9-30-18 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Timothy Patoka 19 Sunday After Pentecost: September 30, 2018 Rejoice In Sharing Christ Philippians 1:12-18a th

1) Christ is our joy in all circumstances 2) Keep your motives worthy of rejoicing Each and every one of us is different. We all have different names, we all come from different walks of life, and we all have different things we like to do. I would be curious to see how different we all are in answering this question: what brings you joy? If you’re like me, looking at this week’s forecast brings you joy because you can be outside all day and still be comfortable. Maybe you’re the opposite and you find joy when you’re able to stay at home and relax or tackle that one project. If your loved ones don’t live nearby, perhaps it brings you great joy when you’re finally able to see them in person or hear their voice on the phone. We all have different ways to answer that question of what brings us joy. But just about all of them have something in common – they all involve something good or pleasurable.

As we read our verses for this morning from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi, did it strike you as odd that Paul mentions that he is rejoicing? Here he is in chains for Christ, imprisoned yet again, and deprived of some basic freedoms. Yet Paul does not complain to the Philippians, he simply reports them as he gets to his main point – rejoicing since the good news of Christ is being shared. That good news that brought Paul great joy while in chains is the same good news that brings joy to all our different and unique lives. So that, no matter what circumstances we are going through in life, we too may rejoice in sharing Christ. Because he will always be our joy even when we struggle to keep our motives true in that same act of sharing Christ with others.

1) Christ’s Is Our Joy In All Circumstances The Apostle Paul was not afraid to share Christ with people. Sometimes they appreciated what he had to say, but usually Paul’s witnessing landed him in hot water. Acts chapter 21 and following give the backstory for our verses this morning, but long story short Paul has been imprisoned for around 2 years while he waited for Caesar to hear his appeal. And during those 2 years a couple of unexpected things had happened. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” (Philippians 1:12-14) During Paul’s 2 year imprisonment, he was able to share the good news of Christ with Caesar’s palace guard, the elite troops who acted as his bodyguards. And on top of this, other Christians were confident to share Christ despite what may happen to them in return. All of these things happened because of Paul’s sharing of Christ.

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Pastor Timothy Patoka 19 Sunday After Pentecost: September 30, 2018 It's safe to say that Paul had one foundational ambition in life – to share Christ with as many people as he could. As you read about his life in the Bible, we see how everything he did stemmed from that. But could the same be said of us? That all we do is driven by our love to share Christ? So often our life’s ambition is focused on ourselves instead of on Christ. And regardless of what’s going on in life, we often see how our life’s ambition circles back to ourselves. When life gives us lemons, we get to making lemonade. Sometimes that’s necessary.

But continued focus on ourselves is all too easy to fall into. We are always going to have stressful moments or people frustrating us. It will always be a struggle to make sure our life’s ambitions is focused on God when we are being pushed down. We have the same struggle when the opposite happens, when life is not too difficult. For how many people has it been the case that once they finally have some financial security or life’s luxuries, it isn’t enough? We will always want that better standard of living or better looking nest egg. And sometimes those wants creep in our daily actions by taking away what would we otherwise offer to the Lord in the plate or in time in thanksgiving for what he has done for us. Indeed it is a struggle to have our life’s ambition focused on the one who looks at us from the cross instead of the one who looks at us in the mirror. th

Yet we can rejoice in all situations, despite our self-serving ambitions, as Paul models in Philippians chapter 1. And that’s because of the joyful good news of Christ whose life’s ambition was for others, for the salvation of sinful souls. Christ came to this world for our sake, not for his own. He willingly placed himself under and obeyed the same laws that rule over us.

Jesus didn’t do this so he could gloat about how perfect he is. He lived that perfect so that he could be our substitute in death. A death that was required because of our sins. That’s why he died. Not because he did something to deserve such punishment, but because he willingly took our sins upon himself so that he could die in our place. So that he could later rise from the grave and show us what joy we now have from him. The ransom price has been paid. Our sins have been taken away. We are at peace with God in this life and the eternal one to come. That’s the good news of the crucified and resurrected Christ.

That’s the joy that the Apostle Paul had in all his imprisonments. That’s the good news he was privileged to share with the whole palace guard. That’s the message the other Christians were confident to share despite what would happen to them in return. That’s the joy we too have. For Christ is always our joy. In those stressful moments where we wonder how we’re going to make it till tomorrow in one piece. In those blessed moments where we have more than what we need. And it is this joyful good news we have the privilege to share with others as we live according to that foundational ambition – to joyfully share Christ with others.

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Pastor Timothy Patoka 19 Sunday After Pentecost: September 30, 2018 2) Keep Your Motives Worthy Of Rejoicing th

And as we live out that ambition, let us do so with motives worthy of rejoicing. In our verses from Philippians the Apostle Paul recognizes that not everyone was sharing Christ for the right reasons. As he tells us, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” (Philippians 1:15-17) Paul commends those who share Christ out of goodwill and love, but others did so out of envy and rivalry of Paul in the hopes of stirring up trouble for him while imprisoned. One thing I want to clarify is what Paul is not doing. Paul is not supporting those who share a message that is not in line with the Bible. If you’ve attended the Adult Bible Study these past few months, you’ve looked at the book of Galatians. It doesn’t take long in that book to see how seriously Paul holds up pure biblical teaching and calls out those who deviate from what God has said in his Word. Here in Philippians, Paul can live with the false motives of sharing Christ because at least their content is in line with the Bible. They are preaching the good news of the crucified and resurrected Christ.

But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to continue having those false motives when sharing Christ. This is something we need to be on constant guard against, to make sure we’re sharing Christ with others because of motives worthy of rejoicing! This all goes back to that foundational ambition for life. If our ambition focuses on ourselves, then so will the reasons for what we do in life. In our Gospel reading from Mark chapter 9, Jesus warns us about this danger and our need to nip those self-serving ambitions in the bud before they spiral out of control.

And how is it that we nip those dangers in the bud and keep our motives true? By regularly coming back to this word so that the Holy Spirit may renew our hearts with God’s forgiveness and kindle in us the fire of his love so as to drive us to share Christ with motives worthy of rejoicing. The eternal joy we have did not come to us because of who we are or what we have done. It’s because of Jesus and everything he did for our sake, not for his own sake.

We have this joy only because of God who, in his great love for us, made us his dear children.

And when we have a right realization of what God has done for us, then we can more easily internalize these correct motives.

This all goes back to Paul’s concluding thought in Philippians chapter 1. He can rejoice, we can rejoice, because of 1 reason –the good news of the crucified and resurrected Christ is being shared. It cannot be overstated that Christ is the only source of eternal joy. And we Christians have been given the unique position of sharing this good news. This is both a privilege and a charge. A privilege because we have the news that can bring eternal joy to all people! But also a charge because it is only Christians who know this good news, and therefore, 3

Pastor Timothy Patoka 19 Sunday After Pentecost: September 30, 2018 can only share this news with others. But you don’t have to go to the great lengths of the Apostle Paul to do that. Think of your social circles – your friends, your relatives, your acquaintances, your neighbors – think of those people and ask yourself, “Who could stand to learn more about the crucified and resurrected Christ? Who would appreciate hearing about the good news of their Savior’s selfless ambition?” And before you know it, your list of people to share Christ with has grown quite large. Whether it’s the person who hasn’t stepped foot in a church in who knows how long, or the one who’s struggling with sin, or the one who’s in danger of taking their faith for granted, everyone has something to gain from the good news of our crucified and resurrected Christ. And that includes ourselves. th

But through it all, don’t forget to rejoice. Rejoice whenever you share Christ because you are sharing the good news of eternal joy that God alone can provide! Rejoice when you share Christ with yourself. Go back to the selfless ambition he had, see everything he did for your sake, and take that love to heart knowing that you have a Savior who has and will forgive your sins. Guard yourself in this joyful truth so that your life’s ambition may be focused on God than on yourself. Check your motives when sharing Christ so that they may be worthy of rejoicing.

And when you detect that those motives are not be what they should be, come back to the Word and ask the Holy Spirit to renew your heart and kindle in you the fire of his love. And also rejoice when you share Christ with those in your social circles. For that is how we let Christ’s light shine in the darkness and how we bind up the broken hearted. May the Lord grant us renewed hearts to treasure the joy that Christ always is and to keep our motives true to God so that we may rejoice in sharing Christ with all people. Amen.

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