The Gospel Changes Everything (Jan 16) Ed Gregorcic

Hello and welcome to the Redemption Church Podcast.

We're a church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada that exists to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the spirit of the Great Commandment.

Thanks for joining us today.

There is only one story that answers life's most essential questions and gives a lasting sense of purpose and meaning.

It's the story that inspires all other stories.

It's the true story that defines every one of us.

This is that story.

How did it all begin?

Like all stories, this one begins in the beginning with the author, who is God.

He spoke everything into being with the world.

Galaxies appeared with stars and planets.

Earth was designed for life to flourish.

Everything God made was gloriously good and breathtakingly perfect.

The highlight of God's creation was the first man and woman, Adam and Eve.

God entrusted everything He created to His beloved children, giving just one.

They were not to eat fruit from a specific tree.

They lived in loving obedience, worshiping God as their heavenly Father, and enjoying perfect harmony with creation, each other, and God.

Considering our world today, its obvious perfect peace didn't last turmoil, war, sickness, troubles.

We each have our share.

But what went wrong?

It started when a fallen angel named Satan grew jealous of God and determined to ruin the perfection of creation.

Satan took the form of a serpent and enticed Adam and Eve to question God's goodness and rebel against his one rule.

In disobedience they ate the fruit, and peace unraveled, ushering in sin and death, which still plagues us today.

If we are honest, we are very much like Adam and Eve.

We all rebel against our Heavenly Father, making our hearts heavy with fear, guilt, and shame.

Our bodies are weary with sickness, disease, and death.

Earth is afflicted with storms, calamities, and disasters.

Even where sin has separated us from God, causing a permanent divide, a miserable separation called hell.

The fallout of sin has been catastrophic.

It's inescapable with no way to fix it.

Leaving us all to wonder, is there any hope?

The love that prompted God to create us also prompted him to send a savior who would set everything right again.

As centuries passed, God shared exact details of the coming Savior's birth, life, and death.

Everything in the Bible points to this rescuer.

Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to earth as God the Son to fulfill the promise.

He was born miraculously, as his mother was a virgin.

Just like us, Jesus grew up and experienced life on earth.

But unlike us, Jesus never sinned and always obeyed the Father.

When Jesus was in his thirties, he began teaching all around Israel, pointing people to God's kingdom and performing many miracles.

After a few years, he was wrongly accused and sentenced to an agonizing death on a cross.

Jesus lovingly gave up his perfect life as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of mankind.

He died a perfect death, taking our place.

The innocent for the guilty.

But the grave couldn't hold Jesus.

Three days later, God brought Jesus to life again.

Jesus defeated sin by dying on the cross and defeated death by rising from the dead.

Today, Jesus sits at God's right hand as King and Judge over all creation.

This is the story of rescue God has authored.

He invites us, through repentance and faith, to make his story of rescue the one we trust in and live from.

When we do, everything changes.

And now, what will the future hold?

For everyone who trusts in Jesus alone for rescue, God has promised to restore your heart and set you free from sin's hold.

Because God is loving, kind, merciful, forgiving, tender-hearted, and true.

God has also promised to make all things new.

One day, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, forever free from sin.

Everything that causes pain and sadness will be gone.

God has also promised to be with us forever.

The moment you trust in Jesus, your relationship with God is restored because Jesus has closed the divine sin cost.

Getting to know this all-loving God starts today and continues forever.

For God's story never ends.

You can make God's story the foundation of your life even now by admitting your need for God's rescue.

Asking forgiveness for your sin.

Trusting in Jesus Christ alone to rescue you.

Following Jesus in faith from this moment on.

This is God's story.

Will you make it yours?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I thought you'd enjoy that five-minute presentation of the gospel because the gospel changes everything.

That's what we're going to look at today as we kind of filter through as we continue on in Philippians chapter one.

So go ahead and load up your Bible app or pull out your Bible, Philippians chapter one.

Last week we went from verses one to eighteen.

This week we're going to conclude at verses 18 to 30.

So a special good morning to you all.

Thank you, friends.

It's great to be back here today with you on a beautiful Sunday morning.

For those of you watching online, a special uh welcome to you as well.

I just want to encourage you once again just to come on down.

It's safe here.

There's there's community here.

This is church here.

We'd love to see you here in the weeks ahead.

So, just by by way of reminder, as I said, we were in Philippians chapter one, just to kind of set the tone for our uh for our time in God's Word this morning, by way of reminder, right?

There were two very important dates to keep in mind when you're reading through the book of Philippians.

Four incredible chapters.

By far my favorite of all Paul's epistles, the most personal.

We get a glimpse into his heart in this letter, probably unlike any of his other epistles here.

He's really pouring his heart out in love and in encouragement and through the gospel in here.

So two important dates to remember.

And that first one is approximately AD 51.

That's when Paul, on his first missionary journey, he arrives at Philippi in Macedonia, northern part of Greece, if you can picture that.

He's there, his first missionary journey there, and he arrives, and and Luke records, tells us in Acts chapter 16, he gives us the account of how those events transpired.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

And he highlights three people primarily.

There were more than three, but three that Luke highlights in Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

There was Lydia, this woman, and Luke describes her as a worshiper of God, an unknown God, but she was calling out to God, Lydia.

And she uh Paul finds her uh by the riverside this one particular day, and she's with another group of women.

And God bless the women.

And they're praying, they're calling out to God, an unknown God, but they're praying to God when Paul encounters them, and he, by the grace of God, as we've sung this morning, as you've seen in that video, by the grace of God, he leads her to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

So Lydia and this group of women, their relationship with God, their calling out to an unknown God, is restored through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, Lydia is now a worshiper of the one true God, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Then the second person that Luke records for us is another woman, a young woman, a young lady that he says, very auspicious description, he says of this young lady that she was a demon-possessed, fortune-telling slave girl.

Talk about oppressed, an oppressor.

And Paul encounters her, and she was held captive against her will, and her captors, they actually benefited financially from her fortune-telling, as evil as that might have been, so they had no interest in making sure she was right or in a good place or healthy.

No, they because they were gaining income off of her.

Paul encounters this.

This is horrible, this act of oppression.

And he casts the demon out of this young woman, brings her to her right mind.

She now comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

However, she's no longer telling fortunes, meaning she's no longer earning income for her captors.

And what do these men do as an act of for this act of kindness?

They have Paul thrown in prison.

And it's in prison where the third person that Luke describes, where he meets the Roman jailer.

And this guy was pretty, uh he was pretty zealous, maybe overzealous.

Not only does he lock Paul up in behind the bar, behind cells, but he puts him in stalks, you know, with his neck all tied up and his wrists, and he's in prison with Silas.

And one particular evening, late in the evening, right around midnight, Silas and Paul are praying and singing hymns.

And the Bible records that there was a foundation, the foundations began to shake, and the walls crumbled, the prison doors flung open.

Free to go.

Or so you would assume.

The jailer at the time, he he either lives nearby or on campus, and he hears and he sees this, and he sees what what has become of the prison, and he concludes that, well, the doors are open, everybody's fled.

And he's about to take his own life because that was the deal, right?

If you are if you're managing or or or watching over the prison, it was his life for theirs.

If anybody escaped, it would have meant his life.

So he's gonna take his own life.

When Paul calls out to him, in that moment says, Stop.

We haven't gone anywhere, we're right here.

And that very night, in the middle of the night, Paul leads the Roman jailer to saving faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And the Roman jailer's family, and that very night, he baptizes the Roman jailer and his entire family.

Absolutely incredible.

So fast forward now, the second date I mentioned was AD 61, approximately ten years later.

Right?

Paul now finds himself in prison in Rome.

Not for Caesar.

He broke no laws.

He's in prison this time for Christ.

For the defense, as he says in chapter 1 by his words, and the confirmation of the gospel, his deeds.

The gospel.

And the religious leaders and the Roman authorities say, well, this guy's dangerous.

This gospel, this act of grace, this Jesus Christ who apparently was died and is raised from the dead, this may not be a good thing for us, for our political power or our religious power.

So they have Paul put in prison.

He appeals to Caesar.

He makes his way to Rome.

He's in prison unjustly.

He's broken no laws.

He wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel, but he arrives there as a prisoner for Christ, breaking no laws.

So the church back in Philippi, all right, some distance away, they hear of Paul's predicament.

They hear that he's in prison in Rome.

And they're praying earnestly for him.

And the Holy Spirit lays it on their heart.

We've got to do something.

We've got to do something here.

So they conclude: you know what we'll do?

We are going to send one of our beloved leaders, a man by the name of Epaphroditus.

Epaphroditus, you go on our behalf, you take this monetary gift with you, because Paul's imprisoned.

It's kind of like a house arrest, as it were, back in Rome.

So he's able to receive guests.

He's also chained 24-7 to a Roman guard.

So here's the chain on this side, across the other side is a Roman guard who are taking shifts.

One comes, one goes, one comes, one goes.

He's under a house arrest, but he's able to receive guests.

He arrives.

There's quite a distance between Philippi, you can imagine geographically in Rome, but he arrives.

He gets there, Epaphroditus, he seeks out Paul, he finds him, and he becomes ill.

Very ill.

To the point of death.

And word of that now travels back to Philippi.

Now the people in Philippi, the church of Philippi, their founder, their beloved founder, the Apostle Paul, is in prison.

And he, there's two things that are going to happen, possibly to Paul.

He might be acquitted or he might be beheaded.

That's it.

So they don't know what, and neither does he, what predicament awaits him.

Ephroditus, whom they send, they also receive word that he is very, very ill.

So not only is Paul potentially gone, maybe even Epaphroditus.

You can imagine the angst and the anxiousness that has overcome them as they're continuing to pray.

But by the grace of God, Epaphroditus restored to full health.

Thank you, Lord.

Now Paul says to Epaphroditus, go back.

Go home.

Go back to the church in Philippi.

But bring them this thank you note.

Bring them this letter, this letter.

This incredible letter, this four-chapter letter that we have the benefit of reading and benefiting from for eternity.

Take this with you to encourage them.

He's in prison.

And he wants to encourage them.

Not in spite of his circumstance, but because of his circumstance.

Alright, so that's kind of like a summary.

Last week we looked at chapter one.

He says, I want you to know that what's happened to me, he's in prison, unjustly, chained to a Roman guard, has served a purpose.

What's the purpose?

Advancing the gospel.

The gospel doesn't stop.

His physical confinement cannot stop the gospel.

Any fear that he or their brothers and sisters may have cannot stop the gospel.

Even wrong motives cannot stop the gospel.

It's advancing.

He's in prison for the gospel.

And then today, we're gonna look at the rest of it, chapter, verses 18 to 30.

In verse 21, today, verse 21, chapter 1, verse 21, the apostle Paul says, this is a very familiar verse.

I'm sure you've heard it, you've read it.

It's a beautiful verse.

Paul says this for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

So today we're gonna see four practical implications of that kind of joy, that contentment.

Rejoicing, remembering, remaining, and requiring.

We're gonna see that.

But Paul says, for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

That contentment, that that joy is not just happiness, right?

Happiness is an emotion.

Joy is from your heart.

Joy is that contentment.

A contentment based on this truth that God now relates to us on the basis of who Jesus is, on the basis of what Jesus has done, on the basis of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf.

You saw the video.

The gospel.

So God relates to us now.

He sees us through the lens of the imputed righteousness of Christ.

You are enveloped, picture this, you are enrobed, enveloped with the white, spotless robe of the righteousness of Christ.

God now views us through that lens.

The love he has for the Son, for his son, is the love that is not transferred to us, and nothing, and no one can take that away.

That's the basis of his joy, his contentment.

Last week, when we were here, many of you came and spoke to me afterwards, encouraged me, and said to me, Pastor Ed, how do you get there, man?

How do you get there?

How do you get to that place where you can have that kind of perspective?

Well, I hope and I pray that today we're going to have some insight into that.

But I can tell you this it ain't easy.

And there will be ups and there will be downs, there will be good days and there will be days not so good.

But our perspective is centered around the gospel, around the beauty of the contentment that comes from the gospel.

So Paul says, as I said a few minutes ago, for me to live as Christ to die is gay.

Based out of that relationship.

So let me ask you a question.

If you were to fill in the blank, for to me to live is blank, how would you fill that in?

What word would you say?

What phrase would you insert?

For me to live is blank.

It's now there's other things in your life that are important, yes indeed, but there's one thing, there's one thing, the one thing that compels you, that drives you in light of, not in spite of, but because of the circumstances, this this is the one thing that I am all about.

What is it?

What would you say?

You know, the Olympics are about to begin, right?

In the next, I think, week or two or a couple of weeks, the winter games are about to begin.

And, you know, perhaps what one of the Olympic athletes, they may answer that question this way.

For to me to live is a gold medal.

Right?

It's the thing that drives them and their training and their circumstance, right?

Uh the NFL playoffs are on right now.

I love NFL football.

They perhaps some of those guys may say, for to me to live is this Super Bowl, winning the championship.

Business owner may say, for to me to live is, you know, profit, right?

To to to earn some income and pay salaries and meet my payroll, etc.

Other things are there, but but that's the thing that that is the focal point.

But but don't lose sight of this.

Don't lose sight of this point that nobody leaves that sentence blank.

You don't.

You can't.

And you say, well, yeah, no, no, yeah, I'm gonna leave it blank.

No, no, you see, because if you if you if you don't put anything, then you put everything, and if you put everything in that sentence, then you're putting nothing in that sentence.

So what is it?

And here's why that's important, because if you cannot say, for to me to live is Christ, then you certainly are not able to affirm the latter part of that verse, which says, to die is gain.

You can't.

Or you'll struggle.

You'll struggle with that.

So our, you know, uh our ultimate peace and contentment, that joy, based on our relationship with God, restored through the person and work of Jesus Christ, is what drives us.

What's gonna lead us?

And I pray that today God gives us a special sense of that, better than when we arrived.

So join me in a word of prayer and we'll dive right in.

Father, thank you.

It's a beautiful morning, the sun is shining, it's a new day.

All across the world, your people have risen early from the east to the west to proclaim the glory of the gospel.

It's our turn right now.

It's our turn.

And we'll pass the torch even further on down the line, Lord.

But ours is right now is to ask upon you by the power of your Holy Spirit to lead us, Father God, to deeper senses.

Of that passion in the gospel.

The gospel advances and the gospel changes everything.

God, we know that it might be in our head, but travel the distance into our heart sometimes get sidetracked by so many other things.

I've been there.

I've been there, man.

I've been there.

So, God, this day, our hope, our desire, our prayer is that you lead us, lead us even further into a deeper love for Jesus, a deeper embrace of the gospel, and a deeper love for our neighbors and our neighborhood.

Lord, help us in these days.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Alright.

Without further ado, let's dive right in, okay?

So we left off a chapter, or excuse me, verse 18.

Verse 18 from chapter 1, verses 15 to 18, Paul mentions wrong motives that some people were, he says, some were preaching the gospel out of envy, they were jealous, some out of rivalry, some out of a goodwill.

And then he says in verse 18, he says, what then?

Like, so what?

Here's what?

Only that in every way, whether in pretense, pretending, or in truth, in genuine sense of a love for the gospel, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

And he ends verse 18 by saying, Yes, and I will rejoice.

It's like he's reminding himself, even though it's, even though he says that he even struggles with that.

Yes, I rejoice, yes, I will rejoice.

So even the foolishness of man, right?

Even the machinations of man preaching the gospel with the wrong motive will not stop the gospel from advancing.

Can it still happen today?

Yeah, yes, unfortunately, it still happens today.

It still happens today.

So check your heart, right?

Check your heart.

And then he goes on in verse 19.

Here we go.

He says, For I know, this is to the church of Philippi.

I know there's certainty here.

What do you know, Paul?

That through your prayers, talking about them, and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn off for my deliverance.

He's in prison, he's under a house arrest.

Two things await him.

He's either going to be acquitted or he's going to be beheaded.

This is going to turn off for my deliverance.

He does not know.

He does not know what the future holds.

He does not know how this is going to turn out.

But he knows the one who holds the future in his hands.

That's why he said, I know this is going to turn off for my deliverance.

Now he's not suggesting for a minute that he hopes that he meets a terrible fate here.

No.

No.

But his hope, nothing can quench his hope in the gospel.

But he says this, I know.

This is, you see, this is a second reason for his confidence.

He says, I know.

What's the second reason?

Prayers.

Their prayers.

His prayers, their prayers.

The first reason for his confidence he shares with us in verse 6 when he says that God, who brought, who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion.

In them.

The church of Philippi.

God, God has done this, He has begun this.

That's a source of His confidence.

The second source of His confidence that He knows that they are praying on His behalf.

I think oftentimes we can pray, we can see that in God's Word, the necessity of prayer, how important it is.

We can have prayer meetings, we can do all those things.

And I think sometimes after a while it just becomes something I need to do.

And by the way, there's no no nobody gets to check that off their list saying, got it, got it, I got that one done, move on to the next thing.

We could all do better in prayer.

Always, every time, everywhere.

Don't take it for granted.

Don't take it for granted.

It's beautiful.

It's our opportunity to commune and communicate with God.

We have a relationship with God restored through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

We can call out to God.

We communicate with God.

We express what's happening authentically, what's going on right now in my life, in my heart.

The difficulties, the good times, the bad times, whatever.

God, I just, I just, I need, I need you to hear this.

We communicate with God.

What's really happening in an honesty, in an authenticity tied to the agenda of God's grace.

Yeah.

The prayer that begins in heaven is the prayer that is heard in heaven.

So don't take it for granted.

Especially these days, these challenging days that we find ourselves in.

I am more convinced now than ever before.

The only way we're really going to get through this, the only way we're going to get out of this, is on our knees and through prayer.

Come on, man, we can do it.

Individually, collectively, and as a church.

Let's step it up.

Prayers.

So that's his second source of confidence.

And then he goes on to say in the latter part of verse 19, he says that your prayers and, oh, there's something else.

What is it, Paul?

The help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Paul's talking about the Holy Spirit.

He says, I know that through your prayers, God who began a good work in you, one reason for the confidence, you're praying, I'm praying, and second reason, and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit who indwells the Apostle Paul, the church at Philippi, and you and me, if we have repented of our sins and trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that same Holy Spirit is very much and very powerfully in control of everything that happens still to this day.

When you too, you come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, you've repented, you've admitted your need for a savior, you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, right?

You believe with you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

In that moment, in that instant, the Holy Spirit indwells your heart.

We need repeated infillings of the Holy Spirit because you will have all of the Holy Spirit you're ever going to have in that moment, but he does not have all of you.

That's called sanctification, right?

We're being sanctified, we're being made more and more in the image of Christ.

And one day we will be glorified in the very presence, in the very presence of Jesus, freed from the presence of sin.

So he knows that.

God began a good work in your praying.

The Holy Spirit is leading.

This will turn out for my deliverance.

This is going to turn out, this is going to become a good thing.

His deliverance.

Really?

Does he know that, Paul?

Do you really know that?

How so, Paul?

In this way.

It's my eager expectation, verse 20, and hope.

I will not be ashamed.

Not at all be ashamed.

But with all courage now as always, Christ will be honored in my body.

There's a lot to unpack there, whether by life or by death.

He's eager, he's keen, he says that.

It's my eager expectation and hope.

I'm expecting this.

I have hope in this.

I will not be ashamed.

He's talking, what shame?

He's not going to be embarrassed or reluctant by himself, by how he responds, by how they respond.

I know this.

He says, we have this.

The Holy Spirit's leading us.

Remember where he is, okay?

Remember.

He's awaiting his fate.

He doesn't not know what's going to transpire.

He's being held captive against his will.

He's he's a Roman guard is chained to him 24-7.

He's preaching the gospel to every one of them, and off they go, and the gospel is spreading.

He says, Oh man, this is actually serving to advance the gospel.

But but there still waits for him the outcome.

Might end.

Yeah.

I will not be ashamed by my circumstance.

The circumstance will not cause me to be ashamed.

No, he says, Christ will be honored in my body, body, that's a way of saying, in the flesh, in the here and now.

In this moment, in the midst of this crisis, in the midst of this circumstance, Jesus Christ will be honored.

And then he says, whether by life or by death.

By life or by death.

By the things I do and say, or the things I have done and said.

By life or by death.

Things I do and say, or the things that I have done and the things that I have said.

There will be no need for embarrassment.

It's consistent.

My life is consistent with the gospel that I proclaim.

My deeds and actions are beautifully aligned with the very things that I proclaim to be about.

It's called integrity.

Integrated.

It's all one.

No need to be ashamed.

And then look at this.

Here it is, verse 21.

Here it is.

The Magna Carta of the Apostle Paul.

Here it is.

This is what he's all about.

He says it differently in some of his other epistles, but I love this in verse 21 because he sums up his life this way.

For to me, this is what I'm all about, he says, to me, in my life, to me to live is Christ.

It's Jesus.

That's my life.

Paul, what are you all about?

What's your life?

What is the thing that it compels you?

What is the thing that drives you every morning?

When you get up in the morning, what is the thing that the first thought that comes into your mind when you wake up, the last thought that's in your mind before you fall asleep?

Jesus Christ.

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

To live as Christ.

Paul describes that, to live as Christ, that part of the verse, similar in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20.

Galatians 2:20

Listen to what he says in Galatians 2, 20.

I have been crucified with Christ.

Not literally, metaphorically speaking.

So I've been crucified in Christ.

He says this, it's no longer I who live.

Paul, what do you mean?

No, he says, no, no, Christ who lives in me.

And he says, and now, the life I now live in the flesh, in the here and now, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Just in case you were wondering what he meant by to live as Christ, how does that work itself out?

Christ in me, the hope of glory.

He says that in Colossians chapter 1, verse 27.

Colossians 1:27

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Colossians 1 verse 28.

Colossians 1:28

This, for this I toil and struggle, with all his power, all his energy powerfully working in me.

Colossians 1 verse 29.

Colossians 1:29

There it is.

That's what he says.

And then just to die is gain?

Romans 6, 23, beautiful verse.

Probably a verse that we're very familiar with.

Paul says, for the wages of sin is death.

But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Another way of looking at that verse is saying, Jesus now and more Jesus later.

Life in Jesus now and even more life in Jesus later, when I'm in the very presence of Jesus.

It's Jesus now and more Jesus later.

It's life now and even more life later.

Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and have life abundant.

John 10, 10.

Abundant in Christ, in Christ.

In Christ alone my hope is found.

That's the perspective, man.

So a couple of things.

I'm going to leave you with three things to consider about how do I do that?

How do I make that?

How do I get that?

How does that happen in my own life?

Let me leave you at this.

What about the gospel?

What about the gospel do we need to hear right now?

Right now.

In the moment.

What about the gospel do you need to hear?

Do we need to hear right now?

Here's another question.

What about the gospel have we forgotten?

Or maybe even failed to believe?

The gospel is the good news.

The good news that our relationship with God is restored through the personal work of Jesus Christ.

And lastly, how is Jesus, here it is, how is Jesus better than what we have or what we want?

There you go.

Answer those questions.

Think about those three things.

Daily.

Especially when you're faced with circumstance that's hard.

I often come back to that.

I have to be reminded of that on a daily basis.

I have that written down on our fridge at home.

Why?

Because I'm thick-headed and I forget.

I need to be reminded of that.

That doesn't come easy.

That doesn't come without a whole lot of pain and a whole lot of sacrifice.

Alright.

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

Verse 22, he's now going to describe the implications of that.

Okay?

He's going to say, and here's what this means.

He says in verse 22, he says, if I am to live in the flesh, in other words, if I am to remain, if I am to stay in this current circumstance, you know what it means for me?

You know what it means?

He could say right there, yeah, you know what it means?

It means I might meet my fate, I might be all over for me.

Look what he says in verse 22.

If I am to remain in the flesh in this current circumstance, this means fruitful labor.

Paul, how do you get fruitful labor?

Paul, your your your life hangs in the balance, so to speak.

Really?

You know, no, fruitful, fruitful labor.

You see, because the circumstance does not dictate to him.

The gospel.

Paul is dictating to the circumstance.

You remember what Jesus said?

Take every thought captive, or as Paul, excuse me, says, take every thought captive in Christ Jesus.

Take that thought captive.

Run it through the lens of the gospel.

Where's that thought coming from?

This is the battleground, folks, right here.

This is the battleground.

It's between your ears, man.

Right here.

If I can plant a seed, remember, remember what happened in the garden?

Why this all began?

When Satan disguised as a serpent in the form of the serpent, what did he say to Eve?

And there's Adam standing right there letting all this happen?

He said this.

What did God really say?

He's stupid, but he's no fool.

He still does that to this day.

Plant the seed of doubt.

And then that crack starts to open up.

No, no, no, no, no.

Rely on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul says this means fruitful labor for me.

He says in 22, he said, yet which I uh I shall choose, I cannot tell.

Well, why?

Why, Paul?

Why?

He says, verse 23, yeah, I'm hard-pressed.

There's a dilemma here between the two.

What to?

To live as Christ, to die is gain.

Why is there two things?

To live as Christ, to die is gain.

Jesus now, more Jesus later.

I'm hard-pressed between the two.

He says, my desire.

Remember, he's he's just he's really he's just expressing his heart here.

It's like he's sitting right here with us, you know.

We're grabbing a cup of coffee with the Apostle Paul, and he's just sharing his heart.

He's pouring his heart out to us.

He says, My desire is to depart and be with Christ.

That's far better.

Yeah, you would imagine, right?

That is a very real thing to say in light of where he finds himself, in light of the circumstance that he finds himself.

You know what?

It'd be just fine with me if this just ends right now and I end up in the presence of Jesus.

That's a pretty good thing.

To live is Christ, to die is gay.

He's hard-pressed, you know.

There's this push and this pull to leave earth, you know, to be with Christ.

But you know what he says?

The apostle Paul says this in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 7 to 9.

2 Corinthians 5:7–9

He says, For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

There you go.

But he's being honest, right?

He's telling us, you know, I've got to tell you something right now, folks.

I gotta tell you something, Church of Philippi.

I'm hard-pressed between you.

For me to live as Christ to die as gain, you know.

If I cash out my chips here right now, and I go, I'm gonna be with Jesus.

I don't have to worry.

Yeah, quite honestly, that's a better option.

But don't forget, right, he's in prison.

He's being he's being held captive, he's chained to a Roman guard.

This perspective is not in spite of his circumstance, but because of it.

Verse 24, he says, but to remain, to continue in the flesh, in this circumstance, right now, is more necessary, required, he says, on your account, on your behalf.

Confidence is beginning to set, illumination is beginning to set, and Paul is coming to the conclusion.

He says, you know what, but it's more necessary.

I I believe, that's what he's saying.

More necessary.

There's more things that need to be done, right?

There's I'm not finished yet, Paul says.

I'm not finished yet.

I'm convinced of that.

Verse 25, convinced of this, I know that I will remain in the here and now.

Continue with you all for your progress and your joy in the faith.

I love that.

He's convinced of this.

I know that I will remain.

Again, he does not know how what may transpire.

He doesn't know what the future holds, but he knows the one who holds the future in his hand.

I'm convinced of this, that I'm not finished yet.

But even if I am, even if it ends right now, you need not be ashamed of how I am responding to the circumstance because I am holding firm to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It doesn't mean that he's not fearful.

No.

It doesn't mean that he's like some superhero, right?

And he's just like he, you know, he disrobes and there's this cape with the big S on it, like ha ha ha ha.

No, he's struggling with this.

He's letting us into his own heart.

He's letting us into the conversation that he's having with God.

This is a prayer.

He's praying.

Help me, Lord, help me, Lord.

Please, God, give me that confidence.

God, I know.

I know this, Lord, I know this.

But but if I'm to remain, God, I know I'm convinced I'm to say.

I I hope.

I pray.

I hope so.

I hope so, God.

I hope so.

I know this.

They're praying for me, God.

God, hear their prayer.

You know?

Because remember what he says in the earlier part of this chapter?

That we are partners in the gospel, meaning that we're members of the church and we partake in the grace of God.

We participate.

We are mutual.

We mutually benefit from God's grace.

And we're going to mutually benefit from suffering because mutually benefiting from sufferers means we benefit mutually from each other's love.

As we're about to see.

He says, I'm convinced of this.

I will continue your progress.

Verse 26.

So that in me, here you see, he says this again.

Like, in me, you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

Ample cause.

I love that.

There's there he's saying, You're gonna have good reason for this.

Good reason.

Ample cause.

You won't be ashamed.

Help me as we work together, Paul says.

You will have ample cost of glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

I pray.

I hope.

I don't know.

But I pray.

And then he goes on in verse 27.

Look at this.

Only, make this your priority, only.

Just do this.

Okay, set aside the other thing.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel.

The very thing, the very thing that he is demonstrating for them, which is why they need not be ashamed.

You see how it's connected?

Let your manner of life, he's saying to them, you, you, how you're living.

And the same for us in this room.

Our manner of life is to glorify the gospel.

Not ourselves.

We don't draw attention to ourselves.

We magnify the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Gospel changes everything.

Let your manner of life, the way you live, your conduct, your speech, what you've done and what you've said, what you do and what you say.

There's no cause for shame.

Doesn't mean you're perfect.

No.

Even the Apostle Paul was not perfect.

Only one was perfect.

Jesus Christ.

That's why we worship him.

Let your manner of life be worthy.

He says, so, look what he goes on.

He says, so so whether I come and see you or an absent, you see what he's saying?

He's really expressing how he goes, I don't know.

I might see you, I may be, I may hear, he says, of them that of you that you are standing firm.

This is how you're going to do it.

This is how your manner of life will be worthy of the gospel.

You will stand firm in one spirit.

And notice here the word spirit is small case s, lowercase s.

When the word spirit is in lowercase s, more often than not, that's in reference to your thoughts.

Okay?

Your perspective.

Paul says that whether I come and see you and I hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one thought, right?

He says, with one mind.

The Holy Spirit is leading you.

So your your perspective, your thoughts are unified, he says, striving, hard work side by side together for the faith of the gospel.

Unity.

Unity.

That's how you'll do it.

You'll strive side by side.

You'll humble yourself before the mighty hand of God.

You will be unified in the sense of your purpose to proclaim the gospel.

Not in spite of, but because of circumstance.

I know that he said, whether I'm there with you, whether I'm absent from you, or I hear of you.

Now don't forget this one other thing.

Paul says that a similar a similar sentiment in some of his other epistles about my spirit is there, even though he's not there.

You know what he's talking about?

He's talking about the Holy Spirit who authored the very Word of God.

He's not there physically, but they have the benefit of this book, the words, the eternal word of God.

Paul says, you have the benefit of these words, therefore I am with you through the Holy Spirit who authored these words.

It's your perspective.

Verse 28.

Side by side, verse 27.

For the faith of the gospel, there you go.

For the faith of the gospel.

28, he says, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

Why do you think Paul says that?

Why do you think he says not frightened by anything by your opponents?

Because I think he's giving us a glimpse into the fact that he's frightened.

There's a little bit of fear.

Yeah.

Not that he's overcome by fear, but he himself is struggling with the fear.

He's there, not by fear, by your opponents, by those who oppose you, by those who oppose the gospel, by those who oppose the gospel then and now.

Don't be frightened by that.

How come, Paul?

Well, he said that you behave this way, your manner of life, to live as Christ, to die as gained, is consistent with the gospel.

He said, This is going to be a clear sign to them, the end of verse 28, those who oppose you, oppose the gospel, of their destruction.

What a word.

But for you, it's a clear sign of your salvation, and that from God.

Destruction.

It's defeat for them, it's victory for you.

It's Jesus now and more Jesus later.

It's more fruitful labor now and more benefit of hearing these words on that day that we will be in the presence of Jesus.

And Jesus looks you in the eye and he says, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Enter now into the joy of your rest.

Yes.

Then he says in verse 29, as we're coming to the end of this.

It's been granted to you.

What has been granted to you, Paul?

What?

What is he saying?

It's been granted to you for the sake of uh for the sake of Christ, that you should have an easy life, that you should prosper beyond anything you can imagine, that you'll have riches galore, that it's it's a walk in the park.

Sign me up, man.

Are you kidding?

Is that what he says?

No.

Far from it.

You know what's been granted to you?

You know what's been given to you?

You know what God has been?

God is the one who grants you this.

God is the one who allows this.

What is it, Paul?

That you should not only believe in him.

What else?

Suffer.

I wish that wasn't in there, quite frankly.

But it's necessary.

It's more necessary on your account.

It's more necessary that I be with you to remind you of the fact that the hardships and the suffering are part of the equation.

You see that?

You see how he's come full circle?

And that's why he says, I'm confident.

I'm confident there, therefore, that this is going to turn out for my deliverance because there's still more suffering.

There's still more hardship that he has to endure, that they have to endure, and that we have to endure.

It's not over yet.

That day is coming.

And then verse 30 says, Engaged, embroiled in the same conflict, this dispute, this conflict that you saw I had past tense, and now you hear that I still have.

There's a benefit to all of this.

God's plan is unfolding in all of this.

And the gospel works itself out in our own hearts first.

Think of it this way in Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Listen to this.

Romans chapter 5, verses 1 to 5.

Romans 5:1–5

Paul talks about this.

It's been granted to you to believe, it's been granted to you to suffer.

Romans chapter 5, verses 1 to 5.

Romans 5:1–5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, Christ has removed the penalty of sin.

We have peace with God.

See that?

Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 2, through him, Jesus, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace, unmerited favor, the undeserved love of God, in which we stand currently, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And then Paul says this in Romans 5, verse 3.

Romans 5:3

He says, more than that, we rejoice in our sufferings.

Why, Paul?

Well, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope.

And hope does not put you to shame.

Beautiful summary.

And the the worship team is going to come forward now as the worship team comes forward.

Let me leave you with this to remind you of this.

The Apostle Paul never lost sight.

Never lost sight of his purpose, how compelled he was about the things that God called him to do.

So for us, think of it this way.

Jesus is our model.

The gospel, the good news, is our message.

Making disciples of Jesus Christ is our mandate.

The Holy Spirit is our means, and love is our motive.

Because the gospel changes everything.

So let me conclude in a word of prayer.

Join me as we conclude in a word of prayer.

Father, thank you for the true message of that reminder.

It's not an easy lesson to learn, Lord.

It's not something that we can move on, check the box and move on to different things.

It's a lesson that we have to revisit time and time again.

True of the Apostle Paul, true of us today.

But Lord, we know, Lord, by the but by the power of your grace, Lord, that there's nothing we can do that would make you love us more.

There was nothing that we can do that would make you love us less.

Your presence and the grace of Jesus Christ is all we need for everlasting joy and contentment in Jesus Christ.

And as we pray, we will measure your compassion by the cross, and we will measure your power by the resurrection.

Yes.

And as you have been to us, so shall we be to others.

Because the gospel changes everything.

Lord, we love you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.