Don’t just sit there. Do something!

Steve Brown:
Don’t just sit there, do something. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
It’s for freedom that Christ set us free, and Key Life is here to bring you Biblical teaching that encourages you to never give in to slavery again. Our teacher on Key Life is Steve Brown. He’s an author, broadcaster, and seminary professor who’s sick of phony religion.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. And we’re looking at Philippians the first chapter. And we’re looking at a passage that is absolutely filled with wisdom. It’s Philippians 1:9 through 11. And it’s kind of a process, a step by step description of how Christians grow. And we have noted that it starts with love, it moves to knowledge, then it goes to insight, and then it moves to purity. Please note, and this is another step, the byproduct of all of that is action, Philippians 1:11.

Filled with the fruit.

Now, if you’re using the King James Version, that is in the plural, and that’s wrong. More recent manuscripts suggest that Paul is saying the fruit singular of righteousness. Now, I want you to note that purity is the absence of something, righteousness is the presence of something. It is doing righteous, good things. One is the absence of something, the other is the presence of something. So, don’t sit there, go do something. Go love somebody. Go take a pizza to your neighbor. Go to the homeless shelter. Go to your friends who are down and going through a tough time. Tell your pastor that his sermon was dynamite and he hit it out of the park. Be a cheerleader for your brothers and sisters in Christ. And I have to tell you to do that, then you don’t understand, because the fruit of righteousness grows. That’s why it’s called fruit. You don’t go to a fruit tree and say, Come on guys, work hard at it. Come on guys, you’re not even trying. Come on guys, please… We planted a tangerine. We live in Florida. And we planted a tangerine tree in our backyard cause it’s hard to find tangerines at the market. And I like tangerines. And I had this picture of tangerine, this tree growing and me picking hundreds of tangerines off of them. Do you know something? For the first two years, not one single tangerine grew on that tree. And I tried to water it. I tried to put fertilizer on it. I even tried to pray over it. Well, you never know. And it just didn’t even try. There wasn’t a single tangerine on it. But I went out there yesterday and I noticed that it’s beginning to have tangerines. Why is that? Because I prayed over it? No. Because I said, look guys, you’re not turning out to be what you were advertised for, you should work at this a little bit. No, it was kind of natural after it got into the soil, after things were working as they were supposed to be working. Tangerines began to grow and you grow in exactly the same way. Righteousness is like that. It’s the result of a process, and the process begins in love, and it always includes action, even if you don’t know it. Let me tell you what happened to me, this hasn’t been too long ago. I had gone, flown someplace to speak for a couple of days and I’d left my car in the airport parking lot for three days. And then when I came home, I got my car, went to the little booth where you pay and he only charged me for two nights and I’d been there for three nights. Now, my first thought was, is this cool or what? I mean, I get a free night, that’s because Jesus loves me. And then as I was driving out of that booth, the little place you go through, I stopped and said, no, that’s not true. And then I backed up very carefully and I said to the man. Hey, mister, I think you didn’t charge me enough. He said, what? I said, you didn’t charge me enough. You charged me for two days and I was here for three. And if you’ll sit there for a minute, I’ll give you the rest. He looked at me like I was an idiot. Like, I lost my mind. Who in the world would look at a gift horse in the mouth? Who in the world would back up and pay something they didn’t pay when nobody required that they did it? I did it. And as I drove away, I thought, Jesus, that’s kind of cool. You know, I must belong to you, because there’s no explanation for the reason I backed up and paid that fee, and made it right. Why is that? Because the byproduct of growth Is doing stuff. And you don’t have to worry about it. Just ask Jesus to remind you about it when you do it. And he reminded me about it. Now, I have to fight self-righteousness in telling you about it. Sixth, listen, I’m getting there, stay with me. I want you to note not only that the basis of growth is love, it moves from that to knowledge, and then the growth moves to insight, and then purity, and then action. I want you to note that the broker of growth, the one who causes it is Jesus Christ. Look at Philippians 1:11a.

Filled with the fruit of righteousness

here it comes

that comes through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 15.

Apart from me you can do nothing.

He really means that. And we say, well, I can do some things. I can pray, and I can be nice some, and I can tithe, and I can…

Apart from me you can do nothing.

And maturity in Christ includes surprise at what he does. A friend of mine in Texas sent me some stories about a woman who lived to be 102 years old. There were two quotes in the news story and I want to share them with you. She was asked about her age, and she said.

That many older people tend to live in the past. But it’s very important, she said, to keep up with the news. If you read about the present, you’ll live in the present. Remember, the world is alive, and you’re alive, and that’s an important thing.

I guess so at 100, you’d say that. And then, another quote.

One of her friends was commenting on all the accolades she had received on her 100th birthday. And the friend said, She’s amazing. She’s worried about how to act on her 100th birthday, and she doesn’t have anybody to ask. They’re all dead.

Well, I get that, but we have somebody to ask and that would be Jesus. There’s nothing through which you will go where, dear friend, you don’t have anyone to ask. Jesus didn’t just give us an example, He gave us an experience and He gave us His presence in the Spirit. And that’s the place we go to, and then we recognize that that is what this thing is all about. Alright, seventh and this is the final one. I started to say, we’ll end it, this teaching on growth, but I’m going to have to let it bleed over into next week. But seventh, note that growth starts with love, moves to knowledge, goes to insight, then purity and transparency, and then to action. The broker of growth is Jesus, but the receiver of the bouquet of growth is God himself. Look at Philippians 1:11.

Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,

and here it comes

to the glory and the praise of God.

And so, you come full circle. Why all the bother for growth? Because we are created to glorify the God of the universe. I love Jill Briscoe. We served on a board for years and she was always a blessing and a benediction to me. And she said one time something that I’ve never forgotten. She got a lot of compliments on her books and the places where she spoke and she was quite gifted and God used her in an amazing way. And a lot of people told her so and she said.

At night, I take all of those flowers that people have given to me during the day, I make a bouquet out of them and I give them to God as my gift.

You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
That wraps things up for this week’s exploration of Philippians. Thank you Steve. We’ll pick right up here on Monday. So, do join us for that. Also tomorrow, say it with me now, Friday Q&A. Join Steve and Pete as they answer the challenging spiritual questions that folks just like you have sent in. Well, the sun may be setting on summer 2024, but there is still time to check out our free summer digital issue of Key Life magazine. It features articles from Steve, Kendra Fletcher, Barry Smith, and even me. You can access that digital magazine right now for free at keylife.org/magazines we also have a print magazine, same price, completely different content. If you haven’t claimed yours yet, good news, we still have some copies. So, call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that magazine. Or to mail your requests, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for Key Life magazine. And Hey, before you go, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? Giving is easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or give safely and securely through text. Just text Key Life to 28950 then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.