1904. Living Life With Purpose, Pt. 2

One of the pronounced themes about the book of Philippians is this whole idea of joy and rejoicing.

But why? I think this is a book, if you will, about having the mind of Christ. Thinking about real life circumstances in light of the thinking of Christ. I need to live with a gospel transformed mind. My perspective on the circumstances of life must be shaped by the gospel.

We are living in a day where we are blitzed with information all the time. And our brain is designed that in one way, shape, or form, it does process that information. And when it does, it informs or it transforms our perspective. And I am here to challenge us today that there are things in life that we need to at least understand whether my perspective on those things is informed or transformed. And so I believe in this book as we study it together. What is God saying should be my perspective on that.

And if I make the change from one to the other, will it result in me living a life that is marked by a peaceful, settled joy in God. Welcome to The Daily Platform, a radio program featuring chapel messages from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today, Dr. Alan Benson is continuing the study series called The Mind of Christ from the Book of Philippians. I was thrilled that during our Bible Conference, two of our messages came from the Book of Philippians.

One here right in the text of Chapter 1, one starting there and then connected through the whole book. It affirmed for me, for us, some of the truth that we have been learning and even the particular lens pursuing the mind of Christ that we have been pursuing in the book. Today is our fifth message together in the Book of Philippians.

And in case you're wondering, after today, we will not take the same kind of exhaustive approach to the rest of the book because I can't extend the semester that long. But we will work our way then through the key passages with regard to our theme in the rest of the book. We're returning today to the message that we left off on the last time, which was Paul's perspective on life with purpose, living with purpose. And the last time we were here, we looked at primarily the first two dynamics of a purpose-focused life, namely a purpose-focused life shapes my thinking about plans. And we talked about perspective with regard to how it looks when my plans don't all work out, when my plans change, and what it means to live a life where God has the right to shape my plans as part of shaping me. And then we talked about a purpose-focused life shapes my thinking about people. And we talked about the impact that people have on our lives and the impact that our lives have on people. And so we talked some about testimony and how God uses it for evangelism and how God uses it for edification. In this setting, there were people that were emboldened in their witness for Christ because of Paul's life. But then we also talked about the opposite, that there were people responding positively and negatively to Paul's testimony and what Paul's reaction was to that and how people and their misunderstanding and then maybe misjudgment of Paul wasn't going to derail Paul's life.

Why is that? And it brings us really to verse 20 of chapter 1 and it was because Paul had a clear focus on his purpose in life. And that's really what I want us to focus on today.

Before we do that, it pops into my mind and I don't want to forget to say this. As Johnny mentioned, one of the student desks was a graduate student at Columbia International University. And I really want to challenge you.

This was a student that was hit on campus and died on their way to class. And we do life around here like ants, like we know where we're going, we know how to get there and often there's a lineup of them in front of us and we just stand there, whether we're on our phones or we're thinking about the quiz we're going to take or what we're going to eat at lunch or whatever it might be and that group moves and you move behind them. Just a reminder that within the last couple of years we've changed our traffic patterns, right? And so we can make all kinds of assumptions about who has the right of way, but when you're underneath the car it really doesn't matter.

So I really want to challenge you. How tragic would it be for us to have a death on our campus because somebody stepped out in front of a car or a driver wasn't fully paying attention. So whether you're the one driving or you're the one walking, do both defensively if you will. Assume, assume that as you come to an intersection and go to walk in front of a multi-thousand pound vehicle that they may not be looking for you so you look for them and vice versa as you're driving that vehicle that the person stepping off the sidewalk may not be looking for you.

Just use a great deal of caution. Sorry for the interruption, but I did not want to fail to say that. Look with me if you would. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 20. Paul writes this about his own heart. According to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but that with all boldness as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I want you then to jump over with me if you would to verse 27. Because Paul now is going to take that principle and he'll talk about it in the intervening verses. As he comes to verse 27 he's now going to turn what was the condition of his heart his purposeful purpose driven if you will living and transpose it to them as an audience and so he says only let your conversation or if you will your manner of lifestyle or the way that you live your practical everyday living only let your conversation be as it becometh. Not a word we use very often. We say something becomes it means it's being transformed or changes. Here the word means to actually speak well of or to beautify so only let the way that you live speak well of the gospel of Christ. That whether I come and see you or else be absent I may hear of your affairs that what you stand fast in one spirit with one mind doing what striving together for the faith of the gospel and nothing terrified by your adversaries which is to them an evident token of perdition but to you of salvation and that of God for unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here to be in me and so look at this passage of scripture as we unpack the fact that a purpose focused life shapes my thinking about priorities what really matters and we'll look at it in Paul's life and then we'll look at it in the believers at Philippi's life as he challenges them and so I want you to see really three things this morning first of all I want us to look at Paul and I want you to see that there's an internal decision Paul here says according to my earnest expectation and my hope there's an internal decision Paul has prioritized something there's something that's gonna matter in his heart that then needs to matter in his living and so he's gonna talk about not being ashamed let's put that in very real terms where is Paul and what is happening in his life Paul is under house arrest he talks about the Praetorian Guard as we we heard from from Dr. Belford and and his burden for them to see and understand the gospel gospel presentation was real for Paul no matter where he was no matter what his circumstances were but why is he there Paul is on trial and he's going to describe it here in this passage as the defense of the gospel now understand in this setting Paul is not going to make an apologetic defense of the gospel meaning there's someone that has a different understanding of the gospel there's somebody that might want to see the gospel a little differently and thus the gospel is being changed or distorted Paul does that in the book of Galatians where he's gonna argue in a sense for what is the essence of the gospel that's not the defense here it's actually the defense of the ability to declare it Paul was arrested for preaching Paul is now on trial for that preaching that the right to declare the gospel and in particular here as this is gonna rise to the court of Caesar it would be is Jesus Christ God that doesn't sound like a huge deal to us unless you're standing in a court before a system that believes that the Emperor is God and so he's on trial for the defense of the gospel and we understand in this setting that his life is on the line that's why Paul is going to talk about living or dying it wasn't because he was afraid he would have a heart attack it wasn't that one day he would age out and some then some natural cause would take his life it's because Paul is on trial and the matter is important enough that it could be a capital offense it's living or dying and so when Paul says I won't be ashamed of the gospel what is he saying he says I'm gonna stand before the court of Caesar there with a belief in Emperor worship that the Emperor is God and I'm going to declare that Jesus Christ is God that he is Lord and that he is the only way that anybody has the possibility of spending eternity in heaven and under real pressure to deny my Lord and deny the gospel so that I might be spared and live I don't want in that highest court of the land to back away from the conviction that Jesus is Lord that's really what he means here it's not like I'm embarrassed because you know I talk about Jesus a lot or our culture really doesn't doesn't like Jesus too much they don't want to be too spiritual he's talking life and death for his faith and so that's what he means and thus he makes this bold pronouncement that now this time also like he uses these words in this setting when it rises to this level of life and death I want Jesus Christ to be magnified in my very real living and dying testimony that's what he means by in his body this is the real stuff this is really me this is me really on trial and when it really comes down to when it matters I want to live in such a way that Jesus matters most even if it means my dying young people I would challenge you that these days of your life are days of internalization what does that mean these are days when you take things you have known things you have been taught and maybe even things that in that context that you have believed and it is time to make those beliefs your very own you internalize them and I think that that is a very intentional process it doesn't mean you change them all it actually means that somewhere there is a process that you work through the value of those beliefs and you internalize that value and now that belief is your belief by your own choice that's why I referred here to an internal decision Paul is going to say very pointedly don't miss it it's not a typo right look look if you will at the probably the most well-known verse in all the Philippians in verse 21 he says four to me this isn't because this is what the Christian church has believed this isn't just because this is what my parents believe this isn't just because this is what my Bible study believes where I go Paul says four to me when it comes to the matter of life and death when it comes to the matter of being put on trial and wanting to filter through the real costs in life to me to live is Christ and to die in light of a life that is purposely lived with that priority dying is gain are you internalizing your beliefs let us just think just for a moment about what you did this morning and it's something you have repeated over and over and over and over again our creed starts with two words can you say them on three I want you to say them one two three stop do you believe in the inspiration of the Bible both the old and the New Testaments the creation of man by the direct act of God the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ do you believe the gospel that that one who is the son of God died a vicarious substitutionary death in your place and in order to be saved you are regenerated by the Holy Spirit brought to life you see Paul had internalized this Paul was giving his life to declare it and even Paul now facing this trial of life and death says in this moment what I have claimed proclaimed to matter to me I really want to live like it matters this is a matter of perspective this is if you will pursuing the mind of Christ this is a purpose focused life that shapes my thinking about priorities and Paul's gonna wrestle through the relational side of that he's he's gonna say wow you know I've got this ministry thing and I know what God is doing I know what God has called me to and I I know what evangelism throughout the world looks like and I know I'm a an apostle to the Gentiles and God is using me to establish churches and so I'm wrestling through what would be better more of that for the glory of God or for me to die for the glory of God and you know what Paul is wrestling through when he says that he says none of the rest of it matters if the guy who's now going to go out and be used by God to establish churches has now a testimony that says the very cause of the gospel was denied in a human sense I feel the weight of the priorities he says I think I think humanly it would be better for me to live in order to keep helping you and in order to keep furthering the gospel but not if I've denied the gospel to do it right this is Paul's vocation what about yours well you know what my career could be furthered more I could move up the ranks in the corporate world I could I could become a partner in my accounting firm I could become the the chief medical officer in my hospital I could whatever it is so you know what I'm going to soft sell the gospel I'm going to back away from the fact that Jesus is my Lord because once I get that position think how much more effective I could be and Paul here is saying you know what this is an internal decision about what matters first and most and then what my career path looks like out of that God knows and God is in control and God will take care of that but this is what it looks like to have a purpose focused life shaping my priorities I'm going to do it what God says and let God take care of them the size if you will of my of the borders of my life but he'll do that in light of the priorities see Paul makes it really clear here in light of this relational context that he he was not setting his heart on the goal of being admired by everyone it wasn't about great fame that's why when the gospel was clearly declared by people who are in opposition to him he could say I rejoice that whether in pretense wrong motivations or not that the gospel is being declared his goal wasn't to live a life of freedom it wasn't all about his rights in fact his rights were going to be hampered because he would declare that Jesus is Lord so he had internalized this decision and it looked like this in his heart one that he had a great delight in glorifying Christ and everything I say or do people recognize Christ as most important magnified in my life whether I live or die what a purpose statement and no matter what I do I want to do it in such a way a method and for such a cause a motive that people understand the working of Christ in me and give him all the credit do you have a purpose statement these are great days in which to begin to formulate one because you know what they're never stagnant you find a better way to articulate life brings you an example that causes you to to shape it a little more as you more deeply internalize your purpose but this is what God is doing and thus it led Paul to a declaration of unfaltering faith it was an internal decision that was born out of intentional dedication Paul was committed that this wasn't just something that he wanted to think or feel it then was something that he was going to live and thus he talks about his interaction with these other believers and being pulled apart literally in a straight betwixt two opinions a desire to be with Christ which is the far better thing and yet if God wants it that through a clear testimony he might live on an effective service to them and that then leads him to his interaction with them and his challenge to them which is now not just this intentional dedication but but calling them to an important display only let your lifestyle be such that it speaks well of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or not it wasn't about him human accountability this wasn't about performance because somebody was around or somebody wasn't around it actually is calling them to the same kind of internal commitment no matter what that Paul would hear of how they are living and that that living would be marked by the fact that they stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel that they would live as he lived in a commitment to the gospel and he creates the circumstances in which that has to be done and they're real Paul's in prison and they know it and thus he could say to them in verse 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here to be in me you know my circumstances you know the cost you know the potential cost when this is all said and done so I'm challenging you to internalize so that in nothing you're terrified by your adversaries because if you will stand for the faith if you will live out your faith it actually says something to them and to you to them it's an evident token of perdition they are going to understand that there really is real life and death but to you of salvation and that of God friends unless you internalize your purpose and that that purpose is to live a life intentionally for the glory of God in all things recognizing him as Lord for the sake of the gospel there are things in your life that God wants to do that you will never see so I close with this verse 29 for unto you almost like it's a gift it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake say wow what a gift suffering remember the trial of your faith works patience let patience have her perfecting work that is a work about bringing about maturity in our lives there is a work of God in your life that unless you come to the place that you internalize the importance of living for Christ and it then is put to the test and you find in that test that your God is able and your God is faithful and your God is good and your God is loving and your God is just and your God through the trying of your faith deepens your faith and makes you more like Jesus there's a work of God in your life that until you come to the place where you determine I'm going to live by purpose and when that purpose is tried I'm going to help ask God to help me persevere there's growth in your life you will never see if every time the trial comes you quit you short circuit the sanctifying work of God in your life and I think you shallow the proclamation of your faith to a watching world living a life on purpose is a call for us to look inside analyze and then give evaluation to our priorities and then determine that living by those priorities is how God will shape the course of my life rather than the inverse us thinking about shaping the course of our life and telling ourselves when I get this when I do that when I have this then I'll be able to make a difference for Christ and so if we're going to pursue the mind of Christ which we'll see now in chapter 2 I think we have to start with priorities priorities that are shaped by gospel values that we allow to transform our hearts and thus change our lives are you living your life on purpose with purpose let's pray father thank you for the word of God thank you for your patient persistent work in our lives by your spirit through the word of God thank you for the example of Paul Lord I pray that each of us would be able to say for to me to Alan to live is Christ the die is gain and that means that in all that I do and all that I say I want people to see Jesus Christ as great as worthy Lord help us to live this way for your glory in Jesus name amen you've been listening to a sermon preached by dr. Alan Benson from the study series in the book of Philippians called the mind of Christ thanks for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue the study preached from the Bob Jones University Chapel platform