Most of you will remember that
last week we took verses 15 and 16, so this evening we'll take
verses 17 and 18. We'll just read those again.
Verse 17. Yea, and if I be offered upon
the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice
with you all. For the same cause also do ye
joy and rejoice with me. We should of course remember
that the Apostle Paul had really a special affection with the
Philippians, Philippi being part of Macedonia, and he'd been directed
to go to Macedonia, and he went to Philippi and preached the
Gospel. Of course he didn't have a very
easy time there, we know he was imprisoned, we know he was beaten,
but we do know he had a wonderful blessing as the father of the
jailer was converted at that time and bought his house. So
he had cause to remember Philippi and he went there a few times
and then he wrote this epistle, this letter to them to encourage
them and to strengthen them as he did of course in a number
of cases we have in the New Testament and he tells us He says, I thank
my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer
of mine for you all, making requests with joy for your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day until now. Well, that was
a lovely testimony that the Apostle Paul was able to give to the
Ephesians. And of course, as we've already
gone through the first and the first half of the second chapter
we've seen there how the Apostle was directing the Philippians
to look beyond really the things of this natural life and to realize
that there were wonderful blessings to come for all the people of
God when they leave this world to go and to be in heaven with
Christ which is far better and he told us again in the first
chapter for To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. For if I live in the flesh, this
is the fruit of my labour, yet what I shall choose I want not.
For I am in a strait which looks to, having a desire to depart
and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless,
to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And of course
the Lord did spare his life so that he did live in the flesh
and he was able to preach the gospel and we read of some of
his journeys in the Acts of the Apostles. We have a picture of
what he endured, where he went and how he was blessed in his
journeys and in his ministry. And then we'll come down then
to these two verses which we read this evening. yea and if
i be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith i joy
and rejoice with you all for the same cause also do ye joy
and rejoice with me it's really good to see and read such a testimony
as this because As we think of the Apostle Paul's life, which
he tells us the details in the second book of the Corinthians,
how difficult it was on so many occasions, and yet he's still
able to come and make this statement, I joy and rejoice with you all. He joyed and rejoiced in the
conversion of the Philippians. He joyed and rejoiced in what
God had done for him, and God was doing with him. He wasn't
morbid, he wasn't moaning, he wasn't complaining. He was thankful
for what God had done and what God was doing. And that would
be good for us to think upon, to meditate upon in our lives
today, to always desire to be joyful and to rejoice in what
God has done. Because we have so much to be
thankful for anyway, just in a natural way. If we compare
ourselves with many, many people in the world, and think of all
the comforts we have, naturally, our homes, food to eat and clothes
to wear, and then the Bible to read and the great truths it
contains, and then people of like minds to meet with, to worship. So we have much really to be
thankful for, and especially as the Bible traces out for us
the glorious life of the Lord Jesus Christ while he was on
the earth and the things that he did they were indeed very
wonderful and very gracious and we should be very very thankful
for these things and to realize how the Lord Jesus suffered which
he did suffered so much more than any of us ever will, and
suffered so much more than the Apostle Paul. And yet you see,
the Apostle was able to direct us to the greatness and the wonderful
favor there was of the Savior. And we read in the Epistle of
Paul to the Hebrews where he tells us, speaking about the
Lord Jesus Christ, And he says in verse 14, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience. That means to clean
our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Well, that's the example of the
Lord Jesus Christ and We have the example really of the Apostle
Paul who speaks to us in these verses here when he says, yea,
and if I be offered, the Lord Jesus offered himself, he offered,
he gave his life, he died upon that cross at Calvary in order
to save and to redeem his people as we've sung in that hymn. And yea, and if I be offered,
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith." He realized that
their faith depended upon what the Lord Jesus Christ had done
in his great sacrifice for sin when he died upon the cross at
Calvary. And so he says, I joy and rejoice
with you all. This was indeed wonderful news. It was good for the Philippians
And it's been good for the Church of God right down through the
ages, and it's good for us today to think of what the Lord Jesus
Christ did in offering himself for us. And you see, the Apostle
Paul was willing to offer himself. He was willing to lay down his
life. He didn't count his life very dear. And yet you see, naturally,
life is very important to us, isn't it? Our natural life is
very important. But as we go back and trace back
in history, we can remember and we can read of many people in
history who were martyred for their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. What it really meant was, when
they were asked whether they would deny the Lord Jesus Christ,
they refused. And they followed the Saviour,
their Saviour, and they were willing to pay the great price
of their life, as the Lord Jesus Christ paid the great price for
all his people, and as the Apostle Paul tells us here, he was willing
to give his life. It's a great test, isn't it,
of the reality of our religion. People today are still having
to give their life in many countries of the world where Christianity
is not tolerated. Indeed where Christianity is
hated and where many Christians are executed, are persecuted,
are imprisoned and you see they are willing to suffer for Christ's
sake. They are willing to give themselves
a living sacrifice. We have these wonderful examples
now in the moment in our country We're very favoured, aren't we?
We can meet like we are tonight, without any problem. No one's
going to come and knock on the door and say, you're going to
be arrested for worship. So we're greatly blessed with
this freedom. But we should realise that this freedom may not always
last. And as I've reminded you sometimes,
the clouds are on the horizon. We see enmity against Christians
enmity against their worship and enmity against preaching
again and again those who preach the gospel in the streets and
town centers are often taken and arrested for what is considered
to be a hatred in their speech but of course it's not it's just
the truth of God and we're thankful that Generally speaking, they've
been exonerated and have been freed. But we can see there is
that enmity today. And there always has been enmity. We only have to trace really,
don't we, the life of Jesus. And we see the great enmity that
was towards him and the disciples. And although we don't read of
it in the Word of God, I think all of the disciples, apart from
John, the Apostle John, All were mastered, all gave their
life. It's a wonderful testimony. And
the God down through the ages has strengthened his people in
their time of need. And so we can recognize here
what the apostle is saying when he says, I join and rejoice with
you all. He joined the Philippians together
to rejoice with them. And what a good thing it was
And what a blessing it was to be found in this path. You know the Apostle, when he
wrote to his son Timothy, telling him really what to expect, and
he outlined it about being offered. He tells us in the fourth chapter,
the second epistle of Timothy, and the fifth verse we'll read
from, But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work
of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry, it means to
preach the gospel, whatever the situation, for I am now ready
to be offered He's told us here, just the same words really, yea,
and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your
faith, and so he says, for now I am now ready to be offered,
and the time of my departure is at hand. And he gives us this
wonderful statement. And as I've said to you sometimes,
the Apostle Paul didn't say these things for his own pride. He was just an honest person
telling us how God had helped him. And he says this, I have
fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I
have kept the faith. It's a good testament, isn't
it? And it's good for all of us. If as we come down to near
the days of our death, we're able to say, look back and say,
By the grace of God, I've fought a good fight. There've been many
battles, but by the grace of God, I've fought a good fight,
and I've now finished my course. I've come to the end of my journey
on earth. I've kept the faith given to
me. Henceforth, there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing." Well, I hope
that is true of all of us. But the Lord has laid out for
us, in having a crown of righteousness, to think that when we've done
with time, which all of us will eventually finish our life on
this earth and time will be no more, to then be in the found
With Christ, as the Apostle said, I've already read this evening,
which is far better to that place of heaven where there is perfect
peace and no sadness and no sorrow and no tears and no pain and
what is there? Joy and rejoicing and praising
God, no sin, purity. It's difficult for us to envisage
place like that and that's what the Apostle Paul sets before
us and we should surely be very thankful there for for that prospect
which is before the people of God and so he says then for the
same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me not only did
the Apostle joy and rejoice but the Philippians did and it will
be good for us tonight if we also Rejoice and joy in the prospect
of glory before us and the privilege of suffering for His sake. Christians are not promised an
easy life, but we are promised a good end. We are promised an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled. So may we have faith
in God trust in God, trust in Him at all times, believing we
have a God who hears and answers prayer. And so tonight, as we
gather for prayer, may we pray in faith, nothing wavering, and
may God hear and answer our prayers.