OPEN: A young man’s fiancé had broken off their engagement. But a couple of months later, he received the following letter from her:
Dearest Jimmy,
No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our engagement.
Please say you’ll take me back.
No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me.
I love you, I love you, I love you! Yours forever, Marie.
P.S.: And congratulations on willing the state lottery.
APPLY: How many of you believe that her words of love don’t ring quite true?
She SAID she loved him.
She SAID she wanted him back
But it was fairly obvious it wasn’t him she really wanted.
She was willing to love him because he had lots of money. But once the money was gone – so would she.
For her – to live was the lottery.
For her – to live was the value of his wealth and the blessings that would bring to her.
But she really didn’t really love. And she didn’t really want to live for him.
Hers was a “fair-weather” love. In other words, as long as the weather was fair and pleasant, she’d be faithful.
Too often, Christians can respond to God in the same way.
As long as God does what we ask…
As long as He answers our prayers the way we want them answered…
As long as life goes exactly the way we believe it ought to…
… then we’ll live for Him
But if not… (pause)
Here in Philippians, Paul’s giving us a different look at Christianity.
The chapter we’re reading today comes from one of the “Prison Epistles”. They were letters Paul wrote while he was under house arrest in Rome. He was in chains because of his faith in Christ
Not only is Paul under arrest, there’s a good possibility he might soon die.
In Philippians 1:20 Paul tells his friends in Philippi: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Picture this if you will… Paul has been a faithful servant of God’s for years
· He’s planted several churches
· Won countless people to Christ
· Written so many letters to the churches that they now make up ½ of our New Testament
· Now he’s in chains and potentially facing execution by beheading.
You’d think that he’d be depressed and angry … But he’s not
If anything he sounds excited. He sounds as if he’s faced with two life enhancing possibilities and he’s not sure which one to choose.
He writes: “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Philippians 1:22-24
Essentially, he’s saying… “I can’t lose!”
If he dies, he goes to heaven & gets to be with Christ.
But if he lives he gets to stay here and gets to accomplish that much more for Jesus.
How could Paul possibly look at his options with such anticipation?
ILLUS: There’s a legend about a wealthy merchant who traveled thru-out the Mediterranean world looking for an opportunity to meet the Apostle Paul. After a time, he encountered a disciple of Paul’s named Timothy, and Timothy arranged a visit. But at the time (according to the legend) Paul was a prisoner in Rome, living in a jail cell.
Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a frail old man. But as he talked with him (and they talked for hours) he found Paul to be a man of deep peace and power.
Finally the merchant left Paul… and outside the prison, he asked Timothy "What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before."
“Oh, didn’t you know?" replied Timothy. "PAUL is in love."
The merchant looked bewildered. "In Love?"
"Oh yes," Timothy answered, "Paul is in love with Jesus Christ."
The merchant scoffed. "Is that all?"
Timothy smiled and then replied, "Yes sir. That’s all… but that is everything."
You see, the reason Paul could face imprisonment - and even death - with a calm assurance was because he was in love with Jesus. Nothing else mattered as much to him as living for Christ.
ILLUS: Have you ever seen two young people in love. They live for each other. They’re consumed with each other. They spend every conceivable moment on the telephone or the internet exchanging words of love and affection. Nothing else matters because they are so much in love.
Likewise, because Paul lived for Christ, and loved Jesus so deeply, he framed everything in his life around Christ. Here he is in prison… but he doesn’t think about his discomfort because it’s not about him – it’s all about Jesus.
LOOK WITH ME AT Philippians 1:12 “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
His imprisonment has served to advance the gospel? Really?
Indeed. Look at verse 13: “As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ”
Now this is an intriguing phrase Paul uses: He says “…it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard…” Philippians 1:13
ILLUS: One person once observed that Paul was probably chained between two soldiers every moment of the day. Those soldiers would have been relieved every few hours, but they’d have been his constant companions for several hours each day.
Now, who is Paul going to talk to all day? The guards.
And what’s Paul going to talk to them about? He’s going to talk to them about Jesus… because he loves Jesus.
In the last part of this letter to the Philippians, Paul writes: “All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.” Philippians 4:22
Oh!? There are Christians in Caesar’s household? How did there get to be Christians in Caesar’s household? Well, Paul talked to the guards... the guards talked to others… and before you knew it there were baptized believers all over the place.
You see, it wasn’t Paul who was chained to his guards… it was his guards who chained to him. They couldn’t get away. They were forced to listen as Paul talked about Jesus and explained why God had done what He’d done at the cross. And Paul’s message was compelling because he loved Jesus. It was the most important thing on his mind.
In addition, Paul’s manner would influence them because Paul lived as a free man, even when he was in chains. Prison couldn’t defeat him. Chains couldn’t bind him. Walls could not imprison him.
ILLUS: Years ago, there was a great preacher in our brotherhood named Owen Crouch. He was a man who had been highly regarded, but he now was retired on limited income. So he was delighted when some businessmen approached him who said wanted him to be part of their company. Because of his sterling reputation, they wanted him to be their treasurer. He was given a decent salary to sign the company’s paperwork and make out its checks. However, the company turned out to be a fraud. The business men were dishonest. When the officers of the company were taken to court the only man whose name was on the paperwork was… you guessed it – his. He went to jail. And he hadn’t done anything wrong.
How would you have responded to that situation? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.
But Mr. Crouch didn’t think about it that way. He saw it as an opportunity to serve the Jesus he loved. He began a prison ministry. He preached, counseled and baptized prisoners into Christ.
He lived as a free man because he loved Jesus and was willing to live for Him.
He didn’t just live for Christ when things were going well.
He lived for Christ even when life was unfair and difficult
You see… that’s the essence of true love. Because true love is all about sacrifice.
Anybody can live for Jesus when things are going good.
Anybody can put a bumper sticker on their car that read “Honk if you love Jesus!”
Towards the end of the chapter Paul says one of the oddest things:
LOOK AT Philippians 1:29 “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him”
Paul is telling us that we have “granted” the right to suffer for Jesus!
And the Apostle Peter wrote pretty much the same thing: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12
These men talk about suffering as if it were a good thing!
Excuse me. But I’m not really into that. Suffering isn’t something I enjoy.
But Jesus told us that - when we truly live our faith – when we truly love Jesus with all our hearts then we’re going to suffer. We’re going to suffer because there are going to be some people who won’t like us.
In John 15:19 Jesus said: “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
ILLUS: David Limbaugh has written a book called, Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity, and in it he observed: "It’s one thing for Christophobes to be nervous about Easter and Christmas, given their obvious association with Jesus Christ, but surely holidays like Valentine’s Day should escape their scrutiny. Well, not quite. A public school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, permitted its students to exchange valentines of all varieties, including those showcasing pop stars Britney Spears and *Nsync. All varieties, that is, except one honoring Jesus Christ. Eight-year-old Morgan Nyman was told she could not pass out her homemade cards saying ’Jesus loves you’ or ’Freely Rely On God.’"
50 years ago, that wouldn’t have happened.
50 years ago the church wouldn’t be bother by this kind of badgering and frustration.
But it has become increasingly common for our society to wage war against us… and they wage war because they don’t like Jesus.
Now, we can get angry about that …or we can recognize that this kind of suffering presents us with a great opportunity.
Now, I’m NOT saying that we need to look for ways to make people upset with us.
And I’m not saying we should find ways to suffer for our faith.
If we live our faith the way we should… that’s all gonna happen anyway.
But when we do suffer because of our faith, it gives us an excellent opportunity to show the world the quality of our love for Jesus.
Anybody can “say” they believe in Jesus
It takes a real believer to live out their love for Him
And you and I really don’t show a strong faith when the weather is clear.
We don’t really show how much we care for Christ when everything is going our way
We ONLY show the depth of our affection for Jesus when we’re in the midst of a difficult situation.
ILLUS: (pause) Now, what I want you pause for a moment and do something for me.
I want you to think about someone who really bugs you.
Someone who causes you no end of frustration.
Someone who really makes you suffer when you’re in their presence.
How man of you can think of someone like that? (I asked for a show of hands)
Could it be that God has called you to show that person how much you love Jesus by how you respond them?
That’s essentially what Paul is saying to the church in Philippi. TURN TO Philippians 1:9-11
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ— to the glory and praise of God.”
In other words, he was praying that their love for Jesus would grow so much that they’d know how to conduct themselves in this world… and thus bring glory and praise to God.
You have to realize, this world doesn’t care what church you go to. They may not even care that you go to church. But they will pay attention if you show them what your Jesus means to you.
CLOSE: Several years ago, the devotional “Daily Bread” told the following story:
When Sheila and Mark moved into their new home, Sheila wondered about the neighbors. Would they accept the children? What about the dog? She soon found out.
Shortly after they moved in, their kids were playing in the backyard and their football sailed over the fence into the yard of the elderly man who lived next door. When their son jumped the fence to get it, the man chased him out, swore at him, and told him it better not happen again.
A few days later her dog was barking and Sheila went out to quiet him.
The man was waiting for her.
He told her that if she didn’t keep the dog quiet he would call the police. Then he cursed again. Sheila’s dander rose. Her cheeks turned red. Hot, angry words came to her mind - but she didn’t express them. Instead, she prayed and she gave thought to how she could reach out to this man.
Later that day, while she was baking blueberry muffins, she made an extra batch. The, calling on God for courage, she took a large plate of them to the man next door. "I made these for you," she told him.
He didn’t say much. But he accepted the muffins.
And in the weeks that followed, Sheila continued to show kindness to him. Gradually his attitude softened, and one day she led him to Christ.
