The Selfless Life

Eternal Perspective

v18b-20

Perspective in our power

Paul begins by acknowlging the importants for the prayers of the Philippians

James 5:16 “16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

And the need for the help of the Holy Spirit

For any ministry to be successful these two things are needed

For the Grove Church to survive and thrive you prayers are essential

But at the end of the day, the most important need of our church is the help of the Holy Spirit

Perspective in our salvation

Paul then turns his attention to the results of the prayers and help of the Spirit

He declairs this be for his deliverance

“This” is in reference to the prayers of the saints and the help of the Spirit

Both their prayers and the Spirits work will be for his deliverance

But it is also in reference to his current situation

This difficult, trying situation will end with his deliverance

He had a rock solid belief that the outcome of his situation would be deliverance

But Paul was not carnal minded enough to believe that the only outcome is his being set free

He did not see his deliverance as being limited to the breaking of his chains, but also in the breaking of his flesh

His faith in this moment rests in the hope that no matter the outcome he will bring glory and honor to Christ

That he will not be ashamed alludes to his manor of living a sin free example; as his sin would ring sham upon him and by proxy upon Christ

But with full courage alludes to his faithfulness; that he would remain courage in the face of this and subsequent trials

In the end his manor of living; avoiding sin and being faithful, Paul is willing to proclaim that if he dies a faithful death or lives a faithful life; Christ will be honored

What makes These 2 1/2 verse so powerful is Pauls balance between humbleness and boldness

He is humble enough to begin this passage in absolute need of prayer and the Spirit

We also ought to find ourselves always in need of each others prayers

Not only in need of each others prayers, but willing to be in prayer for each other

We also must remain humble enough to know that anything we do will only be a success if the Spirit helps

From parenting to evangelism, from career to preaching; it is only by the help of the Holy Spirit that we can achieve anything

When we realize this it becomes even more vital that we find ourselves in prayer for one another

But Paul doesn't only show him humility and reliance, he also shows his bold confidence

Because Paul is reliant upon the prayers of those in Philippi and upon the Holy Spirit, he can have confidence that he will be delivered

His confidence is not only rooted in their prayers and the Spirits deliverance; but in a proper perspective on his life

He recognizes that he is not long for this world and that his ultimate deliverance is a sure thing

He isn’t sitting in prison believing that God will deliver him from his bonds; he’s sitting in his flesh recognizing that God will deliver him from his sin

In this, he is not ignoring the fact that God can free him from his imprisonment, but he is looking forward to the ultimate deliverance when he lays down this flesh and is united with Christ

He has an eternal perspective on his life

We also should always be looking toward our ultimate salvation

Never limiting God by believing the only path of deliverance is in the flesh

Instead we ought to expecting him to deliver us in the flesh, but rejoice in the expectation that instead he may do even better by calling us home

Commitment to Christ

21-26

Paul doubles down on this idea that the ultimate deliverance is not out of the hands of Nero but into eternity with Christ

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” shows us that Paul’s ultimate commitment is to Christ

Paul finds himself between a rock and a hard place

v23 “I am hard pressed between the two” could possibly be an alliteration

As he is sitting there writing this, he may very well have one guard chained to his right hand and another chained to his left

He is physically hard pressed between the two guards but also spiritually hard pressed between wanting to continue in life and go home to Christ

If he lives, it is for the glory of Christ

In v22 he explains that if he continues to live, in prison or not, it means fruitful labor

If he lives, he get’s to look forward to doing the work of God

He goes on in verse 24 and 25 to say he is personally convinced he will continue to live, but not for his own blessings, but for the fruit his ministry provided

He believes God will continue to use him to further the Gospel and that this will be for the sake of the believers in Philippi, but not just Philippi, everywhere

But his real desire is not to continue in life, but to go home to Christ

He even refers to this as “far better” when comparing the two options

If it were Paul’s choice, he wants the Lord to end his life so that he can be fully present with Christ

What Paul realized was that as wonderful as it is today to experience Christ in this life, it is nothing compared to what we will experience when we lay down this body and be face to face with our Savior

Paul saw the fruit of his ministry and knew that if he was allowed to continue serving it would bring forth blessings upon the churches that would bring Glory to Christ

He was willing to press on, to continue working

But his soul longed for something better

He deeply desired the day he would approach the Jordan and cross into the promised land where he would spend eternity with Jesus

This raises two questions

First, do you long to be united with Christ in eternity?

Do you eagerly anticipate the day when you will be separated from this sinful flesh, and will finally be able to have perfect union with Christ?

Spurgeon put it this way:

There was a man who left London to go to India for work. When he left, he left behind his loving wife.

Each day she got up missing her husband, looking out the window, longing for him to return

Then one day she received a letter calling for her to come join him. With joy she she arose and left her home, family and friends to be with the one she most loves

Are you excited for that day?

But also, are you willing to wait while you work?

See Paul didn’t want to stay just to have more time with family or more time enjoying the trappings of life.

He wanted to stay so the he had more time to work for Christ

For all of us there are two numbers that will be written on our tombstone and all we have is the dash between

Are we willing to to use the dash to glorify Christ?

Are we able to look at our days and say “if I get another week, it will be good for the church”

“If I get another week, Christ will be good to glory of Christ”

Or if we look at our life should we really say “If I get another week, I’ll finish that series on Netflix”

Paul was able to look at the fruit of his life and say “Even though I want to go home, it’s better for the church that I stay a little longer”

We talked last week about the 3 steps to sharing the Gospel

Pray

Pray the Spirit Speaks

Pray the Spirit Changes

Pray the Spirit Sends

Pray by name

Go

Speak

In this past week have you made a difference?

At this time next week, if you look back on the next 7 days, will you have made a difference?

Will the church be blessed by your being given more time?

I don’t want to discourage you. I want to encourage you

This week you can make a difference

This week you can Speak.

If you can’t speak, Go. Put yourself in a place where you’ll have the chance to speak

If you can’t go, pray.

We started with how important prayer is.

Put time this week into praying for the lost. Pray by name.