Untitled Sermon

Last week we discuss how a real encounter with Jesus changes lives. We talked about how Paul’s encounter with the Resurrected Jesus changed the way he viewed death and how he viewed his life. We tackled two momentous topics: life and death. This week we are going to go deeper. You see, as momentous as last week’s topic was, it is just the parade. Now we need to get to the main event. We are going to dive into a truth that Paul shares here that is even more momentous. Return with me once again to Philippians 1:20-21.

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be magnified in my body, weather by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

In verse 20 Paul says “it is my eager expectation.” What is he eagerly expecting? He answers that later in the same sentence when he says, “now as always Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.” Notice the verb in this sentence, “magnified.” The Greek word Paul uses is megalunthēsetai meaning “to make or declare great.”

In this verse Paul declares that his eager expectation is for Christ to be made or declared great in his body by life or that Jesus will be magnified by his death.

In his famous teaching on this passage, theologian John Piper suggests that Paul is teaching us that:

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” Let me say that one again,

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

He goes on to explain that the secular term hedonism refers to the pursuit of personal pleasure above all else. Piper, however, turns this word on its head and coins the term, Christian hedonism. For Piper, Christian hedonism refers to the truth that the greatest pleasure is the pleasure found in magnifying Christ forever in the presence of God.

Paul says that God will be magnified whether by his life or by his death and makes the incredible statement “to die is gain.” Why? For most people, death is something to be avoided. Death means loss. It means losing loved ones, jobs, dream vacations, and the list goes on. Paul however calls death “gain,” because death is a departure to heaven’s beautiful shores.

In his book, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis comments, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward … promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Paul is not deceived by the temporary and pale pleasures of this life, however. Because he has encountered the risen Christ and he knows that death is a doorway into God’s glorious presence. For Paul, death is a reunion where he will be with Jesus, face to face.

In verse 23 Paul says that to be face to face with Jesus is far better. Piper explains that the term “better” implies more joy, the most excellent pleasure, and thus ultimate satisfaction. Paul knows that being in the presence of God, magnifying and worshiping Christ face to face is far better. In other words, in his worship and praise of Christ Paul receives the most joy, the most excellent pleasure, and the ultimate satisfaction.

There is another half to this passage. Paul also says that he is eager to magnify Christ by his life. So, my first challenge to you this morning is this:

1. Are you eagerly expecting Christ to be magnified in you?

Have you ever noticed that everyone engages in praise? The sport’s fan praises his team, the music fan praises her band, the proud mother praises her child, the lover praises his companion, and on and on it goes. C.S. Lewis talks about this phenomenon in The Weight of Glory he concludes that people praise whatever they value and want you to join them, ““Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” Lewis explains,

“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” (Weight of Glory 93–95).

The completion of our joy is one of the reasons God asks us to worship Him and to praise Him. Warren Wiersbe defines worship as the believer’s response of all that they are- mind, emotions, will, and body- to what God is and says and does.”

God asks us to praise Him. I am afraid to even utter this (long pause) But for some people God’s jealous demand for praise sounds pompous and unloving, like an old man demanding, “I’m so great! Everyone take notice and give me complements.”

I temble at the ignorance in that notion. Those who dare such accusations have never met my Jesus. They do not know my king! I have encountered the resurrected Christ and I am forever changed. I taste, only taste a drop, of His glory and am overwhelmed. His grace has washed over the filthiest recesses of my soul and His love, oh His love is so precious- Worship my friends is my response. With all of my mind, emotion, will, and body I worship Him!

God is not after some shallow-minded and worldly Christian bragging about Him. No, God’s desire is that we so love and adore Him that we pursue His presence. A.W. Tozer declares “Something wonderful and miraculous and life-changing takes place within the human soul when Jesus Christ is invited in to take His rightful place.”

Worship is not just singing. We are the first generation of Christians to diminish “worship” into a music genre. What kind of music do you have on your play list?.. “well there is rock, a little bit of blues, and oh yeah ‘worship.’” No, worship is so much more than strumming a guitar, singing, clapping, or lifting your hands. True, these are all valid expressions of praise, but worship, is so much more. As Wiersbe explains, it is the believer’s response of all that they are, to what God is and says and does.

There are so many beautiful examples of worship in the Bible:

· Miriam sang

· Moses took off his shoes

· David played the harp and danced with reckless abandon

· Ezekiel fell on his face

· The Israelites yelled in a loud voice

· Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped into the flames

· Daniel prayed then faced the lions

· The angels proclaimed

· The Shepherds bowed

· The wisemen gave gifts

· The disciples followed

· Mary anointed Him with oil

· The sinful woman washed His feet with her tears

· The children cried “hosanna”

· The new believers shared everything

· Stephen sacrificed his life

· Peter and Silas sang hymns in prison

· And the multitudes before the throne cry “holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come.”

Worship is our response to God.- it is gratitude, it is wonder, it is awe, it is love, it is honor, it is devotion, it is commitment, it is sacrifice, it is service, it is giving, it is praying, it is believing, it is enduring, it is submitting, and it is obeying.

Worship is our response to God- it magnifies Him and brings Him honor. Piper agrees and explains that God requires our praise because He does not want us to…

“settle for anything less than the completion of our joy in Him. Praise is not just the expression, but the consummation of our joy in what is supremely enjoyable, namely, God… God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

When magnifying Christ and glorifying God is our supreme pleasure than death is not loss but gain and suffering in this life for our faith becomes joyous. For as Tozer explains, “Practically every great deed done in the church of Christ all the way back to the apostle Paul was done by people blazing with the radiant worship of their God.”

We see in Philippians 1 that Paul magnifies Christ with his life in two ways. The first we talked about last week- Paul magnifies Christ through fruitful labor. His life’s purpose is telling others about Jesus and helping them to become more like Christ. Second, Paul magnifies Christ through his suffering. Time and time again he humbly endures hardships, persecution, prison, and pain for the sake of serving Christ.

Return with me once again to Philippians 1:20 but this time in the English Standard translation,

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body.”

Take note of the adverbs Paul uses here, “ashamed,” and “honored.” The English Standard Version translates “magnified,” as “Honored.”

That brings me to my second challenge this morning:

2. Are you bringing Christ honor with your fruitful labor?

During the time that Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, their culture was an honor and shame culture. Christian historian John Dickson explains,

“One of the most difficult things for Western Christians to get their heads around when reading the New Testament is the place Mediterranean societies gave to honor and shame. Honor was universally regarded as the ultimate asset for human beings, and shame the ultimate deficit—so much so that academics frequently refer to Egyptian, Greek and Roman societies simply as “honor-shame cultures”. Much of life revolved around ensuring you and your family received public honor and avoided public shame. . . .”

Our western society is individualistic. It is hard for us to think past our own wants, desires, dreams, and ambitions. In an honor shame society, however, the focus is not on the individual but on the family or the social hierarchy. Children bring honor to their parents and their family name, students bring honor for their teacher and their school, etc.

For example, an apprentice working under a master potter would work hard to bring honor to his master’s name. The better the work the apprentice produced the more honor he brings to his teacher and guide- his master. However, if his behavior or the work he produced was poor then it would not only bring the apprentice shame but his master as well.

Paul’s master is Jesus. Like the potter’s apprentice, Paul brings Jesus honor by demonstrating his master’s teaching with his life’s fruit. Paul will stop at nothing to spread the truth of his mater’s greatest work- victory over sin. Paul labors to spread his master’s teaching. Like a potter, Paul helps to mold and shape the new Christians into the works of art Christ intended them to be. All the while Paul brings honor to Christ and magnifies Him.

Friends, how are you bringing Christ honor?

In your everyday activities are you bring Him honor?

Church, honor to Him as you wash the dishes, honor to Him as you do the laundry, honor to Him as you clean, honor to Him in the way you speak to your children, honor to Him in the way you speak to your spouse. Honor to Him in you diligence at work, honor Him in the way you handle your finances, honor to Him in what you watch with your eyes and listen with your ears. Yes friends, honor Him in the way you drive, in your conversations, and even in the recesses of your thoughts. Let us honor Him.

But we must be careful with our talk about “honor”. It is important to remember that Jesus took the Roman honor and shame rulebook and threw it out the window.

Jesus told His followers that humility not honor is the new prized virtue. Jesus spells out His revolutionary philosophy in Matthew 23, “’The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted’” (Matt. 23: 11-12).

Time and again, through His parables, Jesus demonstrates the Heavenly Father's yearning and love for lost people. Jesus highlights the two commands that sum up all of the Law and prophets' teachings: love God and love others (Matt 22:36-39). Then, in John 13, Jesus explains that the primary defining ethic in God’s kingdom is not ‘honor’ or shame but love, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Even though Jesus lived in a honor shame culture, love and humility are what matter to Him. After all what is more shaming than a Roman crucifixion? and yet Jesus turns that shame into glory through His resurrection. Moreover, Jesus removes shame from the equation, providing forgiveness of all sin and promising a new glorious kind of honor- the honor of spending an eternity in the presence of God!

Paul has learned these lessons well, and in Philippians he is willing to face the shame of prison and execution all to humbly serve Christ’s purposes thereby bringing God honor. The motivation behind this kind of sacrificial service is love- love for others and adoring love for Jesus.

Are you serving others with humble gratitude?

Magnify Him as you share His love with those around you, magnify Him as you share what He has done for you, Magnify Him as you proclaim His death and resurrection, magnify Him.

Brothers and sisters, like Paul, magnify Christ with your life and when the time comes by your death.