The Actions of Holy Work

Order of Service

• Hymn — Christ, We Do All Adore Thee
• Call to Worship — Matthew 11:28-30
• Hymn — Christ, We Do All Adore Thee
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 8
• Scripture Reading — Ruth 3:1-18
• Hymn — Be Still, My Soul
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — Teach Me, O Lord, Your Way of Truth
• Sermon
• Prayer
• Hymn — Take My Life and Let It Be
• Benediction — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

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Sermon Title: The Actions of Holy Work

Scripture: Philippians 2:14-18

I. Holy Action Involves a Dedication to a Life of Service

A. Paul's directive in Philippians 2:14 — do all things without grumbling or questioning

1. The word for "grumble" appears only three times in the New Testament; Paul uses it here and in 1 Corinthians 10:10 in reference to Israel's wilderness wandering
2. Paul deliberately echoes Israel's desert experience to warn the Philippian church

B. The warning drawn from Deuteronomy 32:5 — Israel's grumbling made them "crooked and twisted"; the church is to be the opposite

1. The Philippians, as adopted children of God, are to heed Israel's negative example (1 Corinthians 10:11)
2. The church is trekking through a crooked and twisted generation and is called to shine as lights in the world

C. Grumbling stems from insistence on personal rights — the opposite of Christ-like service

1. In Philippians 2:6-11, Christ emptied himself of his divine rights to become a servant
2. Christ did not grumble — he laid aside his rights at every point: no place to lay his head, washed feet, was judged and condemned at Calvary
3. Christian service begins with an emptying of self before any outward action is taken

II. Holy Action Involves a Dedication to a Life of the Word

A. Philippians 2:16 — "holding out the word of life" (preferred over "holding fast" given the context of shining as lights to the world)

1. The Philippians shine not only through humble service but through proclamation of the gospel
2. Holy action is not just a life lived, but words uttered — lips dripping with the gospel of Jesus Christ

B. The popular misquote of Francis of Assisi — "Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words" — is unbiblical

1. Romans 10:14-15 — faith comes by hearing; someone must preach
2. Our witness is made distinctive by the words of life placed on our lips

C. Every believer is commissioned to proclaim the gospel — the church as a kingdom of prophets

1. Moses's longing in Numbers 11 — "Would that all the LORD's people were prophets"
2. Unlike the 70 elders who stopped prophesying, Spirit-wrought believers are to hold out the word of life until Christ comes again
3. The preached word is the primary means by which God brings dead sinners from death to life

III. Holy Action Involves a Dedication to a Life of Worship

A. Philippians 2:17 — Paul pictures his ministry as a drink offering poured out upon the burnt offering of the Philippians' faith

1. Together, Paul and the Philippians form a pleasing sacrificial aroma to God, which is the source of mutual rejoicing
2. This is drawn from Old Testament sacrificial system language

B. At its heart, worship is sacrifice — established throughout all of Scripture

1. Adam's probationary test was an act of self-sacrificial devotion (Genesis 3)
2. Cain's offering was rejected; Abel's was accepted because Abel sacrificed the best of his flock
3. Noah, Abraham, and Jacob all expressed worship through building altars and sacrificing
4. Israel's entire sacrificial system pressed home that the whole of life is to be self-sacrificial worship
5. The incarnation — from manger to cross — is one supreme act of worship from the Son to the Father; Christ endured the cross for the glory awaiting him (Hebrews)

C. The English word "worship" derives from "worth" — giving God what he is worth; Christ's cross declares what God's glory is worth

D. Application: living a self-sacrificial life Monday through Saturday kindles a burning desire for the corporate Lord's Day gathering

1. When all individual sacrifices are heaped together — singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; giving offerings; hearing the word; administering the sacraments — they rise as a sweet aroma before God
2. Romans 12:1 — present your bodies as living sacrifices; this is your spiritual worship
3. Living for self from Monday to Saturday makes Sunday feel like a nuisance; living sacrificially makes Sunday the longed-for culmination of the week's worship