Be Eager! Philippians 1:20-21

All right, good morning everybody. It truly is a privilege to stand up here. I don't get an opportunity very often to get up and actually preach, and I really miss it. You know, I went out to Hamilton for those six, seven years, and I really miss getting up and speaking to God's people.

Teaching is wonderful on Sunday mornings, but it's different than getting up here and being able to present the Word of God to you guys. We're gonna be in Philippians chapter 1 today, and today our verse is one of those that is really special to me.

When I came across this verse, this is one of these these verses I truly say is one of my life verses. It's Philippians chapter 1 verse 20 and 21, and it says, this is Paul writing, my eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now, as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Let's pray. Father, right now, Father, right now, let's take away the distractions of this life, let's take away the worries of this life, let's take away anything that's taking us away from you right now.

Father, let us come together and worship you today. Father, I ask for you to give me the words that you want me to say, not the ones that are in my heart, the ones that you put in my heart. And Father, give the people the ears to hear.

I thank you and I love you in your name, amen. You see, Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi roughly around 61 -64 AD while he was in prison with the prospect of losing his life. Paul had a very close connection with this church.

He's the one who founded this church. It's one of the first churches founded in Europe, and he suffered for it. You can read about his suffering in Acts chapter 23 and 24 about how he suffered for this church, not just emotionally but physically.

And while he's sitting in prison, he writes him a letter of encouragement and hope, and he says to him, my eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything. But in everything through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, well I'm jumping, I'm jumping.

It is, it is. This is why I write, this is why I put them in because my brain jumps all over the place. That I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

So Paul was saying, I don't care whether I live or I die, my eager expectation is hope, is that Christ is going to be honored. And let's truly understand what he's saying. That eager expectation, what are those words, what does that mean, right?

An eager means a keen or ardent desire or feeling or an impatient longing that's characterized by the revealing of great earnest. A bunch of words, right? But then you got expectation, the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.

I liken this, guys, to remember when you were a little kid and Christmas Eve came and all those presents had been sitting under the tree for the last month? Because even in my poor family, we would still start putting the tree up right after Thanksgiving and they might be little things, but they start showing up.

And you'd see the ones with your name on it, right? And you're like, that eager anticipation of that Christmas Eve, because you knew the next morning when you woke up, you finally got to see what was in there.

That's eager expectation. Or for some of you, it might be the day you're getting ready to get married, right? You've been pursuing this bride or this husband for years and now the day's come. That eager expectation, that excitement that you feel, that's what Paul feels here.

And he has a hope. A hope is defined as the feeling that what is wanted can be or that all events will turn out for the best. To look forward with desire, with a reasonable confidence. He was anticipating.

He was eager and he was hopeful and he was in prison getting ready to be put to death. And this desire was a twofold, like we said. He said that I'm not going to be ashamed about anything and that Christ is going to be highly honored in my body.

Guys, how many of us want Christ to be highly honored? Show of hands. Who wants Christ to be highly honored? Now who wants to say, I still want to be highly honored even if it costs my life? That's a little bit harder, right?

But who can stand here today and say, I will not be ashamed about anything that I've done. I can't raise my hand. I will not be ashamed about anything. I can get on board with that. I want Christ to be highly honored, right?

But it's tough to say I will not be ashamed about anything because I know what I've done in the past. And not just my past, my present too. But he said, not just my present because the now part that he said, I don't want Christ to be highly honored or not be ashamed about anything, it was now and always, right?

The now was the easy part for Paul, right? Paul had just spent the last years of his life proclaiming Christ, right? He had established church and he had done wonderful works for God. The now was easy.

He was following God. He's the one who said, imitate me because I imitate Christ. Now was easy, or was it? In Romans 7, Paul writes, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.

For I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very things that I hate. We think the now was easy for Paul, that Christ would be highly honored. He would not be ashamed, right?

But he's here in Romans confessing the fact he's still doing things he's ashamed of. He's doing things he hates. He's still sinning, even Paul. And he continued and said, for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh, for I have desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Man, I feel that every day. Christian, it's hard to follow God. It takes sacrifice, not just daily, but hourly to follow God. For I know what I want to do, I have the desire to follow Him, yet I still stumble and fall.

I can so relate to Paul in that. And he continued, I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. How many of us here today have said, I want to honor God, but I've sinned today.

So I'm worthless. I've sinned today. I couldn't do it today, so why am I even gonna bother praying tonight? Why am I gonna pick up my Bible to read about Him when I can't follow His words anyway? No matter how hard I try, I'm still gonna stumble, I'm still gonna fall, fight the flesh, that war that's in us.

Paul wrote to Galatians in Galatians chapter 5 verse 17, for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing what you want to do.

My own selfish, it's not the demon of alcoholism, it's not the demon of love, it's my own selfish desires that choose to be sinful against God. I will not be ashamed about anything. And if you're in here today saying, well that doesn't really apply to me, 1st John says, if we say we have no sin, we're a liar and the truth is not in us.

Every single one of us deals with sinful and shame. So Paul, who the now should be easy, we realized was a very sinful man as well, but he got discouraged too. Who's been here and discouraged in their walk of faith?

Man, because I know I'm a sinful so it's not even worth it, right? 2nd Corinthians 1 .8 says, for I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.

Paul wanted to die because of the trials of his life. I'm here standing before you today, I've felt like that before too. God, just take me home now. This life is too hard. Christian, if you're sitting out there today and you're struggling and fighting and you feel like it's worth, Paul felt like that too.

You're not alone. It says in verse 4 of 1st Corinthians, already you have all you want. He was being sarcastic. Do you already have everything you want, right? Already have you become rich? Without us you'd become kings and would that you did reign so we might share and rule with you.

Paul was lamenting to the church at Corinth that have you already achieved it because I want to be there too. How many of us look at other Christians, I want the relationship you have with God. So we thought the now was easy, but it truly wasn't.

I will not be ashamed about anything, but what about the always? We all know that Paul was a great apostle. He was called by God, but what about the always? Well if we jump back to Acts, in Acts chapter 7 we meet Paul for the first time, but his name wasn't Paul, his name was Saul.

And we see Saul standing there as Stephen cried out. In Acts chapter 7 verse 57, but they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him, talking about Stephen who had been preaching about the gospel of God.

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. The now is all. Saul stood there and did nothing but cheered him on as a crowd stoned Stephen for preaching about God.

Then we keep reading about him in chapter 8 it says, Saul, but Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house after he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. He didn't stop at just allowing the death of a Christian, he went and actively pursued to throw them in prison and to kill them.

I will not be ashamed about anything, but now as always, how many of us are letting our past define who we are? Saul actively persecuted the church. After he was converted we hear in Acts chapter 9, and all who heard him were amazed.

It says, is this not the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon the name? And has he not come here for the purpose to bring them bonds before chief priests? When Paul was converted, they couldn't believe it.

How many of you are letting your past define you? How many of you are letting the sins that you used to, how many of you are remembering them? Paul admitted it. In Acts chapter 26 he said, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and I did so in Jerusalem.

Not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme in raging fury against them.

I persecuted them even to the foreign cities. I will not be ashamed about anything. I'd say Paul had something to be ashamed about by our standards, don't you? And we could go on, you can look at 1st Corinthians 15, Galatians chapter 113, Philippians 3 -6, all these things.

Paul's showing instances where he had a right to be ashamed. You see, nothing's hidden from God in the past or what's to come. There are no surprises. Jesus says in Luke chapter 8, for nothing is concealed that won't be revealed, and nothing is hidden that won't be made known and come to light.

You see Christian, that thing you're doing privately that you don't think anybody here knows about, God still knows. That thing that you're standing here and you make your outside look nice and pristine and clean, but the inside is still filth, God knows.

And you can fool the people sitting next to you for a short period for that one hour a week, but you can't fool the Almighty God who's in heaven that sees all and knows all. Hebrews says, no creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him who we must give an account.

And Paul said, I will not be ashamed about anything. My eager expectation and hope, that excitement that you have when something you've desired for so long happened, is that Christ will not be ashamed in my body.

And he says he does it with all boldness. What's boldness? The lack of hesitation or fear in the face of risk or danger. That's boldness. The refusal to be held back by the opinion or judgment of others.

That's boldness. So Paul was saying, with all boldness, it doesn't matter what you think about me. It doesn't matter what that person next to you, what matters is what my God thinks about me. I will not be ashamed.

So with all boldness, I can say Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. So how, after we read the litany of Paul's sins, can we say Christ can be highly honored? What is honorable about killing Christians?

What's honorable about pursuing them? What's honorable about admitting I'm a sinful man and even though I desire to follow God, I'm not? The way it honors Christ is because the work was of Christ. Christ knew that Paul was in that filth, but he loved him anyway.

Christ knew that Paul persecuted his children, but he loved him anyway. And he cleaned him up. My past doesn't define me. What defines me is what God did through my past and what he has me doing now for him.

That's the same thing with Paul. The past didn't define him. What mattered, what did define him, how Christ was honored in his past is how he changed the heart of Saul and made him Paul. That's how Christ is highly honored.

That he submitted and didn't have Jesus just as his Savior, that fire insurance on the shelf, but he had him as his Lord. Christian, I'm here to tell you today, Christ cannot be your Savior if he is not your Lord.

If you do not submit to him first and foremost and have his desires be your desires, he's not your Savior because he's not your Lord. You see, Paul said to live is Christ. In other words, he was saying every breath I take belongs to him.

The breath in my lungs belong to him. If he has me live, I continue to serve him here. I continue to preach his name. I continue to share his gospel for me to live as Christ. Paul says in Romans 12 1 and 2, I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by the testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. To live means I get to daily pick up my cross and submit to God.

That's how Christ is honored in my past because daily I choose to follow him and not the desires of my flesh even when I stumble and fall. I spend each day striving to serve him more and by serving him serve his people.

Second Corinthians 5 14 says, for the love of Christ controls us, we have concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died. And he died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for who their sake died and was raised.

So in other words, he's saying you live not to serve yourself but to serve my people. You live not to serve yourself but to serve me. Christian, you're struggling in your walk today, try to take the focus off you and start serving somebody else.

You have anxiety about worrying about people and life and what's going to happen, forget about you, start trying to serve somebody else and fill their need. You're going to become amazed at how much your worries and your cares don't matter anymore because God's going to take care of them.

You're sitting there struggling about what am I going to do today or tomorrow, don't worry about that. God's got you today and tomorrow. Worry about how can I help Shane, worry about how can I help Jeremiah, worry about how can I help the homeless guy on the street.

Quit worrying about yourself and worry about serving God's people. To live as Christ means I choose to serve the desires of him and not myself. But then he also said to die is gain. Guys, I'll admit standing right here before you today, I've wanted to die before.

I've told this to Melanie before. There's times I've wanted God to take, I'm not suicidal, don't worry, but there's a difference between being suicidal and being tired of this life. And I have gotten to the point where I have been tired of this life.

To die is gain. To die meant that Paul got to sit at the foot of God for eternity. Jesus says in John chapter 12, now that my soul is troubled and what shall I say, Father save me from this hour. But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Father glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. To die is gain. Christ's death glorified God because he died for you, not for himself. Even though you were a failure, even though you were a sinner, he still died for you.

Paul says in Romans 14, for none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

For it is to this end Christ died and lived again. That he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Every last breath you take, you owe to God and you need to be glorifying him with it. To die just means to be with Christ forever.

I can't wait for that day. As much as I want to see grandchildren, I want to see the people here grow up, I want to see little Ava as a mother. I'd give it up today to sit at the feet of my father. My eager expectation and hope is I will not be ashamed about anything, but with everything, now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

Whatever he chooses to do with me, let it glorify God. That's why this verse is important to me. That's why this verse is important to you. Whatever he chooses to do, let it be to glorify God. Even when my own stupidness gets involved, let him turn it to good.

Even when I fail him, let him turn it to good. Even when I remember those things I did in my past, let me give him glory because he turned it to good. So how do we live this out? Live your life eagerly.

Guys, are you excited in the morning when you get up? Are you thankful for the day that God has given you on this earth? Colossians 3 23 says, whatever you do, do it enthusiastically as if something done for the Lord and not for man.

Whatever you do, it doesn't matter if you're digging a ditch, it doesn't matter if you're cleaning a sewer, it doesn't matter if you're doing laundry. Do it as if you're doing it to glorify God, but eagerly.

Do it so you can hear those words in your head saying, well done. And then the hard part of that is Philippians 2 14, do everything without grumbling or in arguing. Oof, that was really hard. Do everything without grumbling or arguing so you may be blameless and pure children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation among you who shine like stars in the world.

So you wake up and you eagerly do whatever you do as if you're doing it for God Himself and do it without arguing or grumbling. It's easy to say, but man, it's hard to do, isn't it? Just because something is hard doesn't mean we don't strive for it.

I don't lower God's standard so I can meet it. It's high for a reason and when I fail, I try harder the next time. We don't lower our expectations to meet mediocrity, we raise mediocrity up to meet the high expectation.

And guys, strive after it eagerly. I want to hear those words, well done, thy good and faithful servant. I want that above anything else. So we need to live our life eagerly and when that gets hard, Hebrews 10 tells us to remember the earlier days when after you had been enlightened, you endured hard struggling and suffering.

When life gets hard, when it's hard to do those things without arguing and grumbling, remember when you were first converted and that weight came off of you, how joyous you were with the joy of your salvation and how everything seemed so easy for that brief short period of time to follow God because you were so excited about it.

Remember that when it gets hard. You can't do it eagerly, you can't do it arguing, remember what He did for you. Do it expectantly because Scripture says when He returns, He's returning like a thief in the night.

And it doesn't talk about coming in under concealment and hiding from everybody. It means it's going to happen when we don't expect it because no one expects a thief to break into their house. When He says He's coming like a thief in the night, it says He's coming and you're not going to know when.

So do it like you truly expect Him to come back like He said He's going to because when we're living our life and we're having that battle between our flesh and our spirit and you're struggling trying to figure out which way you're gonna go, remember He could come back just like that.

And I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm not a good enough reason for myself to do something, do the right thing, right? Sometimes I'm a big fat stupid loser, I'm not a good enough reason to do the right thing.

But I remember when I first got in the accountability group, when we first started them here. There were things that I was struggling with in my life that I wanted to do, I wanted to keep doing, but I didn't want to sit in front of those four men and tell them that I did it.

So where I wasn't a good enough reason to change my life, they were. Which goes back to what I said before, quit trying to serve yourself and your own selfish desires and serve somebody else in God's family.

So live our life expectantly like we truly expect God to fulfill His promises that He says He's going to do, that He is going to come back. Colossians 3 24 said, knowing that you will receive the reward of inheritance from the Lord, you serve the Lord.

Do it for that selfish reason that you want to receive that reward. Be obedient. I told you, I want to hear those words. More than anything else, I want to hear those words. Well done, thy good and faithful servant.

And I don't care if I have a one-room hovel in heaven, I just want to be there. But Jesus said He's building a room on the mansion. So pursue Him eagerly. Pursue Him expectantly. Live your life hopefully.

Christian, we have a hope. No matter how bad this world gets, no matter how bad this gets, we know what the end of the book says. We know who wins the fight. We know what's coming after, and we can hope in that.

Jeremiah 29 11, for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans for your welfare and not disaster to give you a future and a hope, which is a lot of people take out of context and say, look, God says He's gonna do all this great things.

No, that was said to the nation of Israel right before they went into slavery for hundreds of years. God said, I know the plans I have for you to give you a future and a hope. God says, this life might be bad.

What you're going through today might be tough, but God knows the plans that He has for you, and it's not for disaster. It's not for nothing. He gives you a future and a hope to look forward to. Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, I'm sure that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of the Lord.

The Word of God assures us that when He starts His work in you, He's going to finish it, right? So when life gets hard, when you're struggling in yourself, remember that. There's hope, and live your life boldly.

Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be ashamed of the name Christian. This world, Christ said, this world's going to hate you because of it. Stand up boldly anyway. In the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, if they strike me down, you're only going to make me stronger, right?

So stand up boldly, and whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. You are a son and daughter of Christ. This world cannot stand against you, so stand up boldly and proclaim His name.

Scripture says, if you are ashamed of me, I'm going to not confess you in front of my Father. You don't confess me in front of man, I will not confess you in front of my Father. You want to live and look like the world?

You're not my child. You have me as your Savior and not your Lord. So stand up boldly and proclaim His name. First Corinthians 10 31 says, therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.

Ephesians tells us not to work just as we're working for men. Don't do what's right just because someone's watching. Do it right because you're boldly standing up for what God has said is right. That's how you can not be ashamed about anything, because you're living for Him every day, and you don't care what the world says about it.

And then keep doing it when it gets tough. Live your life eagerly, expectantly, hopefully, and with boldness for God, and then do it eternally. Ephesians 2 says, we are His creation created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared ahead of time that we should walk in them.

God has already dictated what work He wants you to do for Him. Get up and do it. And Christian, it doesn't stop until the day He brings you home. So you older people, if you still have breath in your lungs, God still has a reason for you to be here.

Your time isn't over. You haven't done your share. If you still have breath in your lungs, God has a purpose for it. Young people, you have just come to Christ. He has a long list of things for you to do, and you need to get started on them.

Trust me, don't wait till you're older. Don't procrastinate coming to Him and submitting to Him. Your life would be so much easier if you do. Jesus says in Luke chapter 9, if anyone wants to come to me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever wants to lose his life because of me will save it. Submit to God and do it. And as the musicians come up, I'm about finished. Paul said his eager expectation, his hope is he would not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always with all boldness Christ will be highly honored in his body, whether by life or by death.

You see, all this effort in this life is what we're putting out because Jesus already did His effort, and He's sitting on the right hand of the Father until He tells Him to come back and pick up His children.

So for this time, Christian, the effort's yours, but all the glory belongs to Him. You see, He paid the price that you could not pay. He paid the debt that you deserve to pay. He granted you mercy and kindness and grace even though you were a sinner, and He loved you enough to do it anyway.

And Scripture says the only reason He loves us is because He loves us. I have no redeeming qualities, but Jesus died for me anyway, so I want Him not to be ashamed about anything I do. So Christian, as we close up today, I want you to search yourself.

Are you living for Christ, or are you living for yourself? If He was to look at you today, are you ashamed of what He would see, or will you hear those words, well done? And you search yourself. I'm not going to judge.

It's not my place to decide where you fall on that spectrum, but if you haven't repented in a while, you might want to do that today. And even when we repent, we're still going to make mistakes. That's why we got to do it daily, pick up our cross and follow Him.

So as we stand up today and get ready to have a time of invitation, don't take this time as time to just chit-chat and talk to one another. Take this time to truly submit to the will of God. Start today by serving somebody other than yourself, and you come as God leads.