Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 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. 20 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. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
(Philippians 1:18b-21 NIV)
All of us want to experience a sense of fulfillment in life. All of us want to enjoy life and feel a sense of accomplishment and meaning. I suppose we tend to think this way as we grow older. When we are young, we just assume that our lives will accomplish great things. We dream great dreams and fully expect that one day we will reach them. And we do accomplish many things, some we set out to accomplish and some we did not.
One of the problems that we all face in our search for meaning is the problem of just how routine life is. Indeed, life is defined by the routine. Often, we are tempted to think that we are not accomplishing anything significant in this routine life of ours. Sometimes we even devalue the ordinary things we do. But we should not.
Everything we do has significance. Meaning and fulfillment in life do not come from doing the big things. Life is lived in the small things and in the routine things. It’s not just the big things you do for the one you love that communicates the love you have. Its doing the little things consistently and faithfully that makes a big impression. And it’s also doing them from the right attitude and for the right reasons.
There is an old story from medieval days that recounts the story of a traveler who came upon stonemasons working on a building project. He asked one man, "What are you doing?" "I’m mixing mortar," he said. The second man, when asked, replied, "I’m helping put up this great stone wall." When the third man was asked, he proudly declare, "Why, I’m building a great cathedral to the glory of God."
We’ll enjoy our lives more if we put the process of living in proper perspective. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Do you see what he is saying? We are not called to accomplish great things for the glory of God; we are called to live daily for the glory of God. We do not glorify God in the extraordinary things that we do; we glorify God in the routine things that we do. Indeed, in everything that we do, we should seek to glorify God. That is the primary reason why we are here on planet Earth. The chief purpose of man is to glorify God.
Paul saw that clearly. He saw that his purpose in life was to lift up Jesus Christ. Whatever his circumstance, whatever the situation he found himself in, he sought to exalt Jesus Christ. Even in the difficult circumstances of imprisonment, Paul tried to see God hand. And he expected God to do something in his situation. He expected God to glorify himself one way or another. Let’s look at what Paul was doing in order to discover what we need to do for Christ to be exalted in us. What Paul did is what I need to do. Firstly, I need to...
We see from our text that Paul was confident that God would make a way for him in the midst of his difficulties. He believed that God would provide what he needed. He was optimistic. He was hopeful. He was confident. He was expectant. Listen to what he says in verse 19: "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." Paul knew that he could expect God to move because people would be praying. And Paul knew the power of prayer.
Prayer should be our first response to everything in our lives–– good and bad. When things are going good, we should pray prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God. When things are going bad, we should pray prayers for help. You see, prayer is communicating with the God of the universe. If you really believe there is a God, then you should pray. Our prayer life or lack of it says more about what we think about God than what we think about prayer. And if we have faith in God, then we will trust in the power of prayer.
Prayer works! It works because God works. God is working on our behalf every moment of every day. We read in James 5:16b: The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. It is powerful because God is powerful. It is effective because God knows what he is doing. He loves us. He desires to bless us. So we should pray. And we should pray for others. And we should also ask others to pray for us. Remember, Paul was counting on the fact that he would be blessed through their prayers. Through intercessory prayer other people are blessed. That is why we need to be praying for other people and we need to have other people praying for us.
If we are serious about following Jesus, prayer must be elevated from an occasional activity to a way of life. We need to enlist people to pray for us. We need to ask them to pray that we would live our lives in such a way that our lives would glorify Christ. And we should count on the fact that God will answer that prayer. You need to trust in the power of prayer. This is where we begin. Secondly, I need to...
After Paul had told them that he was trusting in their prayers for him, he pointed to something else that he was depending on. He was also depending on the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ (v. 19b). Paul not only knew that he could trust in the power of prayer, but he also knew he could depend on the provision of the Spirit.
What about you? Do you depend daily on the activity of the Spirit of God? You should. You see, the Christian life cannot be lived apart from the activity of the Spirit. In some ways this is frightening. It is frightening because so many Christians are never taught about the Spirit. And then there are those who teach about the Spirit, but teach things that are incorrect. The frightening thing is, as a result, there are so many people who have no clue as to the real work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came to dwell within each of us and to empower us to live for Jesus. Listen to what Jesus said would happen to his followers after he left: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8 NIV). Here Jesus told them what would happen to them when the Spirit came on them. He said they would receive power. He didn’t ask them to go and wait until they spoken in tongues, although I believe that is a valid gift of the Spirit. He didn’t ask them to go and wait until they had seen a vision. He didn’t ask them to go and wait for some physical manifestation. He simply told them what they would receive–– power. They would receive power to live for him and be his witnesses in all the world.
That is still the case today. We still need that power. In fact, Christianity cannot exist without that power. We need to depend upon what only the Holy Spirit can provide. Otherwise, we will end up trying to live the Christian life in our own power, which is utterly and totally inadequate. It just can be done. I know. I have tried to do it on a number of occasions. It doesn’t work. You fall on your face. You fail miserably.
You see, it is not enough to have good intentions and to try hard. You are like the Kamikaze pilot who was fired after flying twenty-seven missions–– he meant well but was not getting the job done. You can really want to serve Jesus, but if you are not filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, you will never be effective.
In Ephesians 5:18 we are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit. This, of course, is directed to Christians. You see, even though every Christian is indwelt with the Spirit, every Christian is not consistently filled with the Spirit. To be consistently filled with the Spirit, we must consistently surrender to the control of the Spirit. This requires a conscious laying down of our lives in order to bring our lives under the control of God. It is a daily decision. It is a daily yielding to God. We must be willing to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord. It is at the place of absolute surrender that we receive the power of God’s Holy Spirit. If we hold back ourselves in any way, then we risk grieving the Spirit. We must abandon ourselves to the Spirit just as a drunkard is abandoned to the influence of the drink. Just as the drink controls the one intoxicated, so we must be controlled by the Spirit. And that means we must let Him take control. We do that by surrender.
This puts us in the place of being able to hear God’s voice so that we can obey him. Sin separates us from God. It prevents us from hearing God’s voice. But surrender, on the other hand, restores that connection. Surrender clears out the clutter in our hearts and minds and enables us to hear the still small voice of God speaking to us. And, as we obey, we are being led by the Spirit. And, as we are led by the Spirit, we will receive the power to do what God is calling us to do. Where God guides, he provides.
So, if I want to glorify God, I need to trust in the power of prayer and I need to depend on the provision of the Spirit. But there is something else I need to do. I need to...
It is impossible to read what Paul has to say and miss the fact that his whole life was wrapped up in Christ. He was in prison for Christ. He trusted that his deliverance (v.19) would come through Christ, one way or another. His expectation was that he would in no way be ashamed (v.20), which could more literally be translated "put to shame" or "disappointed." Christ was not going to let him down.
Just as Paul was focused on Christ so should we be. His desire was that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body (v.20). And what is more, he knew it would be so whether by life or by death (v.20). This was Paul’s desire. This was his passion.
We need to yearn for the preeminence of Christ, not simply because he is preeminent, but because we earnestly desire him to have first place in our lives. This is what is lacking in so many Christians and churches today–– a real passion for God. Is it lacking in your life? Are you passionate about your walk with Christ? Does knowing Christ excite you? It should. If it doesn’t, it can be that either you don’t know him or you don’t really understand just who he is.
When Paul was writing the letter to the Colossians, in the first chapter he was describing Christ as creator and sustainer of the universe, which he is. He went on to say that Christ is all these things ... so that in everything he [Christ] might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things... (Colossians 1:18b-20a NIV). The fact is that we are serving the all-powerful God of the universe, the one who made all things and through whose power all things hold together. If that doesn’t excite you, you need to take your pulse.
Our problem is generally that we do not see the reality of who God is. We tend to make God after our own image. We make him a super-human. We don’t really realize how awesome he is. But he is incredibly awesome. What we need is to catch a glimpse of his glory. It would change our lives forever.
My prayer is that our hearts would yearn for God more than they yearn for anything else. Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ..." (v.21). Do you see his passion? Do you want that passion? That’s what we need. We need to see that Christ is our life. He is our reason for living. He gives our lives meaning. He brings purpose and fulfillment to the routine of life. And ultimately, he will be our destiny.
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