Destination: Philippians | Skip Heitzig

[Music] the church at philippi was the first church in Europe established by Paul in this letter Paul wrote about living in the joy of the Lord this theme is in contrast to Paul surroundings because he wrote this book while in prison for his faith watch for keys that Christian joy despite circumstances as this flight progresses Philippians we're gonna go through all 104 verses not going to read them all but we're gonna cover the book of Philippians four short chapters easy to overview in our Bible from 30,000 feet if you're here for the first time let me tell you what you're in for we're gonna cover like we typically do the whole book tonight we're flying over it we're not going to give you every nuance and every detail of every verse and every transition but what we want you to do is see how the book of Philippians fits in to the rest of the scripture and get the overview of God's Word and so we've been able to do that and I promise you be in about a year or so we've covered 52 studies so far this is our 53rd there's 52 weeks in a year so we're just right on track this is the 53rd study and it'll be a little bit over a year when you put all the studies together to go through the whole Bible well prison has a way of changing people a people who have gone to jail for any length of time will come out a number of different ways but there's stories of people were it does something within them it like flips a switch and they get motivated in a whole new way a couple of stories come to mind one by the name of Mark who was down in South America and he was put in prison and Mark was released from prison the experience did something to him and when he got out he decided to establish an outreach in the country of Guyana to the families who have been hurt and affected by crime Prison changed him once he got out he decided to make something good of himself another guy by the name of Kenny rushing was put in a prison in Iowa for 70 years he was arrested on drug charges and again same story the experience in jail shook him to the core so that when he got out he became a very successful businessman very generous contributor to society financially he was a philanthropist became one and a civic leader in his community in Iowa once they got out they made great contributions Nepal the apostle on the other hand made some of his greatest contributions not after he got out of prison because once he got out of prison he was essentially killed but while he was in prison and I gotta tell you I'm really glad Paul was put in jail and you say well that's a sad and horrible thing to say no it's not because I know if Paul were here he would agree with me because he says so in this letter he says the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel while Paul was in prison in Rome four letters were written ephesians philippians colossians and a short little letter to Philemon an individual those four letters are some of the richest parts of the Bible that administered for thousands of years to countless numbers of Christians now we're studying the second of his prison epistles Philippians Philip I was in Europe Paul never planned to go to Europe it wasn't his original design if you remember the story Paul on his first missionary journey went through the area of Galatia and then he went on a second missionary journey after he and Barnabas split up and his idea was to go through Galatia again same area cover the same territory and just encouraged the churches and then his plan was to move north or south and expand the gospel preach the gospel either nor herself well on his second trip he didn't get very far he made it through Galatia tried to go through Phrygia but the holy spirit wouldn't let him preach the word in Asia Minor so he turned north he went through my SIA tried to go north into both iniya but the Holy Spirit wouldn't let him so picture it he's come from the West he made a stop tried to go south couldn't go south tried to go north couldn't go north and so he's on hold he waits and he waits in a little town known as TRO as and while he's intro as he gets a vision a man from Macedonia and Philip I is the principal city in Macedonia at the time a man from Macedonia in the vision says hey Paul come over here man and help us so he wakes up the next day and tell Silas his buddy hey you know what I think the Lord's calling us to Macedonia how do you figure that well I got a vision and a man and the vision said come over to Macedonia Silas said good idea let's go so they went not to Galatian not to both iniya not south but they went to the west and it is one of the most important crossings in history over the little stretch of the Aegean Sea to the port city at Philippi because now for the first time the gospel goes from Asia Minor into Europe and I'm particularly grateful because I have ancestors that came from Europe and it was because Paul preached the gospel in Europe that had spread throughout that area eventually got into Rome and then made it through the rest of the world okay Paul gets to Philip I and he probably in that city is looking around where's that man that I saw in the vision the man from Macedonia not only does he not see the man from Macedonia the only thing he finds is a few women not men women who are at a Riverside praying and one of them is named Lydia and she was a seller purple from Thyatira the Bible tells us well according to Jewish law if you had less than 10 men you couldn't have an official synagogue and if you had less than 10 men you would have to meet by a river side because a river was what the Jews called living water or flowing water for ritual oblations so it must have been just a few women gathered together not a man a few women at the Riverside and Paul preaches the gospel the Lord opens up the heart of Lydia while he stays there he gets thrown into jail through a miraculous circumstance he leads the Philippian jailer and his family to Christ and that's how the church in Philippi begins it was on Paul's second missionary journey that this church in Philippi was started okay Paul leaves they don't hear from Paul for a few years what happens to Paul Paul takes a third trip Paul goes back to Jerusalem at the end of that third trip he's arrested in the temple remember and for two years he's put in jail and says areia then he's taken to Rome where he writes this letter from while he's now in Rome the Philippian Church 800 miles away hears hey Paul is now in prison in Rome so they dispatched one of their ministers there their pastors by the name of appt afroditi s' to bring a financial gift to help Paul pay the rent he had to pay the rent on his jail cell while he was in Rome a rented house under house arrest for two full years it says in acts 28 a Pafford itis comes to minister to paul so paul writes a letter and it's one of the most personal winsome loving letters of all the letters of paul the apostle he's not correcting any doctrine like the letter to the Galatians he's not correcting any conduct so to speak except a minor infraction which we'll notice it's really a love letter it's a thank-you letter for there and a warning about some of the legalists that are there and and and hopefully to women that have formed an argument to bring them back together but it's largely a personal letter of thanksgiving okay it's easy to outline this book because how many chapters are there for and the translators did a pretty good job and in marking the divisions between the chapters and so you could divide the book as the chapters are divided chapter one two three and four divides it up into four sections first section chapter 1 the marvel of the Christian life which is love now hear me one of the most marvelous things about the Christian life is that it places us in a family so that no matter what background we come from what different languages we have or cultures we have or ways of thinking we have once we come to the cross and were saved and we're placed into the church were placed on this level ground and we have a love for each other that many times will transcend even our love for our family it's the marvel of the Christian life the love that we share chapter two second division of the book of Philippians and that is the model of the Christian life which is Christ and Christ is the one we always look to how we should act how should we act toward one another well we should treat one another like like Jesus treated people so he becomes the model of the Christian life that's the second chapter number three is chapter three the march of the Christian life which is forward see there there were people in the Philippian church trying to get the Christians to go backwards into the law Paul was teaching them to go forward in grace all the way to heaven and then number four is chapter four and that is that is the marks of the Christian life which our peace and joy so we have the Marvel of the Chris life the model of the Christian life we have the March of the Christian life and we have the marks of the Christian life that's chapters 1 2 3 & 4 that divides the whole book so now let's go through some of the highlights of all four chapters all four divisions the first division as I mentioned is the marvel of the Christian life which is love verse 1 chapter 1 Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints now he's writing to living people not dead people with halos on holy cards or statues in the Bible a saint was a living breathing Christian and it's a term the Bible uses for all Christians I've heard people say well he's no saint well he's a Christian he's a saint doesn't matter what level a saint is somebody who's set apart for Jesus Christ so to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops or overseers and the Deacons or the servants grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ I thank my god upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy the first thing that strikes me is the response that Paul has every time he thinks about the church in Philippi these are really strange words to describe Paul thinking back to his experience in Philippi because think about it first of all he didn't want to go there so it was a change of plans number two he didn't find the man from Macedonia he found just a few women number three he was put in jail and beaten so that his wounds were losing and he was chained with his buddy Silas remember they were singing songs to the Lord at midnight in the Philippian prison here's Paul saying every time I think about that and you I have such thankfulness and such joy you see that doesn't make sense you think he'd say every time I think back to my stay in Phillip I I get sick to my stomach I hated it I didn't want to go there it wasn't what I expected but because Paul is viewing the experience at Phillip I through the eyes of love for the Philippian Church he can write this now watch what it says in verse five this is what he's thankful for for your fellowship or partnership in the gospel from the first day until now being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ what is he thankful for the partnership what is he thankful for he's thankful for what the Gospel message produces what does it produce a larger family he thinks back and yeah that isn't what he expected the women at the Riverside but the Lord opened up Lydia's heart to heed the things spoken by Paul so she became a Christian the Philippian jailer yep he beat Paul but he was led to Christ and his family was led to Christ and eventually Lydia the Philippian jailer his household and several others were part of this group called the Philippian Church and what he is thankful for is for what the gospel has produced the family has gotten bigger or I'll put it this way Paul's joy and thankfulness were directly proportional to the growth of the family business now hear me when I say family business this is what I mean God has a business and it's a family business you're part of his family he wants you to get engaged in the family business the family business is a rescue business a salvation business to rescue people from sin and death and bring them into salvation it's a eternal security business I have a friend that works for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and he was lying on an airplane and sitting next to him happened to be Tom Cruise well he knows how celebrities are that they're always interested in having the utmost security around them for obvious reasons so they got a conversation and Tom Cruise asked my friend who's a director of Crusades for the Billy Graham organization so so what do you do for a living and my friend said I'm in this security business and Tom goes really well I want to know Mort tell me about what you do so he started telling him about what he does and then he look let me just tell you straight up I'm in the eternal security business I tell people how to get from Earth to heaven how they can be secure with God through a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ and have their sins forgiven and all of a sudden you saw his big eyes just sort of get droopy and saw where he was going with this and turned away but it was a clever way of saying I'm part of the family business and Paul was saying as long as that business is spread I rejoice and I'm thankful verse 12 but I want you to know brethren the things which have happened to me what things being arrested in Jerusalem two years prison and says areaa placed on a boat and taken to Rome now jailed in a Roman prison those things the things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel so that it has become evident to the whole notice this palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ now the palace guard is a term for the Royal Praetorian Guard these were elite guards that worked to guard the Emperor's life they were the security guard it would be like the Secret Service and most of the Brethren verse 14 in the Lord having become confident in my chains are much more bold to speak the word without fear now I can picture this there were probably a few Christians in Rome and they had been praying maybe making it a part of their weekly prayer they get together and they pray something like this Lord I don't know how you could ever do this but if you could just save some of the people who work and live in Caesars household it would be great save even the guards Lord we pray that you bring a revival among people that work in Caesars household I bet they prayed for that and so here's Paul going I want you to know the prayers have been answered the gospel is being furthered because Paul was chained 24 hours a day to a Roman guard they worked in six-hour shifts they had to be shackled arm to arm on either side with Paul the Apostle so that while he would dictate his letter to the Philippians and to the Ephesians and to the Colossians and to Philemon as people would visit him and he would share and evangelize they had to hear it they were literally a captive audience now can you imagine being chained to Paul the Apostle the impact that would make on your life no wonder he's saying hey don't feel sorry for me some of these guys are coming to Christ and at the end of the letter he greets them from some of those saved in Caesars household now I want to apply something this way some of you tonight feel imprisoned I'm speaking metaphorically you feel chained to something you can't get out of it it could be you feel chained to your home maybe you're a housewife you gave up your career it was a promising career but you remember saying I'm gonna willingly put place that aside and devote myself to a family and at first it was really good you were really excited then kids came and then more kids and more responsibilities in your home all the time and it's like I like my house but I feel like I'm shackled to it I can't get out this isn't necessarily what I envisioned you feel imprisoned Susanna Wesley must have felt imprisoned she had 19 children she couldn't do anything but be a mom for years and years and years but two of those boys John Wesley and Charles Wesley through their gospel work and music and preaching shook the British Isles with revival the work that she did at home furthered the gospel through two notable sons Charles and Wesley Charles Wesley Anne and John Wesley or maybe you feel in prison to a job that lousy job that you have to work at because you have to get a paycheck because you have to pay bills you don't like it you don't feel called to it you want to get out of it but you can't do it how about seeing it as a divine appointment like Joseph literally chained to a job or Daniel captive and Babylon chained to a job God used them powerfully in that situation some feel imprisoned because of a disease or a debilitating condition for walls of a hospital room or a convalescent home this message may get out to those folks they feel in prison what could I ever do in this place in this condition one of the greatest hymns ever written sung still at every Billy Graham crusade just as I am member that song just as I am without one plea that was written by Charlotte Elliot and she wrote it when she was an invalid imprisoned couldn't move couldn't get out but she contributed some of christendom greatest music while she was imprisoned to her condition or maybe like Paul the Apostle this message will be heard by those who are literally in prison you're in jail you made a mess of your life you don't know what to do Martin Luther translated the Bible while he was in prison John Bunyan wrote pilgrims progress while he was in prison Paul wrote four letters while he was in prison some of your greatest work could take place now if you let God into that place of confinement and watch him work verse 23 Paul continues for I'm hard pressed between the two having a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you now in this section of chapter 1 Paul is wrestling with a personal desire to just die and go to heaven that's what he wants or if God wills for him to stay alive and minister to those Christians by his example and by his writing so if we were to translate this into modern vernacular Paul's saying I'm between a rock and a hard place I'm between two canyon walls one wall is called what I want in my own flesh I want to end my suffering I'd rather die and go to heaven the other wall is the ability to minister to Christians in a very powerful way by this circumstance and so he says nevertheless verse 24 to remain in the flesh is more needful for you one thing that strikes me about Paul there are several things but one that strikes me is he always had other people in his vision on his mind he would think about his condition in the light of what was best for other people so he's in rome in jail but way before this he wrote a letter to the Romans and he said for I long to see you that I might impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may become established so you see what he's wrestling with hey if I die and get moved to heaven I'll end all of my hassles on earth but I also realize if I go to heaven I'm gonna end all of my effectiveness on this earth once I die and go to heaven I can't affect anybody on this earth like I used to I can't witness two guards that I'm now chained to I'm not able to receive people and talk to them while I'm here in this prison I'm not able to write letters anymore and strengthen the leadership of the churches so if postponing heaven means ministering to people and that's God's will great that's the love that motivates him so that's chapter one the marvel of the Christian life which is love chapter two is the model of the Christian life which is Christ therefore if there is any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any affection and mercy fulfill my joy being like-minded having the same love being of one Accord and of one mind let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness or humility of mind let each esteem others better than himself can you imagine what would happen if every Christian took just those verses seriously what would happen if we all decided when I'm around people I'm not going to think what's in it for me or strike up the conversation so that it turns to what I've done and compare myself with others but my whole thinking is what can I do for you how can i minister to you how can i add to your life imagine the changes that would occur just by following that humility now when Paul wrote this the Greek culture despised humility did you know that that was like the worst of all characteristics in the Greek mind it was a sign of weakness to be assertive was much better to be humble was for the slaves and the commoners but not for those who would live godlike behavior but according to Jesus Christ it's this supreme virtue so Paul continues let each of you verse four look out not only for his own interest but also for the interests of others let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus selfish ambition is at the heart of fallen humanity we we all face it you could say you come by it honestly you don't have to learn this it's quite natural to be self-centered to be selfish it's a natural human talent Calvin Miller said if instead of Jesus giving us the Lord's Prayer if we were to write it it would sound something like this our Father in heaven gimme gimme gimme rather than hallowed be your name your kingdom come forgive us etc it would be self-centered lowliness humility and you've watched it it's the grease that oils the gears of any relationship you can have people who are struggling to get along all it takes is one person in the mix to humble themselves I'm so sorry would you forgive me and can we move past this and get on with it and it lets everybody's guard down and the relationships can run smoothly so like Jesus Christ Paul will say here he's the model of the Christian life like Jesus Christ rather than thinking I've got to climb the ladder higher and higher and higher Paul saying like Jesus climb lower and lower and lower and get so low that you can see to serve people for Jesus himself said take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart now you know what a yoke is it was a steering device that was placed on animals so they could pull the plow so what Jesus is saying is let me control you and one of the chief features of me as you learn about me is my humility in lowliness so Paul incorporates that here's Jesus here our model let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus verse six who being Jesus being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God one of the most important verses in your Bible is verse 6 and 7 and following it says this Jesus was God and is God he is in the form of God or as the NIV says who being in very nature God did not think that was something to be grasped he already had hold of that he was and is God who being in the form of God now I want to explain that to you the Greek words and I'm gonna give you a few words tonight to help paint the picture the form of God is two Greek words more FEI FEI liu form of god morphe the word for form doesn't mean the outward form doesn't mean size and shape that would be another Greek word schema schema means outward form morphe a means essence that never changes schema is what always changes now I'll give you an example as a human being you have a morphe and you have a schema you have a morphic it never changes when you're born into this world all the way through your earthly development you are still essentially a human being that never changes that's your morphing that's your essence that's your nature but the schema of you changes a lot and in some periods of your life you notice it very very rapidly changing so you were once an embryo after that a fetus after that an infant after that a toddler after that an adolescent after that a teenager after that if he made it through all those years an adult and then an older adult that's the schema that changes Jesus was in the more Fae the very nature in essence of God so here was Jesus essentially God he possessed the unchangeable essential nature of God that's what Paul is saying verse seven but here comes a humility but he made himself of no reputation or he emptied himself taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death on the cross therefore goddess also highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father now these verses the main point is humble yourself with each other just like that but let's consider what that is these verses were peaking behind stage at the Incarnation here's Jesus God eternal unchanging God very nature God but he humbled himself a Kennison the canosa's he poured himself out he emptied himself now here's the question what did Jesus empty himself of when he came to this earth as a human being don't say God he didn't empty himself of being God it's not like he was God and he emptied himself of deity uh-uh he was always God in human flesh on the earth what he emptied himself of while on the earth number 1 the prerogatives of deity you understand the difference the benefits of deity for instance the glory that he had with the father he heard the angels every day every moment giving him praise along with the father and the spirit that's why Jesus prayed John 17 father glorify me with the glory that I had with you before the world ever was so the prerogatives of deity all that Jesus left heaven and came to the earth number 2 Jesus emptied himself of his own independent authority while he was on the earth he was submitted to the will of the Father that's why he said my father is greater than I am I always do those things that what pleased him and in Gethsemane he prayed and nevertheless not as I will but as you will okay so let's apply that here's Jesus he made like the ultimate step of humility if you've ever talked to a missionary or if you've ever gone in the mission field you go through what's called cultural shock and at first it's like glass is cool I'm in a foreign country a lot of this and then after like a few days it's really old really quick because you they don't give you American food you don't eat hamburgers it's not air-conditioned anymore you don't sleep in nice beds you know you sleep on the ground and and if you do that for like several years it's like so shocking to the system that for you to go back to America it's called reverse culture shock imagine the culture shock of leaving heaven after living there for eons in eternity past and then coming to the earth shocker let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus in other words here's your example here's the model of the Christian life Jesus Christ humbled himself how do we apply this a simple statement you are never more like Satan than when you're selfish you are never more like Jesus than when you serve that's the bottom line distilling truth of this section Jesus as God humbled himself and didn't live for himself but lived to serve others let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus that's the model as the text goes on he shows us the Timothy his buddy and app afroditi spoke of them followed that same model verse 19 but I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly so that I also may be encouraged when I know your state for I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state for all seek their own not the things which are of Christ Jesus see what he's doing he's saying here's Timothy he's my co-worker in the ministry he does that he follows the model of Jesus Christ he says I have no one like-minded no one thinks like me for notice all seek their own not the things which are of Christ Jesus listen to it in the Living Bible everyone else seems to be worrying about his own plans what a statement Paul must have known hundreds of Christians in Rome because at the end of the book of Romans chapter 16 he gives 27 names of Roman believers that he was personally associated with those are just the ones he writes about in the end of Romans 16 so he must have known over a hundred or hundreds of believers in Rome but of all of the people he knew there was only one guy he knew that was equal sold that's the word like-minded ESOP tsukasa in greek we think alike we track alike we have the same motive in life of all the Christians I know there's only one guy in the ministry who thinks like I think who cares for other people not his own agenda and that is Timothy like minded ape afroditi Saul so followed that model he was the Philippian guy member the philippians dispatched him 800 miles from philip i probably a six week journey to visit paul in rome so verse 25 yet i considered it necessary to send to you or back to you a Pafford itís my fellow brother my brother fellow worker and fellow soldier but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need since he was longing for you all now you notice the paul uses that phrase a lot he must have been from the south of y'all he uses that a lot in this book so since he was longing for y'all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick indeed he was sick almost unto death Pafford itis walked or traveled by donkey presumably not horse unless the church could drum up enough money to rent one a six-week 800 mile journey just to visit Paul and give him some financial aid if Pafford itis practice what I'm gonna call Basin ba si n basin theology Basin theology you go skip I've read a lot of theological books and I've never heard of that I've heard of systematic theology I've heard of biblical theology but I've never heard of this Basin theology somebody once said we all work out of one or two basins and our theology comes from one of two bases remember the night when Jesus was betrayed and he was taken to punch his pilot and punch his pilot wanted to let Jesus go but because of the political structure he called for a basin of water and he washed his hands of the matter as if to say I'm not gonna deal with this you do whatever you want with him I'm gonna be in it for my own political interests that's one basin but remember the night that Jesus was betrayed he took a basin and got on his knees and started washing the disciples feet and washing them and wiping them off of the towel when is the basin of pilots about me it's about self its self-interest the other is the basement of Jesus Christ that's base in theology Pafford itis but his needs his wants his agenda his life aside for a while to minister to Paul and it was a great service to Paul so that's chapter two that's the model of the Christian life chapter three takes us to the third section this is the march of the Christian life which is forward now verse one finally my brethren don't be taken by the word finally Paul doesn't mean it he's not closing the letter we're only at midpoint here finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord for me to write the same things to you is not tedious but for you it is safe beware of dogs beware of evil workers beware of the mutilation in other word for the circumcision for we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh now this is the first hint in the letter that there's a problem the problem was a group of spiritual scavengers who were devouring the gospel of grace and trying to drag the Christians backwards into the law instead of forward into grace so he's saying look I've left that I grew up Jewish and I left that behind me and I'm following what Christ wants me to follow and so he says verse Wharram by the way when he says beware of dogs he's not this isn't a warning to male men or people who deliver the mail be aware of the dog it's a term of consternation it's a term of disdain and contempt the Jews often refer to the Gentiles as dogs Paul is using the term to refer to Jews who are trying to make Gentile Christians become like them keep the law get circumcised go through all of the rituals of Judaism and Paul doesn't call it the circumcision but the mutilation it's very strong language verse 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh I'm more so and he gives his pedigree his background circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews concerning the law I was a Pharisee concerning zeal I was persecuting the church concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless straight A's on my report card in Hebrew school but what things were gain to me these have counted loss for Christ's yes indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish or refuse or dung some translations put it that I might gain Christ and be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law but the righteousness which is of him all of that the Paul writes about that brag emoni he said he's bragging he's saying look I I could break I could boast let me tell you about where I've come from and who I am here's my pedigree but that's all a brag a mone now here's my testimony my testimony is I have left all the things I boasted in my upbringing my religion my blamelessness I've traded all that in I'm marching forward I'm not going back to the law I'm marching forward to be found not in my good works but in his righteousness the gospel of grace he's marching forward Ellen Redpath once said when God wants to do an impossible task he takes an impossible man and crushes him when did that crushing take place for Paul well the culmination was on a stretch of road from Jerusalem to Damascus he was placed on his back you know the story and he finally surrendered himself to the Lord and that was the process of breaking and God did an impossible thing of getting the gospel out to the world through him his entire life changed and all of that is behind him now and he's boasting only in Christ verse 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection the Fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death verse 12 not that I have already attained or were already perfected but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also lain hold of me brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended but one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus picture in your minds what it would be like for an athlete to try to run in one direction while looking over his shoulder backwards in another direction what would happen to him or her he'd fall he will go off the track he would be deterred from what he said or she said was the goal if you want to live a miserable life always look back over your shoulders and start just living and regret what it could have been what it should have been what I needed but I didn't follow saying all of that in my life up to this point is over it's past and I'm not only marching forward but I'm pressing on he says reaching ahead or reaching forward verse 13 to those things which are ahead that's an athletic term to sprint for the finish line you ever see in the Olympics they're just that last little leg of the race where they put that hand out and put every bit of energy into it that's what Paul is speaking about so that's that's the march of the Christian life forward verse 20 for our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ as you're marching forward eventually it'll take you into eternity you'll eventually march into heaven who will transform our lowly body you may not agree with the description of your body but I'm going to add to that you may not agree with the description of your body being a lowly body right now and typically if you're younger and strong you would object to this description of your body as a lowly body imagine if you were working out in the gym and somebody walked if you go you got a lowly body you take offense to that but the longer you live you come to agree with Paul and not really object to it you read and you go I get it and especially when you compare it to the body it's going to become after the resurrection he'll transform our lowly body that it might be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he's able to subdue all things to himself finally chapter 4 this is the marks of the Christian life peace and joy the marks of the Christian life peace and joy number 1 peace with others verse 1 therefore my beloved and longed-for brethren my joy and Crown so stand fast in the Lord my beloved I implore now look at these names yo dia and I implore sin TK to be of the same mind in the Lord two women are mentioned in verse two they're mentioned nowhere else in the Bible there seems to have been an argument between them no details are given he just says to be of the same mind in the Lord yo dia means good journey good journey the word son to K that's how you say it in the Greek means fortunate so these two gals miss good trip and miss lucky may have been two of the founding mothers of the church it could be that little enclave of women at the river in Philippi when Paul got there maybe they were among them it's interesting to think of that over time whoever they were they started arguing with each other and the argument led into different camps I'm on her side no I'm in her side and it was starting to split the church and Paul is writing a little footnote to correct that don't let that happen it could be that these two prominent godly women maybe even helped start the church were dividing the very church that was started I'll say this Satan reserves the hottest flaming arrows for those who are most effective the church is being divided here's what's sad to think they're only mentioned here they're mentioned nowhere else in the Bible and they're mentioned in conjunction with an argument imagine having to be immortalized forever when the Bible is translated into whatever language and distributed around the world your names in it oh yeah those two ladies that argue don't forget to write that in their peace with yourself as mentioned next verse 6 be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind through Jesus Christ I wish I had time to really unwrap that unpack that and dive into it done it before don't have time now but this is peace with yourself so here's the marks of the Christian life peace with others peace within yourself they're not worried you're casting your cares upon the Lord and finally joy verse 4 I'm taking you back to verse 4 and then back down to verse 10 verse 4 rejoice in the Lord always again I will say rejoice verse 10 but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last should care for me is flourished again though you surely did care but you lacked the opportunity not that I speak in regard to need for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content what's he writing about he's in jail he's saying you guys in Philip I know you love me you've always cared for me but thank you for sending the financial gift that's what he's referring to here but he said it's not that I need anything I've learned in whatever state I men to be content are you content advertisers work hard to make you discontent that's their goal all the commercials you see in magazines and on television on the radio they're designed to make you discontent with your life you need that experience or that product to be happy and and they spend millions of dollars in some cases multi-million like on Super Bowl to make you discontent with your life as it is and it's working because by and large Americans are the most discontent people of any people group in the world 100 years ago the average American could produce a list of 70 things 7-0 70 things that he or she needed today the average American lists 500 things that he or she needs to live I read recently so how do you get content could get contentment doesn't come from what you have contentment comes from whom you have rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice we sang it did you mean it you can take all this world just give me Jesus just give me Jesus verse 15 now you Philippians know that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only for even in Thessalonica you did send aid and again for my necessities not that I seek the gift but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account this is what I want you to catch as we close we're getting insight into heavenly bookkeeping when he says I seek verse 17 the fruit that abounds to your account he is speaking about financial terms the interest that accumulates in a ledger in bookkeeping books on the credit side of a financial ledger so here's the deal Paul is saying when I go out and do the work of the ministry and lead souls to Christ and you're giving me financial aid at the end you are gonna get the reward not just me for leading those souls to Christ you are because I couldn't have done it without your help so imagine what Heaven's gonna be like you're gonna get there and somebody's gonna throw their arms around you thank you who are you well you probably will know as you are known so you'll probably know exactly who you are you say that person will say I came to Christ because you gave that missionaries some financial help or you supported that crusade or that television event or that radio ministry and I came to know Jesus Christ thank you I'm here because of you so not that I seek a gift I seek fruit that abounds to your account so now I want you to get this this is what this means to us we should be very scrupulous and careful where we invest financially when there are ministries that are bearing lots of fruit that's what I want to invest in see this thinking is wrong saying well I want to give over there because they keep saying they really really need it they're gonna go under and they're gonna die unless I support them wait a minute that's not smart financial investment I want to find people who are coming to Christ and the gospel is spreading I want to invest there because according to this I'm gonna get an eternal reward smart investing imagine being able to support Paul the Apostle I'll sign up for that cuz that guy won't shut up even in jail he'll be leading people to Christ sign me up I want to support him verse 21 greet every saint in Christ Jesus the Brethren who are with me greet you all the Saints greet you but especially those meaning those Saints who are of Caesars household he's been leading into Christ the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all amen now I figure it this way if some of those soldiers Paul was chained to Caesars household were coming to Christ and they were working history tells us in 6 our chefs after coming to Christ they would want to know more they would want to be grounded they'd want to grow so I can imagine one of the guards saying to their buddy at the six hour shift mark you know what go home go home with your family it's it's on me it's my gift to you really I'll take the night shift and the next shift he's writing this letter and I want to hear him finish it I want to hear what he's gonna say about this I have some questions and they were coming to grow in their faith in Christ how exciting any place you're at can become a fulcrum a launching pad for you to share the gospel Heavenly Father therefore we thank you for where you've planted us and where you've placed us thank you Lord that even in the most confining of circumstances a job we may not like a home situation that is very restrictive perhaps a disease a place that we are confined to or even a prison itself that if you're there and there are people that we can reach either by voice or by pen that we can be change agents and further the gospel and see it as part of the will and plan of God for our lives thank you therefore Lord for where we're at and what you're allowing us to go through in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Skip Heitzig

Views: 1,356

Rating: 4.7142859 out of 5

Keywords: How to study the Bible, How to read the Bible, Jesus, Skip, Skip Heitzig, How to know God, Philippians, Paul, church, epistle of joy, long suffering, Philippi, encourage, unity, humility, prayer

Id: dXT7KUqxY44

Length: 57min 17sec (3437 seconds)

Published: Mon May 13 2019