Opener:
Good Morning Family of Christ church! We are thrilled that you are here joining us this morning. My name is Pastor Steven if you do not know me already and I am one of the Pastors here at the church.
If you have joined us in the past, you know I like to recap last week’s sermons. As you may recall, last week we talked about our identity in Christ. We talked about how important it is to know who we are in Christ and what He has called for us to do. We talked about, as believers, our eternity is secure in heaven and how heaven such is glorious and wonderful place that we do not want to miss.
This morning, we are excited to begin a new four week sermon series on the book of Philippians. Out of all the letters that the apostle Paul wrote, Philippians is perhaps the most personal and heartwarming in nature. It really gives us an window in to Paul’s soul. To give you some historical background, the city of Philipi is located in eastern Macedonia which is ten miles inland from the Agean sea. The church was started around late summer of 50 A.D. on Paul’s second missionary trip with his team of co-laborers. As a result, this church had a strong connection with Paul and would at times send him financial help. This church was so generous that it would also send financial help to believers in Jerusalem.
Paul wrote this letter from a Roman prison to thank the church for their recent generous financial gift. In this letter, Paul encourages the church to continue to press on, and to remain in unity with one another and to walk in the peace that God has for every believer. This peace that God provides is one that “surpasses understanding”.
This morning we are going to tackle the first chapter in this wonderful book. If you brought your bibles today, I would encourage you to track along with me. In this first chapter, there really are three major themes that we will be delving into. These themes are how God loves and rejoices over you, Paul’s loss was others gain, and finally that there is a privilege in suffering.
I. God loves you and rejoices over you
A. See yourself through God’s eyes
a. This letter in Philippians is really a tremendous encouragement. It really encourages us to see ourselves through God’s eyes, to see how much that God values each and every one of us.
b. In many cases, we struggle to find peace and contentment because we down ourselves and are at times, disappointed with ourselves
c. However, God Word gives us light to understand every truth.
d. It is when we listen and take to heart what God says about us, it truly brings a transformation in our lives.
e. We will experience an overwhelmed feeling of God’s love and we will begin to see ourselves in His light.
B. God loves you
a. Let’s hop right into our text this morning. We are starting off in Philippians 1:2-5 NKJV2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now
b. There is probably no parable that demonstrates God’s love towards us than a story that we can all relate to found in the book of Luke chapter 15.
c. This parable talks about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. This earthly story which gives us heavenly insight and describes the Father’s love for you and me.
d. In each of these stories, shine through truth that no expense was spared.
i. The first parable is about a Shepherd that lost one sheep and the Shepherd left the 99 other sheep to find the one that went astray.
ii. The women who lost a coin feverously searched her home. She lit a lamp, she swept the house thoroughly and carefully until she found the coin.
iii. The third story is about the prodigal son that left home and was lost and then was found.
e. God did not spare anything in His search for you. He gathered together the best and greatest search party ever assembled. Here you are today!! Praise the Lord!
C. God is still working on us
a. After finding us, God then started a work in our hearts and lives.
b. I really love our next text this morning which is found in Philippians 1:6 NKJV being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
c. God has begun a good work in each and every one of us. His Spirit is in you. Living, working, molding, shaping and changing you from the inside out.
d. Allowing God to change you can be painful at times, it may seem really difficult to do.
e. When you and I gave our hearts to Jesus, we relinquished our rights to Him. We died to ourselves and told God that He is now in control of our lives.
f. We must allow Him to chisel away, to convict us and at time disciple us as He sees fit.
D. God sees our progress
a. With that said, God sees our progress and when God looks at you, He does not see you as a failure.
b. He’s is looking and searching our heart. He is looking at whether we love Him more than anything else in our lives.
c. He looks at whether we are willing to serve Him.
d. Part of our growing process is that we may make mistakes along the way. So the question becomes, How do we handle those mistakes? How do we move forward from them?
e. Do we moan and complain and blame others? Or, Do we repent and move forward in God?
E. Be Encouraged
a. Be encouraged in your spiritual life and just know that God has chosen and loves you.
b. Be encouraged and know that God is not through working in you, and He is going to complete what He started in you.
c. Cast away your doubts and fears. Those are not of God.
d. Stand firm in the truth and live by faith, believe and be excited what God is doing through your life.
II. Paul’s loss was others gain
A. Paul’s loss
a. Our second point here this morning that Paul was conveying to the church was that his personal loss was others gain.
b. Paul’s desire in his life was shared in verse 20 where He declares that he wants to magnify Christ by his death.
c. Then in verse 21 and that is where we are going to pick back up the text which says as follows: 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
B. Christ focused
a. That first part of the text, Paul was making the declaration that he was going to live for Christ.
b. This was his focus in life. Yes, he had a past. Yes, he was a persecutor of the Christian. Yes, in the past his focus was propagating a religious sect.
c. But Now, after his encounter with Jesus, it changed everything.
d. Now, Paul was devoted to serving Christ. He shares about the extent of this devotion in Galatians 2:20 NKJV 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
C. We cannot lose
a. Back to verse 21 of Paul’s declaration 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
b. Some theologians have debated as to whether Paul was maybe talking about the possibility of being subjected to capital punishment.
c. Whatever Paul’s intent was for this verse, he was saying that he cannot lose.
d. For him, to live is Christ (which is good) and to die is to gain heaven (which is also good).
e. Paul further expresses this sentiment in Philippians 3:10-11 NKJV 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
D. Gaining in Christ
a. Paul demonstrates to us a Christ centered, single-mindedness, that has characterized millions of Christians throughout the ages.
b. A great example of this was when a missionary and his family were going by ship to a primitive part of the world where they were going to establish a missions work. The captain approached the missionary to try to dissuade him of going, saying that he would die. The missionary looked at the captain and said “We died before we left home”
c. When we die to ourselves, we gain Christ. Let me say this “Letting go is the hardest thing to do.”
E. The resurrection
a. For the Christian, death is not the end of life, rather, it is the beginning of a new life. It is not to be feared, but viewed as a transition to a fuller life.
b. It is the end of our earthly troubles. It brings an end to our earthly labor and suffering and opens the doorway into the very Presence of God.
c. Heaven is place where we will experience unending joy, it is a place of rest and security, a place filled with a community of believers that enjoy each others fellowship.
F. Paul will remain
a. After talking about death, Paul dials it back a bit and makes this declaration there in verse25 “ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith”
b. By continuing with his life in this world, Paul would be afforded the opportunity to encourage other believer’s and to further teach them the ways of the Lord.
c. Even while in prison, Paul was modeling to the church how to maintain joy in faith. Most people while sitting in a prison cell month after month would find themselves down and out.
d. Yet, Paul maintained his faith, in fact, he embraced this hardship.
III. Privilege in suffering
A. Privilege
a. That leads us to the third point here today, that there is privilege in suffering.
b. As we close out this chapter this morning, Paul encourages the Philippians to work together for the cause of the gospel.
c. The bible say Philippians 1:27 - Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel
d. The Greek word for “Conduct” here in this text literally means to live as a citizen. Paul was encouraging these Philippians to be good, patriotic citizens of the kingdom of God.
e. Paul wanted their unity to be put to a productive purpose, so that an increasing trust and belief in the good news of Jesus.
B. Paul encourages the church
a. Paul then goes on to say in verse 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
b. The early church was familiar with persecution, they were familiar with facing adversaries.
c. In fact, many of the early church members were martyred as a result of their faith.
d. Here, Paul is encouraging these believers that in the face of opposition, to have a boldness.
e. It is when believers stand strong against the enemy, it is then that the enemy recognizes his place, showing the enemy that fear and intimidation will not work against you!
C. The challenges we face
a. While we all face challenges in this life, we can know that these challenges that we face are ones that are ordained by God.
b. Our last two verses here this morning : 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
c. The Philippians did not need to fear that their present situation along with Paul’s meant that God had abandoned them.
d. In fact, God was using these trials to strengthen them in their faith.
e. To suffer for Christ provides us a greater intimacy with Christ.
f. I can tell you this personally as I was in the hospital, thinking I was going to die, I grew closer to Christ not farther away.
g. Therefore, don’t allow challenges or suffering to break you, rather, allow them to elevate you and rejoice that the Lord is near.
Closing:
As we close our time here together this morning, this first chapter in Philippians is filled with such a wealth of encouragement. Truly, it gives us a gateway into Paul’s heart and his love for the church. In the face of adversity, God calls the believer to stand firm in their faith. In tough times, God calls us to draw closer to Him, which in turn, will really grow our faith in a tremendous way. God loves each and every one of you and rejoices over you every day! May you be encouraged here this morning, and know that God is with you and if God is with you, no one and I mean no one, can stand against you!
