In this weeks sermon pastor Michael Dennis walks us through Philippians 1:27-30. We look at 3 main takeaways from the message:
Stand Firm (vs 27)
Spunk (vs 28)
Our immediate thought on life is that God’s role in our life is to protect us from suffering, opposition, hardship but verse 29 is teaching that our suffering in life is a gift of God’s grace in our life. How’s that possible? It’s because the God of Scripture knows our hearts and minds will easily latch on to the sparkly things of this world that will not last. We don’t just love romance; we give up everything for romance. We don’t just love our careers we become workacholic. We don’t just love our hobbies, we become obsessive. We don’t just eat food, we become gluttonous. Our hearts and minds will latch on to the things of this world and they won’t last, and the Lord knows they won’t last. We know they won’t last. Relationships come and go. Careers come and go. Hobbies are great until we get old and our bodies fade, our minds fade. The economy is up and down. The politicians are hit and miss. The things of this world are fleeting, and the Lord knows the things of this world are fleeting.
Therefore, the God of Scripture, the creator of all things will absolutely bring the gift of suffering into our life, not because He hates us, but because He loves us and He wants to show us that He is the only part of life that we can hold on to for eternity, therefore, the Apostle Paul writes, “29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”