A person is not ready to live until he is ready to die. And conversely, a person is not ready to die until is he is ready to live.
Sermon Title: WHEN CHRIST IS THE CENTER
Sermon Text: PHILIPPIANS 1:18-26 (ESV)
Sermon Series: PHILIPPIANS: FINDING JOY IN THE JOURNEY
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
PHILIPPIANS 1:18-26 ESV
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. 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. 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.
A person is not ready to live until he is ready to die. And conversely, a person is not ready to die until is he is ready to live.
I. JOYFUL CONFIDENCE
Joy is a choice.
deliverance | Greek: sótéria
“welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, safety.”
PHILIPPIANS 1:6 ESV
6 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.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:4 ESV
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.
If joy is an act of the will, then confidence is a statement of faith.
II. PASSIONATE CONFESSION
“My life is Christ.”
gain | Greek: kerdos
“gain, advantage, profit.”
Our desire to be with Jesus there (in heaven) is directly related to the degree that we love Jesus here (on earth).
PHILIPPIANS 3:10-11 ESV
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Joy is not the absence of suffering and adversity, but the nearness of God in our adversity.
“For me to live is ____.”
III. ONGOING CONFLICT
depart | Greek: analuó
“unloose, unloose for departure, depart, return.”
Fruitfulness in the Bible.
Converts (Rom 1:13)
ROMANS 1:13 NASB
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
Transformation (Rom 6:22)
ROMANS 6:22 ESV
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Financial Giving (Rom 15:28)
ROMANS 15:28 ESV
28 Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.
Good works (Col 1:10)
COLOSSIANS 1:10 ESV
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Praise (Heb 13:15)
HEBREWS 13:15 ESV
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Fruitfulness ends when we die.
PHILIPPIANS 1:25 ESV
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
You’re on your way to heaven. Until you get there, bear fruit.
partnership | Greek: koinónia
“fellowship.”