For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose,
I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the
two. My desire is to depart and be
with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the
flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I
know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress
and your joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample
calls to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again."
We've had a decent three-month journey in Philippians thus far. Believe it or not, 90 days of
Sundays we've been in Philippians. And we've seen Paul's argument
developing. We've seen Paul's expressions.
We've seen Paul's testimony. We've seen Paul's prayers. We've
seen Paul's zeal. We've seen Paul's suffering.
And all the while, he has an opportunity to do something that
very few of us ever do. And that is, he has an opportunity
in this moment in time where he is a coin toss away from either
living or dying. I say a coin toss, it's not about
chance, but it's one or the other. There are no other options for
Paul. Paul will either be spared when he stands before the emperor
or he will be beheaded or crucified. And Paul in his heart is saying
to us, but specifically to these Philippian Christians, you know
my love that I have for you, you know my prayer for you, you
know our partnership and our suffering and in the grace of
God, you know all that has been happening. And friends, here
is what I want you to know. I want you to know that what
has happened to me is for the sake of the advancement of the
gospel. So, in that, The things that are happening are God's
doing. And my suffering is causing a
stir in the hearts of the brothers here. And the gospel is being
proclaimed. Even those who hate me and wish
to do me harm, God is using them to preach a gospel that is true. And then he says, For to me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain. And we looked at that over
the last few weeks and we've understood what Paul was trying
to say, that his present circumstances, his current life was Christ. That when people looked at his
life, they did not see Paul's plans, they did not see Paul's
suffering, they did not see Paul's issues or Paul's ministry, but
they saw Christ at work. Paul looks at other places in
Scripture as we see if we look there. We would see Paul's theology
about being in Christ and how life is Christ. We even looked
over at chapter 3 a little bit last week at how that life living
in Christ would look. just as an individual, as Paul
then would tell the Philippian church, that they must live in
the same manner. And when we get to this place,
we see, and to die is gain, a lot of times we do what is natural.
With a proper theology, we realize, as Paul says, that dying is gaining,
because I get to be with Christ. He even argues that. But what's
happened here, the main point of this little section of text,
or the main thing that we should be considering when reading this,
is this point. Verse 25, he says, convinced
of this. Convinced of this. And so, if you think about that
for a moment, and then you see what he says in verse 22, Yet
which I shall choose, I cannot tell. And then he says in verse
23, I'm hard pressed between the two. What are the two living
or dying? Living is Christ. Dying is far
better. I am hard-pressed between the
two. I do not know which I should
choose or what I will choose. Then, verse 25, I am convinced
of this. So, see, what we're seeing here
is not this teaching moment for Paul, though it is a teaching
moment. What Paul is doing is he's helping his readers follow
his process of thinking. Paul is helping his readers see
that Paul came to a crisis of choice. Paul came to a crisis
of heart. And when I say crisis, I'm not
talking about unbelief, but wow, how many good choices do I have
before me? What shall I choose? I can only
have one meat and three sides and there's 25 meats that I love
to eat. Have you ever been there? You ever been to the it's you
know where you find that at the food court in the mall. Where
they give you all these samples of free food and then you want
this. Well for four dollars you get the one meat and the one
side. But you want three meats. Well that's fifteen. And then
you get it and you can't eat it all anyway. What a weak little
example. But in some sense, the greatest
desire of Paul's heart was laid before him twice. Two choices. What shall he choose? You might say, well, I don't
see. He says to die is far better, but to live is Christ. If Christ
is the truest desire of Paul, if Christ is the fullest of Paul's
satisfaction, if the grace of Jesus Christ is that which Paul
desires above all things to be the absolute adhesive that fills
Him and carries Him and holds Him and keeps Him together, then
He is saying that both of these choices are indefinitely glorious. And he does not know what he
shall choose. And so he carries his readers
through this somewhat frustrating place and says, I want this and
I want this. This is better for me. This is
better for you. But yet this is Christ and this
is Christ. And what shall I do? Then he
comes back to the end of verse 25. He says, but convinced of
this. And so we are seeing Paul, I'm sure he didn't figure this
out as he wrote it, but he wrote it so that we could see that
Paul struggled with this. Paul struggled. What good thing
shall I choose? What good thing shall I desire? Now, some people would say, well,
it's an obvious choice. Paul wanted to die. Of course,
that's great for Paul, as he says. But then dying would not
be good for us. But Paul disagrees with that.
As we've seen and as we'll be reminded today. Had Paul lost
his life, it still would have been good for the Philippian
church. Because Paul understood that being in Christ, when we
share in the suffering of Christ, that it fills up what is lacking
in Christ, according to Colossians. It's right into the Colossian
church. And that while Paul was in prison, it gave boldness.
to the Christians. When Paul was arrested, his suffering
gave courage to the church. When Paul was arrested, what
we would think was that, wow, the planting of churches would
die down, they actually exploded. So what would happen if Paul
were to die? What would happen if Paul were
to die? I want you to just think about
that because that's really where Paul is writing. He is really
showing these Philippian Christians that he had a choice. Now, was
it Paul's choice? No. Paul knew that it was Christ
who would work this out for his good. Christ's own glory. That
it was God the Father who had him securely in whatever outcome
would be. But here is where I think we
need to understand when he says, which shall I choose? How would
Paul choose which destiny would be his door to open? Well friends, just like we have
decisions come across our minds and hearts every moment, how
do we handle the decisiveness of that? the wisdom of knowing
which one. We might say, well, Paul didn't
have a choice. He did have a choice because
as he prayed, he needed to pray effectively toward either one
or the other. Oh God, kill me that I might
be with Christ. Let my death be a witness to
your power. That would be a prayer that I
would pray. That would be a prayer that Paul desired to pray above
all things. But then Paul then considered
But if I stay, the benefit to the church would be even greater
at this place. So I believe Paul's frustration,
if you will, and I use that word very lightly because I think
frustration is sin, but his dichotomy His choices were more in line
with how he should pray the Lord work rather than worrying about
which one he would choose. Because did Paul change what
he was going to say to the emperor? Did Paul change the gospel? Did
Paul recreate his ministry plan? No. He stayed the course. So
let's look at this stuff piece by piece. Just have this in your
mind as we go through this today. Christ is life. To live is Christ. I don't want to preach all the
way through that last week, but I want you to remember that Paul
is saying here that his life is Christ. His life is Christlike,
his life is for Christ, his life is an image of Christ, that when
people see him, they see Christ. Everything that he does. Be encouraged
by that. We left our time together last
week with that understanding that we as His people are to
press into that desire. We are to desire that everything
we do in our lives is not just for Christ and His glory, but
the way that it's for Christ and His glory is that it exemplifies
Christ. That it reflects Christ. That
if we are doing this project or talking to this person or
issuing an opinion on this subject, that it should be the same as
if Christ were engaged in that business. Christ were engaged
in that activity. Christ were engaged in that conversation.
That's why things like gossip is considered murder according
to the apostles. That's why the sins of relationships
between brethren and sisters in the church are paramount,
where John would say that if you don't have love, that you're
a liar. No matter how sound your doctrine
is, no matter how godly your theology might be, when your
heart and your life does not reflect that, something is amiss. But then when he says, and to
die is gain, at the base of all of that, Paul is saying and proclaiming
that the reward of death is life. that the reward of dying in the
flesh, and when he says in the flesh, he's not talking about
the sinfulness of the flesh, he's talking about the physical
body, the flesh, that to die is to receive the reward of Christ. That Christ is the crown, Christ
is the joy, Christ is the hope, Christ is the treasure of heaven.
As Jesus would argue in the gospel accounts where he says that the
kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, and the worker
in the field discovers the treasure and covers it, and then with
joy he goes and he sells all that he has that he may buy the
field. The pearl of great price, the same thing. And then Jesus,
in speaking to Nicodemus, tells him that he cannot even see the
kingdom, much less enter it, except to be born of God. Paul
had been born of God through a massively supernatural, sublime,
and divine interaction with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul,
in his zeal to persecute the church, became the voice of the
gospel. He became the voice of God to
us, the Gentiles of this world, that we might see the beauty
of God in the face of Christ and thus have absolute joy and
absolute glory and that we share in all things. Christ Paul said
to die is to receive all of that that I have been working for
Paul tells young Timothy I have run the race I have won the prize
I have finished the race I'm being poured out I'm finished
praise God praise God but see I don't think Paul is much like
me in that when I think of that I am absolutely selfish I'm not
saying that, and it's not selfish to have Christ as a prize, but
I'll tell you, when I just say those things and I think, oh
my goodness, the day that I don't have to struggle and fight and
bear this world, what a glorious day it shall be. What is that
old hillbilly sounding song? I can't remember, but a bunch
of them are ringing in my ears. And there's no reason people
get excited. It explains why people get excited
about all those things. Thinking about the day of the
Lord, the time when we, even in death, are going to be separated
from this God-forsaken, if we can, planet. But it's not God-forsaken. And Paul knows that it's not.
Christ is amongst the world. Christ is with His people. Christ's
people are together. Christ is there. Christ is here. Christ is with us. And yes, we
yearn and we long to be with Him. And it is not sinful to
long to be with Christ. It is not selfish. But in a fleshly
way, I would say that if I were about to have my head chopped
off, I'm not swinging that sword, baby. But by God's grace, Paul
was able to consider the calling of his life, that there was something
more than just his own personal salvation that was more important
at this moment in history. And that was not just the salvation
of more and more people as grace abounds more and more, but the
growth of those people to come to a place where they would rest,
where Paul is resting at this very moment in time. Christ is
the reward when this life is done. And Paul knew that living
in this life was Christ visible. And Paul knew that living in
this life was Christ's was a reward from Christ. But then that Christ
himself would be the reward when this life was done. And then
he says these words. Verse 22, if I am to live in
the flesh. You notice, for to me, if I am,
which I shall choose, I am hard pressed. My desire I know this
is Paul sharing his heart with his with these people. This is
Paul expressly showing and revealing as he's worked these things out,
the power of the gospel of grace. And here Paul then says, if if
I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Now, let's think about that for
a second. Because to me, when I hear Paul say, and to die is
gain, or to die is far better than living, then how is it that he then comes
back and somewhat, not contradicts, but waters down that in my mind,
where he says, that if I live, it's fruitful labor for me. It's fruitfulness for me. If
dying is the best option in the world, if it is my highest desire,
if it is my grand magnum opus of ministry is to die for the
sake of the gospel, then how is it thou that living is fruitful? Well, think about it. Paul says,
if I live, in this flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.
Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell." So what is fruitful labor
for Paul? Think about it for a minute.
How would we answer that in our own lives if we were to say,
I'm ready to leave this world. I'm ready to see my Lord. I don't
know that there would be anyone under the sound of my voice that
would not say amen. But then when God says, this
is not your day, You remain. How do we, how do we not get
this, just become despaired or downtrodden? Because Paul, as
Paul understood that fruitful labor is Christ. We in the same
way should understand that that is true. So what is fruitful
labor for Paul? Well, let's think about what
we've already learned just in this context. Suffering for the
sake of the gospel. Paul says that his suffering
is fruitful work for him. It's good for him. It's fruitful
for him. That it's productive. That it's
actually producing something that he desires to see produced. So suffering is fruitful labor
for Paul if he lives and remains in prison. Proclaiming the gospel
is fruitful labor for Paul. Sometimes we think of ourselves
called of God, and I know this is a very, very frustrating thing
for a lot of men especially, who just get caught by the bug
of ministry. Well, I just want to give my
life to the work of God, and I've got to go into the ministry.
You know, we've got to be vocational pastors, or we've got to be full-time
in ministry. I've never heard of part-time
ministry. I've never seen part-time ministry. I've never understood
what that means. Now, I've heard of full-time
program directors, and I've heard of full-time activities coordinators,
and I've heard of full-time CEOs and office managers who carry
the title as pastors, but when it comes to ministry, all of
us, no matter who we are or what we're called to specifically,
we are not part-time ministers. We are full-time ministers. And
it often frustrates me because I've been there when I see a
man who feels called to the pastorate and yet his whole life is spent
trying to get away from the job that he's in rather than being
obedient to the call that he's given. If I could just get rid
of this job, then I could be in the ministry. How about that
job be the first place you minister? How about your house? How about
your neighborhood? What stops a man from hunting?
What stops a man from fishing? What stops a man from riding
crazy four-wheelers and putting his life in danger? Nothing. Nothing. What stops a man from
his hobbies? What stops him from doing those
weird death-defying acts that he likes to do? Nothing. Nothing. But yet, it seems like life,
in every little minute detail, stops many people from answering
the call to live for Christ. Paul, no matter if he was in
jail, or making tents, or picking up peanuts, he said, it was Christ. And it was opportunity to proclaim
the gospel. And it was fruitful labor. Fruitful
labor for Paul, not only was suffering and proclaiming the
gospel, but living in the gospel. living in the gospel. In other
words, as he began to have these pains in life, these persecutions,
these sufferings, these somewhat obvious setbacks, Paul said,
this is the gospel. The good news of Christ is living
in me. Therefore, there is none of this
that takes my joy away. Living in the gospel is this
place that I stand and rest with the sufficiency of God's grace,
which is enough for even my physical ailments, as he prayed three
times for God to take away the thorn in his flesh. And Jesus
says, My grace is sufficient. Living in the gospel is fruitful
labor, even if you're on a bed dying. Living. Preparing others with the gospel
is fruitful labor for Paul. Paul prays for these people. He prays that God would fill
them with all the fruit of righteousness. He prays that God would expand
their love and grow their love and give them discernment and
knowledge that they may approve what is excellent. He wants them
to continue to partner in the ministry. He wants them to understand
that they too will suffer in the ministry. And so Paul's fruitfulness,
even in prison, look at what he wrote while he was incarcerated. Look at when God took him off
the streets and off of the public ministry, what Paul did by the
grace and divine providence of God to give Christ to us. And so Paul says, if I live,
it is fruitful labor for me. And fruitful labor for me, that
which is good, that which is successful, that which is holy,
that which is satisfying, is preparing you, O Philippians,
for the gospel, with the gospel. Paul knows that fruitful labor
for him was also full of joy. There was never a time that I
think as Paul, though he grimaced under the pain of beatings and
stonings and shipwreckings and incarcerations and accusations. As Paul grew in joy, I believe
he began to smile. And almost laugh as they change
his arms around the pole to take the flesh from his back. What
joyful laughter must have been in his heart if he thought this
is exactly what my God and my Lord has ordained for me. What
fruitfulness my life has right now. Fruitful labor is knowing that
the gospel is Jesus. is knowing that living in the
flesh is Christ, that living is joy, and that living is fruitful. No matter where we are, as we
are in Christ, living is fruitful. Friends, this is why I continually
focus and harp and pound, and I'm really light on the issue.
I mention it passive-aggressively. But that's why I continue to
focus on the issue of being the body of Christ. Who is your church? Who is your family? The church
has a face, not a place. And so you've got to realize
that the way we grow into this is that we together grow into
this. You've always heard the bumper
sticker lingo. You know what a bumper sticker
lingo is? The cute little saying that everybody quotes and nobody
knows what it means. And you see it on a bumper sticker, and
I've seen this years and years and years, not recently, but
I've seen it a lot. People don't do bumper stickers
anymore because they put them on Facebook. But you understand the idea of
a chain, no matter how hard and bold and strong and thick it
is, it's only as strong as its weakest link. And I've heard
people use that as a metaphor for the church, that the church
is only as strong as its weakest member. That's not true for us. The church is only as strong
as its head. And I've heard the old bumper sticker, the church
is only as strong as its weakest member on its knees. But let me give you the reality
of it. The only way you will be strong is that we become strong. And when you become strong, we
will become strong. And if there's someone who can
barely raise their head, then those who are strong will pick
them up. When there are those who feel that they've lost their
faith, we who are strong will secure them in it. When there
are those who run because of sin in their lives, we who are
strong will restore them. except they not be in faith and
then discipline is practiced so that God through discipline
would draw them back if indeed they belong to him. So it's fruitful
labor for Paul. It's fruitful labor for us as
God's people. No matter what we're experiencing,
it is fruitful labor for us. And I believe Paul, when he says
it's fruitful labor for me, because he said for to me to live is
Christ, then Paul says it is fruitful labor for Christ. Because
Paul's me is not him. Paul's me is Christ. That's what
he says. So how is it that then this now
has nothing to do with Paul and everything to do with Christ?
Because suffering for the gospel is for the sake of Christ. It
glorifies Christ in his body, whether by life or in death.
You see what he says just a few words before this. Proclaiming
the gospel, living in the gospel, preparing others for the gospel,
having joy in the gospel, living joyfully and fruitfully in the
labor. It is fruitful labor for Christ. Christ grows his people. I will build my church, Peter. This knowledge that God has given
you is the foundation on which my people will be built. That
I am the Son. I am the Lamb. I am the Christ. And I have come
to seek and save that which is lost. It is fruitful labor for
Christ. And in Christ, as we labor for
Him, as we labor in Him for the sake of each other, Christ is
laboring. Because it's His work. It's His
power. It's His ability. It's His righteousness. It's His passion. It's His zeal. It's Christ in us. Paul would
proclaim that it is not I who live, but Christ who lives within
me. That's why sin and failure in
our morality or in our obedience, I don't even want to use the
word morality, in our worship is such a pock to the church
because it depicts wrongly that which we are. It puts the wrong
image to the world of who our Father is. But as a fruitful labor for Christ,
it creates something for the body. And what it does is it
creates growth in the body. Fruitful labor for Christ, according
to Paul, is that the body would be strong. It would be strengthened. It would become bold. It would
become passionate. That those people would be glorious. You notice he says that there.
So that with me you may have ample cause to glory. I want
to give some time to that phrase next week. to glory in Christ
Jesus because of my coming to you again. You will grow. You will love. Your affections will be transformed. If I labor here, then Christ
is laboring here, and this is fruitful for me. It is fruitful
for the gospel. It is fruitful for you, Paul
then argues. You will become preachers of
truth. You will grow into a unified people, not looking to secure
your own homes because you joyfully, the still way from Hebrews, accepted
the plundering of your property because you knew you had a greater
reward and abiding one. We're not looking to secure our
own communities, but rather understand that all communities and institutions
will pass away, but the kingdom of Christ will endure forever. It doesn't mean we're not good
stewards, but it's not our cause. We will see others forgive each
other. We will see the church bear one
another's burdens, bear each other's weakness, bear each other's
sins. In the sense of bear, we just
like, oh, this brother needs to grow a little bit. And we feed each other, and we
defend each other. This is fruitful labor for Christ. This is fruitful labor. I believe Paul would agree with
this statement in that if I am to live in the flesh, that means
fruitful labor for me. which is that you would become
a people for God's own glory who would rise to the greatness
of His work as Christ works in you to reveal His glory and His
power. But then Paul here says, Yet
I cannot tell what I shall choose. I do not know what I shall choose.
Paul is torn between the joy of living fruitfully for the
sake of the gospel and going and being with the gospel giver. And the reality is that both
give him satisfaction. Both are equally as pleasing
to his soul. Both are the cause Christ is
the grand author of his life. He is satisfied in them both.
I'm hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and
be with Christ, for that is far better. Now, there's something
that we should learn there that I didn't think about until this
very moment, but it is far better for Paul, and it is far better
for the Philippians, and it is far better for us. It is far
better for us that we die and be with Christ. For it is the
great prize for which we live, for which we strive, for which
we war. It is far better. But, verse 24, to remain in the
flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that
I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress in
enjoying the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to
glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again." Hard
pressed. I'm hard pressed. This was no
easy situation for Paul. Paul wasn't coming here and saying,
you know, I've just been thinking about it, contemplating, theorizing. Paul was pressed. Like being
up against the wall with some really big guy trying to take
your wallet and he's pushing you up against that brick. Or
having a ton of material fall on you and you just sort of press.
He's pressed. He's hard pressed. He is having
to really consider, prayerfully consider, what is the best thing
for me to want, to desire? Neither of his choices is sinful.
I believe as Paul prayed that his love would abound more and
more. See, give the prescription here for the Philippians. With
knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what
is excellent and so be pure and blameless. Remember we talked
about that's not just salvific but also presently And so Paul
had said, I love you with the affection of Christ Jesus, I
yearn for you with the affection of Christ Jesus, and that as
I pray for your love to abound more and more, I believe Paul
is able to pray that because he prays that for himself. Lord,
let this affection that I have, that I yearn for these people,
what is this affection? It's not just to hang out and
fish, y'all. It's not just to hang out and do cool things together
because they're incredible people. As a matter of fact, I bet you
there were some very non-incredible people as part of the Church
of Philippi who would be aggravating to many of us. Especially those
that just don't get it. Would you stop? Would you walk
away? Would you grow up? Have you ever felt like that? But Paul says that the prayer
that he has is that their love may abound. He prays that for
himself. It's a common assumption that
Paul would not pray or command someone else to do something
that he would not command of himself and Christ to do. And pray for himself that God
would do in him as he wants God to work in everyone else. And
so here now Paul is practicing what he prays and preaches. Paul
is able to go, I'm hard pressed, I'm being honest with you people,
I don't know what I should do. Because both of them are incredibly
satisfying. But I know that I want to be
with Christ a lot more than I want to live in this world. It is
my end game, if you will, Paul would say. It is far better. But I'm hard pressed. I don't
know what to do. I don't know where to go. And
so in this, that means he's overwhelmed by the choice. But now here's
something that you need to understand because of what Paul has already
told us. Paul then is by the Spirit of God being worked to
know what is wise and excellent. That he can approve that path
and that prayer that is most certainly the will of God at
this moment. And as Paul prays, the Spirit
of God gives him an affection that is absolutely unparalleled
for these people. And it's not just, as I started
to mention, their camaraderie. It's their partnership in the
gospel. It's their partnership in suffering. It's their partnership
in grace. The proclamation and the advance
and the defense of the gospel. This is why we love each other
as we do. And because of that, our love
for each other compels us to be concerned with our needs,
all of them, but most specifically and most importantly, the needs
of our spiritual growth, that we mature in Christ, that we're
growing in our knowledge of the faith, that we may teach others
to do the same. And Paul's hard-pressed. But he's not overwhelmed by the
pain of suffering. It's going to sound so cliché
when I say this. Paul is not overwhelmed by the pain of suffering. He is overwhelmed by the gain
of it all. This is like... I don't know what it's like.
I used to say it's like Christmas, but Christmas isn't all that
cool anymore. He's just been given everything.
Every choice he could possibly ever desire is there. And Paul's
like, I'm overwhelmed by the gain of both. I do this and it's
like, yes, awesome, hallelujah, I can't wait, I want it, I want
it. This, oh my goodness, what am I going to do here? This is
why I do this. This over here is the one day
they'll get this. That's why I do this. So that
they'll get this. So that they'll desire Christ. So that their
death will be gained for them. I'm going to stay. I'm going
to stay. Oh God, I'm going to stay. Because you know what would
be worse? You know what would be greater than just being with
Christ? Is their being with me in this joy with Christ. There
is the issue that's going on in Paul's mind. And this is the
issue that as someone who has had his life instructed to teach
others to see this type of thing, this is my heart for you. that
you see this as not an option, but a guarantee. Not a, I wish
it would happen, but a certain hope. Why do we preach? So that you can have that kind
of dichotomy. So that you and I would have
that type of intimacy. Why? Because that's what Christ
does. And if it's not there, Christ
isn't in us. And if it's weak, it's because God's word is not
in us. And we're not praying the way we should. But if Christ
is in us, we will. And we'll be spurred on through
the gospel, through the words of Christ, through the scriptures.
We'll be spurred on and carried by the power of the Holy Spirit
that even in our weakness, he will prompt us to pray. He will pray. I will gain, Paul says. Either
way, I win. But if I stay a little longer,
I win greatly. It's not a game. No, it's a prize. It's a prize. And it is a plurality
of prizes. As Christ redeems His people,
friends, there is no greater joy in this world than seeing
a lost, dead, blind person be given life to the gospel. There's
no greater joy. Recently there have been historical
anniversaries of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. And I've read
a lot of things, we've shown a lot of videos, even to our
children. You see a lot of people who journaled through that time,
and a lot of people, even Nazi family members, who did all they
could to save people from concentration camps, from death camps, let's
call them what they are, death camps. And yet all the ones they
saved, as wonderful as it was, was never satisfying enough for
them as they wrote and as they pled and as they shared their
stories years later. If they could have just saved
another one. Just one more. If they could
have just seen one more family not torn apart by this wickedness. And that's earthly and temporal. And people give their lives,
and that is very honorable and very godly, to sanctify life
and to preserve it. But it is not ultimate. And in a compounding way, our
heart for lost people should be a million times over. We don't have to see people starving
in chains to think they're dead. Because all we need to do is
just look around our streets. Paul, not only does he gain with
both choices, he lives with both choices. He lives either way. If I live, I live. If I die,
I live. Why die if I'm going to live
anyway? I might as well live as long as I can here so that
others may live with me, so that the church may grow. I rejoice. The more I see come
to grow and mature and rejoice in Christ, the more I grow in
my love for you and in my love for Christ. And I rejoice because
one day I will get that prize for which I'm fighting. I don't
have to rush it. I have a desire to depart, Paul
would say, and be with Christ, for that is far
better. Paul would rather die, if given
the true choice of his heart, he would rather die so that he
might see Christ, and that he might see Christ glorified in
his death, because at the last moment, Paul says, I want Christ
to be honored in my body whether by life or death. Whether in
life or death. So if I die, Christ is honored
in my body. If I live, Christ is honored
in my body. That's what he argues there with
that text just a few verses before. If I live, we've talked about
what that looks like. If I die, then Christ is glorified
in my death. Why? Because I did not give up
the faith. Because they gave me what I long
for. Because Christ is sovereign over
my life and when He chooses for it to be taken from me, it will
be a catalyst of fire to spread the gospel like there's no tomorrow. And these people have no idea
what's going to happen when they take my head from my body. I
win. Christ wins. The Kingdom of Heaven
wins. And the Gospel explodes. And they may even win because
God may save them. See, these are the things that
are going through Paul's mind based on that which he's written
here. He wanted to see Christ's Gospel
explode and expand. He wanted to see in his death
Christ's work in him. that he would boldly stand and
go, You, O Caesar, are not sovereign. Can you believe what that man
said to him? He told the Caesar he wasn't sovereign. They took
his head off. And look at the church. The world would look at Paul's
death And they would say, what a fool.
And the church would look at Paul's death and go, hallelujah,
he got it. He received his great reward. Isn't that it? Not just for himself, but for
the saints. His martyrdom would embolden and vindicate his claims. His chains would be broken forever.
You know, you're making some bold steps here. We'll just think
about how Saul began his ministry. How did Saul begin his ministry
in persecuting the church? Through a humble, quiet, bold
servant named Stephen. Full of the Holy Spirit. And Stephen began to preach the
gospel and serve people for the sake of Christ. And Stephen was
lied against and wrongly accused and wrongly convicted of blasphemy. And Saul, as part of the Sanhedrin,
stood in agreement with his killing. And the death of Stephen did
not silence the church. As a matter of fact, the church
was going pretty well in Jerusalem. Everything was going pretty good.
It was tense because there was some political issues happening
and Pharisees and Rome and you name it But it was contained It was contained in Jerusalem
and when Stephen died It just broke loose the Apostles
fled and The apostles left and began to not hide, though they
did take concern for their safety. They went to city, to city, to
city, to city. Oh my gosh, they're killing us
for preaching this. We better get the message out
before we die. And it is the death of Stephen
that God used to bring the gospel to me and to you. It is the death
of Stephen that empowered this zealous Pharisee named Saul to
begin to persecute the church. And at the right time, at the
right time, as he was about to meet up with the disciples and
have them arrested, Christ said, Enough's enough. Now you're mine. In chapter 8 of Acts, and I might
have mentioned this last week, but in chapter 8 of Acts, there
were unnamed individuals with loud lamenting who uncovered
the body of Stephen and carried him through the streets of Jerusalem
to give him a proper burial. Death sentence. If you've just
seen one of your brothers die for proclaiming the gospel, and
wrongly accused and killed because of false accusations and lies
of blasphemy and they stoned him. What do you think would
happen to you if you broke the law and touched a dead body,
much less a condemned body, in opposition to the Pharisees ruling? You would have been stoned. You
know, I don't think their names are listed. They didn't live
long enough to get them. I really do. wailing loudly,
carrying the body of Stephen through the streets of Jerusalem,
giving him a proper burial. That's not scared people. That's
empowered people. That's what gaining, even in
the death of Paul, would do for the church. And eventually it
would. I want to die. And then y'all would know that
I'm with Christ. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary
for you. As I've already said, that you may grow to have a love
and affection for Christ and maturity in Christ. It's more
vital that I stay. So because of you, I want to
stay over death. Because of you, I remain. For you are the body of that
which I love greatly. You are the body of my Lord of
which I am a part. So therefore, I stay that you
may be stronger. I stay that you may be unified."
When he says, I am convinced of this, it doesn't mean that
there was all of a sudden this epiphany that just happened,
that God had talked to him through a vision. No, I have come to
conclude and now I'm convinced. Here's my argument. I don't know
what to do. I'm hard pressed to live as Christ. To die is
even better. My desire is to be with Christ because that's
far better. But to remain in the flesh is
more necessary. It's more important right now
on your behalf. So I'm convinced of this. That
I know I will remain. How did he know that? How did
Paul know he'd come to the conclusion, so he was convinced that it was
better that he stay. So how did he know that he would not die?
because he prayed and God gave him the wisdom to know that the
prayers that he should pray would be for his release, for his continuation. So the Spirit of God gave him
peace with that prayer, not to pray that which would also have
been good. God, when I speak before Caesar,
I'm looking forward to my head being removed. I mean, think
about it for a minute. I am convinced that I will remain
and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress
in the faith and your joy in the faith. I will remain gaining what I
desire either way. I will continue with you because
my affection is great for you as it is the affection that is
in Christ Jesus, so that you will grow, so that you will glory,
have joy. I will glory in my Redeemer.
Glory. The root of glorying in Christ
is having joy in Christ. And how does that come? Well,
think about it for a minute. Paul proclaims to the Philippians. He prays with the Philippians. He partners with the Philippians. He sees God produce the fruit
of righteousness in the Philippians. He perseveres with the Philippians. That's how they'll grow. That's
how they'll grow. He'll continue to see them. He'll
continue to pray for them. He'll continue to write to them.
He'll continue to grow others who will continue the ministry
that he was doing. And the church will grow. The
church will grow. Friends, I'm going to tell you,
some of the greatest spiritual growth in my life has been through
the death of saints. But the death of those saints,
though glorious, had that kind of impact because of the life
they lived with me before they died. And I think Paul knew that. There
would be a day where he would be with the Lord. That was a
guarantee. And there will be a day when you and I will be
with the Lord. But until that day, our whole duty is to grow
for the sake of each other. For the sake of growing each
other in that joy. I will continue with you. Growing
in the faith then, according to Paul's argument, growing produces
glory. growing produces joy. Those are together. They cannot
be separated. For your progress in joy, as
you progress, joy is the evidence. Is that not the whole point of
Philippians chapter one? Look at the junk I'm in, look
at the problems I'm in, look at the position I'm in. Wow,
hallelujah, I praise God, do it all. It's all for good. This
is the point of my suffering. Now I'm gonna stay here and suffer
well that you can learn, as we'll see in a minute, to suffer well.
Well, not in a minute, in a few weeks. Because Paul is very clear
that these Philippian Christians are gonna suffer exactly like
he's suffering. grow it in the faith by learning
in the faith, by discerning in the faith, by seeing the glory
of Christ in the midst of suffering. And those who are redeemed in
the faith will bring joy in the faith. We together will have
joy. I've always thought this for
at least a decade or more, and I teach this to younger men in
the ministry, I say this, that the one test that should surpass
all as to the fruitfulness, as to the condition of your ministry
is the joy of your people in Christ. Individually and as a whole.
When someone's joy is gone, they are not walking with Christ.
They are running, defending their own positions. They're in despair. And our responsibility is to
see that joy return. Because who could answer Paul's
problems? Nobody. There's only one man
in the breathing earth that could release Paul from prison. And
that was seizure. That's it. Nobody could do anything. And Paul said, hey, this is in
the hands of Christ. And Christ will do what needs
to be done. You are going to grow, and then
we, as we grow, will grow others. What do we do as we grow? Well,
let's just think about some of the things Paul says. We contend,
we proclaim, we pray, we partner with the gospel, but it's all
about togetherness, isn't it? It's all about being the body
together. I want you to think about this
for a minute. I want you to think about those
who so often profess Christ. Oh yeah, I'm a brother, I'm a
sister, I'm in the church, I'm here. And these individuals can
give right theology. They're solid. Oh yeah, this
is what the Bible teaches. But there's no fruit of that
doctrine. There's no fruit of that theology. Because when life
gets hard, they quit. When it gets difficult, they
run. When there's conflict, they hide. Or worse, they turn a selfish
eye. They run from their own sin.
They run from discord. They don't have forgiveness.
They don't pursue unity. They don't pray. Therefore, they
don't live in obedience. Friends, we can obey everything
that we find in the entire Bible. Everything we find in the entire
Bible, and yet we ignore one thing. We've broken them all. And Jesus does not lightly answer
the questions of the Jews when they try to confront Him and
say, what is the greatest of all the laws of the prophets? He
says, the greatest of all the laws is this, to love the Lord
your God with all your heart and your mind and your strength.
The second of equal standing is to love your neighbor as yourself.
All the laws of the prophets hinge on these. John echoes that
sentiment. Paul, of course, teaches to that
in all of his epistles. John says it in his first epistle
when he says that if we walk in darkness, we confess the light
but yet we don't love our brother, we lie and we do not practice
the truth and therefore we walk in darkness. Friends, these individuals
who have the right doctrine but who do not love the body are
not of the body. And so at the base of it all,
we've got to grow to learn what's required of us. Paul says to the Corinthian church,
I'm just going to exaggerate for a minute and paraphrase,
if I love and help orphans and I worship and I give and I do
all good things for all people but I have no love, I'm worthless. Friends, love hurts. It costs. It bruises. Sometimes it batters. What is the love of Christ that
He gave Himself up for us that while we were still enemies,
Christ died for us? There's no greater love than
this, Jesus would say, than a man lay down his life for a brother.
None of us can die to save anybody from sin. But we can die to ourselves
for the sake of growing each other in the faith. And that
changes. It's hard some seasons, and some
seasons you're like, well, this is pretty easy. And then it's
like, brick wall. Sometimes it's a slide, sometimes
it's a swing, sometimes it's a shipwreck. The point is, are
we growing with that in mind? Are we growing to be a people? If we are in the faith, then
our heart will be tuned to live our lives out with the saints
of God. Our heart will be molded as a disciple of Christ. That's
why church discipline is one of these central, anti-cultural
practices of the church. See, church discipline doesn't
even start here. You can't worship with us anymore.
Don't come back to our place. Church discipline, according
to the way Jesus teaches it and Paul teaches it, is you can't
come back to our people. Does that make sense? Why? Because Paul will argue in just
a few verses He will argue... I'll leave that guy. But Paul will argue this, that what God has done through
the gospel of Jesus Christ, is evident only in the unity of
His people. And that if we are not focused
on that as we grow, as He tells the Corinthian church, all spiritual
gifts are for the unification and the edification of the whole. Then we're not seeing the reality
of the gospel. We're not seeing the fullness
of the gospel. And then as he closes, he says,
I want you to see this. I want you to grow. I want you
to grow together. I want you to grow powerfully
strong. I want you to maintain your prayer
life. I want you to. And who do we pray for each other? I want you to maintain your ministry.
Who do we minister to each other? I want you to maintain the gospel
proclamation. Who do we who preaches the gospel? The church. To whom? To the world, to the lost, and
to each other. What was empowering Paul to stand
under this suffering? The gospel. So that in me you may have ample cause to glory
in Christ Jesus. And I want to spend some time
on that next week. But in a nutshell, think about this. Paul, as much
as he would glory in Christ by himself in that cell with no
contact with the outside world, thought it fruitless, thought it worthless. So that you Philippians, in me,
may have ample cause. As I am here as an example to
you, with you, as a partner with you, you then have ample cause
to glory in Christ Jesus. So as I grow, and as I share,
and as I live, and to live is Christ, to die is better, and
I suffer, and these things happen to me, you will glory in Christ
Jesus. Your joy will be complete. Your joy will be full. That's
what John calls it. We write these things that our
joy may be complete with glory in Christ. See, I don't believe
individuals glory in Christ alone. We should. We do. But what to
what end? That we as a people glory. Not me and my family, though
we should and will, by the grace of God. Or my town or community,
but God's church. To display the manifold wisdom
of God to the powers and principalities of the heavenly places. So, where
is your joy? Where is your joy found in the
world? Where is your ministry? Where
is your hope? And I believe we can ask the
question, where is your power? I believe it's in Christ. Paul
says it is in Christ. All these things are in Christ
for the sake of the elect of God, for their growth and for
their joy and for their hope in Christ alone. Let's pray. Father, we are just, this life,
what is it that we could say? We are often downtrodden, we
are often in despair, we are often feeling hopeless, but Lord in your great power you
encourage us, you grow us, you redeemed us, you are saving us
and holding us and securing us. And God, if nothing else from
this day, could we be encouraged? Would you plan in us a season
of encouragement through the life of Paul? That we would just, in the midst
of suffering, rejoice. Even when we know no words, we
could have joy. Father, that you'd empower us
to pray for one another. and more than just our physical
needs, that we would pray for each other's spiritual joy, that
we would pray for each other's growth in Christ. Father, that we would look upon
each other's lives and we would see with great discernment and
spiritual lenses, we would see how we could be a blessing to
each other. Father, help us to grow. Help
us to grow that as we live and move in this world, we would
not be myopic and self-centered, but Father, open and giving a blessing to each
other. Father, let us also not forsake
the going of the Gospel. That we would at every turn be
able and empowered to share the Gospel of Christ. And Father, we pray these things
in the name of Jesus.