I have watched some of the conversations coming out of the lips of members of this younger breed of humans who grew up in a chaotic environment of anything goes. It is fascinating to observe the presence of an appendage often thrown at the end of sentences. “The Mayor and his advisors were correct in ordering the police to disperse the crowd for disorderly conduct… or not.”
“Or not?” What is that supposed to do? Simply put: it eliminates the possibility that someone could be wrong or offended by the statement that was just made. Our generation has worked hard to obliterate standards, linguistic or otherwise. Nowadays you hear that there isn’t really such a thing as “proper English.” Schools are now intent on passing everyone. Little kids play sports simply to have their egos pumped. No one wins, no one loses; everybody pays. Driving tests no longer require parallel parking and many graduate schools have now eliminated the requirement to write a thesis in order to get a Masters degree.
What is more alarming is that even churches are now succumbing to this trend. The requirements for pastors are alarmingly low now. As one of my professors predicted while I was in seminary, “One day pastors will be ordained who have no business being in the ministry. It will be the laying of empty hands on empty heads.” And he was right!
Well, this Sunday we will plow through an idea that is not new. While the world gets tangled in a ball of indecision about standards, the Word of God is clear that there are specific standards to follow for the servant of Christ. Paul talks in Philippians 3 about a “rule of walk.” We’re going to learn what that is.
And amazingly, we will find out that the standards highlighted by Paul at the end of this chapter have nothing to do with dogma, doctrine, duties or external appearance. Rather, they have to do with principles that when observed carefully, will have the potential to revolutionize the way we live our lives and allow us to leave a legacy of certainty in a world adrift with doubt.
Here are the three principles we will look at:
Standard #1: Move Forward, Not Backwards, based on Philippians 3:12-14;
Standard #2: Follow in Line With What Works, based on Philippians 3:15-16;
Standard #3: Pick Good Role Models, based on Philippians 3:17-19
Hope you can join us this Sunday to be reminded about how beautiful it is to live by God’s standards!
Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
pastor ivanildo 