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Well, if you would, get out your Bibles with me this evening and turn in them over to the book of Philippians and the first chapter, Philippians 1, and that's where we will, actually, that's where we're going to be pretty much the entirety of this lesson, I don't have a PowerPoint up there to follow along with, so, This is your PowerPoint.

So if you will get it out open up there and I will mention some other verses, but more than likely I won't even give you a long enough chance to turn there. But so yeah, if you'll just open up there to Philippians 1 we will stay there for our text, just for our lesson this evening.

I guess most of y'all know, or at least some of y'all know that, and on Sunday mornings I usually drive to a little congregation out on Toledo bend. And preach there on Sunday mornings. And so when, when Reagan asked me to, to fill in and, and preach for him that's usually what I do is whatever I did there that morning and that lesson, I usually just preach that again on Sunday night.

So that's that's what we're going to do this evening. And what we've been doing there is we've been reading through the book of Philippians. We just started last week reading through the book of Philippians. We went through verse 11 last week and this week we picked up here in verse 12. That's what I'll be sharing with you this evening.

But some important things to know about this particular letter. Philippians, Paul has written this letter to the Philippian brethren Philippians, While he is in prison, while he is awaiting trial in Rome. And it's written really kind of as a, kind of a letter of thanks for a gift that they had sent to him.

And so it begins, chapter 1, verse 3-11. It begins with this very beautiful, heartfelt prayer that he has for them. It's full of expressions of gratitude and affection that he has, this longing that he has to see them. He talks about his confidence that he has in them because of their, their fellowship in the gospel.

And then, then in verse 9, in verse 9, he says that, that his real prayer for them is that their love, that their love would abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment. He prays that they might be able to, to try the things that differ or test the things that differ. He wants them to be able to distinguish between what is truth and what is error.

He also prays that they be sincere and they be blameless and filled with fruits of righteousness. And the purpose for that prayer, the purpose for all these things that he is praying for them, their growth, their, their knowledge, their love, all these things. He says the purpose for that is that, in verse 11, that those fruits will be to the glory and praise of God.

Paul's prayer for them was that the things that they did, in their life and as a people, as brethren, that through these brethren, who they were, what they stood for, their example, that through them God would be glorified. To glorify God is, it's the aim of the Christian. It is our purpose, our reason for being.

It should be the reason for everything that we do. To glorify And this sort of begins to be a major focus of Paul's throughout the book, especially here in these first two chapters. And Paul is going to use his own example and then of course in chapter 2, the ultimate example of Jesus, to demonstrate that point.

This doing things for the glory and praise of God. And this evening what we're going to look at is Paul's example, here in the remainder of chapter 1. Paul's example of living a life that is to the glory and praise of God. And so, he tells them, Philippians 1, if you're there in your Bibles, beginning in verse 12, he says, But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me, his being imprisoned in Rome, have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill.

The former preached Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter Knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and will rejoice.

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed. But with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor, yet what I shall choose I cannot tell, for I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you, and being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you.

Confidence. Rejoicing. Joy. Faith. Earnest expectation. Hope. Progress.

Those were the words that Paul uses in describing his imprisonment. Not usually the type of words and phrases that you would expect to hear from a man who is writing from prison, especially for a guy who's job was to go around. Preaching and spreading the gospel. Putting Paul into prison was a huge setback.

Not just for Paul, but for the church as a whole as well. It would have been a major hindrance to the work of the Kingdom of God. Yet Paul here is, he's upbeat. He's optimistic in the way that he talks about it. And the whole book is like that. It's all filled with these expressions of joy and of hope.

This book is actually often referred to as the letter of joy or the epistle of joy. And so, of course, that is the discussion that surrounds the book of Philippians. How can Paul talk like this when he's sitting in prison at Rome? What gave Paul this Positive outlook, and I believe the answer was pretty clear when we read there in verse 20 If you want to look there again with me in verse 20 when he's talking there about his earnest Expectation and hope and and that is that in nothing in nothing I shall be ashamed no matter where Paul was no matter what was happening to Paul He would not be ashamed, he said, but with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

The optimistic outlook of Paul came from the fact that he found his satisfaction in the magnification of Jesus Christ. You know, Paul's circumstances had to be pretty disappointing, didn't they? He went from traveling the world. Preaching the gospel, working miracles, healing the sick, establishing new churches all over the world.

I mean, that's a pretty exciting life, isn't it? Who wouldn't want that life? I, I, I, man, I'll sign up for that. Traveling the world, preaching the gospel, performing miracles, healing the sick. I mean, I know we had to put up with a lot of Pushback and some persecution, but even with that, that's still a pretty cool life.

That's pretty exciting life, right? That's a life that has purpose. That's a life that has meaning and direction. That's a life that to me and to you and I'm sure to Paul, that's a life that makes sense. Paul went from that life to this life, to being stuck, sitting in prison, In Rome, going nowhere. Talk about disappointments.

Talk about a circumstance of life that doesn't make any sense. How is Paul supposed to preach the gospel? I think he puts it, I think it's in Galatians when he talks about, you know, he's, his purpose was to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. How's he supposed to do that?

Well, he's sitting in prison. That doesn't make sense. That doesn't make sense to me. But you know, that is the way that life is sometimes, isn't it? Life doesn't always make it. Have you ever found yourself, maybe not in prison like Paul, but just stuck, going nowhere? Life is like that. Full of disappointments.

Full of setbacks. Sometimes it's full of unbearable situations.

Sitting in prison in Rome, for me, that would be a huge setback. That would be, I mean, you put on my list the worst fears, like that's up there pretty high. And that's in a nice cushy American prison. But life is full of those sorts of setbacks and those sorts of disappointments. And that may describe some of your current situations.

You may be disappointed with the circumstances of your life right now. You may be discouraged, lost, insecure, maybe, maybe trapped. Trapped, kind of like Paul was, trapped. I mean, we get trapped in all kinds of things. Trapped in relationships, trapped in our careers. Maybe you're trapped in the circumstances of your health.

We have a lot here in our congregation that are in that very situation right now. They can do about it. Your health is what your health is. And it can feel like a situation that just doesn't make sense. Maybe you're trapped because of financial burdens. It could be all sorts of things. And the unfortunate truth about all of that is, though, that, that your circumstances may not get any better.

They might, but they also might not. For Paul, his circumstances never really did get much better. They changed, but they didn't really get any better. It pretty much stayed the same. And ultimately, Paul ends up But history tells us he, he lost his head, they chopped his he lost his life, they chopped his head off.

And so you may very well just like Paul, be stuck, stuck in your own disappointing circumstance of life. But, but here's the thing. You don't have to stay discouraged in that circumstance. You don't have to remain disappointed. You will be discouraged in life that's a part of life, but, but you don't have to stay that way.

You can, like Paul did here, you can find joy, you can find meaning, you can find purpose in whatever circumstance of life that you find yourself in.

You, like Paul, you gotta make magnifying Christ the thing that brings you that joy. Magnifying Christ has to be the thing that gives you that meaning. One of my favorite verses. Oh, it's kind of hold back from saying that because I say that like every two or three Sundays about a different verse But I got a lot of favorites But one of my one of my way on up there favorites is psalm 37 in verse 4 Which says delight yourself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart Let's think about that for just a moment Delight yourself in the Lord and he'll give you the desires of your heart make his desires You Your desires and guess what you'll have everything that you ever want And that's where all this joy came from for Paul.

Paul had exactly what he wanted even though he wasn't necessarily Where he wanted to be and maybe we need to start asking ourselves that more often Maybe you're not where you want to be in your life. Are you willing to magnify Christ wherever you are make magnet the Magnification of Jesus the purpose and the meaning No matter what circumstance you are in.

For most of us, though, I think it's not really a lack of desire to magnify Christ in our own lives. I think most of us here on a Sunday evening would say, Yeah, well that's what I want to do, Todd. In my life, I want to magnify Christ. But often time our problem is that we want to magnify Christ the way that we want to magnify Christ.

We want to magnify him according to our own terms. Jesus, I want to glorify you with my life and this is how I want to do it. But that's not always the way that it works. We don't always get to choose how Christ is magnified. I bet this was not Paul's first choice, going to prison to preach the gospel. I can tell you it would not have been my first choice.

In fact, it wouldn't have been anywhere on my plan if I were Paul. I can only imagine what would have happened if Paul had done what I would have done in this situation. Yeah. I'd have been like, you know, man, I got to get out of this prison, right? I'm supposed to be preaching the gospel through the entire world.

I can't be here. In fact, that's what my letter, if I wrote y'all a letter, I was Paul, and I wrote you a letter from prison, my letter wouldn't probably say any of this stuff. It'd be like, hey, look, y'all got to get me out of here. I was supposed to be on my way to, you know, wherever to preach to this congregation, and I, that's what my letter would be full of.

I would have been hyper focused on that, and I would have totally missed that. Totally missed out on all the opportunities that Paul was sending, or that God was sending my way, like he did Paul here. I mean, notice that in verse 12. He said, But I want you to know, brethren, that these things have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

Like, it's not really a setback. It's not really a hindrance. These things are actually furthering the gospel. So, it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. Yeah, I'm afraid I, I would have totally missed that. But Paul, Paul didn't get lost in, in the how.

How he was going to spread the gospel. How he was going to magnify Christ. He stayed focused on the what? To magnify Christ. That Christ will be magnified in my body. Whether by life or by death, no matter what. Because how, how is not really Paul's job. And how is not really my job either. And it's not your job.

How this all happens, how this work takes place, that's God's job. He'll actually tell them in Philippians 2:12, he tells them at the end of that verse that they need to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. And he says in verse 13, he says, For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for His good pleasure.

At the end of the day, it was not Paul who was spreading the gospel. It was God who was spreading the gospel. And Paul and the other apostles were merely the tool. Merely the instrument that God was using in order to accomplish that purpose. I think that's where I get mixed up a lot. Find myself in situations where it's just like, you know, How can I possibly glorify God in this situation or in that situation?

You know something that that has been helpful to me is actually something that Brent Bonnell shared with me a while back when his mother when our sister Marsha was You nearing the end of her life and She was physically weak not able to do much I'm just sort of sort of waiting for the inevitable or at least that's the way it seems from our estimation But she was expressing frustration about this express them to Mike and the Brent and probably some others You know asking questions like, you know, what what am I doing here?

Why am I still here? What does God still have left for me to do? And in one of those discussions, Brent reminded her that the work, at least that type of work, was not her responsibility. That was God's job. And she was just God's tool. That's how it is with all of us. We're just God's tool. We're just God's instrument.

And our job, often, as God's tool, is to just be the sharpest tool that we can be. Sometimes that's all that we can do. And to Ready when the Lord decides that He is going to use you. And allow yourself to be used by Him. Because the truth is, we really don't know. We really don't know all the ways in which the Lord may be using us.

In which the Lord may be using our circumstances. Though they don't seem very fruitful. They may not seem very helpful. But He may very well be using our circumstances at that time to further His cause. We don't know. I like this too. I've noticed back there in verse 15 and 16 Even though Paul was being mistreated here These people are they're trying to make things worse for Paul and I would imagine they're probably very successful at this They probably were adding affliction to his chains But Paul's like he doesn't care about that.

As long as the gospel is preached, as long as Jesus is being talked about Paul didn't care. Whether by life or by death, Christ will be magnified in my body. As long as Jesus was proclaimed. As long as the gospel was being preached. Paul didn't care what happened to him. And that needs to be our attitude as well.

As long as Jesus is proclaimed by me. It doesn't matter what's happening to me at the time. And finally, I want to point out as well a very popular verse that we read there, verse 21 and verse 22. It seems that, that Paul is suggesting here that death, death was the good option. Death was a positive outcome.

He welcomed it. As a possibility, you know, we're kind of thinking in fact, he's writing to them, you know, I know it's going to turn out for my deliverance But you know the worst might happen which is death and he's kind of he's kind of offering that worst case scenario It's like actually though, you know, this is what I'd really rather happen whether by life or by death He says to live this Christ and to die Part of what gave Paul this joy and this confidence that he has as he writes this letter is that he counted this a privilege.

He counted it a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ. Suffering for Christ, it wasn't exactly a disappointment for Paul. It was an expectation. And that's where some of us, I think, really need to kind of flick the switch. Because I'll tell you, suffering for me is a big disappointment. And it seems to always come as a huge surprise for Paul, and not just Paul, the other apostles as well.

They expected it. Not only did they expect it, they even got excited about it. I've always been amazed by that. Chapter 5 and verse 41. After some of them were beaten for speaking for the name of Jesus, it says that they departed from there rejoicing. Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame.

Romans 5:3, he actually says, But we also glory in tribulations. Word that he uses there for glory, it really expresses the idea of not just being like happy or joyful about it but also boasting in them. We, we glory in this. I mean, they were excited. about suffering for Christ. And why not?

Why not be excited about suffering? That's, you know, James, when he says, count it all joy, when you fall into various trials, that seems like an odd statement. But really think about it. Why, why not rejoice? Why not be excited in suffering? Because when is it that we are the most like?

Are we more like Christ when we're sitting in our comfortable homes, reading our Bibles with a good cup of coffee? Why not? That's where I was this morning, and it was, that's a good place to be, right? But is that really when I'm the most like Christ? Are we the more like Christ when we're out on the ball field playing ball?

When we're out to dinner and a movie on a Friday night? Are those the times when we are the most like Christ, when we're living the good life? Or is it when life is a little bit more difficult, that we are more like Jesus? We get so bent out of shape when life gets tough. We're not able to, when we're not able to live at the level of ease and comfort that we desire.

But it's not in those. It's not in the comforts of life. But in the difficulties of life, of life, that we can be the most like Jesus. So we need to learn, learn to embrace suffering, learn to embrace adversity and the difficulties of life. 1 Peter 4, of course, he's talking about actually suffering for Christ, but he says 1 Peter 4, 13, Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

And Paul tells these brethren here, As well, that they needed to follow in his example. If we read on your Philippians 1, reading on there, verse 27, he says, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which to them is proof of perdition, but the ewe of salvation, and that from God.

And he says in verse 29, he says, For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. I want us to notice as well that dying, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Dying was not the sacrifice here for Paul.

Living is. Notice that again. I just quoted it there, verse 21. We'll read on a couple of verses after that. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet when I shall choose, I cannot tell, for I am hard pressed between the two. Living and dying.

Anybody ever had that conflict? I really want to die. God, I guess I better live. Anybody? He said, I'm hard pressed between that, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. The true sacrifice was not Paul giving his life as a martyr.

No, it was, that was game for Paul. That was best case scenario. From a personal, selfish standpoint, Paul would have preferred death. The real sacrifice was what he did with his life. The real sacrifice was giving up what he wanted for the sake of Christ and for the sake of others. I just imagine Paul, verse 24 there, I imagine he wrote verse 24, 24 in this tone of voice.

Nevertheless, right, I mean I guess if I got to stick around, I guess I'll stay here. Paul didn't want to stay here. Paul didn't want to be in prison. But if it meant more for Christ, all was all in. And that may be you. Kind of where we started the lesson, that's where we're going to end it. That may be you.

You may not be where you want to be. Yeah, or where you're at right now. But ask yourself, can I glorify God in this? In whatever state that you are in, and if the answer is yes, and by the way, the answer is almost always yes, unless we're talking about some sort of sinful situation, so, if your answer is no, come talk to me afterwards, but if your answer is yes, you can glorify God in this situation.

Find joy in that. Rejoice to the extent that you are partakers in Christ's sufferings, and determine, like Paul did, that in nothing you shall be ashamed. But with all boldness, determine that Christ will be magnified in your body, whether by life, or by death, or by prison, or by whatever circumstance of life you find yourself in, Christ will be magnified in your body, no matter what.

That's the sacrifice that's actually asked of us. We are not asked to lay down our lives necessarily. It may come to that, but not all of us will experience that. The sacrifice, though, that is asked of all of us is to give our living lives as a sacrifice. Paul says in Romans 12, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable sacrifice.

And that's the thought I'll leave you with this evening. What is it that you're living for? What is the purpose of your life? What gives your life meaning? Is it to glorify God? Is it to magnify Christ in your body?

If you have not been living in a way that magnifies Jesus, that glorifies God in your life, this next portion of our worship service, we call it an invitation. It's an opportunity. Thank you. An opportunity for you to turn that around, to make that right. He's always calling you, an invitation to do that.

But this opportunity is a little bit more special. This is an opportunity for, for us to participate in that with you. To help you, to pray for you. to study with you, whatever it is that you might need, not only from God, but from us, from your brethren. If we can help you get your life right with God and turn your life around so that you are living a life that glorifies Him, that magnifies Him, that is a life of purpose and is a life of meaning.

If we can help you get that right in any way, all you've got to do is come forward as we all stand and as we all sing.

It's