Well, good morning, church. I invite you all to make your way to your seats. Well, it is a joy to be with you again this morning. This Lord's Day to open the Word of God for you. You can go ahead and turn to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. And this morning we'll be giving our attention to verses 27 through 30. Last week, we spent the entire sermon really unpacking the gospel of Christ and its significance. As it's revealed in this letter, we saw just how practical, how beautiful, how wonderful, how glorious the message of the gospel is. And this week, we find instruction to live in response to that glorious gospel. And one of the observations I made last week was that for the Apostle Paul, it's really all about Christ. And it's all about the gospel because the gospel reveals Christ. And I want to walk with you through a little bit of this letter before getting into our text, just to help you see that and how it comes to us as we study the epistle to the Philippians. So, if you would join me, look at verses 3 through 5 of chapter 1. This is where Paul is making his prayer and his encouragement to the Philippians, the formal portion of his letter. He says these words, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. One of the things that is worth noting is that every single theme that the Apostle Paul is going to bring to bear in this entire epistle is introduced in this first paragraph. In fact, understanding this paragraph really helps you to understand the rest of the letter, verses 3 through 11 of chapter 1. Introduce all of the major themes and we see three of them even in those couple of verses that I read we see the theme of joy, perhaps you've heard of Philippians reference to as the epistle of joy. It's a major theme We see this word partnership. Philippians is very concerned with fellowship, unity, partnership, and the other theme, of course, which we looked at last week of the gospel. But what you need to note immediately in verses three through five is what is it that brings the apostle Paul to joyful prayer on behalf of these saints? It's their participation in the ministry of the gospel from the first day until now. And what we know historically is if you look at Acts chapter 16, you'll find there was no church in Philippi before the Apostle Paul got there. And so participation, partnership in the gospel from the first day would have looked like the early converts joining the Apostle Paul to evangelize their city. And when he says partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, the until now part includes the fact that they have sent Epaphroditus from their congregation to minister to the Apostle Paul, to provide for his needs and to labor alongside him in the ministry of the gospel. If you look back at chapter 1, you'll see that after this crucial paragraph of the letter in verse 12, Paul starts to give a bit of an update on his circumstances. And what's worth noting is the way that he gives this update. He doesn't give it in terms of his personal suffering or his imprisonment, just focusing on the circumstances. He's concerned with the reality that even in his imprisonment, the gospel is going forth because people have realized, they've heard that his imprisonment is for Jesus Christ. And the effect on the believers around him has been that they've become emboldened to speak the gospel of Christ even on their own. You look at verses 15 through 18, we see that there are these sort of rival preachers who are preaching Christ to afflict the Apostle Paul. And even in the midst of such strange circumstances, Paul says, Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice. So you see, it's all about Christ for Paul. And then if you look at the paragraph that immediately precedes our text this morning, you see that Paul begins to transition from just thinking of his allegiance to Christ to now thinking about the Philippians in their allegiance to Christ. And he introduces this by expressing that his hope is to be delivered from prison, But he points to his ultimate hope in verse 20. Look at verse 20 with me. He says, that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. And then he pens some of the most famous words in the entire epistle, for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. For the apostle Paul, it was personal. He says, for to me, in my assessment, according to what I'm concerned with, to me, to live as Christ. That is, all of Christ's life revolves around the person of Jesus Christ. He's my purpose for living. He's my reward in dying. Jesus is my life. The preacher Joel Beakey said, if Christ is not your life, death will not be your gain. we give a hearty amen to Philippians 121. For to me, to live is Christ, amen. But how do we know if our life really is for Christ? How do I know if my life really is all about Christ? Well, consider the way that Paul fleshes out what he means when he says, for him to live is Christ. He says in verse 22, If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Fruitful labor. This recalls his prayer. If you look back at verse 11, he prayed for the Philippians that they would be filled with fruit, same term, of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. So what it means, if Christ is your life, is that you see life as an opportunity to bear fruit in Christ to the glory of God. But there's more, look back at Philippians 1 in verse 22. Yet, which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I am hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. From these words, we learn that when Christ is your life, you see nearness to Jesus as the greatest blessing. And this perspective even transforms death into the bestower of even more grace. Paul goes on, look at verse 24. but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again. When Christ is your life, you see it as your delightful duty to serve other believers so that Christ might be their life too. This is what Paul means when he says, for to me, to live is Christ. And what we gather by looking at the example of the Apostle Paul is that by God's grace, his life was a life lived unto Jesus. And as Paul addresses the Philippians, he's not merely writing to individuals, he's writing to a body, to a church, to a gathering of Christians. And so that ought to prompt us to ask the question, how do we live with Christ as our life together? How do we live with Christ as our life together in the midst of external opposition? In the midst of those who would seek to hinder our corporate life lived unto Jesus, these are the kinds of questions that lead Paul into his summary exhortation towards steadfast unity in the cause of the gospel. Last week, we noted we don't live the gospel. Our life is not good news. But as we sang this morning, we stand in the gospel. We live in the gospel. We live about the gospel. And we see a picture of what it means to live with Christ as our life together in our text, verses 27 through 30. Look there as I read for us. Paul writes, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. 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." The whole point of this paragraph, indeed the whole point of this sermon, is that we promote the worthiness of the gospel to the degree that we pursue steadfast unity. We promote together the worth of the gospel to the degree that we together pursue steadfast unity. And in our text this morning, we see 1st Paul addresses the aim of gospel citizens. Look with me again at verse 27. He says, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. That word only is front-loaded in the original text and in our text, and it is pointing to a primary exhortation. So there's an interpretive implication. Every exhortation that comes after this one flows out of this one in the epistle to the Philippians. But there's also a practical implication, and that is, this is of utmost importance. Notice Paul doesn't spend time initially explaining the wonders of the gospel. He goes right into application with these saints. And the application is, let your manner of life as a command, It's not Paul's typical command that he uses for describing the Christian life. You're probably familiar with the way that the Apostle Paul uses the verb to walk. Walk in a manner worthy of the calling, walk. But here, it's a word that literally speaks of citizenship. It would be literally translated, live as a citizen. And in order to catch some of the significance of this, I think we need to understand the situation in which the Philippians found themselves. Back in Acts chapter 16, the apostle Paul in verse nine of chapter 16 receives the Macedonian call. He's called to go and minister the gospel in Macedonia. And this is what Luke records for us about Philippi. Acts 16 verse 11 says, so setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. So it was a leading district in Macedonia. It was a Roman colony. And what we know historically is somewhere around 47 BC, the Emperor Augustus reconstituted Philippi as an official Roman colony. And immediately he sent military veterans to go and settle this colony. And so it came to take on a very pro-Roman identity. the Philippian constituency would have been identified as those who are citizens of Rome, though outside of the homeland, in a distant part of this kingdom. And so Paul plays on this idea of citizenship And he does that to bring to bear the Philippians' ultimate and true citizenship as citizens of the gospel. And in contrast to the citizenry of this world, Paul says in Philippians 3.20, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So here's what he's after in verse 27. As you live in a reality of being a citizen of heaven, live in a manner worthy of the gospel which granted you this citizenship. But you ought to be thinking, what does worthy mean? Be worthy of this citizenship that's been graciously bestowed upon you? Didn't we say last week that none of us are worthy? If we consider our own worthiness that we're worthy of eternal death in virtue of the penalty of our sin, what does it mean? If you think about the way that this word gets used, I'll give you an example. It can't mean to make yourself deserving of. It doesn't mean improve yourself and make yourself worthy of what you've already received. No, that would undermine the entirety of the good news of the gospel. Instead, we read in places like 1 Thessalonians 2.12. Listen to the way this word gets used. We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God. Think about that. Does that mean live in a way that would make you worthy of having God? That's absurd. As if we could become worthy of the Creator as creatures. No, it can't mean that. A familiar text where we get a better picture of what this word means, spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. over in Matthew 10, 37. Listen to these words. It's a familiar text. Jesus says, Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Here's the point. The one who loves, that is the one who values or esteems family or life or friends or anything else more than Jesus is not worthy of him. You show the worth, the worthiness of Jesus by valuing him above absolutely everything else. That's the worthy response. It doesn't point to self-worth, it points to the worth of the giver. It points to the worth of the Lord himself. So worthy of the gospel of Christ means a life that shows that the gospel is worth more than anything. That's the thrust of this command, and that's exactly what we would expect coming from the man whose life was lived unto Christ. That's the aim of gospel citizens, and now we encounter the bulk of this text, the steadfast unity of gospel citizens. The question is, okay, we understand what we're called to. We're called to live in a way that promotes the worth of Jesus in the gospel. But how do we live together in such a way that accomplishes that end? How do we work that out together? Paul gives us three actions of steadfast unity to apply. The first is stand firm. Stand firm, look back at the text with me in verse 27. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or am absent, regardless of where I am in proximity to you, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit. Standing firm, it means being steadfast. It comes with the imagery of a defensive posture, bracing for impact, a preparedness. And what you need to know is that when Paul uses this verb, stand firm, it's always used in connection with the truth. Let me give you some examples of that. In 1 Corinthians 16, 13, Paul says, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. That is to say, be on alert against anything that opposes the faith. Stand firm. Or in Galatians 5.1, Paul writes, for freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Do not allow the lies of legalism to eclipse your freedom in Christ. Stand firm. 2 Thessalonians 2.15, so then brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Hold fast, not only to the scriptures, but to the entire body of doctrine contained therein. That's what it means to stand firm. So back in our text, stand firm in one spirit. That is, be on guard against that which would cause division from without. And more specifically, be prepared for opposition that will aim to divide and discredit the truth. As you think about how are we to stand firm, how do we appropriate this exhortation under the word of God? We don't currently face legal oppositions. There are other Christians who do. Our brother Victor shared of the tremendous struggle it is for Christians in those circumstances, and certainly ours don't look as dire as theirs. But our opposition comes more in the form of ideologies. these ideologies which are hostile to the Christian faith. And the closer these ideologies are to sounding true, the more dangerous they are to us. Standing firm is a guardedness against that which would erode our fidelity to the gospel. And friends, we don't have to look very far into our culture to find numerous examples of these ideologies. Consider for a moment the rapid decay of sexual ethics in our age. You hear these little propaganda phrases like, love is love. Love is love, it's a seemingly harmless tautology. But underneath that phrase is invested an agenda to suppress the very truths that God has revealed. Namely that there's such a thing as male and female, and that there are appropriate relations between male and female. And the temptation for well-intended Christians like ourselves is to compromise in little ways, to try to be friendly, to maybe have a better opportunity to minister to people. But friends, compromise on revealed truth of the living God is not an option for those who have been mastered by this truth. We're not afforded that kind of latitude. One theologian puts it this way, yes, love is love, but according to 1 Corinthians 13, six, love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with truth, which means that a culture that revels in unrighteousness and rejects the very existence of truth has absolutely no idea what love is. Paul's concern here is that the church that which he calls the pillar and support of the truth would stand firm together in that truth and so anchor herself to the only remedy by which the perishing world can be rescued. Friends, don't buy the squishy sentimentality that seeks to define love while rejecting its author and source, the God who is love. The world stands in desperate need of those who will love them with the truth. Stand firm. We are of no help to a world that is untethered to the truth if we ourselves are not standing firm in this truth. You see how immediately this relates to our ability to serve the great end of the progress of the gospel. So how do we stand firm together? So many ways. So many ways to apply this to our lives and work this out. Let me just give you the essential ingredients and allow you to take them and work them out in your own life. The first ingredient is that it requires being together. Maybe that's obvious. All of this instruction requires being together, standing firm together. It also requires, secondly, engaging with the truth of God's word. So whatever setting that happens, stand firm together. It requires intentionality, it requires effort, but it is our charge. The second action of steadfast unity is strive for the faith of the gospel. Strive for the faith of the gospel. Paul says, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. With one mind, literally one soul. So united as to be one person. This verb striving, it comes with the idea of contending in battle or competing in a race. I remember my time in the army. I was stationed in Alaska. We had a superior officer who was all about this striving. His sort of motto that he would always be saying is, relentless forward progress. Relentless forward progress, men. We'd be doing a ruck march and he shows up out of nowhere with a rucksack on, he's marching, he's like, relentless forward progress, men. And the temptation is to be like, I bet my rucksack is heavier than yours. But what's he doing? He's trying to get us to come together, to strive together. And later on, we ended up sending one of our guys to ranger school, an elite leadership school in the army. And this guy that we trained up, didn't make it through the first phase. So he had to call us back, and he said, look, the commander of Ranger School has told me that I've failed this phase, and I can either come back to the unit and quit, or I can recycle and try again. And this superior of mine asked him, well, how's it going? How are you doing? He said, relentless forward progress, sir. Just this striving, this trying to have this attitude of moving forward, of not giving up and not quitting. But this striving that Paul calls us to is not just some mantra that we repeat and that we say. No, it's something that realizes we can't do this together. You can't appropriate these commands by yourself. Notice how he describes the striving. Striving side by side. You know what Ranger Brown needed? He needed buddies to come alongside him and help him continue on in the course. One of the things that you learn at a school like that is you don't earn your ranger tab, your ranger buddy earns your tab. You earn his. It's a teamwork effort, it's a striving together, but spiritually speaking, this is striving for the faith of the gospel. So if standing firm were the defensive posture, striving side-by-side is the offensive posture. So immediately on the apostle's mind, when he speaks of striving side-by-side for the faith of the gospel, It's going out to evangelize together. It's going out to proclaim this message together. It's going out to preach in the open air, or to lead a worship service at a jail, or a hospital, or a nursing home, or going anywhere where you might proclaim and communicate this gospel. In Philippians chapter four, he uses this phrase again. In verse two, he's speaking of these two ladies in the congregation, Euodia and Syntyche. But listen to how he describes them. He says, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel. Almost exactly the same construction with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. You know what it would have looked like to have strived with the Apostle Paul side by side in the gospel? It would have looked like evangelizing Philippi. It would have looked like figuring out how can we, as the bearers of good news, go and proclaim this good news to our city that is in desperate need of it. That's what it would have been. And so the question for all of us this morning is, how are we striving together side by side for the faith of the gospel? How is that happening? And as you think about that, just recognize it doesn't have to look the same for everyone. It doesn't maybe look like how it looks like in my life, but it needs to be there and it needs to be together. This is something we are called to do together. And I just have to share this opportunity with you. Next Saturday, October 22nd, Travis and Julie Dean are going to open their home to some 40 or 50 international students in partnership with a ministry called International Student Ministries. They do this every year. It's a big bonfire event, and there are these international students who are students in Tulsa, and they just come and have an Oklahoma good time. And the aim of this ministry is to love on these students, to befriend these students. And what an opportunity for us, next Saturday, to apply this text. Literally, what they're doing, the deans, is they're opening their homes so that we could come alongside them and strive together for the faith of the gospel amongst these unbelieving, mostly international students. And maybe it doesn't mean that you show up and bring a megaphone and proclaim the gospel to these people, What it means is you come and you befriend them. Maybe you get to know one or two of them, and you invite them over to your house and say, hey, we'd love to have you over for dinner. And what you'll find, based on countless interactions with these kinds of students, is they want to know something about American culture, and they want to know about what you believe. A lot of these students have never met a Christian. And so, what would it look like to invite them into your home, to befriend them, to be kind to them, and simply to ask a question like, have you ever read the Bible before? Or has anyone ever told you what the good news of the gospel is and why it's good news? You see how many different shapes it can take, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and what a sweet opportunity, what a sweet use of your home that the Lord has blessed you with. That's the thrust of this exhortation. But as you study the rest of Philippians, you'll see that striving together for the faith of the gospel is even bigger than evangelism. we might put it this way, that there's an aspect and a primary aspect of striving for the progress of the gospel out there, and by out there, I mean amongst the unbelieving, but there's also a sense in which there's a striving for the progress of the gospel in here, amongst gospel people who are continually in need of this message of good news. At the previous Iron Man Summit, Andrew Copley gave a session on discipleship. If you haven't heard it, I'd encourage you to go back and listen to it. It's excellent. One of the things that he said really stood out to me and was really helpful to me. This is what he said about the gospel. Not an exact quote, but this is the idea. The gospel is not merely the entry point into the Christian life. It is the sphere in which the entire Christian life is lived. you get what he's after. It's not as though we should view this message, this glorious message of hope, as merely an end to conversion. No, it is the end in itself. It brings us into fellowship with the triune God, the faith of the gospel, and striving for it is even bigger than evangelism. It looks like maybe just opening your home to your brothers and sisters around you, sharing a meal together, celebrating the redemption of God that you have seen in your life by sharing your testimony. Or it's even broader than that. Maybe it's encouraging a saint with gospel truth, one who's suffering loss, one who's grieving. It's coming alongside and loving them well and reminding them of the precious, eternal, hopeful truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The point is mutual investment in one another for the collective progress and joy in the faith, striving together for the faith of the gospel. The third action is do not fear your opponents. So appreciated Victor's words and the hope that he shared from Acts chapter eight. That's their hope, that's all of our hope. Paul writes in verse 28, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. Look, the apostle Paul knew that this little church in Philippi was surrounded by a godless and pagan culture. In chapter two in verse 14, he describes the Philippians as children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. That's their neighbors, crooked and twisted. You think, okay, the instruction here is not to be intimidated by them. But you do recognize how easy it would have been for them to be intimidated. When we think about it, just in Paul's progress report, what can the opponents do to you? They can arrest you. They can seek your affliction. They can seek to end your life. These are significant threats. But remember how the Apostle Paul viewed those threats and circumstances with a Christ-centered lens. If you are arrested for Christ, you get to be an encouraging testimony to the saints around you. If they seek your affliction, the Lord Jesus will be ever present with you. If they kill you, you will gain Christ. There's no longer reason to be frightened when Christ is remembered. And in fact, intimidation and fear is only afforded a voice when Christ is denied a hearing. There is a place for fear in the Christian life. Chapter two, verses 12 and 13 tell us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. But it's a Godward fear, it's not a manward fear. 17th century English preacher William Gurnall put it this way, we fear man so much because we fear God so little. Think about that. This prohibition against being fearful of our opponents of the faith implies a proper reverence for God. It implies a recognition that God is absolutely over everything, which is the truth that Paul points us to next. Finally, the spiritual significance, the spiritual reality of steadfast unity. Verses 28 through 30, first we see the sign displayed, the sign displayed. Verse 28 reads, this is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. Now this word, this, is best understood as referring to all of what Paul has just described. Namely, the Philippians' steadfast unity in the midst of opposition in Philippi. Now, how is this a clear sign? What does Paul mean by that? I think we're helped out in a similar context. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 1. 2 Thessalonians 1, just a couple books over to the right. 2 Thessalonians 1 and starting in verse 3. Mark the similarities of the context here. 2 Thessalonians 1, 3. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Their faith is growing, their love is increasing. That's exactly what Paul prayed for the Philippians. Verse four, therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. Is that not exactly the circumstances in which the Philippians are being ministered to by the Apostle Paul? But then note what he says in verse 5. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are also suffering. Very similar construction. He says this. What he means by this is that you are experiencing trial and that you are persevering by faith. This is evidence, or this, very similar word, is a sign of God's righteous judgment. And God's righteous judgment is twofold. One, that you'll be considered worthy of the kingdom, and then later in verse nine, that they, the opponents, will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction. So we come back into our text, in Philippians 1, 28, we see this word sign. It's something that indicates a latent reality. It's something that shows and gives proof of a spiritual truth. Look what Paul says in verse 28 of Philippians 1. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction. To them, to those who are opposing you. And the point is not that the opponents see the sign. The point is that the sign points to a reality of coming destruction for the enemies of Christ. Over in Philippians 3, 18, Paul speaks of the enemies of the cross, and he says that their end is destruction. This is the sobering reality that is evidenced when the church of Christ is walking in steadfast unity in the midst of a culture that is opposed to its message. When someone aligns themselves opposed or against the bride of Christ, it's a red flag. It's a sign of their coming destruction unless God intervenes. Think about it, Jesus takes this opposition personally. Remember in Acts chapter nine, Saul had been persecuting the church and what does Jesus say to him? Why are you persecuting me? Jesus takes such treatment of his bride very personally. Now notice that this sign that the apostle speaks of is not just a one-sided sign. There's another side to it. Look at verse 28. It's also a sign for believers. It's a clear sign to them, but also of your salvation. You think about the Christian life. There are two things that the New Testament tells us to expect, more than two, but the two immediately pressing on this is expect Christian unity. What Jesus says to his disciples in John 13, 55, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Love, unity. And then in 2 Timothy 3, 12, indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. we just like the Philippians ought to expect some level of persecution. You remember in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Why are they blessed? Why should they be counted as those who are happy? For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Four, this reveals something that's true, though it's not immediately perceivable. You are aligned with the one who has come to suffer for his people and calls them to suffer in his likeness. Just as it was for our Savior, so too it is for us. The cross comes before the crown. Finally, Paul shows us the spiritual reality of the gifts realized, the gifts realized. Verse 29, 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. So what is the spiritual truth that undergirds the reality of this sign that we just saw, this two-sided sign? Verse 29 says, four, because it has been granted. What's marvelous to consider is that this word for granted is the word for grace. It has been graciously given. It has been graced to you. So, here's the significance. The two-sided sign of steadfast unity in the midst of opposition is confirming the two-fold pouring out of grace for the people of God. Let's look at this. What is the gift of grace? Look at verse 29. That for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. Two verbs. To believe, to suffer. In Christ, for Christ. This verb to believe is given in the tense that communicates an ongoing reality. It's not just speaking of the moment in time when you placed your faith in Christ for salvation. It's the enduring, the ongoing faith that he has given you to continue trusting in him. So Paul's point here is that the fact that you are believing in Christ in the midst of opposition around you testifies that you have been given the gracious gift of faith to continue believing Put differently, if you are still believing, this is a sweet reminder that he is still sustaining. The one who gave you the faith to believe sustains that faith that he has given. This is a sweet gift of grace to all who are united to Christ. But that's not the only part of this gracious gift. Not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Friends, the good that God does and the grace that God gives to his people is so much bigger than we could have ever conceived of on our own. Do you have a category for grace from God that's hard? Do you have a category for grace from God that is painful? Grace that sometimes doesn't feel gracious. Grace that comes with much heavy suffering. I'll never forget one of the most influential paragraphs I've ever read in my life is in a book by J.I. Packer called Knowing God. I read this book as an early believer, and this paragraph prepared me to walk through some of the heaviest seasons of suffering that I've experienced. I wanna read these words to you from J.I. Packer in Knowing God. He says, Still, the Lord blesses those on whom he sets his love in a way that humbles them so that all the glory may be his alone. Still, he seeks the fellowship of his people and he sends them both sorrows and joys in order to detach their love from other things and to attach it to himself. So we read of God dealing with his people in the scripture record, and so he deals with them still. His aims and principles of action remain consistent. He does not at any time act out of character. Our ways we know are pathetically inconsistent, but not God's. Is that not a precious truth for us to cling to? This means that even suffering on the path of following Jesus It's a gift to be received from the gracious hand of a loving God. And notice that following Christ doesn't mean the lifting of the painful circumstances that we are to walk through. Look at how the paragraph ends. Paul says, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Not a lot has changed circumstantially. And what we need to draw from this is that the circumstances don't direct God's grace. God's grace directs the circumstances. And I do not say that lightly. I know that there are saints in this room who have walked through tremendous suffering for Christ. But doesn't that truth bring us back full circle to Paul's emphasis of our need for one another? Our need to walk in these truths together. Let's put this all together. How does steadfast unity promote the worthiness of the gospel of Christ? How does it do that? You know the cliche, actions speak louder than words. Think about this. How do the actions of steadfast unity promote the gospel of Christ? Standing firm. Standing firm preaches that the knowledge of Christ is worth gaining and defending. Striving together, proclaims to the world that Christ is worth being made known, come what may. Not fearing our opponents, proclaims that Christ is worth trusting in and suffering for. So the question for us, Bible Church of Owasso, is what sermon is our life together preaching? What message is coming out of our corporate life together? And I recognize that this is hard work. Our flesh, every one of us, our flesh would much prefer less intentionality, less purpose, more of a superficial kind of unity. And so we end by asking, from what source will we get the strength to appropriate this command? Where is the strength to even try to live in light of this calling? I think we're helped by contemplating together the gracious gift of suffering for Christ. Back in the book of Acts in chapter five, Peter and the apostles have been going about Jerusalem proclaiming Jesus Christ. Towards the end of the chapter, they've been arrested for that deed, and Luke records these words in Acts chapter five, verses 40 and 41. He says, 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. dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostles, they were beaten. They were publicly shamed. They were made to look like fools. But how did they respond? They rejoiced. Why did they rejoice? They rejoiced because they counted it an honor to suffer dishonor in association with the name of their savior, Jesus Christ. Think about their conception of Jesus. How in the world do you go into a public shaming and beating and walk out of that thing rejoicing if your heart is enamored with the loveliness of the Lord Jesus? Oh, how lovely, how beyond wonderful must this Jesus be if the Bible calls it grace to suffer for his name? How amazing, how beyond our conception must be the wonder of this savior if to suffer on his behalf is called grace. Oh, that our heads and oh, that our hearts would be both occupied with and ravished by the Jesus of the gospel. The Jesus who came into the world to live for the righteousness and die for the penalty of his people and then rose again to give that people hope. The Jesus who then sent his spirit to live and make alive his people and then live inside of and with his people and then unite his people so that his people together with one voice by the totality of their corporate life might declare for us to live is Christ. Brothers and sisters, may our life together display this declaration as we pursue steadfast unity. Would you pray with me?