PHILIPPIANS 1 EVALUATE LIFE BY THE CAUSE OF CHRIST2019 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Philippians 1 Evaluate Life By The Cause Of Christ

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2019. And for the rest of us, we're going to be in Philippians chapter 1 this evening, continuing our journey through Paul's letters. Now in the book of Philippians, a book focused on joy and

but also the priority of Jesus. And that's what we're going to be focused on as we work our way through the book of Philippians. And so let's start this evening by reading through our passage. We'll go ahead and read through the whole passage. It's the remainder of the chapter one of Philippians. And let's read through that and then we'll dig into what the Lord wants us to meditate on this evening.

Philippians chapter 1 verses 12 through 30, here's what it says. "...are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

Verse 18. Verse 18.

And in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out from my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation, and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed. But with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ.

And to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two. Having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith.

Verse 1.

but to you of salvation and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me. Here in Philippians chapter 1, as Paul continues this letter, we saw last week his introduction and his opening, his confidence for them, his prayer for them.

And now he begins to talk to them about his own situation. This is really a very personal letter that Paul writes to the Philippians. It's unlike the letter to the Galatians, right? Which was very stern and corrective. And this one is very personal and endearing and loving. And even the book of Ephesians is, you know, incredible with all of its doctrine and the things that Paul goes into. But here in Philippians, it's so personal, right?

And so he begins to now talk with them about his own situation. And as he does, we learn from the Apostle Paul some, well, some good principles by which we can learn to have the appropriate perspective on our own lives. I've titled the message this evening, Evaluate Life by the Cause of Christ. In the example of the Apostle Paul, we can learn to evaluate our lives by the impact of

that we're having upon the cause of Christ, by the work of God, by the furthering of the gospel. And Paul demonstrates this really well for us here in Philippians chapter 1.

And there's some insights that we can glean from that, that we can learn from his example so that we can then evaluate. Paul at this time is in prison and yet this is a book filled with joy. We saw a few times in just the verses we read today about Paul rejoicing and encouraging them to have joy and rejoice. And there is going to be that theme throughout the book. And how can Paul have this attitude today?

in the midst of his circumstances, well, it's because he's evaluating his life by the cause of Christ. I shared last week about the emphasis of the book of Philippians being Jesus as the priority. And tonight, as we look at these things, we can see this in the Apostle Paul. No matter what situation he is in, he can rejoice and

and instruct others and help others to take joy because Jesus is first in his life. And no matter what happens around him, that doesn't change the fact that Jesus is first, that Jesus is most important. And when he values Jesus more than anything else, well, no matter what else happens, then his value in the Lord, the value that he has in the Lord does not change.

And so Paul will teach us to evaluate life by the cause of Christ. We're going to start in verses 12 through 14 for point number one. And here's the point. Value the cause of Christ more than your comfort.

Now, as we look at Paul's example of prioritizing Christ and putting Christ first, it is a really good example. And I long to be able to say like, yes, follow our example, right? But as much as I would long to, you know, make that declaration, I think as I look at these things that it's a challenge for each one of us to really put Christ first and

And we talk about, we're good with the idea of Jesus being most important, right? But when it comes down to some of the things that Paul is going to be showing here in his character, I think that, well, there's a lot of room for each of us to really be challenged about whether or not Christ really is first for us, whether he really is the priority. Do we value the cause of Christ more than our own comfort? Right?

In verse 12, Paul says, As he begins to open up with the Philippians about his situation, he says, You guys know my situation, and I know that you're concerned about it, and I want to ease your concerns.

I want you to know, brethren, you need to know, you need to be aware and understand that, yes, these things have happened to me. And what are those things that have happened to Paul? Well, as he writes this letter, he is in a prison in Rome awaiting his appearance before Caesar. And the outlook is uncertain. He's not really sure what's going to happen.

He's innocent as he is there. He hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, when they sent him to Rome, they had nothing to write for an accusation against him. But at the same time, standing before Caesar, anything could happen. He could be killed on the spot. He could have a great opportunity to preach the gospel and it could be an amazing experience, but there's no way to tell in advance. And so there he is awaiting his appearance before Caesar.

Some historians speculate that at this time, Paul had had his first appearance, kind of like a preliminary hearing, and then he was awaiting his second hearing. And that's a possibility. But we don't really know exactly what's all around it, except for Paul is, he's uncertain. And he's there in prison. He's been there for some time. His imprisonment goes back to the book of Acts, and

You can refresh your memory there later on if you want to. But there was Paul in the temple and the Jews thought that he had brought in Gentiles into the temple. And so they stirred up a riot. They almost killed him. He was rescued by the Roman guard there and taken into custody. For two years, he was in Roman custody there in the region of Israel. For two years, he was imprisoned.

Then, after Felix comes to power, I'm sorry, not Felix, but Felix was the one who was in power, but after him came Festus, and when he came into power, he put Paul on trial again, and that's when Paul ended up appealing to Caesar, and they sent him by ship to Rome. It was a six-month journey. So two years pass, he's in prison.

Then there's a six-month journey, which, if you're familiar with the account, it has a shipwreck along the way, right? It's not an easy journey. It's a difficult journey. Six months he's traveling to Rome, and now he's in Rome. We don't know exactly how long he's been in Rome, but six months to a year, we can kind of speculate, you know, those time frames. So this whole time, Paul at least has been imprisoned for two and a half years, maybe three, maybe four years he's been imprisoned, right?

And Paul, as he is writing to the Philippians, he says, look, these things that have happened to me, being in prison for that time, being, you know, shipped to Rome and shipwrecked along the way and being in prison now in Rome, all of these things that have happened to me, these false accusations, all of these attacks and persecutions and all of these events that have transpired, he says, I want you to know, you need to be aware that it's actually accomplished a furthering of the gospel.

And it's so backwards, right, to us. Because, you know, you take, you know, your star missionary and then you bind them or you bench them, right? It doesn't seem like that will spread the gospel. It seems like that would confine and limit the spread of the gospel. But Paul is saying, you know, I'm okay with all of the events that have happened.

These false accusations, their attempt to kill me several times, and all of these things that have happened, it's not comfortable. It's not easy. It's not my favorite. It's not my choice. But Paul says, I want you to know that it's okay because the result has been the furtherance of the gospel. Pastor Charles Spurgeon says, notice the beautiful self-forgetfulness of the apostle Paul. So long as the gospel could be more widely published,

He did not mind where he was or what he suffered. I like the way he describes that, self-forgetfulness. We might say selflessness or something along those lines, but I like the idea of self-forgetfulness because it kind of, in my mind anyways, gives me that impression of like, I remember and then I need to forget again. I remember and then I need to forget again. Like I keep putting myself first and then I need to remember to forget myself and to put Christ first.

To value the cause of Christ more than my comfort. I would encourage you to think about that. If I have to be uncomfortable for the cause of Christ to progress, am I okay with that? Is that a trade I'm willing to make? Yes. Take away my freedom if it advances the gospel.

If it advances the kingdom of God. Yes, take away my comfort. Take away my health. Take away my whatever. Am I okay being uncomfortable if that is the best way to further the gospel? Now these things are strange to us. Again, you don't bench your star player, right? You put them on the field. That's how you have the most success. But here Jesus benches his star player. He shackles him. He puts him in prison.

And there's a lot of things that you could look at as far as the effectiveness of the Apostle Paul while still in prison. But without getting into all those details, he sums it up nicely here in verse 12 and saying, the gospel has been furthered.

He goes on to give a couple examples. In verse 13, he says, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. How is Paul's imprisonment advancing the gospel? Well, Paul looks at a couple specific examples. He says, look at the palace guard. Here I am chained up, you know, to the palace guard day and night.

And every single one of them that has been there with me, they've come to the understanding, they've come to the realization, he's not here because of some crime. He's here because he serves Jesus Christ. These are Caesar's special forces. The palace guard, those who were the foremost around the emperor. And they all know

Every one of them knows, every one of them understands. It has become well-known, widespread. We could easily think that, you know, the best way is for Paul to stand on the street corner near the palace. And, you know, that way the palace guard would hear the gospel message as he proclaims it from a soapbox, right?

God says, you know, what's actually best is if I chain you to them. And then you have a captive audience. They think you're the captive, but they're the captive. And you get to share the gospel. You get to be a witness. And there, by your life and your testimony, the words that you say, but also the way you're handling the situation, you're going to make an impact on a group of people that you would have never had access to under different circumstances. So Paul says the gospel is furthered.

The whole palace guard is aware of my situation and the reality of Jesus Christ. But not only that, in verse 14, he says, look, in my absence, he says, most of the brethren. Now, we don't know exactly who Paul is referring to here because he could have in mind the brethren in Rome, or he could be thinking more widespread, like all those places where he went on his missionary journeys. In his absence, he's saying, look, there's a boldness there.

by others to bring forth the gospel, to speak the word without fear, that me being imprisoned has given others boldness. And so by my presence here and by my absence there, the gospel is furthered. You can see here in the apostle Paul that Jesus is his priority and it becomes a powerful witness to the whole palace guard, to all the brethren in the Lord.

It's a powerful witness and it furthers the gospel of Christ. Something for us to consider this evening. Do I value the cause of Christ more than my comfort? Would I be willing to look at my situation and say, you know, this isn't the path I would choose. This isn't the circumstances I would want, but I can rejoice. I can take joy because Christ is first and his work is being accomplished. There's a lot of ways that we could consider this.

In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul addresses the bondservants. We talked about it a little bit as we worked our way through Ephesians, right? Bondservants are to be obedient to their masters. And there was some tension, some difficulty many times between bondservants and masters. There was some tension and difficulty within bondservants who became believers and now they have this cause of Christ that they want to pursue, but they're bound to their masters and there's this tension between them. And

Paul instructs the bond servants, here's what you need to do. Serve your masters with all your heart and sincerity of heart as unto the Lord. It's not comfortable. It's not your favorite thing. It's not the choice that you would make. But in doing so, you will advance the kingdom of God and you'll be rewarded by the Lord. Put Christ first. And that means sacrificing our comfort many times. In writing to wives, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3,

I think it's an interesting example to consider, and not just in the context or situation specifically with a husband and wife, but that...

the idea is that, hey, listen, you could, you know, seek to be liberated from that relationship, especially an unbelieving, believing type situation. You could seek to run away from that, but even if it's uncomfortable, would you be willing to stick it out to value the cause of Christ more than your comfort to be a witness and to make an impact in that way, in that relationship?

We need to let the priority of Christ be evident in our lives, that we value the cause of Christ more than our own comfort. That we would come to the place where I would say, if I have to be uncomfortable, like, could you pray that prayer, right, Lord? Okay, Lord. Now, I'm just praying this as an example, Lord, for these people here. Don't take this literally. But Lord, if you have to make me uncomfortable to advance your cause, I was just kidding about the first part, right? But if I have to be uncomfortable, Lord,

so that your kingdom would benefit, then I'm okay. You can take away my comfort. If I need to be insecure, if you need to take away my securities, if you need to take away my luxuries, if you need to take away my pleasantries, Lord, take them away. What matters most is you and your cause and your kingdom and your gospel. This was Paul's heart. So that's a really good example for us.

We could evaluate our life, especially in prison, and have a really bleak and gloomy outlook. But Paul doesn't because he can see how the work of God is advancing in the midst of it. My comfort's not important, he says. What's important is the cause of Christ. Well, moving on to verses 15 through 18, we get point number two. And that is value the advancing of the cause of Christ more than your role in it.

This is a tricky one. Value the advancing of the cause of Christ more than your role in it. Paul has established the gospel is being furthered, but there's a little bit of difficulty in the midst of that. Even though the gospel is going forward, he says in verse 15, some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill. So at first we rejoice. Yes, the gospel is being furthered.

But then as Paul goes on to give a little bit more detail, some of those who are furthering the gospel, they don't have good motivations. They're motivated by envy and strife. But then there's also some who are motivated by goodwill. They have the right heart. And so the gospel is being furthered, but maybe not the way that I would further it, Paul might say. The ministry is happening, but it's not happening the way I would prefer. You know, I think things should be done in this kind of order and should have this kind of

Paul is looking at the work of God that's progressing and he's rejoicing in that, but also there's some internal conflict, like, but there's some who are not doing it for the right reasons. Now, it's important to understand the issue here is not false doctrine. He's not saying that some were preaching a false gospel. And so, you know, he's okay with that, you know, just as long as something is being preached. No, these are people preaching the true gospel. If

God had called Paul to address the motivations of these people, then Paul would do that. But God hasn't called him to do that. And so it's not his place to interfere, to strike them down, to, you know, he's just going to leave that in God's hands and choose to rejoice that the gospel is being preached.

We saw, if you're reading along with us through the Bible in three years, we're in Jeremiah and we're in chapter 23 today where God instructed Jeremiah to correct the false prophets. And so sometimes God does that. He corrects through others and that does need to take place. But here in this situation, Paul says, look, God hasn't called me to correct all those who have bad motivations.

And so I'm acknowledging it, I'm recognizing it, but in the end, it's not my responsibility. And so I'm just going to choose to rejoice. Verse 16, he goes on to elaborate. He says,

There's selfish ambition involved in some of those who are preaching the gospel. But there's also love involved in others who are preaching the gospel. And that is a reality when it comes to the work of God. That there are those who engage in the work of God, even engaging in the true gospel, but with various motivations.

There's a lot of different ambitions and motivations, even for those who are serving in ministry and who are doing what's right and teaching the right things and declaring the right things. It's important to understand that primarily so that we can check our own hearts and we can stop and reflect, why am I doing this? Because I can be doing the right thing for the wrong reason. I can have selfish ambition in my ministry, in my serving the Lord, in my preaching the gospel.

And there were some people who said, you know, Paul's out of the way. Now's my chance. That there was some envy of perhaps the status, the honor that the Apostle Paul, everybody would talk about the Apostle Paul after he went through town and

Cisco heard everybody talking so eloquently about the Apostle Paul. It's like, wow, I want people to talk about me like that. Now he's in prison. Now's my chance, Cisco says. I can step up. I can receive that notoriety. I can take that role. I can receive that recognition and those accolades. And so some were motivated by this ambition, but they're preaching the gospel. They're preaching the truth, but their motives are questionable. Maybe it's

Like an athlete who's the second string, right? The first string position gets hurt and the second string person goes, yes, now's my chance. I can take the field. I can claim the victory. I can get credit, right? And there are those who are responding like that to the situation of the Apostle Paul. But then there's also who, there's people, they just love the Lord.

And they're wanting to further the kingdom of God for all the right reasons. Their hearts are pure. Their motives are right. And out of love, they're furthering the gospel. Both are happening. Some motivated well, some motivated poorly. Verse 18, Paul says, Yes.

and will rejoice. In this I rejoice, Paul says, and yes, I will rejoice. And you can see the determination of the Apostle Paul here. I rejoice in this, and yes, I will rejoice in this, right? He's not just telling us, he's telling himself, yes, and he's like kind of perhaps reminding himself, I'm going to make this choice. I'm a little bit conflicted because, oh my goodness, these guys with the selfish ambition, like, no, no, I'm not going to feel that way. I'm not going to chase that path. I'm not going to follow that attitude, no.

I'm determined I will rejoice. The cause of Christ is being furthered. It's advancing. And it doesn't matter if I get credit for it. It doesn't matter if I have the role that I hoped to have in it. What really matters is that the cause of Christ is advancing. And if God wants to use these low-down dirty scoundrels, well, Lord, I guess I'm just going to rejoice that the work is being accomplished, even though there's some conflict within.

about the motivations within it. Pastor Damian Kyle says that this is the key to longevity in the service of the Lord. He says, there's so many goofy things that happen within the body of Christ. If we become all worked up over every single thing in terms of motives and this kind of stuff, no one will be able to last. Something good to consider. Lots of goofy things happen in the body of Christ. Lots of ministry that we go, why, why, why would you do that? Like, what,

Who's doing that? Why are they doing that? What's the motivations? How is that? Why are we focused on that? Why are we spending all this money and attention on? And we can have all kinds of questions about the work and the ministry of others. In Romans, Paul says, look, don't judge your brother. To his own master, he stands or falls. Now, if God's given us a place, like he gave to Jeremiah, and he says, Jeremiah, I want you to deal with this. Well, then there's a place and there's a need for us to address those situations. But

The majority of the time, those servants are not our servants. They're the Lord's servants. And it's really up to him. And again, if it's an issue of false doctrine, that's a different matter. But hey, choices, ministry-wise, you know, like there's a lot of flexibility. And yeah, I wouldn't do it that way. I think that's probably not the best motivation. I don't think I would say it that way. You know, we can have all kinds of mixed feelings about it, but the work of God is much bigger than us.

And this is an important thing for us to grapple with, that the work of God is much bigger than me. Even those who, you know, give themselves and their entire lives to the ministry of the gospel, the work of God is much bigger than us. You can think about, there's many examples of missionaries. Missionaries who served their whole life in a region, in a place, and didn't see a change.

But then the next generation of missionaries came into that area and they reaped the benefits of the full life of service that that missionary gave. And so we have this pattern that we see that, yeah, we're not going to necessarily see results. It's not always going to be amazing. Sometimes we're going to give our whole lives and the focus is not so much on my role, my seeing the change, my seeing everything that I want, but seeing

but that I am fulfilling my part. And if the cause of Christ is advancing, well, that is worthy of rejoicing in. Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 3. The Corinthians were debating about, you know, who is their favorite minister, who is the best. And Paul explains, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

So then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. There's different people that are used in different ways in the work of God, the plan of God. And some are planting and some are watering. It's God doing the work, but he has different people that are involved that are his agents of that work.

And in looking at the situation, the context here of Philippians chapter 1, some of those agents, we have some questions about. Some of those agents, I don't know why God would choose to use that person to plant. I'm watering, but I don't get to see the harvest. But here comes this, you know, crazy person with questionable theology who like barely knows the Lord at all. And they lead them in the gospel, in the sinner's prayer, right? It's like, Lord, I don't know, man. That's just, we can get caught up in that.

When we don't value the advancing of the cause of Christ more than my role in it. If Christ is first, if he is most important, if that's what matters the most, then it doesn't matter who does the work. We can rejoice that the work is being done. This is something that we can wrestle with and have difficulty with in a variety of ways. But think about the example of Saul back in the Old Testament.

God had called David to take the throne. That was what's best for the kingdom of God, for the kingdom of Israel, right? But Saul was like, no, not David, no. And we could look at this and we could go, God, why did you use Saul, right? He has questionable motives and selfish ambitions and all this stuff. And you use him to be the first king and establish the king. But God did it.

But then when it came time for David to be king, now Saul's fighting against it and he's like, I can't, no, no. The priority of the kingdom of God, that's not the priority. The priority is my kingdom. And he's throwing spears at his own son saying, look, as long as you let David live, his kingdom is gonna reign and not your kingdom, not my kingdom. And he's focused on his role, what he wants, his plans. And he's not prioritizing the kingdom of God and the work of God. Every one of us can have priorities

that kind of situation take place? What if God wants Richard to take over as pastor of the church? And I can share this because he's not in the room right now. Would I fight for it? Would I start throwing spears? What if the Lord told me, Jerry, you know, you have a face that's perfect for the sound booth. Some people have a face for radio. You have a face for the sound booth, right? That's where you belong. Meanwhile, Richard, look, he's so good looking. I put it in his name. He's Richard Bueno.

Stands for good looking. Interesting fact about Richard. Originally, Jesus wanted to call him Richard Wapol. But the father said, no, no, that's too obvious. That favoritism, you can't do that. So we'll call him Richard Bueno. Good looking. He should take the place. He should fulfill that role. How would I handle that? Listen, if I value the advancing of the cause of Christ more than my role in it, then there's no problem.

But if I'm going to fight for my kingdom, if I'm going to fight for what I want and my will and my plans and my ways and my agenda, Christ isn't first. Am I willing to really put Christ first and to celebrate that which advances the cause of Christ? Well, moving on to verses 19 through 26, we get point number three. Value the cause of Christ more than your life or death. Value the cause of Christ more than your life or death. Verse 19, Paul says...

Here Paul goes on to talk about what he expects is going to take place.

He says, look, this is going to turn out for my deliverance. This imprisonment, this situation, it's uncomfortable, it's difficult, it's tough, but it's going to work out for my deliverance. But the way that Paul says that, the way that Paul addresses that, he says, well, my deliverance might be through life or it might be through death. Either way, it's going to be a deliverance. And I'm okay with either one. Life or death, I'm okay with either one.

Because my main objective, my main priority is the cause of Christ. He says, look, this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And he brings the Philippians in. He says, look, you're a part of this. Whatever the Lord does in my life, you're a part of this. Through your prayers and through the supply of the Holy Spirit, there's going to be a deliverance that is accomplished in my life.

And so he's bringing them in, and we've talked about that many times, the value of prayer and how we get to participate in the lives and the work and the ministry of others through prayer. But Paul goes on to say, look, my earnest expectation, my hope is that I will not be ashamed. Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. What is important to Paul? What does he value? What's most important to him? He says, look,

Christ being magnified. And whichever one magnifies Christ more, my life or my death, I'm okay with that option. It's okay. Yeah, I didn't get to go to all the schools that I wanted to go to and see all the sights I wanted to see and accomplish all the things I wanted to accomplish if I die right now. But if Christ is magnified, then it's okay. Because that's the priority. That's the focus.

And so he says the famous verse, verse 21, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I live, the purpose is to magnify Christ. And if my death magnifies Christ more, hey, that's even more gain to me because then, well, then I'll be in eternity. And there's great benefits to being in eternity with the Lord. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way. Paul lived his life not to preserve and promote himself, but to glorify Jesus Christ and

If Jesus should one day decide that Paul could best glorify him through laying down his life, then Paul would be well pleased by the opportunity. Paul would be well pleased. Yeah, it's okay. It's cutting short all my plans. It's ending what I hoped for and wanted, but it magnifies Christ in its gain. Think about the example of Stephen, the first martyr.

He was powerful in ministry, gifted greatly. You could imagine the great things that would be accomplished if he had lived a long, full life filled with the Holy Spirit and, you know, in the ministry, but his life was cut short. Oh, tragedy. Well, from a certain perspective, sure, it is tragedy. But at the same time, Christ is magnified. And it seems that Stephen had a significant part in Paul's conversion.

And the death of Stephen impacted Saul of Tarsus at that time. Acts chapter 7 verse 58 tells us that when they stoned Stephen, they laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. He watched this take place. It impacted him. It changed him. It was a significant part of his journey to becoming the apostle Paul. And so the cause of Christ was furthered even in the death of Stephen. So if it cost me my life,

To magnify Christ, Paul says, I'm willing to give that. And I'm okay with that. I'm not conflicted. I'm not in torment over it. I'm okay with that. Because what I value most, what's most important, is the cause of Christ. Verse 22. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell.

And so Paul shares the conflict that he is experiencing internally. He says, I'm hard-pressed. I could see the value and the gain of entering into eternity with the Lord. But I can also see the value. If I press on in this life, there's going to be more fruit from my labor. That

There is going to be an advancing of the kingdom of God and the gospel message in that way. And so which one is the better? Which one is the most gain? Which one has the greatest value? Paul's expressing, you know, it's not very clear to me. I'm hard pressed between the two. Having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. There's some great advantages to being in eternity, right?

No more sorrow, no more tears, no more struggles with sin, no more issues, right? There's some great value and we look forward to eternity for that reason. But at the same time, he goes on to say, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. To advance the cause of Christ, it might be better if the Lord keeps me around.

It might be better. The Lord might preserve me through this trial because, well, there's more work that he has for me. And so there'll be fruit for my labor and I'll be advancing the cause of Christ. Now the Lord might take me home through this trial and that's okay too. Paul is saying, look, I'm good with either way. He's hard pressed between the two, but it's not like he's caught between a rock and a hard place. Like I've got a bad choice and a worse choice and I don't know which one to make. No,

He's got a good choice. That's not really a choice, but he's got a, you know, a good option and a better option, right? Like that's true for every Christian. When Christ is first, when Jesus is our priority, we don't get stuck between a rock and a hard place. We get stuck, stuck, stuck between something good and something better, right? That because Jesus is first and what he wants is most important to us. Does my life serve Jesus better? No.

Or does my death serve Jesus better? And Lord, you can have either one. Take my life in the living of my life or take my life in the giving of my death. Whichever one works for the kingdom of God, for your purposes, I'm settled. I'm fine. Either way, I want to advance the kingdom of God. F.B. Meyer puts it this way. He was prepared to live or to die that Jesus might be magnified.

He was willing to remain for a little longer outside of heaven if that would better serve the cause he loved. Paul was uncomfortable in pain. This late in life, you know, he also had some health problems. And I can imagine, I can understand Paul saying, you know, to be done with all of this physical ailments and infirmities and difficulties and effects of being beaten and stoned and shipwrecked several times. And, you know, all the things that happened to him. I can understand Paul saying, you know,

boy, I've been having to put up with a lot of aches and pains. You know, my arthritis is really bad. So I could see him looking forward to that glorified body. But if I need to press through the physical pain for a while longer for your sake, for the sake of the gospel, that's okay. I'm good with that. That's the priority. Verse 25, and being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith.

that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again. Paul says, I'm wrestling with this. You know, I have this kind of internal discussion with myself, but in the end, I'm confident. I think that God's going to see me through this. I'm going to appear before Caesar. I'm going to be released, and then I'll get to go visit you again. That's Paul's not saying I'm absolutely certain, thus says the Lord, but this is what I think is going to happen. This is what I'm anticipating is going to happen.

But if it goes the other way and Caesar, you know, executes me on the spot, I'm okay with that too, as long as it advances the gospel of Christ. And again, Paul is just being very personal here. He's sharing his heart. He's just saying, look, this is the things that I'm going through and the things that are passing through my mind. And I'm good either way, whatever God wants, I'm okay with that because Christ comes first.

Even as he's writing that this, these verse 25 and 26 to them, he says that you're rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Christ by my coming to you again. So if God keeps me around and brings me back to you so that you may rejoice more abundantly in Christ. So, so it furthers you in your relationship with God, then it's worth it. I'll put up with more aches and pains. I'll, you know, I'll go through those things. I don't care. I don't care.

It's advancing the gospel. It's advancing God's work. And so I'm going to value the cause of Christ more than my own life, more than my own death. To live is Christ and to die is gain. Well, finally, verses 27 through 30 give us point number four, and that is to value the privilege of suffering for the cause of Christ. Paul now turns from talking about his own situation to now exhort the Philippians. He says in verse 27, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ and

So that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from God. Paul says, what matters most to me is the cause of Christ. And if that is furthered by my imprisonment, I rejoice in that.

If the cause of Christ is furthered by those who are preaching with good motivations and with bad motivations, I rejoice in that. If the cause of Christ is furthered by my prolonged life or by my death, I rejoice in that because what matters most is the cause of Christ. But now he points to them and he says, okay, but now looking at you, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. I've been talking about me, Paul says. Now you follow suit.

Follow my example, Paul says, and let your life be lived in a manner that's worthy of the gospel. Let your priorities match. Let your priorities be set in order according to the example I'm showing you so that I can hear of your affairs and rejoice that you're standing together for the faith of the gospel. This is not in any way terrified by your adversaries. The Philippians were facing some kind of persecution.

some kind of attack, some kind of difficulty. We don't know the details about what that was or how severe it was or exactly what they were facing. We do know that when Paul was there, you can check back into Acts chapter 16, Paul was beaten and thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. So it would not be a surprise if the Philippian church was facing those kinds of situations. And Paul is saying, look, in the midst of this difficulty, pay attention to your conduct, pay attention to how you live.

Make sure you keep Christ the focus. Your suffering does not give you an excuse to be lazy in your walk. Now you don't have to be, you know, so focused on the gospel and so focused on the kingdom of God because you're suffering so much. And so, you know, you can kind of slack off in those things. No, he's saying, make sure your conduct is appropriate for the gospel. That's what matters. That's what counts.

And in the midst of your difficulty, he says, come together and help each other through it. He says, stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. There's going to be battles. There's going to be difficulties. There's going to be hardships. Link arms, join together to help each other press forward in the cause of Christ. Don't be terrified by your adversaries. Have boldness, have faith.

Don't let them terrify you. Pastor David Guzik says, when our spiritual enemies fail to make us afraid, they have failed completely because they really have no other weapon than fear and intimidation. What's the worst they can do? Jesus said, don't fear man who can, all he can do is kill your body. And you say, yeah, that's terrible, right? But no, no, all they can do is kill your body. Hey, to live is Christ and to die is gain. No enemy can really do any real harm to you

If your priority is the cause of Christ. Because anything that happens, anything they can do, it's for the advancement of the kingdom of God. To live is Christ and to die is gain. He says in verse 29, for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me. Notice what Paul says here. It has been granted to you. Congratulations. You're welcome. You're welcome.

You have the wonderful privilege of suffering for the name of Jesus. Paul says, count this as a privilege. It's been granted to you. You've been given the unique and special and important opportunity to suffer for the name of Christ. We can't value this privilege if Christ is not really our priority. And so a lot of times in our suffering, we don't really value the privilege because we

Well, what we value more is our comfort, our health, our pleasantries, whatever it might be. But when we learn to value Christ more, then we can count it as a privilege. In Acts chapter 5, we see the apostles after they appear before the Sanhedrin, soon after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the disciples turning into the apostles, they're preaching the gospel and

The Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders, try to prevent them, and so they beat them and forbid them to preach in the name of Jesus. And it tells us that as they departed from the presence of the council, they were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. But then, and daily, in the temple and every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. What if they got caught again? What if they had to be, you know, beaten again? What if they would have to suffer more? They said, oh, it's a privilege. You know what matters? It's

The cause of Christ. It's worth it. We need to learn to count it a privilege. To understand it for what it really is. Now, you might think, well, what about suffering when it's not directly related to preaching the gospel, right? If you go preach the gospel, chances are you're probably not going to be beaten or, you know, persecuted in that manner, you know, here locally. You know, you might not face that kind of response. But it doesn't just apply to suffering.

that direct result, I would encourage you to think about 2 Corinthians 1. Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, or you can also put in the word suffering, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God. When we face tribulation, when we go through tribulation, we suffer and God comforts us.

And so the cause of Christ can be furthered because now you're equipped with comfort from God to comfort others with the comfort you received from God. And so it might be a direct result of preaching the gospel, or it might be more of a situation where God is preparing you for future ministry. And so you can still value the privilege of suffering for the cause of Christ in any tribulation that you face.

James puts it this way, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Count it joy when you fall into various trials, right? No matter what suffering you're experiencing, you can count it joy. You can value the privilege of suffering for the cause of Christ. And sometimes the cause of Christ that is being advanced is his work within you.

that you might be complete, and then it's worth it. You see, the cause of Christ is advanced internally. The cause of Christ is advanced in enabling me to comfort others. The cause of Christ is advanced through the gospel message that is preached as a result. In all the cases, whichever way you want to mix it up, we can value the privilege of suffering for the cause of Christ, and we can have a whole new outlook on our situations and trials and afflictions

When we put Jesus as the priority of our life and our heart, when he's what matters most, then I can value the privilege of suffering for his work in my life. I'm being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. What a privilege to suffer for his sake. Whether the furthering of my life or the shortening of my life, I can rejoice when I value the cause of Christ, when I put him first.

When it doesn't matter if I get the credit, when it doesn't matter, you know, if things happen my way or my order and, you know, ministry can only, you know, take place the way that I want it to happen with, you know, the theology that I prefer and all of that. God can use all kinds of weird people. Goofy things happen, Damien Kyle says, in the body of Christ. And that's okay. When I value the cause of Christ more than my role, than my recognition, than my place in it. When I value the cause of Christ more than my comfort,

then I can be content in any situation as Jesus is first. What he wants is what matters most and that his purposes and his plans are fulfilled. That's my objective. That's my goal. As we look at this, this is what Paul was saying. Again, I look at these things and I want to say that all these things are true of me. But at the same time, I recognize, yeah, there's some more suffering perhaps that needs to happen so that I can be complete.

Will I value the cause of Christ? Will I really put Jesus first? I need to learn to evaluate life by his purposes, his cause, his plans. Let's pray. God, I pray for each one of us as we consider these things. Lord, would you bring to light things that we need to evaluate and consider in a fresh way? Lord, we've been having bad attitudes perhaps or upset, conflicted, and wrestling with things because...

Lord, you are not the priority. We have different agendas and other ideas and other things that we want to accomplish and it's more important to us than what you want to accomplish. Lord, I pray that you would bring us to the place of repentance or that we would be able to turn aside from those things and come back to that place of self-forgetfulness where when I self-remember that I would then self-forget. I would make that choice, that determination. Like Paul said, I rejoice and I will rejoice, Lord, that we would have that

that determination to put you first and to make that decision to value you and your plans and your cause more than anything else. So Lord, help us to see where we're out of line. Help us to see where we need to reevaluate our priorities and help us to put you first in all things. Lord, that your kingdom would be established, that your gospel would be spread, that your love would be known, that people would know you

and be strengthened in you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.