This morning, I invite you to turn with me once again to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1 as we continue our consideration through Paul's letter. This morning, reading together and considering verses 12 through 18 of chapter 1. 12 through 18. We know as we have considered together, Paul greets the congregation in the name of the triune God. He gives thanksgiving and prays for the congregation and talks about his prayer on behalf of the congregation. And now in normal letter-writing fashion, especially again of that day, he moves on to give them a bit of an update about his situation since, of course, he wasn't with them. And they had sent him a gift through Epaphroditus and they wanted to know how he was doing. And so he gives them a little bit of an update, but also in Pauline fashion, he doesn't really spend a whole lot of time focusing on himself. He gives a very brief update, as it were, but instead uses that update, again, to point to the Lord Jesus Christ and to point to the great purpose of God through Paul in his situation. As again, Paul points to Christ. We read together and consider together verses 12-18 of chapter 1. Hear now the word of the Lord. Now, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of our brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Beloved in Christ the Lord, what is the greatest thing that could ever happen to a person? Of course, we know there are a variety of answers that would be given by our society to that question, boys and girls. Someone might say, well, the greatest thing would be to win millions of dollars in the lottery. Or maybe it would be to inherit a fortune. Or possibly to become successful in some way. Or it certainly wouldn't be bad to have no enemies and only have friends. There are many answers that could be given to that, but I trust that for us in good Reformed fashion, we would say that the greatest, most important thing, as we know it is, is to hear the Gospel message preached. That is the greatest, most important thing that could ever happen to anyone because of, as Paul knew, its power. He knew all about the power of the Gospel. In Romans 1, verse 16, he says, it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. And in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 21, he says that through that foolishness, God has chosen to save those who believe. He knew of the power of the Gospel, but at the very same time, Paul knew of the need of the human heart. And he knew that there was only one remedy for that need. He knew that there was only one hope for that need. And therefore, in this text, he teaches of the proper place of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every Christian's life. The place it is supposed to take because there is nothing more important. He teaches that as we find him rejoicing in the supremacy of Christ preached. Now, boys and girls, very simply that word supremacy, by that we mean supreme. Overall, the best. number one the most important but also I want us to think along with that that it's powerful that it's unstoppable the supremacy of Christ preached is unrestrained by physical circumstances Paul shows us in the second place it's unbound by sinful motivation then finally as we hope to see it is unmatched in glorious purpose first of all it's unrestrained by physical circumstances Paul begins again, Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. He speaks about his physical circumstances, but ever so briefly, what has happened to me? And he mentions chains a couple of times. But we need to notice here, or we need to consider the expectation of these chains. The expectation, what I mean by that, is by Paul's enemies, those who wanted him in chains, those who wanted him out of the picture. Again, he says, what has happened to me? And generally, we might think that he's talking about all that he had suffered for the sake of the Gospel. The hatred that he endured, the beatings, the stonings, the shipwreck, everything that he had endured throughout his ministry for the sake of the Gospel. But what Paul is talking about here when he talks about what has happened to him, he's talking specifically about what was going on at that time. We know he was a prisoner. He was in prison. And he was chained to one, maybe two soldiers, two guards. He had no freedom. He had no independence. He had no privacy. Or it may have been in some sort of house arrest where he could receive guests and speak to them and be encouraged by them, but he was chained to these soldiers. He was completely deprived of everything that makes one comfortable. He was denied all the nice things of life that you and I often take for granted. We need to understand, boys and girls, that Paul's imprisonment was not like those who are incarcerated today, those who have certain rights, a clean cell, three square meals, a time of recreation every day, except for those who are in solitary confinement maybe. But Paul didn't have it even like our prisoners today. He had it tough. And being chained to these soldiers, these soldiers we can imagine were heathen men. They were what we might call rough around the edges. After all, look who they had to deal with. Prisoners. And their language was possibly filled with blasphemies and cursing so that Paul was continually bombarded by the flaming arrows of Satan. These soldiers, I believe, were the very opposite of Paul who was filled with the fruit of the Spirit. And again, the intention of these chains by Paul's enemies, the expectation was that they would cause Paul to find that life was hopeless. That he would be troubled. Maybe even pushed to depression. That he would see that there's no use in the Gospel anymore and that it would shut him up. That these chains would chain up the Word of God so that it would no longer spread, that he would no longer minister the Word of God. That's what his enemies hoped for. That's what they expected. But Paul shows us the truth of these chains when he says, I am in chains for Christ. Far from shutting him up, these chains were Paul's glory. He had no regrets. He had no bitterness. He rejoices. He was not angry. He was not self-focused. He didn't waste his time asking himself, why me? Why does everything bad always happen to me? He didn't care at all about his own personal comfort. He only cared about the advancement of the Gospel. The truth of these chains is that these were spiritual chains. Chains in Christ. He was a slave of, a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ, bound to the service of Jesus. And it wasn't temporary service only when the conditions were favorable or comfortable or safe, but a lifetime of service in chains for Christ. This was a bondage of joy because in it, he proclaimed the truth of Jesus Christ. His chains were for the defense of the Gospel. Defense is, as we would think of it, defending oneself against a charge as he stands before a judge. Paul was charged by his fellow Jews of preaching a false Gospel, of turning the world upside down, of being a menace to society. But he defends the truth of the person and the work of Jesus Christ and in doing so, he gives a reason for the hope that was in him. And we too, beloved, must always be prepared to defend the truth of Jesus Christ, of the Gospel. It's called apologetics. Boys and girls, you think of an apology as saying, I'm sorry. But in theological language, apologetics means to defend the faith. And in order to defend the faith, you must study and be familiar with and know the facts of the Bible because you cannot defend that which you don't know about. And Paul also shows us then the accomplishment of his chains. He says, that which has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel. And this is really incredible because Paul, in essence, says, don't cry for me. Don't worry about me. Instead, rejoice with me because I desire to be in no other situation right now than this because I see that God is at work through these chains. I see that the very opposite is happening than what my enemies expected to happen. All these chains might restrain me physically, personally, Paul might say. But they cannot restrain the Gospel. And I want to point out for a moment too just the character of this idea of advancing the Gospel. It's really wonderful. It's also translated for the furtherance of the Gospel. to further it, to move it forward. In the first century, the Greek word had the thought of a company of woodcutters going before an army that was on the march, that was advancing. And the company of woodcutters would prepare a path for that advancing army. They would cut a path through the forest for the army to go to places where otherwise that army would not be able to go. And what Paul is saying here is that his lost liberty, his chains, The walls that held him in, his limitations, his suffering, his guards, did not trouble him. But they were all working to cut a road, to open a path for the preaching of Christ. And to do so in the most unlikely of places. And one of those places, which was indeed astonishing, was inside the prison. The Gospel advanced in the prison. He says again, verse 13, As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. It became clear to see the real reason that Paul was in chains for Jesus Christ. Now, this palace guard was some sort of what we might call an elite group of anywhere from 9,000 to 10,000 special assignment Roman soldiers who were really bodyguards for the emperor, for Caesar. And one or two at a time, again, they were chained to Paul in a rotation type of basis probably every four hours. And it's not that every one of these 9,000 or 10,000 found themselves at one point in time chained to Paul so that they developed a personal relationship with him, but those who were chained to him witnessed something quite incredible. They witnessed Paul's testimony either to visitors who were allowed to come and encourage him and for him to encourage or to the guards directly. And they spread. They couldn't keep it inside. They spread what they had witnessed. They spread what they had heard among the other guards. You ought to see this guy. You ought to hear him. And maybe even took what he said home to their wives and children. But these guards, they witnessed a man who was neither a hardcore criminal nor was he what we might call some sort of a white-collar swindler who was in prison for tax fraud or maybe bribery or something of that nature. They witnessed a man who was one who was not a common criminal. He was not filled with anger and hatred and a desire to get revenge. But they witnessed a man who was filled with a calm, gentle spirit. and who was filled with love for his fellow man. They witnessed the man who even, we might say, looked like he enjoyed his prison life because he was joyful always. He prayed continually. He gave thanks in all circumstances. He was content in any and every situation and he had faith that he could do everything through Christ who gave him strength. Paul was a man, a preacher, who practiced what he preached. In a sense, Paul did enjoy his prison life because it was there that he was able to proclaim Jesus Christ from the pulpit of the Roman Empire where Caesar was worshipped as Lord. And he was able to proclaim the gospel that Jesus is Lord to a people who otherwise would have never have heard it. And we're not told here how effective he might have been. That's not the point. We're not told how many converts there were, but we're told that they heard Christ. The seed was planted. But the Gospel was advanced in another place, and that was outside the prison walls. He says in verse 14, Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly. And these are those, he says, who preach out of goodwill, in love, knowing that Paul was put there for the defense of the gospel, as he says in verse 16. A congregation, we need to understand too, that there was a need for courage, beyond a doubt. It was a difficult time being a Christian. We think we have it tough sometimes. We don't. It was a difficult time being a Christian because of the persecution that they suffered for their faith, especially in those first few centuries of the New Testament church. Terrible punishments, as we know about, even at the time of the Reformation, that they were willing to give their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives and so forth, their bodies to flames. Terrible punishments, even to the point of death. And we can't even begin to fathom that. But sadly, unfortunately, we are all too familiar with a lack of courage. But these brothers in the Lord were transformed. that Paul says. They knew that he was on trial, on death row possibly, for preaching the gospel, which he was called to defend. They knew that he was called by God for this very purpose, as the Lord says to Ananias in Acts 9, I will show him, I will show Paul, how much he must suffer for my name. And these brothers too, maybe when they had the opportunity to come to visit Paul, but they witnessed his unfailing devotion to and love for the Savior and for the Gospel and they witnessed his hope and his selflessness and they witnessed the joy that Paul had in suffering for the Gospel. And they were the ones who were walking free. And they were afraid to speak. But they were transformed. No longer were they afraid of what man could do to them. But they were moved by the Holy Spirit through Paul's example to preach boldly of what God alone could do for man. And their motivation, Paul says, was love. Love for God. Love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Love for Paul. And in their goodwill, they came along Paul's side. Paul was not free like them to continue to go here and there and everywhere to reach the lost for Christ. And therefore, they, as it were, as Paul is in prison, they would fill the gap for this wounded comrade in arms who was, as they understood, divinely appointed to defend the Gospel at the highest level of the empire. There are many lessons, of course, for us in this portion of this text, but to begin with, nothing can stop the Gospel of Jesus Christ from going forth. Nothing. Satan has tried, but not when Cain killed Abel, Seth was born. Not Israel in Egypt as servants, as slaves. Not Herod who killed all the baby boys two years old and younger. Not the cross. Nothing can stop the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not man-made obstacles. Not Satan, as we'll see in a moment. Sinful motives cannot stop the Gospel. The Word of God will be preached either with us or without us until every last elect child of God is gathered in. But you see, beloved, God calls us to be faithful preachers of His Word. Each and every one of us It's not just the task of the ordained preacher on Sunday through whom God strengthens and encourages you for the task. We're not all called to study to be preachers, boys. But may it be, boys and young men, that God is calling some of you, and you might notice it already, to train, to preach the Word. But all of us are preachers, in a sense, in our own right, as God uses the things that we face, our trials and our temptations and our relationships and our circumstances of life, whether good or bad, whether easy or difficult, He uses them all to cut out a path for advancing His Gospel. Every opportunity is for that. Some of you have shared with me opportunities you have had as you were by the bedside of a loved one in the hospital and struck up a conversation with someone else who was by the bedside of their loved one. and someone you'll never see again in this life. And you had the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, the hope that is in you. What we do with the opportunities God gives us will affect many others. And very simply, beloved, we are not to stand in the way of the advancement of the gospel because of a fear for mankind. The world watches how we, as professing Christians, how we handle the situations of life. even prosperity. Are we thankful in prosperity? Do we thank the Lord as well as the difficulties? And as the world observes us, it is to be our desire to be asked by them, why don't you do what you don't do? Why do you do what you do do? How do you handle the things that you handle in this way? Because we are to desire to be asked those questions because it gives us an opportunity. to witness for Christ who saved us. To answer, because I am a Christian. And that is to be our answer. Because I am a Christian. And they then might come back, well, what is a Christian? What does that mean? I am in Christ Jesus. And that is our full-time duty. Our vocations, the jobs that you will go to tomorrow in the office, in the work site, wherever it might be, in the home, are just the means that God has given to support us in our full-time Christian duty for Him. That's it. His work alone lasts. Beloved, the supremacy of Christ preached is unrestrained by physical circumstances, but in the second place, it's also unbound by sinful motivations. Paul says in verses 15 and 17, it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry. And he explains to them in verse 17, they preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. Paul faced a particular opposition. And here he's not talking about men teaching a wrong doctrine or teaching a wrong way of salvation like the Judaizers whom he had gone head-to-head with on many occasions. He's not talking about those who outright reject Jesus Christ. How do we know? Because on other occasions, he specifically condemns them. He has no mercy on them whatsoever. For example, in Galatians 1.8, he says, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned. In another place, he says, let them be anathema, a curse beyond them. But these that Paul is speaking about preached Christ. From wrong or sinful motives, to be sure. But they preached Christ. And outwardly speaking, they were not Christ-haters, they were Paul-haters. And this might be a little difficult to understand, but Paul, no doubt, was enviable. He was a humble servant. He would never have wanted anyone to envy him. But no doubt he was enviable to those around him in his day. He was used by God to plant many churches. He was successful in that in Asia and in Europe. And he was used by God to do battle against the legalists and to win. And he was also looked up to at this very time by many as he sat in prison in chains for Christ. And many were given courage through him. But these preachers that he talks about now were those who tried to steal some of Paul's glory and some of his following in whatever way because he's in prison. He can't do anything about it. He can't respond to them. They tried to possibly make him look bad for being locked up in prison and not out there preaching where he could get some real work done. Why don't you compromise a little bit, Paul? You could be free. Maybe they even tried to make believers think that if they followed Paul's pattern, Their life is going to be in danger. And then what good are they going to be for the kingdom? And Paul says in verse 17, their motive was selfish ambition. And the word that's used there has the idea of a hired worker who was looked down upon because his laboring was completely for his own interests. He didn't care about his employer. He didn't care about the customers. He didn't care about the products. He didn't care about who may benefit from the products. He only cared about his paycheck and nothing more. and that's how Paul describes these particular preachers. They only cared about how they could benefit, how they could gain in whatever way that might have been. And Paul's response is that he doesn't sing to their level. He doesn't play their game. He doesn't enter into a bitter rivalry with them, but he only concentrates on the beauty of what they have in common, and that was Christ preached. Notice he doesn't say that there's no danger for their false motives, that they're not in danger themselves. He never says that. That's not the point here. The Bible clearly says in other places that we will all give an account for our idle thoughts and motives and words. Paul, in no way, shape, or form, puts his stamp of approval on their sinful motives, and he doesn't ever say that the ends justifies the means. It doesn't matter how you get there, just get there. He rejoiced in one thing. And that was the truth of Christ preached. False motives, rivalries will hinder the preaching of the Word of God, but they cannot stop the preaching of the Word of God. Paul knew, as the saying goes today, that God can hit a bullseye with a crooked arrow. He can strike a straight blow with a crooked stick. But again, he has lessons for them and for us. To begin with, let nothing stand in the way of Christ preached. Let nothing stand in the way. And there's a warning here for us as churches and denominations. Differences divide us organizationally and even theologically, and we must discuss those differences. But when we agree on the supremacy of Christ preached, we must encourage and support and pray for one another. We can talk about that all day because there's all kinds of organizations that call themselves church and many federations and denominations. And there are some with whom we are not to ally ourselves to be sure. Because they don't preach a true Christ. But for true churches with whom we agree, we are to support and encourage and pray for one another. But there's also a warning here for Christians personally against using Christianity and the name of Christ for personal gain. For example, attracting business or trying to gain the trust from a neighbor. Instead of using Christianity or the name of Christ to attract these customers or try to convince our neighbor that we're trustworthy, we are to demonstrate that we are Christians. And to promote the name of Christ by treating our customers in a Christian manner honestly and ethically and showing our neighbor that we can be trusted. Not just trying to convince him, but show him. Let them see that you and I are different and pray that the Holy Spirit would lead them to ask us why. There's also a warning against churches fighting so much over our differences that it takes time and resources and energy from engaging in the real battle, the battle against Satan. One thing Christians have shown that we are good at and that is fighting against each other. But we're very bad at joining together with one another against Satan's hold on our culture and on our world and the acceptance and the tolerance of evil that's all around us. And I trust it's clear too that there's a warning against many in our day peddling religion to pad their pockets. As we were reminded the other evening on the Ascension Day evening that there are so many who use the name of Christ and Christianity to become wealthy. Oh, I can help you with that. You want to be happy? I can help you. You want to be more loving? I can help you. You want to do this, that, or the other? I can help you. Just send me a certain amount of money. But there's even a warning here for faithful Christ-preaching ministers. Even faithful Christ-preaching ministers must fight pride as they see their church grow. Number one, it's not my church, their church, his church, it's Christ's church, as I said a few weeks ago. And we must also fight jealousy when the church down the street attracts more people than ours. if they are truly preaching Christ. We are to be thrilled. Beloved, there's a call here for examination in our personal lives and in our churches. Is the confession of our mouths supported and backed up with the practice of our lives? And our ministries? And is our true unadulterated desire to preach Christ alone? May it be because it is finally unmatched, very simply unmatched in glorious purpose. Nothing can match Christ's preach, the purpose of Christ's preach. Why does Paul rejoice? Because Christ is preached. That is supreme. That is number one. That is most important. And that is because of the content of the message, which is Christ. You see, not just any Christ, Not just any Jesus. Not just any concept or man-made or heretical idea of Jesus. We may not simply accept what anyone believes about Jesus. Oh, you believe in Jesus? A Jesus? Oh, that's good. I do too. There are many false Christs being preached today and for a variety of reasons. We may not accept the Jesus of Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses or Islam or many others or even a Jesus that provides the majority of my salvation but I must do my part. There's only one Jesus that we are to accept and that is the Jesus Christ of Holy Scriptures the one of whom the Bible testifies to. Throughout the New Testament epistles only Christ was preached and it's very clear that the doctrine of Jesus Christ must be absolutely right. That doctrine must be preached over and over and over and over again. Do you get tired of it? Do you get tired of hearing Christ preached, the doctrine of Christ preached, the same message of salvation, Lord's Day by Lord's Day, service by service? So it comes in different packages from the Old Testament, from the New Testament, from the stories of David and Goliath and from the Gospels. It comes in different packages, as it were. But do you get tired of hearing the same old truth of justification by faith in Christ alone? I hope not. Because the message of the church cannot simply be about how to live better or how to be more positive in your life or how to raise your kids or how to be kind or God is loving and therefore we must be loving too. See, all those things are good and wonderful, But those things mean nothing by themselves. These flow from Christ preached. There can be no worthwhile message at all apart from Him. What we are to do makes no difference unless we know what we are to believe and what we are in Christ Jesus. Christ is the content of the message but also then the meaning of the message. On Pentecost, for example, in Acts 2, and to Cornelius in Acts 10, The apostles preached the facts of Christ as they were detailed in the Gospels. The life of Christ. And it's summarized for us beautifully in the Apostles' Creed. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate. They preached the seeming contradiction of the crucifixion. That He died, was buried, descended into hell. They preached the wonderful revelation of His resurrection. That He ascended, that He will come again. And they not only preached those facts, but they explained those facts. That this Jesus is the Son of God. We read about that in our preparatory form. He is the Son of God. He is God Himself, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. And this is confirmed by His miraculous works and death and resurrection. They explain the facts that this Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, whose life satisfied the law before God, whose death paid for our transgressions of the law so that we are forgiven of all of our sins and accepted in God's sight. That's true for all who turn to Him in repentance and faith. You too, if you've not yet done so. That's a guarantee. Eternal guarantee. They explain the facts of this Jesus that He is the Lord. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the ruler over all things, including our lives. The only one before whom we are to bow and to whom we are to be obedient. and he will come again and put away his enemies forever and take his bride home. And Paul points to our relationship to these facts as he rejoices in preaching Christ. Why does he rejoice so much? Because of the hope of that message. This is where it comes down to. The hope of that message is summarized in one word, salvation. The hope of that message is found in this rich Christ as Dr. Godfrey beautifully reminded us of the other night that the rich Christ has ascended and he is not stingy. He will not withhold his riches which he has earned for his people from his people. Paul knew that Jesus Christ was the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. And Paul knew that the salvation of mankind was more important than his physical comfort, than His earthly freedom, than His physical life. And may our desire be, beloved, that many come to know the saving grace of God that comes only through the supremacy of Christ preached. And as our God does bring His elect to faith in Him, and we see that before our very eyes, may we too rejoice as the angels in heaven. Brothers and sisters, as we examine our hearts and lives in preparation to come to the Lord's table, a visible proclamation of Christ. May we remember the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. And that is a knowledge of our sin and misery along with that and assurance by faith of Christ and His redeeming love. And may our prayer be that God would give us a great desire to be active soldiers in the army of God. May our prayer be that He would give us pure motives in living for Him and testifying for Him And may our prayer be that He would drive away the fear of man far from us. That fear that might keep us from speaking up for Him. And may we rejoice, beloved, to hear again and again and again. And for others to have the opportunity to hear the saving message of the only Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Father, You have blessed us with such a precious gift. And that is the preaching of Your Word through which You save those who believe. And we must confess, O Lord, that sometimes we get bored with it. Sometimes it's not to our specific taste. Sometimes it's not exciting. Sometimes we want to hear something different. We pray for Your forgiveness for these sinful thoughts. and ideas yet we praise you Father that you continue to bring to us your word whether simple or profound the message of Jesus Christ and his saving love and we thank you Lord that that word will continue to go forth until the day that the last elect child of God is gathered into the fold and then on that day oh Lord may we look forward to the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who take us home forever. Father, we praise your name for your riches to us in Christ Jesus. In his name alone we pray. Amen.