Pastor: If you would now turn to a copy of the scriptures with me, we are working our way through Philippians. We are Philippians 1 still. We're going to be looking at Philippians 1 verses 12 through 26 this morning. If you didn't bring a Bible with you. There should be some there in front of you. You can find this passage on page 980 of the Church Bible. Before we read, let's go again to the Lord in prayer.
Pastor: Our heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given us your word, that you have revealed salvation to us, your covenant of redemption to us in your Son.
Pastor: Lord, I pray that your word would strike our hearts, that we might be healed by it. Lord, I pray that the law would press deep upon us, that we might feel its weight, and that indeed the wages of sin is death. But let us also feel the sweet freedom and release of the gospel to know that all of our sins have been put and placed upon our Lord Jesus Christ and buried in the grave, and we bear them no more, to know that we have been justified, that we are sanctified, and you are continuing to do that work in us until we are glorified. Lord, we thank you also that you have adopted us and you have brought us into your family, that we are brothers and sisters together, and Lord, we have a faithful and wonderful older brother who came to to search and to find and to rescue us. Lord, I pray that Your Word would have its way with us, that Your Spirit would go into our hearts, that there if there is anything not yet fit for heaven, Lord, refine it from us, make us more like our Savior, give us ears to hear Your Word this morning, and it's in Jesus's name we pray. Amen.
Pastor: People of God, hear God's word for us this morning from Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 12, reading through verse 26.
Pastor: [12] I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, [13] so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. [14] And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Pastor: [15] Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. [16] The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. [17] The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
Pastor: [18] What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Pastor: Yes, and I will rejoice, [19] for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,[20] as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. [22] If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. [23] I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
Pastor: [24] But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. [25] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,[26] so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Pastor: He who has ears, let him hear the word of God. Please be seated.
Pastor: Well, how are you doing today?
Pastor: How are you? Well, that's a pretty normal greeting, and I've said it so many times already this morning, and you probably have as well, as you greeted people here this morning. It's a normal question. It's a regular question, and typically, if work is okay, kids are relatively healthy. Marriage is stable. You have enough money in your bank account. You probably typically answered that question, "I'm good.
Pastor: However, if there is some sort of health issue, maybe a financial difficulty, tensions in the family, you might respond, "I'm actually not so good. We typically answer the"How are you doing? question according to what's going on in our lives in our current circumstances. Good circumstances, I'm good. Bad circumstances, I'm not so good.
Pastor: And I begin this way this morning because I think it is remarkable how Paul answers the question that the church of Philippi is longing to have answered. They are wondering, Paul, how are you doing? Now remember, Paul isn't sitting in a air-conditioned, comfy office somewhere, studying, life and ministry are not falling neatly into place for the apostle. You remember he's in prison at this time. His freedoms have been taken away. He is locked up. He is in chains. Paul's mission was to take the gospel to the nations, to the Gentiles. Well, how's he supposed to do that if he's locked up? He can't freely travel anywhere. He can't do church planning anymore. If he's in prison, he doesn't even know if he's going to be released. He doesn't even know if he's going to live or die. How are you doing, Paul? How are you? And no doubt there are some in Philippi who who are asking this question, but they also are are asking it knowing in themselves that something must have terribly something terrible must have gone wrong in God's plan. I thought God supported Paul's ministry. I thought Paul was supposed to be a missionary to the Gentiles. So why is he in prison? I thought you were supposed to advance the gospel of Christ. Why are you in chains? So Paul writes, "I want you to know, brothers, what has happened to me. Here it is. Paul is going to lay it out for them to let them know how bad his conditions have actually become, and what does Paul say? What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. I'm doing quite well, and what? How can Paul look at the circumstances that all of us would call terrible, and we would say we are not doing well, but yet he comes to a completely different conclusion and with much joy, and I think it's because Paul's focus of Paul's life is not Paul. Paul's focus and his concern is Christ, and therefore, what is most important to Paul is not his current circumstances, but is Christ being proclaimed? Is the gospel being advanced? And if it is, then I rejoice. If Christ is being honored, if Christ is being magnified, no matter what is happening to me, I'm good, because that is my goal, that is my life. Isn't that amazing? And Paul will even say, "For me to live is Christ, and the die is gain. That is a much more confident statement than simply saying, "I'm not afraid to die, or "I know I'll be okay when I die. Paul will actually say, "To die is gain. How? How can that possibly be gain? Well, death can only be gain when Christ is our life. We're going to look at three things, and it's all about things that have been taken away from Paul, but Paul is still able to rejoice because it is not those things that have been taken away, but Christ still remains with him, and he still has his faith in Christ. His freedom is going to be taken away, his reputation in some ways are taken away, and even his life. But Paul says, "I rejoice." So Paul doesn't simply say he's surviving his circumstances, but these circumstances have actually served the gospel. Things are going well for the gospel. God has taken the very chains intended to restrict Paul and the gospel, and is now using those very chains, in fact, to spread the gospel. Verse 13, so that has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. Paul can't go out, so God and His providence is bringing a steady flow of imperial guard To Paul, Rome thinks they are binding Paul, but God is actually giving Paul a captive audience, having a man chained to Paul for the entire time he's in prison.
Pastor: Now we don't know what Paul said during that time, but I can imagine, and maybe you can just imagine if you will, you're that Roman soldier going into into your your shift to be chained to this man, and the man looks at you once he's you're strapped in and he's next to you, and he says, "Hi, I'm Paul. What's your name? You tell him who you are, and then he says, "Do you know why I'm here? Well, maybe you've heard a few things, but then he goes on to tell you a little bit about Jesus and how Jesus is not a mere man, but God come in the flesh. He is God Almighty. That Jesus is the true and living God. That He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the One who will wash away all sins, and that He would come and be crucified and die for sins. And on the third day, he would rise again from the dead to show that his his life was accepted as an atonement of sin, and that he is reigning, he is alive, and he is in heaven, and he is coming again one day. Maybe Paul says,"You know, I was once his enemy too. I hated Christianity, and I wanted Christians locked up too, just like me, just like what you're doing to me. I tried to silence Jesus, and you know what happened to me? Jesus had mercy on me, and they struck me blind on the Damascus Road. I was blind physically, but spiritually, He opened my eyes to see Jesus as the true and living God, the Messiah, the King, the Redeemer. And I'm here now, chained to you, because God is offering mercy now to you, you see, I'm the one wearing the chains, but you are the one who is captive to sin. But Jesus can set you free. Jesus can truly set you free to have life and everlasting life, and that's the end of your shift. You unstrap.
Pastor: You walk away, mulling over the words of this man, Paul, feeling something in within you, maybe even desperate to cry out,"Father, forgive me and cleanse me. The next man comes in, chains himself now to Paul. Paul looks at him. Hi, I'm Paul.
Pastor: What's your name? Day after day, shift after shift, soldier after soldier, Paul is sharing the gospel. Rome thought it had chained Paul to a soldier, but God had chained the soldier after soldier after soldier to Paul. Paul's ministry doesn't simply stop there either in the prison. He tells us certainly the whole imperial guard knows the gospel now, and some have even believed it. But verse 14, Paul's ministry is still continuing beyond the bounds of the prison, and most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Pastor: You see, Paul's imprisonment was supposed to deter other people from this Christianity thing, that's why Paul's been beaten so many times, and he is in prison.
Pastor: Not not only Paul, but others who are trying to maybe follow Paul might see, don't do that.
Pastor: Punishment that the society gives is often deterring others from doing it. Is it not? And so, you might expect, understandably, that Christians in Rome might, during this time, be a little bit quieter, might keep their heads down, might mind their own business. Don't say much about Jesus unless you have to. But the opposite is happening in Rome. Christians see Paul in chains, and they too say, "We must also proclaim Christ. This is not just Paul's responsibility. This is just not the minister's responsibility.
Pastor: The brothers are all. We have to speak of Christ, we have to share Him as well. You know, one of the things this passage teaches us is that our problems and our obstacles in life are are not problems and obstacles for God. We face, and many of you even now are facing circumstances which you would not choose and do not understand illness, broken relationships, disappointment, difficulty.
Pastor: There are things we wish God would simply just remove, but God is teaching us here that His perfect plan for you and for your life is complete and utter salvation, and they are not frustrated by circumstances.
Pastor: Evil is still evil.
Pastor: Suffering is still suffering, but evil cannot overthrow God's purposes and cannot stop His kingdom. And a good example of that, if you remember Stephen, Stephen is killed, the beloved deacon, and it is real and true evil that Stephen is killed. The church scatters, and it looks like a disaster for the early church. But that Acts then tells us those who were scattered went about preaching the word, and suddenly the fire of the gospel goes beyond the bounds of Jerusalem and starts spreading now throughout the entire world.
Pastor: You know, as Tertullian famously put it, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. God advances His kingdom through the very circumstances that seem to threaten it, and I think that changes the way we pray in difficult circumstances. We can certainly pray, Lord, please relieve us, please allow these circumstances to go away. But I think we, even before that, we pray, Lord, magnify yourself in sickness, in health, in wealth, in poverty. Advance your kingdom, no matter what is going on in my life, whether I like it or not. Your will be done. Make Christ beautiful. Glorify Christ in my life, because it could be the very thing we're asking God to remove might be the very thing that God intends to use, like Paul in chains. Paul has lost his freedom, but he has not lost his Christ. Now, what else has Paul lost? Well, in many ways, is also secondly now his his reputation. Verses 15 through 20. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. Paul's imprisonment, as we just mentioned, emboldened some others to preach the gospel, except some are doing it for the wrong reasons. Paul says some preach out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
Pastor: Some people saw Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity.
Pastor: You know, here's a prominent minister who had a a good following of people, and now he's out of the way. So what that now allows more sheep for me, our congregation to grow, our name to be known and prominent, isn't that wonderful?
Pastor: But we need to notice something here too before we go any further. Paul isn't saying that these men are preaching a false gospel. If they were preaching a false gospel, Paul would not be rejoicing. If you look at Galatians, Paul says, "If anyone preaches another gospel, let him be accursed. Paul doesn't shrug off bad teaching, but the problem here isn't their message; it is the motive of the message. They are preaching Christ, but with sinful ambition. You can have two men, two separate men. Stand in the same pulpit and essentially share the same message, but one heart says, "Let Christ increase, where the other secretly says, "In his heart, let me increase too. And we can take the work of Christ and we can turn it into a competition.
Pastor: It's a real temptation, not only for pastors whose livelihood is connected often to this calling, but it can be also a temptation for you, as members of a church and in the congregation. We can start treating the church as if it's a business trying to increase its its position and its name, and other churches can be seen as competitors. So when a church closes down, maybe inwardly, we celebrate more people come to us now. When another church is growing, we can feel like it's a loss because it's less people coming to us, and then suddenly we are building our own kingdom. And what matters is our name and our reputation and our grandeur, rather than is Christ just being proclaimed. You know, an illustration of this is I think, Judas. Judas reminds us that men can preach without true love of Christ. Judas served Christ's church, but ultimately he was doing it to serve himself. When Jesus sent out the 12 to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal, Judas went with them, and he did that. Scripture doesn't tell us that when when Judas returned, everyone was like, "Well, obviously Judas doesn't follow Jesus because that sermon that he preached, his theology was really bad, and it was not a biblical sermon. No one says that. You know, the interesting thing is Judas probably preached some good sermons, some very biblical, faithful sermons.
Pastor: Outwardly, Judas participated in the gospel ministry of the 12, but inwardly we know something was terribly wrong, and I think that ought to sober us a little bit, because it's possible to say the right things about Jesus, but for all the wrong reasons. And I think, especially us in the Reformed tradition, who pride ourselves in precise and good theology, and as long as we have that, that's what's important. But this is reminding
us: no, it's not just precise theology, but the motives of our heart. Is Christ being glorified? Is Christ being magnified? We can say Christ must increase. Why our hearts whisper, "Let me increase too.
us: Let our church be known. Let our congregation be great in Tampa, rather than Christ. It's possible to defend sound doctrine, but being driven by pride and selfishness. It's possible to serve Christ's church while secretly wanting recognition for yourself, you know we're going to be looking again at the law this evening. I would encourage you to come to this evening in our instruction and prayer, as we are reminded that the the law doesn't simply just apply to externals, but it apply it applies to internals of our heart. Now listen to Paul's response in verse 18. What then?
us: Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Paul rejoices that envy and selfishness don't stop God's plans. Does not stop the gospel.
us: God will deal with hearts. God will deal with motives. But if Christ is being truly proclaimed, well, rejoice. Paul doesn't need the credit. He doesn't need the the certification of you know appreciation. Christ needs to be proclaimed. Christ needs to be exalted. In verse 19, yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance. Now, Paul isn't necessarily saying I'm going to get out of prison. I think the next few verses might indicate that, but his confidence is deeper than a physical release.
us: Notice Paul doesn't imagine himself also facing this alone.
us: He he expects God to sustain him through the prayers of the church and the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul doesn't know what Caesar is going to decide, but he knows God will give him what he needs in order to honor Christ. Whatever Caesar's.
us: Caesar decides, verse 20. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
us: Paul knows something greater than the outcome of his trial.
us: He knows the purpose of his life. What's what's the purpose of your life? What is your chief end? To glorify God, enjoy Him forever. And Paul knows that imprisoned or set free. I I know what I'm to do to glorify the Lord. They've taken Paul's freedom. He still is Christ, though. They've even taken Paul's reputation, but he still has Christ. Caesar has one more weapon against Paul. Caesar can still kill him, and surely that would be a loss, wouldn't it, to lose the Apostle Paul? But Paul says, no. You kill me, I gain.
us: Verse 21. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I think we know that verse so well that we can pass over it without feeling the weight of what Paul is saying, so I've heard several ministers do this before, and I think it is a helpful exercise
with this verse: is to leave out one word. For me to live is what fill in the blank. What goes in your blank? Don't answer so quickly. Just take a moment and think about it. Don't just give the answer you know you're supposed to give in church. What does your life actually say?
with this verse: What does your life actually indicate that goes in that blank? For me to live is what Family, career, comfort, money, pleasure, ministry. What do you think about the most? What do you fear losing? What, if it were taken away would make you wonder whether life was still worth living? You see, whatever goes in that blank tells you a lot about yourself, and it also tells us a lot about what we worship.
with this verse: And here's what makes Paul's statement so searching that whatever fills the first blank determines the second half of the sentence. If to live is money, well, to die is loss, isn't it? Because you can't take it with you. You can't take your stuff with you. So to die is loss if you are living For money, if to live is pleasure or comfort, well, to die is loss because you lose all the earthly comforts and pleasures. You don't have them anymore. Even family, if to live is family, and family is a wonderful thing.
with this verse: It's a gift from God. We should love our families. We should love our spouses and our children. But if to live is family, well, to die is loss because we're separated from them, at least for a time.
with this verse: There's only one answer that changes the second half of Paul's sentence. For me to live is Christ, and therefore to die is gain. Why? Paul tells us in verse 23, because my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. Death is gain because Christ is on the other side. Notice what Paul doesn't emphasize. He doesn't primarily describe heaven as the streets of gold, an absence of sickness and suffering, getting to see those we love, he says, that a part is to be with Christ. Heaven's not heaven without Christ. This is our great hope as Christians that we will be with our Savior, the one who loved us and gave himself for us. We will be with him, the one we have known by faith. We will see by sight, the one who promises we have trusted, we will behold. Christ Jesus conquered death, so when death comes for the Christian, death cannot separate us from Christ.
with this verse: Death brings us into His presence. That's why death is gain for the Christian. And now Paul, a prisoner, finds himself caught between two good things.
Verse 22: If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor
for me. Verse 23: But my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
for me. Verse 23: Personally, Paul would rather depart. He says the words far better. Do you believe that? Do you really believe that it's far better to depart? I mean, we have a lot of good gifts that the Lord's given to us, isn't it? Isn't that true? We have family. We have some friends. We have homes. We we have plans. We have experiences that we we want to to experience places we'd like to go things we want to do before we go to heaven. But Paul really believes that being with Jesus Christ is far better, superior than anything this present life can give him. At the same time, Paul doesn't despise his life. Verse 24 reminds us, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. Paul longs to be with Christ, but if Christ gives him another day, another month, another year, Paul knows why he is still here on this earth and why you are still here on this earth? Why are you still here on this earth? Fruitful labor for Christ and for His people to be witnesses. That that that's our commission. That's our calling.
for me. Verse 23: Why we are still here on our earth. On earth, and when God says your time of fruitful labor for Christ and for His people is done. That is when you will be taken home. That's why we are still here, and that's what it means for me to live is Christ.
for me. Verse 23: Christ isn't merely one important aspect of our life.
for me. Verse 23: Christ is life. When Christ becomes our lives, we don't love our family less. We love them better. We don't stop working.
for me. Verse 23: We work for Christ. We don't stop enjoying God's good gifts, but we receive them with gratitude and thanksgiving.
for me. Verse 23: Christ doesn't become one more thing on a list, Christ becomes the one to whom everything on the list belongs. My marriage, my children, my work, my finances-all belong to Christ.
for me. Verse 23: All of me belongs to Christ. I belong to Christ. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
for me. Verse 23: That I'm not my own, but I belong, body and soul and life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, and that's how Paul actually begins this book, doesn't it? Talks about being a a servant or a slave of Christ. He is owned and possessed by Christ. Now, don't hear Paul saying, "I've given everything to Christ; therefore, Christ will receive me. It's the exact opposite. It's Christ has given everything to Paul. Christ has lived for Paul and died for Paul, rose for Paul. Christ took a persecuted who hated him and made him his own. I'll just end with this, remembering that this world is going to take much from you, your health will be taken from you eventually if you live long enough. Your money could easily be taken from you, your comforts taken, reputation, people you love taken from you.
for me. Verse 23: Eventually, unless Christ returns, your life will also be taken as well. You will die. But all those things cannot take Christ from you. Death will then simply bring you to your treasure. Death is gain when we live now for Christ. So whether Christ gives us five more days, five more years, 50 more years, let us live for Christ now. Let us spend ourselves for Christ now, to spend ourselves for His glory and for the good of His people to advance the gospel.
for me. Verse 23: That my how well am I doing question doesn't end by how simply my how well my circumstances seem to be going, but is the gospel be in advance in my life. Is Christ being proclaimed? Is He being magnified in my family and in my marriage, in my relationship, and at work? Is what I do, whether I am in chains or whether I am a free man, whether my reputation is besmirched or I have a good name, or even in life and in death, what matters to me? Is Christ being proclaimed? Is Christ being made known? To live is Christ, but to die is gain. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Our heavenly Father, we we thank you how you have taken one of our greatest enemies-that is death-and you have used it to now be gain for the Christian, to bring us to our Savior, to bring us to our treasure. Lord, I pray that you will help us to live for Christ, that our lives would be spent in devotion to you and the spreading of the gospel, Lord.
for me. Verse 23: Even in the gospel, we are thankful that we are reminded that our sins are forgiven in our failures and the ways we have run after the world rather than running after Christ, in the ways we cling to this life rather than clinging to you, Lord, help us to not fear death, but to even, as Paul says, know that it is far better for us to be with Christ. But why we were still here, help us to have fruitful ministry. Lord, use us for the building of Your kingdom, and it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.