“TO LIVE IS CHRIST” Phil. 1:19-30
FBCF – 5/4/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – How many of you here today want to have more joy in your life? Seems to be a scarce commodity these days. So many things work against us to steal our joy – stress/anxiety, burdens we carry, uncertainty in our nation/world, damaged/broken relationships, our inability to conquer our besetting sins or addictions. We just feel like we can’t get a handle on our lives sometimes & it’s causing the joy in our hearts & lives to diminish. We can’t completely lose our joy b/c it is a part of the fruit of the Spirit that was deposited in our lives the moment we gave our lives to Christ. But we can certainly find ourselves in circumstances that can cause the experience of that joy to be less than exceptional.
Walk out to your car/truck in the AM. Crank it up. Lights on your dashboard all go off except for one – the low tire pressure indicator light. You’ve got a leak. Maybe picked up a nail somewhere & it was fine for a while. The leak was imperceptible for a long time. But now it’s starting to get a little more serious. Need to do something about it before you end up w/ a flat tire at a very inconvenient time. Or worse, have a blowout going down the road that could lead to an accident that could injure/kill you & maybe others.
That’s what many of us are experiencing right now in our lives. We’ve got a “joy leak.” Didn’t notice it for a long time. But now we’ve started noticing some symptoms that the joy is slowly seeping out of our lives. The warning light has been illuminated on the dashboard of our lives, & it’s time to do something before we have a tragic blowout in our lives.
Today, we are starting a series from the book of Philippians entitled, “Living for Jesus.” Philippians is the NT book of JOY – main theme of this letter is joy. Tony Evans: “Joy consists of internal stability in spite of external circumstances.” (The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, p. 1236). Crazy thing is that Paul wrote this from a prison cell around AD 62, 2-3 yrs before he was martyred. What a testimony – that you can experience the joy of the Lord even in a prison cell.
EXPLANATION – Philippians 1:19-30 (p. 980)
“Dynamite comes in small packages.” In my Bible, this book takes up less that 3 pages. Some of most well-known & well-loved Bible verses are found in this book:
- 1:3 – “I thank my God every time I remember you.”
- 1:6 – “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
- 1:21 – “For to me to live is Christ & to die is gain.”
- 2:10-11 – “…at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven & on earth & under the earth, & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
- 3:13-14 – “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
- 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say it again, rejoice.”
- 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer & supplication w/ thanksgiving, let your requests be made know unto God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds in Christ Jesus.”
- 4:8 – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about these things.”
- 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
- 4:19 – “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Awesome verses that are full of truths that we build our theology on & build our lives on. Verses you need to memorize & meditate on & live out in your life as a Christ-follower. Philippians is jam-packed w/ powerful, practical, purposeful teachings for the Christian life.
And woven throughout all the principles found in this book is the theme of joy. The word “joy” or some form of it is found some 16 times. And the word “joy” itself gives us the perfect formula for finding true joy in this life is to keep your priorities right: Jesus – Others – You
APPLICATION – We live in joy when we live for Christ.
3 components of living in joy when we live for Christ:
THE POWER OF PRAYER & THE SPIRIT – V. 19-20 – Paul was dealing w/ some difficult circumstances. Obvious one is that he was in prison. Definitely not a pleasant situation – One that would cause many, if not most, of us to go into a pit of discouragement, depression, & despair. Can’t be w/ our family & friends. Can’t enjoy freedom. Can’t participate in fun activities, go on vacations, make money.
Another difficult circumstance was that there were people who were criticizing & opposing Paul. In v. 15 & 17, he writes about people who were his rivals & were attempting to “afflict” him – trying to stir up trouble for Paul, to make his imprisonment even more painful than it already was.
- People can be downright mean sometimes. And these are people who are IN the Church!
- We all can get in the flesh & say some hurtful, sinful things & do some hurtful, sinful things toward other brothers & sisters in Christ.
- That’s one of the reasons that so many people have turned away & given up on the Church. They don’t see much difference in here than they do out in the harsh world.
Paul’s response? He could have gotten in touch w/ his crew, his boys, his bros, his posse & devised a plan to fight back, to show those jerks who is the boss. We probably would have cheered him on if that’s what he had done.
But his response? “I will rejoice.” How could he say that? How could he do that? B/c he knew that the power of prayer was working for him & the power of the Spirit was working in him.
POWER OF PRAYER: Why should he worry & lose his joy when the Church was praying for him?
- V. 19 – “I KNOW that through your prayers” – He didn’t say, “I THINK” or “I HOPE.” He said “I KNOW!” That’s the power of intercessory prayer. When the Church gets serious about praying together, God moves. Prison bars open – Revival breaks out – Addictions are broken – Stronghold are torn down – Lost people are saved – Entire towns & communities are impacted – Joy explodes in the Church!
POWER OF THE SPIRIT – “I KNOW that through…the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” – Again, his statement screams CONFIDENCE in the indwelling power of the Spirit. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:26 that the Father would send the Helper. And that’s exactly what He did on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. And that’s exactly who was in Paul giving him joy in the midst of hardship. And that’s exactly who is in YOU if you’re a Christ-follower to help you & give YOU joy in your hard times.
- Depending on your own power leads to the absence of joy.
- Depending on the power of the Holy Spirit leads to an abundance of joy!
“Well, I’m not a powerful prayer warrior.” YES YOU ARE b/c of the power of the Spirit in you! Quit selling yourself short. Even more importantly, quit selling the power of the Holy Spirit short!
THE PROMISE OF LIFE HERE & IN THE FUTURE – V. 21-26 – Paul knew that there was the possibility that he could be executed. He knew that his life could end at any time.
Guess what? The same is true for you & me. No, we aren’t facing imminent execution by an evil government. But any of us could be facing death before this day is over. That’s not a morbid thought for the Christ-follower that diminishes our joy. For those who know Christ, it’s an empowering thought that increases our joy b/c, as Paul said in v. 21, “For to me to live is Christ & to die is gain.” It just gets better & better for you if you know Jesus. If you DON’T know Him, it’s going to get worse & worse, which means you need to come to Jesus NOW!
V. 22 reminds us of the promise of joy for us while we are still alive. That joy comes from our “fruitful labor” for Jesus. The most joyful people in the world are those who are passionately, continually, purposefully serving the Lord in every way they possibly can. They say “Yes” way more often than they say “No.” They know that there is great joy in keeping babies in the nursery; in chaperoning youth camp; in going on a mission trip; in visiting shut-ins & sick folks; in serving as a deacon or a Life Group teacher; in singing in the choir or playing in the band; in serving as an usher & taking up the offering; in being a greeter or a sign-holder on Sunday mornings; in running the sound board or the computer for worship services; in discipling another brother/sister in Christ; in sharing the Gospel w/ someone who’s lost. They are the most joyful people in the world.
The most UN-joyful people in the world are those who sit on the sidelines & criticize those who are serving. Don’t be one of those. And if you know one of those un-joyful people, lovingly but firmly tell them to stop!
And after we are done serving the Lord in this life, “to die is gain.” Paul stated it well in v. 23 that “to depart & be w/ Christ…is far better.” Ain’t that the truth!
THE PLANS FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD – V. 27-30 – Paul told the Philippian believers that there were 2 things that needed to be present in their lives – things that would bring him joy if he heard that they were doing them:
- Living a life worthy of the Gospel
- Standing firm in unity
Those 2 things sum up the Christian life, speak volumes about our commitment to Jesus, & show the world what a true Christ-follower looks like.
