The Weight of Sainthood

Summer of Joy Week 1 – The Weight of Sainthood

Philippians 1:1-6

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Saint: (n) a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death.

Key Point: We don’t do to be, we be to do.

Translation: We don’t do good works to be saints, we do good works because we are saints.

Key Point: Sanctification = We are already in Christ, but we have not yet reached the fullness of what that means.

A saint orders their life with JOY:

Jesus

Others

Yourself

Sermon Notes. May 5, 2024

SUMMARY

The start of a new series, the summer of joy, takes us through the book of Philippians. While we delve into the word keep in mind who wrote and where it was written. Paul wrote this book from Prison.

“If it’s not good yet, He’s not done”.

We are often weird about what we want to be known for. We get our identity from what we do, where we are from, and all sorts of stuff. We should get out identity from Jesus. How we see ourselves says more about your relationship with God than anything else. The only identity that matters is your identity in Christ.

Q1: How do you see yourself, what is your identity? How do you think others see you?

Paul never met Jesus. Let that sink in.

Philippians 1:1-2

Servants first / then saints / then overseers and deacons.

We don’t do to do, we be to do.

We don’t do good works to be saints, we do good works because we are saints. In God’s mind you are a saint because of Jesus. We can live like God sees us or we can live like we see us.

Q2: What can you do right now to live more like your identity in Christ?

Philippians 1:3-6

Sanctification/ˌsaNG(k)təfəˈkāSH(ə)n/

noun

1. The action of making or declaring something holy. "The sanctification of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ".

2. The action or process of being freed from sin or purified. "The process of sanctification takes deliberate action on our part"

3. The action of causing something to be or seem morally right or acceptable. "The sanctification of violence"

Being sanctified allows us to forget the background check. Our past, what we have done, what we didn’t do, doesn’t matter. In God’s eyes, through what Jesus did, we are pure. HALELUJAH!!!

A Saint orders their life with Joy.

J – Jesus

O – Others

Y – Yourself

PRAY IT OUT

Father, help us find our identity in you. Help us see ourselves as you see us, sanctified, holy, and ready to do the works of saints. We don’t need to worry about background checks when we have our identity in you God. Give us the strength and courage of Paul. But more, help us find the Joy that he must have had in the face of adversity. The joy that comes from knowing you, and opening our hearts to the spirit. Lord the same power that Jesus used to cast out demons is in us, help us to tap that power for your glory. Help us be a light to someone that doesn’t know you. It is often said that we should be a candle in the darkness. Candles get blown out though, coal burns more fiercely when it faces the wind. God, help us be coal. Help us burn brighter in the face of adversity. Help us to find the courage and strength to be the saints we are because we know you. When we know you we will know Joy. In Jesus name we pray. Amen