You have a long way to go yet.
OCTOBER 31, 2024
Steve Brown:
You have a long way to go yet. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.
Matthew Porter:
The deepest message of Jesus and the Bible is the radical grace of God to sinners and sufferers, that’s what Key Light is all about. So, if you’re hungry for the hopeful truth that God isn’t mad at you, keep listening. Steve Brown is a professor and our teacher on Key Life.
Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you’ve been listening the last few days, and last week too, we’ve been talking about what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom. And we need to be reminded in our particular cultural situation. We live in a culture where Christians are not praised, they are made fun of. Christians are not lauded, they are put down. If you want to be a part of the in group, better not tell people that you’re a Christian. And all of a sudden, Christians have been silenced. And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of that. I’ve decided that I’m not going to be silent any longer. I’m not going to be a fanatic about it, but I’m going to let people know who I am when I’m on an airplane and people ask me, what do you do? I’m going to say, I have said in the past, I’m a professor and I teach communication. I repent. I’m not going to do that anymore. From now on, when I’m asked what did I do? I’m going to say I’m a preacher, and I teach in a place young men and women who are going to be preachers. And we all believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. You want to talk about it? Well, maybe not that much in your face, but I’m going tell people who I am. I’m just not going to duck, and that’s what we’ve seen in Philippians 1:27 through 30. Now, let me tell you a story that I may have told you before, but it’s a good one, and it’s a good reminder. Donald Grey Barnhouse was the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in another generation. He was an amazing preacher, and he was kind of in your face. One night, he was doing questions and answers, and somebody on the front row said, Dr. Barnhouse, my pastor doesn’t believe what you believe, and he thinks that you are crazy. And what should I do? And Barnhouse took his glasses off and said, Madam, pray that he die. And then he went on, and he did make an addendum to that particular statement, but you can see why I like Dr. Barnhouse. Well, some stories were started about him, and I got this from my friend John DeBrine, who knew Barnhouse personally. Barnhouse had been, stories about unfaithfulness and other things had been circulated about him, and it was so bad that he went to a lawyer. And the lawyer said to Barnhouse, Listen, we can do something about this, but from now on, it’s important that when you hear those stories, that you say, I cannot respond to that story on the advice of my lawyer. Now, I don’t know about you, but if people are saying bad things about me that aren’t true, I want to defend myself. I don’t want to be silent, I want people to know that’s a lie, it’s from the pit of hell, and it smells like smoke. But Barnhouse wasn’t allowed to do that. And one day, he was walking down the streets of Philadelphia, and he encountered a pastor friend, who said, Donald, how are you doing? And Donald said, I’m not doing very good at all. And he told his pastor friend what he was going through and how difficult it was to not respond to the stories that were being told about him. And the pastor said, Donald, that is awful. I expect your elders are about ready to fire you. And Barnhouse said, Well, no, not, just the opposite. The elders of my church have stood with me strongly. They’ve even given me a raise. And the other pastor said, Well, your family must be shamed, and ashamed of you. And Barnhouse said, No, just the opposite. My family, my wife said, Honey, I believe in you. And my kids have said, We believe in you, Dad. Well, you must be removed from a lot of places that you were a part of before. And Barnhouse said no, I have friends who have stood with me so, in a solid way through all of this. And then the pastor said to Barnhouse, and while he said it Barnhouse started looking down at the street. He said, Have they beaten you yet? Have they platted a crown of thorns and pushed it over your head until the blood stripped down your face? Have they hung you on a cross yet? And Barnhouse looked up and said, No. And his pastor friend said, Donald, you have a long way to go yet. So, if you’re a citizen of the kingdom and you suffer some for it, and you’re rejected by some people and some people think you’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny, you have a long way to go yet. And there is no feeling in the world better then standing and saying, I didn’t want to, but I stood for Christ and I can sleep better at night. That’s what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom, not a fanatic who beats people over the heads, but one who identifies with Jesus who died for us. All right, now to maybe one of my two or three favorite texts in the entire Bible. It’s the first part of the second chapter of the Book of Philippians. Now, I’ve told you that if you’ll go to our website, Jeremy and I spent a good deal of time reading, I read it and he was the producer, of the entire Book of Philippians. And it’s posted on keylife.org and if you go there, you can even use that for your devotions. And then come back to the broadcast and I’ll be the tour director and show you some interesting things in the Book of Philippians as we go along. So, I’m going to start reading at Philippians two: the first verse. And we’re going to spend the next two or three weeks talking about it. This is what Paul says. Now, he’s just talked about citizenship, the importance of standing. And then he says.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped to himself, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
The identification of Jesus in an astounding and astonishing way. And he calls us to have this mind in us, that you find in Christ Jesus. Now, we’re going to talk about it over the next couple of weeks. We’ll answer questions tomorrow when Pete comes in, but for now, take the words I just read to you and apply it and say, Lord God, make me like him. Give me the grace to stand, to identify with the world. And to be present in their pain. And I promise that you’ll get all of the credit. Hey. You think about that. Amen.
Matthew Porter:
Thanks Steve. Well, that wraps up this week’s exploration of Philippians, even getting into a little bit of Philippians chapter two, as we close. And Steve has mentioned this, but we have something pretty special for you at our website. Just go to keylife.org/philippians and you can hear Steve reading that entire book for free. Again, that’s keylife.org/philippians and hey, if you’re free tomorrow, please join us for Friday Q&A that’s when Steve and Pete will answer this question. I’m single, can I get married in heaven? Tune in for their answer tomorrow. Well, Jesus said that we would suffer, but He also promised that He would be with His people in our suffering. Well, Steve wrote about this in a very candid mini-book called Suffering: When Life Falls Apart. And we would love to send you that mini-book for free. So, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that mini-book. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact for our mailing addresses. Just ask for the mini-book called Suffering: When Life Falls Apart. Finally, would you consider supporting Key Life financially? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply text Key Life to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.