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Christian Network

 
  Standing for Jesus
Philippians 4:1-9
 
INTRODUCTION:
Several years ago, many of the professors of our Southern Baptist Colleges and 
seminaries came together and voted to rebuke the Sunday School Board for 
publishing a book by Dr. W. A. Criswell. In his book, Why I Preach That The 
Bible is Literally True, he unashamedly expressed how he felt about God and the 
Bible He held a firm conservative stance from which he never wavered.
Paul told the Christians at Philippi to stand fast in the Lord. Their reward for 
doing this was to be the peace of God. We live in a world today where it has 
never been more urgent for Christians to stand for Jesus. Yet so many Christians 
seem uninterested in standing firm. To some it appears as if standing for Jesus 
is next to impossible. What can we do to stand and be counted for Jesus Christ? 
How can the world recognize us as a people set apart, changed, different for the 
world we live in?
In order to build a strong foundation for a deck or pier good strong wooden 
planks must be used. If one of your planks is weak, you risk the whole structure 
crashing to the ground. The Christian life is the same way, we must build our 
foundation on solid planks. I see four strong planks for the Christian to build 
upon in today’s scripture. 
  1. The plank of having a right attitude. 
  2. The plank of right praying. 
  3. The plank of right thinking. 
  4. The plank of right living. 
I. The Plank of having a right Attitude verses 1-5
The first five verses of chapter four deal with our attitudes. We are encouraged 
right in the first verse to stand firm. To stand up for what we believe in, and 
never to back down. Evangelist Jay Strack said one time "Your attitude 
determines your altitude". We should consistently check our attitudes and see if 
they meet scriptural commandments!
a. We should have a right attitude toward God!
A Christian should place God first in their lives. We should recognize God as 
the supreme being that he is, and offer him the ultimate respect which he 
deserves. He deserves our total loyalty and devotion. When God is active in our 
lives, everything and everyone else takes second place.
 
 
 
b. We should have a right attitude toward God’s people.
We should get along well with each other, and should support and encourage each 
other. Euodias and Syntache, two prominent women in the local church, were 
begged by Paul to put aside their differences and agree together in the Lord. 
Each of us is different, and we have different dreams and desires. We have 
different methods of going places, doing things, even different methods of 
worship. To get to Speedway Blvd., I may go back up over the bridge and take 
US1, but you may drive down A1A and watch the beach go by. We both will end up 
at our destination, but we have chosen different routes. We should not disparage 
someone and discourage them from doing God’s work simply because they go about 
it differently than we do. An exception of course is when ones method 
contradicts the Word of God. That is unacceptable. Jesus commanded us to love 
one another, Paul (in his letter to the Thessalonians) commands us to encourage 
one another. They seem to me to go hand in hand.
c. We should have a right attitude toward God’s program.
 
God has given us our marching orders in Matthew 28:19-20 when he tells us:
"Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world. Amen."
As Southern Baptists, we use a variety of methods to achieve this goal. We 
utilize Sunday School, discipleship training, choirs, evangelism, and scores of 
other programs. While it is not necessary to have all of these programs to have 
a thriving congregation, we are obligated to fully support those programs that 
we do have. These programs are designed to share God’s love with those around. 
100% support for the work of God is the only answer, and the only way we can 
assure that our foundation is secure.
d. We should have a right attitude toward God’s possessions.
Tithing is not an option for the Christian who has a right attitude. It is 
required. God commanded us to give back to Him 10% of that which he has given to 
us. It has been my personal experience that God honors our gifts, and supplies 
our needs, but when we neglect to give Him His portion, we pay a penalty. We 
should also have a right attitude toward God’s house. We should respect our 
place of worship, and treat it accordingly. Children must be taught not to 
destroy items they find in the pews, write on the tables, and disrespect the 
furniture in God’s house. While the temple is indeed our own souls, the physical 
house should be kept up.
 
 
 
II. There must be the plank of Right Praying. Verses 6-7
Prayer is more than saying our prayers. It is communion with the Lord who wants 
to give us His mind, guidance, and power. Most of all, He wants to give us the 
gift of Himself.
a. Christians need to stop praying foolishly.
Many people, Christians and non-Christians alike turn to God in times of extreme 
need. The old saying is that there are no atheists in a fox hole. That saying 
has quite a bit of truth to it. It is foolish for us to only pray when we 
encounter adversity. Our God is much bigger than that, he wants to hear our 
small desires and needs also.
It is also foolish to pray ALWAYS DEMANDING from God. We are owed nothing from 
him, and we have no right to demand anything from God. He knows our needs and 
will supply them. He paid a huge debt for us, one he didn’t even owe, we should 
be grateful, not greedy.
We should also never pray with unconfessed sin in our lives. Norman Vincent 
Peale tells the story of when he was a small little boy:
It seems that one day he decided he wanted to smoke a cigar. He snuck out behind 
the barn and lit one up. While smoking the cigar he heard his father coming and 
quickly stuck it behind his back. His father asked him what he was doing out 
behind the barn, and needing a quick excuse he spotted a billboard advertising 
the circus in town. Rev. Peale told his father he was looking at that sign 
wishing he could go. His father told him he should never ask for favors when the 
evidence of misdeeds was smoldering behind his back.
We should never ask favors of God when the evidence of our misdeeds are apparent 
to him. We should request forgiveness and repent prior to conversing with the 
Lord.
b. Christians should pray more frequently
We are told in the scripture to pray without ceasing. Our world today is a world 
of instant communication. We can keep track of one another with beepers, 
cellular phones, electronic mail, and countless other conveniences. We should 
apply the same desire for communication to our relationship with the Lord!
c. Christians should pray more fervently.
James 5:16 says "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, 
that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much."
 
 
III. There must be the plank of right thinking. Verse 8
Garbage in equals Garbage out. We say and do what we hear. The food you feed 
your mind determines who (and whose even) you are. As Christians we need to 
think on:
A. Real Things
B. Respectable Things
C. Repeatable Things.
If we cannot repeat it in church or among our Christian friends, we have no 
business dwelling on it to begin with.
ve
IV. There must be the plank of right living. verse 9
 
This final point goes hand in hand with the previous one. When we think on all 
these things that Paul has encouraged us to, what then? We have to put them into 
practice. We should learn from Paul’s example. He tells us to do the things we 
saw in him. This was not mere boasting on Paul’s part, but was a sincere plea 
for Christians to do the right thing. We have to live according to the Word. It 
is not enough for us to simply accept Christ and go about our merry way. We have 
to live totally according to the principles laid out in His Word.
CONCLUSION
In order to build and maintain a firm foundation, we must put our planks in 
order. Our attitude, prayer life, thinking, and life style must be in accordance 
to God’s Will. Where do you stand today? Is your foundation firm, or do you have 
some planks that may be beginning to rot? We will not always live up to these 
goals, but we should continually strive to achieve them. You have that 
opportunity now.

copyright © 1996-98 Rev. Charles S. Mims, All Rights Reserved