WWUTT 006 Prayers for Deliverance (Philippians 1:19-26)

Rejoicing in Christ Despite Imprisonment and Rivalry

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians and said that he was rejoicing, because even though he had been thrown in prison, God was using that experience to advance the gospel. Even though there were some preachers out there trying to start a rivalry with him, he was still rejoicing in that circumstance.

And can we do the same when we understand the text? Welcome to When We Understand The Text. My name is Pastor Gabe. Sure, great to be along with you here. As we jump into our next section of Philippians chapter 1, we're going to begin in verse 19 today.

We're also going to jump back a little bit as well. And I've got another viewer question coming up toward the end of the program, in about the last third of the program here. This question is related to a video we posted on eternal security fairly recently.

Talked about this some last week, and so I thought that we would take another question related to this particular topic. If you have a question that you would like to ask of us, whether it's related to a video or something that's been said on this podcast, send it through our website, www .utt .com.

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Again, contacting us through our website, www .utt .com. Philippians 1, beginning in verse 19, is where we are today. So if you have your Bibles, open up there, and we're going to knock out this next paragraph.

Paul’s Joy in the Advancement of the Gospel

Now, this next section actually starts right in the middle of verse 18. So let me read that again, and then we'll keep on going. Philippians 1, starting in verse 18. 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 at all be 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 will I choose? I cannot tell. I am 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.

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.

Let's take a moment here to pray. Our gracious God, we thank you again for your word that we might be able to read this and absorb this truth, experience this joy, this kind of joy that we can only experience in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Help us to make the Lord our greatest joy as we continue to study in the book of Philippians here, learning from Paul's experiences, learning from his wisdom as an apostle, the knowledge that was given to him by the Holy Spirit.

Keep us solid in these truths. Keep us coming back to it often and meditating upon this and renewing our heart and our strength in the joy of the Lord. And pray that you be with us as we talk through these things here in this broadcast.

And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Philippians chapter one, again, starting in verse 18. So to tell you kind of where we ended up last time. In verse 12, Paul says to his Philippian brothers, what's happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

Because remember, Paul had been thrown in prison in Rome. He was under house arrest. He couldn't go anywhere, but people could still come to him and he could continue to preach to them. So even though he had been arrested for preaching the gospel, he means to assure the Philippians by saying, don't be in despair.

This is actually serving to advance the gospel because it's 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 now much more bold to speak the word without fear.

You know, sometimes when I read the scriptures, I kind of have a movie scene going on in my head of what this might have looked like. This letter would have been delivered to the Philippian church, which, as we talked about last week, was likely meeting in Lydia's home.

So when Paul was delivering this letter with Epaphroditus back to the Philippians, Epaphroditus was likely the one who came then before the body. He opens up the scroll and he starts reading the letter to the church body there.

And as he's reading this and he gets to this part, we're reading this in sections. But the Philippians would have read this, you know, all at once. Would have taken 20 minutes or something just for Epaphroditus to sit up there and read all this entire letter of Philippians, not exegeting it the way that I'm doing.

But anyway, so Epaphroditus is up there reading the letter. And when he gets to the part, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me really has served to advance the gospel. And this is right after he just told the Philippians, you are partakers with me in this.

And so then he says, what's happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. It's become known throughout all the imperial guard that my imprisonments for Christ, the brothers have been encouraged by this.

And as Epaphroditus is reading this, everybody in the church, it just gets livelier and livelier. Yeah, yes, the gospel is being advanced, even though Paul's been thrown in prison because they were truly concerned about him.

They had heard about some of this rivalry that had stirred up among some preachers that were preaching against Paul. They had heard that he'd been thrown in prison. So they took up this offering, this collection for him to help him with his ministry and had it sent to Rome.

So they they were really concerned about him. So then to hear from Paul that this is actually served to advance the gospel, that became such great joy for the Philippians to hear that. All right. So so then Paul ends verse 18 by saying in that I will rejoice.

And then we start the next section still in verse 18 with him repeating it again. Yes. And I will rejoice. It's such a joyful thing. He says it twice. That's a theme that comes up a couple of times in Philippians, by the way, because in Philippians, chapter four, verse four is where we read rejoice in the Lord always.

And I will say it again. Rejoice. Just this this concept, this theme of joy that exudes through this whole letter or out of this that out of this whole letter in every way, whether in pretense or in truth.

Christ is proclaimed. And in that I will 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. Again, giving them assurance of this, this confidence that he has of the work that God is doing.

Remember Philippians one six. 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. Folks, we mess up. We fail. We stumble. We will look at, you know, God is probably doing a ministry work in us and we'll look at it and go, boy, I'm so terrible at this.

How could God possibly be using me to accomplish this work? Understand something. God is doing the work. You are the vessel. He is using you. Yes, you make mistakes. Yes, it gets really hard, but that is so that you will rely upon him all the more.

And to know exactly what I'm talking about, take a moment later today, perhaps to read second Corinthians chapter one. It is God who started the work in Christ. It is Christ in you. It is God who will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.

God Is the One Completing His Work in Us

Now, I'm a dad. I'm a father. I've got kids. I have a beautiful wife. I have the church that I minister to, that I preach at, that I'm the pastor of. We have the when we understand the text videos and now the broadcast.

My primary ministry is my wife and my children. And even here in this ministry, I look at my kids and I see myself as being completely inadequate. I know my shortcomings as a father. I know where I fail.

And so if my children grow up and they stumble, is that because I messed up somewhere as a father? But but when I read passages like this, what I need to remember is that it is God who is doing the work, not me.

I need to be faithful to my end. Absolutely. I need to be a man of God. OK, let me let me bring this to you another way. When we read here that God is the one who is completing the work in Christ Jesus, that does not give us permission to kick our feet back and go, OK, God's doing the work.

All right. Well, I can I can go home and sit on the computer all day if God's doing the work in my children. No, that's that's not how that works, because as it says in Ephesians, chapter five, a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave up his life for her husbands.

That means that you cannot come home from work and decide, OK, God's doing the work. I'm not doing it. So I'm going to go sit in front of the computer all day. You need to die to yourself. You need to give up the things that you want to do selfishly and go be with your wife and your children.

And you have to want to do that. OK, don't do it begrudgingly. I would rather be watching this sports game. I would rather be playing on the Internet and watching YouTube videos endlessly with kittens playing the piano and whatnot.

You have to give up yourself and be with your wife and with your children and want to be with them. Loving your wife, being with her, loving your children, teaching them. We are part of a divine plan.

God has called us to this plan. We get to be participants in it, but we don't seal the deal. God does that. God is the one who is completing the work. He's the one that will bring it to completion at the day of Christ.

We get to be participants in it. Rejoice in that. God has called you to participate in his divine plan. So do it with joy. Husbands love your wives. Wives submit to your husbands. Husbands teach your children.

Fathers teach your children. OK. And children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. These are ways that we are participants in God's divine plan, and we do this with joy. God will complete this work in the day of Christ.

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. It is it is by prayer and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ that this turns out for our deliverance.

Best way to read this into our Christian walk into our devotional life. Pray often and read the Bible often. The spirit of Jesus Christ that speaks to us through his word. OK. Pray often. Be in God's word often.

Paul has said that there are those that 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 proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, 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. And Paul is saying that in the things that he has suffered through, this is actually been used to advance the gospel.

And it has emboldened the body of Christ to speak the word without fear, as it says in verse 14. Now, I mentioned last week that we had a situation that occurred in our church where a couple of men were causing division.

They had to be disciplined. We had to confront them with their attitudes and the things that they were saying and and the ways that they were being slanderous toward other people. Instead of undergoing church discipline, they decided to up and leave.

So they just they just up and left. And it was it was a really tumultuous experience. I was kind of stressed out over the over that period of time. I won't I won't lie. I did have concerns. I did lay awake at night wondering what it was I was going to do, how we were going to handle this situation.

Was this going to result in a church split? What was going to happen here? Because they did have some people that were loyal to their ideas and their contest stations. And and so I contacted a gentleman who would eventually become one of our elders, and I was sharing with him some of my concerns.

And he prayed with me over the phone. And after we got to the end of our prayer, he said to me, you know, I don't envy you in your position. But I want to tell you this, that what I am seeing happening in our church is actually very exciting.

And I said, I didn't really appreciate that at the time. I was like, OK, well, thanks. You know, it was the next day when I was reading in Titus that this thing really hit home for me. Titus chapter one.

I was I was meditating on like the first four verses, just the greeting in Titus one. And I've been reading it over and over and over again. And Paul says here, Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth.

Paul is putting them. Paul is putting himself out there for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God, our Savior.

Again, Paul is not the one who chose this occupation. God chose him for it to Titus, my true child in a common faith, grace and peace from God, the Father in Christ Jesus, our Savior. And as I was reading that over and over again, I started to be filled with confidence and I was excited about the work that God was doing.

And it occurred to me what it was that my friend had said to me on the phone the night before. Yes, it's a struggle. Yes, it's not a position that anyone really wants to be in. But it is still exciting because we see God working through his church to purify his church.

It is not a great thing when a person has to be purged from the church. But Paul says it must be done. First Corinthians chapter five, where he says, purge the evil person from among you. And even through these experiences, we should not dread and we should not fear, because as Paul says here in Philippians chapter one, verse 14, that the brotherhood of Christ, the body of Christ has become more confident in the Lord and have become more bold to speak the word without fear.

And I think that we've actually had that same experience happen in our church, that we've had to do discipline with some unruly people, that even through those processes of discipline, our church turns out for the better.

There's a statistic out there somewhere. I'm not going to try to rattle this one off the top of my head because I can't remember what it is exactly. I've seen Mark Dever write about it. But churches actually undergo more growth in numbers and in maturity when discipline is practiced there.

It doesn't shrink a church. It actually does grow a church. And most importantly, it grows the church maturely. Our primary objective should not be to increase the numbers of our church. We can't control that.

God does. We are supposed to be faithful to the declaration of his word, bringing one another into maturity as we grow and are strengthened by these things. And what we're reading here in Philippians chapter one is this also helps to strengthen our joy.

Paul is rejoicing in the struggles that he's had to go through. 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.

His deliverance from prison so that he will get to see his brothers in Christ again. We'll talk about this more tomorrow. We'll flesh this out a little bit more. Flesh this out. We'll spirit it out a little bit more as we come back to this section of Philippians chapter one.

Let's pray and then we'll take a viewer question. Our great God, oh, your word is so amazing. And we thank you so much for the joy of the Lord that we can experience this joy. The way that the Father and the Son and the Spirit enjoyed one another's presence for all eternity, even before this world and the people that were made in your image were made.

We read about that divine dance in John chapter 17, where Christ asked to be glorified with the Father as he was before time began. And you have called us to a divine plan. We get to be partakers in that.

And if we are in Christ, we will be with you for all eternity. What a wonderful thing. What an incredible thing to think about. Help us continue to be meditating on these things and to and to treasure your word.

And as we walk away from this study today to continue to meditate on it and have it work in us as we go throughout our day. Thank you for being the wonderful God that you are patient and loving, wise and showing us your wisdom.

Eternal Security and the Assurance of Salvation

I pray that you do this all the more in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen. Our question today has to do with eternal security and it comes to us anonymously. I have been in contact with this person and visited with them about this and also ask their permission to use their question on the broadcast.

But they requested that their name be withheld. So I want to respect that. This has to do with the video that we did on eternal security. So let's go ahead and play that first. In John 10, the Jews pressed Jesus to speak plainly if he was the Christ.

Jesus answered, I told you and you do not believe the works that I do in my father's name. But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand.

I and the father are one. It is God who gives us eternal life and it is God who keeps us there. In Jude 24, we are told it is by his power that we are kept from stumbling and presented blameless before him.

In Ephesians 4 .30, Paul writes that in Christ we are sealed for the day of redemption. And in John 3 .16, those who believe in Christ are given eternal life. If it was possible to lose that gift of eternal life, then it wasn't eternal.

If you could lose salvation, then you haven't been saved. It is by no work of our own that we are saved and it is by no work of our own that we stay saved. It is from beginning to end the gracious work of God.

If a person confesses to being a follower of Jesus for a time but then falls away, then they were never rooted in Christ to begin with, which Jesus explained in the parable of the sower. But for those of us who have been called out of darkness and into his marvelous light, take heart, Christian, for nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord when we understand the text.

Our question comes from Nacogdoches, Texas. Am I pronouncing that right? I don't know. And they write to us. Dear what, I just watched your video on eternal security. I'm just so scared. What if I'm apostate?

What if I was never saved? What if I'm the rocky soil? I was so happy as a Christian but I started backsliding and I've been trying to regain my footing but I can't. What if I'm not predestined? I can't walk away but I can't seem to get whatever it was that I had back.

I want to respond to this question as if I was talking to you, the listener, and you had asked me this question. For what it's worth, I don't think you would be concerned about such things if the desire of your heart was not to be part of the kingdom of God.

So let me just begin with that. Be careful though not to let your wondering turn into despair. We were meant to have security in Christ. That is something God wants us to have. The apostle John wrote in 1 John 5 .13, he was writing to the churches so that those who read would know with confidence that they have eternal life.

Now there are some denominations out there, some independent churches as well, that will teach you that God doesn't want you to have security. Because if you're too confident in your faith then you'll trust in yourself and not in God.

He wants you to always be wondering about your faith. Otherwise you're not growing. You won't be committed to your church or whatever silly reasons they say God doesn't want you to be secure in your faith.

Usually those reasons are given to make you afraid. The Roman Catholic Church is notorious for this. There are some Pentecostal churches that mean to make you afraid so that you attend church and tithe every week.

I've had to do damage control before with people who were brought up in Pentecostalism and now live in constant fear that they're not doing the right things. That God doesn't really love them and they aren't really saved.

But God loves us as His children. 1 John 3 .1 How great is the love that the Father has poured out upon us that we might be called the children of God. And that is what we are. God also calls us His spouse.

Can you believe that? If we are in Christ, we're called the bride of Christ. Okay. Tell me, would a husband and a wife really have a safe, secure marriage if one of them wasn't sure if the other one loved them?

The Lord also calls us His friends. These are the words that Jesus uses to describe those who are in Him so that we would know that we are safe in His love. In John 14 .18, Jesus said, I will not leave you orphans.

I will come to you. J .D. Greer wrote a book called Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart. I very much recommend that book, by the way, to anyone who might be struggling with this. I want to read an excerpt from it.

Greer is talking about these same things here. God referring to us as children, a spouse, and a friend. Specifically on the subject of children, Greer writes this,. A faithful father does not leave his kids wondering whether or not he loves them.

When I have to go away on a trip, I don't say to my kids, Daddy will be back soon, or maybe he won't. Maybe I'm not really your daddy at all. Maybe my real family lives somewhere else. You'll just have to wait and see if I come back.

Sit around and think about that while I'm gone, and let that compel you to become better children. That would not produce love and loyalty in my children. It might produce a little fear-based obedience, but it's only a matter of time until fear-based obedience turns into father-loathing rebellion.

If I don't want my own children fearing they might be orphans, would God? Do we really think we are better fathers to our children than God would be to His? Hardly. The love God has for us is the highest in the universe.

Jesus said, as the Father loved me, I also have loved you, John 15, 9. Jesus loves us like God the Father loved Him, and He wants us to have the same assurance with Him that He had with God. Think about that.

The same love the perfect Father has for the perfect Son is the love that Christ, our everlasting Father, now has for us. I have a hard time really getting my mind around that, but if the Son of God doesn't sit around wondering about His relationship to His Father, I should not be worried about my relationship to Him.

When you become a Christian, you are actually placed in Christ and Christ into you. And just as Christ would never be cast out from the Father, neither can you be cast out from Christ. That is assurance.

That is beautiful. Again, that is from the book, Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J .D. Greer, pastor of the Summit Church in one of my favorite parts of the world, North Carolina. The subtitle of the book is How to Know For Sure You Are Saved.

So that is some reading material I'd recommend. Now, I mentioned this last week when I was talking about a young man who came to me and said that he didn't know whether or not he was saved. In my flesh as a pastor, I want to be able to tell you that you are, but quite frankly, I cannot know that.

You can, and God wants you to know that. My encouragement to those who have been struggling with matters of security in the faith is to read 1 John. I often give them the challenge to read it for 30 days, but I'll just tell you, read it until it makes sense to you.

Read it one day, all five chapters, then come back to it tomorrow and read it again. Keep doing that until the truth of God's Word fills your heart and the assurance of His promises comforts your spirit.

Paul says this in 2 Timothy 2, If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. But if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Or as some translations read it, He cannot disown Himself. Know that you have salvation in Christ. Repent of your sin and follow this command. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me. Oh, I have tears in my eyes now.

Let's pray and we'll be dismissed. That's what I want to say because I say it in church. Let's pray as we come to a conclusion here. Our gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for the love that we have in Christ Jesus.

Teach us these things more and more so we might know with confidence the love, the security, the salvation that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. And it is in His name that we pray. Amen.

You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. We feature dozens of videos covering a wide range of biblical topics viewed by thousands around the world each day. These videos are free for anyone to use for ministry purposes in your church, youth group, Bible study, or to share on social media.

You can find a complete list of videos and topics on our website, www .tt .com. Thank you for listening. Tomorrow we'll continue in Philippians rejoicing together in God's truth when we understand the text.