Growing the Fruit of Godliness

Welcome and Happy Father’s Day. I am so glad that you have chosen to gather with all of us this morning and celebrate. There are a lot of other things you could have chosen for celebrating Father’s Day, but to take the time to praise and worship our heavenly father, I believe is the best choice to start, as there will be plenty of time left in the day for giving honor where honor is due.

It is a simple biological fact that none of us would be here if God had not given us a father on this earth, but then again, sometimes it is not about the biological…

The man you may call dad may not be your biological father…it may be your Step Dad, your adoptive dad, or even your foster dad. Or it may be outside of your family when you think of a father who had a great impact on you…

Sometimes we use the term father in other ways as well…such as calling Henry Ford the father of the modern automobile or Charles Babbage the father of modern computing…or more specific to my experience in the submarine force, we would use the term, the father of Naval Nuclear propulsion, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover.

When we use the term in this fashion, we are speaking of the fact that these men were pivotal to the exploration and development of these technologies, but far less do we consider how their character came into view…Though I would not choose the same methods, I understood what Admiral Rickover was seeking to accomplish with incredibly high standards…One example was that he was known for interviewing officer candidates by making them sit on a chair with the front legs cut short…he was testing them by making a stressful situation, that is interviewing with the admiral, by making the environment unexpected to be able to view your response. Then when he wanted you to think about your answers some, it was not uncommon that he might put one individual in the closet while he interviewed the next candidate.

I am thankful that my Heavenly Father, did not leave me with only that type of influence from a father in my life. When my dad passed away 3 years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak at his funeral, and it was not about his inventions or how he instilled high standards in us, but rather I chose to speak of the fruits of his life, fruits that could only truly become abundant through the help and strength of the Holy Spirit. I am thankful for that example in my life and I pray that I can be that for my own children as well…

This is why, today on Father’s Day, we felt it was best that we would continue in our current sermon series because of how well it fit for Father’s Day. Within our Annual Theme…

Hope for Everyday Life

We have moved from finding our hope in times of suffering to now seeking the practical applications in finding

Hope for Fruitful Service

This series has brought us to a focused look at 2 Peter 1:5-7 which says…

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”

From this we are summarizing the study each week by completing the phrase.

Making every effort to add to your saving faith, ________.

Two weeks ago, we explored what it looks like to add knowledge by finding 4 truths about Solomon’s life that helps us to grow in fruitful service through knowledge. Last week, David helped us to unpack truths from Job’s life to find 3 ways to grow in the fruit of perseverance.

Today, for Father’s Day, we are going to explore

Growing the Fruit of Godliness

To find our example for godliness, we could have scoured the Bible to identify a godly father, and we would have over and over again, found flawed examples like Abraham and Isaac or King David. So we thought what if we looked to a different example of a father, not a father by biology or family and not a father by invention, but rather a spiritual father, one whose desire is to help those he is leading to grow in the fruit of godliness. This brought us to the life of Paul, who as far as we know by God’s Word, had not married and had no children, but had many spiritual children who he sought to raise up in the Lord.

And though our foundational passage and our calling to add godliness come from Peter, we can also know that Paul too placed a great deal of importance on growing the fruit of godliness. Take a loo at some of his writings to young pastors who Paul would describe as his sons in the father.

To Timothy, Paul would say,

1 Timothy 4:7–8 - … discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

And in warning him of the influences of the world, Paul said to

1 Timothy 6:11 - But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

Or to the young pastor Titus, his true child in a common faith, living among the liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons on Crete, Paul again encouraged him saying,

Titus 2:11–12 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

So we can see the consistency of God’s Word, from the OT to Peter and Paul, calling us all to make every effort to add to our saving faith, godliness…

So now looking at the life of Paul, as revealed in his letters to the early church, we will find the example of godliness, even in a sinful man, that can help us to find…

3 Actions of Making Every Effort to Add to your Saving Faith – Godliness

One last step before we open God’s Word to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I think it is important that we all have a common understanding to define godliness

The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology defines godliness as a reverence for God and a life of holiness in the world. In the OT the Lord called the people of Israel to be set apart from the nations that they might be holy as the Lord is holy and the Lord charged Fathers to teach their sons a life of godliness and this same calling is carried forward to Christians, including Christian fathers, to live a life of reverent awareness of God’s sovereignty over every aspect of our lives. In knowing God and loving God, we have the opportunity to reflect the attributes of God.

There is much we could say on godliness, and today we will focus on the example of Paul’s life as revealed through his letters and in this case, in his letter to the Philippians…please open with me to Philippians chapter 3, that is on page ___ in the back section of the bible in your chair, as we see who Paul describes the goal of his life as he made every effort to add to his saving faith – godliness.

READ PHI 3:1-21

Now as we unpack Paul’s letter, we will find 3 actions that we can take in order to make every effort to add godliness in our lives.

To be godly, to reflect the attributes of God, we must first ensure that we know God and revere God for who He is.

As such, our first action to make every effort to add to our saving faith godliness is to…

I. Establish a proper view of God’s plan of salvation.

There are many way to begin exploring this…you could go with reading and studying the whole of God’s Word, probably more that we can cover today.

We could also look at the early sermons as recorded in the book of Acts, in fact we would see in Acts 7 that as Stephen shared the gospel beginning from our father Abraham, it was Paul, then called Saul, even before he was converted to a follower of Christ, who heard the truth of God’s plan for salvation, and because of what he heard, we should then…

Consider what Paul believed

Because we can see the transformation of what Paul believed and the impact on how he lived.

Before coming to know Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul had a different understanding of mankind and a different understanding of what it meant to live with godliness.

And through the truth, he came to know that all men begin as enemies of Christ.

1. We began as Christ’s enemies

From our passage today, Paul tells us the way in which he used to think was leading to godliness…

Philippians 3:6 - as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

Paul believed that his path to godliness came in an obedience to the Law. If only we could keep God’s commands, being righteous in the law, this was how we would grow in godliness…this was how we would find favor with the Lord.

That was the old example of Paul’s life…what about the example of your life?

What do you believe makes you a good person? How do you seek to make yourself an example to others…Is it based solely on what you do? God will notice me because of the good that I do, right?

But how does God actually see us?

For Paul, and all that he believed he was doing for Yahweh, on the road to Damascus, in Acts 9, Paul saw a bright light that knocked him to the ground and a voice saying “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Without seeing the truth in God’s plan for salvation, we begin with a wrong view of ourselves…we consider ourselves to be inherently good…we believe we can even make up for the things we do wrong by serving God as penance…

But the truth we need to see is what Paul later teaches in his letter to the Romans…”there is none righteous, no not one, there is none who understands and none who seeks God.”

Our sinful, self-absorbed nature separates us from Christ because our sin deserves the penalty of death, a penalty that we cannot pay for ourselves.

And our good deeds, our “godly acts” can never be enough to pay our debt

1. Our works are not enough

As we consider what Paul believed, we too will come to the conclusion that I have nothing of value to offer to my Lord.

Even the things that I hold most dear

• God I have been a Father for 30 years and have 5 children…that’s pretty good right?

• I have done my best to provide for my family, that counts for something right?

• I come to church every Sunday, OK most Sundays…well…the Sundays when I don’t have something else on the calendar…I am here today…that’s good right

How did Paul see it…circumcised on the eighth day, An Israelite, a Benjamite, a Hebrew…and as for the Law – blameless.

Paul came to understand none of that was enough…

Philippians 3:7 - But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss…

Paul’s old thinking – I can be enough, if I work hard enough and if I am godly enough

But we must consider Paul’s new thinking – My works are not enough

And as such, if that truth was left on it’s own – We would have no hope, no hope for everyday life, no hope for fruitful service…just no hope…because our debt is beyond our ability to pay

But when we consider what Paul believed…we can have hope, hope that is centered on the work of another, the work of Christ at the Cross, because

1. The cross is a sufficient payment

God’s plan from even before the beginning of time all pointed to the work of one man…

As Paul continued to tell us what he believed, he said…

Philippians 3:8–9 - More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

God’s plan for salvation has always run through a singular point in all of human history, as compared to each one of us having to walk our own journey to salvation. We were lost, we were the enemies of Christ, and yet while we were still his enemies, Christ willingly carried the cross up the path to Golgotha so that he might fulfill God’s Salvation plan…

His life for mine

And in return, he only asked that we would declare Him to be Lord and that we would believe that his death on the cross is sufficient and that God raised him from the dead as proof that there was nothing left for you and me to add

His life for mine

Simply on the basis of Faith…

Fathers – If you are here today, and you are still working for your own salvation, if you are seeking a godliness that depends on your strength

• Consider this Father’s Day gift from our heavenly Father

• It is not a new tie, and it is not a golf outing

• Our Heavenly Father is offering – Grace…a gift of salvation which we do not deserve

• And packaged in that grace is the gift of eternal life

The power of the cross does not just address our past sins, or even our present sins, the power of the cross is sufficient for all the sins of the world, and for those who receive His gift of Grace comes also the gift of life as we too are resurrected from dead

And thus like the example of Paul, considering what He believes we can…

Fix your eyes on the eternal

Paul continued saying

Philippians 3:10–11 - …that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

With an understanding of God’s plan for salvation, considering what Paul believed and now with our eyes on the eternal, we can see that though the work of salvation is complete, we still have work to do…making every effort to add to our salving faith – godliness

So I want to challenge you with several actions to help us all grow in fruitful service…

Do you know God’s plan of salvation well enough to be able to share it with a family member, neighbor or co-worker in a matter of less than five minutes…Here is one way to grow in that…

This week…

• Study the words of the disciple Stephen in Acts chapter 7, in his defense before the Pharisees as he boldly proclaimed Christ, words which Paul heard and later considered.

• List out the simple points that show God’s plan for salvation.

• Read them daily for yourself…

• Then practice by teaching them to a family member, maybe a church family member sitting next to you today

• To prepare yourself so that you can share the good news of salvation clearly with those who God will open the door for you to share it with…

Then as a reminder of these truths that we need to stand upon – Take this token from your pocket – which means you need to carry it with you – and flip to the back side, remembering that the house that was built is simply an illustration. Being “built on a firm foundation” is all about our lives being built on the foundation of Christ’s work…anyone who builds on a different foundation works in vain, but the one builds upon Christ builds upon a firm foundation.

But Paul’s example did not just stop at his preaching and teaching, it was lived out in his life and as such we can see a second action to make every effort toad to our saving faith – godliness.

And that second action is to

II. Pursue Christ above all

There are many things in our lives that have great value to us in this world…We are celebrating one today as we value a father who pours into us and loves us, as husbands, we value our marriages, as fathers, we value the children God has given us, but Paul is helping us to see that there is something to value above all these things

Philippians 3:8 - More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… [note for ppt – this verse moved in order ahead of II.A.]

And just as we see the value of knowing God’s salvation plan, we see in Paul’s example the surpassing value of knowing Christ My Lord…and to seek that value we must take action to…

Seek to know Christ

Early I said that we need to fix our eyes on the eternal and Jesus helps us to see what that means in His own prayer to his Father…

Jesus prayed with the knowledge that His hour had come, it was time to go to the cross and complete God’s plan for salvation and so He prayed for his disciples and that His father would be glorified through the gift of eternal life which he describes…

John 17:3 - This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

We are called to seek to know Christ, the One whom the Father sent…

To love Christ, is to know Christ…to know Christ is to know his teaching and his commands

He told his disciples, If you love me, follow my commands…

So if we are to pursue Christ, If we are to be his disciples…where will we look to know his commands…Peter calls us to seek the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence…

2 Peter 1:3 …seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

We must seek Christ through the true knowledge revealed to us through the inerrant and authoritative word of God in order that we might fulfill the great commission for ourselves and in drawing others to Christ.

Then as we come to know Christ, and in order to add godliness to our lives, we must choose to…

Value Christ’s Purpose in your life

God clearly spells out our purpose in his Word in a number of ways showing that we are to be his representative, to reflect Him on this earth in a way that brings him glory through choices that are pleasing to God. We find these truths and commands revealed in Genesis and the letters to the Corinthians, and Paul spelled it out even further so that we might value Christ’s purpose in our lives…

Titus 2:11–12 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

To Titus, Paul pointed him to this value before calling for action…

For the grace of God has appeared – that grace is Christ’s purpose in your life.

Christ appeared that He might live a sinless life

Christ lived that he might die an underserved death

And Christ died bringing salvation to all men

That was Christ’s purpose in your life

If I truly value his purpose in my life, then we can see the overflowing implications for everything else and by valuing Christ, we will

Allow Christ to change you

Paul recognizes that not all Christians are walking in this way and he challenges them to allow God to continue to work in them. In verses 12 and 13, Paul expressed that he does not even consider himself to have already become perfect or to have laid hold of the prize at the end of the race…then as a challenge he says.

Philippians 3:15–16 - Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

When he says as many as are perfect, he is speaking of spiritual maturity, but wherever you might consider yourself, perfect or imperfect, mature or in need of growth…

Let God reveal in you a different attitude so that we might keep living by the same standard by which we have attained

As we pursue Christ, seeking to know Christ and valuing Christ’s purpose in our lives…know that His purpose is for your good.

• If you are in a time of blessing and things seem to be going your way…know that God wants to use this time to allow you to know Him more. The blessing did not come from our own work, our giftings that we created for ourselves, so we Praise the giver of good gifts and seek to know Him more…to Pursue Christ above all…going full steam ahead because for this window of time, God has removed the things we might see as obstacles.

• But we must also know that when those obstacles return, are you walking in a trial, do you feel like your long-suffering will never end…have this attitude as well that you value Christ’s purpose in a time of growth – that should we suffer for doing what is right, as you patiently endure the trial, know that this attitude brings glory to God, which is our purpose in Christ

As an action step to help in Pursuing Christ above all

Take one evening this week – and spend time in prayer and meditation about this verse on the screen…

• Pray and ask God to reveal –

• Is my attitude one like Paul that recognizes I am not there yet and I need Christ?

• If I have a different attitude, what am I pursuing before I pursue Christ?

• Then begin by writing a list of the things of this world that you are pursuing…

• Ask God to help you see What you are wanting in these things? Are they obstacles to your relationship with Christ?

• For each item, write down what step you might take to change your attitude that you would desire Christ most…

• Then share your list with one person who you can help you be accountable to taking those steps.

[If time allows, walk through an example of what the above might look like]

Then as we have sought to understand God’s salvation plan and as we choose to pursue Christ above all, we are able also to…

III. Be an Example to family and others

As we move to our third action to growing the fruit of godliness, we also begin to find also the ways that godliness is lived out in our daily lives…

As we choose to be an example to family and friends, we must know that they will be watching, and they will see where our personal theology, what we believe about Christ, overlaps with our practical theology, how we live based on Christ…

Jesus transformed Paul to bring his personal and practical theologies into alignment

First look at what He believed about himself…

“Whatever things were gain to me…” or in other words, Paul’s heritage, Paul’s reputation, Paul’s past actions…

He said, “those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

In humility, Paul chose to be an example of exalting Christ over boasting in self and he calls us to do the same

In truth, Paul calls us to follow his example as he sought to imitate Christ in all areas of his life.

In humility, be an imitator of Paul imitating Christ

In humility, Paul calls us to set aside our own desires, our own preferences and choose to have the attitude of Christ…Ask your self – Who am I putting first…

Earlier in Philippians, Paul points to the attitude with which we should be an example…

Phil 2:3-4 - do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus”

Our example before others begins by considering how we see others

• At work, is it “my way or the highway.”

• Over the dinner table, do you drive the discussion so that everyone must agree with you and any others’ thoughts are squashed.

• When you aren’t treated the way you want at the restaurant, they put pickles on your sandwich when you asked for no pickles – do you make it your purpose to let everyone know about the poor customer service seeking to force them to change or go out of business.

Who am I putting first in each of these situations…

1 Corinthians 11:1 - Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

And dads – When you see your children acting in a selfish and prideful manner in regards to others…ask yourself – Who are they imitating…

It should not shock us that we will always be an example to our own children, so the question becomes, Father’s what type of an example do we want to be

Let’s go back to that token again – carry it in your pocket and pull it out as many times, reading the front to remind you that Fathers are specifically commanded in this area…

Instruct your children in godliness

Men, our example in teaching our children will be most powerful when it is not accompanied by the message – Do as I say…not as I do.

Our example with our children begins by making it easier for them to receive our instruction

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

But you think to yourself - my son, my daughter, they are just angry and I don’t know why…Yes your children are responsible for their own actions, but we must consider, if we are to instruct our children, are we making it easier for the message to get through…

You might say – I don’t provoke them…In Lou Priolo’s book the heart of anger, he gives us a list of 25 ways to consider that we might provoke our children…I haven’t met any one yet who didn’t circle any of them.

Consider – How can your example of imitating Christ, help your children to receive your instruction in the Lord, and then consider whose knowledge and wisdom will you share with them? Yours? Or the Lord’s?

2 Timothy 2:2 - The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”

And as we approach the end of our time together this Father’s Day, know that like Paul we can all become spiritual fathers as well by…

Cultivate a heart for the lost

And that comes from having an attitude like Paul who was brokenhearted to know that his brothers remained lost…

Philippians 3:18–19 - For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

Who do you know that is relying on their own strength? Who is denying their own need for Christ? Or is simply unaware of their need?

We are all called, like Paul to have a heart for the lost, a heart to share the gospel, a heart to share Christ’s purpose in all of our lives.

Then even as we make every effort to add to our saving faith godliness….

• Every effort to add a godliness that establishes a proper view of god’s Salvation plan

• Every effort to Purpose Christ above all else

• Every effort to be an example before our family and friends so that they might know Christ

Even while we make this a daily effort…

We have Hope for fruitful Service and we have Hope for everyday life because we have a promise of something far greater that what we have today and this allows us to

Patiently wait for the Lord

Why?

Philippians 3:20–21 - For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Our hope of Growing the Fruit of Godliness begin and ends with Christ Jesus…

Pray with me that we might know Him, follow Him and be made more like Him…