Citizens: A Study on Philippians (Part 5)
July 12, 2020Give Online: Tithes & Offerings
Citizens: A Study on Philippians
(Part 5)
Good Morning – Welcome back to Jesus Church!
Week 5 on our study on the letter to Philippi
- 2 weeks ago we talked about Grace & Peace
- Every letter Paul writes starts with the these words
- And I believe we can change our world if we will do the same
- If every dialogue we engaged in began w/ Grace & Peace
- Last week we talked about Prayer & Joy (verses 3-6)
- Paul says “every time I think of you, I pray with joy”
- HOW – Because he knows God is not done yet
- The greatest reason for joy is because I trust in God’s plan
- Says – “He will be faithful to complete his work in you”
- The rest of his opening prayer follows in verses 7-11
- Prays of continued partnership
- Prays that God would complete what he started
- Prays their love would grow – knowledge/insight/righteousness
This week we focus on what comes next
Phil 1:12-18
[PRAY]
Story: Anyone remember curfews
- There wasn’t a single I got home – Dad wasn’t up waiting for me
- He couldn’t sleep until he knew I was safe
- Worrying I was in a ditch somewhere… IN THE SAME WAY
Philippi is constantly worried about Paul
- Paul has been thrown in jail for preaching Jesus is the true King
- That Jesus is to be worshiped and not Caesar
- And he’s preaching that from the street corners
- So the Philippians are naturally worried about Paul
- Is he ok
- Does he have enough food
- Is he even alive
- They send Apaphrodydis 800+ miles 2 bring Paul money & supplies
- And Paul in return has a letter to send back to the church
- Says: Thank you for the money… you saved my life
He says: What is happening to me is advancing the Gospel
- So that begs the question – What is happening to Paul
- For that answer we have to go to 1 Cor. 4 (Paul autobiography)
- There is a LIST OF THINGS that happened to Paul
1 Cor 4:9-13
The list…
On display/Condemned to die/Spectacle/Fools for Christ
Weak/Dishonored/Hungry & Thirsty/In rags/Brutally treated
Homeless/Self-supporting/Cursed/Persecuted/Slandered
Scum of the earth/Garbage to the world
2 Cor 6:4-10
The list…
Troubles/Hardships/Distresses/Beatings/Imprisonments
Riots/Hard work/Sleepless nights/Hunger/Dishonor/Bad reports
Regarded as impostors/Regarded as unknown/Dying/Beaten
Sorrowful/Poor/Having nothing
- Xian book called “UR best life now”… Pauls be “UR worst life now”
- And with that as the context of: What has happened to me
- Lets go back to Philippians…
After all of that: Paul ends up where? PRISON
- And this is an apostle… his job is to reach the ends of the earth
- With the Gospel – The great commission
- And the guy is locked up/stuck in a jail cell
- It’s the athlete with a broken arm on the end of the bench
- I’m sure this would be tearing Paul up from the inside
- But you would think Paul would have given up by the prison gig
- After all the other stuff that happened…
- He’d lose hope – I’m stuck in prison… it’s over
- But actually Paul says that his situation is advancing the Gospel
- ADVANCE > Pro-Ko-Pay
- Word picture of a roman army out on a march
- The engineer is out in front of the army
- They would pave the way… cut back trees… makes a road
- In order to advance the army
- ADVANCE > Pro-Ko-Pay
- Paul is saying all of this served to pave the way for the Gospel
Paul lays out 2 examples of what he’s talking about
First: Is the Palace Guard
Phil 1:13
That word in Greek – Pertorium
- The pertorium was a group of roman soldiers (9000 men)
- They were Caesars elite bodyguards
- Controlled much of went on in Rome – High power/influence
- Paul says – Even the elite warriors of Rome know why I’m here
- And every 4 hours a new guard would show up
- So Paul has the ear of the most powerful warriors of Rome
- And as convos would go… each had to hear the Gospel
- And they would know of the Jewish execution of Jesus
- And now they’re hearing that this movement is spreading
- Caesar can’t stop it… b/c not even death scares them
- They believe in their King more than we believe in Caesar
Point is –If the Empires agenda was to shut Paul up (did it work)?
- No… In fact the exact opposite happened…
- Paul is brought to the heart of Rome
- And there he is spreading Jesus more effectively than ever
Second: Inspiration among other Christians
Phil 1:14
Brothers & Sisters most likely means believers in Rome
- And this is all happening around 61 AD
- Which is a dangerous time in Rome – Nero starts to go crazy
- A few years later Nero (believed to) set fire to Rome
- And in the aftermath he blamed the church
- That released an empire wide persecution of followers of Jesus
- This is where Christians were burned nightly as street lamps
- They were forced in large groups to fight professional gladiators
- Or they were thrown in with lions and tigers to be killed
- Point being… It’s scary to be a Christian
- You could be pulled out of ur house at any moment and killed
- But what happens is as they see Paul being beaten/imprisoned
- It inspires/emboldens them to preach the gospel anyways
Think of the inspiration when people make sacrifices for greatness
- Olympic athletes – respect those who push their body to do that
- Get up at 4am to start training all day/every day
- Give up sleep/sugar/In N Out/TV/Normal Life
- Basketball star – Steph Curry that shoots 2000+ shots per week
- Graduated highschool at 140
- Passed over by teams in the draft
- Rejected by Nike… now probably greatest shooter of all time
- All in the pursuit of greatness… you read about it and get inspired
- I can give up junk food… get up an hour earlier
- I can go shoot the basketball and get good at it
- I can train and do something great… I’m inspired
And I think that’s what is happening in Rome as well
- They see Paul is willing to go to prison and die for the Gospel
- Gosh… why can’t I?
- I know I’m not alone in this… and if Paul can stand up…
- I can stand up
- Point – Empires agenda was 2 make Paul an example
- This is what happens if you reject Caesar and Rome and God
- But it totally backfired… b/c if the worst you can do is death
- We know that death is already defeated
- Paul says: ALL THAT HAPPENED TO ME – helped advance to Gospel
- But its not all roses… things are tough as well
Phil 1:15-17
Good news & Bad news
Good news – People are out on streets of Rome preaching the Gospel
Bad news – There are some preaching Gospel for all the wrong reasons
- Some think: Now is my chance to take over – start my own thing
- Paul’s in prison… lets take advantage of that
- And it’s like salt on the wound… that could destroy someone
- But no… not Paul (eternal optimist) – Keep Going…
Phil 1:18
- I’m thinking… Paul how can you even be real
- Paul only cares about if the KING is preached… that’s it
- And that is happening all over Rome – So whatever happens
- Paul says he is good…
- Isn’t that relevant today – “B/C the Gospel is preached… I rejoice”
There is that word again – Paul uses “JOY” (Rejoice/joy) same Gk word
- Used 16 times in Philippians – More than any other letter
- Paul is beaten… locked up… almost died… about to stand trial
- And Paul says: Because of THIS I will rejoice
- You cannot keep this guy down
- Imagine you were about to go on trial for your life
- Paul has laser sights on the purpose for his life
- You cannot get this guy down… “He rejoices”
16 times Paul uses JOY – Every time we get to see into Paul’s life
- Question: How do we learn to live with that kind of Joy in our lives
- A joy that isn’t connected to circumstance
- We get to learn how to live with JOY
Only one thought on JOY the morning:
The Redemptive Narrative – Example of how Jesus takes evil…
- Fill in the blank: Paul – Prison… not our story but…
- We all bump up against evil – divorce/cancer/abuse
- The God we worship can take evil and cut into it with redemption
- And dig out the good… that is JUST WHAT GOD DOES
- And I am NOT saying that evil is somehow God’s will and plan
- What happened 2 Paul was evil… demonic attack on the Gospel
- People preaching Gospel for selfish gain – Manipulative abuse
- But in a strange way… God was at work in and thru that
And when Xians bump up against evil… we land on one of two sides
- Some people get angry at God (Shake fit… doubt… loathe)
- Turn from God to vow never to return
- They hate God for what happened to them
- Others just say God did it for a reason (Part of God’s plan)
- There is a reason for all of my suffering
- And I’m sure there are bits and pieces to that – True
- The problem with BOTH SIDES – They blame God for the evil
- And I believe “providence” is far more complexed than that
- And yes I believe there are times responsibility falls on God
- But that isn’t my end all reason that an Earthquake kills millions
Scenario: Say u get married/Buy a house/Start family
Right then – You get laid off… why did that happen?
- Maybe that was God – His plan all along – purpose & reason
- You are gonna find a better job… more opportunity
- God has better things in store for you
- Maybe it was Satan – At war with God to attack & sabotage ur life
- And appropriate response isn’t just to sit back and trust
- But more to fight with God against evil
- Or maybe it wasn’t that at all: Just sin… they were a lazy employee
- Maybe he was late for work/cutting corners/insubordinate
- Maybe it wasn’t this guys sin… but someone else’s sin
- Where a coworker lied to get ahead in their job
- And this guy was collateral damage
- Or what if it’s just life in a fallen & broken world
- And it seems like everyone is getting laid off
- It’s just a brutal time to have his specific job
- Or what if it is a combination of 2 or 3 of the above
- We have no clue and can’t have a clue
My default isn’t to just say “God did this for a reason”
- Because we don’t know WHY that happened (plan/sin/nature)
- But either way – The tomb is empty!!!
- Gospel Hope isn’t that everything that happens to u is God’s will
- It’s that: NO MATTER WHAT happens to you
- God is with you – He is right at your side
- When u bump up against evil
- God will never be far from you
- When you are the victim of sin in or of this world
- God who suffered for you – will also suffer with you
- And no matter what is in your path
- You follow a God that can bring GOOD out of EVIL
Because God can turn ANYTHING into his purposes for redemption
Rom 8:28
- Meaning that for those who love God… get the 2nd half of the verse
- For those called according to HIS purpose
- Who wake up everyday to offer their lives 2 Jesus (everything)
- Saying you can have it all – all the time – every part
- It’s in that moment God steps in… work all things together for good
- The past… the ugly… the painful… the broken (not God’s will)
- God can turn all of that (your fault) into GOOD!!!
- That doesn’t make it not evil – Abuse will always be evil
- But God’s can take that evil… not his will… not his heart
- God’s will has been 4 u to live in Eden since the beginning
- That’s God’s plan – But Jesus can take the aftermath of sin
- Reach in and rescue you from all of that
- And work together for good in and thru your life
- That is Gospel hope… not pretending evil is GOOD
- That is Buddhism – Not Gospel
- It’s trying to imagine how God will pick up the evil in ur life
- And somehow He works for the GOOD
- But God’s can take that evil… not his will… not his heart
TAG: Majority of us already know that… but here is the twist
I don’t think I define GOOD in same way as God
I define All things work together for GOOD as “For my happiness”
- I don’t think I’m alone in that but…
- I think Paul defines GOOD as – To advance the gospel
- And there IS a difference
- B/C when I say God is at work for Good toward the pain in my life
- I think it means… for my happiness
- Now happiness can come along with GOOD – It’s not the prereq
- Keep in mind – This is all Paul’s answer to question: How are you?
- Because that question could be split into 2 different questions
- Paul – How are you?
- Paul – How is the Gospel?
- But Paul answers both of them the exact same way
- B/C Pauls life was completely bound up in the Gospel
- So to speak to one question is to speak to both of them
- Because that question could be split into 2 different questions
Paul was all about the Gospel – B/C Paul was all about Jesus
- Paul never says prison is good for his health and well being
- Prison’s purpose is to serve and advance the Gospel
- And our role in fighting EVIL is not PASSIVE – It’s ACTIVE
- You have a part to play “Called according to his purpose”
- Not just to watch the redemption of the world
- But to actively participate in the redemption of the world
God can dig into your story – Dig out the evil – Use it for GOOD
- And when we get 2 the place happiness & advancement of Gospel
- Are one in the same thing
- At that point you will have set yourself up for 24/7 joy
- B/C joy isn’t connect to this earth (married/money/health)