A Joyful Future

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We'll start reading at the end of verse 18.

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this shall turn to my salvation or my deliverance

through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed,

but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body,

whether it be by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, or I will have fruitful labor in ministry,

as is referenced there.

Yet what I shall choose, I don't really know.

I want not.

For I am hard-pressed between the two.

I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ,

which is far better than anything he's experiencing in this particular world and in this particular life.

Nevertheless, verse 24,

to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all

for the furtherance and the joy of your faith,

that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Part of Paul's purpose in writing this letter was to address concerns that the Philippians had communicated to him.

We mentioned last week they had sent a man named Epaphroditus,

who was a member of their church.

Perhaps he was even a leader in their church or an elder in their church.

And they had sent Epaphroditus to Rome to comfort Paul,

but to also bring them back a report on his own welfare

and what the effect of his circumstance was on the gospel.

And he addresses that in the study that we had last week.

He addresses that particular concern.

He addresses the question of what is going on with you

and how is this circumstance in your life affecting the gospel?

And in these verses, he moves on to what would inevitably be the next question.

After he satisfied them by saying, God is advancing the gospel,

so don't worry about my circumstance.

And as he says, stay focused on the gospel.

Don't worry about the people that are criticizing right now.

He then anticipates that their next question would be,

okay, well, what's going to happen now?

If the present circumstance is okay and God's advancing the gospel,

what's next, Paul?

What do you think is going to happen?

What do you think will happen?

You've been in this process of judicial argument.

What do you think will be the next move?

And so this section of verses is really made up of Paul's thoughts on his immediate future.

He's reflected on the past.

He is considered his present.

And now he turns his eyes to the future.

And as we study this passage, we quickly discover

that there was really only two possibilities on the table for Paul's future.

Exoneration or execution.

Life or death.

That's it.

He'd been in prison for four years now.

Two years in Caesarea.

Two years in Rome.

He's gone through the judicial process at this point to the point

that only thing that is left is the verdict to be delivered.

He's appeared before the people that he's going to appear before.

And now he's just waiting under house arrest to see what will the judge say.

Will he exonerate me and vindicate me in this and allow me to live my life

and serve Christ in further ministry on this earth?

Or will his judgment be that I have violated the law in some way,

that I have created this insurrection among Jews in the Roman kingdom,

and therefore he sentenced me to death?

Now we know that eventually Paul is martyred for his faith,

but it's not at this point that he actually does become a martyr.

At this point, he's just waiting to find out what the verdict will be.

But he understood as he looked at his future

that there was really only two options on the table.

Either he was going to live or he was going to die.

And that verdict was approaching and getting closer and closer for him.

Of course, Paul was not defeated in this as he considered his plight,

but he wrote that he was actually filled with joy

at the prospect of both life and death.

And we see that again at the end of verse 18.

As he opens up this particular paragraph,

as he discusses his view of his own future,

he opens up by saying, I will rejoice.

Whatever my future is, I will rejoice in that

because I understand that my future holds Christ in every regard.

If it's life, I will live it for Christ.

If it's death, I will gain Christ.

So it's not that Paul understood exactly what

the nature of his future was going to be.

He didn't know exactly how it was going to unfold.

We learn that he has an anticipation.

He has something that he thinks will happen,

but he doesn't really know.

So he presents both options.

He says, I'm either going to die or I'm going to live.

And no matter what, I'm going to rejoice

because for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

So what we see here in this passage is really

Paul's radical view of life.

It's a radical commitment to Christ.

And I think it causes us to examine our own attitude

towards Christ in this.

There's really three attitudes that Paul has here

as he looks toward his future

and as he contemplates what might actually happen.

And these three attitudes is what allowed him

to experience joy in this particular moment in his life.

He didn't have an answer other than to give these three thoughts

of how he was facing it.

The first one is this.

He was certain of ultimate deliverance.

He was certain of ultimate deliverance.

Look with me again at verse 19.

Paul says that he will rejoice because I know that this shall turn to my salvation.

I know that this shall turn to my deliverance.

As we look at verse 19, the immediate question that comes to mind

is what kind of salvation is Paul referring to?

It can really be only one of two things.

Either he's speaking of immediate deliverance,

that the verdict will come and the judge will allow him to continue on in his life,

or he's looking towards an ultimate deliverance.

That in death, ultimately, he has been promised eternal life in Christ,

and that means deliverance from every circumstance that he's then facing.

Now, verse 25 indicates that he believed he would continue on living.

Look at that with me, verse 25.

He says,

In having this confidence, or I am confident of this,

I know that I shall abide and continue with you all

for the furtherance and joy of faith.

But it can't be that in verse 19 he's referring to life

because in verse 20,

he automatically reverts to the possibility of the realm of death.

Look at verse 20.

According to my earnest expectation and my hope

that I won't be ashamed,

that I'll be bold so that Christ will be magnified in my body,

whether it be by life or by death.

So he doesn't really know exactly what's going to happen.

Therefore, we can conclude

that Paul's certainty in verse 19

is not an indication that he knew how things would unfold in the future,

but it's rather a statement

that his present circumstance was only temporary.

In one way or another,

he was going to be delivered.

In one way or another,

whether life or death,

this imprisonment was only temporary.

This criticism was only temporary.

This sorrow was only temporary.

This disease was only temporary.

This soreness and fatigue that he felt

after being beaten so many times

and all the things he had gone through

in this particular phase of his life,

all of these things were only temporary.

So Paul says,

I rejoice because I am certain,

I am absolutely confident

that everything I'm dealing with right now

is actually temporary.

And one way or another,

it's going to come to an end,

whether it be by life or by death.

And in that,

we're reminded of the truth of the gospel.

For all of us that have truly come to faith in Christ,

all of us that have viewed our sin,

cast ourselves on Christ,

despite whatever circumstance we may be in,

despite whatever troubles we may face,

despite whatever disease we may encounter,

despite whatever struggle or criticism,

no matter your circumstance,

you can look at your life with great joy

because as a Christian,

you are certain and confident of the fact

that this is only temporary.

This life on this earth,

it is only temporary.

The struggles that come along with it,

they are only temporary,

but they are only temporary when you are in Christ.

For anyone that is not in Christ,

you cannot look at every circumstance with joy

because there's no foundation for that joy.

The focus of our attention in verse 19

should not be set on what kind of deliverance

Paul would experience,

but rather on the certainty

with which Paul anticipated that deliverance.

There's three things in this verse.

One is implied and two are expressly stated.

The first thing is this,

he was confident or his confidence

was produced by the word of God.

His confidence was produced by the word of God.

Now I'm told that the phrase,

this shall turn to my salvation

is actually a verbatim quote

of something that Job had recorded in the Old Testament.

You'll remember Job.

I'll read the passage to you

if you wanna reference it later on your own.

It's Job chapter 13 and verse number 16.

Job 13 · chapter mention

You'll probably remember verse 15

as Job in the worst stage of his life,

in the worst predicament

that any of us could even really imagine.

He says,

though God slay me, yet I will trust him,

but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

And then in verse 16, he says,

he also shall be my salvation.

Paul is quoting verbatim that particular passage.

He shall also be my salvation.

Now in English, it's not a word for word copy,

but you gotta remember,

Paul wasn't reading an English version of the Bible

and he wasn't writing an English version of the Bible.

He was writing this in Greek.

And Paul's Bible in the early New Testament age

would have been a Greek translation

of the Old Testament called the Septuagint.

So when you look at the Greek translations

of the Hebrew in Job chapter 13

Job 13 · chapter mention

and the Greek writing of Paul's writing here

in Philippians chapter one,

it's a word by word quote.

Implicit in this is that Paul's confidence

in the certainty of his deliverance

was first sourced in the fact

that he knew and studied faithfully

and believed the word of God.

Now our lives are full of instability.

By nature, we are incompetent.

By nature, when we look towards the future,

we look at it with no confidence at all.

The only sort of confidence that we can actually achieve

can only come from the inerrant, infallible,

unchanging, eternal word of God.

When Paul expresses this joy

and this joy being in confidence of deliverance,

he obviously had Job's words on his mind.

There's no coincidence in that.

Paul was a student of the Bible

and it was the Bible that gave him this confidence

because he could trust the words of God.

In the deepest, darkest moments of your Christian life,

your confidence and your joy

will first come from the word.

So stay in the word.

Remember the words of Jesus in John chapter six.

Jesus said, all those who come to me,

I will in no wise cast out.

Those who come to Christ in faith,

he will never cast out.

Paul had just said just a few verses earlier

in Philippians chapter one in verse six.

Remember what he told the Philippian people?

I am confident.

I am certain of this,

that the God that has begun this work in you

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

In other words, at the day that you face Jesus Christ,

either from his coming back or through your death,

he will bring this salvation to completion for you.

You don't have to worry about that.

That salvation is complete in your life.

Consider Jesus's words to the woman at the well.

He says, anyone who drinks of this water of salvation

that I give will never thirst again.

In John chapter three,

the life that Jesus came to give

because of his love for the world

was not a temporary life.

It was an eternal life.

So when we look at our circumstances,

even if our circumstances are like Paul's

and it's a sudden death, perhaps,

maybe it's through illness,

maybe it's through struggle or through age,

as a believer,

we can rest certain and confident in the fact

that God will save us.

He will deliver us.

And we rest in that

because he has told us in his word.

That's where his confidence was first sourced.

Secondly, and much more quickly than that,

his confidence was produced by the prayers of others.

His confidence was produced by the prayers of others.

Now the word of God is implicit in that verse,

but prayer is actually stated clearly.

Look at it again, verse 19.

I know that this shall turn to my salvation

through your prayer.

In the mystery of God's sovereignty,

the Bible teaches that God has chosen

to use our prayers

as a means of accomplishing his purposes.

You can imagine the type of prayers

that these believers would have been requesting.

There's no doubt in my mind

that as Paul was facing this imprisonment

and this criticism,

their prayers,

the prayers of the Philippian church

was for deliverance,

immediate deliverance,

just like our prayers would be.

I would hope that if I got arrested today

for preaching the gospel

and I was facing imprisonment,

that you would have a prayer meeting

at least once

and would pray,

Lord, let Jared get out of jail.

I don't think that was their only prayer

because Paul's confidence here,

what is sourcing his confidence

is their prayer.

So it's not that he's looking at their prayer

and saying,

I know how hard you're praying for my deliverance

and I'm confident

that I will be delivered from this prison

because of your prayer.

That is true.

God uses our prayers in that way.

But I think the nature of their prayer

in conjunction with that,

the nature of their prayer was,

Lord, we know he's been there for four years.

He's gotta be discouraged.

Not only is he facing imprisonment, Father,

but he's facing criticism

from our own brothers and sisters in Christ, Lord.

Lord, would you please help him stay faithful?

Would you please help him stay strong?

Would you please give him comfort?

Would you please give him peace?

Will you please provide to him

the things inwardly

that he needs to persevere in this circumstance?

And I hope that would also be part of your prayer for me.

Not only that I would be delivered

from that immediate jail cell,

but that the Lord,

through the supply of the Holy Spirit,

would keep me faithful in that circumstance.

Paul said, my confidence here,

my certainty is not only sourced in the word,

but my confidence is encouraged by your prayer.

His confidence was sourced in their prayer.

Thirdly, his confidence was produced

by the provision of the Holy Spirit,

by the provision of the Holy Spirit.

Everything we receive in salvation

and in sanctification has these three elements

as its source.

The word of God,

the prayers of others,

and the spirit of God.

It's the spirit of God that does the work,

but it's the pages of scripture

and the prayers of others

that he uses to accomplish that work.

Think about that.

What's happening in Paul's life

and his attitude in this moment

was a result of God's work in his life.

That's what was really happening.

But what was God using?

He was using the word

and he was using prayers.

Not only was he confident

in his ultimate deliverance,

secondly,

he was committed to magnifying Christ.

He was committed to magnifying Christ.

Look at verse 20.

According to my earnest expectation

and my hope,

that in nothing I shall be ashamed,

but that with all boldness,

as always,

so now also Christ shall be magnified

in my body,

whether it be by life

or by death.

Paul was absolutely consumed

with knowing and serving Christ.

In verse 20,

this is seen

as he reminds the Philippian believers

of his commitment

to preach Christ

in life

and in the face of death.

When he uses this phrase,

eager expectation and hope,

it was a statement

of his ongoing commitment.

This wasn't wishful thinking.

That's not what he's saying.

He's not saying,

I really hope

or I really wish

that in life and in death,

I would stay faithful to Christ.

This is,

that's not what he's saying.

This is a statement of commitment.

He's saying,

my expectation,

my hope,

my certainty

is that my attitude

is gonna be

in commitment to Christ.

Whether I live

or whether I die,

I will stay committed

to Christ.

And the way in which

he was gonna stay committed

was by unashamedly

preaching the gospel

in life

and by courageously

facing death

for the sake

of the gospel.

This is no secret

to Paul's life,

right?

Remember what he wrote

in Romans chapter one,

for I am not ashamed

of the gospel of Christ.

Why was he unashamed

of the gospel of Christ?

He goes on to say,

for it is the power

of God

unto salvation

to everyone

that will believe.

And then he says

in the end of verse 20

that his goal

is to magnify Christ

as he preaches

the gospel,

whether it be

in life

or in death.

And we know

what this means.

To magnify something

means to make it larger

or to make it

more easily visible.

We accomplish this

in using a telescope

by making things

at a far distance

appear much closer.

And we accomplish it

with a microscope

by making tiny things

look much larger.

Paul's goal in life

was to live

in such a way

that he would bring

Jesus close

to those who were

far from God

and that he would

make Jesus visible

to those

who were blinded

to God's truth.

Which leaves us

with a self-examining question.

Does my life

magnify Christ?

Not,

the question is not

am I just following Christ?

It's not

do I believe Christ?

Is that,

is the way

that I'm living my life,

the way that I'm

preaching the gospel,

the way that I even

consider the future

of my death

for the,

possibly for the gospel,

is my life

and the way that I live

actually bringing people

closer to Christ?

Am I making Christ

more visible

to the people around me

because of the way

that I live

and the way that I talk

in the things that I do?

That's a convicting

question to ask

because I think

all of us would see here

and say,

you know what,

we could probably

magnify him

a little greater

than what we're doing now.

We could probably

be more faithful

to talk about the gospel.

We could probably

be more faithful

to holiness.

We could probably

be more faithful

to fill in the blank.

I watched a documentary

that was produced

by National Geographic

recently called

Free Solo.

Free soloing

is a type of

professional ice

and rock climbing

where a climber

will climb by himself

and without any

harnesses or ropes

or protective gear

at all.

They pick a rock face

or an ice face

and they climb it

by themselves

with no help.

Free Solo,

this particular documentary,

follows a man

named Alex Honnold

who is a free solo climber.

It's what he's

passionate about.

In fact,

he makes a great

amount of money

rock climbing

professionally

yet he chooses

to live in a van

because that's his life.

His life is wrapped up

in rock climbing.

That's all he wants to do.

So he lives in a van.

He can jump in it.

He can wake up

in the morning,

fix his eggs,

get in the car

and drive to the next

rock face for him to climb.

But he's a free solo climber

so he does this alone

and he does it without ropes

and he had set a goal

and the documentary

really follows

the story

of how he prepares

to climb

what's called

El Capitan

in the Yosemite National Park.

You can look that up

on Google

and you can see

a picture of it.

It's a 3,000 foot climb

and if you look

at the pictures of it

it looks like a sheet of glass.

It's just solid.

How anybody could climb

any portion of it

is unbelievable

but to especially do it

with the confidence

that he has

without ropes

and to do it alone

is quite astounding

to be honest with you.

That's really what

this particular documentary

is about.

It follows Alex

as he prepares

to make this attempt

to be the first person

to climb El Cap

as they call it

without any ropes

or any harnesses.

And as he gets

into this documentary

of course

they're trying

to get into his head

to see what causes

him to do this

and he has a pretty

unique perspective

on death.

At one point

in the beginning

he says

the way I see it

all of us

are just

a step away

from sudden death.

Any of us

could die

at any moment.

He said

I'm not at

any more risk

than anybody else.

It just appears

that I'm at more risk

because the way

that I choose

to live my life

has a greater consequence.

In other words

if he falls off

the face of the mountain

there's no coming back

from that.

But he's saying

that his risk of death

is no different

than your risk of death.

You could get in a car accident

as you leave today.

You could come down

with some type

of severe illness.

You could choke

on something at lunch

and lose airway

and not be able

to release that

and just like that

you're gone.

And so basically

his perspective

as death

is we're all

a step away

from death.

I at least

am going to live

my life

doing the things

that I love the most

which for him

is rock climbing

with no ropes

and with no people

to help him.

But the documentary

also follows

the way that

his passion

of rock climbing

affects relationships

in his life

particularly

the relationship

that he has

with his girlfriend

whose name is Sonny.

Just before

he makes this attempt

to climb

this rock face

the film

shows

a conversation

that he has

with his girlfriend

where she is

very obviously

reluctant

for him

to make this attempt.

She doesn't want

him to do it.

She knows

that he can die

very very quickly.

In fact

up to this point

all of his practice

has been done

with ropes

and he fell

many many

many many times.

And now

he's just going

to go

and he's going

to climb it

without the ropes

and she's reluctant

for him to do that.

And as they're

having this conversation

she asks

if he had

some type

of relationship

or some type

of care

for something

in his life

that would cause

him to want

to maximize

his lifespan.

And here's

what he said.

He said

if I had

some kind

of obligation

to maximize

my lifespan

then yeah

obviously

I'd have

to give up

soloing.

And she

obviously

replies

with a question

of whether

or not

he viewed

her

as a worthy

enough obligation

to which

he responded

no no

I appreciate

your concerns

I respect

that

but I

in no way

feel obligated

no

and he goes

on with his

climb

his life

is consumed

with free

solo climbing

to the point

that he will

allow no

person

or thing

to distract

him

from pursuing

that passion

even in the

face of death

he refuses

to have

his focus

and attention

diverted away

from what he

loves the most

and this

is exactly

the kind

of passion

and pursuit

that the

apostle Paul

demonstrates

in his life

in Christ

there's no

greater passion

in his life

than Christ

and his gospel

and he will

not allow

any person

or thing

to distract

him

from pursuing

his ultimate

passion

even in the

face of death

Paul refused

to have his

focus taken

away from

the knowledge

and purposes

of Jesus

Christ

and that is

clearly stated

in this most

famous verse

verse 21

as he says

for to me

to live

is Christ

and because

my life

is consumed

with Christ

I view

my death

as

gain

it's amazing

this entire

section of

verses

and perhaps

even the

entire book

of Philippians

is centered

on this

verse

this statement

is the

foundation

for everything

Paul writes

in regards

to the way

that he

will live

his life

and the

way

that he

will

face

his

death

think about

these verses

in particular

he's able

in verse

18 to have

joy

despite his

circumstances

because

for him

to live

as Christ

and to die

his game

he's able

in verse 19

to be

certain

of ultimate

deliverance

because for

him to

live as

Christ

and to die

his game

he's able

to be

bold

and facing

execution

in verse

20

because for

him to

live as

Christ

and to

die

his game

he embraced

death

in verses

22 to

24

instead of

fearing

death

because for

him to

live as

Christ

and to

die

his game

and he

was willing

to remain

on earth

for the

purposes

of gospel

ministry

in verses

24 to

26

only because

for him

to live

as Christ

and to

die

his game

every

single

statement

in this

passage

is only

possible

because

for Paul

verse 21

was absolutely

true

so when we

look at

Paul viewing

his future

and we say

man I would

love to look

at my future

with that

kind of joy

man I would

love to look

at ultimate

deliverance

with that

kind of

certainty

and man I

would love

to be bold

enough to

preach the

gospel in

that way

you will

never be

able to

experience

that joy

and have

that confidence

and preach

the way

that Paul

preached

unless verse

21 is

absolutely

true for

you too

that for

me to

live is

Christ

that my

life is

primarily

consumed

with the

person

and the

work of

Jesus

Christ

and in

the face

of death

I understand

that this

life is

nothing that

I want to

hold on to

and there's

nothing in it

that's worth

holding on to

I would

rather go

see Christ

it's an

amazing

statement

we often

view death

as a loss

so it should

grab our

attention when

Paul makes

this statement

of death

actually being

gained

as believers

we know

what he

means

but whether

or not

we view

death as

a loss

or gain

is directly

related

to what

it is

that we

choose

to live

our lives

for

your

primary

pursuit

in life

will

determine

your view

of

eventual

death

when

Paul said

for me

to live

is Christ

and to

die

is gain

it's not

that he

didn't have

a life

he wasn't

married

but he

certainly

loved

people

he loved

this church

he loved

other churches

he was

passionate

about

people

he had

relationships

that he

cared for

he had

hobbies

he writes

later on

in Philippians

he alludes

several times

in the scriptures

about the

Olympic games

and the

Greek games

that they

had

perhaps he

was a

runner

he talks

about running

a lot

all of

these things

he had

passions

in his life

it's not

that he

was

but in

view of

Christ

everything

else

was

minimized

and with

Christ

set

on the

throne

of

his

heart

everything

else

was

put

in

his

proper

place

but if

you

were to

move

one of

those

things

into

the

place

of

Christ

then

the

thing

that

gets

minimized

is

actually

Christ

my

worry

and my

prayer

is that

the

Lord

would

help

me

not

to

put

my

family

on

the

throne

of

Christ

in

my

heart

so

that

Christ

is

minimized

in

it

so

that

instead

of

saying

I'm

going

to

pursue

Christ

and

I'm

going

to

bring

my

family

along

with

that

I

don't

want

to

say

I'm

going

to

pursue

my

family

and

we'll

figure

out

a

way

to

work

in

Christ

if

your

life

is

consumed

with

him

and

remember

what

Jesus

said

if

any

man

come

after

me

and

he

hate

not

his

father

and

mother

pale

in

comparison

to

your

followership

of

him

if

your

life

is

consumed

with

your

hobbies

your

death

will

be

considered

loss

if

your

life

is

consumed

with

material

gain

then

your

death

will

be

considered

as

loss

if

your

life

is

consumed

with

selfish

ambition

your

death

will

be

considered

as

loss

and

you

get

the

point

I

think

it's

for

this

reason

that

some

Christians

actually

are

happy

for

the

Lord

to

Terry

is

coming

I

remember

as a

teenager

maybe

some

of

you

will

remember

this

that

grew

up

in

church

I

remember

as a

teenager

anytime

my

dad

who's

a

pastor

anytime

he

would

preach

on

the

second

coming

of

Christ

and

he

would

preach

on

the

rapture

he

would

preach

on

Christ

could

come

back

at

any

moment

I

remember

thinking

in the

back

of my

head

selfishly

Lord

I

understand

that

but

if

you

could

just

wait

for

me

to

get

married

I

think

I

would

enjoy

that

you

know

we

play

those

foolish

games

where

man

if

I

could

just

get

this

Lord

just

hang

on

just

for

a

little

while

let

me

experience

this

part

of

our

life

and

really

what

it

is

our

mindset

is

set

so

much

on

this

earth

that

we're

happy

to

minimize

Christ

and

even

cause

him

to

Terry

is

coming

as

long

as

we

can

enjoy

the

things

that

we

want

to

enjoy

now

we

say

that

in

a

funny

way

but

how

many

of

us

actually

live

that

way

we

really

think

about

it

Lord

you

know

I

want

to

go

to

heaven

and

I

want

you

to

come

back

and

I

love

this

life

and

if

you

let

me

live

it

a

little

longer

so

I

can

accomplish

world

but

for

Paul

to

live

was

Christ

so

that

in

death

it

was

gain

do

you

view

death

as

gain

this

morning

is

your

life

so

focused

on

Christ

that

your

heart

is

overwhelmed

with

joy

at

the

prospect

of

both

life

and

death

because

it's

consumed

with

Christ

first

this

passage

is a

call

for

us

to

live

a

radically

different

life

as

a

Christian

it's

a

call

for

us

to

repent

of

the

spirit

that

often

accompanies

cultural

nominal

Christianity

and

actually

make

Christ

and

his

gospel

the

primary

pursuit

of

our

life

as

Paul

looked

at

his

future

he

wrote

of

three

attitudes

he

had

he

was

uncertain

of

exactly

how

it

would

unfold

but

there's

three

attitudes

he

had

he

was

confident

!

in

ultimate

deliverance

he

was

committed

to

magnifying

Christ

in

everything

even

in

life

and

death

and

then

finally

we

see

that

he

was

content

to

follow

God's

plan

no matter

what

that

was

his

attitude

look at

verse

22

if

I

live

in

the

flesh

this

is

the

fruit

of

my

labor

I

will

have

fruitful

labor

he's

referring

to

his

ministry

yet

why

I

shall

choose

I

don't

know

if

given

the

choice

of

life

or

death

I

don't

really

know

that

I

to

be

with

Christ

is

far

better

that's

what

he

wanted

if

Paul

was

given

the

choice

in

that

prison

cell

he

would

have

chosen

Lord

bring

me

home

because

that's

the

ultimate

gain

but

then

he

says

in

verse

24

nevertheless

to

abide

in

the

flesh

is

more

needful

for

you

and

being

confident

of

this

I

know

that

I

shall

abide

and

continue

he's

not

speaking

to

the

same

type

of

confidence

as

in

verse

19

as

if

God

has

in

special

revelation

given

him

this

viewing

that

he

is

absolutely

going

to

survive

but

he

he

he's

basically

saying

I

think

this

is

what

the

Lord

is

going

to

do

and

if

this

is

what

the

Lord

is

going

to

do

this

is

why

he

he

will

do

it

And

he

gives

!

he

believes

that

his

life

will

be

continued

and

the

reason

I

use

the

word

content

here

in

this

point

is

because

given

the

choice

I

think

Paul

clearly

preferred

to be

with

Christ

he

had

what

he

wanted

but

then

he

saw

what

he

thought

was

probably

the

will

of

God

and

those

two

things

didn't

match

that's

the

very

nature

of

contentment

that

we

have

our

plans