Being God's Light

Philippians 2:12-16

PSBC 1/14/01

In a nutshell: Being God's light in a crooked and depraved generation means four things: obedience and work; empowerment by God; demonstration of a Christ-like attitude; and holding onto God's word for authority.

I. Introduction

A. William Edelen

Well, old Billy Edelen has been at it again in recent months in the Saturday Desert Sun newspaper. I think if the rapture takes place in his lifetime, he would lose his job–because he wouldn't have Christians to bash anymore. He really hates us. All I can think is that something very hurtful happened to him a long time ago, under the guise of Christianity, because his hatred for Christians is so intense, and so irrational.

On October 7, 2000, he wrote a column called "Candidates aren't listening to Jesus". Here are a few snippets form the article:

Bush said: "Jesus came into my heart and changed my life."
Gore said: "I ask...what would Jesus do?"

...It is frightening, pathetic and a sick commentary to think that men running for President of the United States actually believe such fantasy.

Is the American public so gullible as to believe all of the God and Jesus nonsense they blabber about?

Alas, and tragically, I fear they are.

Or this one from his article on January 6th of this year, entitled: "Fundamentalists intolerant of opposing view".

In a recent newspaper interview in another state the reporter said this to me: "The fundamentalists say that you are intolerant. Do you think that you are?" I said to her, "You bet.... I am totally intolerant of intolerance." People that use God and the Bible as a big 2-by-4 plank to hit all the rest of us over the head are beneath contempt and need to be resisted.

(Their lack of respect for other views) pours forth from their fundamentalist pulpits in an avalanche of bigotry and intolerance for gays and lesbians, pro choice decisions, separation of church and state and on and on into a return into the dark ages.
Now, the Bible has a factual word, for Mr. Edelen and his views. The word is diastrefoo–we translate that word "depraved" or "perverse". It literally means to distort or turn aside from the truth.

And as you analyze most of Bill Edelen's articles in the Desert Sun, you find that he constantly distorts scripture by misquoting it or taking it out of context, and he loves to set up evangelical Christians as "straw men" that are easy to knock down with humanistic reasoning, because he has chosen to be intellectually dishonest by refusing to thoroughly examine God's revelation in the Bible.

B. Animal rights

Now, let me shift gears. Gary L. Francione, who is considered by many to be the top animal rights attorney in the United States, has recently published a book entitled, Animal Rights: Your Child or Your Dog? In this book, Francione argues that animals, because they have sentiment or feelings of pain and suffering, have the right to the same consideration under the law as human beings. He says animals are deserving of protection–just like our children. Therefore, they should never be used for food or as a resource for human needs.

But at the same time, Mr. Francione believes in any woman's right to choose whether or not to kill the unborn child that is developing in her womb.

That kind of incongruous thinking is also mentioned in the Bible. The word is "skolias". And it literally means curvy or crooked. "Skolias" speaks of people who don't think in a rational and logical way; instead, they choose to believe in something on a whim, an emotion, or a pre-disposition.

C. Paul speaks to this

And the question that these examples raise for us this morning, is simply this... How do we Christians minister God's love and His plan to rescue sinful people from the eternal consequences of their sin, in a society that is holding to views that are crooked and depraved?

Well, the apostle Paul, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, speaks to this very issue, in the book of Philippians, chapter 2, beginning at verse 12. If you have your Bibles, that's where I'd like you to turn this morning.
In our church purpose statement we say that we will Love, Accept, Guide and Partner to share God's truth and to be His Light. In that simple sentence we are stating that we have committed to being the ones who will be God's light in the dark, crooked and depraved world we live in.

And when we say we will be His Light, we are saying that right here in Palm Springs, Cathedral City and the rest of the Coachella valley, we will intentionally illumine a path that will lead people to a saving relationship with the God who demonstrated His love in that He would rather die... than live without any person you make eye contact with during the course of your daily activity.

From these five verses in Philippians 2, we are going to discover 4 specific ideas that God has in mind for us being His Light. You see, these five verses all center around the concept spoken of in verse 15... which says, we are to shine as stars... And with these four things, God intends for us to illuminate a path for many pre-Christian men and women, boys and girls to have a relationship with Him.

II. Being Light means...

A. Obey and Work

The first thing God has in mind for us to be His Light, is found in verse 12...

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

The first thing involved in Being God's Light is the two-pronged idea of obedience and work. Now, don't misunderstand what Paul is saying. Salvation is still a free gift. We can't do anything to earn it. There is no amount of good works we can do to deserve it. All we can do is accept it from God.

However, once we become Christians, by accepting God's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we are not left to our personal whims for how we live our lives. God expects us to be intentional about the way we live our lives. And the Bible is very specific about the direction of our intentionality. It is wrapped up in the term Lordship or as I use sometimes, leadership.

Out of gratitude for our salvation, we must make a decision, every day, to turn over the control for our wants, our desires, our values, and our actions to the leadership of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul writes about in Romans when he writes about salvation...

Rom 10:9-10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

And an essential part of Jesus Christ's Lordship in your life and mine, is the work and obedience we give Him. In fact, In Philippians 2, Paul states in verse12, that this issue of work and obedience should be done with fear and trembling–in other words, this is serious business–what you do for God, and the extent of your obedience to what God teaches you in His Word, are critical elements that are necessary for you to experience all that God's salvation entails–which is not only salvation from Hell in the future, but an abundant and purposeful life right now.

Some of you are retired. Some of you don't have the energy you once had. Some of you are young, but don't have much experience at being a follower of Jesus Christ because you're a new Christian. Some of you are very busy. Well, understand this.... none of those are acceptable excuses for neglecting obedience to, and work for God and His Kingdom.

To coast in your service to God at retirement age; or crowd out God's Kingdom work from your schedule because you're too busy, or not to do anything because you have physical limitations, or you don't know much about your faith, to confidently talk about it yet... are not options for a true follower of Jesus Christ. In fact intentionally neglecting obedience or work for the Kingdom of God is nothing more than unconfessed sin in your life that you will have to answer for at Judgment Day, unless you change.

That's why we've invested so much time and energy in what we call the Core Courses here at our church. 101, 201, 301 and 401 are designed to be a four step process to teach each of you and help each of you discover your answer to this vitally important question... "What are you intentionally doing to advance the Kingdom of God, right now?"

So, that's the first thing that God intends in Being His Light. When God's Word teaches you to do something, you immediately obey it; and you never retire from doing His Kingdom work–that's obedience and work.

B. Empowered by God

The second thing that is meant by Being God's Light is found in verse 13...

Phil 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Friends the second thing that God intends for us in Being His Light... is that when you do intentionally obey God and work for His Kingdom... you do these things, by God's power–not your own!

Now, don't put your brains in neutral on this one. This isn't some unfathomable spiritual mystery. It simply means that when you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit of God supernaturally gave you at least one, and maybe more... spiritual gifts, that He expects to be used to build up the church. When you are powered by these spiritual gifts the church grows and gets stronger. When you try to operate under your own empowerment or serve because of guilt or do things to bring glory to yourself, the church either suffers, or what you do has no lasting effect.

Our 301 course is designed to help you discover what your gift or gifts are, and help you find where it is that God can use what He has empowered you with to further His Kingdom along. There's a cute story someone sent me over the Internet a while ago...

It's noisy in the carpenter's shop. The tools are having an argument about who among them is important and who is unnecessary. The hammer is accused of always flying off the handle and constantly pounding his point home. The saw only makes a mess. The measure has only one standard, measuring everything and everybody by itself. The plane is superficial, skimming only the surface. The chisel just digs and digs - never missing an opportunity to get in one more dig. The file always rubs things the wrong way. Finally, a couple of nuts and bolts roll in and join the argument. They remind the other tools that, although they are small, they hold everything together.

In the midst of this commotion, the Carpenter of Nazareth walks into the shop. He dons His work apron, sits at the bench, and goes about His task. He picks up one tool and then another, humming as He works. Throughout the day, the Carpenter uses each one of the tools in turn. When the task is finally completed, each tool comes to see that none of them is more important than the others. The Carpenter needed and used each one to complete His project.

In ministry, God desires to use each one of us–no matter what kind of "tool" we are–to accomplish His purposes. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:9, "We work together as partners who belong to God...." ( NLT).

So, that's the second element of being God's Light–doing our Kingdom work and obedience under the empowerment of God.

C. Christ-like Attitude

The third thing God intends when He uses us as His Light in a dark, perverse and crooked world is found in verses 14 and 15...

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

This is a very important point for us. Paul is saying that our service in the kingdom of God, our relationships with people in the church, our personalities, our dispositions, our demeanor, our words, and our actions (those are all part of the word, EVERYTHING in verse 14) are to be without complaining or arguing. I call this having a Christ-like attitude.

When Jesus went to the cross, no where do we read that He said, "Crosses are so dirty. Those miserable Jews are so unenlightened. The disciples are such wimps. The Romans are so cruel. The way the people are dressed at this crucifixion is so casual. The people I have to die for are such s-s-sinners. And everyone lacks any gratitude for what I'm about to do!"

In fact, Isaiah wrote about Jesus...

Isa 53:7
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Friends, I'm going to get very honest right now. This church has been around since 1963. Yet in all that time it's never grown beyond needing only two of the five acres of land that God gave it. This church has gone through 13 pastoral changes in 37 years. And a lot of people have left this congregation over the years and gone to other churches. Why? The doctrine's been right. The commitment to accurate teaching of God's Word has always been here. Nice people go to church here. We've had good programs. We know how to love. What's been the problem? I'll tell you what I believe it is–there are two besetting sins that have run rampant through this church family for years, unchecked–the sins of arguing and complaining.

Last year I brought this to the attention of our elder board and pastors and our wives. We had a time of confession in the living room of our home for past instances of these un-Christ-like attitudes in our church. We also confessed these sins at a public Sunday evening service before four other churches last May, and asked God's forgiveness. But I don't think we've gone far enough. And this morning, we need to bring this issue to a close.

So, I'm going to stop the message right now, and ask you to reflect and pray. During this time of reflection and prayer, I want three questions to guide you...

1. Is there someone or something I have refused to forget, which keeps me from being happy and productive at this church? (If you answer is yes, stop and declare it openly to the Lord, and ask Him to take away the pain and bitterness.)

2. Am I a victim of self-pity, over what's happened to me in the past at this church? (If your answer is yes, stop and consider the consequences of living the rest of your life excusing your depression rather than turning it over to the only One who can remove it.)

3. Have I complained to others over decisions that have been made by leaders in this church; or argued with leaders, because they have not done things my way? (If you have participated in any such behavior in the past, then confess that to God as sin, and receive His forgiveness.)

Friends, it is critical that we get rid of this sin-baggage of the back of this church. Because ... We will never be effective at being God's light to show pre-Christian men and women the way to a relationship with Jesus Christ unless we eradicate these two sins from our individual and collective behavior. So, let's pray right now–individually in silence, then I'll end it.

Pray.

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9...
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Friends, from this day forward, let us claim forgiveness... And purpose in our hearts to replace the former sins of complaining and arguing with a consistent Christ-like attitude.

D. Hold onto the Word of Life

The final thing God has in mind for being His Light is found in verse 16...

Phil 2:16
6 as you hold out the word of life-in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

The Greek Word for hold out, can also be translated "to present". What Paul is saying is that as you talk to people, as you do Kingdom work, as you seek to act Christ-like, as you obey, as you minister in any way... make sure you're presenting or talking about God's Word.

Our culture in north America has slipped farther and farther into darkness, into depravity, and into crooked thinking, as it has become less and less knowledgeable about what is in God's Word. Yet, Christians have stopped talking about what the Bible says in their conversations. We've either assumed everyone knows what the Bible says, or we are afraid to say what's in it. But we live in a Bible-illiterate culture!

Illustration: This was really demonstrated to me by Tonight Show host Jay Leno. If you watch the show at all, you know that Leno frequently does "man-on-the street" interviews "Jay-walking"). One night he collared 3 young people to ask them questions about the Bible. "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?" he asked a college-age woman. She replied, "Freedom of speech?" Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: ‘Let he who is without sin...'" Her response was, "have a good time?" Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The confident answer was, "Pinocchio."

Friend, do you think that the Bible knowledge you gain through the pulpit ministry of this church, or Adult Enrichment classes, or Bible study classes, or accountability groups, or your personal devotions is to be kept secret? God teaches you new things and reminds you of important things from His Word for you to share, or talk about, or bring up in conversation, or to bolster a point you're making, or to give you credibility in sharing your faith.

Let me give you a piece of advice... if you learn something new, or are reminded of something important through studying the Bible, there is a very good chance that God wants you to use that in conversation in the near future. Your job is to pray about it and ask God to give you that gentle nudge when the appropriate time comes to share it. We won't be much use to God's Kingdom if we only talk about our agendas rather than God's agenda.

III. Conclusion

So, there you have it. When we say that Palm Springs Baptist church exists to Love, Accept, Guide and Partner to share God's truth and to BE HIS LIGHT, you now know that being God's light isn't some passive lifestyle or a list of things you don't do. Being God's Light is...

1. Obeying what God says to do and intentionally doing something to advance His Kingdom;

2. Doing that intentional work under God's power, not your own;

3. Having a Christ-like attitude in everything you do; and

4. Presenting the Word of God as you come to understand it and as God gives you the opportunity to talk about it.

The great preacher of a generation ago, Dr. Alan Redpath, penned the prayer that's on the front of your bulletins this morning. I'm going to invite you to make it your prayer at the beginning of this year, for your part in Being God's Light –either here in the Coachella Valley, or where ever you call home for the rest of the year... "Lord, like the star, the Christian is the light that belongs to the Master, leading others to him, glad to be at his bidding. May this be true of me throughout the coming year." (Alan Redpath, The Life of Victory.)