A Reminder To Be Faithful Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: July 23, 2011

Date Preached: July 24, 2011

Where Preached: OPBC (AM)

Sermon Details:

Series Title: A Series from Philippians

Sermon Title: A Reminder to Remain Faithful

Sermon Text: Philippians 1:12-30 [ESV]

ETS: Paul pointed out that adversity was part of the Christian walk, but to remain faithful thru the difficult times and that they should live lives worthy of Christ…

ESS: Paul’s words remind us that adversity is part of the Christian walk and we are to remain faithful thru difficult times and that we should live lives worthy of Christ…

Objective: So often things don’t go as we think they should and it may seem as if the enemy is winning, but we must remain faithful and show that faith thru living our lives in a worthy manner…

Introduction:

Have you ever had a bad day? Have you ever had a bad week? Have you ever had one of those years? Adversity is part of life and we all have troubled times! In our Scripture verse this week, we see Paul dealing with a very troubling time in his life, and we can see how he formed an attitude to face those troubles and how he patterns what we can do to gain that same attitude…

Please follow along as I read about Paul and this time of adversity in his life… Show verses 12-30 here…I will read

12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What 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, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20as 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, whether by life or by death. 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. 27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

This morning I we are going to take a look at…

1. v.12-20 – The situation at hand… the adversity in Paul’s life

2. v.21-26 – The attitude Paul takes

3. v. 27-30 – The actions that reflect Paul’s attitude

The Situation of Adversity (v.12-20)

Now let’s get a handle on the situation that Paul is in when he is writing this letter to the Philippian church. Paul is in prison and he is evidently receiving reports that there are those on the outside who are attacking Paul for several reasons. What we need to understand is that these were NOT enemies of the church… at least they did not pose as enemies of the church.

These men were actually preachers who were going around proclaiming and preaching Christ. But in their preaching they were using Paul as a preaching punching bag… they would trash him and talk him down! This had to be disheartening to Paul as he knew that he was in the will of God in his service, but from the outside looking in, some may not have seen it that way…