Pastor Jeff Williams: November 6, 2011 Meet the Philippians, Part II: Chapter 1:7-20. We’re going to do something a little different this morning. We’re going to have communion during the message or in the middle of the message. What I’m going to do is have our communion team come at this time and begin to distribute the communion elements, but just hold on to them. Keep them in a safe place. We’re not going to be receiving communion right away, but we will be receiving it in about 10 minutes or so. It’s just something a little different today. Is that all right if we change it up a bit? Thank you. I will give this little disclaimer in this service that I always give. Because I don’t know all of you, if you’re here and you’re new, you might be wondering, “Well, I’m new to this congregation. Can I take communion?” We have open communion, meaning we put the responsibility and accountability back on you. If you have a faith in the Lord Jesus, you have received Him as your Savior, then you are welcome and encouraged to participate with us. If you can honestly say, “Well, I’m here for other reasons. I don’t have that faith and commitment,” then just let this time be a time of meditation, a time of reflection for you. We’re just glad that you’re here today. We’re going to distribute the bread and the cup. Hold on to the elements, and we will receive together in just a little while. I’d like you to open your Bibles up to the Book of Philippians 1 (page 1161 of pew Bibles). This is the Book we are studying together for, most likely, the next several months. We will be taking a short break for Christmas, and then we’ll resume. We’re going through it Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse and talking about it. We left off last week in Verse 6, so we’re going to start with Verse 7. I do want to quickly share with you a little bit about Paul’s relationship with this church by way of review. This church started in a very unique way. Paul had a dream, and in this dream he saw a man from Macedonia, Greece; and he was saying, “Come over and help us.” This was a real person praying and asking for help. It was almost like when on your computer you take a file and drag it from one place and put it in another place-it’s almost like God was taking this dream, dragging it across the Sea, and plopping it in Paul’s mind. He sees this individual; he hears his prayer, and he wakes up in the morning and says to his team, “We are going to chart a new course. We are on our way to Europe,” and the Gospel arrived in Europe for the first time ever. The first place he went to was Philippi. It was a hub of activity. It was a place where there was a Roman road that was already there, so Paul began to share the Gospel with a group of ladies that had gathered by the river to pray. They didn’t know him; he didn’t know them. He shared the Gospel; he prayed to receive Christ, and the church was born. This church had a very special place in his heart. In fact, when he left that region after three years, he had some financial needs. Finances were beginning to run low, and only one church stood with him; that was Philippi. There were times when people abandoned him [like] when he went to prison because they were ashamed of him. They didn’t want to be associated with a criminal, but the church of Philippi stuck with him. They sent an envoy named Epaphroditus to come and minister to Paul. They sent not one offering but many offerings to minister to Paul. Paul said, “I am on the field today. I’m doing what I do because of your love.” We’re going to pick that up in Verse 7 (again, page 1161of Philippians 1), “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the Gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.” Paul is saying, “In good times and in bad times-whether I’m free and heading across the Sea to visit you or whether I’m shackled in prison-you are with me always, always! You are partnering with me.” We said that word “partnership” is Koinonia. Koinonia means fellowship. It means to partner, to share, to work together in unity for a cause or a vision that is greater than ourselves. We share a vision, we hook arms together, and we pool resources together to get it done. He said, “You do that with me like no other church.” “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.” He is saying, “I am praying that you will grow in love through knowledge and discernment, the ability to know and understand the love that God has for you, that your capacity to love, that your capacity to understand God’s love, will grow.” That is his prayer. I like to read articles and other commentary on religious matters-no surprise to you. I enjoy reading other current events. I’m always trying to look for a sermon illustration that I might use in a series or something else. I remember reading an article, and what stuck in my mind about it was not the article I read; it was commentary in the article. You know how people can anonymously write comments? Because they can do so anonymously, sometimes they are rather mean-spirited or hateful comments because nobody knows who wrote them. When you read enough of those articles, you find out how many people hate Christians, hate Christianity, and hate God. They say some vile things. This particular comment, I think it was there to elicit anger or maybe to demean Christians because it was talking about the cross and what Jesus did. They said it in a condescending way, but it didn’t make me angry. It simply just made me sad. The comment about the article was this: “Oh, sure. That’s what I think of when I think of love-a naked man nailed to a tree! Yeah, that’s love!” with a sarcastic tone. I just remember thinking, “You just don’t understand! You’re not grasping what God has done. You see, love gives. Love gives.” That’s what Paul is saying, “You love me, and you give to me. I love you, and I want to give to you.” God did an amazing thing on the cross, but this guy just didn’t grasp it. My wife loves her sister. My sister-in-law, Linda, has kidney failure, so Brenda checked, and she was able to donate one of her kidneys to Linda so she doesn’t have to be on dialysis anymore, so she can be healthy, so Linda has a healthy kidney to take the toxins out of the blood, and because she wants her to live and have a long life. She wants to share that life with her, and because of that, she wants to give of herself so that her sister might live. That’s her desire, and that’s what love does. According to this guy, he doesn’t know the understanding of the context. He might come in the operating room, see her in surgery opened up while the doctors are taking out her organ, and say, “Oh, yeah sure, that’s what I think of when I think of love-a lady lying on a table with an organ coming out of her body. Yeah, that’s what I think of when I think of love.” Yeah, that’s love. If that were to happen, that is love. Friend, you don’t understand the cross; you don’t understand what Jesus did. He allowed His body to be opened up, His life to be taken, to cleanse us from the toxins of sin-the poisons of sin-which would lead to our death because He loves us, because He wants to share His life with us. He wants us to live in eternity with us. He imparted His righteousness and put it in us that we could live. So, yes, that is love; Jesus on the cross is love. I pray for discernment for this gentleman and all those who don’t understand what God has done. With that as an understanding at this point in the message, in the service, we’re going to receive communion together. What we customarily do, and it will be no exception today, is we just have a few moments of meditation, reflection, and prayer. Nothing is playing but some soft music, and you just thank the Lord for what He has done. (A few moments are allowed here for the congregation to reflect.) If you have a piece of paper you’re taking notes on or a bulletin, an insert or something, draw a little box in the corner of that-not a big box, but a little box that would fit maybe one word. If you don’t have a piece of paper or pencil so you literally can’t draw a box, I want you to put a box in your mind. In that box, I want you to think about what your reason to live is? What do you live for or who do you live for supremely in this life? What is it that dominates your thoughts, your energies, or your resources? What is it or who is it you live for? That’s what would go in that box. You don’t have to write it in. You don’t have to worry about your neighbor seeing what’s in there. I’m not going to take a survey and say, “How many of you put God in that box?” because we are in church. There would be a lot more hands going up than if we were asking you privately what really is in your box. Who is really in your box? Would you put your spouse in your box? Would you put your children there? Would you say, “My family is what I live for.” Would you put your health there? Maybe to live a long healthy life is what you live for more than anything else. Maybe you put power; some people put power in that box. Some people would put pleasure in that box. Some people might put adventure. More than anything else, they live for the thrill of an adventure-whatever it might be. Some people might put wealth in that box, and that’s what they live for. They look to mass as many resources as they can. What’s in your box today? It’s a small box; there’s only room to write one thing. What would you put there? Be honest-what would you put in that box? Who would be in that box today? That determines your attitude. That determines your response to the events of life. We’re going to take a look at the Apostle Paul today, and we’re going to see how it was possible that this man who was living in such adverse conditions could have so much joy. I want you to turn to Bibles to Philippians 1, please (page 1161). I believe we left off in Verse 12, so we’re going to continue there. Paul was in prison while he wrote this. He was in Rome, and this is the first Roman imprisonment. We read about this one in Acts 28. In this one, he was under house arrest, so he was able to entertain friends, visitors. He had sunshine. He could move from room to room. He was living in nice conditions. However, he was still in prison; he didn’t have his freedom. He couldn’t just get in a boat and sail out to sea somewhere. He couldn’t go and visit friends and loved ones. He couldn’t visit the churches; he couldn’t do any of that. He was confined, and he was also shackled to a Roman guard 24/7. In six-hour shifts, guards would come in and be chained to him. Another one would come in six hours later, so even you extroverts would have to admit that you need some private time, right? Even you people out there who are extroverts would say, “From time-to-time, I need to be by myself.” Paul didn’t have that for two years. For two years, he was chained to somebody all day long. Even though it’s house arrest and even though he can see people and sunshine, it wasn’t ideal. He wasn’t free and he never had privacy. He also was facing the possibility, the prospect, of death because of the charges against him. So these are less than ideal circumstances. Think about how effective this man was. He was the number one preacher; he was the number one evangelist; he was the number one missionary in all the world. No one started more churches than Paul. No one equips believers better than Paul. No one was more productive for Christianity in the whole world than the Apostle Paul, and now his ministry has seemingly come to a grinding halt in a jail in Rome. Now look at Verse 12. I want you to realize the audacity, the shocking claim this is. He said, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel.” What? You’re telling us with a straight face that you being in prison is actually better off for the Gospel than you being out of prison, traveling, preaching, and going from church to church? Really? Seriously, Paul? One of the things about being a communicator is you have to know the audience you’re speaking to, so I’m going to share with you an illustration I think you’ll be able to understand. Let’s say you’re watching the Packers this afternoon, and you are shocked to find out that Aaron Rodgers has been put on the bench by the coaching staff. The coaching staff said, “We just think we have a better chance of winning this ball game today with Aaron on the bench. We’re not sure how long he’s going to be on the bench. We’re not sure if it’s the whole season or just a couple games, but today we think we have a better chance to win.” You are immediately upset. You’re thinking, “How in the world? We have this great quarterback, and he’s sitting on the bench. How are we a better team with Aaron Rodgers on the bench? How can we beat this team, these charges with him on the bench? What’s the matter with that coaching staff? Don’t they know?” Then after the game, Aaron Rodgers gets in front of the press. The cameras are flashing, and the videos are rolling. He says, “I think our team is better off without me on the field. You saw how those guys stepped up today. You saw the energy they played with. Besides that, I’m getting to know other guys on the team. I’m helping them with different aspects of their game. I really think as long as I’m on the bench, we will be a better squad.” You would say, “Are you kidding me? How can that be?” So when Paul makes a statement like this, “The church is better off if I’m in jail,” people are scratching their heads saying, “Are you kidding? You’re the captain! Nobody is closer to Jesus than you are! You hear direction from the Man Himself. How in the world are we better off with you in prison?” Paul is going to give them several reasons why. Remember the box. If comfort is in that box, Paul is not going to be happy. If freedom is in that box, Paul is not going to be happy. What is in Paul’s box? Do you know what’s in Paul’s box? To glorify God and to advance the kingdom by advancing the Gospel. You say, “He had a bigger box than me. He had more room to write than I did, and that’s not fair.” Well, he is the Apostle Paul. In his box, what he lives for more than anything else is to glorify God by advancing the Gospel. That was his heartbeat. That’s what made him tick; that’s what got him up in the morning. That’s what kept him going through riots, time in prison, and through beatings. It was to fulfill the call that God gave him-to share the Gospel with the world. That was what he lived for. Paul began to look at those circumstances through his life, through that reference point. He asked himself the question, “How can I still accomplish what I believe my mission is here, what I’m living for?” His answer was this: “It’s still being done. It’s still being accomplished.” Friends, if anything else is in that box but God, then it can be taken away from you in a moment. If family is in that box, family can be gone in an instant. If health is in that box, your health can be gone tomorrow. If wealth is in that box-power, whatever it is that’s in that box-it can be gone in a heartbeat. But if what is in your box is to glorify God, then, friends, really what can be thrown your way that you cannot look at, analyze, and say, “This is how it will glorify God in this circumstance”? Paul says, “Even in death, I’ll be able to glorify God.” People will look and say, “Paul gave his life for Jesus. Paul wouldn’t stop preaching the Gospel. He wouldn’t be unfaithful to Jesus even if it cost him his life, so even his death would glorify God.” There’s nothing you can do to this guy, so this is how he is able to maintain joy and a positive attitude in the midst of adversity. So he makes this outrageous claim in Verse 12, and then he backs it up. Look at Verse 13. He says, “As a result” of his imprisonment “it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” Paul, how has it become clear that you are in chains for Christ? He is telling them. Paul is a preacher, and he has an audience chained to him that cannot get away (congregation laughing). Rather than looking at it as a negative thing, Paul is thinking, “Oh, man, they’re bringing me one after another, and there’s no place they can go. It’s their job, and they have to listen to my story about Damascus, the light, the voice, how I changed, and all the miracles and things I’ve seen; and they are coming to Christ one after another after another after another.” In Chapter 4:22 (page 1164), listen to what he says as he signs off his letter, “All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.” Nobody is more excited than these new believers. They are new to the faith and so grateful and thankful. Paul says, “People say hi to you, but especially these people in Emperor Nero’s palace who are coming to Christ.” They’re going home and leading their wives to Christ. They’re bringing their children to Christ. They’re telling their friends about Christ, and the Gospel is spreading in Rome like crazy. Paul said, “It’s because I’m here in chains.” He has taken this negative and is looking at the positive. What kind of letter would you write if you were in prison like Paul-if you were in prison and you’d done nothing wrong? You committed no crime; you’d done nothing immoral, nothing illegal. In fact, you were living an upright and Godly life. The only thing you had done was fulfilling the call that God placed on your life, and it landed you in prison. What would your attitude be? Would your letter be one of sorrow? Would you say, “I feel like God has abandoned me. If God loved me, I wouldn’t go through these trials and struggles. I guess God doesn’t really love me. I guess all my love and faithfulness to Him has been returned by putting me in prison when I haven’t done anything wrong. God doesn’t love me anymore”? Or would it be an angry letter? Would it be, “Oh, okay, this is the thanks I get? I’ve crossed seas. I’ve gone through riots. I’ve gotten beat, and my thanks is I get to go to prison! Well, thanks very much, God! I’m out of here!”? Would you write an angry letter? Would it be a poor me letter? What kind of letter would you write? Would you write a letter of joy like Paul did? He was able to write a letter of joy because of who was in his box. The way he looked at life and everything he processed, all of his adversities and trials, were processed through that lens. He said, “I am still able to accomplish what I am here for. I’m able to glorify God and advance the Gospel from this prison. People are chained to me, and they’re hearing the good news.” He said, “What’s more-because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly. The other guys out in the field are going like gangbusters because of this.” Why? Well, first of all Paul was in prison in Rome for the Gospel. Nobody had ever been in prison in Rome, the capital, for that. They don’t know what’s going to happen. Is Paul going to be killed right away? Is Paul going to be beaten? Is he going to be isolated in some sort of solitary confinement? What’s going to happen? The truth of the matter is nobody censored what Paul said or did under house arrest. If you read Acts 28, it says Paul was walking around the house, seeing people-friends, acquaintances, and strangers-who were curious. They were all coming, and he was openly sharing the Gospel without any fear of punishment. Nobody was coming to him and saying, “Paul, you can’t talk that way anymore. You can’t say that. We worship the Emperor here. We worship the Roman gods. You can’t talk about this God, Jesus.” Paul had a total freedom of speech. When the people in the field heard that, that emboldened them to proclaim the Gospel. We have missionaries we support in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan where they do what they have to do in secret because if it were known… They live next to Taliban and al-Qaeda, literally. If they were to openly lead someone to Christ, they would be killed on the spot. In those countries, if you convert somebody to Christianity, it is literally a crime, and you could literally be sentenced to death. Can you imagine the freedom the missionaries would have if those kinds of laws were removed and they could freely worship God, proclaim the Gospel, and lead people to Christ in those countries? There would be a new sense of courage and a new emphasis on preaching the Gospel with greater freedom. You might say, “Well, why don’t they just proclaim Christ boldly anyway?” Because they think they can do more for the Kingdom alive rather than dead. It just seems to be common sense. You could do more for the Gospel alive rather than dead. I can either have a 20, 30, 40-year run of sharing the Gospel or I can have a four-minute run, so there is a new freedom. Paul says, “That’s number two. Because I’m here and they watch and see that I’m still talking, I’m still preaching, that is giving them a new sense of courage.” Thirdly, he says, “It is true that some preach out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition-not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is being preached. And because of this, I rejoice.” Paul is talking here about people who are really preaching the Gospel. His enemies were the Judaisers. “It’s the law, Moses. Get circumcised. Obey the Commandments and Jesus.” Jesus became like an ingredient to a soup. That’s all He was [to them]. Paul would not rejoice in that kind of a Gospel. These were men who really were preaching the Gospel; they were just preaching it with the wrong motives. It’s kind of like this: there are some people in the ministry who are very carnal, very much of the flesh. They look at other ministries that are like-minded as competition. They do. Rather than rejoicing when something good happens in a ministry that’s like-minded, they try to one-up them. If a church that’s preaching the Gospel says, “We led 25 people to Christ in our services this year,” and instead of rejoicing, the other church says, “Oh, yeah, we’re going to lead 50 to Christ,” [it’s because] they see it as a competition. So you have these people that view Paul as a competitor. They say, “Here’s our chance. Paul’s in prison. Here is our chance to really make strides, to get a bigger audience, to get the name of our ministry out, to get more influence than Paul because now he’s stuck in prison.” They’re not only sharing the Gospel, but they are demeaning Paul in the process. They might be saying things like, “You know, the reason Paul is in prison is because of sin. There is some sin in his life-that’s why he is in prison. If he were truly a righteous person, then he would not be in prison,” because there was a stigma attached to prison. It’s nothing to be proud of now, but I’m going to tell you something: back in that day, if you were in prison, you were an outcast. People would disown you; people would disassociate with you because they didn’t want to be seen as a criminal or friends with a criminal, so they would be out of there. Paul talks about that and about the shame that’s associated with prison. He talks about people deserting him and turning their backs on him. If you’ve read the letters of Paul, you’re familiar with that. They might look at Paul and say, “Okay, Paul, if you really serve God, why are you in prison? You must have some secret sin.” Others would attack Paul and say, “If Paul really were a man of faith, he wouldn’t be in prison. You remember what happened to Peter when he was in prison. God sent the angel, and the chains fell off. The doors opened up. If Paul really were a man of faith, then God wouldn’t allow him to be in prison for two years like this. That’s why he’s in prison. He doesn’t have faith. If he would just pray in faith, God would release him. Bad things happen to people who don’t have enough faith.” They might criticize him in that way. Whatever the criticism was, they were using the situation to advance their ministry; but in the process of doing so, they truly were preaching the Gospel. God will honor the Gospel-even if it’s preached in bad motives. There are preachers on TV or in churches, and they are only preaching so they can have big bucks; they live in a mansion or two, have private jets, they have millions of dollars in the bank, and when you listen to the message, it really is the Gospel. They’re telling the truth. People can still come to Christ, even though a person’s motive is to line his own pocket. Paul is saying, “Look, their motives might not be right, but I’ve heard reports, and they are really telling what Jesus did for them. That’s what I care about-that people are hearing the Gospel. The Gospel is advancing. That’s all that matters to me.” If somebody comes up to me and says, “Oh, this Fuddruckers thing, you know the only reason Fuddruckers is doing that is because they want good publicity so people will buy more of their burgers. That’s all! They’re just doing this because they want to make money!” I’d say, “I don’t care!” (Congregation laughing.) “I want to help kids! I want to help kids,” and I think their motives are right and good. I’m just using that as an example. Let’s pretend they weren’t [doing it for the right reason]. I want to help kids, so regardless of the motive, the money we raise is going to help children in our community. It’s a good thing. That’s where Paul’s heartbeat is. Paul is saying, “Look, they’re preaching the Gospel. They’re doing it for the wrong motive, but it truly is the Gospel and what I’m living for. What’s in my box is being accomplished, and I’m rejoicing. Because of this, I rejoice. Yes, I will and continue to rejoice. It is a choice that I have made. I have rejoiced; I am rejoicing now; I will continue to rejoice because my joy is not based upon my circumstances. I am able to have joy because what I live for supremely is to glorify God and to advance the Gospel; and because of that, I’m looking at what I’m going through. Instead of looking at it negatively, with doom and gloom, and being filled with despair, filled with anger, I am filled with hope and joy because I am still glorifying God in these circumstances.” Friends, you can do the same thing. It is a choice. Your attitude is a choice. I came across an interesting example of this recently. I was in a store, a hobby store, doing some shopping, and a buddy of mine came in. He had had open-heart surgery. He was recovering, and he was using a cane. I asked, “How are you doing?” He said, “I’m doing better. I’m thankful I had the surgery. I’m on the road to recovery. Every day is a little better. I’m walking a little better. I’m getting a little stronger, and life is good. I’ll be back in the game before long.” Then shortly after he arrived, another fellow came in who immediately began to zap the life out of the room. He was like the incarnation of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. He came in the room, and I looked at these two guys. They both had this “oh, no, not him” face. I didn’t know what was coming next, but he started to talk. The owner of the store starts off and says, “We have a lovely day today.” (Pastor is speaking in his best Eeyore voice), “About time we had a good day. The weather’s been terrible. It’s probably going to get worse tomorrow.” “Well, how are you doing? How’s life?” “Not good. My father-in-law is going to die. I’m going to have back surgery again. I’m not sure how long I’ll be down this time-probably longer than I was before.” “Oh, boy. I’m sorry to hear that. Yeah, well we were just talking about the NFL and our favorite team. We’re just hoping it turns around.” “It never will. They’ve been bad for a long time, and they’re going to continue to be bad. I don’t know why I even watch… Here’s what I’m looking for today. You probably don’t have it. You never do.” Finally, he left. Thank goodness! He left and I looked at those two guys and said, “I feel like jumping off a bridge,” (congregation laughing). I said, “What was that?” They said, “That guy, he’s been coming into this store for years, and he’s never, ever said one positive thing! Every day of his life, he is miserable. Year after year! I’ve never seen that guy have a good day! I’ve never heard him say one good thing about anybody or anything.” Then the friend that had the heart surgery chimed in and said, “I don’t even know how you can be happy looking at life like that! I don’t know how you can even live looking at life like that!” He made a choice that every day was going to be doom and gloom because whatever it was in his box, every day he looked at life and at his adversity and said, “It’s another bad day, just like it was yesterday and just like it’s going to be tomorrow.” Do you want to know one of the reasons why people came to Paul all the time when he was in prison in Rome? The house arrest was always busy with people coming and going. It was because Paul was a happy and joyful person to be around. Whether he was imprisoned, whether he had been beaten, faced death, was hungry or poor-whatever his circumstances-Paul always had joy because of who was in his box. What or who is in your box this morning? Honestly… Could it be that one of the reasons why we don’t have the joy that we should have is because something other than who should be in that box is there? Let’s pray today and ask the Lord if we could have an attitude of joy and be able to rejoice in adversity just like Paul did. Would you join me in prayer? Father, we serve the same God that Paul did. Paul did two things: he rested on the promises that You were in control. Secondly, there was nothing that could happen to him that would stop him from accomplishing the reason that he lived. If somebody beat him, then his attitude would glorify You. He would say, “I’m so thankful that You’ve seen me worthy to suffer, that I was able to testify to the grace of God even though it caused me to be beaten.” Even in death, no matter what was thrown his way, [Paul praised God]. Lord, we too have a choice in this life. We have to decide what’s in that box for us. It is my prayer that the same thing that was in Paul’s box would be in ours-that we might live for Your glory supremely. Father, I pray that we might be able to take all the adversity that comes. All of our adversities are different, but we all have that in common. We all face adversity in this life. Lord, I pray that we are able to process it and look at it through those eyes of faith that Paul had. I pray this and ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.