Let us turn to the book of Philippians chapter 1. And our reading today will be from verses 27 through 30. This is God's word. 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 grass withers and flower fades, but the Lord's word abides forever. A bulldog. An image, a mascot that's familiar in these parts. If you call someone a bulldog, what does that mean? That person's a bulldog. I think Winston Churchill was likened to a bulldog and standing against the Axis powers. Well, it doesn't mean that he's large and intimidating. because bulldogs are not that big. But rather that once a bulldog grabs a hold of something, they won't let go of it. That there's this tenacity to being a bulldog in a kind of stubborn way. grabbing a hold of your pant leg and having trouble getting rid of it. Well, when I thought of the word tenacity and this passage, that's the image that came into my mind. We are to have a good kind of stubbornness when it comes to persevering in the faith. We're to be so tethered together in Christ, so immovable and abounding that we're not going to move from the place where God has set us. Paul says in another place that we are to be rooted and grounded in the gospel. sort of like a pillar that is sunk for a temple. And you know that once that pillar is there, the purpose is that that pillar won't move anywhere. And so we too are called to plant ourselves, to fix ourselves in the gospel, in the word, so that we would be those who are steadfast and those who are tenacious in our commitment to the Lord. Paul begins by saying only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Last week we saw that tension that he felt in prison as he considered what direction he was going to take. The outcome of his trial could eventually lead to his execution and to capital punishment. So he could end up dying for his testimony to Christ or he could be set free and he could continue in his ministry. But remember that either way there was one outcome and that is in verse 19. This will turn out for my deliverance. And the reason for this is, in life and in death, we belong to Jesus. That's what the Heidelberg Catechism says, question one, what is your only comfort in life and in death? My only comfort is that I, with body and soul and life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful savior, Jesus Christ. And so Paul knows this and he's able to have confidence no matter what comes. So whatever happens to me, he is saying, whether I go to my death or whether I continue in my ministry, this is what I want you to do. This is what I want to be true of you, the church. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Now here, when we come to Paul's presence and his absence, we have to see it as a kind of reminder and reflection of the absence and presence of Jesus himself. In the providence of Christ, he has made Paul, the pastor, the shepherd of the Philippians, to be absent from them in body, just like Christ himself. They can't see the Apostle at this point, but they can see his heart, they can see his desire as he communicates himself to them. And so in a way, when he says, whether I come to see you or I'm absent, we're to hear an echo of whether Christ himself returns or whether he delays and we continue in our pilgrimage. Whatever is the case, this is what we should be doing in the meantime. In the meantime, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. standing firm in one spirit with one mind. Three points this morning in this tenacity together in Christ. Firstly, a citizen walk. Secondly, side by side. And thirdly, in the face of opposition. Firstly, a citizen want. This word that he's chosen here in verse 27, let your manner of life be worthy, is a very specific word, and it's for a specific purpose. And the reason for this is most likely that Philippi was one of the first colonies to enjoy the privileges of Roman citizenship. Unlike America, where I think it was back in the 1860s, there was an amendment to the Constitution that everyone born in this land would become a citizen. In Rome, this was a privileged status to be a citizen of the empire. And it started by being a citizen of the city. And you would have to have a sponsor who was himself a citizen to be your sponsor to grant you this privilege. And so if you came into contact with such a person, this is what you would want. You would want the protections and the privileges and the rights afforded by this citizen status. And Philippi was not too far from Rome, and it was one of the first cities to become, under the protection of Caesar, to have many of its residents be called citizens of the Roman Empire. And so when they heard this word, citizen conduct, or living as citizens, their hearts probably swelled with pride. Yes, we are citizens of this great empire and civilization. And yet Paul has a better citizenship in mind, doesn't he? Look over in chapter three, verse 20. He says, but our citizenship is where? Is in heaven, in heaven. And from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. See, our lives are to be characterized as belonging to this kingdom that is not of this world. This is so much more than a lifestyle. You know, you hear the called to have a certain lifestyle, wear accessories and a certain color of socks, express the real you that's hidden beneath. But here's a real substance, isn't there? A substance belonging to your identity, where you really belong, who you really are. Citizens of the kingdom of God. Citizens of the city of God. Citizens of Christ. It was actually in Philippi that Paul had told the prison guards after he was released and as they were about to beat him some more, he said, is this right for you to do this to a Roman citizen? And then they were taken aback because they didn't realize that Paul had this status. But Paul does not speak that often of his Roman citizenship. He speaks much more of his belonging, of his being birthed into a kingdom that is of another place. I appreciate the term commonwealth to describe a country. A country is a commonwealth because it's wealth that you have in common. If you live in a certain land, all the citizens share in the fish that are fished in the sea, the gold that is in the mines, all the natural resources that are there. The kingdom is a commonwealth of great proportions whose wealth cannot be measured or calculated. We have a true treasure, don't we? And this reminds us that when we are born from above, as Jesus tells Nicodemus, when we are born again, We are not simply born individually, but we are born into a new society, into a new family, into a new place of a culture. And so in a sense, we could say there are no naturalized citizens when it comes to this kingdom, but super naturalized citizens. It reminds me of the great Psalm, Psalm 87, which speaks of the glory of the city of God. And it begins, on the holy mount stands the city he founded. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. people from Ethiopia, people from Egypt, people from Babylon, people from Philistia, from all corners of the earth are somehow born in this city, in this place. And that can't refer to the earthly Jerusalem. And Paul will pick this up in Galatians 4 and saying, we're talking about the city that is above, the mother city, the cosmopolitan, the world city that is the church. Jerusalem that is free, she is our mother. This is where you were born. There's been a tendency to go back to localism and nativism in many places where You don't quite fit in in a place if you haven't been born there and raised there. You're not quite accepted if you don't share that heritage. But in this culture, in this city, God says, you were born in Zion, and so you do belong. You do fit in. It's interesting to me that citizens of certain cultures, you can tell by their pattern of life what their identity is. Certain places, certain societies have a very strong work ethic. Other places, they're relaxed. They like to chill out. In Crete, the rumor was they were lazy beasts and evil gluttons, quite a reputation for a society. Well, even today, England, they stop during tea time to relax. Or if you're in Latin America, you talk more closely to someone. Their personal space is much more narrow. In Japan, the meal presentation is just as important as the taste and so in all these ways you belong to a place and the customs become kind of second nature to you so that you don't think about the importance and the values of the culture that you're surrounded by. Well in a way we could say according to Paul when he says let your life be worthy of the gospel of Christ The church is itself the culture of the gospel. The native soil in which we are planted is the new creation presence of God. The soil in which we are planted is the very character of heaven. And that's why when Paul urges us, for example, in Colossians chapter three, to put on compassion, to put on sympathy, to put on tenderness. He's not just pulling these virtues from an encyclopedia off the shelf. He's saying these things belong to who you are called to be because it is the very character of the kingdom. It is the very way of life for those who have been born into Jesus. The very character of the king himself. So let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of knowing Christ. Jesus says as much in Matthew chapter 10 verse 25. disciple is to be like the teacher, the servant like the master. And so as citizens, we're called to put off all that futility, all the fading pleasures that belong to this passing age, and to put on the character, the virtues of our identity as citizens of another world, another kingdom. In this way, I do think that the Sabbath becomes such a vital marker of who we are in terms of our specific cultural context. I was reading an interview with Bill Gates, and he said something pretty interesting. He said, religion is not very efficient. There are more useful things I could be doing on a Sunday morning. Now, see his priorities. It's on productivity. It's on efficiency. And as Christians, we say that these things are not our ultimate priorities and ultimate values. Because we say on this day we're going to cease from our work and allow God to work in us. Why? Because we're not citizens of this age, of this world. We are showing as a Sabbath people that our hopes, that our desires, that our hearts are fixed in the age of rest, the age of grace, the age of Christ's presence. One writer has said, we are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven. We are citizens of heaven seeking to make our way here. And that is why we will always be considered as Christians. somewhat strange, peculiar, a little off, not quite with it. And no matter where we live as Christians, the culture should say to us, you're not from around these parts, are you? Can't quite fit in. One time, this preacher named Basil Atkinson was preaching in the open air. And he's preaching about heaven. And one of these hecklers said, what do you know about heaven? And the preacher turned and smiled and said, I live there. I live there. And he knew what the Bible told him, that he was to seek the things that are above. Why? Because he was already seated there with Christ. Where? In the heavenly places, in the city of God. It's a citizen walk. Augustine says two cities defined by two loves. The city of man defined by the love of self, pride, self-promotion, self-aggrandizement, everything that puffs up yourself. But the city of God hates the self, has contempt for the self, denies the self, and loves God most of all. We're to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ in terms of our love for the Lord. But secondly, notice it's a side-by-side walk. 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." This is a rather interesting image. They're standing together, but they're also somehow moving together. They're standing, but they're also striving. And this is one of the ways in which Paul puts paradoxically two things together, as he has also talked about being rooted and grounded at the same time. But they're to make different points, aren't they? The first, to stand firm in one spirit. You know, if a general commands his army, stand your ground against the onslaught of the enemy, and at the end of the battle, they have stood their ground. That standing is a form of victory. They have not been defeated. But at the same time, there is a progress to be made in this standing, you could say, an offensive character to the Christian walk, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. And here we can remember what Jesus said about the church to Peter when he confessed him. He told him, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Now what are gates? Gates are defense weapons. Gates are meant to keep out those who are intruding. And so we learn that Satan has his fortifications and his doors that he has set up. And as the Christians, as the church, storm the very gates of darkness, those gates, Christ says, will not stand against you. As you strive side by side for the faith of the gospel. But it's a conflict, isn't it? It's a conflict that Paul refers to here in verse 30, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and still hear that I have. When he was first in Philippi, he met various forms of conflict. One was the servant girl who was possessed by a demon. And day after day, this girl said of Paul and his companions, these are servants of the most high God. And Paul turns around and expels that demon from her. And it's actually for that reason that he's thrown into prison, because this girl had brought much profit to her owners by her prophesying. But we know that his ministry was carried out in the midst of much conflict and opposition of a satanic sort. This is spiritual warfare he's talking about, just like the conflict you saw that I had against the prince of darkness, so you also are in the same conflict. Brought back, aren't we, to Ezekiel chapter 37 that we just read. What is the church? It is an exceedingly great army. As those bones are put together, as flesh is put on them, as breath is breathed into them, what do those people become? Ezekiel says, an exceedingly great army, a force. Kids in Sunday school sing, I am in the Lord's army. That's what we think of, as the theologians call it. We are the church militant, the church in conflict, the church doing battle, the church fighting the good fight. Think of Jericho as Israel marches in. There's this great city right on the water of the Jordan, right across the border there. And God commands the people to walk silently behind the Ark of the Covenant while the priests lead them. And the men of war walk around and around one day at a time for six days. And you can imagine the voices coming from inside the walls. How ludicrous, how preposterous that this is the way you will win this battle, you will take over this city. Following an ark and being quiet and going behind the footsteps of the priests, this is foolish. This is what the world says about the church. How is it that baptizing, how is it that partaking of the meal, the supper of the Lord, how is it that hearing God's word, how is it that seeing God's praises, that through these ways you are doing battle, you are fighting the good fight, you are soldiers of the cross, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. The world still says, what a foolish way to win the war. But this is precisely the means, those things that are low and despised in the world God has used. Why? To shame the strong, that we might not boast in ourselves, but in him. A side-by-side warfare. In Nehemiah, the people who are building the walls of Jerusalem, they're called to carry a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, a sword to fend off the enemies, and a trowel to build up the walls, a picture of the Christian in the New Covenant, fighting off the world, the flesh, and the devil with one hand, but with the other, building up, edifying, strengthening the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. One spirit, one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. What's the worst kind of army? a divided army. And that's why at boot camp, they're drilling into the new recruits. It's not about you anymore. Listen to orders. Listen to instructions. They are trying to take the self out of the soldiers. No longer about their own concerns and ambitions. They're there. for the service of the general and the mission of the unit? How much more in the body of Christ, which is the army of God? We have a mission defined by the master and commander to make disciples of all nations. And the only way that this can bear fruit is if we continue to have this same goal with one spirit, with one mind. striving side by side together. Paul says in Galatians chapter 6 to bear one another's burdens in this context because we each have our difficulties, each have our temptations. We're not like those critics on the sidelines, the judges, during an event, holding up different numbers. This is how well you're doing, or this is how much you've failed. Rather, we are like those on a hike or a march who are needing to help others with their load and with their burdens to carry. Side by side for the faith of the gospel, but lastly, in the face of opposition, verse 28, 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 for the sake of Christ that you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. And part of what we have in the gospel is partaking in the whole Christ. There's no way to have faith in part of him, a piece of him, but we must have all of him. And if that's the case, then as Paul is going to say in chapter 3, to know Christ, you have to know him in both the fellowship of his sufferings and the power of his resurrection. That's what Jesus told his followers as they were going to Jerusalem. You cannot have glory unless you take up your cross first, unless you deny yourself. It has been granted to you not only to believe in him, but to suffer for his sake. If you look back at John chapter 15, verses 18 and 19, Jesus prepares his church very explicitly through these words. If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you are 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. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Don't be surprised when you encounter hostility. Don't be surprised when those around you jeer and sneer and hurl invectives your way because you're not citizens of their, this culture. If you read the book of Acts, we learn that the apostles considered this affliction, this suffering, not a badge of shame, not something to shrink back from, but they actually said it was an honor to suffer for the name of Christ, to be numbered and to be counted with him and his people. Hebrews chapter 11 tells us that Moses counted the reproach of Christ greater than all the treasures of Egypt. And was it worth it? Absolutely. He reckoned with the right calculation. Paul says, don't be spooked. Don't be frightened in anything by your opponents. As a child, I rode this horse, and a deer came across the path, and the horse almost threw me off. because it was spooked, it was alarmed by what had come in its way. And Paul says, don't be frightened when your opponents rise up against you. Now there's various temptations that might come in the face of such antagonism. and adversity in maintaining your faith. You might sort of lash out like a cornered wolf, maybe try to fight fire with fire. That would be one temptation. You might become timid, like a turtle pulling back into a shell and trying to hide. Maybe you'll become like a chameleon that tries to blend into its surroundings so you won't have to stick out and you won't have to undergo this hostility. But Paul says none of these options is how we should position ourselves. Not to be frightened, but rather to be emboldened, courageous, remembering. that this is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. There's this man named James Guthrie who was told to duck when the oncoming fury and hostility was coming against him in the 17th century English context. And he turned to his friend who told him this and he said, there is no ducking. in the kingdom of God. There is no ducking. Don't shrink back, but believe and persevere in your faith. It's the same struggle, the same joy, with the same outcome that is expected. If Paul knows that whether he lives or dies, he will have full deliverance in the presence of God, then shouldn't our hope be fully set on that deliverance ourselves, knowing that our citizenship is not here, that we belong to the king who has written his name upon us, and our names are in him. Shouldn't we also strive side by side for the faith of the gospel as fellow soldiers, fellow warriors in the kingdom, fighting against the same enemy of darkness? And shouldn't we, too, in the face of opposition, endure, persevere, and be bold, knowing that we are preserved by our Lord? Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, for this reminder from your word and help us to remember that you have armed us, that you have given us the full armor that you yourself have worn. So help us to put this on and to stand in the evil day together. It is in Christ we pray, amen.