I want to remind us as we've
looked at the word, as we've seen the word, as as we've done
all that we can do to practice this word that we learn, trusting
fully in Jesus Christ, who is our propitiation, who is our
hope. who is our atoner, who is the
author and perfecter of our faith, who is the one who keeps us from
failing, from falling, from sinning, from escaping his great gracious
grasp. Didn't mean for that to be all
G's there, but that just came out. We trust in Christ and we
find ourselves weak and we come to the realization that only
through the word of God are we able to find the strength to
stand. We find ourselves wanting more and looking into the world
and then we see that it's not the world that has anything to
offer but Christ who has given us all. This letter that we've
been journeying through over the last 37 Sundays has been
a beautiful picture of the power of God's grace, effectually in
the people of God. And it's very easy, as I've said
last week and the week before, I made this comment and I want
us to never forget it. Even as Paul would say it, it's
good for you that I remind you of these things. It's good for
us that we're reminded about the reality of what exposition
can do in the good and the bad. If we're not careful in the good,
it is the word of God and it feeds us and it encourages us
and it strengthens us and it empowers us in the bad. We can
piecemeal a text so much that we just. began to start running
after those little pieces rather than to the whole. And what do
I mean by that? It's real easy for us to take
the sermon from last week and to really struggle with contentment
and to make our struggle for contentment really just be the
journey that we pick from Philippians to say, this is what God has
taught us. And thankfully, by the grace of God, Paul ends and
squelches that resistance. He squelches that reality that
that's not the point of his letter at all, though he may teach these
things doctrinally, though he may express these things theologically,
though he may command these things authoritatively, he is showing
us this morning as we continue in the fourth chapter that it
is not about doing these small little things that is successfully
and effectually learning this letter, but it's about seeing
the whole of the picture of Christ. It's about seeing the mind of
Christ and having this mind among us and knowing that it is the
mind of Christ that pursues us and it is the mind of Christ
that gives us the power to live as God has commanded us to live.
And it is our mind, it is our mind that we have been given
by the Lord Jesus, His own mind, so that we can rest in the sufficient
knowledge of Him and the sufficient power of His divine nature, the
sufficient strength of His grace. We see all of this. And the outcome
of those things is contentment. is affection, is prayer, is fellowship,
is ministry, is rejoicing in suffering. All of these things
come because this Word, the Word of God, God speaking to us through
Paul, through this letter to the Philippian church, empowers
us to be the people that God has called us to be. Not in our
own right, but in the right and the faithfulness of Jesus Himself.
And so as we close this letter, please keep in mind that we are
to continually look at the things that we've learned. We are to
continually just resonate on these things, on these truths.
We should be remembering the Gospel, not just in this nutshell
that we continually think in our mind, but we should remember
the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its full counsel, the good news
of the Word of God. from all even the Old and New
Testaments together. When we study a letter, let it
do the work that it was intended to do. And I say that very lightly. It's not like it's up to us to
let it work. But the point is, just as Paul
would say, you know, let the Word of God, let the love of
God, let the love of Christ. It doesn't mean that we must
allow it, but it means we must perceive the reality that the
Word is working in us. We are being prepared to be a
people. not individuals, excuse me, who just are in isolation,
but rather we are worshiping. Even if we are in a cell by ourselves,
isolated from the world, we are worshiping together with the
saints of God. We are reading the word, we are
studying the gospel, we are rejoicing in Christ in our suffering. Even
if we be cut off from each other, we are still together in Christ. We are still one in Christ. We still have the mind that is
Christ's as our own. And so as Paul now has began
to talk in this latter portion of this letter, in this, what
most people would call the second closing, We've seen that he rejoiced
greatly in the Lord that at length they had renewed their interest
or their ministry or their affection toward these Philippian Christians.
And if we think about that for a moment, remember last week
as we look and let's read chapter four, verse 10 through the end
of verse 20 so that we can have this fresh in our minds today.
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived
your concern for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that
I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever
situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low.
I know how to be abound in every circumstance, in any and every
circumstance. I have learned the secret of
facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things
through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share
my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning
of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership
with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica,
you sent me help for my needs once again. Not that I seek the
gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have
received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received
from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a
sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply
every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ
Jesus. To our God and Father be glory
forever and ever. Amen. Yeah, there's a lot there. There's several weeks of sermons
in that, if I let it be. But by the Lord's grace, I pray
that I know that the Word of God that He plants in you will
do that which He's purposed it for it to do, that it will come
to your mind, that it will come to your heart when it is ready,
when the time is near, when you are in that place where you need
it the most, God's Word will come to you. So more than my
preaching, more than our study, more than each of our disciplines
to read it, we trust in the faithfulness of God to use it and to empower
us through it. And so as we see here in this,
we learned last week as that verse 13, we didn't spend a whole
lot of time on that, mainly because it is the end of that whole point. The end of that whole point is
that the secret of being able to endure much and nothing is
Christ. Christ strengthens me in these
things. So therefore, the secret for you, beloved, the secret
for me as we live this Christian life is that we are able to endure
abundance and nothing. Poverty, sickness, health, good
and the bad, because Christ strengthens us. Christ strengthens us through
his grace. Christ strengthens us in his
partnering as we partner with him in his suffering. We know
that Christ has endured every temptation that man will ever
endure. We know that Christ has overcome every death. Christ
has has been victorious over every burden. Christ is the one
who is the strength that gives his people the endurance to stand
even in unbelief and doubt and hopelessness and despair. Much
like Paul would tell the Corinthian church all the suffering that
he had. If anyone had opportunity to
quit and leave the gospel or just say, I'm tired of running
this race. I will live a good Christian
life by myself alone doing that which I please. Paul had the
opportunity. Paul had the opportunity to endure. A lot. But Paul also had the
opportunity to endure the reality that he could just walk away.
But Christ was faithful to hold him. Friends, I'm going to tell
you something. I don't know about you, but it's easy to live for
Christ in some sense of morality and joy on our faces and a kick
in our step when the life that we live is going well. When our
fellowship is good, when our health is good, when our money
is good, when our relationships are good, when our jobs are good,
when the weather's good, when the children are good. Well,
that doesn't happen. But anyway, it's easy for us to go, well,
the Lord is good. The Lord is great. But it's not
so easy in our flesh when things turn the other way. When we look
into the mirror of our lives and we see nothing but decay,
when we look into the relationships that we've been given and we
see one after the other in strife, It's easy for us to say, where
is the Lord? Paul has already told us that
the Lord is near and he guards our hearts and he guards our
minds that our minds would be the same as his mind, that even
in the depths of the darkest burdens that we carry, we never
lose sight of encouraging ourselves to pray and encouraging our brothers
and sisters in Christ that they are being prayed for and knowing
that our burdens are being met by the prayers of our brethren.
And in the same way, we ought to pray for each other. We ought
to minister to each other that no matter how dark our days,
there's an opportunity even in our darkness, maybe not this
moment, but even in the moments after the darkness has lifted
some. There is a ministry there. There is a ministry there because
God has brought us to this place so that we might experience the
suffering of Christ. But more importantly, that we
might experience the grace of Christ so that we would share
this grace together. And that's the whole theme of
this letter to the Philippians. That's the whole theme of this
entire writing, is that there is a fellowship around the gospel
of Jesus in the midst of suffering. that is dynamically powerful,
that surpasses the rational, logical mind of this world. That's
the point. And it's very easy for the reader,
us, to get very focused on these small little things. For example,
one thing that I love about this letter is that it has within
it, do all things without what? Grumbling and disputing or grumbling
and complaining. That is one of my favorite verses
because I love to grumble about the complaints and grumbling
of people around me. And so it's very easy on the
top of my tongue to say, the Bible says, do all things without
grumbling and complaining. I'm sick and tired of hearing
it. And I don't like your complaining. I don't like your grumbling.
You see the point. It applies both ways, doesn't it? But I
love that verse because it gives me, it gives me ammunition when
I need it. It also gives me a quick slice
to my own marrow when I need it. Realizing that we're all
in the same place of grace. We're all in the same place and
that we ought to be gracious toward each other and give each
other the grace to complain without complaining about each other's
complaining. But know that the power to not complain is not
through the command. hear that, but through the cross. It's not because we've been told
not to that we can do it without complaining. It's because Christ
has accomplished that reality for us. And the mind that Christ
has given us is ours and is his. So therefore, we're one with
Christ in that way. and that we are able to then do what?
Put into practice that which we've learned. Friends, this
may seem odd to you the way I'm expressing this this morning,
but I want you to understand that this is the danger of every
Christian in the world, in our culture, because we have been
so fitted with the shoe of pragmatism that we will overlook the power
for the pragmatic. We will overlook, we will look
at the principle rather than the person of Jesus Christ. We
will skip right over the glorious and get to the grindstone. And it's a failure on our part. And so it would do no justice
for me to ignore this reality. Why are you thinking we're thinking
this way? Because I'm thinking this way. And if I'm thinking
this way, then probably some of you may be thinking this way.
And maybe some of you are not thinking this way and maybe you're
now thinking this way. And now you're thinking, man,
I wouldn't want to wish I weren't thinking this way. Now, are you confused? And so when it comes down to
it, what are we to be thinking on? Not, oh, I've got to stop
complaining. Not, oh, I need to be praying.
Not, oh, I need to I need to be OK and learn that I can have
nothing and be content. No, we ought to be thinking on
what? thinking on these things which
you have seen, which you have learned, which you have witnessed
us live. What is that? Christ. We ought
to be learning and thinking and meditating on the reality of
who Christ is, the power that Christ holds, and the effectual
finished work that he's accomplished that is actually working in us
presently today. Many times you see Paul say these
things where he says, the power of Christ that raised him from
the dead is at work in you. You'll see many times in the
New Testament where Paul and the apostles will exclaim about
being able to overcome obstacles or stand with joy because the
power that is at work is the same power that raised Christ
from the dead. Friends, we do not give credit
to the power and the majesty of God when we fail to realize
that this is the point of the writing of scripture, that this
is the point of the New Testament. This is the point of the writing
of the apostles, that we would see Christ and in truly seeing
Christ, we would be empowered to live as Christ has called
us to live. And then in the end, we don't
even get the credit for it. Christ gets the credit. No one's
going to stand and say, James, you really figured out this Christian
living. That's a wonderful thing you
did, son. I'm so glad that you got your life together and walked
the way Christ called you to walk and live the way Christ
called you to live. Because if that is true in our
lives, then it is not an effectual grace that empowered us to be
the people of God, but rather a sense of morality and a worldly
righteousness that counts for no righteousness at all. so that
when we stand before Christ and He says, Well done, thy good
and faithful servant, it is because we have walked in that which
He has prepared for us to walk in. It is because He is able
to see in the reflection of our lives the power of His own work
working out in us. The good that comes from Christ
and the bad that comes from us comes to the good that comes
from Christ as we repent of our sin and walk. as we forgive each
other, as we learn to pray, as we learn to have joy in the midst
of horror. All of these things are effectual for us because
the Word of God gives us the picture of Christ. We're seeing
Christ face to face. I made mention probably six to
eight weeks ago in some of this text about how we are to have
such concern for one another and it's oftentimes where We
don't even realize the ministry that's being given to us through
prayer, but sometimes just people's presence in our lives gives us
peace. You remember that? And Paul reminds us that the
Lord is near. No matter what, the Lord is near.
So therefore, because the Lord is near, do not want, do not
focus on these things, do not be downtrodden, do not despair.
The Lord is near. So in everything, take your petitions
to the Lord with thanksgiving. The Lord is near. So do not fret
over these things. Do not worry about these things.
Jesus would say these same words in the Gospels. He would say,
don't worry about what you're going to wear, where you're going
to live, what you're going to eat, what's tomorrow going to
bring. You see the squirrels, you see the birds, you see the
worms, you see the ants, you see, you know, whatever illustration
that you want to see there, anything. The Lord who created them says
they don't sit around and worry about what they're going to do
next season because the God of heaven provides for them. Sparrows
are in abundance. If one falls to the ground, the
Lord notices those things. The hair that is on your head
or not on your head, it comes to the table. Everybody's grinning
now. It comes to the table of innumerability. But God's Word, Jesus Himself
says that the Lord notices when one falls. That there's a count
there. How much more important are you
than lilies, or sparrows, or rodents, or hair? Your soul belongs
to Christ. Your life belongs to Christ.
Your whole being belongs to Christ. Your eternity belongs to Christ
because He's purchased us. He's bought us. He's redeemed
us. We are His. And if we are His, then our Father
in heaven will see to every need. And we ought not be discouraged
when we don't know what the next moment of our life is going to
come or what it's going to bring. And friends, you might say, well,
I'm tired of the struggle. This is life, beloved. This is
life. There is no human being, redeemed
or lost, that is going to live without the struggle. Those who
are lost, who say they have no burden, live a lie. And the only
reason they don't see a burden is because they've been blinded,
judicially. And they cannot see the glory
of God in suffering. And when they do suffer, they're
able to cover it up, fake it till they make it. But you know
what, friends? None of us are ever going to make it to a suffering-less
life. God has given us suffering, and
it is a gift. The question came to me, I think,
yeah, several times at the youth home this past week. Why does
God allow evil? Why does God allow suffering?
Why does God bring you through suffering? Well, suffering in
the world comes because sin has entered the world. Had Adam and
Eve never sinned, the world would be perfect without suffering,
as it will be, according to Romans 8 and other places, when Christ
returns and reestablishes the world and renews the world, which
is the word I was looking for. There will be no tears. There'll
be no pain. There'll be no sorrow. There'll
be no death. There'll be no sin. But because there is the world
and everything in it is dying, the world and everyone in it
is dying, even creation, even those sparrows who are being
noticed by God die and fall out of the sky because of the sin
of Adam and Eve. But the reality is this, we who
are in Christ, though we are experiencing the suffering of
this fallen world, it is not worthless. This is review. It is not worthless. It is worth
something. Paul would say to the. To the
Corinthians, it is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory,
which is beyond all comparison. Peter would say to those who
are in the dispersion, losing everything they had, that they
would have a joy that is inexpressible because they have a reward that
is abiding, that God is keeping them in heaven for himself so
that they would never die, so that they would never be corrupted.
The writer of Hebrews says that those who suffered and lost their
possessions and lost their worldly health and their worldly goods
and their worldly power and their worldly positions and their family,
that they rejoiced in the plundering of their property because they
knew they had a better reward, an abiding reward, one that was
eternal, who is Christ and His kingdom. And so our suffering
is an opportunity for us to experience the power of Christ in the gospel
and that there is no logical, rational, understanding reason
why we can rejoice and be at peace. But yet we are. We are. That's why it surpasses
all understanding, surpasses all knowledge, surpasses all
these things that the world would look at. That's why the world,
as Paul would say to the Romans, calls us fools. or worse, crazy. Paul would respond and say, if
I am crazy, I'm out of my mind for Christ. And we are out of
the mind of the flesh when we're in the mind of Christ, are we
not? We don't want the mind of our flesh, we want the mind of
Christ to be the effectual mind of our hearts, of our souls,
of our thinking, of our discernment, of our knowledge, of our wisdom,
all of these things that Paul has argued here. So that as we
see these things, As we live these things, as we encourage
each other, we are seeing the work of Christ. You've heard
the old adage many times over. We want to be the hands of Jesus.
We want to be the feet of Jesus. Matter of fact, in the, in the
nineties, there was a song. I want to be your hands. I want
to be your feet. I want to go where you send me. You remember
that song? And it was more like a breakdance than it was a praise
song. So I can't remember any more of that. I don't want to
sing it for you anyway. It doesn't matter. But people
would sing that, just like they do most songs, and they wouldn't
really understand what it meant. Well, how does that mean to be
the hands of Jesus? Well, yeah, we give a cup of cold water in
the name of Christ. We take the gospel in the name of Christ.
We meet the needs of those who are hungry. We clothe the naked.
We visit the sick. We visit those in prison. We
see all that stuff in Matthew's gospel. We see it in other places.
But most importantly, to the Church of Jesus Christ, we see
it in Philippians. We see that the work of Jesus
Christ, when Christ is reaching into those who are suffering,
He's doing it through His Church. And sometimes it's this fellowship
ministering to itself, and sometimes it's this random stranger who
is the body of Christ ministering to you at the moment that you
never realized would be an opportunity for you. Like at the hospital,
or the parking lot, or the gas station, or Walmart. A lot of
you folks minister in Walmart. I hear a lot about it. But the body of Christ, Christ
sends someone with his word, someone with his message, someone
with power, someone at some time. Most importantly, we ought to
be about praying for each other. We ought to be about understanding
that in our needs and in our suffering, we are the ones who
are going to be compelled by the Lord to pray and to minister. So now that we've got all of
this called up, let's get to where we are. In verse 14, He
said last week, I can do all these things in Christ who gives
me strength. That is the secret. They've written to him, they've
come to him, they've sent Epaphroditus to give him some ministry, some
money and some other things to help him in his ministry. Then
he gets imprisoned and they're burdened by that because he got
imprisoned in Philippi too. Him and Silas both were imprisoned
in Philippi. And they realized how much of a suffering that
it was. They saw what kind of persecution they dealt with there.
They are also, don't forget, dealing with persecutions. The
Philippian church is not the Americanized culture of sitting
back on Sunday sipping tea. Wasn't that a good service? That
was just great. I love it when we sing that song.
You know, sister, so and so sounds so good. Brother, so and so,
not so much. I mean, that's sort of like our Sunday afternoons.
Let's get in the Word. Let's sleep. Let's watch racing. Let's
watch the birds. Let's play with the kids. I mean,
that's not the case. Don't don't don't fall prey to
putting first century church and suffering saints in the same
way we suffer. Understand that we've got it
made. And I think there's two reasons we haven't made. Here's
the first reason. God is gracious in his providence
over this nation in spite of it, in spite of us. And secondly, because the majority
of those who profess Christ are really not even in him. So why
would persecution come to those who are not Jesus' body? It's
not going to. Persecution doesn't come to unbelievers
who profess to be believers. Persecution comes to everyone
who professes Christ as Lord, who truly is born of God. Why
do you say such things? Because that's a guarantee throughout
the whole New Testament, not only through the narrative of
history, for example, but the narrative of what is just plainly
said. Let's give a plain example. In
2 Timothy, Paul says these words, anyone who desires to live a
godly life will be persecuted. What's that mean? There's no
hidden message there. We'll be persecuted. That means
people will hate you for Christ. But you know what? People won't
hate us. if we're doing Christly things. People won't hate us
if we're doing sort of social things. People will hate us when
we stand in an unmovable resolve to have joy in the midst of suffering.
People will hate us when we dare say that Christ is with us in
our suffering. People will hate us when we dare say that God
gave me this suffering that I might rejoice in Him and be more sanctified
than I was yesterday. That's not the God I know. That's
not the Christ I know. People would even tell you from
pulpits all over this world, you can just turn on the TV,
turn on the radio, you can hear it, that if you're suffering,
it's because you have a lack of faith. I say that the Bible
teaches that if you have faith, you'll suffer more. And the opportunity
for you to exercise that faith is when everything that you depend
upon falls away. God in His gracious mercy takes
the lives that we have and He shreds them. That's my writing
for this week. The shredding of the gospel.
That's what I've entitled it. That's what He does. He shreds
our lives. Oh, we find joy over here. Well, at least I've got
this. And He shreds that. You think, what a maniacal, wicked,
evil God. No, what a gracious, loving,
kind, and purposeful God to take that garbage which is fading
away that we find the fullness of our joy in, and He takes it
away from us so that we can see the sufficiency of His absolute
glory. This is what God does for those
who are His. This is what God does because
He loves us. He breaks our arms. He breaks
our bodies. He breaks our finances. He breaks our relationships.
He breaks these things. Jesus Himself says, I did not come
to bring peace in a home. I came to take a daughter and
divide her against her father and a mother and divide her against
her son and people will hate you and your own enemies will
be those who live in your own house. These are the words of
Jesus, the Son of God. who created the world with all
of his power. He said, you will not find people
to love you if you love me, because the world hates me, and if they
hate me, they're going to hate you. Friends, this is the good
news of Jesus. This is not a palatable, salvific,
worldly, man-centered message. This is something that people
cannot swallow. I saw that on one of your Facebook
posts. It's not about the understanding of the words of Christ that are
so difficult. It's the fact that you can't swallow them. And I
thought, that's it. The difficult sayings of Jesus
is not that we don't understand them, it's that we don't want
to eat them. Much like we see him. Hey, where am I going? Somebody
say it. John 6. John 6, when he talks about swallowing food.
Y'all quit laughing at me. Do not labor for the food that
perishes. But Jesus says, here, put this
in your mouth and swallow it a minute. I'm the bread of life. You're running after hope. Did
I give you some more food? You're running after hope that
I'll give you a sign from the Mishnah. I'll show you the manna
out of the Ark of the Covenant. That's what he says. What sign
did you bring? That's what he's talking about. You've got hope in this. You've
got hope in that. You've got hope in me that maybe I'm a political
leader. I'm going to bring reform into Rome. I'm going to put Israel
back on the map. That's what you're hoping in.
Jesus says don't hope in that. I'm the only thing that you've
got. I'm the only thing that's coming. I'm the only God that
you'll ever know if you know Him. And you've been looking
for me. You've been waiting for me. You've been hoping in me.
And here I am. Eat of my body. Drink of my blood. I'm the only
thing you're ever going to get. If you want anything else from
the Father, this is it. I'm all of it. And they went,
never, never. And I put it in terms of where
Paul is. Paul is saying, it was kind of
you to share my trouble. You know what he's doing there? He's already said, I don't need
your gifts. But he did have a need, but he
said it's not like I have a need. What is he showing? Let me just
be Paul for a minute and say what I think he would say in
this or what he's saying here. No matter what need I have, there
is nothing that can be given me that will increase my joy,
increase my satisfaction, increase my sufficiency, increase my contentment. Nothing you give me, freedom,
more ministry, More money, more hopes, more anything can help
me become more joyful than I am. For if nothing ever, ever, ever,
ever comes again, I am content and OK. And there is nothing
that can add to my joy. Friends, listen, that's what
Christ is for us. We don't say, oh Christ is my
all, and I just like this little bit right here. That's not the
point. That's Galatians 1 and 2. That's another gospel. That's
a cultural variance. That's an emotional variance.
Some of you saw that text that I put out. That's a variance
of the gospel, which is no gospel. The gospel is that Christ alone
is sufficient to supply the fullness of every hunger that I have,
every thirst that I have, every desire that I have, every passion
that I have. Christ, Christ, if I have nothing
but Christ, I have everything. And if I have to have something
with Christ, I have nothing. That's what it is. And Paul said
it like that, and for the Philippians, they're thinking, well, we're
sorry, we wanted to help you. That's what in his mind he's
thinking, because isn't that what you think? If you handed
me something that I was hungry, and you handed me some bag of
groceries, and I said, thank you so much, but I don't need these
groceries. I don't need to eat. I'm starving and I'm about to
die, but I don't have a need, because Christ is enough. And
you're like, fine then. Give me this food back. He didn't
reject it. But he wanted to emphasize what
really filled him. And now he says, and he also
said, I rejoice that you are now concerned for me, but I don't
really have a need. So don't burden yourself for
trying to make me pleasurable or happy or comfortable because
you can't. But your gift is received. He didn't turn it away. Your
gift is received. Listen, and it was kind of you
to share in my trouble. It was kind. See, that gave him
joy that they concern themselves with him. Why? Not because he
felt better, because they were concerned with him. Remember
this last week? Because he rejoiced that Christ was alive in them.
Because Christ and listen, well, that's no big deal. A lot of
people have concern for each other, not when they're in prison themselves,
not when they're dealing with their own burdens. Well, my mother's mother's pastor
spoke at the funeral in 2005. And he says the story about when
he when she first got breast cancer back in the 80s and he
goes to minister to her. And he kneels down by her bed
and they were very close. The families were very close.
And he tells a story about taking her hand and trying to pray for
her and he loses his mind. He starts to weep. He can't get
over it. He just breaks down and is broken
that this woman that he loves has cancer. He's broken. And after 30 seconds or so, he
says, I look up and she has got her hands on my head and she
is praying for me. That's the picture. That's the picture. And we don't need to go, oh,
well, I don't do that. OK, fine. Christ does. And he will use
you in that due time when that opportunity is available. We
don't make opportunities for ministry. The Lord does. Paul
didn't go into these areas and say, hey, lock me up so I can
be ministered to. He had a whole different plan.
But he knew he was going to jail. Matter of fact, the spirit of
God told him everywhere he went, he was going to be imprisoned.
And so he went. Somebody called me today and
said, hey, I know you're coming to Statesboro tonight, but they got a posse
waiting on you. I'm going to Glenville. Isn't that the smart
thing to do? Well, they got the borders of
Glenville hemmed up. Let's go to Pembroke. That's what the natural pause
like, oh, well, here we go. My ministry's going to be a prison
ministry again. Maybe I'll write some more letters. Take some
thank you notes. Take some time here. Thank God
for His grace through these people. It was kind of you to share my
trouble. And he goes on to say, and you Philippians yourselves,
you know very well, you know that in the beginning of the
gospel, what's that mean? The beginning of the preaching
of the gospel, the birth of the church, the beginning when we started
our ministry. When I left Macedonia, there was no other church in
any other city, in any other place that partnered with me
in giving, that partnered with me in receiving, except you.
You and only you, you Philippians, you've been here since the beginning.
He's already said that over in chapter 1. That the partners
of the gospel from the beginning, you have done well, he says.
Even when we were in Thessalonica, Thessalonica was not very far
from Philippi. You sent me help for my needs
once again. Now look at verse 17. What he's
doing there in that phrase that I just read is he's saying, listen,
don't take lightly the fact that I'm saying I don't have a need.
I'm appreciative of your heart and I'm appreciative of your
gifts and I thank you for them. But that's not why I'm here. That's not why I'm writing. That's
not why I'm talking. That's not what gives me my hope.
Do you see that? I know I keep laboring this point,
but I want us to get the fullness of the picture. Thank you, brother. He says in verse 17, not that
I seek the gift. You see, he's going to clarify
now the point. Not that I seek the gift. But I seek the fruit. That increases
to your credit. This is loaded. This is loaded. What does it mean? Not that I
seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your
credit. In chapter 1, verse 11, he's already said these words,
I pray that you may be filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and to the praise
of God. So if we look at that in other places like Ephesians
and Galatians and Romans and other places where Paul uses
that exact same phrase, the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of
Jesus Christ, the fruit of God working in your life, working
through you, that you are able to do the things that you do
because Christ is in you and you are in Christ. He says the same thing sort of
to the Romans, chapter 1, verse 13. I do not want you to be unaware,
brothers, that I have often intended to come to you, but thus far
have been prevented, in order that I may reap some harvest
among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. What is
he talking about? What's the fruit of righteousness
there? New salvation, new hope, new life. Here are these This
suffering apostle saying that my point in living, he's already
said it here in the letter to the Philippians, is that you
may increase in your wisdom, in your affection, in your learning,
in your ministry, in your giving, in your prayer, that Christ would
be honored and glorified in you. And so that's how Christ is glorified
and honored in his life. That's how Christ is glorified
and honored in his suffering. That's how Christ is glorified
and soon would be glorified and honored in the death of Paul
is that Paul lives for the sole purpose of seeing people's lives
fruitful. Now, let me stand here for a
second. Let me say something. It's very easy for us as Christians
to consider Christian living a part of our all lives. I mean,
I don't think anybody in the sound of my voice would say,
well, no, Christianity is for Sundays. And then we do whatever,
not sin and all, but you know, my faith is sort of a Sunday
thing with my Christian friends. No, everybody in here knows that
our faith is to be lived out everywhere. And everybody in
here understands the reality that the church has a unique,
intimate bond that's supernatural. It's not something we can create.
In fact, most of you people wouldn't like me at all if I weren't in
Christ. That's true. Be honest. Go ahead and do it.
I don't want you to do it out loud, bro. All right. And most of us in the room realize
and understand the significance of what it means to take the
gospel not only to each other, to ourselves, to each other,
but also to the world. But what Paul is teaching through
this fruit of righteousness, through the fruit that increases
to your credit, it's not about the gift that he receives, but
the gift itself is the fruit of righteousness in Jesus Christ.
So that the work of ministry is something that is praiseworthy,
is honorable, something to be looked at and thought of and
rejoiced over, whatever is commendable, praiseworthy, think about these
things, learn and continue in them and practice them. And here
in this, in some sense of application, I want you to see this. Everything
we do, no matter where we work, no matter where we play, no matter
where we rest, every interaction with every single person, no
matter what the primary cause may be as a Christian, is to
see the increase of the fruit of righteousness in that person's
life. Do you hear that? So no matter
how sorry that employee is that should be cut loose, even if
you cut them loose, you may need to be more concerned about their
righteousness than you are about their job performance. Parents, it's easy for us to
declare behavior from our children. And it's easy for us to praise
them when they behave the way we want them to. But even when
they do, we need to be concerned about the fruit of righteousness
in their lives. It's far more important to know that they're
working out obedience out of a heart for Christ than out of
a fear of discipline. And sometimes they go hand in
hand. One teaches the other sometimes. But our hearts must be bound
to want to see people with the joy of Christ growing ever so
every day. Paul tells the Galatians in chapter
5, verse 22, you know this, but the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, etc.
The fruit of the Spirit is this. Paul is saying that the gift
that you give, the fact that you're giving is a fruit of the
Spirit. In Ephesians chapter 5 verse
9, he says, The fruit of light is found in all that is good,
in all that is right, in all that is true. In my mind, mimicking
what he says up there in verse 8 of chapter 4. In the latter
part of this, he says that it increases to your credit. It
increases to your credit. What does that mean now? Well,
it sounds like a business transaction. One of those things that we would
say, well, there's an account and there's something being credited
to us. Well, I don't think it's really that linear, but I think
it's really that obvious. What do we see even in the context
of the New Testament? That Abram believed God and his
faith was what? Credited as righteousness. It's
the same idea. Abram wasn't credited as righteous
because he believed. No, that's true. I misspoke last
week. Abram wasn't righteous because
he did something. Abram was righteous because he
believed that God credited him righteous. See that? He's justified. He's righteous
because God declared him righteous. God saved him miraculously, and
that righteousness, that salvation, evidenced itself in the sense
that he went. His faith was proven. He believed,
therefore he became righteous. He was righteous, therefore he
believed. But the evidence of that righteousness
was that he followed God. He obeyed God. The evidence and
the credit, to your credit, you say you follow Christ, Paul,
would say, and when you serve me the way you're serving, the
very fact that your heart is bound to me that way proves that
you are in Christ. He's already said, you are my
joy. And other places we see in scripture where Paul would
say such things. But Paul then say, well, Christ
is my joy and Christ alone do I find joy, but. The work of Christ is also an
opportunity for joy in Christ. For the fruit of light is found
in all that is good and right and true." So this giving to
Paul is the fruit of righteousness. It brings the fruit of righteousness,
which is joy and happiness. Like Paul would tell the Corinthians
in 2 Corinthians 9, God loves a cheerful giver. You give because
you love. God gave because He loved. We
give of our lives. Is it easy to give of our lives?
No. Nobody has spare time for crisis. Well, you know, I've got the
whole month of March locked out for crisis. Taking a couple of
weeks of vacation, and we're gonna have crisis. That's when
I'm gonna get sick, that's when you're gonna die, that's when
the kids are gonna go crazy. But by April, it's all good.
No, it doesn't happen like that. You got all these plans and everything
on fire, and then something else blows up. There's life. And we deal with them and we
do not lose sight. And Paul is saying, teaching
us here that when we do these things, it is to our credit. It is to the example of Christ's
work. It is to the praise of his glorious
grace. It is the evidence of the effectual
grace of God. And what do those look like?
Some thoughts that come from this text. We reap the benefits
of investing in each other. We reap the benefits of being,
of sowing life into each other and to the grounds of our hearts
and the grounds of our lives together. We reap the benefits
because it gives us joy as we glorify Christ with our lives.
I mean, how glorious is it to live 95 years, to be a good moral
person, to write a check to a couple of missions programs, and to
teach a couple of Bible studies and then die? Now, does that
sound cool? No. I'd rather die at 20 on the
battlefield for the faith. Now, we're not going to take
for granted the blessing of a life like that, but what is it that,
I don't even know who says this now, I mean, what is retirement
anyway? Retirement for a lot of people is just, let's just
enjoy life for ourselves. Retirement for some people is
now I don't have to do this so that I can do this, so that I
can invest in something else, that I can spend time with other
people so that I can do the things that God has empowered me to
do more effectively. Just something to think about.
To your credit, the credit, the joy, the glory and the sense
that we reap the benefits of the continuation of the ministry.
We reap the benefits. The Philippians reap the benefits
of Paul preaching where he was because people came to faith.
The Roman guard, people in the Roman guard came to faith. They
would never have listened. They would have never had opportunity
to spend time with Paul had they not arrested him. And many households,
not only where he was, but in Philippi and other provinces
came to faith. Many government officials, many
leaders, many of the Jews even came to faith during the ministry
of the apostles. And so we see that as we do the
work of the ministry, as we concern ourselves with the work of the
ministry, we are advancing the gospel. We are seeing the fruit
of righteousness work out as God then supplants all that he's
purposed in our lives and each of us. in his own time and way.
The fruit of this is seen in our concern for the brethren.
We have a concern. Epaphroditus was sent. He went,
he took the gift that they sent, and then he became ill almost
to death. And what was their concern? They
loved Epaphroditus, but their concern for him was, you remember
this? This is several months ago. Their concern was, now that
Epaphroditus is sick, Paul won't get what he needs. And Paul says,
I'm sending him back to you so that the ministry that he will
give you in rejoicing that he's okay will be greater than the
ministry that you would have sent me through him. Because
there's a concern, there's an affection. He says, I have all
the affection of Christ for you, Philippians. And he says that
they partner in suffering. And that this is toward their
credit. This is actually going toward
their righteousness. This is part of the evidence
of their hope. What does it look like? What
is partnering and suffering? We partner in suffering when
we are able to see and empathize and sometimes sympathize with
others because we've been there. We see their pain and we weep
with them who weep. Jesus wept with those who wept. He felt the sting of death by
the loss of one whom he loved, Lazarus. He was fully human and
he was fully God. And neither of those two natures
were intertwined. They were distinct. Jesus wept
with those who wept. He rejoiced with those who rejoiced.
In the same way, these Philippians suffered and wept with Paul and
his weeping. They were burdened with Paul's
burden, not just in their empathy and in their sympathy, but they
also partnered in his suffering in the reality of it. They knew
what it was like because they were in the midst of it. Many
who sent ministry to Paul during this season of his life also
were in need of the same ministry. Do you see that? And so that it kept their focus
on being the church rather than being in pity. And there's none
of us who have ever suffered who have not pitied ourselves.
It's part of it. And that's one of the reasons
that we go into that place, that God allows us for our flesh to
find hopelessness in some sense of our, of these seasons, that
we might be encouraged through the word of God and encouraged
in Christ through other people, through prayer, through the study
of the scripture so that we can see, wow, I don't have to sit
here. And thankfully, by the grace of God, we're able to be
brought out of these places. We're able to stand. And even
though our circumstances haven't changed, we can say, praise be
to God. Let's rejoice in Christ in verse 18. And finally, he
says these words, I have received full payment. See, he's already
said, I don't need anything, I'm content, but I'm grateful
that you are concerned with me and it's not that I don't want
it, but it's not what I'm after. I'm after the fruit of your righteousness
rather than the gift. So I celebrate Christ in the
gift because it is the fruit of your righteousness. It's a
quick and easy way of saying what I've just tried to say.
But now he says, just to ensure that to reassure them, listen,
I have received everything you've sent me. I have put it to work
and more than you've sent. Everything you intended to send
through Epaphroditus, I've received more. I've received more than
just the goods, more than just the funds, more than just the
fellowship. I've received more. I've been able to see God. What
would that look like? I've been able to see God work in Epaphroditus.
I've been able to see God work through His suffering and my
suffering together. I've been able to see Timothy grow through
all of this. I've been able to see the faces
of these Roman guards come to life in Christ. I've been able
to see their lives transformed as now they're working to sneak
in paper and to sneak in stuff for me and to go against their
own laws so that they can see the work of the gospel continue.
I've seen all of this. I have been enriched. I am well
supplied. Look at that. Paul, all we can
do is send you one loaf of bread and five dollars. That's all
we can do. That's plenty. That's more than
I need. And then as people saw that ministry coming in, people
who would take the lives of most Christians, God uses those things
to say, these people would risk their lives for a loaf of bread?
What kind of idiots are they? What's a loaf of bread going
to do for this man? He's going to be in here for two years. He's going
to be here forever. He's going to die in prison.
Their idea was that he would die. Most people died in a Roman
prison. They did not feed them. They
did not clothe them. They did not tend to their needs. If you
were sick, hungry, or naked, you died. And there was nothing you could
do if you didn't have family, if you didn't have friends who
would come and meet your needs. And these people were willing
to do it. What does that say? Wow, these people are crazy.
Well, you want to hear crazy? God who created you came to earth,
lived, perfectly lived out holiness,
died on the cross and rose from the dead after you killed him
so that you could have eternal life. That's why I got this loaf
of bread today, because Christ has given them life, even if
you take their heads. Tell me more. opportunity for
ministry. Paul says he is well supplied. He received from Epaphroditus
the gifts and he calls these gifts. Look at what he says these
gifts are. Now, if you took this out of context, you would think
that Paul was saying they sent him an offering, a fragrant offering,
a sacrifice, acceptable and pleasing. And thankfully, he said to God,
which we know the context, we know that's what he meant. He's
saying that your lives, O Philippian Christians, even in the midst
of your suffering, everything that you're doing, every way
that you pray, every burden that you carry, every gift that you're
sending, every messenger that comes my way is a sacrifice. It costs you something. It's
also an offering to God. And it's not just an offering.
It's an offering that has fragrance. It's an offering that gives opportunity
for God to be pleased, for God to be honored. Your lives, O
Philippians, are honorable to the Lord. I want to tell you
something, church. That's the commendation I live
for. How about you? That's the commendation
I pray for you. I want to see that heart in our
lives where we can look at each other and we will say to each
other, wow, you, my dear friend, your life is a fragrant offering
to God. Because when we see each other
living to the glory of God, guess what? It is a pleasure to us. You know what this says about
Paul? It proves the very thing that he's been arguing, that
he's not trying to be uber humble and be this fake humility, expressing
himself and saying, Oh, I don't need it. I don't want it. Oh,
you shouldn't have. I mean, and he's not being greedy, which
is what people were saying about him. He's crazy. He's greedy.
He's a criminal. Now they're saying, well, he's
not being he's just being over him. He's just trying to overemphasize his humility.
Oh, he's just greedy. He's proven that they're wrong.
And he says to them that it is the fact that I get my full joy
from seeing you live in Christ. Is that is that what we want?
Is that what you want for yourself, for your children, for each other?
Friends, I pray that that is the desire of our heart. That
our heart would be the proof of our hope. That our lives would
be the example of the life of Christ. That everything that
we do, every offering that we give of ourselves is good to
the Lord, not selfish. And that everything that we receive
in ministry, every time someone prays for you, every time someone
offers you food, don't take it lightly. because it is a fragrant
offering to the Lord. Do not turn away even the smallest
gift, the smallest prayer, the smallest thank you, the smallest
article of clothing, the smallest, most significant piece of coin.
Do not turn it away with a frown. Do not receive it with disdain,
for it is a sacrifice and an offering that is pleasing to
God. And even if it is the smallest,
most insignificant, most impossible to be used in your life, it ought
to give you the greatest and the fullest of joy knowing that
God has sent that small nothing into your life by the powerful
everything that He is. That's amazing. There's no difference in the
shaking of the earth and the giving of a cup of water.
Both are a miracle of God. Both are the work of God. And
every work that God does is equally significant to display His glory.
Friends, don't lose sight of that. Don't lose sight of that. And at the end of it all, we
see in verse 19 and 20, the question might be, but what about my needs? When there's no one there to
meet them. And this is where we'll be next week as we close.
Paul says, and my God. My God will supply every need
of yours. You hear that? How's God going
to supply the needs if his people don't have them? We forget who
God is and we forget that he owns it all, that he's supreme
because he created it. And there's no mind or heart
or will or purse or pantry or anything that doesn't belong
to him. But most importantly, the needs
that he will supply, even when this life fails us and we die
hungry. I will supply or God and my God
will supply every need of yours. By what measure? From what treasury? Look at it. According to his
riches in glory in Christ Jesus. And then he praises him with
the doxology. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.
Amen. Friends, we've got to spend some
time there. And look at that. And worship God in that. Let's
pray. Thank you so much, Father. For this greatly encouraging
letter that you've given us. Thank you, Father, for sending
Jesus Christ to supply all of our needs. For he is the picture,
he is the perfection of your riches. He is the greatest of
all your blessings, for he is them all. For all things come
from him and through him and to him. And Lord, as we as we meditate
on that, we need you to help us. We need you to help us discern. We need you to help us grow.
We need you to help us be ministers of your gospel. To our homes,
to our lives, to our church, to our communities. Father, press in us the urgency
of this gospel being spread to the world. Being encouraged through
its power. Father, help us to do that which
you've created us to be as we seek your face every day. Father,
bring. Certainty in the hearts of your
people today. certainty of their salvation by faith alone, by
grace alone, in Christ alone, and certainty of your provision
in Christ. And it is in His name we pray.
Amen.