A God You Can Trust

That'll be from chapter 1 verses 18 through 26 page 980 if you're following in the pew

Bible So Philippians 1 18 to 26 when you have that please stand with me in honor of God's Word as the

Word of God 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 as Christ and to die is gain If I'm to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor labor for me yet, which

I shall choose I cannot tell I am hard -pressed between the two my desire is to depart and to 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

Please be seated Let's once again go to the Lord in prayer Heavenly Father we come now to Proclaim your word and I pray that you would bless preacher and hearer alike

That Lord you would give me a clear tongue and a ready spirit to declare your word that you give me unction from above To and you would open our eyes to the wonderful truths of your word

The hearers hearts would be prepared soft and fertile ground to hear this word and there let it take root

Father and by your spirit that you would grow it and that we would in all ways Follow this word as we understand it and bring you all the honor and the glory for it for we ask in Jesus name

Amen You know, we're coming very close to an anniversary

Something that happened roughly 1865 years ago.

In fact on February 23rd the year of our Lord 155 Today being for February 9th.

We're only a few days away from that 1865th anniversary and what happened that day was that a man named

Polycarp a Man named Polycarp who had been a disciple of none other than the

Apostle John himself This man was about to be martyred for his faith

He was offered a final chance to save himself even his captors those who arrested him and bringing him to the place where he was to be executed

They begged him practically To save himself by denying Jesus Christ By offering some incense to one of the gods of the

Roman Empire or to the Emperor himself They said save yourself Take pity upon your aged person

And save yourself from this horrible death and he answered this quote

Eighty and six years. I've served Christ nor has he ever done me any harm

How then could I blaspheme my King who saved me? I bless thee for deigning me worthy of this day and this hour that I may be among thy martyrs and Drink the cup of my

Lord Jesus Christ That might seem an odd Passage to read an odd historical incident to read to you in regards to what

I read to you from Philippians But I'm not going to preach to you about martyrdom today That's not my point

This message was named a God you can trust a God you can trust I might as well have called it the gospel

Changes everything at another point when I looked at this text and what I wanted to say about it

I was even ready to call it great expectations or to not copy Dickens call it greater expectations but the idea here is to come away with a greater confidence in the

God of the gospel to come away with a more confident expectation of What God promises because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which

Christ on the cross Completed having saved us from our sins. I want us to leave here confident in the promises that God has made and So confident in the promises of those things yet to come that it affects everything that we do in the here and now until such time as he comes

You see this gospel this confidence that we should have in this gospel of Jesus Christ Has to change everything it changes the way we view even the ultimates which are life and death

Both are squeezed through this one filter this gospel of Jesus Christ and Paul would have us

I believe to have the same certainty in the same sureness and the same confidence in the promises of God in Christ as he had as Polycarp had as you must have

The certainty of God's promises to you in the gospel of his son means everything in this life because of what it promises in the life to come a

Life of full reliance on Christ brought forth a statement like polycarps He stayed true to that word of God in Christ to death.

He sang hymns as the flames engulfed him and Again, my message is not about martyrdom though.

Paul expected to be martyred for the faith But that's not the point of the message this morning The point of the message is the

Confidence in Christ that would lead a man about to be martyred the way polycarp was and the way

Paul was about to be to be so sure And so calm to have such equanimity in his spirit

The same things that were true for the Apostle Paul they were true for polycarp for a long line of Christian Saints who

Endured so much for the sake of Christ and didn't deny him What we call the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 the same people it was true for the

Apostle Paul It was true for polycarp. It was true for them and God willing it is true for you this morning

Our passage this morning what I read to you it fairly brims with this certainty in God that flows into every issue of life

For Paul in his immediate situation he was imprisoned he was anticipating execution

He was hearing these preachers whose only goal was to add to his misery That confidence meant that he could joyously and confidently face whatever comes

Whether it was then in that life should he be released or not or? Should he meet

Jesus very soon by coming to the end of this life. How did he get there?

How did he get there to this confidence to this certainty in life polycarp?

How was he able to make a statement like that and then walk calmly to his execution?

It's a lifetime of trusting Christ. It's a lifetime of walking in his promises

It's a lifetime of knowing him from the scripture and by stepping out of faith on On the promises and the certainty of his word and what it tells us to do

Paul's certainty in Christ was more than just in this life His certainty was a trust in Christ as the guardian of his eternal soul

So we can go from the the greater to the lesser Christ having died for your sins

Christ having gone to the cross to pay the price to redeem you and me He did the greater how much more than should we trust him for the lesser

Take the core verse in this passage is verse 21 very familiar to us For to me to live is

Christ and to die is gain You see the now the this life now is good for me to live as Christ and to live for Christ is good

But to die is gain all the greater gain to see

Jesus Face to face to see him as he is and this is the reason why

Paul could rejoice in his imprisonment It is why he could look ahead to possible execution with a steady and unwavering eye and at the same time

Be glad not to be executed Because to live is Christ It's why

He takes such joy in being confident of the progress of the

Philippians faith Because it's Christ who gets all the glory for that.

I Ask you do you have that kind of confidence in Jesus Christ? It shows in all of us a little bit differently

But not one not one of us should be devoid completely of this hope of this confidence in at least some measure and that confidence

That's certainty Those expectations that we have in Christ Should be more and more certain as we grow in him

I want to go through this morning's message in three parts verses 18 to 20, which I'll call apostolic confidence

Which should be our confidence. There's a certainty of salvation that brings confidence in this life

Again, the greater to the lesser Christ has saved you. That's the greater. That's eternity Bring a confidence in these few years

This fleeting moment that is this life that's verses 18 to 20 the confidence

Verses 21 to 24 is the apostolic dilemma where Paul's certainty of his destiny with Christ makes it hard for him to remain here and Yet good to remain here because remaining here to serve

Christ, which is good Which is wonderful But better by far to be with Christ and finally verses 25 to 26.

There's this apostolic hope Paul's certainty your certainty that the Philippians that you will continue to grow in your faith

So long as Christ should delay his return until the Father sends him We should be we must be

Growing in our faith as it says right here in the reading that we did a moment ago Why?

Because it brings glory to God For people for sinners like you and me to even be striving

To even think that we could possibly be even a smattering Like God's righteous

Son Jesus Christ There's this confidence that begins this passage

Certainty of salvation bringing confidence in this life The certainty that you have that Jesus Christ did indeed save your soul

Has to bring you confidence in your walk with him in this life We read again verses 18 to 20

I Keep saying 18. I mean the last half of 18 there if you look in your Bibles The first half is in the previous paragraph

It was the last part of 18 is where we started and he says yes, and I will rejoice for I know note the word

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

There's some difference of opinion among the commentators about my deliverance The word behind my deliverance is the same word that's often if not usually translated as salvation and the question here is

Does Paul mean that he will be released from prison either by proper administration of Roman law or even by divine?

Intervention as happened for example to Peter in Acts chapter 12 When Peter was waiting for himself to be executed and you recall that an angel came and opened the door and led him out

That sort of divine intervention Is that what Paul means by his deliverance deliverance from that prison and back to work with the

Philippians and presumably other churches or Does he mean his ultimate deliverance of being done with this life and with Christ?

the context seems to support either position both positions finding good defenses and And I looked at this and I worked on this and I wrestled with it.

I Realized and I hope it's not the cowardly way out. I say It doesn't really matter that we choose the one or the other the

Apostle Paul rejoicing in the spread of the gospel even by means of men with poor or bad motives even is fully confident that his deliverance his salvation is assured

I Think we go again from this greater to the lesser kind of argument

That Jesus Christ having saved your soul having secured Eternity for you is certainly trustworthy in this these few years that we live on this earth

Whichever way Paul means it. I Think the point to us is this certainty this confidence that we can have in his word in his promises

His Reliance is first on the healthy. Yeah, he has to the

Spirit of Jesus Christ Through your prayers and the help of the

Spirit of Jesus Christ. This will turn out for my deliverance Now, who's he speaking of here?

He says the Spirit of Jesus Christ There's not a common way to speak of the third person of the Trinity Where the first person is

God the Father the second person is God the Son the third person is God the Spirit Calling the

Holy Spirit the Spirit of Jesus Christ is not common, but that is exactly who he means This is the

Holy Spirit the same person to the Trinity that Jesus sent after he ascended to heaven

He is called the paraclete our helper He is the third person of Trinity who dwells in each believer

If you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ if you have repented of your sins and in faith trusted him for your salvation than the promise of the

Jesus Christ in the scripture is this person of the Trinity The Holy Spirit he not it he dwells in you

He the Holy Spirit he is the one referred to in Psalm 46 where he's called our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble

Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16 Which I refer to so often speaks of coming boldly to the throne of grace where we find mercy and grace in our time of need and Who is it who dispenses this mercy and grace to us, but the

Spirit within us? Who is it who intercedes for us and brings our prayers to God as we pray in the

Spirit is? He the Holy Spirit it is the Spirit of Jesus Christ that Paul is certain

Will bring out his deliverance That's first his reliance on the help of the

Spirit of Jesus Christ And how much more confident can we be? brethren

Then to have God himself dwelling in each of us whose faith is in Jesus Christ If Ephesians chapter 1 verse verse 3 speaks of us being in him

God chose us in him before the foundation of the world Here in John chapter 16

Jesus speaks of his Leaving this world after his crucifixion his death his burial and his ascension of He being in you

He by his spirit being in us Where he says I am my father will make our home in him who is him

It's every man woman child who believes in him whose faith is in him This is the spirit upon whom

Paul relies this is a spirit in whom he takes such confidence a

Lifetime of having relied upon him. I don't mean his entire life I mean a lifetime since his time of conversion since his new birth

That's what I mean when I say his lifetime spent following him The spirit is in you just as it was in Paul As I believe it was in polycarp the spirit who tells us to Prove his good and perfect and acceptable will was it mean to prove it means to live it out to take those small steps some for some of us bigger steps at a time and To see that God is true to his word to build up this confidence so that we can say yes

I will rejoice with Paul knowing that through prayers went through the help of Jesus Christ things will turn out the way

God would have them and Knowing that that is a good way and a right way That's his reliance on the

Holy Spirit That's your reliance. You have that spirit in you that same spirit him the third person of the

Trinity in you Guiding you empowering you directing you opening your eyes to the scripture showing you the ways you must walk

Brethren if you want to be confident in God, I Would suggest that the way to do it from this passage we can suggest the way to do it is to do it

Hebrews 12 to speaks of proving discerning Oftentimes translated proving the good and perfecting it perfect and acceptable will of God How so?

Just by doing it and seeing that is good and perfect and acceptable. Not that it works.

That's too crass But that it pleases God and the more you please

God and the more you become confident in God the more that confidence leads you to greater and greater strides and Reaching out after the prize.

That is the image of Christ Jesus The second thing we see is that the help of the

Spirit is mediated by the prayers of the Saints To see what Paul said. I know that through your prayers and help of the

Spirit of Jesus Christ now I've reversed those I spoke of the Spirit first But Paul looks at both the help of the

Spirit mediated but mediated by the prayers of the Saints Now no one denies that God does not need our prayers in order to do anything

Brethren you did not pray to God to save you before he Say or excuse me.

I should say your prayers are not what motivated God to save you God gave you a heart to pray and ask for salvation

But why did God save? Because of his eternal will Before the foundation of the world when he chose you if you are indeed a believer in Christ Jesus to be that believer in him

My point here is simply that God doesn't need our prayers in order to accomplish anything. Nobody would believe that Nor do we think that our prayers actually change

God or change his mind. God does not change I am the Lord. I do not change. He said through the prophet

Malachi He is the same yesterday. He is the same today and he's the same forever

But at the same time God by his own sovereign design

Has chosen a normative way by which he works And what is that?

Through your prayers Through your prayers Why do we pray?

Just because God commands and that's part of church life and therefore we come at a certain time and we pray because the pastor stands

At a lectern gives some teaching and says, okay now pray I command you pray about something.

No Why do we pray? Because prayer is that spiritual connection that communication with God by his spirit within you as you pray to God and in a way that I don't think anybody has ever completely

Explained God answers prayer and things change because of prayer

But they change in accord with his predestined will by which all things whatsoever shall come to pass

I'll be determined and decreed by him and yet we pray because we don't take a

Pragmatic approach and say well if God's decided everything we can just go along merrily in our life We pray because God listens to prayer and God answers prayer and God annexes sovereign eternal will for you for us for people around you in accordance with our prayers

This is Paul's reliance this is Paul's confidence He's saying he's confident in What is going to happen with him that it's gonna turn out for his deliverance be it then from prison be it later from from this world

Because of the help of the Spirit of Christ and through your prayers You know, it's one thing to read your

Bible and say well, yes, the Bible teaches that if I'm in Christ Then Christ by his spirit is in me and I'm greatly encouraged to read how often

God chooses to act by means of the human Agency of prayer. It's one thing to say that it's another thing to believe that We always talk about the few inches.

What is it half a foot? from head to heart We can all understand the

English of what we just said Does your heart believe it? Does your spirit apprehend it?

Brethren, do you live it out? Do you pray as? If your prayer could actually change

God's mind on something in Acts chapter 12 I referred to a moment ago Peter is in prison

Herod that wicked King had just executed James the Lord's brother and see that it pleased the

Jews He arrests Peter on the same terrible crime of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ God's love for sinners in him if they will repent

For that crime Peter was in prison about to be executed. And what was the church doing at that time?

They're praying and they were praying and they were praying Peter's going to get into prison or out of prison

He's gonna be executed one way or the other or not executed at all all in accordance with God's eternal will

Set before the foundation of the world and yet the church prayed as though they could change

God's mind and lo and behold Their prayers were in accord with God's will and according to those prayers and that will

God chose to act You see it's one thing to say yes,

I believe prayer is good I believe God hears prayer. I believe God answers prayers one thing to say that it's another thing to pray as though you believe that And here's the

Apostle Paul in prison much as Peter was long before them and his reliance his confidence is

In the spirit of Christ Jesus helping him and the prayers of the church

So wrestle them wrestle in prayer

Wrestle in prayer the way Jacob did with the angel Way back in Genesis when he wrestled with a man all night

And the man said I have to go and Jacob held on to his ankle and said you're not going anywhere I'm paraphrasing of course

You're not going anywhere until you bless me You imagine Commanding an angel to bless you

No, you don't get to go back to heaven You don't get to go back and join in that chorus of holy holy holy

Lord God Almighty Because I'm not gonna let you go until I receive a blessing wrestle brethren in prayer

Wrestle for your pastors in prayer wrestle for our missionaries in prayer wrestle for yourself and for your children

Paul's confidence Was in Christ it was in the spirit of Jesus Christ and in the prayers of the

Saints on his behalf Prayers combat prayer is hard.

It's work prayer is a blessing. It is a joy Sometimes God deigns to act in a way

That we can say God heard my prayer and God did this and only God could have done this and only

God did do this wrestle in prayer You know the

Apostle Paul put on one sandal at a time as we might say The Apostle Paul faced down temptations to sin one at a time just as you do and just as I do

But his life proved that what he's saying here. We're not just words, but truths Apprehended in his mind and it's cemented in place by his full confidence and reliance by living them out

By having put them into practice Only by trusting

Christ in difficulties, even when human reason would commend something else Will you ever be able to develop the kind of confidence that Paul had?

Or the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 or Polycarp a lot of those things that they faced down were the big things the dramatic things the savage beasts

The crosses on which they were ready to be burned Sometimes they're much smaller things praise

God. Usually they're quite a bit easier for us to face down trust

Christ Build up this confidence reserve if you will proving the good and perfect acceptable will of God Showing yourself

That God is true to his word Ask yourself

Where do I need to move from a mere intellectual ascent to actual practice in what area of my life is my confidence in myself?

That needs to be realigned to having confidence in Christ The example we have here remember these things happen not to some super saint

They happen to a man of flesh and blood like the rest of us The example we have is one of constant reliance leading to full confidence

Reliance leading to more and more confidence You trust the Lord with your salvation of your everlasting soul

How much more are you to trust our frail and failing lives to him? You know one of Jesus's parables ends with this the well -done good and faithful servant you've been faithful over little

I will set you over much Now that's for us That's for us

For Jesus again from the lesser to the greater Jesus did the greater

Jesus went to the cross Jesus suffered and died for our sins God raised him up on the third day.

He having done the greater how much more Want you to trust him with the lesser

But the job with the wife with the investments with the career the University medical decisions

How much more ought you to trust him? In any vicissitude that comes up in this life if he's done the greatest for you

Paul goes on he says 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 By life or by death by the lesser or the greater whatever

Christ does I? Have an expectation that I will not be ashamed that my confidence my hope my trust in him will have been will be vindicated

That I will see when I see Christ I will see that yes my faith was right was right on a great judgment day a

Vindication when all will see as they stand at the judgment seat of Christ that those who believed in him were right

Not because we figured it out of course But we're right to believe in God and what he's done for us in Jesus Christ Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by death this echoes of the thought echoes the thought of Romans 14 18

Where Paul says so then whether we live or whether we die we are whose?

We are the Lord's It is my eager expectation and hope that I'll not be at all ashamed eager expectation

It it means to anticipate something with this outstretched neck Like on tippy toes and trying to look over the corner or over a fence or a wall of some kind And I give you that definition because I thought it was interesting

That the word actually means to anticipate something with an outstretched neck And here

Paul had some execute some Expectation that his neck would be outstretched before an executioner's axe

It's just kind of interesting I don't think that that's why he used that word but when I looked up the definition I thought

That's at least worth telling you But his expectation is blended with his hope of not being ashamed

My eager expectation my outstretched neck and hope that I will not be at all ashamed

Ashamed Ashamed points us in two directions first It means he will as the saying goes play the man

He won't falter in his testimony for fear of leaving this world. Even as even if it's under the auspices of false accusation

The other way it looks the second way it looks to not be ashamed means as I said a moment ago to be vindicated

It means that your hopes your plans will prove to have been wise and valid By the success that you have

What's the greatest success we have is to be formed more and more into the image of christ We pray this every sunday.

We open god's word and we say and we mean it. It's not just a rote thing that we put forth

Lord grow us into the image of jesus christ use this word to make us more like him This is romans 8 28 your predestined

Goal your destiny according to god's predestining will To be conformed to the image of christ who bought you

Not be ashamed means to be vindicated It means to show that your plans were wise they were valid they brought forth what was expected of them

The degree you got the career you would hope for rather than raising an eyebrow and eliciting something like you went to kumbaya university

I've never heard of that. Well, thanks for coming. We're going to hire that fellow out in the waiting room Well, that would be ashamed.

I went to that university because I thought it would get me this job or this career And it didn't That's what it would mean to be ashamed

Someone might say to you you invest into what part of florida You brought which you bought which bridge?

No wonder you're broke That's what it is to be ashamed where your trust your confidence

All proved to be invalid even foolhardy The world might look at you and say well

You you're ashamed now. You're ashamed now because you believe in a fable You believe in this salvation.

You believe you have a soul you believe in a jesus christ. Who's the eternal? Second person of the trinity the eternal son of god who became flesh god became a man you believe that You could be ashamed now

No That's what the world would say That's the temptation we have coming at us all the time to falter in our faith

Paul says he will not be ashamed all the hope that he's put in jesus christ will

Prove to have been a right hope not because he figured it out again because it's god's gospel

It's god's love. It's what god did for us in jesus christ That he put his hope in He won't be ashamed

He's put his hope in christ jesus in his gospel In christ god accomplished what he set out to do perfectly and infallibly

This gospel never caused paul the shame of regret nor will it you? And what did polycarp say in my opening quote?

Where he says for 86 years, I followed him and he's never failed me. How can I now fail him?

Gospel never causes regret It has been certified by the resurrection of jesus christ

He was raised romans 4 25 would say for your justification God at every step of the way showing this is my beloved son in whom i'm well pleased

Listen to him hear him obey him And all through jesus life god by his spirit

Proving that he is indeed the son of god Now there will be no shame for believing in jesus christ paul says

I will not be at all ashamed The echo there is back to romans chapter 1 verse 16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god to salvation for everyone who believes the gospel

Accomplishes the gospel does god I should say through the gospel does what god says he will do through the gospel

So Your reliance is right Your confidence is certifiably correct

You know one of jesus parables there's a there's a man who's ashamed because he started to build a house without counting the cost and He looks foolish when he can't finish

And in that same parable there's a king who has the same result he's ashamed He looks foolish because he went to war against another king whose forces he neglected to count and compare to his own the gospel

This gospel where paul says I will not be ashamed because that's what i'm standing for is the gospel of jesus christ

The gospel couldn't be more different than that Accomplishing what it was sent to accomplish

Like isaiah chapter 55 verse 11 Where god says so shall be my word

Which I do not send except it returns to me having accomplished that for which I sent it

Do you believe in this gospel? You will not be ashamed at all

Because this gospel through this gospel in you by this gospel god will accomplish

What he intends to accomplish by it And verses 18 through 20

They have have to do with this here and now confidence in jesus christ Whether or not the deliverance was for this life or the next that confidence affected paul in this life

His assurance was no mere platitude, but the hard -won confidence of life

Of a life of reliance on christ and trust in his promises At some point brethren, we just have to step out and put our trust in christ by doing what christ would tell us to do

The psalmist says that the wicked borrower does not repay but the righteous borrows and repays even to his own hurt

That's one way One small way and the only example i'm going to give right now Of what it means to step out and trust christ.

Does that mean that when you? Pay back when you keep your word when you when you repay that debt even to your own hurt

That all of a sudden god's going to miraculously put the money back in your check account. No, of course not But it does mean and this should be enough that god is pleased

And when you to your own hurt do what god would have you to do? You're more like christ

And when you do what god would have you to do even to your own hurt? It's enough to know that you've honored god and his word

And I would argue also That life of stepping out in that way Will grow you more and more and more into that confidence in christ that the apostle has

And when you have that sort of a life with god When you're living in that confident way with him and growing more and more in that confidence and seeing your eager expectation more and more certain

Well, you come up with a dilemma, don't you? There's an apostolic dilemma is verses 21 to 24

That paul is looking at he's saying well i've been living for christ and to live for christ is good

And I want to serve him and honor him But oh goodness

How much better to see him? Look at verses 21 to 24 again

For to me to live is christ and to die is gain If i'm to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me yet, which

I shall choose. I cannot tell I'm hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with christ

Let me stop for a second Paul loved those philippians I love you

You who are married you love your spouse you love your kids And yet what is better as good as this is and it is good christ is better I'm hard pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with christ for that is far better But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account

You know certainty of salvation If you're trusting christ even in the small things and growing more and more in his image

That certainty that grows within you that confidence that expands Brings confidence in something else

That to be with christ is gain And to grow more and more in his image is to grow more and more in your confidence in him

You grow more confident of the exact confident in exactly what paul says here That christ is better that christ the good

Son of god does good things for his people now How much better? When you're released from captivity in deteriorating bodies

In this world that's passing away This sin darkened place there's a place that the puritan used to like to call it

How much better would it be there? Certainty of salvation brings confidence more and more confidence that christ is gained

Comes from a life lived to prove that goodness of god is for the here and now

Promising is him that hymn writer puts it strength for today And bright hope for tomorrow

Those four verses They just ring with the two sides of the one coin that jesus christ won for us for to me to live as christ

The life I live now by faith in the son of god who loved me and gave himself up for me. That's galatians 2 20

But put another way from romans 12 2 by testing You may discern what is the will of god what is good and perfect and acceptable

In other words by living according to his word you discern just how good that word is And when you learn in this life how good that word is

You become more and more enraptured with how much better it's going to be When you see christ jesus

Which then makes you want to live more for him now And living more for him now you grow more and more confident in the sureness and the certainty of his word

Which makes you see how good jesus is And how much better it will be to see him that gain that is christ and on it goes in this beautiful circle that gets ever larger

What paul says here is for you To live is christ to live is to serve christ to live is to know that you live not by bread alone

But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of god To live for him now is to grow in confidence that the next phrase is just as true as the first And to die is gain

How do you know that dying is gain? Because living is for christ And christ shows his goodness over and over again as you live for him

And you're able to say with paul with more and more sureness and confidence and certainty But to die

And be with this god Who gave me this spirit to lead me in these ways? That's truly gain

In ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 10 written by a man that we call the preacher usually thought to have been king solomon

He admonishes us something. He says say not Why were the former days better than these for it is not from wisdom that you ask this?

There will come a time when the former times are this life live now in the flesh

There's going to come a time where you're going to look back and say the former days were Then these days that you and I are living right now

They are good If for you it means to live for christ But to answer solomon's question

When you see jesus, you're going to have a game beyond all other games You won't ask why the former days were better because nothing is going to be better than seeing jesus

Nothing is better now as you live for him. Nothing will be better than When you are like him when you see him as he is

One commentator ralph martin. He puts it this way. I quote The gain then is not only the apostles receiving of his heavenly reward in the presence of his master

But the promotion of the gospel in the witness of which In the witness which his fearless martyrdom for christ will produce

Do you see how it's two sides of one coin? It's the gain now of doing your master's will

It's the gain now of living for christ and honoring him and all that we do And if christ should bring us away in a way similar to paul's or polycarp's or anyone else's

The gain is knowing that by that we're still honoring christ Bring glory to god's name

If falsely motivated preachers can advance the gospel as paul says in the first chapter of philippians

Some do it with evil intent trying to Bring me harm as i'm still in prison and paraphrase as my paraphrase

If that can advance the gospel Even if they advance the gospel unwittingly

How much more this life testimony by one whose motive is undeniably christ's honor as people's good?

So it goes on with this idea of hope this sure and certain

Grasp of this hope this Confidence in the gospel accomplishing what god sent it to do.

He says verse 25 convinces 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

Certainty of salvation bringing confidence that christians will grow in their faith

Something to prove time and time again as you take those steps as you take those faithful steps

Following god's word even when it hurts And saying yes indeed

I am not ashamed because god is growing me into the image of his son christ Paul says

I know that I will remain and continue with you all We we can't read that I know as a prophecy or anything like that because if it were we'd almost surely have some record that he was able to return to the philippians

We have no such record. We have no such certainty What he is certain of is their continued progress in the faith

We came across something like that earlier in this chapter Way back in chapter 1 verse 6

He says I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you That's god by his spirit

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of jesus christ. You will not in any way be ashamed

Because it's god who's working in you. It is god who started the work and is god who finishes what he started

Even if paul was to glorify christ by his death, he was confident that the lord would continue his work in them

Your progress in the lord is something that he began and something he will finish I believe paul's saying here if he comes he's going to help the philippians grow more and more into the image of christ.

Jesus But on the other hand, he's saying if he doesn't get to return If he honors christ by his death

They're still going to grow in the image of christ jesus because who began the good work in them paul

No god your progress is the same

Had the same beginning by the same god Paul is convinced that they will progress and have joy in the faith

And they will have ample cause to glory in christ jesus By my coming to you again

And if he didn't come to them the same jesus worthy of the same glory

And receiving the same joy from his people So Certainty of salvation has to make you confident in this life now

As god has done the greater in jesus christ trust him with the lesser, which is this life now

And certainty of salvation as you follow his ways and see how good he is Makes you more and more confident that christ is gained

To see him as he is And the certainty of salvation brings confidence of your growth in the faith

We grow at different rates in different areas Different catalysts in life bring about growth

But you will grow God is the one who began the work in you paul is confident of their progress

Paul seems In a great portion of what we read in philippians 1 to have self -consciously placed himself with job

I want to read to you job 13 and verses 13 through 18 And as I read this

I do have to tell you in all honesty I never would have picked this up This is in the commentaries that I go to after I do my work.

I look at the commentaries I found three or four of these men who all say job 13 verses 13 through 18

I'm going to read it to you. I'm convinced that it's correct, but I do have to confess to you I never would have gotten this

Job Job 13 He says let me have silence and I will speak and let come on me what may

Why should I take my flesh and my teeth and put up my life put my life in my hand? Though he slay me.

I will hope in him Yet I will argue my ways to his face This will be my salvation that the godless shall not come before him

Keep listening to my words and let my declaration be in your ears Behold I prepared my case.

I know that I shall be in the right This ultimate vindication that job is telling his friends.

He will have in god as he trusts in god Paul Self -consciously is in that model.

He's in that mode. He's saying I will not in any way be ashamed I'll see god

I'll be able to speak to god and seeing christ He knows he'll have that gain

He said job said though he slay me Paul said christ will be honored in my body whether by life or death

Job said this will be my salvation that the goodness the godless shall not come before him. What does paul say?

For to live is christ and to die is gain Job said I have prepared my case.

I know that I shall be in the right And what does paul say? In me you may have ample cause to glory in christ jesus, this is the certainty

That would have you to have In this salvation that god has worked for you in jesus christ and this certainty in the salvation

Must lead us to some change in this life some different outlook upon this world

Some different level of commitment a higher level of commitment to becoming like christ

As paul was sure that he would be released through their prayers and by the help of the spirit of jesus christ so with you

So with us god hasn't changed His ways have not changed the way we have of growing in christ.

Jesus is still the same for us as it was way back then Be sure

And have this certainty Have this confidence not in yourself not in your abilities not in what you can do

But what god has done in christ jesus and is continuing to do amen

Our heavenly father we give you thanks again for bringing us together For giving us your word for these admonitions to grow and to be more and more like christ.

Jesus our lord I pray father that you would work this in us by your spirit And that in all things you would watch over us

And continue to show your mercy to us in christ. Jesus and by your spirit for it's in his name that we pray