Advancing the Gospel.

Nate Schlomann

[0:00] Amen. We’ll go ahead and have a seat. Good morning, Village Church. Welcome again. [0:05] It’s good to see you. My name is Nate. I’m one of the pastors here. I’m looking forward to [0:08] continuing our series in Philippians this morning, but first I do want to invite you all out [0:14] tonight for Theology Matters. We’ve got a Theology Matters tonight at 5 30 p.m. And what this is, [0:19] is just an extra teaching time that we do every few months here at Village Church. It really gives [0:23] us an opportunity to drill down on a topic we might not regularly get to on a Sunday morning.

[0:28] I know Pastor Steve has prepared all kinds of good information tonight. We’re doing [0:34] a Theology Matters on the Charismatic Gifts, so I guarantee you it will not be boring. [0:38] There’s going to be a lot of good information. And we are excited sometimes to get to topics, [0:42] again, that you don’t generally hear on a Sunday morning. So come out tonight, 5 30 p.m. There is [0:48] a Q&A time, so it’s very interactive. And I hope it’s a lot of good information that’ll help you [0:55] understand the lay of the Christian landscape, frankly, in terms of what the theology of the

[1:00] Charismatic Gifts is and where we stand on that as a church. So make plans to be there. There’s [1:05] child care for kids up to four years old, but that is always, every time we do a Theology Matters, [1:10] a really good time together. So I encourage you to make the time for that tonight. [1:14] All right. Well, let’s jump right in here this morning. We’re continuing to walk through Paul’s [1:19] letters to Philippians. And we’ve kind of finished the introduction now. And so we’re jumping into [1:23] the place where Paul starts to update the Philippians on his current situation in Rome

[1:28] and what’s been going on with him. So let’s look at Philippians chapter one, verse 12. [1:34] Paul says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance [1:39] the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that [1:44] my imprisonment is for Christ. Go ahead and pray with me to open us up. Father, we thank you for [1:51] your word. God, I just ask that you would speak to us this morning as we hear the witness of Paul [1:57] how his imprisonment was for Christ. God, teach us in your word this morning how it is that we can

[2:04] advance the gospel just like Paul did so faithfully in his circumstances. And so I just thank you for [2:11] you. I thank you for your word. And I just ask that you bless our time this morning in Jesus name. [2:15] Amen. So what has happened to Paul? Paul says, what has happened to me has served to advance [2:22] the gospel. But what is it that has happened to Paul? Well, Paul had been arrested unjustly in [2:28] Jerusalem by the Jewish people and kind of they made some false claims against him. They wanted [2:33] to put him to death. And so Paul ended up using his Roman citizenship to appeal to Caesar. And so

[2:38] whole bunch of things happened after that. But eventually that ends up after quite a [2:43] long trip with Paul in Rome. He’s in Rome. He’s imprisoned. He’s waiting to appeal his case to [2:49] Caesar. He doesn’t want to be put to death. And so this is his best shot against that. And so he [2:53] wants to present his case to Caesar. He’s probably in a house arrest kind of situation. So don’t [2:58] think about a dungeon like damp kind of just in a dark dungeon. He’s more in a house. It’s clear. [3:03] He can have visitors. People can come and go. He can write, but he is, he mentioned a few times,

[3:08] he’s in chains. He can’t leave that house. There’s a guard there at all times. So he’s [3:12] definitely imprisoned in a house arrest situation waiting to appeal to Caesar. [3:18] So that’s Paul’s description as what has happened to me. Life has really happened to Paul. We might [3:25] say that him saying what has happened to me is really the understatement of the year. A lot [3:29] has happened to Paul when he writes this to the Philippians. You know, it really is true that life [3:35] happens. It’s true that life just happens. That’s a reality for all of us. There’s nothing that we

[3:40] can do to stop life from happening. Life’s happening regardless of whether we’re ready for [3:45] it or not. Life is happening regardless of whether we like it or not. If you’re alive, your life is [3:51] happening. There’s no slowing it down from happening. The question is what’s the direction of your life [3:57] as it happens? Life happens. The question is where are you headed with your life? And when Paul writes [4:03] what has happened to me, life had happened pretty rough for him the last few years. It would seem [4:09] that Paul would have every reason to be discouraged. Things were not going at all as he intended. His

[4:15] plan was not to get to Rome by going to prison. His plan was just to go to Rome. So life had [4:21] happened and he certainly was feeling this is a setback. This is not how I envisioned advancing [4:26] the gospel. But even in that, it’s clear from the way Paul writes Philippians and what makes it such [4:33] a great letter, Paul is not discouraged. He’s far from discouraged. Why is that? Even when Paul was [4:39] locked up in chains, he still knew where his life was headed. Paul had a purpose of living to advance [4:47] the gospel that was so clear and so compelling that no matter what else happened to his life,

[4:51] he was going to be headed towards following Christ. And so even with all these barriers that had been [4:57] thrown up in his life over that last span of time, Paul is still advancing the gospel. [5:04] Nothing could deter him from that. And I think one of the points of this passage is for us to see [5:10] what it is that Paul had in his life that caused him to be so unshakable and just his assurance [5:16] that the gospel is going to be advanced regardless of his situation. What is it that Paul [5:21] had? I think the reason that Paul had this unshakable faith is the purpose that he was

[5:28] living for, this purpose of advancing the gospel. No matter how much life had happened to him, [5:35] he knew what his purpose was. And the thing is our purpose determines our direction. [5:40] Our purpose determines our direction in life. Paul had a purpose that kept him persevering [5:46] through hardship. Paul had a purpose that meant he wasn’t going to slow down in following Jesus [5:51] or turn back or pause even while he was in chains. Paul had a purpose that meant some [5:57] tough things in life happening to him, wasn’t going to get him off track and change the actual

[6:01] direction of his life. Paul’s purpose was to advance the gospel. And there’s a lot of different [6:07] ways that we can talk about what that purpose is. What does that mean to have a purpose of advancing [6:12] the gospel? You’ll find that purpose and that theme all over the New Testament in almost every [6:18] book. I really like the way that Paul talks about this purpose of advancing the gospel in [6:25] Ephesians. Ephesians chapter three verses eight through 11, this is what Paul writes there. [6:30] He says, to me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given

[6:34] to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone [6:40] what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, [6:44] so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and [6:50] authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has [6:54] realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. So there’s all kinds of stuff in this amazing passage, [6:59] right? Unpacking that is a whole other sermon for another time. But what I want us to see is just

[7:04] this simple truth. Paul’s purpose was to bring God glory by making Christ known. Paul’s purpose was [7:11] to bring God glory by making Christ known. Paul’s purpose was to advance the gospel. [7:18] And this is our purpose too because it says through the church there in verse 10. Don’t [7:21] miss that. If you’re a believer in Jesus, it’s talking about you too. That’s your purpose also. [7:26] It is to bring God glory by making Christ known, to advance the gospel. [7:32] Life is going to happen to us. The question is where are we headed when it happens?

[7:37] Are you headed more towards following God, more towards serving Jesus, more towards becoming a [7:42] disciple of Jesus, or you’re headed away from that as life happens to you? Our purpose determines [7:47] our direction. Paul had a purpose that was so worth living for that his direction was not going [7:53] to be derailed no matter what happened to him, no matter how much he suffered, no matter how many [7:57] obstacles he faced. One thing I find so interesting about this section of Philippians is that this [8:04] contains some of the most meaningful teaching in scripture on suffering in this passage here.

[8:10] And yet the big point of this passage is not about enduring suffering. It’s about advancing [8:14] the gospel. And what’s remarkable to me is that Paul is suffering greatly and he’s enduring it. [8:19] And there’s a huge testimony there. There’s a lot to learn there about suffering, but that’s not [8:24] the main point that he wants to make. His suffering is almost an incidental detail to him. Paul [8:29] mentioned his suffering almost with this offhand comment, what has happened to me. That’s his [8:34] description of his suffering. And don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to learn about suffering

[8:39] in Philippians. We’ve preached on suffering many, many times here at Village Church over the last [8:44] few years. It’s so important that you have a developed good theology of suffering for your [8:50] life. But what’s remarkable to me about Philippians is here in the midst of Paul’s great suffering, [8:55] suffering is not his point. Suffering isn’t what Paul wants to talk about. He wants to talk about [9:01] what God’s doing in people’s lives. Paul wants to talk about how God is at work, how he’s redeeming [9:07] people, how he’s saving people, how other Christians are joining him in this work. That’s what Paul

[9:13] wants to talk about. And suffering is just kind of how he gets there. He says, yeah, I’m in chains [9:18] here. It’s not a great situation. But what’s awesome is the gospel is advancing. And what jumps out to [9:25] me in Philippians 1 12 is just how anchored Paul’s life is by his purpose. If we live for God’s [9:32] purposes, no matter what happens in life, our direction will be set. We’ll know where we’re [9:37] headed with our life. If we live for God’s purposes, then in any situation we find ourselves, we can [9:42] be a part of advancing the gospel. And purpose, the thing about purpose though, is it works both

[9:48] ways. If you have the wrong purpose, you will head in the wrong direction with your life. [9:53] So we’re all headed somewhere. If we have the wrong purpose for our life, we’re going to head [9:58] in the wrong direction. That’s guaranteed. And it’s not like people set out to have the wrong [10:04] purpose in life. Life just has a way of happening. And even people who claim to be Christians, [10:09] sincerely, they end up with purposes that are less than purposes for their life. They end up [10:14] making decisions and they end up living lives that don’t actually have anything to do with

[10:19] all kinds of things can take over as a life purpose. Very unintentionally often. [10:26] Seeking happiness, seeking status, seeking a good family life. The list goes on and on of things [10:32] that even some of them seem good. They seem like things that are good things to live for. But if [10:37] they take over our ultimate purpose of advancing the gospel, they’re going to end up heading our [10:41] life in the wrong direction because our purpose does determine our direction. Even trying to just [10:46] be a good person and help others. That’s a less than purpose that will take you in the wrong

[10:51] direction if that’s separated from bringing God glory and advancing the gospel. I think all these [10:57] less than purposes, all these purposes that aren’t bringing God glory and advancing the gospel, [11:02] they’re all ultimately self-centered. They all ultimately end on themselves. And the big [11:07] glaring problem with every less than purpose is when life happens in a way that’s hard and it will. [11:13] When suffering happens, when hardship happens, none of these purposes can sustain you through [11:18] that. And that’s part of Paul’s testimony here to us. Since purpose determines direction,

[11:22] you better have the right purpose. Living for God by advancing the gospel is the only purpose [11:28] that leads to a life worth living. This is what we were made for. This is what following Jesus [11:33] is all about. And this is the purpose that allowed Paul to endure hardship and setback [11:38] and keep moving forward. Paul’s testimony in Philippians is that living for the purpose [11:44] of advancing the gospel will direct you on the path of following Jesus in any circumstance, [11:50] no matter what happens in your life. And the powerful way that Paul teaches us to communicate

[11:54] this is through his testimony. That’s where I want to turn to next as we go back to the [11:59] text in Philippians. Starting over in Philippians 1-12 again, this time going to 13, Paul says, [12:05] I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the [12:08] gospel. And he says, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard [12:14] and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. So the gospel was advancing because Paul [12:21] was telling people about what had brought him to Rome and how him being there in chains was because

[12:27] he needed to make the good news of Jesus known. What happened to Paul had become his testimony [12:33] about God working in his life. And since Paul was so sure of his purpose, he knew that whatever [12:39] situation he found himself in, he was going to use that to make Christ known. Paul took [12:44] his imprisonment and he turned that into his testimony. And what I want us to see is your [12:49] situation is your testimony. Whatever situation you are in in life, your situation is your [12:55] testimony. I think one of the major ways we know that we’re headed in the direction of following

[13:00] Jesus and advancing the gospel is when we start to view the situations of our life as our testimony. [13:07] Your situation is your testimony. We’ll see that this is a theme that Paul goes back to over and [13:14] over again later on in Philippians, that whatever situation he’s in, he’s going to make the most of [13:18] it for advancing the gospel. He’s going to find joy and satisfaction in it because of that. He [13:23] repeats himself almost every chapter as he goes on in Philippians. And as we look at this passage, [13:29] I think one thing we need to do though is stop and ask the question,

[13:33] why is it that advancing, why is it an advancement of the gospel for people to be hearing Paul’s [13:38] testimony about being in prison, about being in change? That doesn’t seem like a real selling [13:44] point. Go for the gospel. You’re going to end up in prison. It just doesn’t make sense. Like, [13:49] why is this an advancement for the gospel? Why doesn’t that scare people off? People certainly [13:53] aren’t hearing that and thinking, I got to get me some imprisonment in my life too. [13:57] You see, Paul’s testimony here is the difference between self-help and the good news of the gospel.

[14:04] That’s really what we need to see. It’s the difference between self-help and the good news [14:07] of the gospel. Self-help says, try this thing out. It says, try these ideas out, try these principles [14:14] out and see if they make the life that you’re already living any better. Or sometimes self-help [14:20] says, make these changes to the life you’re living and things are going to get better for you. And [14:25] self-help is surprisingly about the self. And sadly, way too much Christian teaching these days is [14:31] just self-help teaching. The good news of the gospel is not like this at all. Good news, or the

[14:37] word gospel, understand means good news. And it’s about the good news of what God has done to [14:43] reconcile people to himself through Jesus. And the thing about news is, it’s not an idea or a [14:49] strategy to be tried. It’s a truth to be believed. So the good news is a truth to be believed. [14:55] When your purpose is to advance the gospel, what matters is whether or not the news of Jesus is [15:01] true. Not whether or not a life strategy or an idea makes your life better. And what we got to [15:07] understand is, when what matters is whether or not something is true, it’s a huge testimony.

[15:13] When someone is willing to endure hardship for it, when someone is willing to go through tough [15:18] times and still say, God is true, God is for me, God is good. When what matters is whether or not [15:24] news is true, that’s a huge testimony. It’s not a deterrent. Jesus said this very thing in Mark 13 [15:31] 9. Jesus says, but be on your guard, for they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be [15:39] beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness [15:44] before them. That’s the words of Christ. That sounds a little bit like what ended up happening

[15:49] to Paul some years later, doesn’t it? These are not feel-good selling points, but proof [15:54] that this is true and this is a life worth living. You can only give a testimony about a self-help [16:00] strategy when it worked for you and when your life is good. But you can’t give a testimony about a [16:07] self-help strategy when life’s not good. You can give a testimony about the good news of Jesus and [16:13] how it’s true and how it changes the purpose of your life. You can give that testimony in any [16:17] situation. You can give that testimony when times are good. You can give that testimony when things

[16:22] are ordinary, and you can give that same testimony when your world is crashing down. That’s what [16:27] makes the testimony of God being good, Christ being true. That’s what makes that testimony so [16:33] powerful. Your testimony should ultimately be about how God is true and God is worth it. Remember [16:39] those things. God is true and God is worth it. That must be our testimony. This is the testimony [16:45] of a life worth living. It’s the only testimony that can make any sense of an imprisonment being [16:52] for Christ. Paul used the situation he found himself in as an opportunity to say,

[16:58] I’m so sure that the good news of Jesus is true and that God is for me that I’m willing to be in [17:04] chains for it. And it became known throughout the whole Imperial Guard. These were the soldiers [17:08] that were keeping Paul locked up and they’re probably rotating through and so word is spreading. [17:13] There’s this guy and he’s not discouraged by his imprisonment and he’s serious about his faith and [17:18] it’s sustaining him. And people were observing this about Paul and his testimony about Jesus [17:24] was spreading. Paul’s testimony as he was imprisoned was that God is true and God is worth it.

[17:30] And to advance the gospel with your life you need to know and understand [17:34] that your situation is your testimony. So I want us to think through this for a little bit. There’s [17:39] several ways that this can work its way out in our lives. The first is similar to how it worked [17:45] its way out in Paul’s life here and that is that your testimony could be about how God used your [17:50] situation. Some of us frankly, and I know there’s I don’t think there’s anybody in chains here that [17:56] I know of, or you’re not headed back to chains, but some of us are like Paul and that our situation

[18:01] in life isn’t changing anytime soon. So we’re not in literal chains but maybe it’s an ongoing [18:07] sickness that’s going to be a part of our life. Maybe it’s a job situation that we can’t [18:13] responsibly get away from. The thing that I see most often pastorally, and this is a reality, is [18:19] people are in family situations that aren’t good but they can’t move away from. And so in some sense [18:25] you are stuck there. All kinds of situations that don’t seem ideal and don’t seem like they’re [18:31] anytime soon. And in the midst of wherever you are, is God true and is God worth it? That’s how

[18:37] you can make your situation your testimony. How can you make it known to those around you that [18:43] you’re in that situation for Christ, as Paul described here. I think the biggest way that you [18:49] do that, if that is your situation, if you’re in a situation that you can’t change right now, [18:55] is you persevere. You stay faithful. Do you really believe that there’s a bigger purpose [19:00] that you’re living for? Is there a joy that comes with that if that’s what you’re doing? There’s a [19:06] peace that comes with that. That’s seen when you continue to serve God and when you continue to

[19:10] serve others even in your situation. When you continue to serve the church. That scene when [19:15] you tell others that your purpose is following Jesus regardless of your situation. Is it true [19:21] that Jesus is enough? I think that’s a nice thing to say. Jesus is enough. No one ever really wants [19:27] that to be their testimony. That Jesus is enough. But here’s the reality. Life happens. Life is [19:32] coming for all of us and all of us will come to a point where we’re challenged to say Jesus is [19:37] enough. So you need to decide now. Is that true? Is that going to be true? Maybe you’re in a place

[19:41] right now where that needs to be true for you. Is Jesus enough? Is he worth enduring for to see [19:48] the gospel advance in others? If the good news is true, he is worth it. So just simply living [19:55] faithfully in one of these situations that you really can’t do much about. That is a powerful [20:00] testimony. And so I want to encourage you some of that with that. Sometimes our testimony is how God [20:06] used our situation. But I don’t actually don’t think that’s most of us in here today. I think [20:12] there’s another way for many of us that our situation could be our testimony. Because lots

[20:17] of us find ourselves in situations of life that are of our own making and that are not ideal for [20:24] advancing the gospel, but that we have the ability to get out of. And so I’m convinced for many [20:29] of us, your testimony needs to be how God changed your situation. A lot of you need to have the [20:35] testimony of how God changed your situation. Think about Paul. And we’ll see this again as we keep [20:41] going through Philippians. That despite how he talks about the gospel advancing through his [20:46] situation, Paul was not trying to stay in his change. In fact, several times in the chapters

[20:52] that are going to come after this, Paul talks about his desire to be free from imprisonment for [20:57] the sake of the gospel. So just because he did know without a shadow of a doubt that God was [21:03] using his situation in prison. And Paul had a joy and a peace in that, but that doesn’t mean he [21:08] wasn’t trying to be free. He act, he verbalizes this. He wants to be free to advance the gospel [21:14] more and more. And so if you’re in a situation that you know is not helping you live a life [21:21] living for God’s purposes, and there’s something you can do about it, then you’ve got your answer

[21:25] right there about the direction that your purpose needs to take you. You need to make a change. [21:30] Our purpose needs to determine our direction. So maybe the thing that you need to be testifying to [21:35] is that the good news of Jesus is true and that God is worth it. And so I changed my situation [21:40] in response to that reality. That’s a huge testimony to the truth and the power of God. [21:45] And for us in our context here, I think that’s most likely the way that your situation needs [21:50] to turn into your testimony. Here’s some examples. Because God is true and worth it, you committed

[21:56] to community. You’re going to do it. Because God is true and worth it, you have a testimony of how [22:01] you became more generous with your money. Because God is true and worth it, you got serious about [22:08] healing your marriage as a testimony to God. Because God is true and worth it, you got serious [22:14] about raising your kids. Because he’s true and worth it, you got serious about discipleship. [22:18] Because God is true and worth it, you gave up that waste of time in your life to have more time [22:23] for things that matter. You gave up that extra opportunity that you really didn’t need to focus

[22:28] on what does matter. There’s so many ways in our lives where we could have the testimony that God [22:33] is true and God is worth it if we’re just willing to make changes that we know would help advance [22:38] the gospel. The point is, if you don’t have a lot of hardship in your life right now, you do not need [22:45] seek out hardship in order to have a testimony. That’s not Paul’s point at all. The point is that [22:49] you need to use your freedom then as a testimony to how the gospel can be advanced in your life [22:56] in order to honor God with your life and with your decisions. And then give God all the glory for that.

[23:03] That is a testimony. That is how you know having the right purpose helps you head in the right [23:09] direction if you’re changing your life to be a testimony for God. The last thing that I want us [23:16] to think about when it comes to making your situation your testimony is, and this is really [23:20] important, live the testimony you have not the one that you want. We all need to live the testimony [23:26] that we have not the one that we want. I think a lot of times when we think about a good testimony [23:32] that’s really going to help us share Jesus with people, we think about having some crazy story of

[23:37] I was on drugs for 11 years and then I was homeless and God radically changed me and look [23:42] how awesome God is. And he does that and it is awesome. But we have the feeling if I had a [23:47] testimony like that then I really could share Jesus. But I just have this boring testimony. [23:53] You’d be grateful for your boring testimony. You need to thank God that he spared you from pain. [23:58] And if God has spared you from pain, that’s a good thing. You still have a testimony. So don’t [24:05] wish for a testimony you don’t have. And I think though I say that I think a lot of us do get that.

[24:11] But there’s another way that we can wish for a testimony we don’t have. And I think this is [24:15] where really we struggle much more. And I see this all the time. People wait for the testimony of [24:21] what’s going to happen in the future before they’re going to serve God. And so I see this all the [24:26] time. People say things like once I study the Bible more then I’ll be ready to serve God. [24:31] Once my job has settled down then I’ll have more time for the mission. [24:36] Once my kids are all in school then life won’t be so hectic and I can serve Jesus more. And then it

[24:40] turns into once my kids are all gone then life won’t be so hectic and I can serve Jesus more. [24:44] And there’s always you know once this, once this, once this, then this, then this, then this. [24:50] And did you know that all of those thoughts and ideas are false testimonies? Those are things you [24:56] wish were true about your life that would help you serve God better. The only difference is they’re [25:01] in the future. They’re things you’re dreaming about that are keeping you from serving God today. [25:06] And waiting for a different future to serve God is just as foolish as wishing for a different

[25:10] path to serve God. Your situation now is your testimony and God wants to use you where you are [25:17] right now. It’s not that it’s bad to have dreams about how you’re going to serve God in the future. [25:22] Of course you should do that. That’s healthy and that’s good. We should aspire to that. But the [25:26] point is you’ll never ever get to those dreams if you’re not serving Him now right where you are. [25:31] We all have to start serving God right where we are. So if you’re waiting for that right situation [25:38] to advance the gospel, if you’re waiting for that right situation to serve God, you’ll always find

[25:42] a reason to wait. So building a testimony means taking one little step this week to following God [25:49] more so that you have something to show others. Just point to to say this faith is real. That’s [25:54] how you do it. You take one little step and then you share that. Freedom is when you can say like [25:59] the apostle Paul that wherever you are in life, that’s where I’m all about advancing the gospel. [26:06] All right, let’s look at verse 14 now and see one more big point I think God has for us in this [26:11] passage in Philippians. Philippians 1 14. It says, and most of the brothers, having become confident

[26:19] in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. [26:25] The same kind of question going on here is why would it be that seeing someone in prison [26:30] is making the other Christians much more confident and bold? You know, shouldn’t they be thinking I [26:34] don’t want that to happen to me? I don’t want to also end up in prison like Paul. So actually I’m [26:39] going to start to be quiet about this. But they do the opposite. They see Paul in chains for Christ [26:44] and it makes them bold and confident and then they speak the word without fear. Why is that?

[26:48] It’s the same idea that we saw earlier. The gospel is not a message of how to make your life [26:52] better. The gospel is the good news of the truth of Jesus. It’s either true or it’s not true. [26:58] In Paul’s willingness to suffer for Christ, it proves to the other Christians who are there with [27:02] him and witnessing this in Rome that this gospel message is true and it’s worth living for. So [27:08] Paul’s testimony proved that it was true and it gave the other Christians confidence. And if the [27:18] passage this morning is that we’ve got to do something with the gospel. The Christians who

[27:23] were in Rome were inspired by Paul’s testimony. Paul had a purpose that determined his direction. [27:29] So being in chains was not going to stop him from this. Whatever life threw at Paul, his direction [27:33] was set. He was going to be about advancing the gospel. And that testimony was so clear and so [27:40] true that Christians who heard it knew that in response they had to do something with the gospel [27:45] with their lives also. So we’ve got to do something with the gospel. If it’s true, [27:51] that is going to make us confident and bold. And one thing I’m really glad about here in verse 14

[27:57] of Philippians 1 is I’m glad that Paul talks about the other Christians in Rome here [28:02] and their response to his testimony because Paul was in chains and the other Christians were not. [28:07] And we’re not in chains either. And as long as we’re free, our freedom is to be used for the [28:15] to put ourselves in the place of the apostle Paul. And it’s natural. He’s the one writing. [28:20] Most of the story is about him. And certainly there is so much to learn from the apostle Paul [28:25] about enduring suffering and about making any situation our testimony. But we’re really not

[28:31] the apostle Paul in this passage. We’re the brothers. That’s who we are. We’re the ones [28:35] hearing this testimony and needing to respond to it. We need to be inspired by Paul to do something [28:42] with the gospel based on this testimony that he’s giving us. And as we think about what it [28:47] means to do something with the gospel, I want to start a little bit more general and then get more [28:52] specific as we’re wrapping up here. The first thing we see is that the other Christians became [28:58] more confident in the Lord. So what is confidence in the Lord? It’s confidence that what God says

[29:04] is true. It’s confidence that living for God is a life worth living. And more than anything, [29:08] it’s confidence to act. It was confidence to do something to serve the Lord. And so first, [29:14] I want to encourage you to be inspired to act. Take a next step, any next step. So often in the [29:20] church, I see folks who get a glimpse of the purposes that God has for them, but they don’t [29:25] act because it seems like such an overwhelming change or because they can’t see the whole picture [29:31] from where they start of what that’s going to look like to have your whole life about advancing

[29:35] the gospel. That can be an overwhelming thing if you try to take that whole thing at once, [29:41] but none of us, when we are first inspired by the testimony of Christ, none of us can do everything [29:46] we possibly could with the gospel. What we need to do is just start by doing something with the [29:52] gospel. That’s what we’re called to do. Make one change, start there. Identify one area where you [29:58] can be more about following Jesus in this next week. Write it down and ask God for help and be [30:04] confident that making that change is worth it. That confidence, remember, is about the truth of

[30:10] whether or not this is worth it. And so I think that that’s helpful. It’s not just confident that [30:14] you can do it. I think you can make a change. It’s confidence that it’s worth it. That’s the [30:19] confidence that matters. It’s confidence because the truth of Jesus is true, that making that [30:25] change is going to be worth it in your life. You’ve got to believe that it is. Churches are made [30:31] for next steps. And so if you’re not connected with anyone, if you’re just not sure, okay, [30:36] that sounds nice that I should take a next step, but what should I do? That’s what the church is

[30:39] here for. Go to the connect table in the foyer when we’re done. Talk to whoever’s there. [30:44] Ask them for help. Just say, I need to take one next step this week. They’ll have some advice [30:49] for you. The key is you got to do it. You got to act. Take that next step. Lots of you in here, [30:55] I know, have already taken many of these steps. And so something that we need to be challenged by [31:01] is at the end of verse 14, and that’s this. It says, the Christians in Rome were much more bold [31:08] to speak the word. So as we wrap this up this morning, I want us to really think and consider

[31:14] that doing something must lead to saying something. Doing something must lead to saying something. [31:22] There are a lot of changes we can make in life that are a part of advancing the gospel, but the [31:27] gospel is good news, and good news needs to be spoken. Doing something must lead to saying [31:33] something. For the gospel to advance, we have to learn to speak the word without fear. And the [31:38] testimony of what God has done in our lives has to become a promise that we share about what God [31:44] can do in someone else’s life. That’s the only way that the gospel ultimately advances, is when

[31:49] our testimony of what God has done with us becomes a testimony of what God can do in someone else. [31:57] God’s word is good news, and so speaking the word just means telling people how that good news has [32:02] changed us, and it can change them too. And I think when we think about this idea of, we know [32:08] we need to be bold to speak the word. We know we need to share our faith, but it’s hard. It’s [32:13] uncomfortable. We’re not sure what to do. I think it helps to just step back a little bit and think [32:18] about how is it that the gospel advances from generation to generation. See, for a lot of us,

[32:25] our story is that the gospel advanced to us because our parents shared it with us. And then [32:31] maybe their parents shared it with them, and so on and so on. And that’s a great story. I hope that [32:36] that is my children’s story. That’s how it’s supposed to work. But we do need to remember [32:42] that not everyone has a parent who shares the gospel with them. And for the gospel to advance, [32:48] it has to be brought to a new family tree sometimes. And I know that that is my family’s [32:54] history in the not too distant past. It may shockingly surprise you to learn that Schloman

[33:01] is not a centuries old Christian name. Not two generations back, my family did have a Jewish [33:08] heritage. And so in order for the gospel to come to my family tree, someone had to be willing to [33:16] speak the word to my ancestors, honestly. Someone had to be willing to do something with the gospel [33:23] that led to saying something. And I don’t know all the details of this, but I do know in general, [33:28] it was a little more than 100 years ago in Germany. I don’t know who it was exactly, but I [33:34] imagine some ordinary, I know it was Lutheran, Lutheran church member, just had the courage

[33:39] to speak the word, to invest in their relationship with a Jewish man. And because they were willing [33:45] to do that, now five generations later, here I am. That’s my testimony because some, and I find it so [33:53] interesting that I don’t know who that person is. I think about, that’s just the way history works. [33:58] There’s probably not a person more impactful to my life ultimately outside of my immediate family [34:04] than this person who had the courage to step out and speak the word to my great, great, great uncle, [34:10] something like that. And so I just imagine how neat will it be in heaven to actually be able to

[34:16] meet them, to meet this person who had the courage to step out, to do something with the gospel, [34:21] to speak the word outside of their family, and change someone else’s family tree. And so that’s [34:29] a neat thing to think about. It’s a nice thing to think about. But what that needs to do is that [34:34] needs to drive us to want that to be someone else’s history. Like that history needs to be [34:40] someone else’s future. Is there going to be someone a hundred years from now telling the story that [34:45] there was some anonymous person in central Virginia that shared the gospel with their great, great,

[34:52] great grandfather? There’s no reason for that not to be a history a hundred years from now that we [34:58] can participate in now. And so I just want us to be inspired by Paul here to catch a vision that [35:05] family trees are at stake with people hearing the gospel. And so I think we [35:12] we are too often, or just too calloused at what really is at stake when it comes to sharing the [35:16] word. I know that I am. Everyone is seeking meaning. Everyone is seeking purpose. Everyone [35:22] wants significance in their lives. We want to make a difference. What’s more meaningful than

[35:28] someone in eternity saying, this person was responsible for my whole family tree coming [35:34] to know Christ. That’s so meaningful. That’s so impactful. And that is available to us to step [35:39] into tomorrow. Today, if we’ll just have the courage to speak the word, as Paul says, the [35:47] Christians in Rome were doing there. When I finished this passage in Philippians, I want to [35:51] be inspired by the response of those unnamed brothers in verse 14. If we believe this is true, [35:57] we have to do something with the gospel. We have to be bold to speak the word without fear.

[36:03] We have to ask the question, what is keeping us from doing that? If you’re in community here at [36:07] Village Church, every single month, our groups don’t meet as usual one week of the month. And [36:13] we have what we call Go Week. And the purpose of that is it’s just a reminder set in our calendar [36:18] that we are about advancing the gospel, that we are about speaking the word to other people. [36:24] And so we need to push into that. We need to appreciate that reminder on our calendar. I think [36:29] I know for me and my group, it is very awkward sometimes to come back the week after that

[36:34] and talk about what we did, because sometimes it’s crickets, tumbleweed rolls through the [36:38] middle of the group. And, you know, it’s not a natural rhythm of our life to speak the word [36:44] boldly to other people. But I want to encourage us as a church community to keep pushing forward [36:49] with that, fight through the awkward. I think one thing that I’m just left with after studying [36:54] this passage in Philippians is God couldn’t be any more clear in his word that the truth of the [37:00] gospel is supposed to give us confidence to boldly speak the word to people who don’t know it.

[37:05] And so part of what we need to do is just submit to that, just obey that, and just realize that our [37:11] situation can be a testimony if we’ll let it be, if we’ll look for opportunities for that. [37:17] So I hope you’re encouraged with that this morning. All that’s left for us to do from this point is [37:22] to do something with the gospel. And so let’s commit as a church community to do that. [37:28] As the band comes up, we’re going to move into a time of reflection and communion. [37:32] And we take communion every week here at Village Church. And if you’re a believer,

[37:37] these tables are open to you. The bread represents Christ’s body broken for you. The cup [37:44] represents Christ’s blood shed for you. And I do want you to consider as you’re coming up to [37:49] the table this morning, do reflect on communion. Anytime you’re given a charge of do something, [37:54] there’s a tendency to think that you’re doing something in your own power. And communion [37:59] is a great place to remember you’re not doing anything in your own power. The only reason that [38:03] we can do anything is because Christ has already done everything for us. And so as you come to the

[38:10] table this morning, there’s tables in the back, there’s tables in the front, do reflect on that. [38:14] The reason that you have the ability to do something with the gospel is because [38:18] Christ has already done everything in the gospel for us. And so I’m grateful for that. [38:25] I hope you’ll reflect on that also with me as we come and take communion this morning. So when [38:30] you’re ready, come.