Delta Church - SPI

Mark 1:35-39

Philippians 3:12-21

Philippians 3:1-11

What do you count as being of surpassing value? What makes this question so searching is that it asks what we truly live for. It asks us to clear away all the clutter, evaluate all that we have, and boil it all down to the thing we hold most precious. Like an X-ray, this question punches past the surface. Because when faced with a question like this, most, if not all of us, come face to face with the realization that many of the things we treat as being of surpassing value are not truly worthy of holding that position. And when faced with this reality, it forces us to ask—“Is there anything that can actually fill the category of surpassing worth in our lives?” This is where Paul steps in with a smile on his face and points us to Jesus. Main Idea—A church presses toward Jesus by renouncing confidence in good works and rejoicing in the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

Philippians 2:19-30

We can joyfully progress in the faith when we imitate faithful believers who imitate Jesus. Scan the Bible and God’s Word builds this idea as a category. This text gives us examples of what this looks like. More than mere travel plans of Paul’s friends, what we have are living illustrations of what it looks like to have the mind of Christ and work out our salvation without grumbling or disputing. But what makes the practical illustrations of Timothy and Epaphroditus so great is that they both take us right to Jesus. Main Idea—A church lives worthy of the gospel when its people follow the examples of faithful Believers who imitate Jesus.

Philippians 2:12-18

How do you follow the amazing super-exaltation of Jesus in Philippians 2:6–11? It’s majestic, isn’t it? The truths found in those verses and their vast scope were designed to oxygenate our awe and leave us in wide-eyed wonder of Jesus, which they did. BUT—there is also something practical to be learned from that text, namely, gospel-worthy citizen behavior looks like obedience. But it’s not obedience detached from Jesus. It’s not obedience that earns salvation. Nor is it obedience powered by our own strength. It is obedience that flows from the Christ we have just beheld—Jesus, who humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (2:8). Thus Paul turns from Christ, the humble Lord of glory, to his precious friends in Christ and says, “Because this Savior is yours, here is the call on your life—in obedience, work out your salvation so that you may shine as lights in a dark world.”

Philippians 2:9-11

The Father exalted Christ and gave Him a name that is above every name. Grounded in Philippians 2:9, this truth anchored Charles Spurgeon amidst the Surrey Gardens tragedy and remains our bedrock today. This "therefore" redirects our gaze from temporal trials to the eternal throne, providing the hope necessary to navigate life’s most chaotic seasons.

Our response is the joyful surrender of every competing allegiance. We recognize Jesus as Lord not just in a future reality, but as a present proclamation that dictates our daily conduct. This surrender requires a rejection of personal selfishness and a commitment to proclaim the Gospel. By bowing the knee today, we align our lives with the Father’s glory and find the strength to follow the Shepherd through every trial.

Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:1-5

Christians are gospel citizens. Paul pressed this point home when he called his friends at Philippi to—“behave as citizens worthy of the gospel” (1:27). Paul’s point is that because we are blood-bought inhabitants of an eternal kingdom, there is a particular way to live so that who we are lines up with the customs of our heavenly homeland. This means something when facing conflict from those outside the Christian community. But what about conflict inside the Christian community? What is worthy gospel behavior supposed to look like when the spiritual unity of a Jesus Family comes under strain? That’s the question that makes the transition to our verses this morning. Main Idea—A church lives worthy of the gospel when its people pursue humble unity found in Jesus.

Philippians 1:27-30

Joy begins in the gospel. From this launchpad, Paul began his letter to the saints at Philippi. But Paul is not content to leave us with where joy begins. The time has come to now ask and answer the question —“How does this joy grow?” Paul’s answer stands as a pillar of truth that casts its shadow through the rest of his letter—joy grows through gospel living. IOW, a church bound together by the gospel will grow in joy as they live worthy of the gospel they believe. So, for their joy and progress in the faith, Paul issues the first command of his letter. A command that takes us by the hand and leads us into the joy of living for Jesus as the gospel people we are—even when it is hard. Main Idea—A church lives worthy of the gospel when its people stand united in the face of opposition and suffering.

Psalm 130