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Philippians 1 “Who’s Your Partner?”
Philippians chapter 1, I'll be reading the entire chapter, hear the Word of the Lord. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who were at Philippi with the overseers and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart for you are all partakers with me of grace both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel for God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may improve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless it for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
I want you to know brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
And most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry but others from goodwill.
The latter do it out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel the former proclaimed Christ out of rivalry not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then.
Only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth Christ is proclaimed. And in that I rejoice. Yes and I will rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by death.
For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me yet which I shall choose. I cannot tell. I am hard-pressed between the two my desires to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.
But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and I see you or am absent I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents.
This is a clear sign to them of their destruction but of your salvation. And that from God for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
Engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now here that I still have. May the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well some people think that success is the product of some lone genius or just a hard-working person bravely overcoming all the obstacles by himself kind of pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.
But most probably all really but successful people have partners and thank them for their help. Nick Saban tells the joke about how he took his wife miss Terry back to their hometown in West Virginia and showed her the old gas station that he used to work at and seeing the attendant come out in his greasy clothes doing the work that Saban used to do boasted to his wife.
Aren't you glad you married me the most successful college football coach instead of that guy. And she said in the joke if I had married him he had be the most successful college football coach. It's the kind of joke makes you smile not laugh.
But anyway Howard Schultz the man who made Starbucks widespread and popular said success is best when it's shared a Warren Buffett one of the richest men in the world said partnership is not a legal contract between two equal individuals.
It's an emotional alliance between two people who are committed to each other's success. Another very very well-known businessman so well known I can guarantee you that you have heard of him said business is not about one's own success or failure.
But how successful we make our partners. That man who said that is a former and perhaps future president. Partnership happens when we work together toward a shared goal. I took a lot of classes in my life sitting with a lot of fellow students.
I don't have an ongoing relationship with one of them. Not one not once did taking a class in Western Civilization or Shakespeare or church history make me feel like a partnership with the other student.
But I am still in touch with many of my former teammates in my college track team. We trained and we competed together cheered for each other and so became partners. Partnerships developed through some intense experiences something that forces us to rely on each other to work together as a team as a unit.
Military veterans often stay in contact and meet each other occasionally from time to time to the VFW or the American Legion. Those who went through combat together in particular where they were under fire from the enemy was determined to kill them and so they had to rely on each other to stay alive to accomplish their mission.
They're often even more connected feel themselves to be intricately partnered with each other. A band of brothers they'll call each other. There's just something about being committed to a common mission working as a team to accomplish that mission to being partners that welds people together.
So who are your partners. There are people you are thankful for. You're glad you know them and you have high hopes for their future. We see that here in Philippians 1 in three parts the thankfulness second the rejoicing and finally the high hopes.
Well first there's the thankfulness in the first 11 verses. This is a letter and so Paul begins. It is a letter. In their day he was usually introduced giving his name first acknowledging Timothy his partner is with him and then who it.
The letter is to the recipients the Saints that is the Holy Ones the church. They're in Christ Jesus. The people are set apart by being seen by God as as being in Christ Jesus. Otherwise Christ's righteousness is attributed to them.
He especially greets their overseers or their elders and their deacons the leaders of the church and he is thankful for them. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Every time he thinks about them he thanks God.
Now different people make us think or feel different things. Some people make us think of disappointment maybe some a betrayal. A few may even repulse you. A few people I could think of a repulse me. Whenever I think of those people I feel disgusted.
And after a while you know I get where I don't want to think of them. I Paul say in chapter 4 think on things that are true and lovely and pure and good. So after a while you get I don't want to even think about that person anymore.
And after a while I forget them. I've had people who were were a regular and eventually turned out to be a painful part of my life. And after a while though I have to ask you for one point in my life I was obsessed with them.
And then after a while I have to ask you know what was the name of that guy who did such-and-such to me. Who is he. I forget. And after a while I'll probably end up forgetting what they did. I suspect part of what will make hell into hell for people who are in it is that we will forget them.
On a cheerier note Libby is what is a very cheery chapter should be cheerier on cheerier note. There are other people that you think of with fondness appreciation with warmth. Every time you think of you got a smile.
Maybe they did something important for you. They were there when you needed help. They were good to you. I think of the bees like that for us. We have a picture of a card in the refrigerator in the kitchen there.
And every time I see it I'm thankful I feel good. They were partners many of you the same way. That's what Paul felt about the Philippian Church. They brought a smile to his face. They were good folks.
And Paul didn't just thank them for being good to him. He thanked God. And he did it in verse 3 and 4 in every prayer of mine think of that in every prayer of mine. And Paul's praying a lot you got a figure for you all.
He wasn't going to forget them. It was a always bringing them to mind. Does it make him happy. Making my prayer with joy. He's thankful them because of their partnership he says in the gospel partnership.
The word partnership in verse 5 is an important word in the Bible Greek it's corn Ania which can be translated as fellowship. Now the word fellowship has been so watered down today that it's only a shadow of what it really means when we speak of fellowship today on sometimes at least we think of a happy maybe artificially happy kind of superficial happiness conversation around desserts.
But this means far more than that. It means the sharing of something profound the sharing of the terror of combat and coming out of life. The experience of your teammates cheering for you from the stands as you sprint as hard as you can so you can score for the team the bond of a common mission an intense personal connecting experience.
Not only is it sharing of something but also sharing in something something greater the petty wants of any one of the people separately. He was so thankful. He continues in verse 5 that every prayer of his was for for them was joyful.
Every time he thought of them he was happy not burdened not worried. Now why not. Just because they were. They were a placid peaceful church. They were giving him any trouble graveyard to quiet and peaceful.
But he was thankful and joyful about them because he remembered them as his partners not just as recipients listening to his preaching perhaps giving him a little money but never doing anything else. No he it was more than that.
They weren't just his audience. Otherwise they would be like a students in a lecture. Nope not connected at all. Together they were. They were bound to him through the common experience of having taken the good news of Jesus out to others to their families to their city and helping him then go onward helping him go to Corinth.
Here Paul tells us that what is bounded to the Philippians and what will bind any church together is the common experience of being partners in the gospel. Now if we're just a theology lecture that's what we're gathering together every Sunday for to hear a exposition a lecture on a passage of scripture on theology will be as connected as I was to my fellow students which is not at all.
But if we're on a common mission then we're partners like veterans at a war the Philippian Christians serve close up arms locked together with Paul. They did this. They didn't just come for the weekly service.
When Paul was preaching they hear him preach and they kind of liked him. And then they go out the door not to be seen or heard from again until the next week. Now they partnered with him in a mission.
In that experience they they shared a planning the gospel in Philippi and their own families sometimes against opposition day after day praying together for the souls to be saved. For specific people they know going to the lost sharing sharing the message about Jesus sometimes rejoicing together as they saw great fruit as people were born again and baptized and joined the church.
Like that Philippian jailer remember him then becoming new partners and the gospel and going out to still more people. That experience knit them together. It made them partners and it made Paul thankful.
But also sometimes being rejected together scoffed at scorned doors shut in their face and suffering together. It was in Philippi. Remember where Paul and Silas first they got beaten and thrown in the dungeon in the jail and they sang hymns together until midnight.
Imagine how close Paul and Silas must have felt as partners. How often they were called hey hey Silas. Remember that time that night at that jail in Philippi we sang Psalm 106 together until the earthquake came.
Suffering for a common mission makes us partners. That's a reason we have Jim jr. and Jim. A reason not the only reason but it's a reason we have Jim jr. and Jim and other functions we can do. It's not all for the people out there.
It is certainly part of partly for them but not all it's for us so that together we can drive a van to fix a sandwich or some kind of food teach a lesson play with the kids keep them in order. Hopefully not have to break up a fight.
Share your work and your frustration with someone else. And you'll have an experience together to be a partner partnership in a mission. Remember all those sandwiches we made. Remember the trips to Danville in the van.
Maybe we didn't get to pick up anyone. Then that time we didn't get to pick up anyone. Remember that time we got so many kids. The van was overfilled. We were afraid we'd get pulled over by the police.
Ah those were good times. And even though we may be hard work hard week after week sometimes you prefer to stay home and watch TV to do something else. The kids sometimes seem not to be paying attention.
And you wonder if you're just wasting your time. But at the very least the very least you experience that partnership that we're doing something together rather than doing nothing separately. Or it could be reaching out to your own family and involving other church members to share with them.
And one day you'll look back knowing that your labor for the Lord is never in vain. With a smile and be thankful upon all your remembrance of your partners. So Paul feeling good about them his partners.
He says the verse 6. The shore of one thing. He who began a good work in you will complete it. Sometimes people don't finish the jobs they start. They'll start to paint a room then not do the trim. Right.
Let's mow the grass and then not do the hard part of the ditch and athletics. I saw Timmy teammates begin the season and quit. Some people start studying for a degree and drop out here. Paul says God is not like that something to be thankful for what he's begun with our initial salvation.
And he began it when we first believed he will complete. Notice three truths about that promise in verse 6. The certainty of it. The agent that is who. And the time when when it's accomplished first. Well I am sure of this.
It's not like I'm hoping this is the case. I kind of think this is probably gonna be true. No I'm sure Paul preface in verse 6 this is certain. It's not. He might complete it. If you're good it's not.
I'm sure he'll complete it. If you do your end of the bargain. It all depends on whether you do the right religion. And then and then he'll keep up his end of the deal. No I'm sure he says. So it's certain like Jews kept.
Remember you're kept. You might think well I got all this ordeal ago. They're not gonna be kept. I haven't been through it. Yeah. Well you're kept. It's as good as done we saw last week. Second. Who. Who's the agent who's doing the work.
He who began a good work he began the work of your salvation is God's work. And some people that. Well okay he began it but now it's my job to keep it up. But no he doesn't begin it and leave it up to us to complete it.
Like some people believe justification is God's work and sanctification is all ours. And so it depends on us to complete. To complete it. Now if we apply ourselves enough with enough religion that we got to do our part to complete it it depends on us.
No he who began a good work in you he will bring it to completion. He begins it and he completes it. And third when when does he do this. When is he completed. It won't be completed. Now in this age despite what some people promise it's not completed.
With some great experience we have. You know you get this experience entire sanctification. The second work of grace or whatever they're selling you'll then be completed. No not yet. Or some severe discipline you go through.
You flicked yourself or go 40 days fasting something that. And you'll come out completed. No it won't work. Whatever we put ourselves through it's incomplete until the day of Jesus Christ the day he raises the dead and saves even our bodies from sin.
The same day Paul talked about member of the Thessalonians the righteous judgment of God. But we can be so sure that it will be completed like again like in Jude we're kept. We can be so sure that he'll complete what he's begun in the past.
He'll complete it in the future. There were thankful for it in the present. Well Paul gushes in verse 7 on a gushing in this chapter. I hold you in my heart. I think most men today would be too embarrassed to write like this done.
Other people. I hold you in my heart. We've seen Paul be tough with the Corinthians very logical and deep with the Romans. But with these people is gushing Lee almost embarrassingly affectionate. I hold you in my heart.
But why. Why is he so affectionate so bound to them in the middle of our seven. For that's because it's explaining why he hold them in his heart. You are all partakers not a word we usually use I mean sharers.
And against the word Cornelia your corn and ears. It's not a word it's with the prefix together in Greek. So it's like not just partners but co-partners almost a redundant co fellowshippers. Together with me of grace.
Your sharers with me in grace. They shared God's grace together. He knows that because at the end of verse 7 how does he know what's the sign of their having shared the grace. Just because they came to him and listen to him.
Just because they may be that right confession. They said the right words or they got better. So they were partners with him and his and his bonds his imprisonment when there wasn't much he could do for them.
I use in prison. Why can't Paul do for me. But no they shared with him then. And they shared with him in two things he says verse 7 in the defense and in the confirmation of the gospel. That is they were helping him when he was in need.
He's in prison. He can't do much. You can write letters talk to guards. That's about it. They were helping him when he was in need. She was chained up and they were. They were now defending the gospel the gospel Paul to them.
Now they're defending it. There were fit defense of the gospel. Other words from outside attacks whether from people saying oh it's it's too restrictive I want to be free to live a however I want to live.
Or from philosophers like this is whatever foolish they're attacking it from outside there. These Philippian Christians are defending the gospel in Paul's stead because now he's away he can't do it. And the defense and the strengthening they were strengthening the believers in their faith the confirmation of the gospel.
So all this kind of thing that Paul was doing defending the faith confirming believers nurturing them. Now the Philippian Christians were doing that for him. They were his partners now who's your partner.
Now for Paul he knows that they are his partners. And so he gushes some more in verse 8 God is my witness. I yearn for you with all the affection of Christ Jesus. And if I got a letter like that from somebody I'd be honest like this is a little too.
It's a little too much tone it down. But this is why Paul is I. He's amazing man. Isn't he affectionate. Gushing. And then with the Galatians he's tough and pounding and almost angry with the Romans. He's very intellectual very deep here.
He's affectionate. Imagine get a letter like that from I yearn for you with all the affection of Christ Jesus. He loved him like Jesus loved him. That's what that means. And so he prays for them in verse 9 that their love may abound to grow and flourish.
That they wouldn't know God more and have more discernment so that they could protect themselves from false teachers and know who is know who and what is superior. What's better. So on the day of judgment on that day of Christ Jesus the righteous judgment of God that they may be unmixed with pollutions with sins the false doctrines and distraction.
And they may be blameless. And so in verse 11 filled with the fruit of this righteousness that is the good things in your life that being right in a right relationship with God produce. Notice that phrase the the fruit.
Fruit means like the produce what comes out of righteousness. Being righteous with God in a right relationship with God produces fruit. I was. It shows in your life you are saved through faith alone. But faith that saves is never alone.
It produces fruit. You are in a right relationship with God because of what Jesus has done. Now that relational fact that you're right with God fills your life so that you look more and more like Jesus.
That's the fruit of righteousness. And you do it to the glory and praise of God. People will praise God more because your life is different. Second he overflows with rejoicing. He's actually rejoiced some already.
It's gonna rejoice some more in verses 12 to 18 despite his own affliction. Now he's in prison. You got to remember. That doesn't sound like he's in prison. Does it doesn't sound like I'm miserable. These people are horrible to me.
He's in prison. You got to kind of remind yourself of that because it sounds so different than what you would expect. A letter from someone being in prison would sound like he's in prison because he's been spreading the gospel.
He's now. If I were him I would be tempted to complain and wail. Please help me get out of here. This is horrible. You wouldn't believe how bad the food is. But he rejoices. Likely he's been chained and guarded in Rome before his trial before Caesar.
And so some of the Philippians were. Maybe some of them were a little upset concerned for him. Maybe a few were wondering. You know this is the good news that we've been partnering together to spread to the world.
Why is the world clamping down on him. If this is the unconquerable gospel why is our great leader chained up. Where's the victory. The victory Paul says is going ahead. Anyway it's advancing. Sure I'm in prison.
But the gospel is advancing even with him chained. He tells them that what has happened that is his imprisonment is working to advance the gospel. Hey this imprisonment he's saying has opened up a whole new audience for me.
I'm getting to people now. I could never get to before now in their day they would chain a guard to a prisoner that would certainly keep the prisoners from escaping. When it you can escape that way. It wasn't like in some cell alone.
Look at that picture like today you solitary confinement in some prison you're not isolated. So we had these guards with him all the time usually one by one. And so he had a captive audience. They couldn't get away they were however long their shift was.
They had to be right there by Paul. They had to listen to everything he said until their shift was over. And then there was another guard that Paul could work on. And the result was he said in verse 13 that the good news of Jesus had become known through the whole because that the Imperial ESV translates it the Imperial Guard and Latin is that you.
It's the Praetorium. It's the elite soldiers who guarded the Emperor and special prisoners like him in our day it'd be equivalent to the Secret Service. So it'd be like now the whole Secret Service has heard the gospel from one of the greatest evangelists of all time.
And Paul was going wow. That's great. Not only that I you know Paul's thinking I could never have gotten to these people until this look what God's done. And you could say well what about all the you know the opportunities you could have had out there Paul in Philippi elsewhere.
And he said well other believers now are taking over from where you know from what I can't do now out there. Not only that he says in verse 14 most of the brothers that's the other believers saying that Paul has not been frightened into silence by being imprisoned.
They're now bolder to share now sometimes the great leader has to be out of the way before others are willing to step up and take up the task. The first-string quarterback has to be benched before others have a chance to shine here.
Because Paul isn't available anymore to preach and to teach and to witness to defend the gospel to confirm the church and the faith. Now many others are taking his place and so the end result of Paul's imprisonment is that more of the gospel is going out than was before.
And so Paul says I rejoice. This is great. This has really worked out. Well I wish I had planned this but I didn't. This is this is a terrific way this has worked out. We should rejoice of whatever helps get the gospel out now with the money we spent to buy and refurbish this building we could have probably bought a traditional church building somewhere with pews stained-glass feel very pious.
We come in but which helps gets the gospel out which is more effective for getting the gospel now. A gym attracts kids. We can use it in this culture. You can just you open a gym. You have a gym. Kids come.
It's easy and you can use it to spread the gospel. They come. You make them stop for a while. You share the gospel with them. And the gym doesn't interfere with meeting for church. Does it right. The basketball markings on the floor do not interfere with the preaching.
The word is singing and worship at all. Now we might personally prefer a traditional church building just like I'm sure Paul would have preferred to be out of prison. You'd be much more comfortable out of prison.
But most of all his priority what he thought was most valuable. He rejoiced and whatever helped him get the gospel out. And so should we versus 15 to 18. He says some people preach Christ for the wrong reason.
That's for out of envy. Because they want to make a big name for themselves. And this culture is a man like to preach because they just want to be the center of attention. They like to talk Paul and Peter here.
And they're here. They were thinking Paul and Peter this they're big heroes. It big followings. A lot of people will come and hear them. And people get men particularly. They'll get envious and they want I want to be like that.
I want to be able to speak and everyone listen to me. They are competing for more heroes for an audience. They're what I called in the article play preachers. And in Paul's day some of them were doing it intentionally to undermine Paul assuming that he must be as obsessed by numbers of followers as they were.
And so he's as he's away he's chained up. They wooed his followers away to listen to them. And when Paul hears of it they think he's gonna be enraged. He's gonna be jealous. Yeah. He's losing market share.
He's losing all this attention that he craves. That's the way they're thinking. But Paul's not thinking like that at all. Of course. Yeah for them. For these rivals to woo the people away to get them to listen to them.
They still had to preach about Christ. Now they still have exposit the Bible or talk about Jesus in some way. And so Paul is glad Jesus is being proclaimed. I think it's kind of like this time of year and near Easter season even the culture itself at least used to still proclaims a little something about Jesus because of the season now reformed believers don't really believe in Easter because every Lord's Day is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ in two weeks is Easter isn't it.
But what are we supposed to do different than we're doing now. I don't really know what are we supposed to do different. But we can sing resurrection songs. Sure that's fine. So for us it's not really any different.
But the world. Right. The people out there they think it's Easter. That's what they think. And that they should pay more attention to Jesus. Saw a magazine cover in the supermarket picture supposed to be Jesus.
You don't really know what he looks like. And that's attracting people. Why do they do that. Well these magazines do that. Because they it sells. That's the reason the only reason they're doing it to make money or maybe religious TV shows this time of year because and the networks do that because there they think people will watch it.
We should rejoice at the gospel. We can protest. Okay they don't get this or that. Right. And sometimes they're really bad which we can cringe at that and we should reject it sometimes at least they're getting something of the gospel out and we can rejoice at the gospel.
At least parts of it is getting out. Even if it's because of an unbiblical tradition like having a once-a-year Easter. Or if it's a godless TV network it just wants ratings for their show. That's all they care about.
They don't care about Jesus. It's more ratings. So they figure people watch something about Jesus around Easter. The network only cares about getting eyeballs on the TV. And so they can sell commercials which sell you stuff.
But Christ is being proclaimed even if imperfectly. And so the media is for a season whether they know it or not for the wrong reason our temporary semi partners profit can make for strange partners. Can it.
Who's your partner. Well this is why we don't condemn other churches around us who may be doing some things we think aren't fully biblical. Oh if they're completely unbiblical they're preaching just a false gospel.
Like like the only way you'd be saved by me baptized in our church. Like those Church of Christ heretics I debated a few years ago or some of the cults around here if they're like that sure we denounce them.
But if the gospel is being proclaimed Jesus is being declared. Paul is glad. Even if they do a few things wrong. Paul is glad and so should we be third he has high hopes for the future and so should we versus 19 to 30 Paul looks at his future their future particularly his future and sees it's it's win-win.
Paul's take a look at all the possibilities how this can turn out in prison here it's win-win. There's no downside. This is great talk about an optimist right. The glasses are just half full. God was full.
And this would sound like a positive encouraging kind of superficially happy smile. It makes your face look good. Kind of gospel. If you didn't understand the dilemma Paul was in here he says I will rejoice.
I have high hopes for my future because I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus this situation will turn out for my deliverance he says in verse 19. And a lot of immediately we begin to think what a deliverance he means.
He's gonna be released and exonerated. And you're gonna be you know go back to be the head honcho in Philippi and get make a lot of money and be comfortable. No it's not what he means. He means either one of two things will happen.
Either option one which is win a win he gets his head cut off. Number. Option number two he goes to spread the gospel some more builds up the church some more. It's win-win. What could go wrong. Execution or ministry.
There's no lose in this situation. It's win-win. Because either he gets to go be with Jesus or stay and build up the church. So he says in verse 20 to me as we sang to me to live it's Christ. Otherwise if I'm allowed to keep living I'll live for Christ by serving the church and to die.
Get my head cut off. That's the way this turns out. If I'm killed it's game. I'm delivered from this life and in the presence of Christ. So he says if I'm to live in the flesh that is in the body. If it's continue living that means fruitful labor for me.
I'm gonna keep working. It's not gonna retire. It's gonna keep working. I'll keep on working for the Lord to build up the church. But if I'm killed well then it's I'm with Jesus. What could go wrong. So he says which I shall choose.
I cannot tell like it's up to him to choose. It's really not but but the way he's looking at if I had to choose it was left up to me. It's a hard choice. I really don't know which one I got. I got on one side I got beheading.
I got the other side I got ministry. It's just it's just two good options. I don't know what to do. I'm hard-pressed between the two. My desire what I long for is to depart and be with Christ with the help of a Roman axe.
For that is far better. That's far better for me individually. It's better for me to get my head cut off. You can imagine when he got sentenced to death I wish we had a picture of that. Imagine whatever the Emperor says beheading and Paul goes yeah that's good for me.
But to remain in the flesh that is to live in the body. That's more necessary. In your account I'm just thinking about myself. I'm opting for the for the axe. If I'm thinking about you all okay I'll stay around and notice the reason to stay.
It's not for himself. It's not because you know I've worked hard and I want to enjoy my retirement my old age. I want to go back to Philippi. There's great people and live there. No his reason to stay is all about others.
It's about the church. In other words if the choice is left up to me I wouldn't know what to choose. To be with Christ which is far better. That's far. It's not just a little better far better for myself.
Only what makes the staying good is that I get to be with the church and build up the church. Stay and help you. That's better for you. He has high hopes for them. So this is not like what I heard one Christian young girl say that she's not really sure that she wants Jesus to come back yet.
She wants to get married first enjoy family life and all that. Now her dilemma was you know on one hand should I want Jesus to come back not as though it's up to her either. Or can I get that marriage and family.
I've always wanted her choices between Jesus or myself. Like a typical modern American Christian Christ's body. The church never enters into the equation here with Paul. It's between. But the church needs your account in verse 24 that's the only reason to stay on the one hand and on the other to be with Christ.
Paul says he desires to depart to die so that he can be with Christ. If it's just left up to me what I want just thinking of only of myself I'll go for that. But the church needs him. And so he's convinced he'll stay in verse 25 at least for a while longer.
Convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with you all at least for a while longer has a few more letters to write that we still have the reason. Verse 26 is for the benefit of the church.
That in me Paul says of the church you may have ample cause to glory. Let's put your the weight of your life in Christ Jesus. Now for us the yearning should be for the Lord and the life here with the church to partner with it for its progress.
If your view of your Christian life has been entirely individualistic it's just you and Jesus. Only two sets of footprints in the sand. No church to partner with. Do you see now what you've missed. You've missed a partnership with people who have high hopes for their future.
Well who's your partner. Are you standing together in one spirit with one mind thinking the same way that is in verse 27 united by a common mission membership is to be a partnership side-by-side he says with the church even if it means suffering.
Whether the regular work of coming for Jim jr. Jim the kind of the routine suffering and make yourself come. Or you're doing the music coming an hour early and practicing that kind of stuff. Or if we're insulted or rejected for being what the world calls bigots.
Or if we lose money because we choose church over money-making on Sundays and we get criticized for it. Don't be frightened by them by the critics or the persecutors virtually seven our fearless declaration of the Word of God.
It tells them about their coming destruction. That's what some people don't like hearing about the gospel because it means they're being going to be judged. The righteous judgment of God we saw in second Thessalonians.
Well it tells us we and the people were partners with about our coming salvation on the day of Jesus Christ. Not everyone is our partner. Some will be our enemy by their own choice. And clouds of persecution may be gathering.
And when it comes it will separate the sincere believer from the pretender. Many American Christians have bought into a Jesus who offends. No one who demands nothing who never suffers or ask us to suffer.
They even assume that if something turns people away causes us to suffer. Well it's not from Jesus. It must have been foolish it must have been ungodly. And so when it is finally granted to them in verse 29 they have that language grant is over to the gift.
When God gives them the gift to suffer to be rejected to be insulted to be made unpopular they will assume it's not from God. They won't partner with us in suffering. They'll partner with the world in self-indulgence.
But for us it's it's granted. It's a grace gift that we suffer. It's still high hopes for our future. If we do it together your true partners will suffer with you. Paul says in that last verse that his partners engaged in the same conflict that he had God had given them an ordeal together.
They weren't just fellow students in a theology class. They weren't just fellowshipping around ice cream or Chinese food. They were fellowshipping around a mission fellowshipping around rejection and being insulted and being beaten and jailed and losing money losing their material losing their goods.
That was God's gift to them suffering but suffering together. And it made them partners. So who's your partner. It's those who have faith. How did they get that faith now free. Will people just assume that we're gonna muster up faith on our own.
If you can argue someone into it you can berate them into it or you persuade them. They can use their will to choose to have faith. And that's how faith comes about. And so our partners are those who mustered up their own faith.
And we're united then only by a common decision to believe the same facts the same claims. And we're ultimately responsible for that decision. That makes us partners with those who've also got it like we're the decision to take the same Western Civ class for verse 29.
But verse 29 says it has been granted that you should believe in him. We believe because it was granted as it was given. It's a grace gift to believe. Faith in Jesus is given to those who believe. That's why we believe not because we free willed ourselves to overcome our sinfulness.
And therefore we made ourself make the right decision. No we got this magnificent gift by grace called faith. And that faith makes us partners with everyone else who believes. Everyone else whom God has also given that gift to.
I've been given this gift. So have you. We're partners in that together. That's why now to live here is for Christ by working with his body. Our partners others who've gotten this gift of faith and to die is gain.
So partners. Do you see that the gift of faith. That makes you a partner with others who were also given it. Do you see. That's what connects you together. I'm not asking you here at the conclusion to gin up faith by an act of your will to make yourself produce faith to try to squeeze it out of a dead heart.
You can't. I'm asking you that if God has begun that work in you begun it by giving you faith. Faith that makes you a partner with others who share it. Has he done that for you faith that makes you cry out more love.
Oh Christ to thee. Has he. If he has you can be thankful. You can be sure you can rejoice and have high hopes for the future. Because he will complete what he started.