Philippians 4 - A Hero for the Next Generation

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, May 29, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar


Click Here to Download the Philippians Outline Chart


Scripture Reference:  Philippians 4:4-13


Sometimes I think we Christians talk too much about our brokeness.  We say things like, "We're all just sinners," as if that explains everything or that is all that God wants us to be.  While it is biblically true that mankind is fallen, we also need to recognize that we are made in God's image and that we were made for something more than our brokenness.

The church today desperately needs people who are heroes.  We need people who rise above our broken state and demonstrate that God is working in our lives.  This demonstration isn't for our own glory, but for God's.  We do ourselves and our Lord a disservice if all we focus on is our sin, because other people are watching.  Why would someone want to come to Christ if all they see is a bunch of self-focussed, navel-gazing, whiners who project defeat?  How are our children supposed to grow into a vibrant and powerful church for a new generation if the message they get is that we cannot live up to God's expectations, so why bother?

Have we read 1Timothy 1:7?  We aren't supposed to be a bunch of shrinking violets or milk-toast weaklings!  God gives us the power to conquer sin in His name!  Can I get an Amen?!?!?!

In Philippians 4:8, Paul calls on us to focus on the good things, to ingest a diet of healthy thoughts about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. God's word is at the heart of all of this, but it also includes the stories we read, the shows we watch, the art we see, and the actions we contemplate.  How far these things truly are from the steady diet of mental junk food that we get from television, movies, and much of what passes for entertainment in our world.  Paul tells the Philippians to fill themselves up with good stuff, not garbage.  The same holds true for us today.

He then goes on to tell them in Philippians 4:9 that thinking about good things isn’t enough.  His message, which is consistent throughout the Bible is that we are supposed to put these things into practice.  He tells the Philippians that any example they saw in him should be put to work in their own lives.

This is where we need to take a hard look at our church today, and let’s not stop there, we must look into our own lives as well. 

Where are the heroes?  Who are our examples?  Where are the older men and women who we can look to in order to see faith put into practice in daily practical ways?

If you are a parent, ask yourself honestly; “Are the daily choices that I make in my money, my schedule, and my actions an excellent example or a poor one for my kids?”  Do you teach your kids to be generous and thrifty with their money or do you demonstrate wasteful spending and rampant materialism?  Do you teach your kids the importance of solitude and simplicity, or do you allow them to fill their schedules and your own with an overload of activities?  Do you teach your children selflessness and service, or do you put your own selfish wants and desires first?

If you don’t have children, or if your children are long grown and out of the house, then ask yourself; “How can I be an example to the next generation of Christians?”  Can you volunteer time as a mentor to a new believer?  Can you help out with Sunday School?  Can you lead a service project to give others in the church an opportunity to experience God’s work?  Can you bless a ministry with your time and money in a sacrificial way? 

Let’s build a vibrant church of powerful men and women of God.  Let’s be an extended family of people who can be honest about our shortcomings but not let them defeat us.  Let’s grow together, passing the message of hope and power to others.

Let’s be heroes that provide examples for the next generation to follow.



Here are five practical ways to become a hero:

• Read the biography of a hero such as John Wesley, Jim Elliot, Corrie Ten Boom, or John Newton.  Read the writings of Charles Sheldon, Shane Claiborne, Chuck Colson, Erwin McManus, or others who call you to action in your faith.  Then brainstorm some ways you can follow their example in your own life.  Then do something about it. 
• Make a commitment to turn the television and internet off for a week.  Use the time you would have spent on these activities to serve others by volunteering at Neighborhood Ministries or at one of MVCC’s ministries (call the church office at (602) 955-9414 for some ministry opportunities.
• Select a ministry and begin helping out.  Make a donation that is over and above what you would normally give to bless this ministry.  Volunteer your time to work in the ministry.  Commit to support the ministry with your time and money for a year.
• If you are a parent, take a break from extra-curricular activities, team sports, clubs, and the dozens of other outside activities your kids have taken on.  Commit to coming to church as a family every Sunday for the next three months.  After church, go to lunch as a family and discuss what each person learned at church that day.  Talk with your kids about how they (and you too) can put the lessons to work this week in practical ways.
• Join one of our Revo Groups at MVCC.  The focus of these groups is on putting faith in action through regular meals together, regular study together, and regular service together.  For more information on joining one of these groups, contact our church office at (602) 955-9414.

Pastor Rodger – 05/2011

Standing Firm

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, May 22, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Chip Moody


Click Here to Download the Philippians Outline Chart


Scripture Reference:  Philippians 3:10 - 4:1

Stand firm. Stand fast. Stay faithful. Keep the faith. Never give up. Stand your ground.

We all want to be that guy who never gives up when the chips are down; to be the one who remains strong and faithful to his family, his friends, his principles. It takes the courage we want to have; it takes the determination we want to exhibit. We want to be faithful to Jesus Christ in a world that assaults us with their insults, their skepticism, their impatience, their intolerance.

Stand firm. Oh, how we want to do so.

Here is what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:1: “. . . THAT is how you should stand firm in the Lord!”

Whoa, wait a minute. I need the HOW part to help me stand firm in the Lord. Where is that part?  In one of those ironies that pop up now and then, Stephen Langton, who established the Bible’s chapter divisions in the year 1205, made a booboo here. Verse 4:1 should have been in chapter 3. (To his credit, he got most of the chapter divisions right.)

So we back up to chapter three to find out HOW to stand firm in the faith. But the HOW isn’t what you think it is.

No talk of church business meetings, committees, building funds, Sunday Schools, or seminaries. No talk of degrees, certifications, titles, or pedigrees. In fact, Paul makes clear that these things are “of the flesh.:”  He means that they have no eternal value, and are in fact tainted with the brokenness of the fall as much as anything else we bring to the table of life. He thinks that compared to the glory that is to come that these things are trash:

“. . . I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord . . . I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him . . .” Philippians 3:8-9  

He was telling the disciples at Philippi that standing firm is something other than what we can do for ourselves. It is something God must do in us. He uses the athletic imagery of the Roman games to illustrate:

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Forget what lies behind. Strain toward what lies ahead.

That’s it? That’s how you stand firm in the faith?

Yep.

The passage goes on to say:

“Only let us live up to what we have already attained.  Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” 

I boldfaced the words I wanted you to see most. Note that he says our citizenship IS in heaven. Present tense. It is now that you are citizens of the Kingdom of God. It is not something we are waiting for.

Second, the power that transforms us into his likeness is his. We can’t do it. God says he can. No, actually he says he will. Done deal.

So we are citizens of the right kingdom by Jesus’ sacrifice for us. And it is he who empowers our ongoing progress in becoming like him.

That’s why Paul can write: “Forget what lies behind. Strain toward what lies ahead.”

The past? Forget it. It doesn’t count anymore. Sure, learn from it. But it isn’t worth worrying about.

The future? It belongs to God, not to you or me. We only think we influence it. (For some reason we keep thinking we are in charge of our life.) Paul is telling us to keep our eyes on the Christ who has saved us, is saving us, and will save us.

“Forget what lies behind. Strain toward what lies ahead.”

And THAT is how to stand firm.

Sound too simple? Maybe it’s meant to be.

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One final note:  This was the last Sunday for Chip as Pastor at Mountain View Christian Church.  Pastor Chip has retired from the day-to-day life as a pastor at MVCC.  This doesn't mean that he's slowing down, heaven's no.  Chip is the Dean of Students at Phoenix Seminary and is teaching the next generation of Pastors and Church Leaders for God's church.  We, at Mountain View, wish many blessings on Chip and Gina Moody and thank them dearly for the 22 years of service that they have given this community.

School is In Session

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, April 3, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar


Scripture Reference 2Peter 1:3-9

School is in Session

“School’s out for summer, School’s out forever, Schools been blown to pieces, No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.”  So goes the lyrics to Alice Cooper’s School’s Out song.   I, for one, definitely daydreamed about the school being blown to pieces as a kid, especially before math tests.

It’s easy for us, as adults, to think that we are done with school; so, there isn’t any more learning to be done.  As Christians, that just isn’t true!  Growth is still expected of us, and that takes learning.  It doesn’t matter whether you are 19, 49, or 99 years old.  God still has some growing for you to do.

Peter lays out a growth path for us in 2Peter 3:5-7.  He tells us to add to our faith, goodness; to our goodness, knowledge; to our knowledge, self control; to our self control, perseverance; to our perseverance, godliness; to our godliness, mutual affection; and to our mutual affection, love.

Faith is where it all starts.  When we believe in Christ, that isn’t the end of the journey, but the beginning.  This is the point where we start, ‘having escaped the corruption in the world’ (2:Peter 1:4).  Yet, this is also the point where many believers stop.  Like Lot’s wife, when the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, they can’t help looking back at the world they know and so they stay there, stuck between two worlds and not growing. 

We then add goodness or virtue to our faith.  This is the same word used to describe Christ in verse 3.  No one is good all the time, but you start to practice being like Christ. 

Then comes knowledge.  If we don’t know God, then how can we be what he wants us to be?  This knowledge comes primarily from studying the Bible.  It also comes from sermons and lessons, but only when you apply a discerning ear to compare what is taught with God’s word.

After we gain knowledge, we must learn self-control.  That’s a hard one in this society where we can have almost anything we want without waiting for it.  Hungry?  Microwave a pizza in a minute.  Thirsty? just turn on the tap.  Bored?  Flip on the TV and grab any movie you want from online.  Lonely?  Heck, you don’t need to work at a relationship with someone, just go online and you can find all sorts of ‘entertainment’.  Want to buy something, go to an ATM and get your money now.  No money in your account?  Swipe a credit card and pay it off someday. 

Self control must be cultivated.  You have to learn to save for things, to wait for things, to earn what is right and good or we are no better than toddlers who cry when they don’t get their every desire met instantly. 

Self control naturally leads to perseverance.  Learning to endure through the difficult can lead us to all sorts of good things, from losing weight to making it through pain and disease to surviving the death of those close to us.  Our lives don’t have to completely fall apart when things get hard, it just takes perseverance. 

Godliness is next, learning to be more and more like the holy people He calls us to be.  This comes from putting godly values into practice.  You don’t earn this one on the couch, you have to get out and do.  This is not the false holiness that so many people project, but the real holiness of making the right choices in our life priorities, in our time, and in our money.  Other people see this and can quickly tell if you really are living a holy life or if you are just living a holier-than-thou life.

Mutual affection.  Brotherly love.  Caring for one another.  Walking together.  That’s what the church is all about.  Many people try to do the hard stuff on their own.  Always smile at people and never let them know you are breaking inside.  That path is destructive.  We need each other and we must be intentional about it.  Get to know your neighbors, learn to love your fellow Christians.  Spend time, share, eat together, pray together, have fun.  It’s almost impossible to grow past a certain point if you don’t have people close to you helping you to grow.

Finally, we get to love.  This isn’t puppy love, brotherly love, erotic love, or the love you feel when you bite into a good cheeseburger.  No, this is the practical love, love in action.  This is serving others.  This is intentionally loving those people who are hard to love.  This is putting yourself on the line to touch someone else’s life.  This is serving the homeless, even if they aren’t thankful for it.  This is praying with the dying.  This is visiting the little old lady next door and listening to her tell you all of her medical problems.  This kind of love ain’t easy, but it is an incredibly important part of our growth. 

God calls us to keep growing, to keep learning as believers.  He doesn’t call us to be ‘Pew Potatoes,’ you know the type, the vegetable who sits rooted in the pew.  Far too many of us feel that our faith is about ourselves and our own comfort.  The problem is, you don’t learn and you don’t grow if you are comfortable.

It’s time to get back to school. It’s time to stretch ourselves and grow.

Summer break is over.

School is in session.

                                                                 Pastor Rodger