Philippians 1

Philippians, please, chapter 1. We enjoyed four nights and readings of Philippians the past week, but I want to pass along a few thoughts. Reading at verse 1. Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy. Down the chapter to verse 13. But I would, you should understand, brethren, that the things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather under the furtherance of the gospel.

Most know that he was in prison at the time, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in other places. Then he speaks about preaching. Verse 16, the one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I'm set for the defense of the gospel.

Dropping down to verse 21. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor.

Yet what I shall choose I want not, for I am in a straight betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. I'd like to just lift the thoughts of about four phrases. Verse 1, the two words in Christ.

Then we read a little about Paul rejoicing that there were those that preached Christ. In verse 21, to live, for me to live is Christ. And then he reminds us in verse 23 as he considers the whole matter.

I am ready, having desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. You go back to the book of the Acts and you have the record in Acts 17 when the apostle, sorry, 16 came to Philippi. And of course, in preaching the gospel, you seek out where you seek to get the ear of people.

He went down by the riverside, he and Silas, or Barnabas. And it was a place where some were gathered for prayer. And he used the opportunity to the women that were gathered.

It was the beginning of a work. And of course, when the demon-possessed girl, he put charge that the demon come out of her. And the master saw that their gain was now gone as they were using her as merchandise for their own ends.

Stirred up the opposition and the apostle ended in a prison. They had scourged his back, as you all know, bleeding and no doubt in pain. And yet at midnight they were singing and praying, rejoicing.

And the earthquake that came and awakened the jailer in his sleep. And fearing the prisoners were gone, the doors were flung open but the building stood. It was an incident of God bringing to pass something that would affect their work.

And the jailer coming and falling on his knees came out with a question that we love to hear any child of God faced with someone saying, what must I do to be saved? And that wonderful answer, they said unto him, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So as you think of the happenings and how Lydia was baptized, the brethren taught them what the Lord had given in the commission. And the jailer and his household, Lydia and her household, wonderful to see those in the whole house reached by God's grace.

Some families have waited many years and some I've known who parents have went to glory. And after they were gone, God began to move in the family and reach them. The seed was sown.

But anyway the thought that I was thinking, here's the Apostle directed to go over into Macedonia. And of course Matthew's word concerning the Great Commission hadn't been written, although the Lord had spoken, whether you, Paul, realized those words. He was actually doing what the Lord had commended.

Go ye out into all nations and disciple people that they might be implored to become a follower of Christ, teaching them to observe all things. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all things. And lo, I am with you always.

You see, the beginning of the work. And here's Paul carrying that out with his brethren. Philippi as we think of the work that was done there and a company established.

Fulfilling as they were shown through the Word of God what the Lord had commenced and told to do in this dispensation. Now what was bringing me to think about this thought a bit about the fact, in Christ, that's a position for the years of unbelief, whether younger or older, from the moment that we became a child of God, prior to that, without Christ. Children are unaccountable in their young years, but soon reach accountability.

And I appreciated the word of our brother here concerning Sunday school work, children's work. I remember this first years of Sunday school, and we think back, and I see a lot of you children up there above. You know, it's a precious thing to realize, the Word of God being put in our young hearts.

And sometimes, as noted, we seem to forget, and yet was brought back to us when we became convicted, concerned about our soul, desiring salvation. What a moment that was, when you and I were saved, put into a position of grace, of knowing Christ as Savior, never to perish, but saved for heaven, to know and enjoy it here, and to live for Him. That's my second point, dropping down.

Here's Paul writing some years later to the Philippians, seeking to encourage them. What they'd heard prior was only oral ministry. The printing press wasn't invented, and it was all written as far as by hand, no doubt, the Old Testament Scriptures.

But nevertheless, as he looks at their life, and he thinks of his own, for me to live, Christ. Acts 9 reminds us of his conversion. In that moment when Paul was saved, he fell to the earth.

He speaks about a light from heaven. Later in the Acts, he says it was a great light from heaven. Gets a little older, same experience.

It was a light above the shining of the sun. The Lord hadn't changed, but Paul's estimation of what he received, seemingly, was growing greater. But in Christ's position, to live Christ, a purpose.

For his first remarks after, who art thou Lord? I am Jesus. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And Acts 9 relates this, that eventually, not too much later, Paul was baptized. You know, that's the divine order.

Identified with the person of Christ as to his work, his death. You and I now dead to sin and its claims against us, alive unto God, and to display it publicly in an act of obedience. There's a child of God here today, and you've never been as yet obeyed the order of baptism.

Go to the Scripture. What does the Lord say? It's a command. But then we recognize, as we think of Philippi, he taught them the truth of being gathered to the very person who had saved them.

You know, it's wonderful when we think of how, in this late age of the church age, how the months go by, and yet to find ourselves gathered simply in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ unto him. Testimonies, we may be shrinking in numbers in some areas because of job changes and Christians move around, but we're thankful for lampstands. And I was pausing a little the other night, awake a little while.

It'll be 54 years in probably about a month that Mr. Oliver Smith went to be with the Lord. The last day that he spoke in public was on a Webster City, Iowa cemetery. No one thought that in a month he'd be gone, but he'd come along and happened to be when the family found out he was there.

Boy, they'd had the funeral. They asked him to speak at the grave. He looked at the undertakers.

He says, I don't want to offend you men, but I am looking for an upper taker. About 30 days to the day, the upper taker took him home to glory. A few months later, living in Waterloo at the time, a man that had been in construction work and went into insurance sales ship, he was determined he wanted to come and visit us.

Well, I said, we have nothing of interest, but he finally came over. Well, he asked us this question later, what are you doing at Western Avenue now that you've lost your preacher? I said to him, call him by my name, and I don't think he believed what I was saying at first. I says, in a year's time, I would question if Mr. Oliver Smith was with us for Four Lords Day morning.

He'd often drop in at prayer meeting if he was home. There was much to do, but anyway, they were thinking, it's all around just a man. How wonderful to realize that what the world does not grasp.

We have the teaching of the Savior, his truth to be upheld, and gather my saints together unto me. Psalm 80, is it? That's not the psalm, but anyway, those of whom I have made a covenant by sacrifice. What a precious truth, as we reminded yesterday and throughout the conference at times, to identify that those that uphold his name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I trust it will be your desire, speaker included, having identified ourselves with local assembly.

There's where we want to remain until that closing day. To live Christ, he enjoyed that Christ was being preached, and we've been reminded of different avenues of seeking to reach out with the gospel, and thankful while the public preaching is what upholds the gospel in the scriptures, declaring the message. Yet Paul, sitting in confines, he was still witnessing to fellow prisoners, no doubt, and saw some of Caesar's household reached by the gospel, as this letter relates.

And so you never know, I thought sometime ago of a lady, a sister, she had bad or poor health for a good while. She ended up in Rochester some years back at the Mayo Clinic in the hospital there, and a roommate in her room happened to be a Jewish lady. They were there for at least a couple of weeks at least, and she began to visit with her, and before she left that dear soul had professed to be saved, and the sister says it was worth all the pain.

You know, when you think of it. So whenever we think of, not only as we consider the fact that Christ is being preached, he's thinking of the time when he's going to be with Christ. And you know, the best is yet to come.

You know, when you think of believers passing on, I think of Leonard de Boer at the moment. The last committal that he spoke on was over by Clarksville, and he looked over to the undertaker, he called him by name, he says, you'll probably have my body before long, it's just a few bones with some skin on it. And he said, you'll do a good job anyway.

The undertaker after him, give him a quarter for a little compliment. You know, we're living a body, and we're subject to the health and whatever we, what common men have all. But you know, there's a day coming, it's all going to be changed.

The part to be with Christ is far better. And Paul was waiting for that, but he's still waiting for his glory body. We're all going to get at the same moment, found before Christ.

We're in Christ, saved by his grace, with a privilege and purpose to live Christ. And we're glad for Christ being portrayed in the gospel, and yet we wait with anticipation the prospect, the promise, to depart and be with Christ is far better.