An Advancing Gospel Community: Lives Worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:12-30)

[00:00:05] Thank you for listening to the Calvary Monterey Podcast. To learn more about our church, please visit calvary.com. And for additional resources from our lead pastor, Nate Holdridge, please visit nateholdridge.com. Teaching today is our lead pastor, Nate Holdridge.

[00:00:24] Nate Holdridge

[00:00:25] All right. Good morning, church. Great to see you guys today. Let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Philippians. We're in Philippians chapter one today, verse 12 through 30.

[00:00:35] And yeah, as you guys are turning there, I agree with Pastor Manny. It was a great time getting started with praying for the future of our church together as a church this last week.

[00:00:47] We had a great time on Thursday morning praying together and a time of vision casting and possibility dreaming last Sunday night.

[00:00:55] And I want to actually teach you guys a little prayer that you can be praying for the church, whether you're able to come on Thursday morning or Sunday night or both or none.

[00:01:05] I want to teach you a short little prayer that I learned when I was 16 years old. When I was 16, that was 1994 when our church bought its first little sliver of the property that we own.

[00:01:18] And we were getting ready to try to build the sanctuary that we're in. And my father was the pastor of the church at the time. And he taught the church this prayer.

[00:01:29] And it comes from Zechariah chapter four. And in Zechariah chapter four, there's a governor over Jerusalem who is tasked with rebuilding God's city.

[00:01:41] And he's overwhelmed with the prospect that's in front of him. How am I going to do this? And so God sends the prophet Zechariah, gives a vision and all of that.

[00:01:52] And I won't get into the details of it this morning. But at the end of the vision, he says, and Zerubbabel will put the top stone, in other words, the final piece of the structure with shouts of grace, grace unto it.

[00:02:08] And that's the prayer. Two words. Well, one word repeated, grace, grace.

[00:02:14] Grace. And what I want to encourage you to do is, every time you drive in or out of this church parking lot, or every time you drive by on Highway 68, I want to encourage you to say, grace, grace.

[00:02:27] Pray that from the bottom of your heart, that God's grace will be poured out upon this church. And just ask him to do that.

[00:02:33] And you can do that as modestly and, you know, chill as you'd like to. Or you can be as obnoxious and awkward as you want to.

[00:02:44] And when I was 16 years old, let me tell you, my dad went full awkward whenever we drove by. I didn't even have friends in the car.

[00:02:50] And he just, grace, grace. I mean, he was really into it. And I was really not into it.

[00:02:56] But now the roles are reversed and I'm super into it. So I just wanted to teach you guys that little prayer for God's grace to come upon our church during this season.

[00:03:06] All right. So if you can, come out tonight. We're going to have a great time of prayer.

[00:03:10] But today we're going to read our whole text together. We're going to read it twice right here at the top of the teaching.

[00:03:16] And then again, as we move through the passage. So Philippians chapter one, verse 12.

[00:03:21] This is Paul writing. You guys can just follow along as I read it out loud.

[00:03:24] He says,

[00:03:50] Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry,

[00:03:55] But others from goodwill.

[00:03:56] The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

[00:04:02] The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

[00:04:12] What then?

[00:04:13] Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.

[00:04:18] And in that I rejoice.

[00:04:21] Yes, and I will rejoice.

[00:04:23] Verse 19.

[00:04:24] For I know that through your prayers and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ,

[00:04:30] this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope

[00:04:36] that I will not be at all ashamed,

[00:04:39] but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in my body,

[00:04:44] whether by life or by death.

[00:04:46] For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

[00:04:51] If I'm to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me,

[00:04:55] yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

[00:04:59] I'm hard pressed between the two.

[00:05:01] My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

[00:05:04] But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

[00:05:09] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain.

[00:05:13] And continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

[00:05:17] so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus

[00:05:22] because of my coming to you again.

[00:05:24] Only, verse 27, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,

[00:05:31] so that whether I come and see you or am absent,

[00:05:34] I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind,

[00:05:39] striving side by side for the faith of the gospel

[00:05:43] and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

[00:05:45] This is a clear sign to them of their destruction,

[00:05:48] but of your salvation and that from God.

[00:05:52] For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ,

[00:05:56] you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

[00:06:01] engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had

[00:06:06] and now hear that I still have.

[00:06:10] Would you guys pray together with me before we jump into this text?

[00:06:17] Father, thank you for preserving these marvelous words.

[00:06:22] And we pray today that we would be shaped by them.

[00:06:27] Lord, that you would take the word of God

[00:06:30] and by the power of the spirit of God,

[00:06:34] apply it to the hearts and lives of the people of God.

[00:06:38] Lord, we want to be a people of the book

[00:06:40] and we pray that today we would find guidance and change

[00:06:44] and transformation and perspective from it.

[00:06:46] And so we thank you today

[00:06:48] and ask Lord that you would speak to us from your holy word.

[00:06:52] In Jesus' name, we pray together.

[00:06:55] Amen. Amen.

[00:06:56] Okay, well, for my part,

[00:06:59] this passage of scripture that we just read together

[00:07:01] is one of the most vulnerable,

[00:07:03] self-disclosing, honest passages in the Bible.

[00:07:07] To me, it's close to, not all the way,

[00:07:11] but close to the transparency that you find

[00:07:14] in the garden of Gethsemane with Jesus.

[00:07:16] When he prayed, my God, let this cup pass from me,

[00:07:20] nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

[00:07:22] Like there's just an honesty here in this section

[00:07:25] as Paul explains his situation.

[00:07:28] He's talking about his life in prison,

[00:07:31] what his imprisonment meant to him,

[00:07:33] but then he gets into this really big moment

[00:07:36] of self-disclosure where he talks about the inner dialogue

[00:07:40] that he's having there in prison.

[00:07:42] He's awaiting some type of sentencing,

[00:07:45] either being set free or being sentenced to death.

[00:07:48] And his concern in all of it is manifold.

[00:07:52] He wants, first of all, to make sure

[00:07:54] that whatever happens to him, he does it with courage,

[00:07:57] that he doesn't dishonor Jesus in the way

[00:08:00] that he responds to things like a death sentence.

[00:08:03] And then also he's arguing within himself

[00:08:06] about what would be better.

[00:08:07] Would it be better for him to die and go to be with Jesus?

[00:08:10] Or would it be better for him to remain here on earth

[00:08:14] so that he could be set free and go and minister

[00:08:16] to churches like the Philippians?

[00:08:19] It's an incredible inner dialogue that Paul has.

[00:08:23] But what I want you to know today

[00:08:25] is that this is not stated from Paul

[00:08:28] for our mere biographical interest.

[00:08:31] In other words, Paul isn't laying these things out

[00:08:34] for the Philippian church just so that they can be fascinated

[00:08:37] by the inner workings of the apostolic heart.

[00:08:41] No, Paul is saying these things

[00:08:43] because he is trying to model for the Philippians

[00:08:47] and therefore model for us a perspective

[00:08:50] or a mentality that a church,

[00:08:53] if it adopts that mentality corporately or collectively,

[00:08:57] will lead to a continued advancement of the gospel

[00:09:02] in and from that church community.

[00:09:05] All right, so that's what I want to think about today.

[00:09:08] The key exhortation of this whole passage

[00:09:11] that we read together is actually found in verse 27.

[00:09:15] It's the exhortation that Paul gives

[00:09:17] after describing his own life.

[00:09:20] He then says, only let your manner of life

[00:09:23] be worthy of the gospel, right?

[00:09:26] So the question that we should be asking this passage is,

[00:09:30] what was Paul's mentality?

[00:09:32] Because his mentality enabled him

[00:09:36] to live a life worthy of the gospel.

[00:09:38] So what was his mentality that we can adopt for ourselves

[00:09:43] so that we as individuals,

[00:09:45] but also more importantly, collectively as a church

[00:09:48] could live in a way that is worthy of the gospel?

[00:09:52] And I've broken it down into three sections for you.

[00:09:55] So there's three parts to this concept

[00:09:58] of living worthy of the gospel.

[00:10:00] So here's the first one, number one,

[00:10:02] an advancing gospel community.

[00:10:08] It lives worthy of the gospel by number one,

[00:10:11] joyfully celebrating gospel expansion,

[00:10:15] no matter the cost.

[00:10:18] It joyfully celebrates that the gospel is spreading,

[00:10:22] that the gospel is moving forward,

[00:10:24] that more people are knowing Jesus,

[00:10:26] that more people are receiving Christ.

[00:10:28] It joyfully celebrates that,

[00:10:30] even when the cost is incredibly high.

[00:10:33] And for that, I just wanna point out again

[00:10:35] the first little paragraph that we read together,

[00:10:38] verse 12 through 18.

[00:10:39] I told you that we'd read the passage twice today,

[00:10:42] so let's read verse 12 to 18 again together.

[00:10:45] Paul says,

[00:10:45] I want you to know, brothers,

[00:10:47] that what's happened to me has really served

[00:10:50] to advance the gospel so that it's become known

[00:10:54] throughout the whole Imperial Guard

[00:10:55] and all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

[00:10:58] And most of the brothers,

[00:11:00] having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment,

[00:11:03] are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

[00:11:06] Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry,

[00:11:09] but others from goodwill.

[00:11:11] The latter do it out of love,

[00:11:12] knowing that I'm put here for the defense of the gospel

[00:11:15] and the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,

[00:11:18] not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me

[00:11:21] in my imprisonment.

[00:11:22] What then?

[00:11:22] Only that in every way,

[00:11:24] whether in pretense or in truth,

[00:11:25] Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice.

[00:11:29] Okay, so this first little paragraph,

[00:11:30] I think helps us see

[00:11:32] that a life worthy of the gospel

[00:11:36] celebrates gospel expansion,

[00:11:38] no matter the cost.

[00:11:40] Notice how Paul felt about his imprisonment.

[00:11:42] Like I said last week,

[00:11:43] he's probably in a prison in Rome,

[00:11:46] maybe even in house arrest in Rome.

[00:11:49] And he noticed something over time.

[00:11:52] He noticed how his imprisonment led to,

[00:11:57] he says, the entire Imperial Guard

[00:12:00] hearing the gospel.

[00:12:01] And it's not hard to imagine how this unfolded.

[00:12:05] You know, Paul is there,

[00:12:06] likely, like I said, under house arrest.

[00:12:08] And what that means is that a Roman soldier

[00:12:11] would be placed with him 24 seven to guard him,

[00:12:15] to watch over him,

[00:12:16] to make sure that he didn't flee,

[00:12:17] that he didn't escape.

[00:12:19] And you can only imagine what Paul did

[00:12:21] with a Roman soldier who was there with him

[00:12:24] for his eight or 10 hour shift around the clock.

[00:12:28] Paul would begin talking to him about the gospel.

[00:12:32] He's not like, hey, you know,

[00:12:33] what are the scores of the chariot races?

[00:12:35] You know, how's that going?

[00:12:36] No, Paul is immediately getting into,

[00:12:39] like, do you know Jesus?

[00:12:41] And he's immediately beginning to share

[00:12:44] with these soldiers who I think probably

[00:12:48] at the end of Paul's imprisonment

[00:12:49] are feeling like, man,

[00:12:50] we're the real captives here.

[00:12:51] You know, we can't go anywhere.

[00:12:53] This guy has us right where he wants us.

[00:12:55] And you can imagine that many of them

[00:12:58] gave their lives to Jesus.

[00:13:00] And Paul comes to that conclusion.

[00:13:01] He says, my imprisonment is, he says,

[00:13:06] for Christ, the whole imperial guard has learned that.

[00:13:10] So I think one of the things you're seeing here

[00:13:12] is that Paul is saying, you know,

[00:13:13] this thing that I'm going through,

[00:13:15] it's actually led to an incredible opportunity in my life.

[00:13:19] You know, sometimes we go through things in life,

[00:13:21] we don't like them, we wouldn't choose them,

[00:13:24] we don't want them.

[00:13:25] It's not the path that we would go down

[00:13:27] if it were all up to us.

[00:13:29] I think Paul's imprisonment would fit that category.

[00:13:33] He would not have asked for this imprisonment.

[00:13:36] He would not have chosen this imprisonment.

[00:13:39] But he was able to see how God was redeeming

[00:13:43] that imprisonment for a greater purpose.

[00:13:46] And for him, it just, it's like,

[00:13:48] whatever happens to me, it doesn't matter

[00:13:49] as long as whatever's happening to me

[00:13:51] is leading in some way to the expansion of the gospel,

[00:13:56] to someone else hearing about Jesus,

[00:13:58] to someone else growing in Jesus,

[00:14:00] or for me to have an opportunity

[00:14:02] to point someone afresh to Jesus.

[00:14:04] Like I'm willing to go through it

[00:14:07] in order for that to occur.

[00:14:10] You know, some of us, we've gone through pains

[00:14:13] or trials that it's like that.

[00:14:15] You would say, I wouldn't choose this,

[00:14:17] I wouldn't want this.

[00:14:19] You might even say something like,

[00:14:21] I wouldn't have wished that even on my worst enemy.

[00:14:24] But because you've passed through

[00:14:26] that particular valley of the shadow of death,

[00:14:29] it gives you perhaps an audience

[00:14:32] or an opportunity that you would not have previously had

[00:14:36] unless you had passed through that thing.

[00:14:38] There are people that will not listen

[00:14:40] unless they know that you've actually walked

[00:14:43] to some degree in the footsteps

[00:14:46] or the experiences that they themselves are going through.

[00:14:50] And so Paul looked at it and he said,

[00:14:52] you know, this whole imprisonment,

[00:14:53] like he's trying to, it's so cute.

[00:14:55] He's like comforting the Philippians.

[00:14:57] They're worried about him.

[00:14:59] They sent Epaphroditus, one of their pastors,

[00:15:01] with all this money to like go to Paul to comfort Paul.

[00:15:05] And Paul's like, oh, I'm gonna comfort you guys.

[00:15:06] Like, don't worry about me.

[00:15:08] This imprisonment has actually given me

[00:15:11] this massive opportunity.

[00:15:13] I love the Roman soldiers.

[00:15:15] I love being able to preach to them.

[00:15:17] This has been a good thing, he's saying.

[00:15:20] But not only did it provide an opportunity for Paul,

[00:15:23] he also rejoiced in that little paragraph that we read

[00:15:26] that because he was going through that suffering,

[00:15:30] it led to boldness and courage in other Christians in Rome.

[00:15:37] Notice how he says in verse 14,

[00:15:40] that many brothers, most of the brothers,

[00:15:42] having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment,

[00:15:46] are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

[00:15:50] What's up with that?

[00:15:51] What happened there in Rome

[00:15:54] where because of Paul's imprisonment,

[00:15:57] the church in Rome became active,

[00:16:00] became bold, became hungry to share the gospel more

[00:16:05] as a result of Paul's imprisonment?

[00:16:07] It's kind of a confusing thing at first glance

[00:16:09] because you could almost see

[00:16:11] how the opposite might have happened.

[00:16:14] You know, there's Paul.

[00:16:15] Paul, he comes to Rome.

[00:16:17] There's a church in Rome already established.

[00:16:19] He's there in prison and they're looking at him

[00:16:22] and it's easy to see that they could have said,

[00:16:25] man, if that's the result of gospel preaching,

[00:16:28] if that's the result of centering your life upon Jesus

[00:16:31] and being all about him,

[00:16:33] if that's the result, I need to protect myself.

[00:16:37] I'm gonna be quiet

[00:16:38] because I don't want that to be the outcome in my life.

[00:16:43] But Paul said actually here in Rome,

[00:16:45] the exact opposite took place.

[00:16:47] These Christians have become bolder

[00:16:50] and more courageous as a result of my imprisonment.

[00:16:54] I don't know exactly why that is,

[00:16:56] but I have a couple of guesses.

[00:16:58] One might just simply be that

[00:17:00] there were believers there in Rome

[00:17:02] who were already feeling threatened,

[00:17:05] already feeling afraid.

[00:17:07] They're already concerned about the future

[00:17:10] and what's gonna happen.

[00:17:11] Are we going to be persecuted as a people?

[00:17:14] Are we going to be considered an illegal religion?

[00:17:18] Are we going to be marked for persecution?

[00:17:20] Is that gonna happen here?

[00:17:22] And then they see their big apostle roll into town

[00:17:27] and like all their fears wrapped up in his experience.

[00:17:32] He's thrown into jail.

[00:17:34] He's not free.

[00:17:35] He's awaiting potential death

[00:17:39] as a result of being a Christian.

[00:17:41] And as they're seeing all their fears

[00:17:44] wrapped up in his life,

[00:17:46] they're seeing him flourishing.

[00:17:49] And they begin to think,

[00:17:51] so even the worst thing is not all that bad.

[00:17:55] And they become emboldened.

[00:17:58] Maybe that's what was happening.

[00:18:00] Or maybe as they're seeing this hero of the faith

[00:18:03] imprisoned for the gospel,

[00:18:06] it's just an inspiring thing.

[00:18:08] And it causes them to say,

[00:18:11] man, look at how much he's willing to sacrifice for Jesus.

[00:18:15] Who am I to keep my mouth shut

[00:18:18] out of my little fears and insecurities?

[00:18:21] That I might have.

[00:18:22] Paul was excited that the gospel was expanding

[00:18:27] by the courage of these brothers.

[00:18:29] But also there's this interesting thing

[00:18:30] in this little opening paragraph that we read together.

[00:18:33] Not only did Paul think,

[00:18:35] man, this is cool.

[00:18:36] It's opening opportunities for me.

[00:18:38] This is cool.

[00:18:39] It's making other Christians bolder.

[00:18:41] But he talks about this third group.

[00:18:44] He's like,

[00:18:44] you know, there are some who are preaching Christ,

[00:18:47] he says,

[00:18:49] from envy

[00:18:52] and rivalry

[00:18:53] and selfish ambition,

[00:18:57] not sincerely,

[00:18:58] but thinking to afflict me

[00:19:01] in my imprisonment.

[00:19:03] Now I gotta tell you,

[00:19:03] this is like a confusing little group.

[00:19:05] The big question is,

[00:19:06] who are these people?

[00:19:08] Who are these people kicking around in Rome,

[00:19:11] preaching the gospel apparently,

[00:19:14] but really at odds with Paul?

[00:19:17] You know,

[00:19:18] they're rivals of Paul.

[00:19:19] They're selfish.

[00:19:21] They're envious of Paul.

[00:19:22] Who are they?

[00:19:23] Now some of you,

[00:19:24] I could see it already.

[00:19:25] Your brains are clicking

[00:19:26] and you're kind of going through

[00:19:28] what you know of the New Testament

[00:19:29] and you're thinking about,

[00:19:31] oh, who do I know about

[00:19:32] that were enemies of Paul the apostle?

[00:19:34] And one group

[00:19:35] that you might be thinking of right now

[00:19:37] is this group called the Judaizers.

[00:19:40] You know,

[00:19:41] the Judaizers were like big rivals with Paul

[00:19:43] everywhere that he went.

[00:19:44] He preached the gospel,

[00:19:45] a new church would get started

[00:19:47] and then this group

[00:19:48] would come in after him

[00:19:49] and tell all these new Christians,

[00:19:52] hey, that's great.

[00:19:53] That message Paul gave you is great,

[00:19:55] but yet it's incomplete.

[00:19:57] If you really wanna be a Christian,

[00:19:59] you need to adopt Judaism as well.

[00:20:01] You need to basically become Jewish,

[00:20:03] pick up all these Jewish practices

[00:20:06] that we've been practicing

[00:20:08] for thousands of years.

[00:20:09] You need to adopt them yourself

[00:20:11] if you wanna be a true Christian.

[00:20:13] And so some of you might be wondering,

[00:20:15] is that these people?

[00:20:18] And I think that it's not those people

[00:20:20] because notice how Paul describes them.

[00:20:23] He says,

[00:20:23] they proclaim Christ.

[00:20:26] And he doubles down in verse 18

[00:20:28] and says,

[00:20:29] whether in pretense or truth,

[00:20:31] Christ is proclaimed.

[00:20:34] And in verse 15,

[00:20:35] he says,

[00:20:35] some preach Christ.

[00:20:37] They are preaching apparently

[00:20:40] an accurate gospel,

[00:20:42] but with totally impure motives.

[00:20:46] Now like this used to really freak me out.

[00:20:49] I'm like,

[00:20:49] no, I can't.

[00:20:50] I can't be like,

[00:20:52] that's not real.

[00:20:53] But the longer I've been a Christian,

[00:20:55] the more I've realized,

[00:20:56] oh yeah, no, that's real.

[00:20:57] That's a thing.

[00:20:58] You know, I know a lot of pastors.

[00:21:00] I know a lot of gospel workers.

[00:21:02] And what I can tell you

[00:21:03] is that for the most part,

[00:21:05] in a landslide,

[00:21:07] they're in it for the right reasons.

[00:21:12] But it is not outside the realm of possibility

[00:21:15] for someone to get in it

[00:21:17] for the wrong reasons.

[00:21:19] Saying the right things,

[00:21:21] but doing in order to build a platform

[00:21:25] or a following

[00:21:26] or to be influential

[00:21:28] or to be thought of as spiritual

[00:21:30] or something like that.

[00:21:31] And so maybe that's what's happening here.

[00:21:33] These people were jealous of Paul's influence,

[00:21:37] jealous of the fruitfulness

[00:21:39] and the reach of his ministry.

[00:21:42] And seeing him in prison

[00:21:44] saw an opportunity for themselves,

[00:21:47] still preaching the real gospel,

[00:21:50] but trying to platform themselves

[00:21:52] in the process.

[00:21:53] But the astounding thing,

[00:21:56] no matter who these people are,

[00:21:58] is that Paul said in verse 18,

[00:21:59] here's my response,

[00:22:01] only that in every way,

[00:22:02] whether in pretense or in truth,

[00:22:04] Christ is proclaimed

[00:22:05] and in that I rejoice.

[00:22:08] Doesn't that just sound like a dude

[00:22:09] who's saying,

[00:22:10] I am joyfully celebrating gospel expansion

[00:22:13] no matter what.

[00:22:16] No matter the cost.

[00:22:18] That's the thing I celebrate.

[00:22:19] That's the thing that I rejoice over.

[00:22:21] And would to God that we would be a church like that.

[00:22:24] That we're about the expansion of the gospel.

[00:22:28] You know, sometimes when I'm praying

[00:22:30] for like revival in the community

[00:22:32] and praying for God to just by his spirit

[00:22:34] do an amazing fresh work here

[00:22:37] on the Monterey Peninsula

[00:22:38] and in the Salinas Valley,

[00:22:41] you know, sometimes I'll just hear

[00:22:42] the voice of the spirit,

[00:22:43] just like this little check in my heart

[00:22:45] as I'm praying for God to move,

[00:22:47] for hundreds, thousands of new people

[00:22:50] to receive Jesus,

[00:22:52] for the gospel to expand.

[00:22:54] I'll just hear this little question

[00:22:56] and it'll just simply be the question,

[00:22:58] will you be okay with it

[00:23:01] if it happens at all the other churches?

[00:23:05] You know, because as a pastor,

[00:23:07] it's like obviously as I'm praying for revival,

[00:23:09] I'm like, God,

[00:23:10] I really want it to happen here too.

[00:23:12] But that's such a great question

[00:23:14] to check our hearts with.

[00:23:16] Does it matter?

[00:23:18] Like, yeah, we want to be involved.

[00:23:20] Yeah, we want to be in the war.

[00:23:21] Yeah, we want to be used by God.

[00:23:24] But we want it to happen no matter what,

[00:23:28] with whomever.

[00:23:30] And so what a beautiful perspective

[00:23:33] that Paul had here for this church.

[00:23:37] And I think I would say to some of us today,

[00:23:39] there's some of you that you might be feeling like,

[00:23:42] you know, I think the cost

[00:23:44] that I don't want to pay

[00:23:45] is the cost of embarrassment.

[00:23:47] You know, to be marked as a Jesus person,

[00:23:50] as a gospel person,

[00:23:51] it can be embarrassing

[00:23:52] in our current cultural moment.

[00:23:55] But my encouragement to you

[00:23:57] is that Paul endured chains.

[00:23:59] He was happy to see the gospel increase

[00:24:02] as a result.

[00:24:03] And perhaps for you,

[00:24:04] embarrassment is just going to be part of the deal

[00:24:07] in order to be seen as someone

[00:24:09] who is a follower and lover of Christ.

[00:24:12] All right, but the second thing

[00:24:13] I want you to see today

[00:24:14] is not just this first thing

[00:24:17] of saying, look, it's not about us.

[00:24:20] It's about the gospel advancing no matter what.

[00:24:23] But number two,

[00:24:25] I think someone who lives worthy of the gospel,

[00:24:28] another perspective that Paul had is this,

[00:24:31] orienting life in the right direction.

[00:24:34] This is who Paul was.

[00:24:35] Paul was a man who oriented his life

[00:24:38] in the right direction.

[00:24:39] And for this,

[00:24:40] I want to look at verse 19

[00:24:42] all the way through verse 25.

[00:24:45] And I just want to slowly move through it

[00:24:47] because I don't want you to miss

[00:24:49] what he's saying here.

[00:24:51] Now, remember, in verse 18,

[00:24:52] he said,

[00:24:53] I rejoice that the gospel is preached by whoever.

[00:24:56] And then at the end of verse 18,

[00:24:57] he's got this little line,

[00:24:58] yes, and I will rejoice for verse 19.

[00:25:02] I know that through your prayers

[00:25:05] and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ,

[00:25:07] this will turn out for my deliverance

[00:25:10] as it is my eager expectation

[00:25:12] and hope that I will not at all be ashamed,

[00:25:15] but that with full courage,

[00:25:17] now as always,

[00:25:18] Christ will be honored in my body,

[00:25:21] whether by life or by death.

[00:25:25] Okay, first of all,

[00:25:25] notice like the confidence

[00:25:27] that Paul has

[00:25:28] in the prayers of the Philippian church.

[00:25:31] You know, he just says,

[00:25:33] I know that the spirit of God

[00:25:34] is going to conjoin himself

[00:25:37] with the prayers of the Philippian church

[00:25:39] and it is going to lead to my deliverance.

[00:25:44] Like, wouldn't you love to have that kind of faith

[00:25:47] where you're already celebrating

[00:25:50] the results of the prayer,

[00:25:52] the answer to the prayer,

[00:25:55] maybe even before it's really been prayed,

[00:25:57] but you're just so confident.

[00:25:59] Like, God has heard our prayers.

[00:26:01] God is going to move.

[00:26:02] He's just confident in that way.

[00:26:04] And what he's confident in

[00:26:05] is his deliverance.

[00:26:08] His deliverance.

[00:26:09] I am going to be delivered.

[00:26:11] Now that word deliverance

[00:26:13] is a word that can mean ultimate salvation.

[00:26:17] Like, I will see God face to face.

[00:26:21] And usually in the Bible,

[00:26:22] that word deliverance is used in that way.

[00:26:24] So entering into eternity successfully.

[00:26:28] Okay, so Paul could be alluding to that,

[00:26:30] but it's real clear

[00:26:32] that he's also wrestling with the idea

[00:26:34] that he will not just be delivered

[00:26:35] to see God face to face after he dies,

[00:26:38] but that maybe he's going to be released

[00:26:41] from imprisonment

[00:26:43] to see the Philippians face to face.

[00:26:46] But either way, he's confident.

[00:26:49] I'm going to be delivered.

[00:26:51] And his prayer or his expectation

[00:26:53] or his hope is in verse 20

[00:26:55] that he won't be embarrassed

[00:26:57] of the way he handles

[00:26:59] whatever is coming his way,

[00:27:01] but that he'll handle it

[00:27:02] with full courage

[00:27:03] that Christ will be honored in his body,

[00:27:06] whether by life or by death.

[00:27:08] In other words,

[00:27:09] if I get the death penalty

[00:27:10] here in this Roman prison,

[00:27:13] I am hoping, eager, confident,

[00:27:17] desiring, longing

[00:27:18] that I will handle that death sentence well,

[00:27:23] that I won't embarrass Jesus in any way,

[00:27:26] but that I'll be strong.

[00:27:27] How many of you want to be stronger for Jesus?

[00:27:30] You're longing for that.

[00:27:32] Paul was saying that.

[00:27:33] He's like, here I am.

[00:27:34] I'm praying for that.

[00:27:35] I'm longing for that.

[00:27:36] And I think he's inviting the Philippians

[00:27:38] to be praying that that full courage

[00:27:40] would be in him.

[00:27:41] But what he's saying is,

[00:27:43] whether I live or whether I die,

[00:27:44] I want Jesus to be honored

[00:27:46] in this body of mine,

[00:27:48] which led him to verse 21,

[00:27:51] a major statement.

[00:27:52] He said, for to me,

[00:27:54] to live is Christ

[00:27:58] and to die is gain.

[00:28:02] And I told you last week

[00:28:05] that Philippians is

[00:28:07] this powerful little epistle

[00:28:11] that really doesn't have

[00:28:12] major doctrine to explain.

[00:28:15] It doesn't have a major corrective word

[00:28:18] to give to the church.

[00:28:20] It doesn't have

[00:28:22] new theology to develop.

[00:28:27] But what it does have

[00:28:28] are these powerful little statements.

[00:28:31] Statements that as we're going through them,

[00:28:33] you recognize them,

[00:28:35] you've likely memorized them.

[00:28:36] And this is one of them.

[00:28:36] For me to live is Christ

[00:28:39] and to die is gain.

[00:28:40] What is Paul saying

[00:28:42] when he makes a statement like that?

[00:28:46] What I think Paul is saying

[00:28:48] when he says,

[00:28:49] for me to live is Christ,

[00:28:50] is he's saying,

[00:28:51] Christ

[00:28:53] is the center of my life.

[00:28:57] I owe everything to him.

[00:29:00] And so I have oriented

[00:29:02] the entirety of my being around him.

[00:29:06] He's not just someone that I know.

[00:29:08] He's not just someone

[00:29:09] that I prayed a prayer to at some time,

[00:29:12] but he radically altered my life.

[00:29:16] I was heading on a course

[00:29:19] and he knocked me off of that course

[00:29:21] and brought me into his course.

[00:29:23] And now he's become

[00:29:25] the sum total

[00:29:26] of what I'm about.

[00:29:29] Every relationship,

[00:29:31] every day,

[00:29:33] every week,

[00:29:34] every month of my life

[00:29:35] at some point

[00:29:36] is geared

[00:29:37] toward bringing honor

[00:29:39] and glory to him.

[00:29:41] I want to encounter him.

[00:29:44] I want to know him.

[00:29:45] I want to experience

[00:29:46] his sufferings.

[00:29:48] I want to experience

[00:29:49] his resurrection power.

[00:29:51] Everything about my experience

[00:29:54] is pointing towards him and his.

[00:29:58] I think that's what Paul is saying

[00:30:00] when he says something like,

[00:30:01] for me to live is Christ.

[00:30:04] He's saying Christ is my oxygen.

[00:30:07] Christ is my key to life.

[00:30:10] Christ is the spark

[00:30:11] who has lit the fire within me.

[00:30:13] He's the seed

[00:30:14] that has grown all of this fruit.

[00:30:15] He is the sun

[00:30:16] that is brightening

[00:30:19] to new day strength.

[00:30:21] He's the new song

[00:30:22] that I will never stop singing.

[00:30:24] He is my everything.

[00:30:28] I'm trying to put a high bar

[00:30:31] on what Paul means

[00:30:33] when he says,

[00:30:33] for me to live is Christ

[00:30:35] and to die is gain

[00:30:36] because I fear

[00:30:37] that too quickly

[00:30:38] we might say,

[00:30:39] oh yeah, yeah, yeah,

[00:30:40] I agree.

[00:30:42] And my premise is that

[00:30:44] I think a lot of us can say,

[00:30:46] yeah, to die is gain.

[00:30:49] But Paul would say in some places

[00:30:51] that there is a manner

[00:30:53] of carnality in the Christian life

[00:30:55] where you would not say

[00:30:57] to live is Christ.

[00:30:59] You say to live is about something else.

[00:31:02] To live is off.

[00:31:03] My focus is wayward.

[00:31:06] But we want to be able to say with Paul,

[00:31:08] but for me to live is Christ.

[00:31:11] And then of course to die is gain.

[00:31:13] Why would he say something like that?

[00:31:16] Well, of course.

[00:31:17] I mean on one level you could say,

[00:31:18] well, of course he would say that.

[00:31:19] He's a Christian.

[00:31:21] The Christian theology

[00:31:22] is that at death

[00:31:23] we get to meet the Lord.

[00:31:25] In another place,

[00:31:25] Paul said to be absent from the body

[00:31:28] is to be present with the Lord.

[00:31:30] So he knows

[00:31:30] if a death sentence comes down,

[00:31:32] if they take his life,

[00:31:34] he'll be absent from his body.

[00:31:36] He'll be present with the Lord.

[00:31:38] His body will be awaiting

[00:31:39] that great and final resurrection

[00:31:41] of the dead.

[00:31:42] But that's just the reality.

[00:31:44] So of course for him to die is gain.

[00:31:47] But what I want to suggest to you

[00:31:48] is that Paul is not saying

[00:31:49] for me to live is Christ

[00:31:51] and to die is gain

[00:31:52] because then I get paradise.

[00:31:54] Then I get ease.

[00:31:55] Then I'm out of this prison.

[00:31:57] Then everything is good.

[00:31:59] It would be all that.

[00:32:00] But I think Paul is saying

[00:32:02] for me to live is Christ

[00:32:03] and to die is gain

[00:32:04] because when I die,

[00:32:06] I get Jesus.

[00:32:08] I get him in his totality.

[00:32:10] The one that I'm orienting my life

[00:32:13] around right now

[00:32:14] is the one that I'm going to see

[00:32:16] in full glory then.

[00:32:18] It's not going to be

[00:32:20] a shock to my system

[00:32:21] because I'm already living

[00:32:23] with that orientation today.

[00:32:27] I love this from Paul.

[00:32:29] For me to live is Christ

[00:32:31] and to die is gain.

[00:32:33] For some, as believers,

[00:32:36] death will be gain

[00:32:37] but it will be like a net gain.

[00:32:40] But for Paul, it was all gain

[00:32:42] because there was no chaff in his life.

[00:32:46] It was focused in that right direction.

[00:32:50] And after he made

[00:32:51] that glorious declaration,

[00:32:52] Paul went on to reveal

[00:32:53] the inner turmoil in his heart.

[00:32:56] Look at verse 22.

[00:32:57] He said,

[00:32:57] If I'm to live in the flesh,

[00:32:59] that means fruitful labor for me.

[00:33:02] Yet which I shall choose,

[00:33:03] I cannot tell.

[00:33:04] I'm hard-pressed between the two.

[00:33:06] My desire is to depart

[00:33:07] and be with Christ

[00:33:08] for that's far better.

[00:33:10] But to remain in the flesh

[00:33:11] is more necessary on your account.

[00:33:13] Convinced to this,

[00:33:14] I know that I will remain

[00:33:15] and continue with you all

[00:33:16] for your progress

[00:33:18] and joy in the faith

[00:33:19] so that in me

[00:33:20] you may have ample cause

[00:33:21] to glory in Christ Jesus

[00:33:23] because of my coming to you again.

[00:33:25] Now, I've got to be honest with you.

[00:33:26] This little paragraph,

[00:33:27] this trips me out

[00:33:29] because what you have here

[00:33:30] is Paul in prison

[00:33:32] awaiting a death sentence

[00:33:33] or a declaration of innocence

[00:33:37] where he's allowed to be set free.

[00:33:40] And he tells the Philippians,

[00:33:41] he's like,

[00:33:42] yeah, I'm having this

[00:33:42] like little inner argument

[00:33:43] about whether I should be,

[00:33:46] whether I should be set free

[00:33:48] or whether I should die

[00:33:49] and go back and be,

[00:33:51] and go be with Jesus.

[00:33:52] You know,

[00:33:53] I'm kind of,

[00:33:53] I don't know.

[00:33:54] I don't know where I'm at about it.

[00:33:56] And so I've been thinking about it

[00:33:58] and I thought,

[00:33:58] well, what's better for me?

[00:34:01] And he says,

[00:34:01] you know,

[00:34:01] what's better for me is to die

[00:34:03] because then I get to go be with Jesus.

[00:34:05] Like you read Paul's life

[00:34:07] and it's like,

[00:34:08] oh yeah, bro,

[00:34:08] you had a vacation coming your way.

[00:34:12] Like you,

[00:34:13] you lived a real difficult life.

[00:34:14] You know,

[00:34:15] there was one point

[00:34:15] where the Corinthian church

[00:34:16] was trying to challenge him

[00:34:19] about his credentials.

[00:34:21] And so he's like,

[00:34:21] all right,

[00:34:22] you guys brought me to it.

[00:34:22] I got to give you a list of my credentials.

[00:34:25] And he just lists out like 30 terrible things

[00:34:28] that if they,

[00:34:28] if like one of them happened to you,

[00:34:31] you'd get to write a Christian bestseller

[00:34:33] and you'd be like on a tour

[00:34:34] for the rest of your life

[00:34:35] sharing your testimony

[00:34:36] about the one time

[00:34:37] you were shipwrecked for Jesus

[00:34:38] or whatever.

[00:34:39] Paul's got like this

[00:34:40] whole laundry list of things.

[00:34:42] He's like,

[00:34:42] deaths often.

[00:34:44] You know what I mean?

[00:34:44] Just,

[00:34:45] he's,

[00:34:45] this guy suffered immensely.

[00:34:47] You read it

[00:34:47] and you're like,

[00:34:48] yeah,

[00:34:48] for you to die is gain.

[00:34:52] There will be such a relief

[00:34:55] because of the work

[00:34:56] and the intensity

[00:34:57] and the pain

[00:34:57] that you've endured

[00:34:58] for the expansion

[00:34:59] of the gospel.

[00:35:00] Death would be gain.

[00:35:02] So he's like,

[00:35:02] it would be better for me

[00:35:03] if I died

[00:35:04] and went home

[00:35:04] to be with Jesus.

[00:35:05] But then he's like,

[00:35:06] but I thought about it

[00:35:08] and I,

[00:35:09] and I asked myself the question,

[00:35:11] what would be better

[00:35:12] for the Philippians?

[00:35:13] And he said,

[00:35:15] there's still work to do.

[00:35:16] It'd be better

[00:35:17] if I came and visited you

[00:35:19] and continue to teach you

[00:35:21] and help you

[00:35:22] and instruct you

[00:35:23] and be there for you.

[00:35:24] So,

[00:35:25] and it's like,

[00:35:26] he presents it

[00:35:27] like a decision.

[00:35:27] I don't think he really

[00:35:28] had a decision,

[00:35:29] but he's talking about it

[00:35:30] like he's the one

[00:35:31] making the call.

[00:35:32] So he's like,

[00:35:33] so I've decided

[00:35:34] that I will not die

[00:35:35] and I will live

[00:35:36] so that I can come

[00:35:38] and see your face

[00:35:39] and minister to you.

[00:35:41] I am coming

[00:35:42] to you again.

[00:35:45] It's just a powerful thing

[00:35:47] that Paul does

[00:35:48] and what I want you to see

[00:35:49] is that

[00:35:49] I think what happened here

[00:35:52] is that Paul

[00:35:53] had so oriented himself

[00:35:55] upon Jesus

[00:35:56] that he had become

[00:35:56] like Jesus

[00:35:58] because this is one

[00:35:59] of the most Jesus-y things

[00:36:01] a person could ever say.

[00:36:02] Who is Jesus?

[00:36:04] He's the son of God,

[00:36:05] the second person

[00:36:06] of the triune Godhead

[00:36:07] who made a decision

[00:36:08] to step out of glory

[00:36:11] to take on human flesh

[00:36:12] to come to our space,

[00:36:14] to leave his space,

[00:36:15] to come to our space

[00:36:16] so that he could save us.

[00:36:18] Paul is sitting there going,

[00:36:20] it's kind of like that for me.

[00:36:22] I could go to his space,

[00:36:24] but I'm choosing to stay

[00:36:26] in this space

[00:36:28] because I want to see

[00:36:30] the gospel continue to expand.

[00:36:32] What a radical perspective

[00:36:35] this man has.

[00:36:36] Right?

[00:36:37] And so I just want us

[00:36:38] to chew on that.

[00:36:39] Think about that this morning.

[00:36:40] You know,

[00:36:41] in what ways

[00:36:43] has your life been off

[00:36:44] a little bit

[00:36:45] where you're not able

[00:36:46] to say with Paul

[00:36:47] for me to live is Christ

[00:36:48] and to die is gain.

[00:36:50] And this isn't like,

[00:36:50] none of us here

[00:36:52] are going to become

[00:36:52] an apostle

[00:36:53] or anything like that.

[00:36:54] I'm not suggesting

[00:36:54] you need to go to prison

[00:36:56] for preaching Christ.

[00:36:57] You could just keep rolling

[00:36:58] as a parent

[00:36:59] doing your parenting thing,

[00:37:00] but you've got

[00:37:00] a different focus

[00:37:02] than if you're just doing it

[00:37:04] without Jesus

[00:37:04] being your perspective.

[00:37:05] You can go on just living,

[00:37:07] you know,

[00:37:07] I'm going to build a business

[00:37:08] or whatever.

[00:37:08] You could do that

[00:37:09] with Jesus

[00:37:10] or you could do that

[00:37:10] without Jesus.

[00:37:11] You could be putting him

[00:37:12] into that place

[00:37:13] or into that perspective,

[00:37:15] but I'd encourage you

[00:37:16] to make that choice.

[00:37:19] You know,

[00:37:20] years ago,

[00:37:20] I was,

[00:37:22] when I was doing

[00:37:23] the trail race,

[00:37:24] trail running kind of thing,

[00:37:25] I signed up for a race

[00:37:26] up in the Bay Area.

[00:37:28] It was up in the Marin area

[00:37:30] and I was kind of there

[00:37:31] by the coast,

[00:37:33] real hilly

[00:37:34] kind of coastal mountain

[00:37:35] kind of terrain

[00:37:36] and, you know,

[00:37:37] these trail races

[00:37:38] are usually pretty small

[00:37:39] and the way that,

[00:37:41] I was never fast or anything,

[00:37:43] so the way it goes

[00:37:44] in these things

[00:37:45] is that you kind of look around

[00:37:46] at the starting line

[00:37:47] and you kind of figure out like,

[00:37:48] okay,

[00:37:48] I'll probably be running

[00:37:49] with this group.

[00:37:50] You know,

[00:37:50] you see like the ultra fit people

[00:37:52] and you're like,

[00:37:52] whoa,

[00:37:53] they're just going to go,

[00:37:54] you know,

[00:37:54] and I'm going to stay back

[00:37:56] with this little group

[00:37:57] or whatever

[00:37:57] and you kind of find your people

[00:37:59] and then you're

[00:37:59] in a little pack together.

[00:38:02] And so I was in this little pack

[00:38:04] and we're kind of cruising

[00:38:05] through and everything

[00:38:06] and we got to this one juncture

[00:38:07] in the race

[00:38:08] where it wasn't clear.

[00:38:11] They try hard

[00:38:12] to like mark the routes for you

[00:38:14] but sometimes it's not clear

[00:38:15] and we couldn't tell

[00:38:16] if we were supposed to go right

[00:38:16] or we were supposed to go left

[00:38:17] and we all,

[00:38:19] we kind of talked,

[00:38:20] we were like,

[00:38:20] okay,

[00:38:20] let's go left

[00:38:21] and,

[00:38:21] you know,

[00:38:22] so pretty soon

[00:38:22] this whole group,

[00:38:23] we turned left

[00:38:24] and we dropped down

[00:38:25] into this ravine

[00:38:25] and we're cruising

[00:38:26] through this valley

[00:38:28] and we were coming up

[00:38:29] on this aid station

[00:38:31] and this man

[00:38:32] who ended up being

[00:38:33] one of the directors

[00:38:34] of the race,

[00:38:34] he kind of gets out

[00:38:36] in the middle of the road

[00:38:37] and he like puts up his hands

[00:38:39] and he tells us,

[00:38:41] he's like,

[00:38:41] you guys took a wrong turn

[00:38:42] and the way he was able

[00:38:44] to figure it out

[00:38:44] is because if we hadn't,

[00:38:46] we were setting

[00:38:47] a new course record

[00:38:49] and he was just looking at us

[00:38:51] and he's like,

[00:38:51] you guys aren't really

[00:38:52] the new course record types.

[00:38:55] I think he took

[00:38:56] a wrong turn back there

[00:38:57] and we all had a decision

[00:38:59] to make at that point.

[00:39:00] It was either

[00:39:01] we're just gonna

[00:39:03] run the rest of the course

[00:39:05] and finish the day,

[00:39:07] our time doesn't count,

[00:39:08] we didn't run the full race

[00:39:09] or we're gonna go back

[00:39:11] to the point

[00:39:12] where we took a wrong turn

[00:39:13] and we're gonna do

[00:39:14] what we need to do

[00:39:15] and we're gonna finish the race.

[00:39:16] It added about 10 miles

[00:39:18] to the day

[00:39:18] to do that

[00:39:19] and I was in the small

[00:39:21] little group

[00:39:21] that said,

[00:39:22] yeah, heck yeah,

[00:39:23] we're going back.

[00:39:23] We're gonna do this

[00:39:24] the right way

[00:39:25] and so went back,

[00:39:26] had a really long day,

[00:39:27] terrible ultimate time

[00:39:29] and all of that

[00:39:29] but the point

[00:39:32] I'm trying to make

[00:39:33] is sometimes

[00:39:34] you have to make

[00:39:35] a decision

[00:39:36] to get back

[00:39:37] on the right track

[00:39:39] and Paul is here

[00:39:41] showing the Philippians

[00:39:42] like this is the mentality

[00:39:45] for you to have in life,

[00:39:48] put it on, right?

[00:39:49] And that's why he closes

[00:39:51] with verse 27 to 30

[00:39:53] an exhortation

[00:39:55] where he tells them

[00:39:56] to practice

[00:39:56] their new citizenship.

[00:39:59] He says in verse 27,

[00:40:00] only let your manner of life

[00:40:02] be worthy

[00:40:04] of the gospel of Christ.

[00:40:06] You know,

[00:40:07] I've told you how I live,

[00:40:09] I told you what I'm thinking

[00:40:11] but your manner of life,

[00:40:13] let it also be worthy

[00:40:15] of the gospel of Christ

[00:40:16] so that whether I come

[00:40:17] and see you

[00:40:18] or am absent,

[00:40:19] you know, die,

[00:40:21] I may hear that you,

[00:40:23] hear of you

[00:40:24] that you are standing firm

[00:40:25] in one spirit

[00:40:26] with one mind

[00:40:27] striving side by side

[00:40:29] for the faith

[00:40:29] of the gospel

[00:40:30] and not frightened

[00:40:31] in anything

[00:40:32] by your opponents.

[00:40:33] This is a clear sign

[00:40:34] to them

[00:40:35] of their destruction

[00:40:35] but of your salvation

[00:40:37] and that from God

[00:40:38] for it's been granted

[00:40:40] to you

[00:40:40] that for the sake

[00:40:41] of Christ

[00:40:42] you should not only

[00:40:42] believe in him

[00:40:43] but also suffer

[00:40:44] for his sake

[00:40:45] engaged

[00:40:45] in the same conflict

[00:40:47] that you saw I had

[00:40:49] and now hear

[00:40:50] that I still have.

[00:40:53] Okay,

[00:40:54] why am I saying

[00:40:54] from this passage

[00:40:56] that living worthy

[00:40:58] of the gospel

[00:41:00] includes this mentality

[00:41:02] that says

[00:41:02] I'm going to practice

[00:41:04] my new citizenship?

[00:41:07] Well,

[00:41:07] it all comes for me

[00:41:08] from verse 27

[00:41:10] that phrase

[00:41:11] manner of life.

[00:41:14] That word

[00:41:15] manner of life

[00:41:16] could literally

[00:41:17] have been translated

[00:41:18] your politic

[00:41:20] or your citizenship

[00:41:23] because that's

[00:41:24] the way they would

[00:41:26] have used that word

[00:41:27] in that day.

[00:41:28] Like there's a certain way

[00:41:29] for you to be a citizen

[00:41:31] and here's how

[00:41:32] Paul is saying

[00:41:33] I want you to do it.

[00:41:34] Now Paul

[00:41:34] is not really calling them

[00:41:36] to be good citizens

[00:41:38] of Rome.

[00:41:40] They were already

[00:41:41] living that way.

[00:41:43] He's calling them

[00:41:44] to be good citizens

[00:41:45] of a greater kingdom

[00:41:47] the kingdom of God.

[00:41:48] In fact,

[00:41:48] you could look forward

[00:41:49] in your Bibles

[00:41:50] to chapter 3 verse 20

[00:41:51] where Paul uses

[00:41:53] this same word

[00:41:54] or concept

[00:41:54] to say

[00:41:55] our citizenship

[00:41:56] is in heaven

[00:41:58] and from it

[00:41:59] we await a savior

[00:42:00] the Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:42:02] And I want to impress

[00:42:03] on you

[00:42:04] how bold it was

[00:42:06] for Paul

[00:42:06] to talk like this

[00:42:08] especially in written

[00:42:09] form in that era

[00:42:10] because

[00:42:13] in Paul's day

[00:42:14] the worship

[00:42:16] of the Roman emperor

[00:42:17] was on the rise.

[00:42:19] You had to say

[00:42:20] Caesar is Lord

[00:42:22] or they were getting

[00:42:22] closer to that

[00:42:23] at least

[00:42:25] and

[00:42:27] it was hugely

[00:42:28] subversive

[00:42:29] for Christians

[00:42:30] to declare

[00:42:31] a different kingdom.

[00:42:33] Like the empire

[00:42:33] is great

[00:42:34] but we belong

[00:42:34] to a different kingdom.

[00:42:36] Caesar's great

[00:42:37] but we have

[00:42:38] a different Lord.

[00:42:39] It was a huge deal

[00:42:40] for them to operate

[00:42:41] that way

[00:42:42] that with that

[00:42:43] new citizenship

[00:42:44] worthy

[00:42:44] of the gospel.

[00:42:47] But that was

[00:42:48] Paul's emphasis.

[00:42:49] I want you to live

[00:42:50] that way.

[00:42:51] I want you to live

[00:42:52] out this new citizenship

[00:42:53] and I love it

[00:42:55] because

[00:42:55] Paul

[00:42:56] is very clear

[00:42:58] that he thinks

[00:42:59] I'm inviting

[00:43:01] you guys

[00:43:02] into

[00:43:02] a real battle.

[00:43:04] Like look at

[00:43:05] the terminology

[00:43:05] that he uses

[00:43:06] in that last paragraph.

[00:43:08] Stand firm

[00:43:09] striving

[00:43:10] side by side

[00:43:12] not frightened

[00:43:14] opponents

[00:43:14] salvation

[00:43:16] suffering

[00:43:17] for his sake

[00:43:18] engaged

[00:43:19] in the same conflict.

[00:43:20] These are war terms

[00:43:21] Paul is using

[00:43:22] and here's what

[00:43:23] I think Paul knew.

[00:43:25] Paul knew

[00:43:25] like it's going

[00:43:26] to take unity

[00:43:27] that's why he says

[00:43:27] you know

[00:43:27] one spirit

[00:43:28] and one mind

[00:43:29] which we're going

[00:43:30] to talk a little bit

[00:43:31] more about next week

[00:43:32] when we get into

[00:43:33] chapter 2

[00:43:33] but it's like

[00:43:34] Paul knew

[00:43:35] you're never

[00:43:36] going to have

[00:43:36] any of that

[00:43:37] if you're not

[00:43:38] engaged

[00:43:39] in the

[00:43:41] ultimate

[00:43:42] mission

[00:43:42] that Christ

[00:43:44] has given us

[00:43:44] of bringing

[00:43:45] the gospel

[00:43:46] to a lost

[00:43:47] and broken

[00:43:48] and dying

[00:43:49] world.

[00:43:50] He's saying

[00:43:51] that's the

[00:43:52] citizenship

[00:43:53] in the kingdom

[00:43:54] that I want you

[00:43:55] to remember.

[00:43:56] Live out

[00:43:57] from

[00:43:57] that new

[00:43:59] citizenship

[00:43:59] that you have

[00:44:01] in Christ

[00:44:02] Jesus

[00:44:02] and it's like

[00:44:03] he's saying

[00:44:03] and when you

[00:44:04] do

[00:44:04] even your

[00:44:04] opponents

[00:44:05] begin to

[00:44:06] question

[00:44:06] whether

[00:44:07] what you're

[00:44:08] preaching

[00:44:08] is true

[00:44:09] or not.

[00:44:11] You know

[00:44:11] years ago

[00:44:11] my family

[00:44:12] was over

[00:44:12] in England

[00:44:13] and we

[00:44:13] happened

[00:44:13] to be

[00:44:14] in England

[00:44:14] on the

[00:44:15] 4th of July

[00:44:16] kind of an

[00:44:16] awkward

[00:44:17] moment

[00:44:17] you know

[00:44:18] and

[00:44:19] we were like

[00:44:20] what do we

[00:44:21] do

[00:44:21] you know

[00:44:21] like

[00:44:22] we're like

[00:44:22] where's

[00:44:22] the fireworks

[00:44:23] you know

[00:44:23] no we're

[00:44:25] not celebrating

[00:44:26] that

[00:44:26] and I

[00:44:27] remember

[00:44:27] we like

[00:44:28] rented this

[00:44:28] little boat

[00:44:29] we were in

[00:44:29] the city

[00:44:30] of York

[00:44:30] and we

[00:44:31] rented this

[00:44:31] little boat

[00:44:31] and we're

[00:44:32] like driving

[00:44:32] on the river

[00:44:33] through town

[00:44:34] and we're

[00:44:35] like all

[00:44:36] patriotic

[00:44:37] we had our

[00:44:37] red white

[00:44:37] and blue

[00:44:38] on and stuff

[00:44:39] like that

[00:44:39] and we're

[00:44:39] just like

[00:44:40] you know

[00:44:41] it was kind

[00:44:41] of like

[00:44:42] the most

[00:44:42] snoozy

[00:44:43] 4th of July

[00:44:44] ever

[00:44:44] but it was

[00:44:45] also like

[00:44:45] a yeah

[00:44:45] in your face

[00:44:46] England

[00:44:46] you know

[00:44:47] kind of

[00:44:47] moment

[00:44:52] and here's

[00:44:53] what I want

[00:44:54] to say

[00:44:56] I think

[00:44:56] a lot

[00:44:57] of us

[00:44:57] we're really

[00:44:58] hoping

[00:45:00] that

[00:45:01] Christianity

[00:45:02] will be

[00:45:03] this thing

[00:45:04] where

[00:45:05] it's similar

[00:45:06] to being

[00:45:08] able to

[00:45:08] celebrate

[00:45:09] the 4th of

[00:45:09] July

[00:45:10] here in

[00:45:10] America

[00:45:12] you know

[00:45:13] where it's

[00:45:14] like yeah

[00:45:14] like everybody's

[00:45:15] into this

[00:45:16] but here's

[00:45:17] what you got

[00:45:18] to be ready

[00:45:18] for

[00:45:18] you got

[00:45:20] to be ready

[00:45:20] to put your

[00:45:21] hard hat

[00:45:21] on

[00:45:21] and be a

[00:45:23] person

[00:45:23] who actually

[00:45:25] is practicing

[00:45:26] your Christianity

[00:45:28] when you

[00:45:28] are the

[00:45:29] extreme

[00:45:31] minority

[00:45:31] view

[00:45:32] and opinion

[00:45:33] that whether

[00:45:34] other people

[00:45:35] are celebrating

[00:45:36] it or not

[00:45:36] whether other

[00:45:37] people are

[00:45:38] into it

[00:45:38] or not

[00:45:39] you

[00:45:40] you are

[00:45:41] that's what

[00:45:42] Paul is

[00:45:42] saying

[00:45:43] he's like

[00:45:43] gear up

[00:45:43] God's

[00:45:44] called you

[00:45:44] to suffer

[00:45:45] a little

[00:45:45] bit

[00:45:45] you're

[00:45:46] on my

[00:45:46] team

[00:45:47] let's

[00:45:47] do it

[00:45:48] all right

[00:45:49] that's the

[00:45:50] citizenship

[00:45:50] that he

[00:45:51] is inviting

[00:45:52] us

[00:45:53] into

[00:45:53] we're

[00:45:54] going to

[00:45:54] talk more

[00:45:54] about that

[00:45:55] in the

[00:45:55] weeks

[00:45:55] to come

[00:45:56] so let

[00:45:56] me wrap

[00:45:57] up

[00:45:57] today

[00:45:57] with

[00:45:57] three

[00:45:58] questions

[00:45:58] that I

[00:45:59] think

[00:45:59] can

[00:45:59] help

[00:46:00] us

[00:46:00] in our

[00:46:01] quest

[00:46:01] to

[00:46:02] live

[00:46:02] worthy

[00:46:02] of

[00:46:03] the

[00:46:03] gospel

[00:46:04] we'll

[00:46:04] put

[00:46:04] these

[00:46:04] on

[00:46:05] the

[00:46:05] screen

[00:46:05] for you

[00:46:05] and I've

[00:46:05] also

[00:46:06] got

[00:46:06] them

[00:46:06] online

[00:46:07] in our

[00:46:08] first

[00:46:08] section

[00:46:08] we notice

[00:46:09] that Paul

[00:46:11] rejoiced

[00:46:11] that the

[00:46:11] gospel

[00:46:12] expanded

[00:46:13] no matter

[00:46:14] the

[00:46:14] personal

[00:46:15] cost

[00:46:15] so here's

[00:46:16] what

[00:46:17] I

[00:46:25] sacrifice

[00:46:26] for the

[00:46:26] sake

[00:46:26] of

[00:46:27] the

[00:46:27] gospel

[00:46:27] in the

[00:46:30] second

[00:46:30] section

[00:46:31] Paul's

[00:46:31] whole

[00:46:31] life

[00:46:32] we saw

[00:46:32] was

[00:46:32] oriented

[00:46:33] towards

[00:46:33] Christ

[00:46:33] here's

[00:46:34] another

[00:46:34] question

[00:46:34] then

[00:46:35] what

[00:46:35] are

[00:46:35] some

[00:46:36] areas

[00:46:36] of

[00:46:36] your

[00:46:37] life

[00:46:37] that

[00:46:37] are

[00:46:37] resistant

[00:46:38] to

[00:46:38] Christ's

[00:46:39] influence

[00:46:39] how

[00:46:41] can

[00:46:41] you

[00:46:41] begin

[00:46:41] to

[00:46:41] align

[00:46:42] those

[00:46:42] areas

[00:46:42] more

[00:46:43] fully

[00:46:43] with

[00:46:43] him

[00:46:44] and

[00:46:45] then

[00:46:45] lastly

[00:46:46] in

[00:46:46] our

[00:46:46] final

[00:46:46] section

[00:46:47] Paul

[00:46:47] believed

[00:46:47] that

[00:46:48] he

[00:46:48] and

[00:46:48] the

[00:46:48] Philippians

[00:46:48] were

[00:46:49] citizens

[00:46:49] of

[00:46:49] a

[00:46:49] new

[00:46:49] kingdom

[00:46:50] and

[00:46:51] so

[00:46:51] we

[00:46:51] would

[00:46:51] ask

[00:46:52] the

[00:46:52] question

[00:46:52] in

[00:46:52] what

[00:46:53] ways

[00:46:53] does

[00:46:54] your

[00:46:54] citizenship

[00:46:55] in

[00:46:55] God's

[00:46:56] kingdom

[00:46:56] shape

[00:46:57] your

[00:46:57] priorities

[00:46:58] values

[00:46:59] and

[00:47:00] purpose

[00:47:01] here

[00:47:02] on

[00:47:03] earth

[00:47:03] like

[00:47:04] I

[00:47:04] said

[00:47:04] we

[00:47:04] put

[00:47:04] those

[00:47:04] online

[00:47:05] so

[00:47:05] for

[00:47:05] those

[00:47:05] of

[00:47:05] you

[00:47:05] whose

[00:47:06] pencils

[00:47:06] are

[00:47:06] on

[00:47:06] fire

[00:47:07] right

[00:47:07] now

[00:47:08] you

[00:47:08] could

[00:47:08] just

[00:47:08] go

[00:47:09] get

[00:47:09] it

[00:47:09] there

[00:47:09] we'll

[00:47:09] get

[00:47:09] them

[00:47:09] out

[00:47:10] to

[00:47:37] pastor

[00:47:38] at

[00:47:38] nateholdridge.com

[00:47:40] thanks again

[00:47:41] for tuning

[00:47:41] in

[00:47:41] we'll

[00:47:42] see you

[00:47:42] next

[00:47:42] week