Philippians 1:19-26 - Christ Is Our Hope = No Fear Of Death

In this passage, Paul calls us to something extraordinary. By God's grace, Jesus should be our hope, our very life. If our hope is in Jesus and in seeing him after death, what does that mean for us in this life? For Paul, it meant this life was about the Gospel.

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 be 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 shall 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.

What Paul says here is pretty remarkable. He is in prison in Rome as he writes this, awaiting his sentence. Will he be released or executed? That was the big question. But he doesn't seem to be very worried about that. Notice that half way through the passage Paul basically says he'd like to "depart" and be with Jesus. He is basically saying he's hoping the verdict might be execution, because if so he will get to see Jesus. Do we live with this kind of passion for Jesus?

What does this mean for us? We are to read God's word as if it were written directly to us. It is not only that Paul is calling the Philippians to live like this, but that God is calling all those who follow Jesus to live like this through Paul. Jesus is to be our life, our hearts desire, our hope. That means that we no longer have to grasp for our own satisfaction, comfort and "success" in this life because we know that our hearts desire will be fulfilled when we see Christ face to face when this life is over.

The implication: we, like Paul, can give our lives completely to the mission of Jesus without fear that we will miss out on anything. The reality is that we miss out on everything if we don't give our lives to the mission of Jesus, the creator of the Universe. And when we die, we get God forever if we belong to Christ. There is nothing to lose.

Philippians 1:12-14 - Suffering For The Advance Of The Gospel

In this blurb, Paul is writing to tell the Philippians of how God has used his persecution to spread the gospel and bring Jesus fame:

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

Paul is saying that everyone around him who is watching his life unfold is getting to see his devotion to Jesus through his imprisonment and that many of them, including all the soldiers who serve at Philippi, are intrigued and inspired by what they see. Additionally, many of his brothers in Christ are bolder as a result of Paul's courage. Why is this guy unafraid even though he might get his head chopped off? How can he be so unwavering in the face of a reality that would terrify most people?

We will discover why soon, but the big idea is that Paul does not fear death, but God, and to kill Paul would only unite him with his hearts desire, Jesus Christ. Why should he fear anything in light of the future he has to look forward to - enjoying the presence of Jesus forever.

But for now, consider how your life might impact those around you for the gospel when you begin to walk in this reality. If you are bought by the blood of Christ, you will live with him forever in his Kingdom. You, like Paul, can laugh in the face of death and give everything to advance the gospel, so that those around you might see that Jesus really is worth giving our lives for and become bold for him as well.

See you at Proxy.

Philippians 1:8-11 - God Is Our Witness, God Changes Us

In Philippians 1:8, Paul refers to God as his witness. What does that mean? Basically, God and Paul were tight. They spent a lot of time together because Paul spent a lot of time in prayer. Prayer for his brothers and sisters in Christ, in this case, the Philippians:

"For God is my witness, how I yearn for you with all the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love my abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (8-11)

Paul's focus in much of his prayer was on his brothers and sisters. He spent a lot of time with God and so he became more and more like God, desiring good for others. This is the inevitable result of time with God in prayer and getting to know him better. We cannot help but begin to look away from ourselves, taking our own issues and suffering less seriously, and taking God and his mission more seriously.

Paul's time with his Father caused him to yearn for God's will to be done in the lives of the Philippians, for them to made more like Christ, to grow in love, knowledge and discernment and be ready for the return of Jesus. This outward focus was the will of God in the life of Paul - that he pour out his life for the church. This is the will of God for us too. If we spend time with God in his word and in prayer, seeking the good of others, nobody will necessarily know about it but God, but he will begin to give us his heart for others so that we will genuinely yearn for their good and rejoice when they are blessed. This is the heart of Jesus.

Philippians 1:6-7 - Grace Is About God From Start To Finish

This Wednesday we heard about Paul's assurance that God would finish the work he started in the Philippians and how he had a deep love for them as "partakers of Grace" with him:

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way (verse 3-5) about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel."

Why was Paul so sure that God would complete the work he had begun in the believers at Philippi, that he would continue to teach, protect, grow and love them with absolutely no drop outs? Because he understood God's grace. God had called the Philippians to himself and saved them by the blood of Christ while they were still his enemies, still sinners. Just as his grace saved them at their conversion, it would see them through to the end of their lives. Once God has us as his children, he will never let us go.

Why would God pursue us, call to us, make us new creations, only to then let us drift away? The answer is he wouldn't and doesn't. The Philippians were in God's family regardless of their continuing to be sinful people because they were covered by Christ's atoning sacrifice, as we all are if we trust in Jesus alone. End of story.

This grace is an unthinkable, unimaginable gift. The only way to really understand it is to experience it for yourself. And the only people who can really understand you once you've seen the beauty of the Cross are others who know God's grace, others who have partaken of it. This caused a bond between Paul and the Philippians which was unbreakable. They were one in Christ (John 17:20-26).

Have you experienced God's grace on your life and the bond he desires you to have with his sons and daughters?

See you next week.

What Is Gospel Community?

In Philippians 1:3-5, Paul is thankful for his friends:

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now."

Paul is appreciative of the Philippians for their partnering with him in the mission of Jesus, and as we see a few verses down, for loving and serving him well during his imprisonment. These were people who Paul could depend on. They loved him and he loved them.

Why did they love one another so well? Is it because they were all just really nice people who felt really good about serving and got a lot of satisfaction out of it? No. The simple answer is the gospel itself.

Jesus calls us to love one another as he has loved us (John 13:34-35). This is the element that makes the church different. We love one another not to feel good, not to earn a righteousness of our own, but because of how God has first loved us while we were his enemies. Our motivation is not simply to do good, to feel good or to advance a cause. Our motivation is genuine gratitude and love for God which spills into our relationships with each other. When the gospel penetrates out hearts, we simply cannot help but extend to others what God has extended to us. The natural by-product of our having encountered the God who loves us well is to love others well, and thereby show others what he is like. Life in the body of believers should be a continuous encounter with the love of God through each other.

This is what is happening between Paul and the Philippians. The grace of God experienced by Paul and this community bound them together because they all found their identity in Christ - "It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace..." (verse 7) - and it should bind us together as well. To have a common knowledge of the unimaginable grace God has offered us should move us toward each other in love.

But it should not end there. This love of God seen in the life of the Christian church is meant to be extended to those outside of it, who will see it and be softened to embrace Jesus. When we care for one another as God cares for us, the world sees what God is like, and many are drawn to him.

Pray that this would be our experience in Proxy this year.

Identity In Christ - An Intro To Philippians

We all tend to get our identity from sources outside of Christ. Many of us identify ourselves by our position or vocation ("I am a Pastor"), or from a God-given gift ("I am really good at..."), or from a person ("I am important because I'm going out with..."), or even from religion ("I am important because I serve in these ministries").

The problem is that any identity apart from one rooted in Christ is a false identity - it can be ripped from us and eventually will be. If I identify myself as a husband, a pastor, a good basketball player, a great singer, etc, what then becomes of me if I lose my wife, lose my position as pastor, tear my ACL and can't get that basketball scholarship or get throat cancer? If my identity is rooted in Christ and who he says I am, I will press through knowing that though I may lose everything, Christ is with me always and I am his no matter what. However, if these kinds of things are my idol, my life come apart and I will fall into despair.

Not so for the apostle Paul. In the beginning of Philippians, he shows us how he identifies himself and us:

"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul identifies himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, an identity given to him by God which can never be taken from him, an identity which God has graciously given to all who love Jesus and trust in him alone.

Paul then refers to his readers as "saints." To be a saint means to be covered by Christ's atoning sacrifice and so have his perfect righteousness given as a gift, to be adopted into God's family through Jesus. This is an unshakable identity. We are now defined not by what we do, or how well we behave, but we are loved unconditionally as God's children. Our Father loves his kids. Period.

Don't settle for any identity other than God's son or daughter.

In the following weeks and months, we will continue to unpack this as we make our way through Philippians. See you on Wednesday.

What This Blog Is All About

This year, we are going to be stepping up our game at Proxy in a number of ways. One of those ways will be providing more content for our students, parents and anyone interested in Proxy through this blog.

The vision is to convert all of our sermons and messages into blog posts so that students can see what they may have missed the week before, study the theology they're learning on Wednesdays or review what the sermon covered. Those interested can get at least a taste of what we are all about.

Up to this point we've been in the book of Acts learning about what it means to follow Jesus faithfully, to be a radical witness for him. We've seen that following Christ means...

-That we are saved by Christ's work on the cross - by God's grace alone

-That everything, even our very lives, are to be worthless next to Jesus - he is our reward

-That we are called to share the gospel with our friends and enemies and live lives that honor God out of gratitude to him for sending his Son to die for us - an unimaginable gift

-That following Christ will often mean being a rebel, going against the grain of human nature and that it could cost us our lives

-That God gives us the boldness required to follow Jesus and not cop out

-That only by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit can we be this kind of man or woman

We hope you all have learned and been changed and that you are excited about what God is doing and going to do in your lives.

We will now be starting a new series in Philippians where we will explore what it means to live out the Christian life. What does it really mean to know Jesus? What does it really mean to belong to him? The answers will be revolutionary, as the gospel always is.

Our first message will be an overview of the book of Philippians and will focus on identity in Christ.

See you guys on Wednesday night...