Philippians 1:12 - 20
POINT | The goal of preaching Christ is bring glory and honor to his name while seeking no recognition for yourself.
The theologian J.I. Packer once said, “The Christian motto should not be ‘let go and let God’ but trust God and get going.”
Comparison & Motives; There were a lot of pastors, teachers and leaders who were working diligently to share the gospel out of selfish ambitions to build a greater name for themselves.
School Uniform / Military - the idea is to reduce comparison by highlighting unity.
The issue though - is that we do compare.
Backpacks, shoes, physique, the way my uniform looked on me vs the way it looked etc.
I think as human beings we’re just prone to comparison in any situation. It’s unavoidable, so we must address it for that very reason.
I bring up this issue of comparison because this is what some of the people Paul is talking about were most likely struggling with.
Comparison is a game we play not only with our physicality or personality, but it’s a game we even play with our spirituality. We compare our faith and gifts all the time, which then leads to a distortion of motives in our ministries.
Sometimes, things just seem out of our hands, right? It could be an unexpected expensive car repair that depletes our bank account or health test results that will shape the rest of our lives. Whatever it is, we regularly navigate things that seem completely out of our control.
But Paul modeled great humility by caring about the right thing - that we are not working in opposition to each other or competing with one another. We are all operating together as one towards the goal to bring glory to God.
Despite the frustration of seeing people serve or preach from selfish and envious motives, Paul knew God was greater than man, which meant he could trust him, regardless of man’s motives.
Although it’s our responsibility to keep one another accountable within the body of Christ, it’s also not our place to bring condemnation down upon others.
As we live for Christ, we must live with grace and authenticity, regularly checking our hearts under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to lead us in everything we do for the Lord and every interaction we have with His people.
Philippians 1:21
Point - The purpose of life is found when you live for the right person.
“Life is what we come alive to.” - Maltbie Babcock
Paul’s deepest motive was the glorification of God; Despite his life and situation looking like it could end in death, he considered it a gain if the result was the gospel being advanced.
It’s important to know/ remember that when Paul wrote this letter of Philippians to the Church of Philippi, he was on house arrest and waiting to hear the final verdict of his trial. There was actually a high chance that Paul could be found a traitor to Rome and sentenced to die. (So Paul felt that dying would be better than living).
Paul discovered the greatest satisfaction that we can ever have; a life lived for Christ.
He had found purpose to his life because he was living it for Jesus. And when living a life for Christ, death is never your enemy, because Jesus overcame death through his resurrection.
Despite the circumstances that Paul was facing, he found joy in sharing Christ with others; he was not dependent upon his circumstances changing, he was rooted in Christ.
Jesus Christ is our life. He’s everything good, beautiful, and wonderful. In Him, we find our identity, belonging, and purpose. Our chief end and divine design are to know Jesus, enjoy a relationship with Him, and make Him known. Apart from Christ, life cannot exist and is not worth anything. To live in this world is to live fully in Christ and for Christ.
Paul didn’t desire to advance himself, live his best life, or seize the day. He desired to be with Jesus, grow in Jesus, know Jesus as intimately as possible, and glorify Jesus.
