934. Joyful Sacrifice

A lot this and I stared at one of the big things is that he is sufficient for my every need, whether that's in a class because I'm struggling or even in friendship that Christ is all I need and I can trust him in every circumstance doesn't teach me so much. So just what discipleship looks like there's because so often we just tend to be a house like selfish was our relationship with God is creamy and godlike house. I don't have to encourage anyone else is relationship man let out but really God wants us to share with others of the money he wants us to file this use is to encourage others because shifting others like government to Bob Jones University students who been blessed by the chapel messages from the Philippian series called live worthy of the gospel. That's what were studying right now on The Daily Platform. Let's listen to today's message which is the last of the series, which is been a study of the book of Philippians, Paul teaches how believers can be more Christlike in today's message which is entitled to one full sacrifice from Philippians 217 through 18, take your Bible confirm with me please to the book of Philippians Philippians chapter 2 we have been working our way this semester through Philippians 1 as we started and we began with a theme that Paul establish that we would live worthy of the gospel is writing to believers in the church that he had planted and he loves those people that he understands the stress pressures that they're facing the wants them to live their lives in a manner that reflects the worth of the gospel and so we have worked our way through, we came to the passage where he encourage them to unity any set Christ as the example of both humility and at the same time exaltation. We talked about the balance of how to live the Christian life between us working out our salvation in God working that within us. We talked about shining lights.

Now we come to the end of the semester. This will be the last message and it really is a culmination I think of the heartbeat of the apostle Paul is. He talked about the joy that he experienced of living a life of sacrifice for the Lord your gonna live your Christian life either in a way, if I could say self oriented or you going to live your life and sacrificially oriented and let's look at Paul and what he says here of his own testimony of how he viewed his life as a life of joyful sacrifice. Philippians 1 verse 17 yeah NFIB offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all for the same calls also. Do you joy and rejoice with me.

I like to read it from the ESV because there's a different translation of the word that I want to focus on this morning so let me read it out of that version, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering up on the sacrificial offering of your faith.

I am glad and rejoice with you all.

Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. I think there's no question that one of the most memorable events of Paul's ministry in Philippi was the way that she responded along with his gospel partner Silas to their arrest and imprisonment. As you know they were in this village of this community, ministering the gospel and they were arrested they were taken and they were beaten with rods and they were thrown into the local jail and what follows is what people remember acts 16.

Listen to what the Bible says and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises under God and the prisoners heard them. You can say this I had a prince in praise service that no one has ever forgot. And in the midst of their suffering and sacrifice. What did they do they rejoice. I've said it before, I'll say it again that this is one of the happiest I've ever seen. The student body of Bob Jones University and you have more things.

The complaining gripe about than ever I've ever experienced being here because you have to go with the protocol's nobody wants to wear the mask. Nobody wants to live under those kind of things and yeah what I believe seeing is a joyful spirit, why because you just happy to be here your focal point is on something else and the apostle Paul teaches us the joy of living the Christian life, and at the same time, living a life of sacrifice and joyful sacrifice reflects the attitude of somebody who is a spiritually mature believer may go through trials hardships and heartaches and what they do. They have learned to find the joy of the Lord in all, so let's look this morning at this thing that we have here of joyful sacrifice into things will see, the first thing to do is take a few moments to actually interpret this passage of Scripture.

What is it mean and in the second thing to do is simply apply it.

What is he saying to us today so let's begin. First of all with what is seen mean in the statement. He said yeah NFIB offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, or as we read in BEST even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering up on the sacrificial offering of your faith.

The apostle Paul is giving his own personal testimonies, talking about his attitude. He has about himself today if I be offered in what Paul was doing. Is he speaking in the language of sacrifice. Now you and I living in the day and age that were living in really don't live in the world of sacrifice, but the Jewish people did because the idea of sacrifice is confined to the Old Testament temple. So in that temple. We have entered into a courtyard.

There are priests who are walking around in their priestly garment. There are musicians who are singing and playing their instruments. There are actual actually lots of animals in the courtyard. There are she there are us and there's cattle and there's a couple of things you smell immediately. Number one, you smell the blood of animals that are being sacrifice and were not talking about a little blood were talking about the entire body being emptied of blood. Secondly, you smell the roasting of animal meat on an open fire.

That's the atmosphere of the temple. And that's the language of sacrifice that the apostle Paul is using and notice what he says. He says yeah and if I be offered in the ESV says I am poured out as a drink offering, so the word offering there literally means a drink offering, and in the temple sacrifice. There were two things that were offered to God. One was the animal meat sacrifice, but at the same time the wall required that there be drink offerings a drink offering was a cup I see him regret this home just post brings a I have a cup here that I bawled actually for my wife in India that she rebut minded me in a loving way today don't lose this cup.

I said yes dear, and so anyway so when they made the offerings they would offer the animal and at the same time they would take a cop and it was filled with wine and they would pour out that offering before the Lord and they would pour the wine out now what is it that the apostle Paul is saying here. Numbers 28 seven says in the holy place. Shalt thou calls the strong wind to be poured unto the Lord for drink offering what is Paul referring here to he's referring to his own life he viewed his life. If you think of it this way, the drink offering is the believer, the sacrifice is Jesus, the sacrifice Jesus was being offered on the cross. At the same time, over here we as believers are like the drink offerings where to be poured out before the Lord and we know that Paul Rick viewed himself that way factors in second Timothy chapter 4 verse six.

Let me repeat what he says.

He says from already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is at hand. I believe Paul in second Timothy is referring to the certainty of his death. I believe in Philippians chapter 2 Paul is referring to the possibility of his death and Paul recognize that his life could be potentially sacrifice and death at any moment. However, I think we have to realize that sacrifice was not just about physically dying but it was the spirit and the attitude of his whole life. His whole life was alive that was poured out in sacrifice to the Lord why because he believed that his life was to be invested by pouring out by giving of himself completely. Perhaps you've heard of a missionary named Nate St. Nate St. was one of the five missionaries that were killed down in in in South America in the 1950s. He also had a friend of his named Jim Elliott and they went on a missions trip to reach a remote tribe of natives in Ecuador and all five of them ended up being killed by the tribe after they landed there. Nate Saints not as well-known a course of Jim Elliott but he had a tremendous heart for the Lord and the Lord's work and before his death he wrote these words. People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives is missionary. They forget that they too are expending their lives and when the bubble has burst, that is when they die they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted what he is saying is this, you invest your life by pouring out your life. I've never watched the soap opera days of our lives, but it was a longing's longest standing soap opera running continuously since 1965 in the famous opening scene sequence is very prophetic peers art starts like sands from the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. I think the pictures right on target are ours are days are being poured out one after the other after the other in a sense, every body's life is being poured out some of pouring out their lives on their jobs, summer pouring out their lives on their sports summer pouring out their lives for their own pursuit of happiness, whatever it involves but the truth is if you can route your life on your own yourself, then you are leading wasted life. And Paul is saying that his life of sacrifice was not a waste, but it was an investment.

I remember going back to my 25 year college reunion walking around the places that is seem like just yesterday I was living there and remember the decisions I made in my college years.

Around 1920 and 21 about dedicating my life to serve the Lord and give of your life to the master and I remember the decisions I made at 19 and 20 and 21 and here I am 25 years later, somewhere around the age of 47 years old and I was thanking God for the privilege of giving a life over to God and sacrificing for him Paul Saul that his life was to be invested, but he also speaks here of the sacrifice of the Philippians. Notice what he says, yeah. If not, be offered up on the sacrifice and service of you or faith.

I think here you speaking about the suffering of the Philippians because just like Paul suffered at the hands of the Romans so the Philippians did just like we all do. He saw bear sacrifice and he said in his he was saying to them basically that he he was giving himself the bit his himself to them. They were giving themselves to Paul. They had sent Paul a sacrificial gift and there was this mutual sacrifice in both the Philippians and Paul were pouring out their life as a drink offering to God and how does Paul feel about the sacrifice he was making.

He rejoiced below the spiritually mature people rejoice in the privilege of sacrificing. I mean I've experienced this, like a lot of Christians serve as servants of experience what people say we appreciate your sacrifice and as soon as I sit here that the first thing is, I feel completely unworthy because my sacrifice is nothing compared to Jesus and number two I don't look at it as a burden. I look at it as a blessing.

It's a blessing that I can invest I can pour out. I can give my life to that which is going to count young person.

Your life is like social art and we live moment by moment an hour by hour and day by day and the question is what are you going to invest your life in your getting an education you're getting prepared for the future for is it really that which is going to last is going to pay the judgment seat or is it all burned up. That's what Paul said for me to give myself as a sacrifice is not a burden is a blessing at the joy why because that is exactly what Jesus did for me. He came and gave his life and so Paul is saying this is a joy that leads me to the last thing and that is been what is he saying here in two things. Number one the Christian living always involve sacrifice, always, always, there's no escaping it. It's gotta be at the forefront of your mind.

Jesus in Luke 923 if any man would come after me, let him deny himself. Paul says in Romans 12 one. I beg you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Are you willing to embrace sacrifice is your mindset is the idea of sacrifice embed in your attitude, a number of years ago, back when I was an evangelist. I had a particular team that had traveled together for two years and there were no replacements of people coming in and so this group is that it was a group of actually six people of four of them married each other. Aaron and Stephanie coffee and Matt and Kristi Taylor and then the young lady Dr. Fred Coleman's daughter Kristin who ended up marrying a fellow whose today a chaplain in the Air Force and then Mr. Joel Albright, who married a girl from Bob Jones and he's an assistant pastor.

Today there all of the ministry and I remember exactly what happened. We were we were at a church and Brookfield, Wisconsin, and our team was setting up every day at right outside of the auditorium in the baptistery area. We would put a table up there. We would work there a week. I don't know why I guess probably because I was a little bit younger out a little more irritated I was like really burden of what these six people were going to do with their life.

I brought him into a room and I started pounding on the table. Assume what going to do with your life. Are you going to do your little two-year tour of duty by traveling with a padded team and then you're going to get off the team and then do what you really want to do go back mutual nice house with you. I think it fits in your 15 children in the front yard and do your thing and live your live while the rest goes to hell women traveling with me for two years running. We are like like brothers and sisters and they were like kinda freaking out because I was so worked up I was worked up like what you put it didn't. So I say to you, you seniors what you going to do with your life, you graduate into your that I'm telling you right now you you purpose of it is to do for Christ what Christ did for us.

He gave himself, and sacrifice.

And this is what Paul said, I am to live my life as a sacrifice to the and by the way, that sacrifice is always joyful because that's the second thing sacrifice is the way to true joy is the way to true joy. Perhaps you've heard of a missionary name CT study grew up in England in the home of a father who made a fortune overseas and he was the heir to the 14 he was a world famous cricket player from England, but one day when Hudson Taylor the missionary to China, visited and called for missionaries to come to China stud and six other other men from Cambridge University surrender their lives to be missionaries and they had to China. They were doubly Cambridge seven stud went to China where he served for number years, when his father died.

He was left with a large inheritance and he gave it all away to the China mission and to other Christian evangelistic causes when he had to return to England because of poor health. He went back and he later recuperated any win is again is a missionary to India and ultimately to Africa and just before his death. Stud route one final letter back home and listen to what he said is I believe I am now mirroring my departure from this world. I have put a few things to rejoice in. They are the that God called me to China and I went in spite of the utmost opposition from all my love ones that I joyfully acted as Christ told that get rich young man to act. He gave away his fortune.

The gospel calls us and that I deliberately at the call of God gave my life for this work for the world on evangelize the whole and evangelize world my joys.

Therefore, my only joys, therefore, are that when God is given me a work to do. I have not refused. He found his ultimate joy in sacrificing for the Lord. So for those of us that are in ministry serving God. Really, I mean sure it's got burdens do it. It's got problems, but is so wonderful that I get to serve the king and the king is going to reward those who faithfully served him.

That's Paul's message of joyful sacrifice you've been listening to a sermon from the book of Philippians by Dr. Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University.

If you would like to order the study booklet titled live worthy of the gospel which was written for the series, visit our website@thedailyplatform.com as we consider the joyful sacrifice of Paul in Philippians, let's listen to a modern hymn titled O God, my joy, which describes the awesome side of God's glory and how God reigns above in radiant splendor and beauty recorded live in chapel with the Bob Jones University student body and orchestra. Here's the him.

Oh God, my joy, if you appreciate this program and benefit from the faithful preaching and teaching of God's word would you consider sending us a special financial gift. You can easily do that to the website the daily.com. I'm Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. I'd like to invite you to attend one of our summer camps for both middle and high schoolers. BJ you has over 50 camps to choose from.

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This concludes our series study in Philippians entitled live worthy of the gospel. Thanks again for listening and join us tomorrow as will hear another chapel message from the Bob Jones University Chapel platform