God's Word comes to us today from the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians. Philippians chapter 1, we will hear verses 12 through 26. Our text actually begins in the middle of verse 18, a transition in Paul's thinking as he moves from reporting first on his situation in Roman imprisonment and then on the future prospects of what that imprisonment may lead to. So let us hear God's word from Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 12. 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 the 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. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with you, all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I suppose few of us this morning are facing the life or death crisis that confronted the Apostle Paul when he wrote the words we just heard. But all of us, like Paul's friends in Philippi, have something to learn from the way he approached that crisis. As he was writing these words from Rome to the Christians in Macedonia, north of Greece, he was shackled to a soldier 24-7, confined to house arrest. In the near future, the Roman emperor would render his verdict on the appeal that Paul, a Roman citizen, had lodged when Paul had been accused a few years earlier by Jewish authorities of fomenting civil unrest. That was always a charge that got the attention of the Roman authorities. And so Paul invoked his right to appeal to Caesar. He had survived a harrowing voyage, as we read in the latter chapters of Acts, across the Mediterranean Sea, finally reached Rome, now he's under house arrest, awaiting the verdict of the emperor. And as you can tell from the text, the possible outcomes are extreme. Either he's going to be vindicated and released from custody, or he'll be condemned to death. His present situation is far from pleasant. Those chains keep him from going out into the marketplace in the great capital of the ancient empire to preach to anyone and everyone as he loved to do about Jesus. And of course the future prospects in a sense from the outside looked even more dire, more threatening. Now the text that we're focusing on is the text that begins in the middle of verse 18 as those verses were later divided for us. It really is a transition. Paul's been speaking of his present situation up until 18a, essentially. And then in 18b and following, he talks about what's ahead. In fact, you can see it even in the shift of the verb tense. I am rejoicing now because many are preaching Christ. Some out of the wrong motives, but if they're preaching Christ faithfully and truly, the message, I'm rejoicing. And I will rejoice as I look toward the future. Odd. Unpleasant present, an even more threatening future, and what links them is joy. Joy? How so? And we might ask even, why did the Holy Spirit in putting together Scripture pause to give us this kind of news update report on Paul's situation almost 2,000 years ago. Understandably, the Philippians would be concerned. He was their beloved first church planter, the father of this congregation, as he and Silas reached them on their second missionary journey. They were worried about Paul. They needed reassurance that he was okay. And that's part of his purpose here. But his bigger purpose for them and for us two millennia later is to present the way in which he's looking at his present sufferings and possible future sufferings as a kind of a teaching tool for us, a kind of a case study on what it means to say to me to live is Christ, how that actually works out in the way we look at the unpleasantness of our lives. The Philippians needed that. We'll see this tonight when we go on to the next paragraph. They were facing suffering. because they belong to Jesus. That's pointed out by Paul in verses 29 and 30. You share in the kinds of sufferings I have. They faced opponents, he says in verse 28. We don't know if it was as severe for them as it was for Paul. But Paul says, I know you're going through this, and so I want to show you how I'm processing those threats to help you see how to do it as those who belong to Jesus. As I said, I don't think many of us probably today face that kind of life or death extreme. Some of our brothers and sisters in this congregation for whom we pray do face the prospect of life or death due to various illnesses. But we too need to catch the perspective that gave Paul such joy and hope in the face of troubles. We may not face violence as our brothers and sisters in Nigeria have faced in the last month or so. But perhaps you were laid off last month. And today money's tight. And tomorrow you wonder whether there's foreclosure or bankruptcy ahead of you. Or maybe yesterday's surgery has left the legacy of pain and medical bills. And today's chemotherapy is sapping your strength or that of someone near you. taking your hair away, maybe. And even through all this, you don't know whether tomorrow the cancer may win, the physical battle at least. You don't know. We don't know. Unpleasant present, threatening future. We need Paul to show us how the truth to me to live as Christ can also enable us to say even if it's death for us or whatever is for us to die his gains. So Paul's kind of letting us listen in on his process of thinking here, showing us first of all the supreme goal that casts a new light on all of the sufferings that he's experiencing. The supreme goal is the glory of Christ. You see that in verses 19 and 20 where Paul says that he's confident that this situation is going to turn out for his deliverance, and then he goes on to say, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. I know I will be delivered. Wow. Seems like in the rest of the paragraph he's kind of processing the pros and cons of what the outcome is going to be. Here he says, I know I will be delivered. How can Paul so confidently say at the outset, I know I will be delivered if he doesn't quite know what the outcome is going to be at the end, if he's weighing back and forth? Some scholars pointing out that the word that Paul uses here, that we have translated deliverance, is applied elsewhere in the New Testament to rescue from physical threats. Acts 7, Stephen talks about the exodus from Egypt as a deliverance. Acts 27, Luke talks about all of the people with Paul in the shipwreck being rescued from drowning. That's deliverance. Same word, family. Some say, well, Paul's just saying up front, I know I'm going to be released. I know I'm going to be back with you in Philippi in the relatively near future. Impossible. But I think there's stronger reasons to say that Paul is anticipating a much greater deliverance than just escape from Roman chains and a Roman sword. For one thing, because Paul himself, when he uses this term that we have translated deliverance here, he's talking about a big salvation. Typically, he's talking about comprehensive salvation from the power and the condemnation of sin, from God's wrath, even from physical and eternal death in the resurrection at Christ's return. Sometimes he uses this word group to look back to the beginning of that salvation when God brought us out of death and into life by giving us faith in Jesus. By grace you have been saved through faith, he says to the Ephesians. That's past. Sometimes he looks future. Romans 5, we've been justified by God, by Christ's blood, so how much more will we be saved from God's wrath through him? That's future, when we stand before God in the last day. Here he's focusing on a present experience and actually in verse 20 he shows us what specifically he has in mind here about deliverance. He says, I eagerly expect and hope that I will not be ashamed but that Christ will be exalted in my body. That the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ will give me courage so I will not bring shame on the name of the Lord who loved me and gave Himself for me. That Christ will be exalted. We could translate that. That Christ will be shown to be as great as He is because it's a word that has greatness built into it. And Paul has confidence that the Spirit of Christ will do that. Whatever happens in his trial, whether he goes to the sword or whether he's released to go back to Philippi, He knows that he'll be delivered. Paul is subtly echoing a statement from that ancient sufferer, Job. Job in his afflictions, then with the accusations of his so-called friends, comforters, hardly comfort, at one point says in Job 13, though he, God, slay me, yet I will hope in him. this will turn out for my deliverance. Job doesn't know what kind of deliverance it's going to come to in the short run. But his affirmation of faith is, this will turn out for my deliverance. Paul takes Job's words, embeds it right in his own experience here. This will turn out for my deliverance. Not necessarily from soon death, not necessarily from prison, but from self-protective fear that might tempt me to pull back from a bold witness for Christ in Caesar's court. See, Paul says it's the spirit of Jesus Christ that's going to give me that deliverance from fear. And Paul says, I know that God works through means. Not only that God can enable me to stand fast, whether the outcome is life or death, but that He's going to do it through human means, through your prayers. Did you notice that? Your prayers and the Spirit of Jesus Christ are going to be the ways in which Paul finds himself strengthened in that time of crisis. See, Paul never underestimated, never underestimated the power of the enemy arrayed against us. Nor did he overestimate his own personal strength. From this same imprisonment, he writes to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6. Remember, he says, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it's against rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And then just a few verses later, he says, pray for the saints and pray for me. Pray for me. That whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Paul says, pray for me. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters, for one another. In every opportunity we have to speak the name of Jesus that we won't pull back in fear of a little disapproval, much milder than anything Paul experienced. But still we may be fearful. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world for whom the price is much higher. Paul says, I know as you pray for me, the Spirit of Christ is going to strengthen me. so that my supreme goal, which is that Christ would be shown to be great, will be accomplished in me. So what's your supreme goal? What's your aim in life? What do you eagerly expect and hope for? What passion fills your daydreams while you're awake and your dreams at night as well? Are you pursuing academic achievement, maybe? Success in your career, health, fitness, a fulfilling marriage, respectful and accomplished children, financial stability, popularity, recognition by others. Those are all fine things. Nothing wrong with any of those. But none is big enough to be your supreme goal. They might be consistent with your Creator's perfect design for you, but if your sights are set no higher than those earth-bound accomplishments, sooner or later, whether you get them or not, they're going to let you down and disappoint you. You could say it another way. Paul's looking for deliverance here. What do you want deliverance from? Do you long to be delivered from illness, disease, from tight finances, from injustice or violence? from shame. Any sane person would want to be delivered from those things, but no sane person would expect to be delivered from all life's problems short of Christ's return at the end of time when the new heavens and the new earth will come, and then there will be no more evil or sorrow anywhere. The deliverance that God gives now, that God gives now, as Paul says, is deliverance from fear and protective self-centeredness. God's grace will free you to embrace the supreme goal that was Paul's eager expectation and hope that Christ would be glorified in you, whatever, whatever happens. Now that supreme goal casts a new light, secondly, on the difficult dilemma that Paul's wrestling with here. And you see that in verses 21 through 24. Each of the life or death outcomes that lie ahead of him, each fork in the road that he can't quite see where it's going yet, each has an upside or a downside. And the supreme goal to see Christ glorified in his response to whatever happens casts a certain light on each of those. Now there are a couple things I think that are surprising about these verses. The first thing is that Paul talks here as though it's really his right to choose the verdict that Caesar lays down. Doesn't that strike you as a bit odd? Which shall I choose? Did Paul forget he's not the judge in this case? He's the defendant? From a human point of view, the decision really didn't belong to Paul, the prisoner. It belonged to Caesar, the great emperor. How could the defendant presume to speak as though he could choose his own verdict and sentence? Of course, the explanation comes in the fact that Paul belongs to Christ and Christ is sovereign over Caesar. Even though Caesar doesn't know it, Christ is the one who controls the decisions of the great emperor of the mighty Roman Empire. Christ is in charge of those things. And so Paul knows because he belongs to Christ, he has access to the supreme judge who is ultimately determining what will happen to Paul, who will determine the outcome of Caesar's decision. Paul has access to the King of Kings, to the Lord Christ himself. So Paul, when he says, I don't know what to choose, he's really saying, I don't know what to ask Christ for, because I know Christ is the one who has things in charge. The second surprise is that Paul is hesitating between life and death, and he views them as weighing which is the greater of two goods rather than which is the lesser of two evils. Some people may have a love affair with death or who may suffer from a depression so deep that it tempts them to suicide. They may find their present lives so intolerable and their future, as far as they can see it, so hopeless that death seems to them more attractive than life in this anguish-filled world. Other people, probably most people, most of the time, have a kind of a love affair with this life, with the opportunities it gives for affection and amusement and achievement and relationships and pleasures. For them, the obvious choice is life. I want to go on living in this life. Especially since Paul expects that if the outcome is life, he's going to get out of chains and be free to move around again. And they know what they would do if they get more life. They'll fill it with more fun stuff to do in this life. For Paul, ongoing life in this world or sudden death, each has its upside, its good side, its advantage, almost irresistible advantage, but not for the reasons that people who feel suicidal think that death might be better and not for the reasons that people who are captivated by pleasure think that life might be better. On the surface, Paul sounds a little bit like that famous to be or not to be speech in Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Because Hamlet was weighing life or death, wasn't he? To be or not to be. To go on living or to actually take my own life. You remember maybe being required by some Calvin Christian English teacher to read Hamlet. I don't know if that's required around here, but you know. Or you've seen one of the movies. You know the story that goes into that. Hamlet's uncle had murdered his father, Hamlet's father. His uncle had seduced and married Hamlet's mother and had stolen the throne of Denmark. And Hamlet couldn't figure out a way to get justice for his deceased father until he's thinking about ending his own life. He talks about the thought of escaping through suicide from, as he calls it, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. You wondered where that came from. It comes from this speech, right? The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, the sea of troubles, the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. He's almost convinced himself death is better than life, but then he says to sleep, to die. To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub. For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause. And he thinks, I don't know what's beyond death. It may be worse than what I'm experiencing now. And so he basically comes back and he says, the dread of something after death makes us rather bear those ills we have than those we know not of. I don't know what to choose. It may be worse. So conscience makes cowards of us all. He's at the end of his tether. Most of us aren't there most of the time by God's mercy and grace. And he doesn't know what to do. Now, Paul, like Hamlet, is pondering the pros and cons of ongoing life in this world on the one hand or imminent death on the other. But Paul's attitude is so radically different. It's not which is worse, life or death, but which is better for Paul. Paul says it would be great to continue to live in this world because that means fruitful labor for me. That is, I get to bring the gospel back to you again and to other people. I get to go on preaching Christ in this world. It's more necessary for you that I stay. We'll come to that in a moment. but it's a good thing to live in union with Christ in this world because it enables me to glorify Christ. Not because it enables me to get through all the pleasures of life, but it enables me to glorify Jesus. On the other hand, Paul says, here's my dilemma. Personally, it's better for me if Caesar's verdict is execution because I personally desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far. That's a good version. Paul's is almost a little ungrammatical in Greek. It's much more better, which we all know you're not supposed to write in English. He probably wasn't supposed to in Greek, but he's trying to keep it up. Much more better to be with Christ. Much better to be in the presence of Christ. That's his great advantage. Christ's presence is now with Paul on earth. In fact, Paul will say that he has gained Christ, knows Christ, is walking with Christ. But he also says, not only here but over in 2 Corinthians, that to stay in the body here on earth is to be away from the Lord and he'd rather be absent from the body and present with the Lord. So if his personal longing were the deciding factor, Paul would say, let Caesar do his worst. I want to be with Jesus. Now that way of Paul's looking at life or death poses a question for us. It's not just which one would you choose if you were in that situation, If you were really in a situation, what to pray for to Christ in a particular crisis situation, God's providence. But why would I choose, would I choose life or death? Maybe you would choose life over death because life, even though it's somewhat inconvenient, is pretty pleasant. Keeps you entertained, certain level of comfort and pleasure. Or maybe you're not quite sure of what happens after death. That's possible. There may be some here who don't know. Maybe you would find death more appealing because you think that nothing lies beyond it or because your life seems intolerable this morning. To others you look fine, but on the inside you're torn up. I don't know your heart, but the Holy Spirit does. But if those are the reasons that you would choose one or the other, and you need to see something wonderful and sweet here, That Paul will choose whichever is more pleasing to Christ for the sake of the fact that Christ has given all for Paul. Which leads us then to a conclusion where Paul gives us a kind of an outcome to his pondering back and forth. Verses 25 and 26. As he says in 24, I know that it's more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain. And I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. Now the word that he chooses for convinced, he chooses very deliberately. It's a word that could also be translated persuaded. What he wants to say to them and to us is, I haven't gotten sort of a private access to the will of God. by special revelation as is given to me as an apostle. He did receive those revelations, but he says this is not what has led me to this conclusion. I've gone the process, you also can go. I've taken biblical principles in God's revealed word and applied them to observable circumstances. And so the outcome, I conclude, is I'm still useful on earth and you need me. So I think God's going to lead to my release, my return to Philippi. He talks more about that in the second chapter to minister to you further. Now later, in another letter, 2 Timothy, almost certainly from a different and later imprisonment, Paul's mood is very different. In 2 Timothy, Paul has a sense of mission accomplished. He says, I'm already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I've fought the good fight, I've finished the race, I've kept the faith. My mission is done now, he senses, from the way that providence has led, that now, soon, his martyrdom will come. And he's more than glad to depart and be with Christ then, when Christ ordains it. But in the meanwhile, he's more than glad to stay on earth and to labor among God's people. Paul is showing us how that reality, to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain, helps us to weigh those outcomes that we can't see in our life. I call this a pastoral preference, but it's not just for pastors, because Paul is really, as I said, making himself a case study here. We're going to see more about why the Philippians needed to see that in the next paragraph this evening. But Paul is showing us how to face suffering, because we belong to Christ. How to face the weighing of our preferences over against others' needs because we belong to Christ. And that's what he's doing here. He says, you need me here, so I'm happy to stay here because it's ordained by Christ. Why? Because Paul has learned from the Christ who gave all for Paul. The joy of giving for others. Ultimately, you see, What is going on in Paul's life depends on what Paul is going to tell the Philippians, remind the Philippians in the next several chapters, that Philippians 2, that Jesus, who is in the very image of God, who is equal with the Father, became our human brother, became a human being, became obedient even to the death of the cross. Why? To rescue us from God's wrath and our own sin. to rescue us. And now Jesus is exalted at the right hand of God. And Jesus' humility, Jesus' others-serving compassion has set Paul free from Paul's self-serving instinct. So Paul says, I'm more than glad to serve you further. It's not just a pastoral preference. It should be the preference for everyone who knows that we've been saved and redeemed by the self-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came for our rescue. So the more that we learn to say with Paul, to me, to live is Christ, the more that our hearts are set free from sort of self-protective selfishness and free to serve and be concerned for others. The gospel logic that reminds us that Christ has loved us so that he's given himself for us then transforms our own hearts so that we're willing to put our preferences and comfort, even life itself, in second place and to put others' needs in first place. It makes our eager expectation and hope that whatever happens, whatever happens, Our great desire is that Christ will be exalted, shown to be great in us, whether by life or by death. A pastor from a bygone era embraced Paul's one supreme goal for himself in a prayer that is included in a collection of Puritan prayers called the Valley of Vision. Hear this prayer. In a sense, pray this prayer along with this pastor. I want to. I command it to you as well. He prayed, Sovereign Lord, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart. And I appeal to Thee with greatest freedom to set up Thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns. Glorify Thyself, and I shall rejoice. For to bring honor to Thy name is my sole desire. Lord, use me as Thou wilt. Do with me what Thou wilt. But, O, promote Thy cause. Let Thy kingdom come. Let Thy blessed interest be advanced in this world. Let me be willing to die to that end. And while I live, let me labor for Thee to the utmost of my strength. May you find, may all of us find the joy and the freedom of serving that great cause of Christ's glory so that we can make this pastor's prayer our own heart's cry, so that we can affirm with Paul, by God's grace, to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Let's pray together. our God and our Father. As your word has searched our hearts, as your servant, the Apostle Paul, has shown us the beauty of Jesus and the difference that being enraptured with Jesus' beauty makes in the way we look at the trials of life, the threats of the future, our own needs and the needs of others. Father, we confess we are not yet, none of us is where we want to be, where we long to be. But we ask that you would show us the beauty of Christ in a richer and deeper way that we might, in a fuller way, be able to say with the Apostle, to me, to live as Christ and to die as gain, but then not just say it, but have that really mold the way we work deep down inside so that our desire is to be with Christ, to experience his presence in every way that we can, and at the same time our desire is to be serviceable to Christ and to others for Jesus' sake. And so, make us content, joyful, however you lead us in our path, that we might rejoice to see Christ glorified and magnified in us. We pray in his name. Amen.