In our Bible survey we come to the book of Philippians. Now last week we looked at Acts 16 verses 12 to 40 where the gospel comes to Philippi and now we get to the Bible survey on the book of Philippians. And we should have our Bibles open, we'll follow it step by step through here. Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints of Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a prison epistle. Paul is writing this letter from Rome where he is in prison, where he's literally in chains. And he's writing to a church that was actually born in prison too, because on his first mission to Europe, the first church to be planted in Europe, in response to the Macedonian call which he received in Acts 16 that we looked at last week, Paul, after delivering a demon-possessed girl, was thrown to prison because she had been earning a lot of money for her masters. Being a clairvoyant, she had the python spirit. The python is one of the idols that protected the temple of Apollo. And in setting this young girl free from this python spirit, this spirit of divination, she aroused the wrath of the occultists who were benefiting from her, and they were thrown in prison after being beaten. And while in prison, they were singing songs to God And all the prisoners listening, and God sent an earthquake, the doors broke open, the chains fell off, the foundation of the prison was shaken, we read. And the prison guard, believing that the prisoners had escaped, was about to commit suicide, about to kill himself with his own sword because of the terrible punishment that would fall upon a Roman officer who allowed the prisoners to escape from his charge. And then Paul said, do not hurt yourself, we're all here. And he brought a light, he came, he fell on his knees before them and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And before the evening is out, the jailer of Philippi and all of his household are baptized. And so from Lydia, the sit of purple, and her household being baptized by the side of the river where they first heard the gospel, we now have two households which form the nucleus of the church of Philippi. This is the first church established by the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey in Europe and this is the beginning of the mission to Europe and the conversion of Europe. So this present epistle has a tremendous importance and it's one of the most positive books in the Bible. It is the epistle of joy. Joy and rejoicing and thankfulness are mentioned 16 times in a short four chapter letter. Philippi is a Roman colony on a very strategic road between east and west. It's just a northern Italy, northern Greece, I should say, linking Italy with what today we'd call Turkey, but then was Asia Minor. And so on this east-west Ignatian way, strategic town on a plain, the plain of Philippi, where major battles have been fought, including the battle that spelled the death of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire because on that plain outside Philippi Mark Antony defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius who had just murdered Julius Caesar and in this way the Roman Republic died and the Roman Empire was born. So Philippi is strategic historically It's strategic militarily, strategic economically, but spiritually very strategic because this is the church that Paul and Timothy and Silas and Luke planted. They've got a tremendous privilege, this church. And you can see it's one of the pillars of the church because this church at Philippi, you don't read any real rebuke in here. There's a call for unity, so presumably there was a danger of disunity coming in. But you can see Paul is just overflowing with joy and gratitude, even in chains, because he remembers the wonderful events that led to the birth of the church in Philippi, but also he's rejoicing in how strong they are in faith, how steadfast they are, how effective they are. There are warnings against false teachers. There's a lot of practical discipleship in here, but mostly Philippians is about rejoicing the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. This book was written about AD 62 during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome. And he's sending the man Epaphrodites, who was sent from Philippi with a love gift, a donation presumably of money, to help Paul while he's imprisoned in Rome. And so he sends this letter basically as a thank you. But it's not just a thank you, it's far more than that. That was the occasion. Thank you for sending Epaphrodites. Thank you for your encouragement. Thank you for the support. And it seems that of all churches that Paul had a relationship with. Most of the support came from Philippi. Church at Philippi was the most faithful, consistent support for Paul in his ministry and the whole book testifies of that. So this is the church born in response to the Macedonian call. Paul was on a mission, trying to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't let him. He was trying to go to Asia, Holy Spirits prevented him, and then he has this vision of a Macedonian man saying, come over and help us. And he sails for Europe, and the first place he comes to is Philippi, and that's where he meets Lydia, meets him by the banks of the river. preaches the gospel, she gets converted, she gets baptized, the whole household gets baptized. And now you can see here's Philippi, a colony of Rome. In fact, it was a free city, which in many ways was considered a little Rome. It was a small version of Rome itself. It was a big city, but not as big as Rome, of course. But there were Roman citizens, and it was organized like a Roman city. And so he started a colony of heaven, in a colony of Rome. And this is so strategic because it's the beginning of the mission to Europe. And so we see here, Philippians 1 verse 3, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, making requests for you with all joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. This is being written about 11 years after he planted the church in Philippi. being confident in this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. And he speaks about how right it is for him to think of them in this way because I have you in my heart in as much as both in my chains and in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers with me of this grace. For God is my witness, reading from verse 18, for God is my witness how greatly I long for all of you with all the affections of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment. It's Paul's prayer that their joy may abound, that their love may abound, that their knowledge may abound, and that their discernment may abound. They already have all these things, but that it should be even more abundant. Verse 10, that you may approve the things which are excellent, that you may be sincere without offence till the day of Christ Jesus. Good can be the main enemy of the best. All too often we settle for second best. What we should do is we should not settle for less than God's very best. Often the world will keep us busy with something that's okay, alright, maybe even good. But meanwhile God's got things that are excellent. that are vastly more important. Sometimes we can keep so preoccupied with second best or third best or maybe even less than that. Well, there are excellent things. You just think how some people will settle for inferior, mediocre novels or mediocre music, even worldly music, when you've got Handel's Messiah, and you've got Bach, and you've got the best out there, Beethoven and Mozart. Why waste our time with trance music, with rap, and hip-hop, and rock, and all the things that are really low? They don't lift you up. They don't give you the excellent. They give you the second best, and you could say this about a lot of preaching, a lot of writing, a lot of entertainment, there are things that are good, there are things that are better, there are things that are best, you get things that are super excellent, even above that. So why should we go for the mediocre? So there's this wonderful introduction. He speaks in verse 11 of being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus to the glory and the praise of God. This is the most upbeat, positive, optimistic, joyful of all Paul's epistles. Philippians stands out. If anyone is ever depressed or down, Philippians is a great place to turn. Verse 12. Now he goes into the first theme of suffering. But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. What things? Falsely accused in Jerusalem. Attempts on his life. Imprisoned unjustly. Taken across the Mediterranean by sea. Shipwrecked. Bitten by a snake on the island of Malta. In chains in Rome. I mean, these sound like bad things. Yet, despite being beaten, stoned, blinded, possibly by one of the stoning, because he had obviously major eye problems. We know this because of how he writes, saying, I know that many of you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if you could. Plainly indicates he had an eye problem. Later, sometimes he speaks with, look with what big hands I write with my own hand. So obviously we know he is dictating his letters, possibly because he had an eye affliction and it could have come from being stoned. Rocks, he might have had one of his eyes put out, damaged the other. Whatever his situation here, he's saying in verse 12, I want you to know brethren that the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Even Joseph, after being betrayed by his wicked brothers, enduring 14 years as a slave and as a prisoner, he could say, what you meant for evil, God used for good. That doesn't alleviate the responsibility of those who did evil. But it does mean that Christians can rejoice in any circumstance, even in the worst of circumstances, even because of evil people, because despite their malicious intentions, God has the ability to turn even what other people mean for evil for our good. Verse 13, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. He's reaching people in Caesar's court, even people in Nero's court, even the palace guard, the praetorium, the Roman soldiers. who were guarding him because he's a he's a prisoner of Caesar because he appealed to Caesar as the only way to get away from the intrigues of Judea and the attempt to assassinate him there and the Judeas is trying to kill him he had to use his Roman citizenship saying I appeal to Caesar because he felt the only way to get himself out of the disastrous situation he is in in Palestine and now the gospel's coming to Rome even to the emperor's inner circle Verse 14, And most of the brethren of the Lord have become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. So his example is being used for the furtherance of the gospel, not just the furtherance, but the deepening of people's boldness, courage, dedication. All things work together for good for those who love God and are called by his purpose. Verse 15, Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife. some also from good will. Some people have bad motives in doing the Lord's will. But is that something we need to get too distressed about? Verse 16. The former preached Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter out of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the gospel. Now you notice here again, you've got the second time in this chapter, the term defense of the gospel. I've had some people complain to me, why do you have a Gospel Defence League? You don't need to defend the Gospel. Well, the Bible does say, contained for the faith, once delivered for the saints. Here we've seen, just in one chapter, speaking about the defence and confirmation of the Gospel. I'm appointed for the defence of the Gospel. Yes, we are called to defend the Gospel, in one sense. gospel doesn't need defending, preach it, proclaim it, like a lion, let him loose, he can look after himself. But there is a sense where we also need to define and correct, discern and expose those people who are either distorting or trying to hijack the gospel or twist and pervert the gospel. So in that sense, there is a need to defend the gospel, just as you would need to protect food from flies and from rats and you'd need to protect those things that are good from those things that are going to corrupt or undermine it. You need to protect and defend your water supply from that which would pollute it. We need to defend the gospel from that which would hijack, pervert, distort or even destroy it. Verse 18. What then? only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ has been preached and thus I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. So some are saying, some of these people are preaching the gospel with wrong motives, and indeed you could get very distressed if you looked at all the health and wealth and name it and claim it and frame it, gab it and grab it and that you dare us in the sacred name and the people who are trying to bring you back to Saturday Sabbath laws and speak against Christian culture, speaking against everything that we have in our society, from Christmas celebrating incarnation of Christ, Good Friday reminding people of the atonement of Christ, Resurrection Sunday reminding people of the fact that Christ is risen indeed, Ascension Day. He is not here. He's ascended. He's reigning on high. He's coming again to judge the living and dead. Pentecost Sunday. These are some of our Christian calendar. And yet there are many Christians who spend their time attacking everything Christian. Attacking Easter in particular. Attacking Christmas. Attacking anything remotely Christian. Attacking Sunday worship, for example. They think it's better to go back to the Judaic Seventh-day Sabbath, which remembers Lord resting on the seventh day of creation and not the first day Sabbath which points back to Christ has risen bodily from the grave on the first day of the week, he sent his Holy Spirit on the first day of the week on day of Pentecost. We have moved from only remembering creation to celebrating redemption, recreation, The fact that there's been a progressive revelation and that the new covenant is greater than the old. We no longer have the law just written on tablets of stone, but we now have the law of God written on our hearts. God has taken out the heart of stone and given us a heart of flesh as we read in Jeremiah. So we have a greater High Priest, we have a better Tabernacle, we have a better Sacrifice. In every way the New Covenant is vastly superior to the Old. And yet there are those who want to go back to Egypt, they want to go back to Jerusalem, they want to go back to Judaic Law, they'd rather go back to the Law of Moses rather than live with the Sermon on the Mount and the higher teachings of Christ which go so much further and so much deeper, and actually demand so much more when you get down to it. The Sermon on the Mount isn't easy believism. The Lord Jesus doesn't take the law away from us. He puts it on the heart. It's no longer enough to say, do not commit murder. The Lord says, if you hate your brother, it's like committing murder in your heart. If you look with lust, it's like committing adultery in your heart. The Lord has made it much tougher and much tighter in the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is a higher standard. God's ways are so much higher than our ways. His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts, and therefore we should not be satisfied with going back to Jerusalem or Egypt. We should be wanting to go to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the highest standard that God has called us. So, chapter 1 verse 18, verse 19, For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus. What is the context? Paul is on trial for his life. He's appealed to Caesar. The result of this trial could be his being set free or it could be his execution. But he says, I know this will turn out for my deliverance. In fact, it turned out Paul was delivered from this first imprisonment. He was imprisoned twice. He's executed after the second imprisonment. This first one, he did go free and he did have the chance to minister further. Verse 20, so in Philippians 1 verse 20, According to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with 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. 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. I have been confident of this, that I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, and that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again. So here's this tremendous insight and this wonderful phrase, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Notice here, there's no suggestion that there's a gap, a purgatory, a pause, or soul sleep after death. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. There's no room for the Seventh Adventist doctrine of soul sleep. There's no room for the Catholic doctrine of purgatory here. If you take Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone as the ultimate authority, we have to see again this principle that there's nothing in between. You're for Christ or against Him. You're alive on earth or you are alive in heaven. There is no gap of soul sleep or purgatory or anything like that. And so here we are, here saying whether I'm in prison or whether I'm in paradise, I'm going to rejoice. Because to live is Christ. To die is gain. What do we gain? We gain eternal life. heaven we gain all the promises and all the rewards and the crowns and the rewards that the Lord has promised that in fact he's saying on earth we get to serve the Lord in death we get to live with the Lord and we get all the rewards of eternity so death for the Christian is not fatal death for the Christian is not final Jesus is the resurrection and the life he's got a perspective it doesn't matter what the enemy does to him he's saved He is in the center of God's will. He knows that God can work all things together for good for those who love him and according to his purpose. He knows that even what man means for evil, God can use for good. And so you get this attitude of whether I'm in prison or whether I'm in paradise, I will praise the Lord. I will be rejoicing. So here he gives our highest motive. is to serve the Lord. Our supreme example is Christ Himself, which we now get into in the second chapter. Our ultimate goal is Christ Himself. He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life. He is the way and He is the goal and the prize. And in the light of all this introduction we get Philippians 1 verse 27. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that when I come and I'm with you, or I'm absent, I may hear of your affairs, and then I may hear that you are standing 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 a proof of their perdition, but to you it's a proof of your salvation, and that is from God. 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 you hear is in me." So this is the conclusion of chapter 1. Remain steadfast. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Remember your high example, your great example and your steadfast goal. And so we should not ever be terrified by our adversaries. And your faith and your steadfastness is going to be a proof to your enemies that they are heading for perdition. They are doomed. It doesn't matter what they're doing. This is in fact what won over many of the Romans as they persecuted the church. They saw their steadfastness. As Tertullian wrote, for every Christian who died in the arena, another 10 were converted on the stands. And so the blood of the martyrs became the seat of the church. And this was true in the Soviet empire, in Red China, wherever the gospel has been persecuted. The testimony is that the steadfastness and the courage and the resilience of the believers is a truth to the persecutors of their perdition, that they are doomed and damned and lost and there's nothing they can possibly do to succeed in bringing low the church. They cannot destroy the church by burning buildings because the church is not buildings. The church is people. People redeemed by the blood of Christ, transformed by the power of God. How can you destroy the church by merely destroying buildings. How can you kill Christians by sending them to the Lord in heaven? Death for the Christian is not fatal. Death for the Christian is not final. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Those who die in him live forever. And so our steadfastness Our refusal to be terrified by our adversaries is a proof to them of their perdition, of their absolute... They do not have a snowball's chance in hell in succeeding in the antichrist games and their intentions. They will never destroy the church. Jesus Christ is building his church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. It's built on the solid rock of God's Word, not on the sand of human effort. everything they do is going to ultimately fail, just like the Roman Empire, just like the Soviet Union, just like every humanistic attempt Whether it's a French Revolution, whatever it is, every single attempt of man from Mugabe's revolution in Zimbabwe, the Cambodian revolution, and all the other humanistic attempts, they will fail, they will fall, they will crumble, and the King of God will continue to grow and expand, and the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the seas are full of water, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That includes Karl Marx. Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Muhammad, they all have to bow in the flames. And so throughout chapter 1 we've got this remain steadfast. And in chapter 2 we get into the example of Christ of submission. Chapter 2 verse 1, Therefore if there is any consolation of Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affliction, any affection and mercy, Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each one of you esteem others better than himself. Remember the Bathman saying, after being at Kwasibantu, this verse, Philippians 2 verse 3, reminded them of the attitude of the people of Kwasibantu. that nobody was doing anything out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, they were esteeming others as better than themselves. And that is a fruit of revival. That's not natural. What's natural is to look after, number one, to be selfish, to be me first, to be me deep in conversation, to be self-absorbed. But to be Krishna is to be selfless, to be sacrificial, to be in attitude of service, to be more concerned for others than for yourself. Verse 4, let each one of you look out not only for his own interest but also for the interests of others. This is what built Christian civilization throughout the Middle Ages and especially with the Reformation, that Christians were concerned to be good stewards of public resources, to be concerned for the property of their neighbor, that instead of thinking what can I get out of things and If your neighbor's ox has fallen into a ditch, help it out. Help your neighbor. If you find something that belongs to your neighbor, take it back to him. This is part of the law of Moses. This is part of the common law that King Alfred gave for the people of England. This is being part of Christian principle, Christian work ethic. Be concerned for the interests of others. Do to others what you want to be done unto. Never do to others what you don't want to be done to yourself. Let this mind be in you which results in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant and coming in the likeness of man. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and he became obedient to the point of death, even to the death on the cross." So here in Philippians 2, verses 5 to 8, we start to see the humiliation of Christ, and we can see how true love is measured by sacrifice. And here, the supreme example of humility is given to us of God himself, who, although he's all-knowing, all-powerful, although he's everywhere present, yet the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, chose to take upon himself the form of a man. He emptied himself. Now, he didn't empty himself as Godhead, but he emptied himself of his privileges, and he didn't need to make himself in a position where he then was subject to all the pressures of hunger and thirst and pain and tiredness and the need to sleep. But God took upon himself humanity, and he humbled himself even to the point of death. I mean God himself shouldn't have to die and he shouldn't have to be obedient or on submission to anyone and yet for our salvation the second person of the Trinity chose to be born of Mary, to be raised in a household under parents. to be in a country which was actually a second class province of Rome, where he was a second or third class citizen, if you could even use the word citizen, of an oppressed nation. And he was willing to be humiliated, slandered, abused, whipped, crucified, died and buried. And then we read in verse 9, chapter 2 verse 9, Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of those in heaven, those on the earth, those under earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. the Father. So here you see God resists the proud because he gives grace to the humble. You see from humiliation to exaltation. This encompasses from the crib to the cross to the crown. And as a result of Christ's humility and his example, which is the supreme example, he suffered for us and left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps. So Jesus said, the kings of the Gentiles lorded over them. and they call themselves benefactors. But you are not to be like that. The greatest amongst you should be the servant of all. And our Lord modeled this by literally putting the towel of a servant around himself, getting on his knees, and washing the dusty, dirty feet of his disciples. One of them should have chosen to do it, but they somehow felt, you know, we're the apostles of Christ. The next thing, Christ starts to wash their feet, showing them the example that we should be willing to do the humblest of tasks thinking of others more than ourselves. And if our master is willing to do this, then how can we do less? And that's his example. God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And therefore, as a result of this, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And the question we've got to ask people continually and challenge them is not, will you bow to Christ? you will. The question is when will you bow to Christ? Will you bow to Christ today in the day of grace when the door to mercy and salvation is wide open? Or will you bow to Christ on the day of judgment when the door to grace is firmly closed and it's too late for salvation? But just that one must bow to Christ on the day of judgment, in condemnation, in the flames if you will. But the day is coming when every knee will bow, including the rabid atheists, Marxists, jihadists, persecutors of the church, those who hate Christ, they all, the blasphemers of Hollywood, the whole bunch, every one of them will have to bow to Christ. And so the question is not, will you bow to Christ, but when will you bow to Christ? Is Jesus Christ your saving Lord or is he your judge? And this is so much a mess. And these are some of the reasons why the Apostle Paul is rejoicing. He says in verse 12, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence only, but how much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in us, both to will and to do for his good pleasure." Now this is so important because I've heard Philippians 2 verse 12 quoted by the Armenians and I've heard Philippians 2 verse 13 quoted by the Calvinists, but they belong together, don't they? Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us, both to will and to do for His good pleasure." So here you see it both. You see our responsibility and you see God's sovereignty. They're both true. They both are to be proclaimed together. We're not to overemphasize the one to do violence to the other. Our responsibility is clearly taught in Scripture and God's sovereignty is clearly taught in Scripture. They're both taught and they're both to be believed together. And when, for example, Charles Spurgeon was asked, how can you reconcile your Calvinism with your Evangelism? He said, I don't need to reconcile friends. The Bible teaches both. It teaches our responsibility and it teaches God's sovereignty. I'm not allowed to turn one part of Scripture to do violence to another part of Scripture. My responsibility and God's sovereignty are two parallel railway tracks both heading in the same direction and like any train, you need both those tracks or you're not going to reach your destination. And it's true with us too, as well. And then you get this magnificent application after we've got this tremendous example, the greatest example of submission and humility, where true love is measured by sacrifice, where God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. We then read Philippians 2 verse 14, do all things without complaining and disputing. If the Lord God himself could have endured such abuses and such injustice, What do we have to complain about? We who are sinful and only are His children by His grace and mercy. Do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation amongst whom you shine as lights in the world. Holding fast the word of life that you may rejoice in the day of Christ Jesus that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. They are spiritual children of Paul. They are the fruit of his labor. He sowed the seed, he preached the word, he baptized the first members of the Church of Philippi. And he reminds him, we are living in the midst of a crooked and a perverse generation. Now that was true in his day and age, it's even more true in ours. A crooked and perverse generation indeed. And so we're to shine as lights in the darkness. But not all the darkness can put out the smallest light. Verse 16 of chapter two, holding fast the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Because as a sportsman or an athlete may run in the Olympics with the aim of that gold medal on their days it was the crown of the wreath that they wore. But no, he says he's run and he's labored for their work and for their salvation and for the church that's there. Verse 17, yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I'm glad and will rejoice in you all. For the same reason, you ought to be glad and rejoice with me. So he's saying, don't be sad over the fact that I might get executed by order of the Caesar. It doesn't matter, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. If I've got to be poured out like a drink offering, once you've poured something in the ground, you can't retrieve it. It's into the sand. What can you do to get it back? But he's saying he's willing to be a drink offering. If his life is to be poured out literally into the sand, he will still rejoice. Verse 19. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I may be encouraged when I know your state. I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." So now he's speaking about some of the other religious workers out there. Some are seeking their own way, some are more concerned for their own things than for the things of Christ. They're not being heavenly minded. Verse 22, proven character. Who's he talking about? Timothy. Timothy's proven character. That as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Timothy was one of his co-workers in the planting of the church in Philippi. Verse 23. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself will shortly come. So he's holding out for an acquittal by the Emperor and that he'll be able to come back to Philippi himself. Verse 25, yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, reminding us that we are not just here on a walk, we're here on a work, and we're here on a wall. Because he's not just my fellow, my brother, but he's my fellow worker and fellow soldier. He's reminding us that we have a walk, there's got to be progress, pilgrimage, we have work to do and we have a war to fight. But your messenger and the one who ministered to Manid, since he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick, For indeed he was sick, almost unto death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Receive him therefore, O Lord, with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem, because of the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his own life, but to supply what was lacking in your service towards me. So here we end the second chapter with ascending of this messenger, Epaphroditus, the rejoicing and the reminding that true love is measured by sacrifice. And as the missionary who trained me, Francis Grimm, would often say, a missionary must be ready to preach, pray, or die at a moment's notice. And so there is a place for us to be ready at all times. in our work, in our walk, in our warfare, in our worship, that we are ready to sacrifice, to fight, to do what's got to be done. As Paul is an example, as he points to Christ as the ultimate example, there's so much more in here. I think we must continue next week. We're up to chapter two, and there's another two chapters to go. But in view of the time, let us conclude there. So what we've gone through is we've seen suffering and submission. The experience of Paul and the example of Christ. We've seen something of the mind of Christ, that this mind of Christ should be in us. We've seen how the redemption that God works in us, we must work it out. The righteousness that we have is not of our own, it's of God. And we look at the resurrection of Christ. What we have here in this book, we've got Basically, suffering in the first chapter, submission in the second chapter, salvation in the third chapter, and sanctification in the fourth chapter. The mind of Christ in the first, the knowledge of Christ in the second, and what we're going to in the next week will be the peace of Christ, the power of Christ, the preeminence of Christ. This is a joyful book. This is full of rejoicing, and to think that it's writing to a church that was born in prison and is being written by an apostle in prison. And yet he is able to say that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. He is able to face all circumstances, whether plenty or poverty, he can rejoice because there's no purgatory, there's no soul sleep, whether he's in prison or whether he's in paradise, he will rejoice. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you, we praise you for your love, for your mercy, for your grace, for these books of the Bible, for these epistles to the churches, for this first church to be planted in Europe. We praise you, Lord God, for the example of the church in Philippi. We praise you for the example of the Apostle Paul. We praise you even more for the example of yourself in our Lord Jesus Christ and what you have suffered for us, the example you've given to us. We pray, Lord God, that your peace and your grace and your power may rest in us and work through us. We pray it in Jesus' precious name. Amen.