Lookout mtn.conference 1973-02 Philippians — Stan Ford

Paul the Prisoner Rejoices in the Furtherance of the Gospel

And now we're going on from verse 11, if we may, of that first chapter, and we're going to see now not Paul the pastor, but Paul the prisoner. We're not going to see him reflecting, we're going to hear him rejoicing.

So we will pick up the story, if we may, please, in the 11th verse, we're left off this morning, in the 11th verse of the first chapter. "...which are by view of Christ unto the glory and praise of God.

But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places.

And many of the brethren in the Lord, perhaps being confident in my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some, indeed, preach Christ even of envy and strife, some also of goodwill.

The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? Notwithstanding in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness.

As always, so now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor.

Yet what shall I choose? I want not. For I am an astray to twitch to, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your perseverance and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God.

For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Having the same conflict which he tore in me, and now here to see it.". That's a word of prayer.

For God and Father, we feel that we could not take back a word upon our lips than the word we've passed. We dare to ask that thou, by thy Spirit, wilt be our teacher. We beseech of thee that this may be the case.

Will thou make thy word to live here in this service tonight in such a way that we shall never forget the challenge that came to our hearts to it in this faith, or Jesus' faith? Just a reminder that, this morning, we were thinking of Paul as the pastor reflecting, and we saw a little of his gracious salutation.

Now, as we thought, indeed, of his grateful heart, you will remember that as we came down that glorious chapter, we thought also of his genuine sympathy. And then, with the heart of a pastor, a real pastor, we saw something of his godly concern.

But now we're taking a further step in our contemplation of this man and of the things that he has to bring before us, and we're going to think of him as a prisoner. We're going to remember that there here was a man away there in that Roman prison, and yet the wonder of it all is, in the midst of that prison, again and again he cries, I therein will rejoice.

And I do rejoice. Ah, here is the prisoner rejoicing. So, what is it that enables a man to turn a prison into a palace? Things that are upon his legs and hands of victory. I reminded you that in the beginning of the history of Philippi, this man that brings a threat before them as he is going by the spirit, the threat before us, a plan of campaign that will bring deliverance and victory to any creed, and to any company, and to any country, and to any class of man or woman, he's going to lay before us a plan of campaign that will turn men and women into those who are not defeated Christians, those who can tie and stitch dominion over me.

Oh, it's important that we shall ponder together carefully these glorious words. Would you notice that, first of all, this wonderful prisoner rejoices, and he rejoices as he dares to remind us that victory by Christ is that which can be manifest even in our bones.

Could I repeat that? Victory by Christ can be manifest even in our bones. Later, he will remind us that victory through Christ can be manifest in our body. For me to live is Christ, he's going to cry.

Then he'll take us a step further, and he'll remind us that victory can not only be manifest in our bones and in our body, but he's going to remind us, in the words that we've read, of his great boldness.

It's for all that's happened that the victory of Christ can be manifest in our bones. Firstly, that the victory of Christ can be manifest in our bones. Let's see this man for a moment in this prison. It's a Roman prison.

You have noticed many times, I am sure, how the Apostle Paul finds himself witnessing before the last of great men. There was a time when he stood on trial for his life, and looked up into the face of the last of the Jewish kings.

Jews have never had a king since that day. Let me let you know a secret that's not a secret. They won't have a king until he who's righted in the reign shall reign. He stood and bore witness before the last of the Jewish kings.

Now he bears witness before the last of the Roman Caesar. For this Caesar and Nero, who was the Caesar of this day, was the last of the Roman Caesars. There, as he witnesses to a great people that have left its mark upon the history of mankind, those Jewish people, as he stood before their last king.

Before the last Nero, the last king. What a death thought that Nero was. I don't need really to take you back to your school days to ask. But you will remember that it was said of this man Nero, that when taught by the philosopher who was his great teacher, to read and to write.

There came a time when he wrote his signature on the first death sentence, and it is said of him that he wept, crying root to God, that I had never, I had never learned to write. Yet within a very few brief months, he had signed more death warrants than any Caesar that Rome had ever known.

This was the man, you will remember, that first of all poisoned his own stepbrother. He put him to death. He divorced and eventually killed his own wife. And took to himself to be his empress, a slave girl, who loved him but a period of nine months, and then was kicked to death.

This was the death thought. The records of his deeds have been left in the history of mankind. Yet this apostle Paul dares to bear witness to him. Yet it is his bonds that will enable him to witness. He was to witness to the soldiers of that day.

Claim to his body a Roman soldier. Times a day, his audience was changed. Two times a day, he preached the same old sermon to a new congregation. He dares to say these bonds, all these bonds, and yet it is through these bonds that I have been enabled to manifest in the palace and in all places the message of the Christian faith.

I don't know why it is when you and I find the going hard, I speak of myself, I don't know why it is when we find the going hard that we're so apt to drop on our knees and ask that the Lord will take it away from us.

Maybe I'm not speaking to you, I'm just speaking to myself. But here was a man who was every inch of him a man. This man, although somewhat feeble in speech, and there seems to be no reference to the Galatians, somewhat feeble of body.

Yet in a state like this, in prison, he was prepared to rejoice. He looked back over his days and remembered that these bonds had won great congregations. Is there a man or a woman here who would really believe that Ananias, the high priest, would ever have sat in one of the services of those early churches?

Yet there came a time when Paul was put in chains, and the people that came out to bear witness against him had amongst them Ananias, the high priest, and he had to stand and listen to Paul preach over those bonds.

Shall I tell you something, brethren? Ananias will never stand before the great white throne, say no one told me. Is there a person here this very evening who would imagine for one moment that Felix, the Roman governor, would ever have sat down in a gospel hall to listen to the great Paul preach?

But that, by the way, I only feel that there is a chance. He never would have gone there of his own free will, but there came a time when they put chains on the legs of hands of this man, Paul of Tarsus, the Roman governor of France.

And I say, what of him? He shook his fist at him. I bet both of them were chained together. Oh, indeed! But it says, doesn't it? Do you really believe that Tartarus, the orator, would ever have gone to listen to this defied Jew?

Why, Paul himself confessed that he was feeble of speech. You know, if you want to know what orators and lawyers are apt to do, you go and read the story in the Acts again, and you'll see him how he starts off by such a great privilege liar that he was.

Tartarus' people, they never conquered with the Jews. They put chains on Paul's hands. He said, thank God for my bonds. I preached to Ananias. I preached to Phoenix. I preached to Titanus. I say, there came a time when they took me before the last of those Jewish kings.

And before Gripper, I bore witness and testimony. And before his wife, Bernice, his sister. Is it not a fact that when tragedy comes, and the bonds are placed on our hands and feet, that God, in his mercy, enables the gospel to go out to others, and we rejoice?

Persecution as a Means of Gospel Advance

Father Hurley, would you mind me padding? Most of you know that Lothair Boy, his neighbor, came to Ananias preaching in my suffering. There is man of hence, a very victorious man, for it enabled Lothair to defeat Paul.

To preach to soldiers, you know, it enabled him to preach to saints. Sometimes that's the hardest thing to do. Sometimes soldiers will listen and say, quote your life. But here were saints, and this is what the apostles said, many of the brethren in the Lord, resting confident in my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word with me.

I mean, bold in fear. They're afraid to get their bonds out with me. They're afraid of God. Fear of God. Every believer should know. I hope my children fear me. I hope my grandchildren fear me. I believe I'm right in saying that never once in their life have they ever shown any evidence of being afraid of me.

But I hope they fear me. I hope they fear doing anything that would disgrace my name. Fear so much that they would seek to live their lives out that we would not be disgraced. Fear so much because we fear bringing disgrace to his name, that we would do those things that are wrong.

That we fear with a love, even those that hate our Christ. Fear them with a love which says, I'm afraid that I'll never take the gospel to them. I must get a message. I must tell men and women of Jesus.

You know, I have just, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but a few months ago I returned from Athens. There are some things I can tell. There are some things I can't tell. And Mr. Wilson would have told you much more than ever I could, and he, being in the middle of it, would have known it so much better.

But I went up to dear Walter Cannon, and we stood in Bas Manach, and we stood at the end of a little path leading into the bush. Dear Walter Cannon, with a tear almost in his eyes, and a break in his voice, he said, Sam, do you see that?

1961, when what the African called a freedom fighter and what the Portuguese called the terrorists, when the fighting started, they brought over from Portugal a large contingent of young militiamen who could neither speak the Chokwe or any of the languages of Angola, who could understand not a word of the so-called Portuguese that the Africans had.

One day they came into a mission station, and 250 and more brethren and sisters and their children were gathered around a table on which a loaf and a cup had been placed. And they marched into that mission station.

An assembly, maybe I should call it, four of them with burning candles arose upon men who were priests. They saw evidence of images that people found before, or saw no jars in which holy water had been placed.

And all they saw were a crowd of Africans scattered in a hall. Desperately frightened were these young militia boys. They thought it was a terrorist meeting, but they just mowed them down with a machine gun.

We stood in Shillonga, and I saw an African brother across his loose body, another Christian, and four. He was covered and was taken by the soldiers. He was hardly an ancient. We could see them on his face, but we weren't sure whether they were ceremonial scarves.

He told us how they brought him, demanded that he should tell them where terrorists were, and he said there are no terrorists. They drove the babies in. They said they'd kill him. And in his broken Portuguese, he said, will you let me pray?

And being driven to his feet, he started to pray. And he didn't pray that they'd let him go. He prayed that God would save those soldiers. An ignorant African! Got a feeling. No ignorant African at all.

A saint of God. He allowed me to pray, and he prayed that God would save the soldiers. And the moment I came up, I couldn't understand. He spoke in Portuguese, and it's utter intolerance. He kicked him to his feet, literally kicked him to his feet, and told him to go.

Go out into the bush, and he said, if you ever come back, for no man could pray like that and be guilty, but if I were to come back, we'd kill you. And two years went by, and the darkness of the night completely naked for all his clothes had come off him.

He makes his way into the little mission station, goes through his hospital, and she thought he was dead, and it was some spirit in the night, and she cried laughing around. And he found the greatest tragedy that his wife thinking he was dead had married someone else.

And I saw that dear brother, as he left that area of Beulah, and has walked hundreds of miles, now on his own, with scars that will bear forever his love for Jesus. I saw him in Shillonga, as an elder in the meeting, seeking help God.

And I did better, and I'm not ashamed of anyone. Back into the little hut I was staying in, and I went. What it means to be a Christian. As we went, as some of you read in your magazines, we went into areas where there'd been no missionaries since 1961.

Are you listening? There'd not been a missionary since 1961. But some of the brethren that had come from your district, some that had come from my country, had laid a foundation that was good. And without exception, every place we went, and we went into areas where no one had been since 1961, without exception, the assemblies had more than travelled in numbers.

Out of our bonds, we rejoiced. We rejoiced. Is it possible to know victory, you young Christians here? What are you doing with your lives? You aren't knowing something for victory, even in the difficulties of high school, and even junior school.

Is it possible? For here, he stands and he bears his witness to the soldiers and to the faith that the work of God might go on. The apostle says, I've got bonds on me, but there are many a Christian as a result of what I'm going through.

They are what's incompetent in my bonds, and are much more bold to speak the word with fear. Then he witnesses not only to soldiers, and he witnesses not only to saints, but he witnesses to sinners. And this thrilled me.

You know, I'm going to shout hallelujah right at the beginning, because I don't know what I'll do at the end. Really I am. Many of us have preached this stage, brethren and sisters. But the apostle there, he looks at his bonds, and he says, why these bonds have enabled me to preach to soldiers, and preach indeed to saints, and it's enabled sinners to hear the word, not even to my lips, because there are some people that sin me.

They hate me so much that they decide in the city of Rome that they'll start preaching the gospel so that my authorities will say, it's all that man's fault in Triton. We'll put more bonds on him. We'll make him suffer more.

They go out in contention to preach the gospel. And the apostle Paul says, listen, I don't mind if the gospel's preached of contention, seeking to add to my bonds. I always love sinners, that's it. What a lovely savior we must have to enable anyone to say, look, you can go and say what you like, I like me, you can do what you like, I don't mind how much I suffer, as long as my Lord's talking about it.

Forgive me, brethren. I was reading this, preparing for these few days with you, and I was in a home not very far from here, where a certain, a name nameless, a certain evangelist has been having a city-wide crusade on how people preach the gospel, you see, because I hardly ever hear anyone else.

And I was asking about him, and I was hearing of some of the things that he'd been doing, and I was wondering to myself, however God can bless that, do you know what I've been doing? I've been reading the Prophet Philippians, preparing for this, for this conference.

Get down and ask God to forgive me. I don't see the way other people do things as in my way. I wouldn't do many of the things these others do, but God give me the grace to rejoice that Jesus is spoken well of.

And the Christ is being upheld. And Paul said, even if it's preached of compassion, we need this, don't we? We need it in the day in which we live. God has had to teach me this lesson and take me up this step and teach it to me as well.

But I want to praise God that something's going on, the path he had me walk. Though it may be a narrow path for me, that's the path I want to walk, and I'm not going to be critical of those that don't walk that path.

I want to praise God Praise God that the gospel's being preached. So we will see how this glorious victory of Christ enabled him to rejoice in his bonds. But we find that the victory by Christ was manifest in his body.

Christ Magnified in the Believer's Body

And this is a very real thing, isn't it? Verse 20. Christ shall be magnified in my body. He goes on, verse 21. For me to live is Christ and to die. Hallelujah! It's more of Christ. It's gain. In my body, he says, Christ is going to be not manifest here, but magnified.

Magnified. We sang, did we not, that little chorus? Was it this morning, Mr. Sun, Leader, Sir? Magnify the Lord with me? Oh, we did sing it, didn't we? Magnify the Lord with me. No, we didn't sing it.

Oh, you ought to sing it. Blessed man of Calvary. Do you know, we were teaching the chorus to the children on the sand at Hoylake, where I've been growing for so many years. And at the end of the gathering, a boy came up to me and said, understand, magnify the Lord with me.

I'd never heard that number before. Do you think to magnify the Lord? Do you know what he did? Standing on the shore. You could almost see it in his hand, the group magnifying the Lord. Magnifying the section of paper.

Come on, you know, finding the clue. I suppose it means that, or maybe it does, doesn't it? Magnify. We couldn't magnify the Lord, could we? We can't make Christ any bigger than He is. He's the Eternal Father, the Eternal Father.

Glory to God. We can't make Him any bigger than He is. But I say, He can have more of us, can't He? That men and women see more of Him in us. Oh, that we might be as a magnifying glass. That Christ in us may shine and that to others as men and women may see a God magnified.

Oh, He says for me to live as Christ. No, just in case. I don't know. Just in case there's a person here tonight that's never got life in Christ. Let me remind you, He's not saying this, but it's still true.

He's not saying for me to have life as Christ. To have life as Christ. But that's true, but that's not the verse. Do you want life? You can have life in Christ. If there's someone here tonight that's never bowed your knee to Jesus Christ, do you know what the Bible says about you?

Please don't come to me afterwards. Don't put a question in the question box. I don't know what to do if you disagree with it. Get on your knees before God and tell Him you don't believe Him. This is what God says of you.

You're dead in trespasses and sins. If you don't know Christ, you're dead in trespasses and sins. And a man is condemned already because he believes not. But isn't it wonderful that there is life in Christ?

New Life in Christ and the Lamb's Book of Life

Do you remember that silly story? I expect I told it here the last time I was here. Dear God, I've told it around the district over the years. Do you remember that silly story I tell of a man who read the newspaper like my wife reads it?

And the man was reading down the verse, depths, and marriage column, you remember. He looked round. Oh, the sort of remarks you find in the verse column. He suddenly looked at the depths column. And his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

And he read, We regret to announce the death of... And there was his name. And there was his address. And he wasn't dead. After he went to the newspaper. After going to this one and that one, eventually you remember, the assistant editor came down, full of apologies.

Sir, we don't know how it happened. We printed it in good faith, sir. But don't you worry. We'll put it right, sir. Put it right? What are you going to do? We'll put your name in the verse column tomorrow morning.

Can I tell you something? Ah, we smile, but brethren, sisters, that's what Jesus does. He's written our name in the depths column. Dead in transgressions and sin. But hallelujah, he wants to write our name in the Lamb's book of life.

He wants to give us a new life. And do you want to know how you can get that life written? Here it is. 1 John 5 and 1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. You trusted your life to the One whose name is Jesus.

You come to Him. Oh, listen. We can get life in Christ, but that's not what Paul says. We can get life in Christ, he says. For me to live is to live day by day. To live a life that's abundant. A life with a capital L, to use the words of Vincent Clegg.

Or use it with a capital Y, to have life and man abundant. Then Jesus Christ needs to dwell within us. And he says, I tell you what I'll do, brethren and sisters. I will magnify the Lord in my body. I'll allow Him to live His life out to me day by day.

The Body as an Instrument of Ministry

How can that happen? Work this home. Allow Jesus Christ to live His life out to me. Yet He's got this possibility. Come with me for a moment, will you? I was before Him that day at the gate. That beautiful gate.

Who could neither walk nor run. Seated outside of the beautiful gate. So near the blessing of God. Just a gate between Him and all that was bespoken in that temple. There He sat, begging by the roadside.

Do you remember a few men, Ted? They didn't have any gold. They didn't have any human education. So they used those legs. And they walked forward. And they saw a man in need. And they looked at him. And they said, well, we're listening to what he's saying.

I wonder what it means in the news. And they spoke to him. So much as we have did we believe in the name of Jesus Christ. And they used their eyes. And they used their ears. And they used their hands.

And they used their feet. And they used their legs. And they used their voice. And they used their hearts. And they used all their... Shall I tell you something? A man who could never walk. And now could walk.

Never run. Now could run. Never walk. Work. Now could work. I've got a feeling that that night that man was there. I've never seen Jesus. They did it in his name. They used their hands for him. For me to live.

If you'd like to come to me afterwards and discuss minor theological points. Oh, I'll tell you a dozen other things it means. But I'm not interested at the moment in minor theological points. I'm interested in a body that's going to manifest and magnify the Lord.

Presenting the Body as a Living Sacrifice

Is not this what the apostle meant when he wrote to the church in Rome? Christians in Rome knew what he wrote to the church. But he dared to say in a proud chapter, Present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Holy and acceptable under God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world. Don't let the world crush you into its mould. Crush you into its mould. Be not conformed to this world.

And be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. That you may be... Oh, I say, brethren. I wonder if those Christians at Rome knew. What he'd written to the church in Philippi. What I've exhorted you to do.

Saying, I have done. That... I speak for myself. Do you remember the words of my old friend Bill Patterson? Do you remember what Billy used to say? Every time you point your finger at anyone. Point three fingers at yourself.

Let me point three fingers at myself. No preacher has a right to stand in the lostroom and preach. Not all I've been given. My body. Oh yeah. He's been magnified in my body. You Roman Christians. Present your bodies.

We're out here. The people. And then he goes further. He said for me to live in Christ and to die. Hallelujah. It's gay. That one. He's gay. He's Moabite. I don't know very much about heaven. Do you? Oh, you wouldn't tell anyone, would you?

No. I hate being able to be tried for excursions on heaven. But I don't know much about heaven. Things that are not there. You know, there's no death there. And hallelujah, there's no distress. And there's no danger there because they keep the gate open.

There's no one in heaven who says shut the gate. Someone might come in. I say. There's no danger there and there's no distress there and there's no death there. And I'll tell you something else. There's no disease there either.

Some of you were talking to me today about the arthritis. Praise God. It won't be up there. Finish with there. And I'll tell you something more. There's no devil there either. If you shut up. I tell you.

For me to live is Moabite. Absent from the body. Just this week. Just this week in Burlington. Someone came to me. And don't ask me how they haven't heard. But someone came to me and said, Sam, the last time I heard you, you were over here with Bill Patterson.

That was 1950, 51, wasn't it? Yes, ma 'am. What would you have done? I'll tell you. Never been so well in his life. Well in his life. Oh, my Lord. Oh, ma 'am. For me to live is Christ and to die is Moabite.

Boldness in Conduct and Cooperation

Oh, brethren and sisters. Victory by Christ will be manifest in our bones. It will be manifest in our body. But I must rush to the club before my time is done. The victory in Christ will be manifest in our boldness as well.

Our boldness as well. Oh, how the apostle drives it home with all his heart. As in verse 26 it says, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Christ Jesus for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as the gospel of Christ.

Would you note it, praying? Pour in their boldness. Would you note it, first of all, that boldness was seen in their conduct. Verses 26 and 27. And seen in their cooperation. In the clothing, of course.

It was seen in their conduct. Your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ. Your conversation be as the come of the God. It's not necessary for me to remind you that the Greek word translated in our own language is a word for your manner of love.

That's your manner of life. Of course, that is heard by our lips and throat. Our manner of life. You can tell how a man lives by what he says. Of course you can. That we might boldly conduct ourselves in this way.

That men may rejoice. Then by their cooperation. Verse 27. Stand fast in one spirit. One mind. Striving together. Striving together. For the faith of the gospel. When one speaks of striving, one thinks indeed of pumping.

Where two popes are striving one against another. But it's not one against another. It's striving together. You will pardon me. Would you know the pumpkin Christians? I doubt it. Because they're the nicest of folks.

But sometimes they're not. The Christian people are the most popular of all people. I don't gather with them because they're the only Christians that I can see. I gather with them because after 35 years of the daily reading of the word of God.

I've been seeking to serve Christ and serve them. I love them with all my heart but I make no apology for that. I only know this. That must be a Christian that I love. If only we would strive together for the work of the gospel more than striving against it.

If only we could die here alone. In my body I'll allow you to live. May I say it like so. By the words of Hurley Panger. Amen.