must also suffer and die with Christ in your labors in the home and in the church. Do you want to see the portrait of a woman who learned to die? Paul tells us about this woman in 1 Timothy 5. He says if you have a widow who is out there on her own and doesn’t have a family of her own to care for her, then the church should come to her aid if – this is an important if – if she has not lived a wasteful life (1 Timothy 5:3-8). Then Paul tells us what productive womanhood looks like:

“Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.” (1 Timothy 5:9-10)

Paul is not describing super-woman here; he is just painting a picture of what faithfulness looks like in a Christian woman who has a husband and children. She loves her husband and is a faithful support to him! She loves her children and brings them up in the ways of the Lord! She opens up her home to others! She cares deeply for her church family and ministers to those in need! Here is a woman who has died to self, died to the world, died to frivolous amusements and superfluous purchases and gossipy conversations and earthly vanities, and died to fashion in favor of the true beauty that characterizes “a gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4), and being full of faith and alive to God she throws herself into “every good work”!

Further, do you see how her life bridges the home and the church? It’s not just that she gets herself and her children into the church (though that is certainly a good thing), but also and especially that she gets the church into her home! Her home isn’t an exclusivist refuge for card-carrying members of the family, but is a center of hospitality, fellowship, and refreshment for other people, particularly “the saints” and “the afflicted.” She shares Christ’s afflictions by caring for His afflicted ones!

How wonderful when a woman makers her home a wellspring of goodness to the church and to the wider community in which she lives! How wonderful when a woman makes her home a haven of rest for missionaries and weary saints! How wonderful when children grow up in a home where they are taught to join Mom in the rich life of serving others! And none of this will happen unless you die to a thousand distractions and a thousand self-interests that might currently be keeping you from fruitfulness in the kingdom of God.

3) THE CHURCH

Now let’s move from the home to the church – although we have already seen that a truly Christian home will be deeply connected to the life of the church. Regarding the life of the church, this life is to be characterized by sacrificial love for one another. One of the places where we must take up our cross and follow Jesus is in our relationships with one another. The apostle John writes:

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:16-17)

Not self-preservation, but self-sacrifice. Not resource-hoarding, but resource-sharing. Not the wonderful plans that I had for my cash surplus, but His plans. Not passing-by-on-the-other-side-preferring-my-own-comfort, but opening-my-heart-and-giving-away-my-stuff because God’s love is ruling my heart – God’s love, not self-love.

Even more important, we must take up our cross as we seek to disciple others and help others to grow in their walk with Christ. Here is an invitation to suffering! Paul told the Galatians, “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Galatians 4:19) Paul told the Corinthians, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” (2 Corinthians 11:29) Paul told the Colossians about Epaphras, that he is “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers” (Colossians 4:12). Fellow Christians, suffer with Christ by laboring diligently for the spiritual growth of other people. This instruction isn’t just for missionaries and pastors and elders. All of God’s people ought to take pains to encourage and strengthen their brothers and sisters in the things of God, to confront sin, and to labor in prayer. Let your heart ache over spiritual immaturity within the church; be distressed over the children and youth who are going astray and have not yet settled into a faithful walk with Christ; feel grief over adult churchgoers who remain dull and unresponsive to the Word. And yet, ache and be distressed and feel grief not so as to become critical or cynical, but so as to engage in serious prayer and serious ministry. “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13)

Get your feet on the path of caring deeply about the spiritual welfare of others, and on that path you will have fellowship with Christ.

4) MISSION TO THE WORLD

Finally, let’s consider our mission to the world. Earlier I said that we must be the sort of people who give away our stuff, and indeed we must – our faith in Christ must translate into deeds of love. But how much more ought we to be the sort of people who give away the greatest treasure of all, which is the message of the gospel, the riches of God’s grace?

How is the gospel going to get to your neighbor, your colleague, your friend? How is the gospel going to get the communities of the Oxford Hills? How is the gospel going to get to Maine, New England, New Brunswick, Nigeria, Turkey, and everywhere else? Christians must bear the cost of caring and praying and going. Christians must bear the cost of partnering and sending and supporting. Christians must face the very real possibility of closed doors or ridicule or a tighter budget with less conveniences in a foreign land or awkward conversations or rejection or threats or the vulnerability that comes from being in an unfamiliar place (perhaps your neighbor’s front door!). Do you care enough to endure the cost? Paul had “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in [his] heart” (Romans 9:2) because so many of his fellow Jews didn’t believe in Christ, and Paul prayed for them (Romans 10:1). Paul’s life was radically rearranged because Jesus called him take the gospel all over the Mediterranean world. Of course, the Lord Jesus radically rearranged His life for the sake of mission, having come all the way from heaven to earth – and the mission cost Him His life. It will cost you, too. Share Christ’s cost-bearing and cross-bearing mission.

A FINAL WORD

Brothers and sisters, “share his suffering, becoming like him in his death.”

Take up your cross and follow Jesus in your home life.

Suffer and die with Christ by living sacrificially for the good of your fellow Christians and the building up of Christ’s church.

Share in Christ’s costly love by taking the gospel to the world.

All this will look rather foolish to worldly folks who are living for the here and now. But you’re not living for the here and now, because you know that this path of suffering and dying with Christ is the path that leads to resurrection and glory. Life is to be poured out in weakness now, but on the day when Christ’s glory is revealed that same life will be raised up in power: “that I… may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

Let us pray.

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Abiding in the Benediction

May 5, 2019

Greeting Every Saint

April 28, 2019

To Our Great God Belongs Eternal Glory