The Focused Journey Blessed Assurance Philippians 1:19-26 9/23/2018 Main Idea: We can live with assurance because of Jesus presence and power. Lesson Objective: To abide closely with our Savior. FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 1
Introduction As your class time begins, use this section to introduce the topic of discussion. Heart Knowledge Is Power Some years ago at a drawing-room function, one of England's leading actors was asked to recite for the pleasure of his fellow guests. He consented and asked if there was anything special that his audience would like to hear. After a moment's pause, an old clergyman present said, "Could you, sir, recite to us the Twenty-third Psalm?" A strange look passed over the actor's face; he paused for a moment, and then said, "I can, and I will, upon one condition; and that is that after I have recited it, you, my friend, will do the same." "I?" said the clergyman, in surprise. "But I am not an elocutionist. However, if you wish it, I will do so." Impressively, the great actor began the psalm. His voice and his intonation were perfect. He held his audience spellbound; and as he finished, a great burst of applause broke from the guests. Then, as it died away, the old clergyman arose and began the psalm. His voice was not remarkable; his intonation was not faultless. When he had finished, no sound of applause broke the silence but there was not a dry eye in the room, and many heads were bowed. Then the actor rose to his feet again. His voice shook as he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the old clergyman and said, "I reached your eyes and ears, my friends; he reached your hearts. The difference is just this I know the Twenty- third Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd." 1 1 http://www.moreillustrations.com/illustrations/assurance%201.html FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 2
Knowing His Power Philippians 1:18-20 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, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 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. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. As we discussed last week, Paul believed that God was in control. He had confidence that everything would work out for the glory of God. He hoped that he would be delivered, and he assured the Philippians that their prayers, along with the help of the Spirit of Christ, had been crucial in his time of need. What seems interesting is that prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit are often closely linked in Scripture (Luke 11:13; Acts 4:30f.). We are assured that the Spirit operates in response to human prayer. In the passage above, we can see that the Philippians prayed, and God responded through his Spirit. Paul recognized a higher authority than that possessed by his jailers and by the powers that put him in prison. When Paul spoke of what has happened (v.12) he may have referred to the basic fact of his imprisonment, but it is quite likely he was also referring to those matters described in verses 12 18 (being in chains for Christ, the courage of the brothers, and the motives by which Christ was preached.) 2 2 Anthony Lee Ash, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994), Php 1:19 20. FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 3
The Greek word translated deliverance, is often rendered as salvation in the New Testament. Paul viewed salvation as having several aspects past (Eph 2:8), present (Philippians 2:12), and future (Rom 13:11). Here the present and future aspects may be fused into one as the apostle looks to the unfolding of his Christian life and his ultimate hope of standing unashamed both before human judges and before his Lord (cf. v. 20). The strains of imprisonment and the shame of being jailed had the potential to destroy anyone s faith and hope. Even Paul recognized the threat. Even though Paul was confined to prison, the gospel was still moving to new places. This encouraged him to keep looking forward and growing in Christ because of the prayers and work of God in his life. Whether he regained his freedom to minister outside of prison or went to be with the Lord in heaven, he did not want to be ashamed of his testimony for Christ. Whatever took place, he desired for Christ to be exalted in his body. He had the courage to live for Christ or die for Christ, whichever was required. Only such courageous living exalts Christ. Fear causes us to shrink back, remain motionless, and protect ourselves. In the Greek text, eager expectation and hope are nouns, not verbs, and are grammatically joined so as to indicate that they are aspects of a single concept. The word picture Paul is conveying is that he is stretching his head forward concentrating on a single purpose of God and ignoring other interests. Paul had a well-founded hope that he would not be ashamed. This is a broad statement referring first to his appearance before the authorities for the final disposition of his case. There may also be overtones of his ultimate appearance before Christ because he speaks of the possibility of death and of the advantage of being with Christ. FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 4
He has the confident hope with the help from the Holy Spirit that Jesus would be exalted whether by life or by death. What is interesting to note is that he used the passive voice. He was not saying that he would exalt Christ, but that Christ would be exalted in his body. Paul was not relying on his own courage or strength, but on the action of the Holy Spirit who would produce this result in response to the prayers of Paul and the Philippians. 3 In these verses, in what did Paul express confidence? Why was this cause for rejoicing? When have you gained noticeable strength and confidence from the prayers of others? Describe what that situation was like and how you felt knowing other Christians were praying for you. How does confidence in the gospel honor God, as Paul described in verse 20? 3 Homer A. Kent Jr., Philippians, in The Expositor s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 113 115. FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 5
Knowing His Worth Philippians 1:21-24 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Paul desired to communicate with the church that his faith was solid and unshaken despite his predicament. The very essence of Paul s present life was Christ and all that this entailed. Christ had become for him the motive of his actions, the goal of his life and ministry and the source of his strength. Paul wanted the Philippians to understand that the possibility of his death did not mean defeat. Paul saw a twofold gain from death. First, he would experience the personal gain of being with Christ. Second, his death could be a gain for the gospel. To die after such a life could only mean gain. Not only would Paul s state after death bring gain, inasmuch as he would be with Christ (1:23), but the act itself of dying at the hands of Rome was no tragedy in Paul s eyes. Such a death would bear added witness to the gospel; it would confirm that Paul s faith was steadfast to the end, and it would serve as the gateway to Christ s presence. It seems that Paul is seeking to convey his dilemma. The apostle was so committed to the cause of Christ that staying on earth had its advantages, but so did departing and going to heaven. To live means service for Christ would be a blessing and a profit, regardless of his destiny. For Paul this never meant an easy life. His labors in establishing churches and nurturing them toward maturity FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 6
were characterized by frequent opposition, physical hardships, and much spiritual anguish. Yet he looked on his ministry as a challenge to be grasped and as fruit to be harvested. Paul was so positively committed to the will of God that both life and death held certain attractions. If the choice were left to him, he would not know what to decide. I am hard pressed suggests the divided nature of his thinking about this matter. The image portrayed from the original word depicts a person or object held under pressure from two sides so that movement in either direction is difficult or impossible. We can hear Paul s deep passion to be with Christ forever. It would certainly be an improvement over his present prison circumstances. He foresaw no soul-sleep while awaiting the resurrection, nor any purgatory. As he had already explained to the Corinthians, for the believer, absence from the body means immediate presence with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). There was no question in Paul s mind as to the ultimate superiority of this. It was far better because it would bring him to the goal of his Christian life. It would bring rest from his labors and the joy of eternal fellowship in the very presence of the Lord whom he loved. Paul now turns from what was better to what was more necessary. He placed the needs of the church ahead of his desire. He was modeling an attitude that would be necessary later on in his letter. He would call for Christians to be concerned for the interests of others. Some have suggested that he felt it was more necessary for him to remain in the body because he was still alive, and interpreted that as an indication that God had more for him to do. 4 In summary, the entire purpose of Paul s life was to live for Christ. That s it. He knew the only reason he was alive was because God created and 4 Kent Jr., 115-116 and Ash. FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 7
sustained him. For that reason, he had no interest in anything that didn t bring glory to his Creator. He desired to be apart from this world and walk truly with His Savior, but he also knew he had important ministry left to do. He knew there were people who needed him, and he desired to point them to Christ. Paul s life was about glorifying Christ and serving people. What would an attitude like Paul s look like in your life? What are some of the things in this life that distract you from the hope of eternity? How does Paul s definition of life differ from how many people today view the purpose of life? Where do you see this tension most clearly lived out in our community? How would your life be different if we all sacrificed our personal interests in an effort to minister to others? How would our church be different? FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 8
Knowing His Will Philippians 1:25-26 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version Paul was confident that his situation was in the Lord s hands and that what occurred would bring glory to God, regardless of the specific turn it might take. However, his words of I know that I will remain reveals a certain confidence in his knowing what God had for him to do. Paul had an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, the type of relationship in which he spent quality time listening and learning. He knew what God had laid on his heart to do. This should cause us to wonder, Are we following God s plan for our lives? This is a valid question which every one of us must answer. Some may say that Paul didn t really know what God wanted him to do. He only made an educated guess while considering all of his options- and hoped for the best outcome. Is that what our faith is about? Are we simply called into a living relationship with Jesus Christ only to be left alone to guess what our next moves might be? The answer is NO! Let s take a few moments and reflect on how we can know the will of God for our lives. The first step in knowing is to have a right relationship with Him. This might be too simple, but according to Jesus there are many people who know of Him but truly aren t part of Him. The only way that we can be in that FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 9
right relationship is through His saving blood. If you are not sure of your relationship with Him, then there is no need of going any further. You will not be able to rightly discern the will of God without His Spirit within you. The next step in knowing the will of God is making sure there is no unconfessed sin in our lives. Unconfessed sin is like have distortion on the radio. We cannot expect to hear Him clearly if we are not tuned in to Him correctly. One of the best ways to handle this is to go to God in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any unconfessed sins that have been hidden in our hearts. Then we wait and listen. As we are listening God may bring things to your mind. Take time and write them down on a piece of paper. We should spend as much time as possible listening for these specific sins. After a time of listening, then we must spend time confessing and repenting. Each sin is serious and dangerous. Each one should be dealt with by confessing that God is right about the sin, and it should not be in our lives. Then we must repent. We must (through the power of God) remove those sins from our lives. After a time of true repentance, we can then go before God and ask Him to guide our hearts into His will. We must remember that we are listening for His will and not spending time trying to convince God of what we want. Then we wait and listen. Sometimes the answer comes quickly; sometimes He causes us to wait. We may even have to go about our business for a few days, even a few months before God will speak to us. We simply keep this on our hearts, and we go about our days until He answers. Trust Him to answer. He will. Does God really speak? Yes. But not always in the same way. Sometimes He speaks through His Word to us. Sometimes He uses other believers to speak to us. Sometimes it is the still small voice within us. Sometimes He shouts within our souls so loudly that we think everyone heard Him! But God will FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 10
answer. How do we know it is God speaking and not just ourselves? There are several things we can do to make sure that it is God speaking to us. First, we should compare it to Scripture. God will not tell us to do something that is against His Word. Next, we can speak with other mature believers. Other spiritually mature believers have experience in listening to God s voice. They can help us make sure we are listening to the right voice. One truth that we can hold on to is that when God speaks to us, He speaks with truth and authority. Listen to His voice and reflect on what He has said. There should be a peace that comes along with His will, just like in the case of Paul. Paul wanted to go on to be with Jesus. However, Paul was convinced that God wanted him to continue a little longer. God s direction reminded Paul that the welfare of other believers was more important than his own desire to go to heaven. By enduring on earth he could assist their spiritual growth and joy in the Christian faith. His obedience to the LORD nurtured the abiding relationship that he had with His Savior. Because He was close to Christ, the joy of the LORD filled his heart. This joy is not from circumstances, but from the abiding relationship in Christ Jesus, the source of true joy for believers. Also the more time Paul spent with the LORD, the more he glorified Him. The same is true for the church of Philippi. Paul wanted to teach and model this for them so that they would live to glorify God. The same goes for us. The more time we spend with God, the more we will see He is worthy of ALL of our praise! How is your relationship with God? What is God s will for your life? FARMSTEAD BAPTIST CHURCH 11