[MUSIC PLAYING] The Bible from 30,000 Feet,
soaring through the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. [APPLAUSE] And now, shall we-- I can't wait to see this-- flip
to Philippians, chapter one. Four great chapters ahead of us. Philippians. Let's pray together. Father, we are serving this
great book of the Bible, but we don't want to just
know how it's put together. We want to know how you put
us together, and equipped us to live in this world,
and to make an impact, to not only survive,
but to thrive. And so, father, you
have a message for us who have gathered-- those who are tuning
in a variety of ways. You have a message. Though we're going to be
saying the same things to lots of different
people, you're going to individualize those
truths to each of us. There will be something
special that you have that you are longing
to say to all those who are a part of this Bible study. We pray that your spirit
would have the freedom to open our hearts and to
speak those truths to us. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. I was reading a story
about a guy named Daniel Manville, who was put
in prison on a manslaughter charge. He spent three and
1/2 years in prison. But while he was
there, he decided that he would study law. He did. He got out of prison. He kept going with his studies. He passed the bar
exam, became a lawyer, started representing
prisoners and prison guards. And today, he is a
university professor of law in the state of Michigan. He accomplished something
after being incarcerated. Leaving prison, he decided to
make something different out of his life. Then I read a story
of another guy who was put in prison for
seven years on drug charges. When he was released,
he became a civic leader and became a real estate agent. He became a philanthropist,
making money and giving it to good causes. All great accomplishments
after they left prison. Their lives were totally
reformed-- transformed, you might even say. What makes Paul unique is he
didn't wait until after he got out of prison. He accomplished a lot
while he was in prison. In fact, once we read
Philippians and internalize it, we realize I am hereby
the will of God. God allowed me to be put in this
prison to further his gospel. So while he was in prison,
he wrote four letters we told you about last week. One we read last week-- or part
of it-- the Book of Ephesians. That's the first of
Paul's prison letters. Second is this
book, Philippians. Third will be next time
the, Book of Colossians. And then a little
bit later on, we'll look at the short
little Book of Philemon. Paul wrote those while
he was in prison. So hey, it's great to do things
after you get out of jail, but to be able to
say, you know, I wrote a good portion of the Bible
while I was in prison, shows you that nothing
is holding Paul back from carrying out
the will of God. The worst of circumstances may
be the best part of ministry. We don't like to think of that. Especially in this country,
we love our freedoms, and we have an idea of what
our lives should look like. And when they're curtailed,
or contained, or restricted, we are bewildered. We even sometimes raise a fist. How could you allow this,
God, if you're a God of love? It's because he is a God
of love that he allows it. And no more poignant example do
we have than the life of Paul the Apostle, I
think, in this book. Philippi was a colony of Rome. Philippi was located in Europe. Paul going to Philippi
was the first time the gospel went to Europe. Now, as a Roman
colony, it was named after a very important leader. Philippi sounds like what name? Phil or Philip. And it was named after the
Father of Alexander the Great, Philip of Macedon. Paul never planned
to go to Philippi. It was not on his radar screen. It was not like he woke
up one day and goes, you know, I really
want to go to Philippi. Now, I've. Said that I've never
been to Philippi. Some of you have gone. I've never gone. It's on my bucket list. One day, I went to visit this
place because it was so dear to Paul's heart. But not for Paul. He had no plans
to go to Philippi. He goes there, but it was an
interesting way he got there. It was Paul's second
missionary journey. He had a falling out with John
Mark, broke company with him, broke company with Barnabas. John Mark and
Barnabas went one way. Paul decided to take
a guy named Silas on his second missionary journey
to revisit those places that he had been on his first
missionary journey. He wanted to visit them,
strengthen the churches, expand into territories
a little bit beyond that. So he goes back to Galatia. And he first, after
Galatia, tries to go south into what
they called Asia. We would have
probably identified it as Asia Minor, a
portion of Turkey. Though he tries to
go there, he can't. The Holy Spirit, the Bible
tells us, forbade him to go. We're not told why. All I can surmise is
it's just not time yet-- not time. He'll go there later on, on
his third missionary trip, but he tries to go south,
Holy Spirit shuts the door. Then he tries to go
north into Bithynia, which is up by the Caspian
Sea, a beautiful place in the summertime. Holy Spirit won't allow
him to go there either. So the door is shut
on two accounts. Now, he has come from the east. He tries to go south,
he tries to go north. There's only really
one place left-- west, but he doesn't
know that yet. All he knows is he's trying
to expand the gospel south, no dice, north, can't go. I hope that's a lesson that
we can all grab a hold of. You know, the Bible
tells us that the steps of a righteous person-- a good man, some
translations say-- are ordered by the Lord. Don't you love that
promise, that your steps-- though you don't always know
exactly where they are-- are ordered,
directed, by the Lord. He is guiding your path. The steps, but not
only the steps-- let me add to that-- the stops of a righteous person
are also ordered by the Lord. Sometimes God says, go,
and sometimes God says, no. And God's no is just as
important as God's go. Well, why can't I go there? I don't know. Now, he will find out why. But had you run into Paul the
Great Apostle at this time, in Troas, because
that's where he ends up. He's in Troas just sort
of waiting around-- and if you saw him
and you said, hey, aren't you Paul
the Great Apostle? Yep, that's me. Writer of lots of
the New Testament? Yep, one in the same. Wow. So, Paul, where are you going? I have no idea. Wait, what? You, Paul, the Great Apostle,
the apostle to the Gentiles, the one who wrote
about the will of God and how to know the will of God? Surely, you know
where you're going. I have no idea. I know where I've tried to go,
and I know where I can't go, but I have no idea
where I'm going. So he's in Troas, and he
gets a vision one night. And there's a man and
his vision from Macedonia who says, in the vision, come
over to Macedonia and help us. So he wakes up, scratches his
little apostolic forehead, and says, you know,
Silas, I'm guessing God wants us to go to Macedonia. So he makes plans to go west. He has come from the east. He can't go south,
he can't go north. In Troas, the vision
says, go west. So it's in the Bible. It was not Horace Greeley who
came up with the first saying, go west, young man, go west. It was the man from Macedonia. The spirit of God led him to
say, go west, old man, go west. So Paul went to Macedonia. And when he went
to Macedonia, he went to the chief city, the
Roman colony of Philippi, named after Philip of Macedon,
probably looking around in Phillip high for
someone specific. Who would that be? The man from Macedonia, the
man he saw in the vision. He saw a guy saying, come over
and help, us so he gets there and he's nope, that's not him,
nope, that's not him, nope, that's not him. He does not see anyone. But on the Sabbath, instead of
seeing a man from Macedonia, he meets a woman from the area-- in fact, a group of them. They're meeting down
by a river side. And the reason they're meeting
by Riverside, they were Jewish. According to Jewish
practice, you could not have a
synagogue in a town unless you had a minimum
of 10 Jewish adult males. Obviously, there weren't
enough to form a synagogue. So there was a few women
gathered by the riverside. Paul shared with them. The Lord opened the heart
of one of them, named Lydia, to the things spoken by Paul. Then things go
from bad to worse. He gets arrested. He gets thrown in jail. They're in stocks. You know the story,
Acts chapter 16. But in that prison
cell, the jailer comes to know Jesus Christ. The Philippian jailer and his
family, they all get baptized. Paul is released with Silas. So now you have the
beginning of a church. You have a woman
named Lydia, I'm guessing a couple of others-- I believe they're
mentioned in this book-- Euodia and Syntyche-- we'll
get to them, hopefully-- and the Philippian jailer. You have a few people who
have come to know Christ, and that is how
the church started. It was never Paul's
intention to do it. It was God's intention, however,
because he wanted the gospel to go from Asia to Europe. Now, for the first time, a
church has started in Asia. Paul leaves Philippi. They don't hear from him
for at least two years. In the meantime, Paul makes
his way back to Jerusalem, gets arrested in the temple,
gets taken to Caesarea. For two years, he is spent
incarcerated in Caesarea by the sea there in Israel,
placed on a prison ship, and taken to Rome, where
he is writing this epistle. He's writing this
letter because there's a guy by the name of Epaphras
mentioned in this letter, sent from that little church at
Philippi to see Paul in Rome, to see how he's doing. They heard Paul's in Rome,
he's alive, but he's in jail. Let's go see how he is. Epaphras, take this monetary
gift, this financial support, bring it to Paul while
he's there in prison, and give us the skinny, man. Get the lowdown on
how the dude is doing. So he writes this
letter and gives it to Epaphras to bring them back. And that is the
Book of Philippians. Really, the book is
a thank-you letter. It's saying, thank
you for supporting me, thank you for letting the
Lord place me on your heart. The letter is a
wonderful letter. And I know this
might sound cheap because I say this about
so many books of the Bible. I was just about to say,
it's one of my favorite books of the Bible, but you're
thinking, what isn't? And you would have
a valid point. So it's a good one, but
here's why I love it. It is not a corrective book. It is not like the
Book of Galatians, where he is writing primarily
to counteract false doctrine and false teachers. There is a hint that there are
some issues with false teaching here in this book, but that's
really not the pale of it, the primary reason,
it is written. It is not written
to correct doctrine, nor is it written to
correct bad conduct, like First Corinthians was. It is purely a book
of saying, I love you. I believe, of all of
the different churches that Paul started, he had the
deepest bond with the church at Philippi. For some reason, there was
just this great bond of love. And the book, as you
know, has a theme of joy. But I would even
broaden that out and say, the book of
Philippians is a book about the Christian life-- the wonder of the
Christian life. So chapter one is the marvel
of the Christian life, which is love and the bond of love. Chapter two is the model
of the Christian life, which is Jesus Christ. It's all about Christ. Pattern your life after him. Chapter three is the march
of the Christian life-- you might even say, the
motion of the Christian life-- which is forward, going forward,
reaching forward, pressing on, not going backward. And then chapter four, the marks
of the Christian life, which, primarily, he writes
about joy and peace. Now, I mentioned
joy because it's mentioned in this letter
16 times, which is odd that the theme of a letter
written by a prisoner falsely accused, incarcerated
by the Roman government for no good reason,
should be joy-- not bitterness, not protest,
not anger, not revenge, but joy. He sees God's hand in his life
even while he is incarcerated. Now, you should know this
if you don't already. There is a huge difference
between joy and happiness. Happiness is temporary,
joy is permanent. Happiness depends on happenings. Happiness depends
on happenstance. Happiness depends on the hap. Hap is a word that means chance. And so that root,
that idea of chance, is put in the word happiness. If, by chance, things
are going your way, you get all happy and excited. You're happy. But you can have
happiness and not joy. And you cannot be so happy, but
have a great joy because joy is much deeper. It is a permanent
state of heart that roots a person deeply
so that no matter what may be going on the
surface of that life, there is a deeper stream that
they are tied into. And that is joy, and that
is Paul in this letter. So, in chapter one, we
begin with the marvel of the Christian
life, which is love. Paul and Timothy bond
servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints
in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the
bishops and the deacons. Grace to you and peace
from God, our father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon
every remembrance of you. He's thinking back. He's reminiscing to the
time he's spent in Philippi. And as he thinks
back to the time he came from Troas to
Macedonia, went to Philippi, went to that river, was
put in jail, got beat up, blood was used all over him,
he's thinking back on, wow, I'm so thankful. I thank my God upon
every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of
my making requests for you all with joy. For your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day
until now, being confident of this
very thing, that he was begun a good work
in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. I don't think I
could write that. Were I Paul the Apostle tied
to a guard in a Roman prison, thinking back to my
experience at Philippi, thinking that I never found
that man from Macedonia, found a few women-- was not
what I expected-- was not a great start got put in
jail, got beaten with rods, I would say, every time I
look back and think of you all in Philippi, I get sick to
my stomach, and I want to puke. [LAUGHTER] Paul says, I'm so thankful,
and I am filled with joy. I mentioned that 16
times this letter has that theme-- joy, joy, joy. Now, he tells us a little
bit about why he's so joyful. He says, verse five, for your
fellowship in the gospel. Here's a better translation. For your partnership
in the gospel. Isn't it a great thought
that you and I are partners with Paul the Apostle? Better yet, we're partners
with Jesus Christ? Isn't it a great thought that
God has a family business and we have been adopted as sons
and daughters into that family? And so God's business on
Earth-- his family business-- is imparted to us because
now we're part of the family. So we get to spread the
good news of Christ. That is the family business. What Paul is saying
is, my joy is directly proportional to the
spread of the family business. As long as that
keeps getting spread through me or through
you, I'm good to go. I'm happy. My joy is tied to the growth
of the family business. Your partnership in the gospel,
from the first day until now. I had a friend who used
to work for the doctor-- the Billy Graham organization. He was a crusade
director, and he always look for opportunities
to share the gospel, to spread the family business. He said he was on a plane
one time traveling to a city to set up a
evangelistic crusade, and he turned to notice that
the person sitting next to him was an actor. And he recognized him. He goes, hey, that's Tom Cruise. So they got into a
little conversation. And Tom Cruise turned to him
and didn't know who he was. He said, so what line
of work are you in? And the guy thought
really quickly. He goes, I'm in the
security business. And Tom perked up his
ears because, actors, they need good security around them. They're always looking
for good security people. So he turned to him
and goes, really? He says, yeah, I'm in
the security business. Oh, tell me about that. So how does it work
and what do you do? So he got to share the gospel. What I mean by that is I'm in
the internal security business, and told him what he did. And of course, now the actor
backs down a little bit, feels a little deflated at that. But basically, I'm
here to tell you about the family I'm a part of,
and the Father that we serve, and the Savior that came. It's the family business. And he had great joy sharing-- I don't know if Tom was as
joyful as he was about it. Now, I want I want you to see
how Paul the Apostle thinks as he follows this
thinking down. Go down to verse
12 of chapter one, all under the subheading, the
marvel of the Christian life, which is love. And here, you get how
he thinks, verse 12. Now, Paul's in jail
and the people in Rome are thinking, oh,
poor Paul, Paul's in jail, what a bummer, what a
drag, his mission has stopped, the gospel is stopped. They're thinking the worst. So he says, I want
you to know brethren, that the things
which happened to me have actually turned out for
the furtherance of the gospel. Me being put in prison
hasn't turned out for the hindrance of the
gospel like you're probably thinking, but actually for
the furtherance of the gospel. The gospel is actually
going further. It's spread much more than
if I were not in prison. Now, that's a puzzling thought. Because I hope you're
thinking, how on Earth could that be true? He tells you, so
that it has become evident to the whole palace
guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. This is insight
into how he thinks. To all the rest are the
Jewish representatives that came to him while
he was in that two year imprisonment in Rome to
hear why he was there. Also, Christians who came
in, he discipled them. He wrote letters to churches. But also, he mentions the
guard here-- the palace guard. Now, the palace guard,
that's a reference to a very elite group of people
known as the Praetorian Guard. They were guardians of
the throne, guardians of the emperor. It's sort of like the Secret
Service arm of our government. They were very, very elite. They were Caesar's own
personal bodyguards. Evidently, some of
the guards of Caesar were coming to know Christ. And you say, well,
how was that possible? Paul was chained at six-hour
shifts two of these guards. So he was in handcuffs,
chain, handcuffs. Guard had to sit
there for six hours, then it went around the clock. Now, you imagine
what it would be like to be chained
to Paul the Apostle. [LAUGHTER] Come on. Paul is going, this is
just too good to be true. I really do have a
captive audience. This guy cannot leave me. I'm sure he to. I'm sure he wants to shut me up. Roman protocol is I could
just say what I want, and he has to listen to me. I'm going to take
advantage of this. Evidently, that paid off,
and some of those guards came to receive
Christ as Savior. Now you understand
how he thinks? The gospel is being furthered. I'm guessing that the Christians
in Rome had a prayer like this. Lord, I don't know if
it's possible for you to reach Caesar
and his household, but even the palace guard,
Lord, would you just figure out some way to win them to Christ? And God answered that prayer. Yeah, I have the perfect plan. I'll get Paul the
Apostle put in prison. He'll be chained to these
knuckleheads six hours at a time, and
they're going to come to meet Christ as their Savior. In prison, they're
going to be set free. It's just a marvelous thought. So Paul was enjoying
his stay, and they were enjoying their
incarceration next to Paul-- some of them, the
ones who responded. And probably the ones
who responded favorably wanted to hear more. So six hours is up, now
the new guy comes in. Maybe the second
guy is going, hey, I'd be happy to take
your shift for you. You go home and let me just
take a double shift him. Because he wants to hear
what Paul has to say, and they're being discipled. So that's how he was thinking. It has become evident to
the whole palace guard and to all the rest of
my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the
Lord, the Christians in Rome, having me become more
confident by my chains are much more bold to speak
the word without fear. Now, apply it. How are you chained? I can answer that
question for you. There's a number
of circumstances that, right now, you might
feel like, I'm a prisoner. Maybe you have a
houseful of kids you're responsible for
and now maybe grandkids. It narrows your time. Maybe you're not even able
to come to church tonight. You're watching TV
bouncing these kids on one knee, and
then another knee, and you've got
responsibilities at home. And perhaps, because of all of
the domestic responsibilities, you think, I'm a prisoner. Maybe Susanna Wesley
felt that way. She had 19 children. Natural birth, 19 children. Do you think 19 children
would make a mother feel a little bit restricted? And I'm sure she even
thought, I'm in prison. But by the grace and will
of God, two of her boys, John Wesley and Charles Wesley,
would shake the British Isles with the gospel. John Wesley would
become the preacher, Charles Wesley
would be the one who wrote some of the great
hymns of the church. And together, they would
start a revival in Methodism that the world still,
to this day, feels. Maybe a disease, pain,
maybe chronic pain, maybe something you feel
restricted, and it's horrible. You're not able to do
what you used to do. Maybe you're even listening
to this in a hospital room. You're in a prison of those
four walls and that hospital. Maybe you have a disease
that has made you an invalid. I want you to think of Charlotte
Elliott, an invalid who wrote song, after song, after
song, after song, after song, after song, after song,
after song, after song while she was an invalid. One of her most famous ones,
Just As I Am, Without One Plea. But that Thy blood
was shed for me, and that Thou bidst me come
to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come I come. She wrote that while an invalid. And Dwight L. Moody
said, in his day, that song brought more people
to Christ than any other hymn of the church. I'm sure Moody was glad for
her stead of being an invalid because of that song. A number of things can
incarcerate a person. Jail, Paul was in jail. Martin Luther translated the
New Testament into German in the Wartburg prison. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's
Progress in the Bedford prison. We read those books to
this day, and they're-- especially Pilgrim's Progress--
amazing, life-giving. So Paul says, this is
all by the will of God, and the gospel is being spread. In verse 21, he sums it up. For me to live, it's Christ. To die, it's even better. It's gain. I can't lose. But if I live on
in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet, what I shall
choose I cannot tell, for I'm hard pressed
between the two, having a desire to be with
Christ, which is far better, nevertheless, to remain in the
flesh is more needful for you. Paul knew that if he died as
a result of his imprisonment, he'd go home to
be with the Lord. He's thinking,
that's pretty good. However, I also realize I
have unfinished business. And he works his way
through, this and he comes to the conclusion
that I believe God's going to let me out, which he did. Let him out before
he was rearrested, and then his head taken off. But he will be released. And Paul feels like God
has more for me to do. So this is Paul's struggle
with being a prisoner. The will of God is
being furthered, he has great affection for them,
great love for the word God has called them to
their great love for the Church of Philippi. But he goes, I don't know
if I'm going to live or die. If I die, it'll be gain. If I live, that'll be good too
because I can share with you. You know, I'm humbled
when I read Paul. Because as long
as Paul was alive, the only thing that
would keep him going is an opportunity to
minister to people. So when he wrote through
the Book of Romans, he goes, I'm hoping
and I'm praying that, by the will
of God, I can come to see you in Rome
that I might impart to you some spiritual gift. If I can live a little longer
and bless your heart, good. But if I go home to be
with the Lord, better. An amazing person. Going to heaven would
end his hassles on Earth, but he'd never be
able to witness again. He'd never be able to
start another church. He'd never be able
to train leaders. He'd never be able
to disciple people. He'd never be able to take
his pen out and write letters like this. So this is his personal
struggle because of his love for the church. In chapter two, we have the
model of the Christian life, which is Jesus Christ himself. 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 by being like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. Let nothing be done through
selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind,
let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not
only for his own interests, but also for the
interests of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. Jesus becomes the
model, especially in the area of humility. You know how much the Bible
speaks about humility. But did you know that the
Greek culture loathed humility, hated it? The Greeks believed humility
was a sign of weakness. A humble person
is a weak person. Somebody who stands up
strong, knows what they want, aggressive, that's strength. Humility, a sign of weakness. They hated it. They loathed it. Jesus, however, loved it. They loathed it, he loved it. They saw it as a
sign of weakness, he saw it as a sign of strength. Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me. For I am lowly, I am
gentle, I am humble. The world says, climb
the ladder of importance. Jesus says, jump off the
ladder, and get low, and prop other people up. Serve them, humble
yourself before them. So he gives them, in
the next few versus, the model of Christ. And he says, let
nothing-- verse three-- be done through selfish
ambition or conceit. I feel like that verse sums up
the world's philosophy and much of social media. Selfish ambition and
could see, look at me. Here I am here, here I am there,
here I am with that person, here I am eating this. [LAUGHTER] Really? How boring. That's all you got? Somebody said, you could sum
up the life of most people with a different
kind of a prayer. Our father who art in
heaven, gimme, gimme, gimme. It's all about them. That's the default mode of
humanity, selfish ambition and conceit. It starts when we're young. There were two kids that were
playing in front of Kmart on one of those mechanical
horses-- you know, you put a quarter in. Do they still have those? They may be now, like,
collector's items. But a brother and sister
were playing on one of those. And he turned to his sister
and he said, if one of us would get off, there'd
be more room for me. [LAUGHTER] That's what Paul is addressing
here-- selfish ambition, conceit. But he says, let this mind
be in you-- verse five-- which was also in Christ Jesus. Let me sort of cut
to the quick here. You are never more like Christ
than when you humble yourself, than when you serve. How's that? You're never more like Jesus
than when you're serving. You're never more like Satan
than when you're selfish. They're polar opposites. So let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, taking the form
of a bond servant and coming in the
likeness of men. There's something I
want you to notice. I want to work
through it quickly, but to me it's key in
New Testament theology. Notice, in verse six, the
phrase, "form of God." Do you see that? Jesus was in the form of God. What does that mean? Morphe [GREEK]. That's the Greek word. Morphe [GREEK], form of God. The word "morphe" in Greek
means the essential nature or character that never changes. Morphe is different from
another word of form, and that would be the Greek
word "schema," schema. Schema is outward form. Morphe is inward essential
character or nature. So let me give an example. As human beings, we have
both a morphe and a schema. Our morphe is we are
essentially human beings. That never changes. Our schema changes. We are first zygote, then
embryo, then fetus, then newborn, then toddler,
then teenager, then adult, then older adult,
then much older adult. That's the schema. That changes. But although you have all
those different outward forms from zygote to very old, the
essential morphe never changes. So that's the word for Christ. What he is saying
is that Jesus Christ bears the unchanging, essential
nature and character of God. It's a very strong
affirmation of his deity. Who being in the form
of God, morphe [GREEK].. He did not consider it
robbery to be equal with God, but he made himself
of no reputation. If you've ever heard of the
word the "kenosis" before, it's a theological term. It comes from this word
in this verse, ekenosen-- an emptying. He made himself
of no reputation, that is, he emptied himself. He poured himself out. Now, the question becomes,
what did he empty himself of? What did he put himself out of? And that has been an
ongoing theological debate for centuries. Some say, he emptied
himself of his deity. No he didn't, because
he is in a form of God. He has the unchanging,
essential nature of God. He can never get rid of that. What he emptied himself
of was not deity, but he emptied himself of
the prerogatives of deity, one of them being glory. He left the glory of the Father. He let the glory of
the home of Heaven, and he came to this Earth. Also, he emptied himself of the
independent use of authority. He was always submitted
to the Father's will. Father, let this
cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my
will, but yours be done. I always do those
things that please him. So though he was God in
essential form and nature, he divested himself of
certain parameters of deity and the independent
exercise of authority. Make sense? That's what he
emptied himself of. Being in the form of God did not
think himself equal with God. He made himself
of no reputation, that is, he poured himself out. Taking on the form
of a bond servant coming in the likeness of
man, being found in appearance as a man-- fully God, fully man-- he humbled himself-- there
it is, humbled himself-- and became obedient to the
point of death, even the death on the cross. Therefore, God has also
highly exalted him, given the name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus,
every knee should vow. Of those in Heaven,
those on Earth, and those under the
Earth, every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory
of God, the Father. So we have the marvel
of the Christian life, the model of the Christian
life, which is Christ. Now, under that, the model
of the Christian life, Paul gives two human
examples of people who did model their lives after Christ. One is Timothy,
one is Epaphras-- or Epaphroditus. Verse 19, but I trust
in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly
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. I've always marveled
at this text. And what I mean by that is
Paul knew a lot of people. And Paul served
with a lot of people and knew a lot of great
men and women in the Lord-- godly men and women in the Lord. And yet, of all the
people he knew, Paul says, there's only one
person that I know of that is really like me, that
has assimilated my character. And he calls him like-minded. It's the only time this word
is used in the New Testament. [GREEK], equal-souled. His soul and my soul,
equal to each other. He thinks like I think,
he has the same values, I never have to second guess
him, I know his doctrine, I know his lifestyle. And of all the people that I
know, and have worked with, and served with,
there's only one person that I would say has an equal
soul with me, Paul the Apostle. And that is Timothy. It's an amazing statement. A second example is
Epaphroditus, that character I told you about who
came from Philippi with that financial gift. Yet, I considered it-- verse
25, I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus,
my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your
messenger and the one who ministered to my needs since
he was longing for y'all. Evidently, Paul was a Southerner
because he liked to use that phrase a lot-- y'all. He was longing for y'all, and
was distressed because you heard that he was sick. So we have Timothy and
we have Epaphroditus. Now we come to chapter three. Chapter three is the march
of the Christian life or, as I said before, the
motion of the Christian life-- forward. Should always go forward
and not backward. He opens up verse
one of chapter three by saying, finally,
my brethren-- don't be too encouraged
by Paul's finallies. When Paul says, finally, it's
not, like, "I'm about to end," because he's midway. So you're going,
finally, oh, good, he's going to end this message. No, this is Paul's finally. Finally, my brethren,
rejoice in the Lord. I wish more Christians
would rejoice. You have everything
to rejoice for. You really do. You have every reason for joy. It doesn't show enough. 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. But get this. Beware of dogs. [LAUGHTER] Beware of evil workers. Beware of the
mutilation, that is, those who think you
need to be circumcised-- mutilate your flesh in
order to be right with God. For we are the
circumcision who worship God in the spirit and
rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh. Now, although this
letter is a love letter, although it is summing up the
Christian life, although he is not correcting
doctrine primarily nor correcting
conduct primarily, he does hint here at a
problem that they face. Evidently, people
crept into the church, like they do in all churches-- all of them. And this was a group of
legalists, probably judaizers-- Jewish legalists. We've seen a lot of them. They were in Acts
chapter 15, they were in the Book of Galatians,
and they show up here. They were saying, you have
to keep the law of Moses. You have to be circumcised in
order to be right with God. He says, beware of dogs. Now, this is very interesting. I like Paul's style,
I've got to say. When you hear,
beware of dogs, you think he's writing
to the postman-- to the mailman. [LAUGHTER] But "dogs" was a slanderous term
that Jewish people often used in those days to refer
to non-Jews or Gentiles-- Gentile dogs. There is a reference
in Deuteronomy 23 to dogs as a reference primarily
to male cult prostitutes. So it was a very
derogatory term. What's interesting
is Paul probably has Jewish legalists in mind
and uses the very term they would have used for
non-circumcised Gentiles and calls them dogs. Because if you're tampering
with the doctrine of grace and you're saying, you can't
be saved by grace alone through faith alone, but
you have to use works, that's a fitting title for
you in Paul's ideology. (THICK SOUTHERN ACCENT)
Beware of those dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation. For we are the circumcision
who worship God in spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Have no confidence in the flesh. I'd love to preach a whole
sermon just on verse three. Because to me, it is a great
description of a Christian, but don't have enough time. So verse four. Though I also might have
confidence in the flesh. OK, these guys
are saying, you've got to do something to
earn your way to God. And you have to follow your
faith with these works, including circumcision. Now, if you did that,
you could boast. I've been circumcised,
I keep the law Moses, I keep the 10 commandments. I do this, like a lot
of people do today. Paul says, no, if you want to
talk about bragging rights, I can brag. Now, he's going to
go into these verses. He's going to brag. It's his pedigree. It sounds like the who's
who of religious accolades. He says, though I might also
have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may
have confidence in the flesh, I am more so. And here it is. I was circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin-- that's where King
Saul came from-- a Hebrew of the Hebrews, right? A super Jew, you might say. Concerning the law,
I was a Pharisee. I was that special group
of a few hundred people that swore that they
would keep the law of God their whole life. Concerning zeal, want to
know how zealous I was? I persecuted the church. I was so zealous, I would hunt
down people who weren't Jewish or who defected from Judaism. Concerning the righteousness
which is in the law, perfect, blameless. Of anybody I've known, I
kept the law as best I could. But what things
were gained to me-- all of those things that I
thought we were on the plus side of the ledger-- I've counted loss for Christ. I put them on the deficit side. Indeed, I also count
all things loss 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
that I may gain Christ. The word "rubbish,"
[GREEK] is the Greek word. I am not going to translate
it in a modern audience, but it means "excrement." It's a very strong word. I think you're getting my drift. But it's a very
strong word Paul uses to say, all of the works
of the law of my religion, this is what I think
of them now compared to what Christ gave me. I could not earn it,
and I thought I could. And because it kept me
away moving me backward, not forward, I see it as
excrement, rubbish, dung, that I may gain Christ and
be found in him, not having my own righteousness
which is from the law, but that which is true faith in
Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Alan Redpath, who pastored at
the Moody church years ago, had a lot of great sayings. But one of his great sayings
that I've always loved is this. When God wants to do
an impossible task, he gets a hold of an
impossible man and crushes him. When God wants to do
an impossible task, he gets hold of an impossible
man and crushes him. Paul was an impossible man. His crushing took place on
a little stretch of highway between Jerusalem and Damascus. He got knocked off his
high horse, he got blinded, he was led as a blind man
to the city of Damascus. He humbled himself before God. God broke him, crushed him,
and God announced to him, you're going to
suffer a lot, right? That's the message that
Ananias brought to him. Tell him-- tell Paul-- how many things he will
suffer for my sake. So the first part of this,
beginning in verse four, is Paul's bragimony. Now Paul gives us his testimony. That I might be found in him
not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but
the righteousness which comes by faith in Christ alone. That's his testimony. This is what Jesus has done. Verse 10, that I may
know him and the power of his Resurrection, the
fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his
death, if, by any means, I may attain to the
Resurrection of the dead. Not that I have already attained
or am already perfected-- now, here's the forward motion
that the chapter addresses-- but I press on-- here's Paul, I've kept
the law, I was blameless, I was perfect-- not that I've already attained
or am already perfected, but I press on that I may
lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has
laid hold of me. I want to find out
why Jesus found me. Brethren, I do not count
myself to have apprehended-- aren't you glad he said that? I, the Great Paul the
Apostle, haven't arrived. I have more to go, I
have more to grow in. But one thing I do. For getting those things which
are behind, 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 an athlete
running on the track. That athlete better
look forward. If the athlete tries to go
forward by looking backward, plop if you want to
live a miserable life, keep looking back
over your shoulder, keep looking back
to the past, keep looking back to your failures. Oh, I should have, I could
have, oh, if I only would have. That's over now. Run the race. Reach forward, move forward. These legalists were
making the move backward. Get rid of that, trust Christ. You made some
mistakes, keep moving. Good advice. Press toward the goal of the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The picture here
is of that athlete making that last
burst on the track, reaching forward to
that tape, to make the winning score at the end. Now, where is he running to? Verse 20. For our citizenship
is in Heaven. That's the ultimate goal
when the race is over. Our citizenship is in Heaven,
from which we all eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be
conformed to his glorious body according to the working by
which he is able to subdue all things to himself. Look at the word "citizenship." Do you see it in verse 20? The word in the Greek,
translated citizenship-- and it has a lot of
different translation. Here's the Greek word. [GREEK] We get the word
politics from that word. For our politics are in Heaven. I want to come clean. [LAUGHTER] Politically, I am a
registered independent. Well, I don't know if that's
worth clapping about, but-- [LAUGHTER] It might just mean I have
trouble making up my mind, but I don't when it comes
to policies and issues. But I'm a registered
independent. I don't place my faith
in the Republican Party. I do not place my faith
in the Democratic Party. I am at my political core not
a Republican, nor a Democrat, nor an independent. I'm a theocrat. My only hope,
politically speaking, is when Jesus comes back
and rules the world. [APPLAUSE] I have no hope in political
wranglings or government until that happens. I will support policies and vote
for people based on policies until that, but our
citizenship-- our politics-- should be in Heaven. Now, you can tell a
citizen of Heaven. They're easy to spot. You know how to tell them? They're looking for the King. They're looking for
the king to come back. Our citizenship is in Heaven,
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ. When I see a
Christian who is not excited about the possibility
of Jesus coming back, I wonder where their
citizenship is. I remember I had a roommate
who was dating a girl, and she heard about the
soon return of Jesus. She was all mad, all upset that
Jesus would come back and spoil her wedding plans. [LAUGHTER] She goes, I don't want Jesus
to come back until I'm married. And I was single, and
I said, are you nuts? I won't give further
comment on that. I have three minutes to
get through chapter four. Chapter 4 are the marks
of the Christian life, which are joy and peace. And so notice how he
begins, therefore, my beloved and longed-for
brethren, my joy, my crown, so standfast, in the Lord, my
beloved, I implore Euodia-- now, I haven't seen
many kids named that. It's a female name. It means a "good journey." Euodia, good journey. Have a euodia. Have a good trip. So this is Ms. Good Trip. [LAUGHTER] And I implore Syntyche-- Syntyche means "fortunate," or
"fortunate one," "lucky one." So Ms. Good Trip and Ms. Lucky. And I implore them to be of
the same mind in the Lord. I urge you also,
true companion, help these women who labored with
me in the gospel with Clement, also, and the rest of
my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Seems there's a spat between
these two Christian women in Philippi. It'd become known. It was gaining momentum. And before it got too big of
an issue, Paul addressed it. Epaphroditus told him the
skinny of what's going on. He says, let me write a letter. Now, the fact that Paul
knows them, here's my guess. I can't prove it,
but my guess is when Paul went down to
the river with those women and preached the
gospel, and Lydia got saved, there were a
couple others that God saved, Euodia and Syntyche. They were probably
there at the Riverside when Paul first
went to that city. They became part of the
church, they took sides. They were very
strong-willed women, part of a very strong
women's ministry, and it's starting
to divide people. So these two founding
mothers of the church Paul addresses and urges
them to get along. Go down to verse six. 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
minds through Christ Jesus. I had a lot to say on that
because they're famous, but I'm not going to. You've heard it before. I've done it on
a Sunday morning. So let's finish this out. Verse 10. But I rejoiced in
the Lord greatly that now, at last, your care
for me has flourished again. I'm glad you found
out that I'm still alive and kicking and in jail. Glad that you sent Epaphroditus
to come and bring me this gift-- your care,
your financial care for me. Though you surely did care,
but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak
in regard to need. For I've learned, in whatever
state I am, to be content. I know how to be
abased, I know how to abound everywhere
and in all things. I have learned both to be full
and to be hungry, to abound and to suffer need. Did you know, 100 years ago,
Americans could identify 70-- 7-0-- needs, 70 things they
said they absolutely needed. Today, Americans
identify 500 needs. Contentment does not
come from what you have. Contentment comes
from whom you have. Paul knew Jesus was in
that prison with him. Paul knew God's will
was being accomplished. The gospel was being furthered. I'm good to go. I'm content, free or in prison. Nevertheless-- verse
14-- you have done well that you shared in my distress. 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-- this is financial aid-- once
again, for my necessities. They supported Paul. Could you imagine having the
opportunity to support Paul? I'd sign up for that. I'd send monthly checks
to Paul in a heartbeat. Yeah, where do I sign up? How much can I give? Not that I seek the gift-- verse 17-- but I seek the fruit
that abounds to your account. Now we're going to close. We're close here. We're not even going
to finish the letter. You know how it goes. You've read this so many times. But let me just say this. Here is insight into
heavenly bookkeeping. When you give two ministries
find fruitful ministries-- hey, I just want you to know. I don't need the gift,
but I want you to fruit is going to abound
to your account. In the books of heaven,
because of what I do, but you give money to support that-- when fruit happens
because of my life, when I lead those
guards to Christ, when I start those churches,
when I write these letters, all of that fruit God will
put to your account eternally. So why is that important? Because when you give
to any ministry at all, you shouldn't do it
because you feel so sorry, and they're giving
you a sob story, and if you don't
support this ministry, we're going to go under. Maybe you need to go under. Maybe if you're producing fruit
and I see something happening in that, I'll give to it. I'm going to look
for ways to invest where fruit is happening. If you're going
under, maybe you're not being very good
stewards as it is. You get my drift. Paul is saying, you should
give to those ministries who are producing fruit. Because in the end, you
want to get to Heaven. And God would say,
all those people that made those decisions,
or were disciples, or strengthened, all
of that you are going to get a reward for in Heaven. I love God's bookkeeping, man. So anyway, father thank you
that we can be Christians. And we've looked at the marvel
of the Christian life, love-- that beautiful bond that existed
between Paul and this church at Philippi. How he loved them, how they
loved him, how they cared. The model of the Christian
life, Christ himself-- a model of humility, a model
of one who poured his life out. Didn't live by selfish
ambition or conceit. Then the march of
the Christian life-- forward, onward, pressing
forward, forgetting the past, learning from our
mistakes, moving on. And then, finally,
those beautiful graces of the Christian life-- peace, joy, the
absence of anxiety. And in that, the ability
to fruitfully contribute to your work to
see lives changed. Thank you for all those
opportunities we have, as believers. Thank you for this
Book of Philippians. Even thank you,
Lord, for those areas where we feel incarcerated,
imprisoned, restricted. You're working your work. For we would never underestimate
what you can do in our prison. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand and sing together
as prisoners set free. [BAND PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] We hope you enjoyed this message
from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources,
visit calvarynm.church. Thank you for joining us for
this teaching from The Bible from 30,000 Feet.
