Have you ever considered the ripple effect of your actions within your community? This podcast is an audio recording of my latest sermon at the Columbiana Church of Christ. I sincerely hope that your spirit is uplifted by the teachings found in this sermon! Let us be examples for good, not for evil!
Have you ever considered the ripple effect of your actions within your community? This podcast is an audio recording of my latest sermon at the Columbiana Church of Christ. I sincerely hope that your spirit is uplifted by the teachings found in this sermon! Let us be examples for good, not for evil!
Hello everyone. What you are about to hear is a Sunday morning sermon that I just recently preached at the Columbiana Church in Columbiana, ohio, where I am currently a minister. The reason for this is I wanted to see if my new wireless microphones that I purchased had some good utility, and I thought there's no better way to test that out than to put it on my lapel while I preach, and so I will be adding a few of my sermons on Sunday morning to the podcast here and there, and so I hope you enjoy them, give me some feedback on what you think about them, about the sound quality and such, and I hope this lesson is a blessing to you. Good morning, everybody. It's good to see everyone out with us this morning. We have some visitors, and for that we are thankful. We want you to know that you are our honored guest, and we would invite you to be back at any point that you have the opportunity. We also invite you to ask any questions that you feel that you need to ask. If you need anything to come up to me or one of our elders or one of our deacons, we will do all that we can to assist you and to be there for you.
Speaker 1:We're going to be looking at the idea of an example this morning. Of course, examples can be a two-edged sword you could be a good example or you could be a bad example. There are some examples for good and there are also some examples for evil. A quick illustration of this is obviously Jesus. If we had to classify him as an example, he would be an example for good, whereas Judas would be an example for evil. And when I say that you should follow examples and when you tell others that you should follow examples, clearly you mean that you should follow good examples. You should follow people like Jesus and not people like Judas. However, sometimes it's not always easy to observe an example and then to follow it, but in my opinion, it's easier than simply reading something outright.
Speaker 1:I think a good example is kind of like a tutorial. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to build something, or I bought something and I've tried to put it together and I get frustrated because I don't want to read the directions. And then sometimes I do read the directions and I still don't understand it, and so what I do is is I get on YouTube and I look up a tutorial, and that almost always works, because I look at these pamphlets and they got 20 different languages on them and they got pictures here, left and right and things that are called this, and that it's much easier for me to type on YouTube how to build such and such and I see somebody doing it with their own hands and I don't have to read anything. I just simply follow along Because that person becomes my guide and that's really kind of how a good example is for us. It's like a tutorial. I think we can all appreciate the importance of a good example. When you want to learn how to play something like a guitar, it's much easier if you find yourself a guitar teacher, one who can show you how to play things as they're being played, as opposed to simply picking up a book and reading how to play. It would be much easier to watch someone else as an example for you as to how you should play and how you should not play. You can tell someone what to do. You can tell someone what to do, but showing them is much more effective. How many times do you tell someone to do something after showing them? Often it is something that gets done with more efficiency In our text this morning.
Speaker 1:In Philippians 3, verses 17-19,. We see that Paul speaks there about following the example that he has laid out for the Philippians, but in other places in the Scripture he also talks about being a good example. One of these places is in 1 Corinthians, chapter 4 and verse 16. Here Paul says therefore, I urge you. Therefore, I urge you. This is an urgent message. This isn't a request, this isn't a recommendation. Paul says I urge you, be imitators of me. 1 Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 16. And then again in the very same book, in chapter 11, in verse 1, he says Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. And also in 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 7-9,. This is what he has to say For you. Yourselves know how you ought to listen to this. Follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a role model for you, so that you would follow our example.
Speaker 1:I think it's safe to say from just the reading of these passages that Paul believed it was important to be a good example. Paul believed that it was important to be a good example, and so in this lesson I'd like us to dive into Philippians 3, and I'd like for us to see the proper reaction to a good example in the church and an example of evil in the church. So let's go to Philippians, chapter 3, and we are going to first observe an example for good. Philippians, chapter 3, verse 17. Here we see an example for good. Paul here says brothers and sisters, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. We should not merely observe a good example, but rather we should follow it, and we should do so together.
Speaker 1:Now, depending on your translation, some of your translations might say the word together in the text. Mine simply says join. But we have to understand the implication of this. You can't join yourself. When it says to join, it means that necessarily at least two people and probably more.
Speaker 1:Paul here is speaking of the whole church. What does he say? He says join, join in following my example. So what this means is is that the church here is commanded to come together and work together to help each other. Follow the example of the Apostle Paul. This is not something that God expects us to do our own. Paul didn't expect them to do it on their own, and there are little things in life that we can do on our own, but when we come together as a people of God, we can do much, much more. So he says join together, join in, following my example. And we need to understand that we should not merely observe a good example, but that we should follow it. So simply observing a good example without following is akin to hearing the word but not being a doer of the word.
Speaker 1:James, chapter 1, verse 22. There, james tells us to prove yourselves as a doer of the word and not just a hearer only who deceives himself. We should not simply be a hearer of the word, of course, we should be a doer. What does that mean, hunter? Well, it's good that I was here today because I heard the word of God Amen. Would you say amen to that? Okay, however, we can't stop there. It's good that I was here today to hear the Word of God? Yes, but what is utmost of importance is are we doing the Word of God. We can hear and we should hear, but we must also do. You see, sometimes the devil, he will trick us into believing that all we need to do is hear. Well, I've come to church and I've heard the good word, so I'm done for the week. We got to be careful because the Bible tells us not to hear only, but to do, and we must do.
Speaker 1:And simply observing a good example and not following that example is akin to what James said in James, chapter 1, verse 22?. How many times will we look and observe a good example rather not follow that good example? Someone might say. They could say any number of names. They could say I see what you're doing, I appreciate what you're doing, I support what you're doing and I tip my hat to what you're doing. I support what you're doing and I tip my hat to what you're doing. And basically, what they're telling you is that I see it, I'm observing it, I support it, but they won't follow it, they won't do it themselves. So they say I see what you're doing and you keep on doing that and you keep on pushing right, but they won't do it themselves, they won't follow it. You see, that's not what Paul taught us in Philippians. Paul said yes, we have to observe. However, let's also follow.
Speaker 1:Brothers and sisters, we come every morning not every morning, rather every Sunday morning to this building, and every Sunday morning I open these scriptures to you and I teach you of the example of Jesus the Christ. And every morning you open your scriptures and you observe the example of Jesus Christ. And on Sundays we come together and together we observe this example. We observe it. But we must do more than observe this and we must do more than read this, and we must do more than hear this. We must also join it, we must also follow it. And it means very little if you come to the services and hear the word of Christ and see the example of Christ your whole life, but you never follow it. It means very little if you come to the services and hear the word of christ and see the example of christ your whole life, but you never follow it. It means very little.
Speaker 1:And so, friends, paul says do not merely hear, do not merely listen, rather follow my example. And so it would be apt at this juncture I to consider what is a good example in the church. Obviously, we are to follow the example of Jesus Christ. We are to follow the example of the apostles. However, he also says look at verse 17 again. Therefore, all who are mature I'm sorry, I was in verse 15. Verse 17. I'm sorry, it was in verse 15. Verse 17, brothers and sisters, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. So follow my example. Remember other places. He will say imitate me as I imitate Christ.
Speaker 1:Paul's not trying to gain any disciples for himself here. He's merely saying use me as an example of how you are to walk, because I use the example of Christ, example of how you are to walk, because I use the example of Christ. Okay, so we are to follow Christ and the apostles? Yes. However, paul also says look around you and observe those who are also walking in that same pattern that you have seen me and the other apostles walk in. Mark them. Some of your translations will say take note of them or observe, like my translation says observe them, mark them, take note of them and join along with them.
Speaker 1:And so what are some examples, good examples of a good example in the church today? I could probably spend the rest of my lesson on just this aspect, but I'm only going to mention a few things. Number one a good example of a Christian today who I think we should follow an example that we should follow is one who attends services faithfully. Now, everybody is going to miss from time to time, and sometimes you have work and sometimes you're sick, and other times you might be injured or you're traveling or whatever it may be. However, I think that all of us would understand that it's commonsensical to point to someone who faithfully attends worship and say they are a good example. And I know that's the case because I've been to many and many and many a funeral where that is an aspect of a person's life that's brought up. Haven't you Boy, sister so-and-so, or brother so-and-so? They hardly ever missed a service. Now, we need to understand that that is not going to get us to heaven. However, that is a good example for our brothers and sisters in Christ. And so if we want to be a good example and if we want to observe a good example in the church, look around you to those people who rarely miss. They're always here because they want to be here and they want to serve Christ. That's a good example.
Speaker 1:Number two one who brings their Bible and follows along through worship. Now you say, hunter, this isn't fair. You know I can't read very well, or I use my phone, something like that. Okay, obviously, with everything I say up here there's caveats. Okay, there are other paths that you could take. Obviously, with almost everything that I say up here, let's not look at the extreme scenarios and look at the general scenario.
Speaker 1:Generally, do you think it's a good idea to bring a personal copy of the word of God to worship? Yes, now are there outliers and instances where you say, well, listen, I, you know, maybe, you know, maybe I'm getting eye surgery. I can't read right, I'm not. You know, I'm not that good at reading from pages and I need to use a phone or whatever. That's fine, but generally speaking, I gather much encouragement when I hear people in the pews doing this, flipping through pages.
Speaker 1:I gather a lot of encouragement from that as a preacher, because I know that to the very best of your ability, because I know sometimes I can shotgun verses out from behind this pulpit and I'm fast sometimes, but to the best of your ability, you're following along. You know how encouraging would it be to a high school teacher if she says turn to 195, page 195, and the whole class is just standing there staring at the teacher and they don't get their books out. The teacher might say well, are you guys even going to learn anything? Are you following along at all? How could you learn if you're not following along? Get out your textbook. And here's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:This is our textbook and certainly generally it is better to have it than to not have it. And not every verse needs to be looked up certainly not. But it is a good idea and it is a good example to follow along and this isn't something about me. It's good to follow along with it. If someone gets up on the table and turns to a passage of scripture, it would be good to follow along. If you've heard something that maybe you're not accustomed to hearing, it's good to get in your own bible and follow along. It is good to read our own bibles. It is a good example for others and I think it's something that we should do Now.
Speaker 1:Again, there are other cases and there are outlying cases, but we have to remember that Christians didn't always have what we have. They didn't always have a personal copy of the word of God, and we are very, very blessed to be able to have this personal copy of the word to where the sermon here is going to end. You know, I don't know 15, 20 minutes, I don't know how long I've been up here. The sermon will eventually end this morning. But guess what you can do? You can go home if you'd like, and you could open up this thing and you could study for the rest of the day. Your hearing of the word of God is not confined to just coming into this building. Rather, you can go home and you can hear God's word the rest of the night if you want to. What a beautiful thing that is. The Jews didn't have that in Jesus' day. If they wanted to hear the word of God, they had to go to a synagogue. They didn't have their own personal copies of the scriptures like we do.
Speaker 1:We are blessed brothers and sisters and I would suggest to you that it is a great example for others in the church when they see you flipping through the pages of your own Bibles and they see you following along to the best of your ability. Number three one who actively fellowships with their brothers and sisters. They are a good example in the church, one who actively fellowships with their brothers and sisters. That is a good example. That's someone that I would be happy when I have kids one day, that I would be happy to talk to my kids and say, look at that person in our church, look at that person and look at what they're doing, and that's what you should do as well. You know, people who fellowship together with their brothers and sisters typically genuinely care about their brothers and sisters, and that is a good example for the church to have. How are we going to, as Paul said, join For the church to have? How are we going to, as Paul said, join? How are we going to join together to follow his example if we never fellowship or if we never want to fellowship?
Speaker 1:You see, we have to be together and there are times where we might need some alone time. You know Jesus had that, didn't he? Sometimes Jesus needed to go off alone and pray by himself on the mountain. Sometimes Jesus needed to be a little bit away from his apostles while he was praying in the garden, but he still asked that they would pray for him, but he needed to be a little bit alone at that time. Sometimes we need some alone time. Sometimes we need some alone time. Sometimes we need some isolation, and that's healthy and good, but we can't stay there. We also need desperately the fellowship and the love and the care of our brothers and sisters in the church, and when I see someone in the church who's enthusiastic and who desires fellowship and who's outgoing and who's very friendly and wants to genuinely get to know people, I see that as a good example.
Speaker 1:It's something that I believe that I could use work in and that I should follow A fourth one who seeks to serve the Lord by participating in the activities of the church, one who is willing to step outside of their comfort zone. You know, if someone asks you to do a prayer, someone asks you to read a scripture, it may be uncomfortable for you but because you care about the Lord and because you really want to try to do your best to serve him, you say I'll do it. It's outside of my comfort zone, but I want to participate, I want to do something, I want to be available, I want to help in some way, and it's certainly not just the things that are done here in corporate worship, but things that happen throughout the week, events that we may have, campaigns that we may have, if we ever do, door knocking things, or perhaps visiting other congregations at gospel meetings and being active within the work of the church and participating and not just participating but raising your hand. Remember what the bible says here am I send me, here am I send me? We need to get back to that sort of idea. Here am I send me? We need to get back to that sort of idea. Here am I, lord, send me? Not there they are, send them. Or we pay that guy to do it, send him. Right, we got to get away from that we have to get back to. Here am I send me.
Speaker 1:I would suggest to you that if you raised your hand more and said here am I send me, I'm willing to do it, that that would cause a great growth in the church. I'm not saying that the church the next Sunday would have 20 more members. I'm saying, spiritually there would be a great growth in the church and the more we actively participate together, the stronger we grow and the better examples we set for one another. That's what it's all about, brothers and sisters. We need to do our best to consider what the apostle here is saying, to join together, to consider Jesus' example, to consider the apostles' example and to observe others who are keeping these examples and to hold them up. And not to give them praise that's due to God but to hold them up and to thank them for their great example that they've set, to join in with them and to actively work with them. When we see a good example in the church, we are to take note of it or mark it and then follow it.
Speaker 1:Now, here, I think, is pretty much ties in my whole lesson, that these are the three principles we get from this verse, just one verse alone. We get these three principles. Number one the principle that we should follow Christ and the apostles as examples. We need to follow them as examples. I wish that I could stand here before you this morning and tell you, as Paul did, to follow me as an example. But I am not the apostle Paul and I don't want you to follow me. I want you to follow Christ and I want you to follow Christ and I want you to follow the apostles. I want you to look into your scriptures and follow them. So that's the first principle.
Speaker 1:The second principle is that we should observe the good examples of those who are in the church. When we come to church, let's look around us, let's get active and involved and observe who are the good examples and who are doing the good things. And then, number three, we should join together in following it. So sometimes examples are hard to follow, but if we are actively together with others while we're doing our best to follow it together, good Well, then we'll be there to pick someone else up when they fall and they'll be there to pick us up when we might not perfectly follow that example as well. All those teachings and principles we get in that one verse. It's very helpful for our discipleship and for our growth and work as a church.
Speaker 1:Now look at verses 18 and 19. And I've gone longer than I thought I'd ever go on that first point, so we will not belabor this. But look at verses 18 and 19. He says For many walk, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. Now there are even those in the church who serve as examples of evil. There are good examples, and then there are some who serve as examples of evil, and this is what Paul was warning the Philippians about.
Speaker 1:Those who wish to hear their own truth instead of the truth serve as an example of evil. Remember, paul told Timothy I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead by his appearing in his kingdom. Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebukeke, exhort with all complete patience and teaching why he says. For the time is coming when men will not endure sound doctrine but, having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and they will wander away from the truth and follow unto fables or unto myths. That is the sad case of some in the church. Instead of following the truth, they want to follow their truth, and that is something we cannot do. And when we see an example like that, we need not follow it, but we also need not ignore it. We must correct it. We must correct it. See, there are some good examples in the church, but there are also some bad, and we must understand that these examples need corrected and in some cases they need to be taken away.
Speaker 1:Those who are unspiritual and care more for the things of the world serve as an example of evil. Paul says this that their God remember. Their God is their stomach, verse 19,. Their end is destruction. Whose God is their appetite or their stomach? The Greek word there literally means belly. Their God is their belly.
Speaker 1:The Solomon the wise man said in Ecclesiastes that all of man's toil is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. So all of man's toil and work is for his mouth, that is, for the things that he can gain, yet his appetite is never satisfied. And there are people like this in the church as well, who mask their spirituality with their materialism and they really don't care about Christ in a spiritual way and they're really not that spiritual, but really they just care more about the material things in life. And these are the people that will leave Christ for the material things in life. Paul says these people, their end is destruction.
Speaker 1:And you must be wary, you must be careful, because there are some of whom I have told you, who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, because they are not concerned with the truth, because they care more about the material than they do about the spiritual. And then number three those who teach false doctrine, those who are enemies of the cross of Christ, who would teach you something that you wish to hear rather than something that you need to hear. And I'm going to tell you right now, brothers and sisters, that there might be some times where you don't like me very much. You know, jesus said it himself. Woe to you if all men speak well of you, because I'm going to get behind this pulpit and I'm going to say some things that might be a little bit grating on your ears, and you might hear me say some things that you don't quite like, and I don't wish to ever make an enemy, but I might make some enemies by doing it, and if that happens, then God be praised and so be it. At least I'm not up here preaching to you what you want to hear and said I'm going to try to do my best to preach what you and I both need to hear, and that's what the scriptures teach and that's what Paul says we should do. Be very careful about any preacher who would water down any truth, so that way he will not offend others. Be very careful. We have to listen to the truth.
Speaker 1:There are good examples in the church there are some examples that can lead people into evil and into destruction, and we need to mark those examples, to correct them and to do our best to bring that bad example from a bad one back into a good one. Well, I hope this morning that you have been edified and encouraged by this lesson and perhaps you might have learned something. I hope so, but all in all, I hope that we can all do our best to, together, as a church, work and be the best examples that we can be for each other. And I think the proper question that we need to ask is the question that the sermons titled that you saw on the screen just a few moments ago and ask that question, and I'll ask that question for me too. Are you, am I an example for good or for evil? And that's a question that we must answer in our hearts.
Speaker 1:Let's, before we have our invitation, bow to God for a word of prayer. Father, thank you for your church and thank you for allowing us to be a part of it. Father, we simply pray that you would give us the strength to do what is right. We thank you for all the great examples in this church. Here we are thankful for those who do things that are noticed by no one else but you, father. We pray that we may be a continual encouragement to these folks and we pray, father, that you may give us the strength and the boldness and the outgoingness to join in with their example and help them in the work that they do, and that we may serve your kingdom and ultimately do our best to grow it with their example and help them in the work that they do, that we may serve your kingdom and ultimately do our best to grow it until the day your son comes back to receive it. As we're about to extend the invitation, father, we just pray that you would infiltrate the hearts of those who need this lesson, of those who need your word, and we pray, father, that you would soften the hearts that need to be softened. Father, it's all this we ask in your Son's name, amen.
Speaker 1:If you're here this morning and you need to come forward, we invite you to do so. If you are not a Christian, you need to hear the gospel, and you've heard the word proclaimed to you this morning Believe in Christ, repent of your sins and be baptized in the waters of baptism. If that's something that you wish to do, that's something that we would be happy to do for you. Or perhaps you just need to come forward for prayers of something. Maybe you're just struggling in life, maybe it's with sin, or maybe it's not with sin, it's with health or something else, and you would simply like the prayers of the church. We would be very happy to pray for you and to encourage you and do our best to be there for you. If you have the need this morning to come forward for any of those reasons, we ask you to do so now. Together we stand and sing.