Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, 01 June 2025, by Major Michael Ramsay
Today
we are going to look briefly at the first chapter of a letter that Paul (and
Timothy) wrote while he was in prison in Rome. The letter is to a church he was
a part of when he was living in Macedonia.
Reading
From Philippians1:1:
Paul and Timothy,
servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi,
together with the overseers and deacons:
So,
who specifically is this letter to? The Deacons and Overseers are mentioned;
they are the servers in the church: corps council, Sunday school, volunteers, etc.
It is also addressed to “all God’s Holy people.” Who are “all God’s Holy
people”? It's us. 'Holy People' or 'Saints' is what Christians are called in
the Bible; so then, in the Bible, every time we see the word ‘saint’ or ‘holy
person’ we should read ‘Christian’ and if anyone ever asks you what a Christian
is, the straightforward answer is ‘a holy person, a saint’ – or what a saint is;
it’s a Christian. And it should also be an encouragement for us all to actually
be more saint-like in our interactions with each other and everyone else. 1
Peter 1:16, God says “…be holy because I am holy”.
Doctrine
10 of The Salvation Army says, “We believe that it is the privilege of all
believers to be wholly sanctified [holy], and that their whole spirit and soul
and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now
then: people who live in Vancouver are called Vancouverites; people who live in
Victoria are Victorians; what are we called here in Port Alberni? Port
Albernians? This letter is written to Philippians. Philippians are people who
live in Philippi. They are not to be confused with Filipinos who are people
from the Philippines or Philistines who are either uncouth folk or an ancient Aegean
people who count among their number the giant, Goliath. Philippians are from
Philippi and Philippi was a city in what is now the Greek province Macedonia,
which is located just south of the current Country of North Macedonia which was
named after Phillip of Macedon (Alexander the Great’s father)
So
then this letter is written to Holy Christians living in Philippi in the 1st
Century and I think it actually has a lot of encouragements that apply to us
today: Holy Port Albernians.
Verses
3 to 6:
3 I thank my God every
time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always
pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first
day until now, 6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
This
is a great blessing for the people in the church in Philippi. If our Area
Commander or Divisional Commander, whom many of you know, wrote that to us
here, I imagine that we would feel quite blessed and rightfully so.
And
these words are quite true of you and all of us here. It is true that I am
proud of this team. In our community here and when we are at Salvation Army
events elsewhere, I am often asked about you: who you are and all you do. I
tell them all you do (food bank, seniors’ homes, soup kitchen, events, more)
and they are impressed. You all do so much. I am very proud of our team and I
am very confident that, like with the Philippians, Jesus’ good work will
continue in each and every one of you.
Verses
7-8,
Paul (and Timothy) writes:
7 It is right for me
to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether
I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in
God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the
affection of Christ Jesus.
Paul
is speaking about being in chains here and he is. Paul is in jail right now as
he writes this letter. Paul is in jail and jails then, just like jails now,
really are not the best places in the world to be and not only that; Paul is
facing a capital charge. Paul, if convicted, is facing execution. He is going
to die. And in this letter he writes…
Verses
9-11:
9 And this is my
prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and
depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern
what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled
with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to
the glory and praise of God.
This
is a neat prayer - Paul prays that your love may abound more and more in
knowledge... why? so that you can know what is best and so that you can be
pure, blameless and righteous. It is only when we fully love that
we can fully discern God's will and leading. Sometimes we can get so
full of hate or unforgiveness that we can't actually discern what God is saying
and doing - often times this hardness of heart that pushes God away from our
heart is what we call prejudice. We can often hate groups of people, whether we
know them or not: criminals, politicians, a country, a president maybe. We can
hate people we don’t know (and people we do!) so much that we get upset whenever
we think of them. This is an important part of what Paul is saying then: If
hating our enemies is more important than loving our neighbours (who are
exactly the same people) then we are at risk of not knowing what God wants us
to know. And if we don’t know what God wants from us, how can we do it? If we
don’t know Him, how can we be His Holy people?
Verses
12-14:
12 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.
This
is significant. Paul, as we said, is in jail. He is literally, not
metaphorically, in chains and he is well aware that he is probably going to
die. In this predicament he is not complaining about his situation. Rather he
is thankful that it has afforded him the opportunity to share the gospel. How
many of us, instead of complaining about our misfortune, seek the opportunity in
our misfortune to share the comfort of Christ and encourage others who need encouragement-
people who are in the same unemployment line as us, in the same funeral home,
hospital or -heaven forbid- jail cell as us. Paul, while experiencing the
unpleasant circumstances of life, is offering others hope. Rather than licking
his own wounds or complaining about his persecutors or rivals, he is
encouraging those who are worried about him.
About
his rivals…
Verses
15-18a:
15 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 defence 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. 18 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.
This
is important! How many times is there an argument and then we have to be
reminded that we are all on the same side?! How many times do we fight about
things with our family or friends? How many times do we try to provoke each
other? Think of the little sister – any little sister, or brother – who,
knowing that their older sibling is in trouble, is all of a sudden the most
helpful person in the world. “Oh mom or day. my bad brother or sister won’t
help you with anything… but look, I put my book away… can I get you anything
mom or dad?... me, the good child?”
Paul
is saying that as long as the work is getting done, nothing else matters. It
doesn't matter that no one is giving him credit. It doesn’t matter that people
are blaming him for stuff. All that matters is that we are all sharing the
gospel and working for the Kingdom. This is how it should be with us. If so and
so doesn’t thank you for something, if someone else never visits or calls you,
if someone else is just a big jerk, just keep your head down and keep working
for the Kingdom. Verse 18 again, “…what does it matter? The important thing is
that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached…”
Verses
18b-26:
Yes, and I will
continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s
provision of 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. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will
mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am
torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by
far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25
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, 26 so that through my being with
you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Paul
is, in essence, like this song [from the Heavy Metal Hymnal, see below],
asking the question of God
Should
I stay, or should I go now?
Should
I stay, or should I go now?
If
I go, I'll be with You, wow!
And
if I stay, I will share your love now
So
I know You'll let me know
Saviour,
You will let me know
Should
I stay, or should I go?
If
you say that you're inclined
I'll
be here till the end of time
So
I know You'll let me know
Should
I stay, or should I go?
Paul
is quite happy to die. Now, from what we have read so far in the letter we know
that Paul isn’t depressed either clinically or metaphorically. Paul would
absolutely love to continue working for the Lord here – but if the Lord
transfers him to Heaven (or wherever the Lord is prior to the ultimate
resurrection) he is more than happy with that too. Like a Salvation Army
Officer in April, he is very happy to keep serving with the corps he has been
serving with until now; however, if he is transferred he will be more than fine
as long as he is with the Lord. Paul isn’t looking to get away from his current
appointment (even as it has him chained up in jail!); he would love to continue
working for the Lord and is happy to do it in this life and ready to serve in
the next, if it is that time.
I think this is very important. Like a
lot of Officers, I can be tempted to whine too much. If I have whined to you, I
apologize. This passage is important for me to remember. It doesn’t matter what
HQ does or even why they are doing it, whether it is, like verses 15-18a says, “for
good motives or bad.” What matters is that I, we, continue to serve the Lord
joyfully in whatever circumstance the Lord has us in – whether it is in a
prison, a headquarters’ desk job, or serving on the front lines. Whatever
happens in this life, we need to press on and continue to encourage others to
do so as well – it is a no lose situation after all: we can either continue to
serve Christ in whatever our circumstance (which will bring us Joy because it
will bring God joy) or we will go to be with our Lord fulltime – a no lose situation, Paul says.
Verses
27-30: Paul has these words of encouragement then
27 Whatever happens,
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I
come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you
stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign
to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by
God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe
in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same
struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
This is
Paul’s encouragement to the congregation in Philippi and it is a good
encouragement to the congregation here in Port Alberni too. Whatever happens:
· let us
conduct ourselves in a manner consistent with the Good News of Jesus Christ
· Let us
stand firm in the Spirit
· Let us
all strive together united for the Faith
· Let us
not be frightened to stand up with those who oppose us
For as
we are willing to serve Him and even suffer for Him that will be comforting evidence
to us that indeed we are saved. God has been using each of you and all of us in
great ways. And I have faith that, as Verse 27 says, whatever happens you will
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
Let us pray.
Philippians 1:21-26
Tune: 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' by
The Clash
Saviour, You will let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
If you say that you're inclined
I'll be here till the end of time
So I know You'll let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
You always please, please, please
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day it's good, and next it's great
So if you want me to stay back
Well, I know You'll let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
If I go, I'll be with You, wow!
And if I stay, I will share your love
now
So I know You'll let me know
This discernment's prodding me
I'm glad You want me, set me free
Exactly where I'm supposed to be
I’m torn between the two that’s reality
I know You'll let me know
When I live here, and when to Heaven
I'll go?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
If I go, I'll be with You, wow!
And if I stay, I will share Your love
now
I know You'll let me know
When I live here, and when to Heaven
I'll go?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
If I go, I'll be with you, wow!
And if I stay, I will share your love
now
I know You'll let me know
Should I stay, or should I go?
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