Title Paul's Posture/Philippians 1:19-26
Content Paul's attitude (Philippians 7)
Philippians 1:19-26
People living in the world have their own way of life. There are people who value material things, people who value work, people who value entertainment, and people who value family. A person's quality of life is determined by their lifestyle, and their happiness depends on it.
In Genesis 13, we can see the appearance of Abraham and Lot.
Abraham and Lot lived together, and they had so much that they could not dwell together. Their servants were fighting each other for grass and water. Abraham told Lot not to quarrel because we were one flesh, and he gave his nephew Lot a choice of pastures. Lot looked and chose the Jordan, where Sodom and Gomorrah were well watered.
Abraham loved peace. He was a man of love. Therefore, rather than choosing good grassland first, he showed a willingness to yield. Abraham lived his life with the attitude that he believed that all life and death depended on God, and Lot looked only at the material things he could see right in front of his eyes.
As a result, the two of them left their hometown, mainland, and father's house together, but they got completely different results.
Example) Jacob and Esau lived completely different lives according to their lifestyle.
Today we want to learn Paul's attitude in life.
1. attitude of faith
① Verse 19 - Paul's faith - Confidence in salvation
The most important thing in the life of a believer is faith. The thing that God values the most and that Jesus Christ praised is faith. Paul was a man of great faith. Paul's faith is faith in salvation. It is the assurance of salvation.
(1) present salvation
As Paul is writing this letter, hoping to see the Philippians again, salvation means release from prison. We believe in the salvation of God who will deliver us from the hardships of our present life. Seeing the mention of 'remaining with all of you' in verse 25, Paul believed that God would deliver him and give him victory from the tribulation he was facing.
(2) This refers to spiritual salvation.
It refers to the love of God who has given eternal life to human beings who have no choice but to die because of their sins. Verse 23 'desire to depart and be with Christ' is Paul's desire to die and live with God in heaven. It is the conviction that when you die you will go to heaven.
Through this fact, Paul is talking about salvation in the present and salvation in the future. He was a man of faith who believed in the salvation of God in our lives today and in the life to come. We must have the same faith as Paul in our lives today. Because this faith leads our lives to victory and enables us to live a life like Paul. I hope that you will become a believer with the assurance of salvation.
Paul is saying that salvation comes in two ways.
② As an answer to prayer
Paul knew and believed that the prayer of faith had tremendous power. In particular, Paul speaks of the intercession of faith of the Philippians. Hearing the intercession of the Philippians toward Paul, we are convinced that God will save us. The intercession of faith works wonders.
James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous has great power at work.”
Acts 12:5-12
“Then Peter was imprisoned, and the church prayed earnestly to God for him. / The night before Herod was about to arrest him, Peter was sleeping with two chains between two soldiers, while watchmen were guarding the prison outside the door. A lion stood beside him, and there was a light in the prison, and he struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chain fell from his hand. / The angel said to him, Put on your belt and put on your sandals. Then, Peter came out and followed me, and I did not know that what the angel was doing, but I saw a vision. Then passed the first and second watchtowers and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and the door opened by itself. Immediately Peter left / And Peter came to his senses and said, 'Now I know truly that the Lord has sent his angel to deliver me from the hand of Herod and from all expectations of the Jewish people. When he went, many people gathered together and prayed."
Paul's confidence in the answer to the intercession of faith.
A saint who believes in the power of intercession and lives.
We do intercessory prayer at the Wednesday prayer meeting. Please believe in the grace of answering prayers.
③ With the help of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, given to Christians, supplies the principles of life that Christians need. Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
John 15:26 “He will testify of me when the Counselor whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.”
Paul believes that the Holy Spirit, promised and sent by the Lord, is working as strength and power in the believers today.
Believers must always receive the help of the Holy Spirit. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit. You must be guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes us have fervent faith, gives us the strength to evangelize, and gives us all kinds of gifts. Therefore, I hope you will become victorious saints by longing for the help of the Holy Spirit every day and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
I hope that you will have the faith of salvation, have the faith of the answer to intercession, and believe in the help of the Holy Spirit and become victorious saints.
2. Purpose of life
① earnest expectations and hopes
What is Paul's hope in prison? To be released from prison, to enjoy freedom? Do you want to get rid of the stigma of being a sinner and live as a citizen of Rome? Are you traveling to your heart's content and preaching the gospel? Are you lying in a comfortable bed? Will we be reunited with our beloved Philippians?
Verse 20 says, “Only Christ is honored.”
Paul said that he didn't care about his current situation at all, and he wanted only the gospel of Christ to be witnessed and Christ to be exalted through him.
The word ‘to be honored’ means to show in an enlarged manner.
In other words, it means that the splendor of Christ can be clearly seen in the eyes of others through me. He hoped that when others looked to Paul, they would be able to see the image of Christ. This was Paul's attitude in life. It is the purpose of life.
Paul's earnest expectation and hope is that Christ be glorified in his body.
What are our hopes? How are we praying? We pray that we will live for the Lord and give glory to the Lord, but our attitude in life is not at all.
Today, I hope that you will become a saint whose Christ is honored through our bodies and who can show Christ through me.
② I am not ashamed of anything
It shows the will to live a life without shame in order to represent Christ.
You may bend your knees to power.
You might kneel on money. - Judas
You may kneel to life. -
You may kneel before the hawk and chaejik.
But Paul is not afraid of death, neither is he afraid of rods nor whips, that he will honor Christ as a saint who is not ashamed.
When Jesus Christ died without shame on the cross, when he forgave and prayed for those who stabbed him, did not beg for his life, and believed in God and died proudly, people confessed that he was truly the Son of God.
When Stephen was stoned to death, he did not deny the Lord, preached the gospel more vigorously, and died without shame, he saw the kingdom of God and his face was like an angel. Acts 6:15 "All those who sat in the council looked at Stephen, and behold, his face was like the face of an angel." He showed the people the appearance of the kingdom of God.
③ Now, as before, be completely bold,
Paul was a man who had boldly testified of Christ by faith. Paul is not satisfied with that and says that he will continue to live with that view of life from now on.
Aren't we believers who cling to the past today? How have you been before? How was the old days? God is the one who forgets all of our past. God does not see the past. Paul hopes that the rest of his life will be used to honor the Lord.
Many believers believe in Yongdusami. I hope you become a dragon-headed dragon.
A saint who only exalts Christ.
3. Attitude towards death
“Death is also beneficial.”
① To me, living is Christ.
The center of Paul's life was Christ, and it was Paul who lived in Christ. Christ is his motive, his strength, his purpose, his thought, his vision, and his everything.
Galatians 2:20 says that Paul's confession made him one with Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Therefore, Paul's life had no choice but to live for Christ and his gospel.
② The benefits of death
to be with Christ (23)
2 Corinthians 5:8 says, "We are of great courage, that we would rather depart from the body and dwell with the Lord."
When you enter heaven, you enter into eternal rest, and your imperfect life becomes perfect. We will be freed from the evil, sin, pain, anxieties and diseases that have plagued us until now. There is no pain, no sorrow, no tears, only fullness.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; from now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, not only to me, but also to me at the appearing of the Lord. to all who long for it" will be crowned with
attitude towards death
It is said that when it is time to die, you will know a person's faith. All believers must prepare for death.
"If you die tomorrow at 12 midnight, what will you prepare for today?"
This is a question we should ask ourselves.
Wesley said, 'Well, what else do you need to prepare? You are preparing every day, what will you prepare again? We usually live together. If you live like this and die at 12 midnight, you will wake up in heaven the next morning.”
Those who have nothing to prepare for whether they die tomorrow or die today are those who believe in Jesus. No, it is a Christian who sees death as a gain. It is a Christian who profess to be better off dead.
4. Attitude to fulfill the mission
“But to live is to gain.”
This is Paul's attitude to carry out his mission.
Although Paul confessed that death was beneficial, he also had a heart to preach the gospel while living. Paul says that he is troubled on these very two paths. But Paul is saying that it is necessary to live in the world for the progress and joy of the faith of the saints.
We see Paul's attitude to carry out his mission not for himself, but for God for the saints. Not for your own joy and profit, but to give faith to people without faith and live for the purpose of growing the faith of others.
Between his own interests and those of the Philippians, Paul forsook his own and sought the interests of the Philippians. Paul realized that it was more joy to Christ, loyalty to Christ, and his mission.
We thought about Paul's attitude in life together.
The believer who wins through faith in the assurance of salvation and salvation
A saint whose only purpose in life is to honor Christ
Saints Who Can Benefit From Death
Saints who live to fulfill their mission