Philippian 1:12-18
Well, I can I can say to all you Wildcat fans. How about those volunteers, huh? Now here's the joke of a making a comment about Tennessee basketball until somebody told me this morning. I had no idea that Tennessee basketball was even doing well this year in the run that I had no idea that they were playing today in that sad. That's how busy my life is. Someone said you can watch that game today and I said what game and they said and then they explain to me. So we'll see how today goes but it's it's it's that sort of crazy season in life sometimes.
I want to start by by sharing this morning a story of the story is told of a ship that's traveling at night. And as the ship is traveling it sees what it would assumes is an oncoming shipping in lights coming toward it. And so that the captain of the the ship says hate radio them and say change course and they do and the other response no not changing course and the captain says hey tell them this is Captain. So when so that I said change course and so they radio again and they get a message back that says Nope not changing course and he says he tell them that this is Captain someone so of the USS Destroyer Battleship that I said to change course and they get a response again from from the other side. Nope, not changing course and so he's just curious and says change course immediately and the responses. This is a lighthouse.
Now that new information or that larger amount of information that suddenly that Captain had changed everything for him his approach his attitude seeing that bigger picture of what's going on changed what he was thinking about in that moment. Scripture models that for us Joseph in the in the story of his life in Genesis. If your premiere of the story of Joseph one of twelve Brothers despised by his brothers sold into slavery falsely accused in prison and then Rises to second in command of all of Egypt and rescues the nation and his own people and when he finally reconciled with his brothers, they're so afraid he's going to knock Vengeance on them. But he he says that famous line. Hey what you meant for evil God meant for good in hindsight. He sees the bigger picture of what his life has meant even the hardship seasons of his life and he understands that God was working it for good the verse in Romans 8:28 that we often cling to that. God works all things for the good of those who love him speaks to this truth. Not that God causes everything in our life to be good but anything and everything that in it and that's in our life if we give it over to God he can orchestrate it. What is good goals in our lives? So that even in Joseph's life imprisonment false accusation all led to him being second in command and rescuing the nation of Israel and his own people. We see that perspective throughout scripture again, and again in Nehemiah chapter 8 the verse the joy of the Lord will be your strength. It comes right after the people are sobbing in grieving uncontrollably about their own sin. But when you back up and look at the Exile and the renewal of the Covenant, it's getting ready to happen with the leadership over those grieving people you realize the magnitude of what's being said that moment that's filled with grief suddenly becomes a moment of Joy because essentially the leaders are saying listen, listen, listen, you didn't understand the joy of who our God is in light of our failings. I got who's brought us out of Exile by God has brought us here and is going to graciously renew our covenant with him the joy of who that God is will be our strength to go on in this when we feel overwhelmed by our current circumstances That's a consistent theme throughout scripture. I'm sure that Jewish leaders when they heard the prophecies about the Messiah and they heard that he was going to be a lion from Judah. They thought yeah, that's that's good lion from finally our nation will be on top and God will do the things that we've longed for him to do. But then also the prophecy said he'll also be this lamb that's led to the slaughter. And you know, they had to say well that doesn't that doesn't make any sense at all and they wrestled with that but later. After the resurrection looking back Paul in the preachers of the Gospel preaching understand guess what this lion. Jesus was indeed the line and he was also In Deed the lamb and God used the cross his sacrifice. What was thought of as defeat by the world around us? He used it as victory over sin as a sacrifice as a land that would redeem. The world is a consistent theme and scripture to understand the wider narrative some people refer to it as the meta-narrative in order to understand the moment that you're in properly Stephen. Does this and Acts chapter 7 when he's confronted by the leaders, he goes back and reviews all of Israel's history about all the profits they would kill and they were missing what God was doing and he says in this latest Prophet this greatest. That's the one who came Jesus Christ you killed him, too. They put the leaders in the context of what God is doing in history in in world history in the history of Israel and their convicted because that only there in the position of being the ones who are standing against God so convicted that instead of facing that conviction that kill Steven for bringing their mind. to that truth We're studying the book of Philippians and I believe Paul has so much in his mind about the gospel and how it's understood when he's talking to the Philippians about what's going on in his own life. He's inviting them and challenging them to see the bigger picture of what's going on. He kind of lose to this in the in Chapter 1 Verse 6 that we've talked about already. He says I'm confident of this that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ in Philippians. What we talked about the fact that acts 16 is really the background of the book of Philippians, especially Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, because Paul specifically says from that very first day. Until completion when Christ returns God is working in you and that first day is described and Acts chapter 16 when Paul was led by God to the city of Phillipi & founded the church. We talked about the Miracles. They're converting Lydia by the Riverside casting the demon out of the slave girl Paul going to prison and sing in prison rejoicing in prison and the earthquake releasing him and the prison Warden being converted this amazing miraculous beginning with God's work in and among them. Paul says don't you remember that? Don't you see the meta narrative don't you see the big picture from the very beginning God has been working to advance the gospel in your life. I thank my God every day every time I remember you cuz your partners with me in this advancement of the gospel and I'm confident that he who began a good work in you is going to complete it keep working in your life now all the way to completing it at the day of Christ and then he prays for them. We talked about that prayer last week. He said he heard my prayer that you will allow more and more in love and discernment so that your B Xavier would be such that it brings glory to God because that's the big picture of what it's all about. And we need to see that big picture last week crash ourselves upon the rocks of a lighthouse that we think simply might be. Another obstacle in our own life. That's all I want to do a quick review. This is a sermon before the sermon. Okay, and I'll be fast because this is what Paul has in his mind. He understands the big picture of the Gospel. The purpose of God in history is using the message of Jesus to reconcile the unsay, that's the big thing that God is doing in history and he's using the body of Believers to lead those who are saved into christlikeness both a character and admission. Trust me all those scripture support what I just said. All right, that's the big picture of what God is doing in history. He's using the message of Jesus Christ The Gospel itself to reconcile those who are lost or unsaved and then he's using the body of Believers the church the one another's in the New Testament community and fellowship. He's using that to lead us for Christ likeness in our character. Now, sometimes we take byproducts of Christ working in our life and we make them be purpose of God and that's a misunderstanding that's thinking something. The ship that's really a lighthouse. We met choral praise the purpose of being a Christian now or I'll praise singing to God is a wonderful thing. But it we were not created simply to sing to God. We were created to be in Fellowship of God to be in a relationship to him to honor him to submit to him to be in a relationship that transforms are very character into that of Jesus Christ and sew in the in the process of doing what God created us to do knowing him the byproduct used to sing his Praises it is to have oral praise and worship him. But sometimes we make that the purpose is it coming on Sunday morning and gathering for a while that kind of discharge has our connection our relationship of God's it really should just charge our relationship of God so that the rest of the week we're in this ongoing relationship with God worshipping him a bank. Sometimes we make morality being enforced by the church the purpose of the church and it is not as the old saying goes Jesus says you click you catch him. I'll clean them, right and sometimes we reverse it. We think it's our job to get everybody to behave that's all the churches job to get out of the world and stick their finger and everybody's face and saying cut out straighten up and fly, right and we take on that identity that our job is to enforce morality and it's not our job is to introduce people to Jesus Christ and the byproduct of knowing Jesus Christ is a changed heart and a more moral life. Amen. It's Jesus who changes us and transforms us, but sometimes we take that good fruit of a changed life and we make it be purposely put that burn on her own shoulders we set our job is to get everybody to behave sometimes we make social justice the purpose of the church that all of these things are good things. They are good prop byproducts of God working in our life and inner city in our community, but they are not be purpose. So we think if we could just get Politics the way we want it and we've done that both conservatives and liberals have gotten in bed with politics the past 15 or 20 years put all our eggs in that basket. And what is it got in this? big black guy in the culture because we took a byproduct God working on all in the life of individuals but in the life of a city and institutions to bring about Justice and and goodness and Holiness and yes, he wants that he wants social justice in our worlds. Don't miss hear me but that's a byproduct of God working in the lives of individuals and working in the lives of community and the cities we could get social justice with just enacting laws. Could we but would that get God the hearts he wants men and women devoted to him. So sometimes we make something that's a byproduct into the purpose lastly in the most prominent one. We make personal happiness the purpose of the church. The purpose of church is to keep me happy. And so I'm going to go to the church that has the biggest gym or the the worship that I like or the building that I liked or whatever. We just kind we think that is his church hop cuz I'm not satisfied with my church. I'm not being fed the way. I'd like to be fed. They just don't have a good enough Child Care Program for me or they just don't have time before. We we know it. We've slipped into making look it is the byproduct of following Christ that our lives are richer and Fuller and there's more joy in them, but we can't shift that to being the purpose of our life. So that's a big picture of the gospel. And and what Paul I think has in his mind. The purpose of God is to reconcile all humankind to himself in Jesus do personal committed relationship. That's the New Covenant and the carrying out of this process is called Ministry. We see this reflected when Paul says things like this in print in all this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ not counting people sins against them and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are there for Christ and bassadors as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on WE implore you on Christ behalf. Be reconciled to God you see how that's the big picture of what God is doing in the world and what he's doing through you and I that we would be messengers of the good news of the Gospel of reconciliation. And sometimes we get slightly off that message and Paul has all this in his mind in his heart in my opinion when he writes to the Philippians in chapter 1 verses 12 through 18 that we're looking at this morning. Now, we picture Paul like this riding all the letters that came out during his time in prison this the spotlight is on him what a saint to use. He's just sitting there and there's beautiful Candlelight on him and he's the center of the portrait and he's just doing good and godly things. I would suspect instead what Paul has on his mind is not this image of himself, but he has this image on his mind. That's the Roman guards that were chained to him or that he was chained to during his imprisonment. He's probably spent four years in prison. But because of that big picture that he has in his mind what he's thinking about are these guards who don't know the gospel. He's not thinking about himself when he starts explaining to the Philippians after the first to 11 verses where he says, I greet you as a friend and not exercising my authority as an apostle. I want you to know you're in my heart because of your partnership from the beginning until now with the gospel and I'm convinced that he who began a good work in you is going to be faithful to complete it and I pray that God work in your life in such a way. You'd have the discernment to live in such a way that your witness in this world. Went when it gets to that greeting now. He says now here's here's the beginning of the content of the letter. I need to tell you about my situation. He says he starts to tell them about the situation but it's not. Oh I call and change here and it's so the lighting's not good and they they smacked me in the back of the head whenever they get a chance and they know it's not about him. Look at what he says when he starts talking about what's going on here. He says I want you to know my dear brothers and sisters that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news. You see how he's thinking about everything. I've shared already. That's what's in his mind. The Philippians are like how what are you talkin about? You've been in prison for four years. We are worried sick over you this seems like a 40 of everything that God would have tempted. How are you spreading the gospel? You've been chained up you in about to preach the good news and they are rested you and they put you in prison and you've been in prison for 4 years. Nobody sees that is good news. Nobody says Olde good things are working out just as I planned Paul is in prison unable to travel or preach the good news. But here's what Paul says you need to see the bigger picture. He says everyone there. I want you to know my dear brothers and sisters that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news for everyone here including the whole Palace guard. Those those days were the premium Imperial guards that Paul was chained to in waiting on his trial possible execution as what someone in that situation could anticipate or imprisonment. They're waiting to see what's going to happen to them and their change of these guard pieces for everyone here everyone everyone here including the whole Palace guard knows that I'm in Chains because of Christ and because of my imprisonment most of the Believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear is true that summer preaching out of jealousy and rivalry, but other preach about Christ with pure motives they preach because they love me for they know I've been appointed to defend the good news. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ a free self-assembly Vision not sincere. Sincerity and tending to make my chains more painful to me, but that doesn't matter. Whether their motives are false or Genuine the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice and I will continue to rejoice. This is what some people might call a truth bomb. That that Paul drops on them. I know that you're thinking that's a ship ahead of me. It needs to get out of my way. I'm telling you. It's a lighthouse. You need to shift your whole perspective. He who began a good work in you that you saw an axis team from the very beginning is going to be faithful to complete it. God is getting his job done in your life and in this world and sometimes we need to back up and see that big picture and be encouraged by once in in high school I got in a fist fight with my dad.
WhatsApp it is something really inappropriate and I called him on it and he did not like being called on it by his 18 year old son. And so it ended with some broken chairs and furniture in our kitchen and me leaving graduation weekend. I left home spent the night at a friend's house. I went to graduation practice the next morning and nothing but shorts and a t-shirt cuz that's all I had them every one of the teachers pulling me aside and just blessing me out for not having enough respect to show up in more decent clothes than what I had on. He didn't she didn't see the big picture. You should have seen more. He's a Christian lady. That's my experience at 18 at that point in my life with Christians.
Sometime recently my 18 year old son confronted me.
You're not being very sensitive. You need to be a little more thoughtful.
And I sent him down and I said I'm proud of you.
from the heart you have Proud that you saw that you said, that's not right and I'm proud that you were bold enough to say to me. Hey, Dad, you need to be a little more sensitive to what's going on right here. And right now, So there might be days in which I say I'm exhausted or and some days some of you experienced it. I'm cranky. I'm not afraid christ-like, but when I back up and look at the big picture God is faithful and he is working in my life. He's changing my life more and more everyday every year. He's changing my family tree. He's changing our history and God is working in your life. If you got back up there now and then say where was I 20 years ago? Where was I 30 years ago? Where was I five years ago? And what is God doing today? And if you're starting today in your following of God, you need to have faith and look forward to can't wait like Joseph and only do it in hindsight. You got to have faith right now and trust that God is going to work in your life day after day year after year so that in five years. It will be a different life than you're living now because of his work in your life. And Paul is dropping this truth on anything looks you need to see the big picture. I know you're convinced. I'm in prison. Nothing is happening the way it's supposed to be happening. I'm telling you it's happening just the way it's supposed to be happening. He says look, Most everyone knows that I'm preaching the gospel. Who would have thought think about it? They understand what Rome is like what the Imperial Imperial power of Rome is like in the world a very Godless Caesar is God not anyone else power. How could they ever imagined that the gospel would go to those places? They may have thought we'll be lucky to convert Jews or to go to Villages and convert people. We're not going to get in the palace. Go to follow Caesar those who get their paycheck from Caesar go to those who follow wrong. They're not going to be open to that and yet your policy and guess what everyone here knows that I'm in Chains because I'm preaching about Jesus Christ. Not just everyone. Let me also say included in that everyone is the Imperial Guard. Imagine imagine Paul, they're chained. He's chained to them. I bet you I bet I bet they thought we've got him. He's our prisoner and he thought I got you. You're my prisoner. You're my prisoner. And so he preach the gospel to them. They said not only that he says but look the gospel being preached more and more because of my imprisonment my boldness to preach the gospel even to the Roman household to the guards to the officials. My boldness has inspired all the Believers all of them to preach more boldly the Gospel of Jesus Christ because I'm in prison and not just all of them. There's some he says the original Greek language is make it clear that the majority are doing it out of right motive, but there's some who are doing out of false motives still summer doing it out of the NBA's drive just to cause me trouble to to be a rival to me to gain more influence, but most are doing it out of Goodwill and love they understand that big picture we talked about about what God. Doing in the world until he said that's what's going on. The gospel is being preached more and more. And so he says whether the preaching is in pretense or truth. Guess what Paul says I don't care Christ is proclaimed. you see how that's the big picture of what's supposed to be happening and Paul's ability to keep that big picture in his mind shapes the way he sees the moment in which he lives right now that he can say even now I rejoice because the goal is not Paul's personal happiness is it? Can you see where if you get the wrong view about the big picture you could say God what is going on? I'm unfaithful to you and I'm in prison. That's not how it's supposed to work. If I'm faithful to you. My wife is supposed to be better and better Scott that will a strict, you know, beside it Define the way I'd to find better. You see if he thought the meaning. Of life is my personal happiness. If that's the purpose of God of God serves me to make my life what I hope it will be that of course. You can be a moment where you say, why am I in a hospital bed? What what why am I in prison? Why don't I have money but like I want to have why am I struggling? Why do I have to rush to the bank to get a check in and be stressed out but I'm not going to get there before the right hour of the day. Sometimes we can't we can get such a small of you that we just say, why isn't why isn't this the way it's supposed to be? And again, I think Paul is saying I'm telling your brothers and sisters that is not the ship approaching that is a lighthouse. So you need to adjust your perspective accordingly. What it is that holds no obstacle to the power and love of God is his will to reconcile the world to himself and to lead us toward christlikeness. What it is that God will always work all things toward the good in our life. He defines in verse 29 of Romans 8. He says this is that good it's to form them into christlikeness to shape them in the image of my son. That's the good sort. Any moment. We can say God, how do I walk through this financial stress in such a way that I'm like Christ Is this a call in my life to trust you more and not to say Lord? I don't know. What I want is just a nice big fat bank account so that I don't have to trust you. I see how we slip away from the intention in the preparation the goal that God has in our life. Should we instead be saying Lord if your goal for my life is Christ like this then then how do I lay here in this hospital bed and like Paul? How do I witness to my nurses? How do I witness to my doctors? Paws in prison in an amazing that that in Acts 16 when he's in prison. He's rejoicing
I mean, I'm sure the other prisoners like what is wrong with nut job over there. I mean, we're all in prison dude, and we're all chained up and we're all going to be in trouble when the Court decides what to do with this. How are you singing? And Paul says look what you think is a ship is a lighthouse God's will God's intention God's goal in my life is Rock Solid. It's going to happen. Even use this imprisonment for his glory and so I'm singing his Praises right now because I know he's in control. I know he can work through even this imprisonment in my area is 10 years later in prison again. when that stink when you go to prison once you think you'd say, okay, I am never going to prison again when you feel that way. Nearby or anybody here ever spend time in prison as if as if we dancer that in this sort of setting if we were New Testament Church, we ought to have some hands go up. If you spend any time in prison, I'm not going to tell you whether I have or not if you spend any time in prison, I imagine that you would be like, okay, I have never going to prison again. I'm going to do whatever it takes to avoid prison at all costs and hear Paul just Ten Years Later. He's at the he's he's in the midst of spending four years in prison. Evidently even his own personal freedom wasn't the most important thing in his life. It was advancing the gospel because the reality is and he says this little later in Philippians 2. The reality is every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and we have the opportunity to bow down to him now in joyful celebration of that truth. It's a lighthouse is the lighthouse. I'm turning my ship. I'm adjusting to that unchangeable reality.
Or will face that reality in a harsh way. We've acknowledged it on Judgment Day that we've ignored it all our life. Pause continue only thing in this whole chapter. I'm confident of this that he who began the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. God is working even if you see he's modeling to them what he taught in the first 11 verses he taught them to look at the big picture and shake their daily Behavior based on that big picture and then he saying here's what that looks like. I'm in prison. We would all think there's no way that's good. But I'm telling you when I look at it from the big picture perspective. I realize that God is using my imprisonment to get the gospel to places. It would never be otherwise and even those who were preaching with in pure motives down. The last Christ is being preached. And so Paul says I rejoice This is the key to having joy in all circumstances.
Realizing that God is always at work no matter what's going on in your life. And if we have that big picture if we have that larger perspective and we trust God. We trust him even in times when we don't see it. We can't see it. How can this be? Good. I'm in prisons. How can this be? Good the doctor gave me horrible news. How can this be? Good. I'm strong lost my job. Even those moments when it's hard to see if we could say I trust that God is working in my life. I'm going to buy the worship team to come forward friend of mine shared a story with me. He said years ago when they were all growing up. He has all younger sisters. And the oldest of his younger sister is it was during the time and Cabbage Patch dolls were so popular if I remember that season in our wonderful a sophisticated culture. And so Cabbage Patch dolls were all the rage but they didn't have money for Cabbage Patch dolls and his older sister decided that she was going to make a Cabbage Patch doll several Cabbage Patch dolls, and she was good at that sort of thing for her younger sisters, but in order to make them right there and their presence in the house in daily life. She said to her younger sisters. I'm making these for our cousins. so they thought they were for their cousins and my friend said I could see the hurt in their face my younger sisters were like You know, you're okay and then on Christmas Day when they open their gifts and found out that she'd been making them all along for them. He said the Joy on their face so astounding Imitation is for us to trust God. Trust that his intentions for us are good. And even though there be seasons will recite what looks like your blessing someone so but not me or this isn't working out the way I wanted or I thought I would be further along by the stage or whatever it is. It's in our head that were tempted to let discourage us. Paul's teaching and example modeled In this passage is to say wait a minute back up and see the big picture. That God is good and faithful and that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it and add that good work is to reconcile you to God to change your very character to change your family tree to change your life and at that very work is to shape you into Christ likeness and because let me tell you something. This is maybe the most important things I could ever say to you. If you've given your life to Christ.
Then he knows that you've given your life to him. And if you mean that that he might let you suffer. In order to be shaped into christlikeness. He might not rescue from a moment that your can use my mom at the you're convinced. Of course, I should be rescued from this moment. But if he knows in my heart that I said to him nonetheless Lord not what I say in moments when you know when I'm weak or hungry or tired or irritated my deepest deepest desire is to follow you is to be your disciple. I give you my life. Then I'm giving him permission. They even allow suffering and hardship in my life because the best thing that could ever happen to me is to let God have his way with me. Amen for him to shape my life in shape who acts the best thing that can happen to my finances is for me not to manage them myself. Sometimes we compartmentalize our life we said that's great. I want you I want salvation, but I'll handle the finances. Listen, you're robbing yourself of God's work in whatever area of your life, whether it's relationships or family or job that you're tempted to say. I want to manage on my own you're robbing yourself of his good work and his Goodwill in your life to work in such a way that we are a light in this world full of Darkness. He wants your marriage to be like he wants your finances to be a light. He want your career to be a light.
So trust God. Back up and see that big picture trust him with your children. I've got a son whose heart is is set on making a difference in the world my oldest son and he said that I think maybe sometimes maybe I'll move to Turkey. Maybe I'll move to Spain or Mexico City. I want to work for justice causes and part of me is a little bit of part of me the beginning since I don't want you to move to Turkey. I want you to live right beside me get married have kids and I want to play with the grandkids. I want the American dream. I don't want God's dream. I want the American dream. I want my drink but as soon as I reflect on that a little bit. I realize how fragile it is all the things that if I hold onto things and I think are my way of living my life or seeing the world. Those things could be gone overnight. I can I can drive my ship right into a lighthouse. Convinced that I know better than God. It's all like all of us. I need to listen to Paul. See his wisdom to back up and see that big picture and say Lord. I trust you. I trust you. You're good right now. I'm a little hurt that I bet on Christmas morning. I'm going to say it was for me after all. We can trust God even in prison. Paul can have joy because he trusts what God is doing. Let's bring
Father we want to grow in our faith.
We want to grow in our trust of you. We want to be a light in this world. We want to be a light in our families. We want to be a light in our neighborhoods. We want to be a light in the city. We don't want to just read about the hardship and tragedy of those who are crashing their lives upon the rocks of not knowing you father. We want to be a light. We want to shine and show people the way to you.
We want to be used by you. We want to trust you. We want to give our very life to you. We want that joy that Paul models that can't be taken from us in the midst of circumstances.
We want to know you as Paul says later in this letter.
Give us that gift father for us to have eyes opened to your goodness to your faithfulness. I don't always see that big picture that even though we might be in a storm right now. You are faithful and we can trust you to use these challenges in our lives and to use our lives For Your Glory. and for our ultimate blessing
It's a father put our eyes upon you upon your faithfulness.
in Jesus name amen You have a decision to make or a prayer concern. They'll be prayer warriors both up front and in the back and I'll be the back to help you with a decisions or questions you have about membership or anything else. I decision to follow Christ any of those things we want to be available for you. Please stand as we sing.