Mount Isa Baptist Church

“Worthy of the Gospel of Christ”

Philippians 1:27 – 30

1. Walk the Talk: “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Paul is essentially saying, “Walk the talk” or “live up to who you say you are.” If you call yourselves followers of the Lord Jesus, live up to that. They are to live as citizens of heaven and obey all God's laws and customs. For them, there were huge implications. This would mean that they would go from being beloved Roman citizens to hated Christians. Persecution would now replace the security they had under Roman law. Their world would be turned upside down as they followed this command to live as worthy citizens of the Gospel of Christ. A Christian will begin to live differently from the world around them because we are no longer part of that world, but we have a new citizenship in the Kingdom of God. The Bible never teaches that a person can be saved and not be changed. This is the same charge Paul gives to Christians who are citizens today. We must live lives as worthy citizens of God's Kingdom first and foremost. Living a life as a citizen of heaven will be costly in this world. When people look at us as believers, who must they see? Well, they need to see Jesus shining through us by the way we conduct ourselves on a day-to-day basis. Daily, we must become more and more like Jesus. To be “worthy of the gospel of Christ.” in no way implies that we as human beings are capable of meriting the gospel's rewards and benefits. No one has been, is, or ever will be worthy to receive the gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s only by His grace and His mercy that he lavishes on us that we can receive this. What Paul is communicating is that we are to live our lives as people redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus. It's the gospel and the gospel's Author that makes us worthy of living this way. If we believe the Gospel frees us from the power of sin, then our lives should demonstrate this fact. If we believe the Gospel transforms a person internally, then our lives should demonstrate it by not showing anger, not gossiping, or not having an ongoing pity party. Live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

2. Stand Firm in Unity: “I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.” I’d like to point out that one cannot stand in unity alone. Standing firm, striving side by side is a team effort. So, what is our team effort this morning, or our thing that we need to be standing firm with? This team is the local church. The local church should be there to lift you up when you can't get up. The church should help when you need help. It should be there when everyone else leaves. Here's the picture... we are walking hand in hand toward the goal of glorification. The local church should be doing this for you. We should be lifting each other up. Along the way, there are potholes and stumbling blocks that we face. We should be lifting each other over the holes, and when one stumbles, we keep them from falling. So together we reach the goal. A life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a life marked by perseverance. Peter shows us, a persevering life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a life in which a person stands firm in the true grace of God. God's grace is amazing. It is sufficient in any time of need. Without the grace of God, no man will ever see Him. Without the grace of God, no man would ever be saved. No one can persevere to the end without the grace of God. Not only is a gospel-worthy life a persevering life evidenced by the way we stand firm-refusing to give any ground to the enemy, refusing to take our eyes of Christ, refusing to relinquish our trust and faith in Him in any and all circumstances -- it is a life marked by a real and active striving with other Christians to represent and defend the faith. What about us? When life gets tough, and it will, where do we turn our eyes? When things come against us, when the enemy attacks, where do we turn our eyes? Do we turn our eyes upon Jesus, look on His face, or do we look at all the circumstances around us?

3. A life of courage: “... and not frightened in anything by your opponents.” Courage is a necessity in the gospel-worthy life. You can't stand firm and united with your Christian brothers and sisters without courage. You can't strive in defence of the faith, let alone sometimes carry some of your brothers and sisters in Christ as you strive together, without courage. Sometimes it’s just too easy to go with the crowd, do what the rest of them are doing. But we need the courage to do what we know is right. We must overcome the fear of man and replace it with a fear of God. We must care more about what God thinks than what those around us think. If you live your life worried about what people think, then you will never consistently live out your heavenly citizenship. By God's grace, may we truly live a life pleasing to Him, no matter who or what works against us. May the Lord grant us the ability to stand in unity and strive together as the Church, as God's Christian Embassy to a lost world. May we truly behave in a manner worthy of Kingdom Citizens. To God be the glory...

Pastor Erik Sitati – From Kenya – connected through our YouTube channel.

I received an amazingly encouraging email from Kenya, which I shared parts of at the church meeting, and I encourage you to be in prayer for this church and also our YouTube ministry that we have the privilege through it to reach people across the world. We serve an amazing God.

About my church and the ministry

It is called CHRIST FELLOWSHIP CHURCH. We are located in continent of Africa in a country called Kenya. We have a small ministry, but we thank God it is growing and touching lives of others in a mighty way. We are blessed serving God with my family and brethren here. We have a heart for the ministry, our heart's desire, hunger, and thirsty is dedicated in Christ work, and we are glad being Christ's witness and ambassadors. We don't preach about ourselves, but preaching only the message of Jesus Christ as the author and finisher of our faith.

I'm much blessed being in touch with you and your beautiful church family! I just want to encourage you that we are, and we have been praying for you all as Christ coworkers in His vineyard especially in these dreadful days we are living in.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

I replied to the email that was sent, and below are some prayer requests that he has asked for:

Pastor Erik Sitati - Christ Fellowship Church prayer requests,

(1) Pray for our ongoing door to door evangelism and outreaches.

(2) Pray for ongoing church construction, pray for open doors we need iron sheets.

(3) About my community pray for thousands who are in devastating situation and starving due to lack of food and water

(4) Pray for God to provide bibles so that we may give to new converts. Below photo show our outreach meeting held recently, and the hunger people have God's Word.