Philippians 1:18b-26

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Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

! This is our fourth week in starting the book of Philippians.

Verse 28 through 31.

It's around 61 A.D.

It's the end of his third missionary journey.

And we, you know, again a long time ago

when we were talking about what to preach on Sunday mornings,

we, I think Philippians is just one hands down

because it's been a really difficult year for many of us

and we really needed to kind of anchor our soul

on something that really talked about joy in Christ.

And Philippians is that book.

And it's a rarity because it's a letter written to a local church

that Paul cares deeply about.

And he's not necessarily calling to,

writing them to correct them or rebuke them for anything.

He is very, very well pleased with them.

And so the mood of this letter is warm and affectionate.

This type of ancient letter you would call a letter of friendship.

And he celebrates this long-standing partnership with them in the gospel

and the fellowship they have in Jesus Christ together.

And so last week we talked about how in God's providence,

he had been put in prison in Rome,

but he said that this didn't slow the advancement of the gospel.

It didn't hinder the gospel going forward,

but rather it served to advance the gospel.

And that's in verse 12.

And so we'll read our text today.

We're picking up in verse 18.

Well, the first part of 18, the last part of 18.

So Paul just says,

Yes, I will rejoice.

Verse 19.

For I know that though through your prayers

and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

this will turn out for my deliverance.

As it is my eager expectation and hope

that I will not at all be ashamed,

but that with full courage,

now as always,

Christ will be honored in my body,

whether by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ,

and to die is gain.

If I am to live in the flesh,

this means fruitful labor for me.

Yet which shall I 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 joy in the faith,

so that in me you may have ample cause

to glory in Christ Jesus

because of my coming to you again.

So, around the winter of 2008,

I had just sort of graduated from North Georgia

around May 2007,

and Nathan and Sam,

Wes and Liz and myself,

we had a college Bible study

that we had on Thursday nights

from back in the old apartments

down past the baseball field,

and it's kind of just carried on

in many ways.

But at the time, in 2008,

my cystic fibrosis,

my lung disease

was just really hitting me pretty hard,

and my health was deteriorating rapidly.

I think my lung function

was around 20, 25%,

and I was just really weak,

and I was in this phase

where I was going in and out of the hospital

almost every three weeks

and staying for about two weeks at a time

for treatments and antibiotics.

I spat up a lot of blood,

and the oxygen I just wore off and on

throughout the day,

and I slept with it.

And I was waiting on a lung transplant

from UAB Hospital in Birmingham,

but at that time,

at that Bible study,

we actually were studying Philippians,

and I just happened to sort of land

on this text during that time,

the same text.

And I had the opportunity to teach on it,

and it's just forever been stuck

in my mind

surrounding those events

and what the Lord was taking me through

as I kind of pondered

my own death

and the possibility of just going home

to be with the Lord.

So I hope that

in some similar way

I can encourage you today

so this text means a lot to me.

And so I've tried to think through

the best way to walk through it,

but we'll do it just in terms

of a few questions.

But question number one

is what is Paul's dilemma?

What is Paul's dilemma?

You see this in verse 22.

He says,

If I am to live in the flesh,

that means fruitful labor for me,

yet I do not,

yet which I shall not choose,

I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed

between the two.

My desire to depart

and be with Christ

for that is far better,

but to remain in the flesh

is more necessary

on your account.

So that term hard pressed

in verse 23,

it means like someone

who's traveling

on a tight, narrow path

and all of a sudden

they just feel pushed,

sandwiched, crushed

between two rock faces

if you want to think of it

that way,

and they have nowhere to go

except forward.

That's kind of how he feels.

He feels caught

between these two

competing desires.

He's torn.

But the first desire

is that he would remain alive

in this world

and continue

serving, loving,

and giving his life away

for the sake of gospel ministry

and to enable him

to help the Philippians

and other churches

just grow in their faith.

So to remain behind

for the sake of gospel ministry.

But the second desire,

it says he desires

to leave

this fallen world,

leave this awful,

broken, sinful world

to be reunited with Christ.

And he says

that is

what his greatest desire

really is.

And if it wasn't up

for the sake of other people,

that would win hands down

because that's what he says.

To depart and be with Christ

is far better.

But he also knows

that that choice

really isn't his.

He knows that God

is completely sovereign,

in control of his life,

whether he lives or dies,

and he will joyfully accept

whatever God chooses for him.

As it says in James, right,

if the Lord wills,

we will live

and do

this or that.

So,

he's confident

of his release,

though,

however.

He knows that God

is the giver and taker of life,

but he kind of humbly

just says,

but I think,

I'm pretty sure,

that I will be released

from this current imprisonment.

You see that in verse 19,

right?

He says,

for I know that

through your prayers

and the help of the Spirit

of Jesus,

this will turn out

for my deliverance.

In verse 25,

he says,

convinced of this,

I know that I will remain

and continue

with you all.

And he hopes that

such a joyful reunion

with the Philippians

will give them cause,

right,

in verse 26,

cause to glory

in Christ Jesus

because of my coming

to you.

And upon seeing

those prayers answered.

So,

if Paul is

to remain in the flesh,

if he is to remain

on this earth,

like,

what is the purpose?

Why?

To what end

should he continue

living?

You see in verse 22,

if I am in the flesh,

this means fruitful,

abundant,

rich,

rewarding labor

for me.

Remaining on earth

a little longer

in this temporal realm

and continuing

the work of ministry.

And in the case

of the Philippians,

it was joyful,

fruitful labor.

And should God

allow him

to continue living,

he is aware,

if you look at verse 24,

it is not on his own account.

He is wanting that

for the sake of others.

It is more necessary

for him to remain behind

for the sake

of others.

So,

there is two parts

of that

gospel ministry,

if you want to think

of it that way.

Like,

why would he want

to remain behind?

But the first one

we talked about

a lot last week,

but he wants

to remain behind

for the furtherance

of the gospel.

That God

would let him live

to advance

the cause

of the gospel.

gospel.

So,

if I am to remain

behind

to continue

preaching the gospel,

this is what

I will do

until my last breath.

And I hope

that

if you have

a desire

to remain here

on this earth,

that is one

of the foremost

things in your mind.

How can I

advance

the gospel

of Christ?

Do you have

a lot of friends

and family

that you long

to see

to come

to know Christ?

When I first

taught on this

years ago

and in today,

I really just

want to see

so many young

college students

come to know

Christ.

I want my

oldest friend,

Chris Edwards,

since I've known

from the cradle,

to come to know

Christ.

Christ.

And I want

my older brother,

Lee,

who's my best friend,

come to know

Jesus as well.

And I know

that one of the

reasons that God

has left me behind

is for the cause

of the gospel

in those areas.

But underneath

that,

he wants to remain

behind for the

discipleship

or the progress

of their joy

in the faith.

He wants to see

them grow

in their faith

in Christ

for the necessity

of helping them

know Jesus

better and

follow him

more.

That's what he

says in verse

24,

to remain the

flesh and more

necessary on

your account.

And the verse

25,

for your progress

in joy

and the faith.

So the more

we progress,

more progress

we make

in the faith,

the more joy

or happiness

we'll have

in Christ

in this life.

Growing

and knowing

Christ.

And

many of us

have experienced

the great joy

of seeing young

believers grow

up in their

faith and

in their love

and devotion

to Christ.

And again,

I'm aware

that even in

this moment,

as I was

looking back

over those

old notes

that I wrote

in 2008,

I actually

asked people

to like put

their hand

on their chest

and just feel

their heart

beating

and just

to realize

that that's

being sustained

by the power

of God

and that

in His hand

is the life

of every

living thing

in the breath

of all

mankind.

And He's

allowing us

to live.

We're not just

existing.

And if we

are to remain

behind,

I pray

that it is

for the

progression

of the

gospel

and the

progression

of seeing

others come

to know

Christ in

a deeper

way

through the

work of

discipleship.

during this

time in

2008,

I had a

huge burden

to reach

my unbelieving

friends that

I went to

high school

with.

Kind of a

mixture of

athletes and

good old

boys and

football,

baseball,

basketball

players,

deer hunters,

those kind

of guys.

That's who I

spent a lot

of time with

in high school.

And I

wasn't doing

good.

I was really

sick.

And I

knew that

we were all

going to get

together,

come back

from wherever

we were to

watch the

Georgia,

Georgia Tech

football game.

And I

thought,

man, I

don't know

how this is

going to

happen,

but man,

I doubt

I'll get all

these guys

together again

at the same

time.

And I

really just

wanted to

share about

Christ with

them.

Not the

best context.

Unless I

was just

turning the

game off

and saying,

shut up and

listen to me.

I don't

know how

it was going

to happen.

But

I kind

of left

that whole

experience

pretty discouraged

because I

just couldn't

sit any of

them down to

talk.

And from

that day,

later that

day, I

got so sick

that my

dad drove

me to

Birmingham

to the

hospital.

And I

was just

barely able

to sit up

straight and

breathe.

I was so

discouraged

that I

just didn't

get a chance

to share

with some

of my

friends.

And feeling

the weight

of this

text,

but this

past week

actually was

in Birmingham

again for

some procedures.

And while I

was there,

one of my

friends called

me to check

on me.

His name

is Michael

Sugar.

He lives

in New

Orleans.

and he

was at

that gathering

a long time

ago.

And he

asked me,

hey man,

I just heard

you went to

the hospital.

Was everything

cool?

And I

thought I

was just

kind of

fighting to

keep going.

And he

goes, well

man, I just

want you to

know I've

been praying

for you

lately.

And I

was just

like,

you're

praying for

me?

Kind of

caught off

guard by

that phrase.

And he

goes, yeah,

I've just

been paying

closer attention

to my

spiritual life

lately.

And I

just told

him, man,

I've been

dying to

have that

conversation

with you.

Like, I

really hoped

we could

have when

we were

all together.

And he

goes, well,

hey man,

like, Birmingham's

on the way to

New Orleans.

I'll see you

in a few

hours.

So he

stopped by

Birmingham

on his way

back to New

Orleans.

He was

wearing scrubs

because he

worked in

the hospital.

He does

stuff with

pacemakers.

He's one

of the smart

guys with

the Georgia

Tech.

So he

showed up

and they

just let

him come

right in

to the

hospital and

to that

place where

I was.

And this

week he

shared with

me, like,

man, I

remember you

sitting on

that bed

wearing oxygen

and just

sharing the

gospel with

me.

And he

said, you

went in and

out a lot,

even like

fell asleep

in a mid

sentence and

like came

back out

and just

kept going.

And I

don't even

remember that.

but I

was just so

encouraged that

I do

remember him

sitting there

and saying,

wow, this

is unbelievable.

And from

that time

forward, really

Michael gave

his life to

Christ and

still today

is walking

with Christ.

And he

shared with

me this

past week,

that's when

I marked

that time

from when

Christ really

got a hold

of me and

how God

somehow used

you in

that moment.

So just

feeling this,

if I'm going

to remain

behind, I've

got to

share Christ

with my

friends and

my family.

And so I

hope that

that weighs

on you,

that if you

are indeed a

follower of

Christ, you

would recognize

one of your

major reasons

for your

existence today,

that God is

allowing you

to breathe,

is for the

advancement of

the gospel.

And that if

you live

another day,

it's also to

help other

people grow

spiritually.

Whether it's

your classmate,

co-worker,

the children

in your own

household,

anybody.

But Paul

says in

Acts 20,

I do not

account my

life of

any value,

nor as

precious to

myself,

if I only

may finish

my course

in the

ministry

that I

have received

from the

Lord Jesus

to testify

to the

gospel of

the grace

of God.

So,

that's

Paul's

dilemma.

He's torn.

He wants

to go,

but he

remains to

do gospel

ministry.

Secondly,

second question

is,

what is the

chief aim

of Paul's

existence?

We see this

in verse

20.

He says,

it is my

eager

expectation

and hope

that I

will not

at all

be ashamed,

but that

with full

courage,

now as

always,

Christ

will be

honored

in my

body,

whether by

my life

or by

death.

So,

Paul's

eager,

earnest,

fervent,

persistent

expectation

and hope

is that

when this

present life

is over,

when he

leaves this

world,

he will

depart from

it not

ashamed,

not carrying

any regret,

not carrying

any disgrace

or guilt

with him.

if you

knew that

you were

going to

pass away

between now

and next

Sunday,

would you

carry a

lot of

regret

into the

next

life?

Would you

carry shame

into the

next life?

Paul's

prayer is

that he

would not

at all

carry that

into the

next life,

but that

with full

courage,

now as

always,

he says,

that he

would have

a clean

conscience

that he

did all

he could

to honor

Christ,

magnify

Christ,

glorify

Christ

in his

body.

So his

singular,

all-embracing

passion was

for us,

the same

for us,

is that we

would live

our whole

lives for

the purpose,

the single

purpose of

honoring Christ

and bringing

glory to

God.

He is

worthy of

our lives.

And so,

also in

college I

read a book

called Don't

Waste Your

Life by

John Piper,

who's the

first person

I ever

heard to

explain this

text,

so it's

impossible to

get him

out when

I think

about it.

And we've

gone over

this many

times at

Christ's

family,

but magnify,

the word

magnify or

honor,

right,

is used in

a couple

of different

ways,

but one

is a

telescope

magnifies

distant

things,

right,

that are

actually big

in reality,

but we can't

really see it

because of our

naked eye.

So it

brings it

in closer

to make it

look more

like it

actually is.

And a

telescope,

or excuse me,

a microscope

magnifies tiny

things that

are tiny and

makes them look

bigger than

they are.

we should be

more like a

telescope to

Christ.

He is big

in reality,

he is huge,

but just to

many people

walking around,

you know,

all around us,

they don't see

him for who

he actually

is,

and so when

they look

through the

lens of

our life,

they can see

him,

they can see

him at

work in

us.

And so

Paul's

passion

was that in

everything,

Christ would

be honored.

Colossians 3

17,

whatever you

do in

word or

deed,

do everything

in the name

of the

Lord Jesus.

Look at our

text again.

Notice how

live and

die in

verse 21

correspond to

life and

death in

verse 20.

So,

there's two

parts of

this.

It's

Christ's

goal,

or excuse

me,

Paul's goal

is to

glorify or

honor

Christ.

He says

by life

or by

death.

So,

there's two

sides of

that.

This is

question number

three.

How does

Paul honor

Christ in

life?

How does

Paul honor

Christ in

life?

We see in

verse 21,

for to me,

to live

is Christ.

So,

the very

purpose for

his being,

his whole

existence,

was wrapped

up in

living for

Christ.

Not for

the sake,

again,

of his

own personal

comfort,

for the

sake of

his own

advancement,

but for

the sake

of Christ.

He understood

that Jesus

just isn't up

in heaven

and physically

just separated

from his

people,

but that

Christ is

living his

resurrected life

in and through

his people.

and by

faith we

are united

to him

in Christ

and that

resurrection

life.

We're all

familiar with

Galatians 2,

Galatians 2:20

verse 20,

I have been

crucified with

Christ.

It is no

longer I

who live,

but Christ

who lives

in me.

And the

life I now

live, I live

in the flesh,

I live by

faith in the

Son of God

who loved

me and gave

himself for

me.

So Paul

is saying

as long

as I

live, I

belong to

Christ.

I'm his

servant, he

is all that

I need.

If I die

a gruesome

death, bearing

witness to

the gospel,

I will

count it

as gain.

But if

he allows

me to

live, I

will continue

to make

my whole

life all

about him.

And in

either case,

I can lose

nothing because

I have

Christ.

And so his

ongoing

life and

ministry was

to make

him closer

and closer

to Christ,

especially if

you read

Philippians 2,

1-11,

especially through

suffering,

especially through

experiencing the

sufferings of

Jesus and

his sacrificial

servitude.

And so if

you flip over

to chapter 3

really quickly,

Philippians 3,

we get another

glimpse of how

we can honor

Christ in our

life.

Philippians 3,

Philippians 3:7

verse 7,

Paul says,

so in the

context,

he's talking

about the

things he

used to

take hope

in to

make him

righteous

before God.

But we

can kind of

clean another

meaning from

that.

But he

says in

verse 7,

whatever gain

I had,

I count it

as loss

for the

sake of

Christ.

Indeed,

I count

everything

as loss

because of

the surpassing

worth of

knowing Christ

Jesus my

Lord.

For his

sake I

have suffered

the loss

of all

things and

count them

as rubbish

in order

that I

might gain

Christ.

So,

so much

to take away

from that.

But he

is saying,

there's a

few parts

of this,

if we

honor Christ

in our

life,

we do

it by

loving

him,

treasuring

him,

and being

satisfied

in him

above all

other

things in

this life.

Alright?

And then

secondly,

under that,

we make

deliberate

and often

prayerful

choices

in this

life

that display

that worth

for all

people to

see.

Where people

go,

why did

you do

that?

Where did

that come

from?

And there's

no other

explanation

for it

other than

Christ.

And so

he says,

all these

things that

I have,

I think

that they're

like garbage,

they're like

dung in

comparison to

knowing

Christ Jesus.

And so,

example,

just a few

walkthroughs,

again,

this is

a man

who taught

on this

years ago

ringing in

my ear,

but he

says,

money is

given to

you so

that you

may use

money in

a way

and in

a manner

that shows

that money

is not

your treasure,

but Christ

is.

Possessions,

the things

that we own,

we're to use

them in

such a way

that shows

everyone

around us

that those

possessions

and that

stuff

is not

our treasure,

but Christ

is.

Relationships

and the

people that

we live

with,

we're to

treat them

and live

with them

in such

a way

that it

would be

plain to

everyone

looking on

that they

are not

our treasure,

but Christ

is.

And on

and on,

like we,

and that

takes intentionality,

it takes

prayer,

how can we

display this

worth of

Christ?

So,

wherever it

is,

we want

to reflect

that

greatness,

we want

to honor

him in

this life.

Spurgeon

said this,

this is

our exaltation,

this is

our joy

and triumph.

If we

can promote

his glory,

the best

place where

we can

promote it,

it shall

be our

heaven.

The

sick

bed,

the

hospital,

or the

poor

house

shall be

our

heaven.

If we

can there,

best serve

the Lord

Jesus,

who is

our

King

of

glory.

So,

it's how

we honor

Christ in

life,

by treasuring

him above

all other

things in

life,

making much

of him.

The

fourth

question,

and the

last

question,

so that's

the life

part,

what about

the death

part?

Because most

of us may

not really

think about

that,

but how

does Paul

honor Christ

in death?

Verse

21,

for to me

to live

as Christ

and to

die

is gain.

Verse 23,

my desire

is to

depart

and be

with

Christ,

for that

is far

better.

Have you

ever stopped

to really

think about

it?

Like,

how can

you make

Christ

look great

in your

death?

Most of

us are

scared to

even go

there in

our heads.

But,

let me

give you

three metaphors

that.

This language,

at least

in Greek,

this word

depart,

my desire

is to

depart

and be

with Christ.

One of them

is a military

term.

It means

to break

camp,

to leave

where you

are,

to pull up

your tents

and move

to another

encampment.

Paul calls

our bodies

earthly tents

that are

taken away

at death

and the

spirit goes

home to

be with

Christ.

That's in

2 Corinthians

5,

1-8.

It's also

a sailing

term,

a metaphor

of a

commander

of a

ship

who's

docked

in a

foreign

port

on business

and he

longs to

set sail

to depart

and return

back

to his

own country

and his

own family.

But yet,

that desire

is counterbalanced

with the

understanding

that to

remain behind

in the

port a

little longer

would be

more beneficial

and so

he contents

himself,

he's patient

because he

hasn't received

orders from

his superior

to depart

to go

home yet.

But he's

longing for

home,

but he

patiently waits

because he

hasn't received

the order

to go home.

You see

it?

Third way

is used,

freeing

of a

prisoner.

So

believers

long to

be set

free

from the

limitations

and fallenness

of our

bodies

and we

long to

leave

and be

set free

from this

body of

death.

Romans 8,

18-23.

So Paul

says,

my desire

to depart

and to

be with

Christ

because

that is

far better.

One

phrase of

this means

much more

better.

It's

much more

better to

depart

and be

with

Christ.

He

reminds them

in chapter

3 that we

are citizens

of heaven,

not citizens

of earth.

So seeing

how we

honor Christ

in our

death,

the simple

answer is by

looking at

your death

as gain.

We honor

him when

we die

by counting

our death

as gain.

Free from

all the

stuff in

this world

to leave

it gladly

behind and

go home

to be

with

Christ.

Being

able to

let go

of

everything,

can we

do that?

Can we

look at

our

family,

our

friends,

and our

loved

ones,

and gladly

say,

it's okay,

I'm going

home to

be with

Christ,

to dwell

in his

presence

forever.

Not

holding on

to this

world,

not weeping

over the

stuff that

you're just

going to

leave here,

but to

see your

death is

gain because

you know

it means

going to

be with

Christ

forever.

And as

Paul says,

that is

far better,

much more

better.

It's

okay.

So,

as much as

some of the

things in

this world

may hold

our

affections,

do you

have a

greater

desire?

Are you

cultivating a

greater

desire to

depart from

this world

to be

with Christ?

And in

the hour

of your

death,

could you

go gladly

and confidently

to be in

the presence

of your

Savior?

So,

there's

one example

I will

give of

this.

So,

most of

you are

aware that

on

December

22nd,

my dad

passed

away to

go home

to be

with the

Lord.

And

though I

miss him

dearly,

I know

that he

was ready

to depart

from this

life to

go be

with Christ.

There was

a time I

talked to

him and

I remember

what he

said very

clearly as I

wrote it

down.

But he

knew his

time was

close,

he knew

his days

were short,

he had

been battling

this autoimmune

disease for

almost a

decade,

and he

knew it

just didn't

look good

for getting

better,

he knew

it was

close,

but he

died well,

and he

made Christ

look very

good.

This is

something that

he said

in his own

simple way,

he said,

God knows

me,

and he

loves me,

and he'll

be the one

to decide

whether I

go or

stay.

I'm not

concerned

about that.

If I

went right

now,

I know

I would

be okay

because I

know where

I'm going.

I pray

that the

Lord will

give me

some more

days,

but whatever

he decides,

it'll be

okay.

My concern

is for those

who don't

know him.

I believe

that he may

be calling

a lot of

people to

himself

during all

these things

going on.

And I

mean,

it's like

he took

it right

out of

Philippians,

not realizing

it.

He had

a desire

to depart

and be

with Christ,

but wanted

to remain

behind for

the sake

of others.

So he

gladly went

on the

22nd,

in the

morning of

the 22nd,

just peacefully

to be home

with Christ.