To live is Christ to die is Gain Philippians Overview

Well, what has to be going right in life before you can rejoice?

Do you rejoice when you get a job?

Do you rejoice when you take a step up in your career?

Do you rejoice when you level up in League of Legends?

Do you rejoice when you get into a relationship?

Do you rejoice when relationships with family and friends are going well?

Do you rejoice when your kids are doing well at school?

Do you rejoice when you get public recognition?

Do you rejoice when you get a holiday?

Do you rejoice when you find some money in your pocket that you didn't realise was there?

Did you rejoice this morning when Liverpool won 3-0?

I certainly hope you did.

What gives you reason to rejoice?

Because whatever you rejoice in or whatever you anticipate will give you joy,

that is a really good indicator of what you are living for.

Whatever you rejoice in or you anticipate will give you joy,

that's a really good indicator of what you're living for.

Let me try and illustrate this with two songs.

I want to compare two songwriters.

The first guy has a great job.

He loves his job as a musician.

He's very popular at the moment.

He has a supportive family and he's making loads of money.

This is his lyrics.

I made 100 grand this year.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, so what?

Still lost.

Still feeling anxious.

Still worry about the same swear word.

I made 100 grand this year.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, so what?

Still lost.

Still feel depressed like I'm trying to find a way in.

Very raw words.

He's trying to find joy but what he's living for isn't paying off.

Still lost.

That's the first guy.

The second guy, he's just lost all his children in a shipwreck

and a fire has destroyed his investments which has just wrecked him financially.

This is his lyrics.

He sings this.

Though Satan should buffet, though trial should come,

let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate.

It is well.

It is well with my soul.

How can this guy still have joy?

And I reckon that is joy.

It is well with my soul.

He still has joy even though he's lost nearly everything dear to him in this life.

Whatever you rejoice in or you anticipate will give you joy,

that's a really good indicator of what you're living for.

So in Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, joy and rejoicing, it's on every page.

It's everywhere.

And this is especially incredible because Paul is writing from Rome in prison.

Imagine yourself in prison.

He's in chains.

He's in chains.

Any minute someone could come to him and tell him he's got the death sentence

and it would be carried out pretty much straight away.

But six times he says that he is rejoicing.

What is this guy living for?

And he tells the Philippians and through them he's telling us as well in chapter 4 verse 4,

rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again, rejoice.

Now we're probably cringing at the moment, thinking, Paul, you can't possibly mean me.

If you knew what I was going through, you would have written me into the Bible as an exception.

Rejoice in the Lord, except when you're sick, except when you're lonely,

except when you feel you've been mistreated.

But to the rest of you, I'll say rejoice.

He doesn't say that.

Now Paul isn't telling us to fake it.

He's not telling us to fake it until we make it.

He's not telling us to ignore our circumstances.

But he is going to show us the way that there's reason that we can always have joy.

Don't feel guilty for not rejoicing.

But see that if Paul is telling us to rejoice, it must be possible.

He shows us the way.

He's rejoicing.

Whatever is happening in life.

So how can Paul rejoice always and expect us to as well?

Well, here's the reason.

Here's what Paul was living for.

Come with me to chapter 1, verse 21.

Have a look with me.

This is what Paul is living for.

For to me, to live is Christ.

And to die is gain.

Christ himself is Paul's greatest treasure.

To have him is to have life.

If you've got him this morning, by faith in him, you have life.

For Paul, death is not losing life.

It's gaining more.

Because it's gaining more of him.

If Christ is our greatest treasure, then we have him.

If we have him, we have life.

And since we have Christ, no matter what else is going on around us, we can rejoice.

We can have joy.

Even while we're hurting, we can have joy.

We have reason to rejoice.

So we want to live for Christ too, don't we?

We want Christ to be our life.

So the question is, what does it look like to believe with Paul to live is Christ?

In Paul's letter to the Philippians, I think he tells us three main ways.

He says a lot of things that we're going to look at in more detail.

But I think there's three main ways that we live for Christ, that we show that Christ is our deepest treasure.

What we're going to do is spend about half our time this morning looking at the background of Philippians

and what we share in common with the church then.

So the outline doesn't really reflect the time we'll spend, so don't freak out.

We're going to spend about half our time doing that.

And then we're going to look at the three ways that we can show that we're living for Christ.

So please get ready to flip back and forth through the letter or using your tablet, phone, whatever you're using.

So get your Bibles ready.

And please just get ready to get an overall impression of this life-giving message.

We've got a whole series to just soak in it and dig down deep.

Today is just really an impression.

Okay, the Philippian church.

What were they like?

What was going on in their congregation?

Look at chapter 1, verses 3 and 4 with me.

I thank my God every time I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.

Why?

Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

No matter what situation Paul was in, for 30 years or so, these guys have been praying and giving and standing up for the gospel alongside Paul.

They've been sharing in Paul's trouble.

They've even sent one of their dear brothers, Epaphroditus, to Paul with gifts.

He almost died doing it.

These guys are passionate partners in the gospel.

This is a church who are sure of who Christ is, his death and resurrection, his certain return.

And they're working and striving for the gospel out of an overflow of their faith.

I would call this a mature church.

This is a really positive letter.

And Paul has a lot of joy for this church.

Have a look at verses 7 and 8 of chapter 1.

Listen to Paul's affection for this church.

It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart.

God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

He loves this church.

Their common faith, their partnership in the gospel side by side has created a deep mutual love for each other.

And that's one of the main reasons that he's writing this letter.

Because they love him so much and they love the gospel so much, they're really worried about Paul being in prison.

He's writing the letter to calm their fears.

That's one of the reasons.

This church is anxious.

This church is anxious.

And a big cause of their anxiety is that God has let their founder be chained up.

Flick over to chapter 4 verse 10 with me.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.

You were indeed concerned for me but you had no opportunity to show it, he means.

They were really concerned for him.

That's one of the main reasons he wrote this letter.

But they're also very anxious because they themselves are being attacked.

Flick back to chapter 3 and just have a look at the first 10 or so verses.

Paul has to strongly warn them of those who demand that they put their confidence not only in Christ but also in works of the law.

Paul uses some of the strongest language he ever uses to encourage them not to give an inch.

Watch out for the dogs.

Look out for the evildoers.

Look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

Referring to circumcision.

These guys are under theological attack to add to Christ.

And we're also told in chapter 1 verse 30 that it has been granted to the Philippians to suffer for Christ's sake.

To engage in the same conflict that they saw that Paul had.

What did they see that Paul had?

I had the pleasure of being with the men's group this week.

And they went to Acts 16 and we studied Acts 16 together where the church is founded.

When we read there, the church is founded first by Lydia being converted.

And then Paul and his companions are beaten publicly and thrown into prison.

In prison, while they're singing, mind you, and praying, there's an earthquake.

The earthquake.

The earthquake removes their chains and the jailer is about to kill himself because he's convinced that the prisoners have just run for it, as you would expect.

Paul cries out, saves him, stops him from killing himself.

And the jailer asks, what must I do to be saved?

He and his household are converted.

This church is not unfamiliar with attack.

Their very church was formed partly because Paul was attacked.

But these threats still have the potential to rock their confidence in God.

They are under attack socially, maybe from authorities, not sure.

And they're under attack theologically to add something to Christ.

And there also appears to be a widespread issue in the church.

We see a hint of it in chapter 1, verse 15.

Because there seems to be a few individuals who are preaching Christ from motives of envy and rivalry.

Perhaps they saw Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to get more influence in the church.

And then in chapter 4, verse 2, there's two women, Iodia and Syntyche, who are both solid Christians.

Their names are written in the book of life.

They've been striving for the gospel alongside Paul, but they're at odds.

We're not told why, but they're at odds.

And then there's chapter 2.

There seems to be a widespread culture of people doing things not primarily for love's sake,

but out of selfish ambition and conceit.

Just having an exaggerated view of yourself.

They're looking to their own interests.

So, the church in Philippi is mixed.

And I don't think that should surprise us, should it?

Churches are always mixed.

This church is mature.

They are passionate partners in the gospel, but they're also riddled with anxiety.

Especially as their church founder is in chains.

They're under attack themselves.

And there's a widespread culture of just being self-seeking.

These believers are in danger of no longer living for Christ, losing hope that God is still at work in them and through them.

They attempted to just protect themselves out of fear.

They attempted to compromise the gospel because that's easier.

And they attempted to slowly lose their passion for serving the Lord.

Paul writes into this situation.

So, here's the hard question.

Is this true for us as well?

What's the grace evangelical church situation?

What do we share in common with the church in Philippi?

Is this a church who are passionately working for the sake of the gospel?

I could list all the formal ministries going on.

I could try and describe all the informal ministry behind the scenes stuff that's going on.

I would fail because there's so much going on.

Can I just point to one piece of evidence that convinces me that, yes, this is a church passionate for the gospel?

Now, I might be biased here, but when you as a church sent Jeremy and Hayley and Emma and I off to college, you didn't know whether we would come back.

You sent us all because you wanted to advance the gospel, didn't you?

It didn't matter where, whether it was here, whether it's overseas, whether it's in Sydney.

And you gave generously, you gave a lot of money to get us ready for that.

I really appreciate it.

It affirmed, it was really good.

Anyway, can I just say that you prioritise the kingdom.

You're willing to let, I assume you love us, you're willing to let people you love go for the sake of the kingdom.

Now, maybe you just gave the money to get rid of me for two years.

I can understand that as well.

But I don't think so.

I think this is a church that is passionate for the gospel, that gives out of generosity because of your love for Jesus.

Are we anxious?

Individually?

Yeah, many of us.

One of Grace's founders, Don McMurray, he's not in prison.

Though if you keep it up, Don, you...

But in recent years, our leadership has been shaken.

People we love have left.

And it's made us all question, is God still committed to us?

It worries us.

Are we attacked?

Aren't you super aware in conversations that...

There's just topics that if you even gave a hint of your Christian conviction on,

it would be like a dementor from Harry Potter came in and just sucked the warmth out of the conversation.

Aren't you super aware of that in those conversations?

So I think socially, yeah.

Thankfully, from authorities, we have a lot of safety at the moment.

So we should praise God for that.

Are the Jewish people trying to impose circumcision in the law of Moses?

I don't think so.

Haven't heard of it.

Please let me know if that happens.

But I think in another way, we are in danger of adding something to Christ.

Let me try and illustrate.

When I was at the LIT camp with some of the youth a few weeks ago,

I was chatting to a year 12 boy,

and I asked if he was confident that Jesus had saved him and would never let him go.

His answer was way more insightful than I was expecting.

He said something like,

I know that I'm definitely saved,

and I know I'm only saved by faith in Jesus.

I was really glad to hear that.

Then he said,

but there's pressure on me to prove I've got faith by doing lots of things.

Don't you feel that sometimes?

I think we will always be under attack

to move away from faith in Jesus alone making us righteous before God.

We will always be under that attack.

In our hearts,

and maybe from outside as well.

Here's maybe a more heart-heating one.

Are we self-seeking?

Are we driven by envy and rivalry?

Well, we certainly don't want to think so.

But why do I sometimes feel threatened

when a brother or sister is better at something than me?

Why do I feel threatened by that?

I think it's because there's envy in my heart.

Why do I sometimes think church cleaning is beneath me?

Am I just choosing the acts of service that are comfortable?

Or am I driven to serve in whatever way others need me?

Or do I just choose what's comfortable for me?

I think that's how it plays out in my heart.

So I think we do share some things in common

with the Philippian church.

We need to hear this letter.

Not just this morning,

but soak in it.

We need to rejoice in the Lord.

We have a whole series to carefully listen.

But for the rest of this morning,

we're just going to hear three major things that Paul writes.

Firstly,

church,

be confident

that God is at work in you.

Second,

stand firm together in Christ.

Third,

keep bearing fruit

in gospel work.

These things is what it looks like

to make Paul's words

your own words.

To me,

to live is Christ.

This is what it looks like.

So let's quickly

go through these one by one.

First,

be confident that God is at work in you.

What is Paul's confidence

that this church will grow

in faith and love?

Look at chapter 1, verse 6 with me

and let it sink in.

Here's Paul's confidence

that God

will keep growing

his church.

And I am sure of this,

that he who began

a good work in you

will bring it to completion

at the day of Jesus Christ.

He who began

a good work in you

will bring it

to completion

at the day

of Jesus Christ.

Do you doubt

whether you're changing

in the ways

that God wants you to?

Do you feel stuck

in a particular sin?

Be confident.

God is at work in you

because when God

starts saving you,

he finishes it.

He has a long-term goal

in mind.

Stop measuring it

just on one day.

He's got a long-term goal.

He's committing

to finishing it

when Jesus returns.

He is at work.

We have to strive

for it.

Yes.

We have to pursue it

ourselves

to think

and choose

in ways

that are more

and more like Christ.

But chapter 2

verse 13

tells us very clearly

we can only strive

to do this

because

it is God

who works in you

both to will

and to work

for his good pleasure.

Be confident

that God

is at work

in you,

in us

because he promises

to.

He's committed

to us.

And God

is still at work

in us

and through us

even in dark times.

Think of Paul.

He was a man

of God

used to establish

so many churches

and how did he do it?

By travelling around

but now he is

locked up.

He could die

any moment.

This is a dark

time for the church.

But look at his

perspective

in chapter 1

verse 12.

Have a look.

I want you

to know

brothers

that what has

happened to me

has really served

to advance

the gospel.

Others are more

bold to speak up

for Jesus.

All the soldiers

guarding me

know that I'm

here only because

of my faith

in Jesus.

brothers,

this is a good

thing.

There would

have been a

family sitting

in the congregation

when this letter

was first read

out that would

have been smiling

from ear to ear.

That God

is using

his imprisonment

to save.

Paul isn't

focusing on

the injustice

of it all

though that

would have

been so painful.

he's focusing

on Christ.

He's living

for Christ.

He wants

Christ's name

to be known

and to be

treasured.

And so in that

he can rejoice.

Secondly,

to live for

Christ

is to stand

firm together

in Christ.

There's two

aspects to this

one.

Firstly,

stand firm

together

as one.

Don't let

envy and

rivalry,

selfish ambition,

being full of

yourself

motivate you.

But Paul

doesn't leave it

as a command,

don't do it.

He spends

way more time

painting a

picture of

what to do.

A beautiful

picture of

Christ.

Chapter 2,

think like

Christ because

you are in

Christ.

Think like

him who

did not

grasp at

greatness

but emptied

himself,

humbled

himself by

becoming

obedient to

the point of

death,

even death

on a cross.

The one

who lowers

themselves for

the sake of

others is the

one that God

counts as

truly great.

And the

result of

this Christ-like

humility is

true unity,

true serving

one another,

true looking

out for the

interests of

others.

Have this

mind because

we are in

Christ.

We need to

share that

humility,

stand firm

together.

And the

other aspect

is to stand

firm in the

gospel of

Christ by

counting

everything as

rubbish compared

to gaining

Christ.

We see this

in the start

of chapter

three.

If someone

had reason to

be accepted

by God as

a righteous

man based on

their own

efforts,

Paul would

be top of

the list.

He's up

there.

He would

smash all

of us.

But what's

his perspective?

All the

things he could

do.

Once he got

Christ, he saw

them as valuable

as they actually

are.

Rubbish.

Dung.

I count

everything as

loss because

of the

surpassing

worth of

knowing Christ

Jesus my

Lord.

That

promotion at

work,

benching 10

kilograms above

your personal

best, paying

off your

mortgage,

rubbish

compared to

knowing Christ.

Be confident

of God's

work in you,

stand firm

together in

Christ and

keep bearing

fruit in

gospel work.

Philippians,

grace evangelical,

you have given

of your very

best towards

the work of

the gospel.

Keep going.

Have you

noticed that

Paul talks

about himself

a lot?

Is he

narcissistic?

No, I don't

think so.

Chapter 3

verse 17

gives us the

reason.

He says

this,

brothers,

sisters,

join in

imitating

me and

keep your

eyes on

those who

walk according

to the

example you

have in

us.

And in

chapter 2

he gives

two examples,

Timothy and

Epaphroditus.

So who is

the Epaphroditus

in your

life?

Our

society says

to make

your own

decisions,

carve out

your own

way,

based on

your own

reasoning?

It's full

of it.

God says

imitate.

Look at

people who

are passionate

for the

gospel,

watch them,

keep your

eyes on

them,

imitate.

There are

times when

you're going

to lose

heart.

There are

times when

you're going

to have

no idea

what the

godly

response to

a situation

is.

areas in

your life,

my life,

I'm not

even aware

of yet,

that are

getting in

the road

of serving

Christ.

We need

an

Epaphroditus.

There are

many

Epaphroditises

in this

church.

Pick one.

Pick a few.

Let's

imitate those

who are

passionate for

Christ.

So we've

heard very

quickly,

very quickly,

three ways

that it

looks like

to live

for Christ,

to treasure

Christ.

It's to be

confident that

God is at

work in us

and through

us.

It's to

stand firm

together and

it's to

keep bearing

fruit.

And what

drove all

these things,

what drove

it was Paul's

all-consuming

passion.

And we need

to share this

passion with

him.

Otherwise,

we're just

not going to

care or

we're going

to try and

do it in

our own

strength.

Neither of

those things

would be

good.

We need

to share

this

passion.

What is

this

passion?

Come and

look at

it in

chapter 1

verse 20.

Chapter 1

verse 20.

Here's

Paul's

passion.

It is my

eager expectation

and hope that

I will not be

at all

ashamed,

but that

with full

courage,

now as

always,

Christ will

be honoured.

He means

these words.

He could

be executed

at any

moment.

What is

Paul living

for?

That

Christ is

honoured.

Whatever is

happening,

he can

rejoice in

that.

Whatever is

happening.

I love

this.

Even as

he says

it,

he puts

Christ at

the centre.

He doesn't

say that

I honour

Christ.

He puts

Christ as a

subject,

that Christ

will be

honoured.

Anyway,

I love that.

He keeps

Christ at the

centre.

Honoured.

And the

word honoured

literally means

make large,

magnify.

It's saying

Christ himself

is my life,

he is my

treasure,

and therefore

I want him

to be greatly

enlarged by the

way I live.

I want him

to be greatly

enlarged and

seen for as

precious as he

is,

by counting

death as

gain.

man.

This is the

passion that's

going to help us

live for Christ.

This is the

passion that's

going to help us

be confident that

God is at work,

it's going to

motivate us to

stand firm

together in

Christ,

and it's going

to motivate us

to keep bearing

fruit for his

sake,

because we

want him

seen for as

beautiful and

as treasured

as he deserves

to be.

So will you

treasure Christ?

Will you

treasure Christ?

Will we as a

church treasure

Christ and want

to see him

honoured no

matter what?

Let me pray.

Please pray with

me.

our Father in

heaven,

we struggle to

see Christ for

as great as he

is,

but we know

that he is

great.

Lord, we

see him

lowering himself

for our

sake,

bleeding for

our sake,

even though

he is in

very nature

God,

he served

us.

Lord,

help us

treasure him.

Make us a

church who

love Christ

and want to

see him honoured

above all else.

We ask this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.