Living for Christ: Focus (Phil. 1:12-18)

Title: Focus

Series: Living for Christ

Text: Philippians 1:12-18

PP: God calls every Christian to live with Christ at the center of their life.

RTL: Because whatever is at the center of your life will shape the way you think, live, and respond to every circumstance.

Points:

Make Christ Known Where God Has You (vv.12-14)

Make Much of Christ, Not Yourself (vv.15-17) 

Rejoice When Christ Is Made Known (v.18) 

Intro:

Well Celeste and I just got back this afternoon from our Spanish ministry family retreat

Part of the drive home was through those winding mountain roads.

And you know when you are driving roads like that

you know they’re very different from driving on the freeway.

Narrow lanes.

Sharp turns.

Blind corners.

Very little room for error.

And most times …

The scenery is beautiful

and there are moments where you naturally want to look around.

NOT FOR THIS ONE HAHA

But I found myself constantly bringing my eyes back to the road.

Because on roads like that .. where you look really matters.

If your attention drifts…

Your car begins to drift.

As I was driving home today

it reminded me of something that’s true… far beyond mountain roads.

Where your eyes are fixed … it will eventually determine the direction of your life.

when it comes to the x life

And the truth is that …

Every one of us is moving in the direction … of whatever occupies the center of our lives.

See if you’re a X … God calls you to live with Christ at the center of your life

Bc whatever is at the center of your life will shape the way you … think … live … and respond to every circumstance

Tonight … we’re going to see what a life looks like when Christ truly occupies that place

TURN TO Philippians 1:12-18

Last week (1:1–11)

Paul showed us that living for Christ requires community.

God never intended us to follow Christ alone.

Now Paul shifts from community to focus.

READ

We get a glimpse … into the mind of Paul … while he is sitting in prison

You would expect him to focus on:

His chains.

His suffering.

His uncertain future.

His comfort.

… But that’s not where Paul’s mind goes.

There’s 1 reality dominating his thinking

—> Christ is being proclaimed

Paul recalls what Christ said in his earthly ministry

Christ is always advancing His kingdom.

Matthew 16:18

“18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

IOW …

No prison…

No amount of persecution…

There’s Nothing

that can stop Christ from accomplishing His purposes.

That leads us to our 1st point …

What do we learn about the kind of Gospel focus … we should have

Well first principle …

1. Make Christ Known Where God Has You (vv.12-14) 

Now … Think about what the Philippians were prob thinking:

Their beloved leader is in prison

Their church planter is chained and awaiting trial

It would have been easy to think …

Has the gospel been stopped?

Is God still in control?

“You know this is kinda of setback”

But Paul says:

“No.”

What looks like a setback has actually served to advance the gospel.

You know … The Philippians seeing a prison.

Paul was seeing … providence.

Providence

Providence = God’s meticulous governing of all things to accomplish His plans and purposes.

And it’s not … that Paul denies the hardship of being in prison

… It’s his perspective is now through the lens of gospel glasses

2 Timothy 2:8–9

“8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!”

He was recognizing that his chains … were becoming his mic and pulpit

The prison was … becoming his mission field

Alright … well how do you Make Christ Known Where You Are

2 Ways …

Begins with …

Realize God Is Always Doing Something (Movement 1)

You know … it’s very very easy for us to

live our lives with our heads down

To live your life … on your timetable

… your schedule

… your future

Where we become … short-sighted … and life is all about us

This passage is all about moving the focus …

From our agenda —> To God’s agenda

That’s viewing everything through Gospel glasses

To lift your head … so to speak

And ask …

What is God doing?

What is God’s agenda?

To move … beyond your present circumstances or situation

And recognize that … God is always accomplishing His purposes

Not just in Paul’s life back then …

But IN YOUR LIFE NOW!

God is always moving and placing people

in times and spaces to accomplish his purposes

Genesis 50:20 — Joseph

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

The good = God used suffering to preserve many lives.

We read Esther recently in DBR …

Esther 4:14

God’s name is never mentioned.

… Yet His fingerprints are everywhere.

God sovereignly positioned Esther:

“For such a time as this.”

Romans 8:28–29

“28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

New Testament —

TURN TO

Acts 7 - Stephen

Acts 7:58

“58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.”

Acts 8:4

“4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

Persecution became evangelism

Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40)

Acts 16 — Macedonian Call

Paul wanted Asia.

God redirected him.

Philippi:

Lydia saved.

Jailer saved.

Church planted.

Years later…

Paul writes from prison.

God had been directing every step.

This is what Paul meant in terms of what had happenned to start the Philippian church

And so he is saying … you know that God is always at work to “build his church”

In the past and right now in the present

Acts 28:30-31

(House arrest became another mission field)

Most scholars believe this is when he wrote the Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon)

God wants you to … look around and see where he’s actively doing something

And when you do …

Join Him in His Mission … and the opportunities he’s placing in your life

Take the Opportunities God Gives You — Movement 2

How do you take them??

Ask:

How can Christ be made known here?

Through your:

Actions

Words

Gospel

Trusting that you …

… are throwing seeds

You might be planting …

You might be watering

And God is the one who gives the growth!

Colossians 4:3–6

“3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

—> Pray for Opportunities

Pray for open doors.

Be intentional.

AND YES … Some doors are not open …

Keep praying

Open doors is something we have to pray all the time!

Not only that …

Ephesians 6:19–20

“19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

—> Pray for Boldness

Acts 4:29–31

Persecution —> Boldness

The early church didn’t pray for easier lives.

They prayed for greater boldness.

Ok well if we have pray for open doors … and we pray for Boldness

Ephesians 5:15–17

“15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

EXPLAIN

—> Redeem Your Opportunities

Make the best use of your opportunity/season

To not waste your opportunity

Question:

Do you ever think:

What I am doing here?

Workplace

Where you are at in life

Maybe you think … why I am stuck here

Sometimes … we think ..

How do I get out of this?

How do I make this easier?

How do I get the life I want?

Wherever you are right now …

We have to ask … How canI make Christ known here?

Whether you like where you are … or not

Think of what would God have you do this week because of where he has placed

There’s nothing random or coincidental about the way God does things

Your workplace is not random.

Your singleness is not random.

Your neighborhood is not random.

Your family is not random.

Your friends and acquaintances

Your suffering is not random.

—> God may have placed you exactly where you are

to advance of the gospel.

Notice in our passage …

Paul’s faithfulness effects and touches lots of people

Outside the church

Inside the church

Paul’s example displays the reverberating effect of gospel faithfulness

Think about what God can do through your faithfulness

Domino Effect

One domino knocks down another.

Then another.

Eventually…

A lot of them

One act of faithfulness.

One conversation.

One invitation.

One gospel conversation.

… You never know the ripple effect.

Well Paul’s situation …

doesn’t distract him from his aim

And there’s actually another potential distraction he’s met with

vv.14-17

People

vv.15 and 17

Other Christians were criticizing him.

Trying to make much of themselves.

Yet Paul refuses to take the bait

The reason why …

He is so captivated by Christ and His gospel that everything else fades away in the background

That leads us to our second point…

2. Make Much of Christ, Not Yourself (vv.15-17) 

vv.15-17

Paul says there are two kinds of people preaching Christ:

Some preach from love and goodwill.

Others preach from envy, rivalry, and selfish ambition.

Now … The issue is not that they are preaching a false gospel.

If they were preaching a false gospel, Paul would not rejoice.

Galatians 1

False gospels must be rejected.

The issue is different.

—> They are preaching the right message with the wrong motives.

Some were likely:

Trying to build their own platform.

Make themselves look better.

… To Make Paul feel worse while he was in prison.

So he’s chained up …

Other X’s are using his suffering to promote themselves

The main point is:

Paul refuses to make himself the center of the story.

He does not obsess over his critics.

He does not defend his reputation.

He does not spiral into bitterness.

He does not say,

“But what about me?”

How can Paul kinda brush off his critics …

Because Paul is not consumed with Paul.

He is consumed with Christ.

And it’s natural … bent and tendency to be all about ourselves.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15

“14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

We no longer live for ourselves.

We live for Him.

So we have to examine ourselves …

Examine — (Movement 1)

You can do the right thing with the wrong heart.

You can:

Serve in ministry and still be serving yourself.

Lead a small group and want recognition.

Talk theology and want attention.

Evangelize/Defend the faith — to want to win an argument.

You can … Do “Christian things” while still making yourself the center.

Ask yourself:

Why do I serve?

Why do I speak?

Why do I want to be seen?

Am I trying to make Christ known or make myself known?

Hebrews 4:12

“12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

BIBLE

Let God’s Word expose your heart.

Psalm 139:23–24

PRAYER

Ask God to search your heart.

Once you see where you have a tendency to make it about yourself …

How do I actually overcome it?

—> you overcome it by thinking much more about Christ .. than yourself

That’s exactly what Paul does here …

He doesn’t spend his energy trying not … to be selfish.

He is so captivated by Christ that there is little room left for himself

So not only examine your heart … your motives …

But fill your heart with something greater

EXAMINE & ENTRHALL

Enthrall — (Movement 2)

What does it mean to be enthralled?

Enthrall = To be completely captivated.

= To have your attention, fascination, and affection captured.

So focused on something that everything else fades into the background.

The Christian life isn’t merely about trying harder not to think about yourself.

It is about becoming so captivated by Christ that thoughts of yourself begin to shrink

Philippians 2:3–4

“3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

2 Corinthians 4:5

“5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

Galatians 1:10

“10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Paul is not seeking the approval of man.

You know who models this so well …

John 3:26–30

“26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.””

People come to John.

“Everyone is going to Jesus.”

Imagine hearing that.

Your ministry is shrinking.

Jesus’ is growing.

John’s response:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John didn’t want to make much of John

He wanted to make much of Christ!

Matthew 5:16

“16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

So yes … do good things

But do them for Christ to get the attention and focus

The Movie Score

Think about your favorite movie.

People leave talking about…

The acting.

The story.

The ending.

Most people don’t notices the musical score.

But take it away…

The movie feels empty.

Think of John Williams … Howard Shore … Hans Zimmer …

The score’s purpose isn’t to be noticed.

—> It’s to magnify the story.

Christians should live like that.

We aren’t the main character.

We’re helping everyone see the true Hero.

That means that everyday …

Col 3:5 — Put to death what is earthly in you

Kill selfishness.

Turn your focus off yourself and onto Christ

Psalm 73

Psalm 73:17 — “17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.”

Psalm 73:25 — “25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”

Psalm 73:28 “28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”

David is continually enthralled with Yahweh.

That’s how hearts become consumed with Christ.

Our culture doesn’t do us any favors …

trains us to constantly ask:

What do people think of me?

Am I being noticed?

Am I being appreciated?

Am I successful enough?

Am I liked?

Am I impressive?

Social media only pours gasoline on that fire.

God teaches us here …

that instead of asking — are people noticing me?

ASK — Is Christ being proclaimed?

That changes everything.

It changes how you serve.

It changes how you respond when someone else is celebrated

It changes how you respond when someone else is more gifted in a certain area than you are

It changes how you respond when you are misunderstood.

It changes how you respond to and handle criticism.

So how do you get free life and what you do being … all about you

Become enthralled and consumed with Christ!

It’s only then that you will be free from the tyranny of needing to be noticed

So we’ve seen that …

Paul’s circumstances did not distract him.

Other people did not distract him.

So what was his focus?

Verse 18 gives us the answer.

Philippians 1:18

“18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

Put simply … Paul is rejoicing because Christ is being made known

3. Rejoice When Christ Is Made Known (v.18) 

Paul doesn’t say …

I rejoice because

I am comfortable

OR I am free

OR bc my critics have apologized

OR bc everyone finally understands me

No

—> Paul rejoices because Christ name and fame is being spread

Romans 11:36

“36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

Everything exists for Him.

Everything is about Him.

Now … Paul is not saying motives do not matter.

They do

He’s also not saying doctrine does not matter.

It does

And He is not rejoicing in false teaching.

—> He is rejoicing that the true Christ is being proclaimed

… even by people with sinful motives.

—> That is how focused Paul is

He is living what Jesus says in Matthew 6:33

“33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

He has a laser sharp focus on the gospel advancement

And … Once Christ becomes your greatest focus…

Something else changes.

Your joy changes

Where your joy is no longer tied to …

comfort.

wordly success

reputation.

Other people’s opinions.

Your joy is tied to one thing …

Christ being proclaimed

Bc what brings you joy … reveals what you treasure

Think about your greatest ambitions and goals.

Are they for Christ?

Or for yourself?

So for you …

What brings you joy?

Having that position?

Going up in your career?

Buying a house one day?

Being liked?

Being admired?

Having fun?

Dating? Engaged? Marriage?

None of those are automatically sinful.

BUT as often said … even good things

Can make terrible gods.

Paul’s joy is rooted somewhere deeper.

His joy is rooted in Christ being known.

What if your greatest ambition became:

I want Christ to be made known through my life.

That would change:

How you work.

How you serve.

How you talk to unbelievers.

How you date.

How you handle disappointment.

How you suffer

Bc if you’re to be a focused X

Can’t Ask — How does this affect me?

How can Christ be made known through this?

You know there’s also cause to rejoice in Christ being know outside of our lives

Think about baptisms.

Reason to rejoice

But you don’t have to wait until baptisms to rejoice

Is there someone recently that you know or heard of … that has come to Christ!

—> Rejoice and Praise the Lord

And be on the lookout for God’s activity … to see where his name is spreading

Think of missionaries (Camp Compass — kids were learning about missionary work)

Get a global perspective on what God is doing worldwide

We learn here a radical way of living life for Christ

Most people ask:

How does this affect me?

As followers of Christs:

How does this advance Christ?

That is gospel focus.

That is what God calls us to.

So this week ask:

In my life situation/circumstances…

How can Christ be made known?

In my relationships…

How can Christ remain central?

In my ambitions…

Am I seeking my glory or His?

Psalm 16

Providence — v.5

“5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”

The Lord sovereignly orders you life.

Priority — v.8

“8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Purpose — v.11

Psalm 16:11

“11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

True joy is found in His presence.

May our lives this week …

scream …

Not to us … not us

But to your name give glory!

LET’S PRAY