× Notes Bible Add Sermon Notes This note will be displayed at bottom of your sermon note when you save to pdf or email them Interact Jesus Church Citizens: A Study on Philippians (Part 5) July 12, 2020 View All Past Notes View This Note w/o Blanks Share Citizens: A Study on Philippians (Part 5) July 12, 2020 Give 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 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 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 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) Give Online: Tithe & Offering Save PDF Locally Click to save a copy of the filled-in notes to a PDF file on your device Generate File Click to View PDF Save PDF to Google Drive (Android & PC Only) Click to save a copy of the filled-in notes to a PDF file on your Google Drive account Save File Send to Email Enter your email address below to receive a copy of your filled in notes Send