Bible Text: Philippians 1:12-26 | Pastor: Eric Danielson | With all the turmoil, conflict, and confusion in the past three months, and as we finally gather back together in person, there’s only one thing that unites us – one thing we’re going to seek after and move towards as a church family

Download sermon pdf…

Reunite and Refocus

Philippians 1:12-26

I want to thank Luke and Marie for sharing their testimonies today. Their testimonies bring us right beck to why we’re here – why what we’re doing matters. Jesus is transforming people’s lives – delivering them from brokenness and darkness and bringing them into hope and life. He’s done that for each of us and he’s at work in the community around us, bringing that hope and life to others who so desperately need it. So we come together to continue to grow in him and to join him in his mission by reaching the people around us.

I thought of a lot of things I could say on our first Sunday back, but most of all I wanted to Just bring us back to the reason we’re here, and that’s Jesus. Jesus is who unites us. Jesus is who we all share in common. Jesus is the one we want to worship and grow closer to. Jesus is the one who gives us hope and purpose. And he’s the one that the people around us so desperately need. The reason we gather together as a church boils down to one thing – the person of Jesus.

The reason I want to bring us back to Jesus is that for the past three months our thoughts and focus and attention has been all over the place. So many things have happened and so many things have changed and keep changing. It’s been pretty crazy. A lot of people have been struggling with all kinds of different things. There’s been a lot of confusion, stress, anger, and conflict – even within our own church. The news coverage is depressing and divisive. The pandemic has become a controversial political issue and it’s hard to know what to think or believe. The murder of George Floyd and the sin of racism has also become political and controversial and led people to do and say all kinds of crazy things. There’s pressure from a lot of places, turmoil, and tension. And it can be easy to lose sight of what matters most and get tossed around by the waves.

So I want to bring us back to our anchor this morning – the One who unites us, the One who calms the storm. The one who brings us peace and clarity and direction. I struggled to know which passage of Scripture I wanted to preach on, but eventually I was brought to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians is a letter written by Paul to a church in Philippi that was about 10 years old. And the reason I wanted to preach from this passage is because of the situation that Paul was in. I see some similarities between his situation and ours – only his was much worse.

Paul had been arrested 5 years earlier because he continued to preach that Jesus was the Messiah everywhere he went and that made a lot of people mad – especially the Jews who wanted nothing to do with Jesus. They stirred up an angry mob when Paul was in Jerusalem and they were going to kill him, but the Roman officers stepped in and spared his life by arresting him. To make a long story short, they held him for 5 years without a trial and eventually brought him all the way to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. So he was waiting there, under house arrest, probably chained to a guard.

We think we’ve had it bad after 3 months of limitations and quarantine, but Paul’s situation was much worse. He was unfairly treated, forgotten about, unappreciated, taken advantage of and stuck in prison for 5 years without ever being tried – he was eventually acquitted and set free, but not before writing this book to the church in Philippi.

You would think someone in his situation would be uncontrollably irritable. You would think that he would talk about the injustice of the government and how he was being treated unfairly. You would think he might have a conspiracy theory all worked up and ready to share. I can just picture myself going to visit someone in his situation and hearing all kinds of complaints. I would assume their focus would be on the unfairness of their situation.

As we think about what we’ve been through and the conversations we’ve had, I’m guessing they’ve been largely focused on the situation we’ve been in. Everyone’s talking about the virus and politics and racism and injustice and it’s so easy to get completely caught up in those things. It’s so easy to get emotional and angry and start fighting with people who don’t have our view. That’s what I would expect from Paul in the situation he was in, but the words he wrote to the people in Philippi show us something much different – something I think we need to see and ask ourselves if we need to refocus. Here’s what he wrote…

Read Philippians 1:12-18

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

No complaining. Nothing about his political views. No bad-mouthing his guards or the corrupt justice system. Nothing about the unfairness of his trial or his rights being violated. He didn’t even complain about the people on the outside that were trying to afflict him when he was in prison. Instead he talks about the advancement of the gospel. He sees beyond his circumstances to a bigger plan that God was unfolding and he was a part of. He saw that his imprisonment was part of God’s plan to advance the gospel so that the name of Jesus would be preached to the whole imperial guard and so that others would become confident to speak the word without fear. He also saw that the people who were trying to afflict him were actually spreading the gospel, so even that was a good thing.

We desperately need to learn from Paul… Instead of complaining we see Paul rejoicing. Instead of talking about his view on corrupt government, he talks about Jesus. Instead of being caught up in all the injustice of his situation he was focused on Christ and spreading the good news. He saw his circumstances in a much different light because he was focused on Christ, and that’s what I think we need to do this morning. Refocus our attention on what matters most and what brings us together – the person of Jesus Christ and the advancement of the good news of the gospel in our community.

Paul goes on to talk about what he would be doing in the future – when he got out. I know I’ve thought about a lot of things I’ve wanted to do when things start up again – Music on the River, community events, games, group activities… Paul had some different things in mind.

Read Philippians 1:18-26.

Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

So as Paul daydreamed about the end of his quarantine, he actually thought about how wonderful it would be if he didn’t make it out – if he was put to death. That’s crazy… He wanted to depart so he could be with Jesus… Yet he knew in his spirit that his time had not yet come, so then he switched his attention to the next best thing – going on vacation? Maybe a Mediterranean cruise? Starting a movement to protest the injustice of the Roman legal system? No. Fruitful ministry. Going back to the churches to continue to teach them about Jesus so that they would grow in their faith and joy and glory in Christ.

With Paul things are very predictable. When he looks at his past and current situation he talks about Jesus, and when he looks at his future he talks about Jesus, and he does it with joy. For Paul, to live is Christ… To live is Christ… Living was all about seeking Jesus and advancing the good news about Jesus to others. And to die? To die is gain, because in dying he would be able to depart and be with Jesus. The other stuff didn’t seem to matter that much.

On this first Sunday back, the message is simple – we need to reunite and refocus our lives, our church, and our future on Jesus. The problems and corruption and brokenness and desperation in this world are not going to go away. And if we focus on them we will be filled with anxiety, fear, and conflict. So that’s not where we’re going as a church. We’re not getting caught up in the news headlines and the issues that will tear us apart. Instead we are going to set our focus on the same place it’s always been – on Jesus, growing in our love and intimacy with him, helping one another do that, and reaching out to bring hope to a community that so desperately needs him.