To live is Christ Part 2

Intro:

Open your bible again to the book of Philippians 1. I am going to share with you part two of the message to live is Christ. If you weren’t here last week I will give you a brief recap to give you a bearing on todays message, but i would encourage you to go back and listen to the message on our podcast or social media.

Paul the apostle is writing to the Philippian Church to encourage, instruct, and commend the believers. A key lens I wanted you to know about the time of Pauls writing is that he is imprisoned.

As Paul commends the believers he expresses his confidence in Philippians 1:6 that He who has begun a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

The process of renewal through the Holy Spirit leads us into a life of abounding love in the Kingdom. Remember that nature of the kingdom life is to produce fruit. Fruit in our lives is not the result of works, but of the inner working of the Holy Spirit.

A major principle that I shared with you last week is that in our pursuit of Christ we will face obstacles, trials, and at times hardship. When we do our natural response is to want to get out of the trial or hardship because it is uncomfortable.

What we learned last week is that sometimes getting out of the tough time is not always the best solution, because God has prepared a table for us right in the middle of it. He has prepared a place of intimacy and encounter.

The place of trials is the maturing process that helps us to learn the power and potency of the word that God has spoken to us. What we find out in the trial is that His word becomes an anchor for the soul, and the hope of our salvation.

The greatest gift of intimacy in trials is the anointing of the Spirit that comes upon your life as a result. Someone asked me this past week after the message to explain the anointing. Let me give your a brief understanding of the anointing and how it operates before we look at how Paul was delivered through prayer and the supply of the Spirit.

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Submit:

The Anointing is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. It enables the believer to understand, apply, and administer spiritual truth. The Holy Spirit connects us to the spiritual realm so that we can learn to live from heaven towards earth.

Personal revelation increases through fellowship with God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit allows us to discern truth from error.

The anointing is a simple thing! It is the power of God activated in a person’s life when they believe. Isaiah 10:27 says, “The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” Another word for yoke is chain.

The anointing destroys bondages, chains, and anything the enemy tries to place on us. It has the potential to change everything in and around us! But it will not set us free from the works of darkness if we don’t understand how to activate it.

Walking in the fullness of what the Anointing provides also requires conformity to the truth. What you hear, you must obey. If the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, He will not operate in an environment where there is no truth at work.

If you are operating in a lie – worldly wisdom that does not agree with God’s truth – then The Anointing won’t kick in for you. Enjoying the fullness of the Spirit’s anointing also requires living in love. In other words, you cannot be against your brother illegitimately and be hurting the body of Christ, and expect to fully experience God.

The anointing of God on Paul’s life is what allowed him to look at situation and see God at work. The bad things that happened to him in his life ended up being the very things that God used to further the gospel.

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Apply:

The deliverance of Paul’s life came through prayer and the supply of the Spirit. Look at how verse 19 begins. Paul says, FOR I KNOW!

There is a confidence that arises out of intimacy with God.

Philippians 1:19–20 “For I know that this will turn out for 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.”

Two things I see here:

1. There comes a point in our lives when we must make the decision to walk by faith. Even though we can accomplish much in our own strength, we ultimately need to trust in Christ.

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Jeremiah 17:7 ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.”

When we live life in the spirit through relationship with Christ there is a God confidence that arises in our lives.

Proverbs 3:26 “For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.”

Can I pause here for a moment and just speak truth. To many people have the wrong confidence. They trust in the hustle, the grind, their intellect, their bank account, etc. The word tells us that the Lord will be your confidence. If we want to see deliverance and have confidence we need to put our confidence in Him.

When we place it rightly we get what happens in 1 John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

There is an alignment of heart that takes place when we live in encounter and intimacy with God. It changes our prayer life, the way we worship, the way we study. Being found in his presence beholding and declaring his word aligns us to His will, and it causes our prayer to become powerful effective.

Paul had an earnest expectation (an intensely desired expectation with a high confidence of fulfillment) and hope that in nothing he would be ashamed. He had confidence that all things God was working in His life would turn out. Paul with all boldness determined to glorify Christ in his body, whether by life or death.

We need this same trust. That whether we live or die we live unto the Lord. That we will serve His purposes. Knowing that it nothing we will be ashamed.

Paul had come to such a place of trust in Jesus that whether He lived or died he trusted the working of the Lord in his life.

2. Deliverance was supplied through prayer and the Spirit. When I read this it reminded me of Zechariah 4:6 “So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.”

I know that we believe in American exceptionalism and determination, but can I tell you that it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God. There are some things your talent cant give you. Your money cant give you wisdom and revelation. Your house can’t give you salvation. Your gifting’s can’t slay giants. It is the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit that does these things.

The place of prayer and intimacy with Jesus is the catalyst to power. We go into trials, we go into the wilderness commissioned by the Lord, but we come out anointed with power for God’s purpose through the Supply of the Spirit.

There is no other way.

Paul saw the big picture of His life. Philippians 1:21-26.

In Philippians 1:21–26 he says, “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, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.”

Paul’s singular aim was to bring glory to Jesus. He knew that if He departed from this life that it would certainly be more beneficial personally, but it would leave those He was serving at a disadvantage. His maturity in the faith recognized that it was more needed for Him to remain and produce fruit.

There is a sacrificial nature to the life of a believer. We realize that we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Therefore, we honor the Lord with our body, we honor God with our life, we lay down our agendas and pick up His. We grow unto maturity recognizing that our lives are not our own.

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Closing:

Paul wrestled between the idea of being with Christ vs. continuing his labor for the Lord. His personal desire was to be with Jesus, but He knew his assignment was to reveal and preach Jesus. He was willing to put aside His personal desires to meet the needs of others.

This is maturity in the faith. Realizing that our life is about service to others. We labor so that Jesus gets the glory and souls are added to the kingdom. Our goal is to imitate the example of Christ in all we do. To do this we pursue the knowledge of Christ not just to obtain a set of facts, but to know Christ himself.

This means that Christ is our focus, our goal, and our chief desire. Christ is the center point of our mind, heart, body and soul. Everything that we do, we do for Christ’s glory. Hebrews 12:1-2. Philippians 1:27-30.

Hebrews 12:1–2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The chapter finishes with an encouragement to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. That we would stand fast in unity.

Philippians 1:27–30 “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am 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. 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 hear is in me.”

If we will look unto Jesus, and walk in unity with one another we will see the purposes of God fulfilled in our lives.

Let’s Pray!

Lord lead us to the secret place to be with you. Help us to keep our eyes on you and the obstacles of life.

Salvation.