PM Philippians 1:8-21 "Paul's priority - the gospel of Christ

[0:00] Again, we started to look at this book this morning, and we're going to read again from Philippians chapter 1 and verse 8. And as I've already said, we want to think the sermon title this evening is Paul's priority, the gospel of Christ.

[0:21] Paul's priority was the gospel of Christ. So we're going to read from verse 8 down to verse 21 of Philippians chapter 1, and I'm reading from the English Standard Version.

[0:37] Paul says, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

[1:25] So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to all the rest, that my imprisonment is for Christ.

[1:36] And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

[1:53] The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

[2:14] What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.

[2:26] And in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance.

[2:42] As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.

[3:02] For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Amen, and may God give us good understanding of his proclaimed words.

[3:22] Amen, and may God give us good understanding of his proclaimed words.

[3:52] There was a receiver of the letter, and generally there was a general greeting in that letter. But what hopefully we saw was that Paul expanded on that general structure of letters in those days, and he Christianised, as it were, the greeting by bringing Christ into each of the three elements.

[4:22] So Paul wrote to the Philippians, and as the sender, he and Timothy designated themselves the servants of Christ Jesus in verse 1.

[4:38] And as to the recipients of the letter, the Philippians, he said that they were the saints in Christ Jesus. They had that glorious position and status of being called saints of, or saints in Christ Jesus.

[4:56] And then thirdly, as to the greeting, Paul just didn't say hello or hi to those at Philippi.

[5:08] He said in his greeting that it was all about grace and peace. Grace that they, as believers, grace that they, as believers, have received through God the Father, and peace that they have come to know and experience in the person of Jesus Christ.

[5:29] In other words, Jesus Christ reconciles us to God. And so Paul is taken up with Christ. And if you were to read the whole of this first chapter, there's only 30 or so verses.

[5:42] And it would be a good thing to do that later on. We didn't have time to do that this evening. But you would notice, and if you count through, that Christ, or Jesus Christ, is mentioned 18 times in just these 30 verses.

[5:57] Christ, in other words, is everything to the Apostle Paul. Paul's focus, his motivation, his aim in life, his objective, his longing, was to be like Christ, to know Christ, and to serve him in this world.

[6:16] And so when we get to the end of where we read this evening, and we looked at this just for a moment this morning, Paul's culmination, where he says in verse 21, he says, My whole raison d'etre is to live for Jesus Christ.

[6:36] He says, for to me, he says, to live is Christ. And to die is gain. In other words, what he was saying in that final verse, he says, For me to live, the aim of my life is to live for Christ.

[6:53] But if I die, it's gain, because I'm going to be with Christ forever. But what I want us to look at this evening is the priority of the gospel and Christ in Paul's life.

[7:10] Paul, as he writes this letter, finds himself, as we saw this morning, in difficult circumstances. He's in prison in Rome, as he writes this letter, in about AD 62.

[7:24] He's at least, either he's in prison in Rome, but we know at least that he is definitely under house arrest. Because we get that from the book of Acts.

[7:36] He's due to stand trial before the Roman court for his faith and for the gospel, as we shall see. The future for him is uncertain.

[7:52] Yet he's not really concerned about himself as he writes this letter. He's not concerned about his own life.

[8:05] His focus and his priority is on the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we see that in verse 12, don't we?

[8:17] For Paul, advancing the gospel was more important to him than his own freedom.

[8:31] Look at verse 12. Advancing the gospel was more important to Paul than his own freedom. Verse 12 says, I want you to know, as he writes to these Philippians, 14 years after he had established the church at Philippi, he says, I want you to know, brothers, and that means sisters also.

[8:50] He says that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard.

[9:04] And to all the rest, that my imprisonment is for Christ. In other words, as he writes this letter, he's effectively saying, perhaps in his heart, you may have heard rumors and reports about me back in Philippi.

[9:23] But I want to put on record straight here. And not only to put your mind at ease, you Philippians, but give you cause to rejoice.

[9:37] For the things that have happened to me, the effect of the imprisonment, has had quite the reverse impact that you might have expected.

[9:50] Paul says, what has happened to me, the things that have happened to me, have served to advance the gospel.

[10:03] The furtherance of the gospel. The very fact he's saying that I am in prison, is because I preached the gospel at Jerusalem. That's why I'm now under house arrest, or in prison in Rome.

[10:19] Because I preached the gospel. I was not ashamed of the gospel. Yes, he says, I'm under house arrest. I'm restricted.

[10:31] I'm chained to a Roman soldier 24-7. But Paul views even these circumstances positively.

[10:41] God, he says, in his providence and sovereignty, was using this situation, this very imprisonment of Paul, for the good.

[10:56] And it was no accident, actually, that Paul was here in Rome. Turn with me back to the book of Acts, in chapter 23, in verse 11. Because on two occasions, Paul was given a promise that he would testify to the gospel in Rome.

[11:16] Acts 23 and verse 11. Acts 23 and 11. And we'll just take the time to read that. Without going into the background, let's just pick up at verse 11.

[11:31] The following night, the Lord stood by him, that is Paul, and said, Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.

[11:51] And then flip over to Acts chapter 27. And verse 23 and 24. Acts 27 and verse 23 and 24.

[12:04] And Paul, this takes place when Paul is actually on his way to Rome. And he's shipwrecked on the way to Rome.

[12:15] And lots of things happened to him. If you were to read through these chapters, the latter chapters of the book of Acts. And right in the midst of a storm and a shipwreck, he gets this promise.

[12:29] Listen to these words. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.

[12:40] And he said, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.

[12:56] On two occasions, Paul had had a promise. Had two promises. That he would get to Rome safely. And that he would testify.

[13:08] And that's what we read of here in Philippians 1. The very fact that he is in bonds in Rome means that the gospel is being heard. And it's being advanced.

[13:20] And I submit to you from the verses that it's being advanced in two areas. Firstly, in the palace guard. Or in the praetorium guard.

[13:31] Look at verse 13. Verse 13, Paul says, So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

[13:47] It's no accident that he is here. God and his sovereignty has ensured that Paul gets to Rome. And that the gospel is going to be advanced even through his imprisonment.

[14:02] Now this palace guard. Well this palace guard was an army of 9,000 elite soldiers. Who served as Caesar's bodyguard. In Rome.

[14:13] And one of their responsibilities was to look after. To take turns. To guard the prisoners. To guard the apostle Paul. And Paul was chained to one of these Roman soldiers.

[14:30] 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. The shift pattern was every 6 hours the guard would be changed.

[14:41] And a new guard would be chained to the apostle Paul. In other words, Paul, the apostle Paul, even though he was chained.

[14:53] He had a captive audience. He had the captive audience. Can you imagine each soldier coming in every 4 hours or every 6 hours?

[15:06] So what are you in for Paul? Well what an opportunity he had. To share the gospel. And he took that opportunity. Let me tell you.

[15:20] He took the opportunity. In difficult circumstances. To tell the good news. Of the gospel. You see, you put Paul in jail.

[15:34] Remember, Paul was put in jail in Philippi 14 years earlier. And we read this morning what happened. The Philippian jailer. Got converted and became a Christian.

[15:45] And got baptized with his family. You put Paul in jail. What does he do? He starts a jail ministry. What an opening he had.

[16:02] And the effect of it wasn't just felt amongst the guards. Because look at the verse again. So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard.

[16:13] And to all the rest. That my imprisonment is for Christ. In other words, there was a ripple effect. When he told these guards the gospel.

[16:24] The guards then told other people. And they told other people. And it went all the way up into Caesar's household. And you say, well, hold on Alan. How do you know that? Well, we know that.

[16:35] Because if you turn to chapter 4. And verse 22 of this epistle. And let's just do that. Chapter 4 and verse 22. So that you know that I'm telling you the truth here.

[16:47] And I'm not just making it up. But chapter 4 and verse 22. Says these words. And I'm reading from the authorised version here now. All the saints salute you.

[17:00] Chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing? People in Caesar's household. Had become Christians.

[17:12] Because Paul was chained to a Roman guard. And was sharing the gospel. What is it that the psalm says? The one in heaven laughs. Yeah.

[17:24] You can't chain the gospel. And so it was having an effect on people. Yes.

[17:35] Paul was restricted by his circumstances. But he saw those restrictive difficult circumstances. As an opportunity. And he had access to people in prison.

[17:49] That he wouldn't have had access to. If he wasn't in prison. In those difficult circumstances. And people were getting saved. And coming to faith in the Lord Jesus.

[18:01] Coming to know the one true and living God. Because the apostle Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. And it begs the question to us this evening.

[18:14] Doesn't it? How do you. How do I. How do we. Respond to our circumstances. Do we take the opportunities.

[18:25] That we have. To share. The gospel. Maybe. You feel. Restricted. Like the apostle Paul was.

[18:35] Maybe. You feel that you're too old. Or. You're in poor health. But you know. Maybe you find yourself.

[18:47] Sometimes as. Many of us have. In hospital. But you know. There's an opportunity. Even when you're there. Isn't there? There's an opportunity. Even when you're there.

[18:59] Or maybe you're a mother. Or a father. And you're looking after your child. Or children. At home. You might have access. To a mother and toddler group.

[19:10] That I don't have. When I'm working. Do you share the gospel. In that environment. Maybe you're in a job. That you. Don't like. Have you ever been in a job.

[19:20] That you don't like. Yeah. I have. And you want. Out of it. And you're praying. Like mad. That God. Will give you. A way out of it.

[19:31] But what God's. Actually saying is. Just you stay there. Because. There are people there. That need to hear the gospel. God has put you there.

[19:42] For a reason. God has put you. Where you are. For a reason. It's no accident. And it was no accident. For the apostle Paul. What I'm saying really. Isn't it. Is that in God's plan.

[19:53] We as believers. Need to try and see. And use the circumstances. That we find ourselves in. As an opportunity. To share the gospel.

[20:05] To work. And to witness. For Christ. Whether it's in university. Or whether it's in barbers. Or whether it's on the farm. Or whether it's in BAE systems.

[20:18] Or whether it's in your neighborhood. Where you are. Or whether it's in your neighborhood. God calls us. To witness. To the gospel. And Paul was doing that. And so the palace guard.

[20:29] Were hearing. The word of God. And it was spreading. You see. If you and I were put into prison. I suspect the first thing. That we'd want to do. Was we'd be praying.

[20:40] To get out of prison. Yeah. Not a nice place. To be in prison. At all. And certainly. What we know of. Prison in those days. Wasn't anything like. Being in Berlini.

[20:50] Or in Sochten. Prison today. It was. Horrible. Horrible. And Paul had experienced that. But Paul's aim. Wasn't to get out.

[21:01] Paul's aim. Wasn't to get his freedom. Even with his trial. Looming up before him. Even although he knew. That he was going to have to stand. Before the bar.

[21:12] Of the Roman court. All he desired. Was that Christ. Would be magnified. Look at verse 20. Of our passage. It says there.

[21:23] Paul. As he writes this letter. He says. As it's my eager. Expectation. And hope. That I'll not be at all ashamed. He doesn't want to be ashamed.

[21:34] Of the gospel. When he stands. Before the Roman court. But that with full courage. Now as always. Christ will be. Honored. Or exalted.

[21:46] In. My. Body. Whether. By life. Or. By. Death. That was Paul's motivation.

[21:58] That Christ would be magnified. That he would. You know what you do with a magnifying glass. You know. You make something bigger. Appear bigger. And Paul's.

[22:09] Great concern. Was to make Christ. Big. To all the people. That he came in contact with. Whether through his words. Or through. His witness.

[22:19] In his life. He wanted. Them. To know. Christ. That was his motivation. And we must ask ourselves.

[22:30] As believers here. This evening. What motivates us. What motivates you. And I. Is that what motivates us.

[22:41] That Christ will be. Seen. In our lives. That was Paul's priority. But his imprisonment.

[22:52] Not only had an effect. On the palace guard. But look at verse 14. In verse 14. It had an effect. On. The people. Of God. Other believers.

[23:02] Outside. Of where Paul. Was incarcerated. You see. Paul's imprisonment. Encouraged. Other believers. To share the gospel. Also. More boldly.

[23:14] Look at verse 14. He says. And most of the brothers. And sisters. Having become confident. In the Lord. By my imprisonment. Are much more bold.

[23:26] To speak the word. Without fear. You see. In some way. God. Was using. Paul's curtailment.

[23:37] As a means. To prod others. Into. Action. Other believers. Other Christians. Into action. You see. It takes courage.

[23:48] Doesn't it. To speak. About Jesus Christ. In this world. Why is that? Well.

[24:00] It's because. The world. Is opposed. To God. And to Jesus Christ. Isn't it? Remember. What the apostle. What. What Jesus said.

[24:10] When he was here. He said. Marvel not. If the world. Hates you. Because it hated. Me. And so we shouldn't. Be surprised. At the opposition.

[24:21] It's not nice. To experience. That opposition. In our lives. But it does come. Because. The natural.

[24:32] Mind. Of people. In the world. Is enmity. With God. There's always. The temptation. Isn't there. In our lives. As Christians. Not to say anything.

[24:47] Just. To keep. A low profile. We better. Not. Rock. The boat. In the workplace. To be fearful. No one.

[25:01] Wants. To appear. Stupid. Do we. Or out on a limb. That's a natural. Reaction. Isn't it? And sometimes. Even as believers. I submit to you.

[25:12] And I've done this myself. We say. Well. As long as they see my life. I don't really need to say anything. But you know. The gospel. The gospel.

[25:24] Is word based. Is word based. The message. Needs to be told. In words. Doesn't it? Look at what he says.

[25:38] In verse 14. And most of the brothers. Having become more confident. Or become confident. In the Lord. By my imprisonment. Are much more bold. To speak.

[25:49] The word. Without. Fear. So tomorrow morning. Will you and I.

[25:59] Be as bold. To speak the word. Without fear. It's easy. To be a believer. In this environment. Isn't it? But what about.

[26:10] Half eight. Or nine o'clock. Tomorrow. When your friends. Ask you. What you did. At the weekend. And you mumble. Something like. Oh. I did this. On Sunday. Yeah.

[26:21] That's what we're like. Sometimes. Isn't it? We'll tell them. What we did. On Friday night. And Saturday night. But how about. Proclaiming that. We went to worship.

[26:31] God. And the Lord Jesus. Yesterday. Paul's imprisonment. Gave these people. Confidence. To speak. The word.

[26:43] Without fear. And I'm duty bound. Really. To ask myself. And you. The question. Tonight. When did. We last.

[26:54] Speak to somebody. About Jesus Christ. Are we concerned. About their souls. Or are we more concerned.

[27:04] About our. Reputation. You see. When Paul wrote. This letter. Trouble. Was just ahead.

[27:14] Of the church. The imminent. Threat. Of persecution. Perhaps. Made the church. Fearful. Quiet. About. Its belief.

[27:26] But now. Following. The imprisonment. Of. Of the apostle. Paul. Paul rejoices. That they are speaking out. Much.

[27:37] More often. Much more bold. And with less fear. He says that. Without fear. And much more. So they're speaking more often.

[27:47] About it. And they're speaking. Less fearfully. About the gospel. So the apostle Paul.

[27:59] For him. The gospel. Was not just more important. Than. His freedom. But in verses. 15 to 18. That we read.

[28:10] Advancing. The gospel. For the apostle Paul. Is more important. Than his own comfort. And reputation. And I want us just to see three things.

[28:24] From these. Verses 15 down to 18. Firstly. I want us to see that. Not everyone. Preached Christ from pure motives. Verse 15.

[28:34] Secondly. I want us to see. That some Christians at Rome. And they were Christians. Tried to stir up trouble.

[28:45] For the apostle Paul. And we see that in verse 17. And then finally. I want us to see. That Paul. Actually in verse 18. Didn't actually care about his reputation.

[28:57] He cared. For Christ being preached. That was his main aim. And motivation. And goal. So firstly then.

[29:09] In verse 15. Not everyone shared. Or preached Christ. With pure motives. Look at verse 15. Some indeed.

[29:20] Preach Christ. From envy. And rivalry. But others. Out of. Good. Will. Paul is in prison. But outside.

[29:31] Two kinds of preaching. Is taking place. Some people. And these are not false teachers. For they were not preaching. A different gospel.

[29:44] Or a different Christ. It was just that their motives. Were wrong. There were other believers. Who were perhaps.

[29:54] Jealous. Of the apostle Paul. Jealous of. His success. Jealous. Jealous perhaps. That people. Were following him. And people were getting.

[30:05] Converted. The fact that his imprisonment. Was having. A positive effect. On other believers. Rankled with some of these people. These other Christians.

[30:17] And they were annoyed. And they were irritated. They were envious. Is the word that's used. And they saw. The apostle Paul.

[30:27] As a rival. Maybe they thought. He was a better preacher. Than they were. Or maybe they thought.

[30:41] They were better preachers. Than he was. He was seeing success. And perhaps they weren't. Maybe they thought.

[30:54] They were preaching. The true gospel. And they were more sound. In doctrine. Than the apostle Paul. Well.

[31:06] It can happen. So easily. Can't it. In ministry. That our motives. As believers. Can become corrupt. We can do things.

[31:18] For the wrong. Reason. You see. The purpose. Of sharing. Or of preaching. The gospel. Is to grow. God's kingdom.

[31:29] Not our own. Agenda. And so there were those. Who were envious. And who were rivals.

[31:40] Of the apostle Paul. And these were other believers. But then there were others. Verse 16. On the other hand. Who were actually. Outside. Preaching among the people.

[31:51] In love. To advance the gospel. Knowing that Paul was. Inside. Inside. Ready now to defend. The gospel.

[32:03] At the highest level. Look at verse 16. The latter do it out of love. Knowing that I am put here. For the defense. Of.

[32:13] The gospel. So there were those outside. Rivals. Envious. Preaching. Not sincerely. They had their own agenda. And then there was others.

[32:25] Who in love. Were supportive. Of the gospel. And of the apostle Paul. Knowing that he was inside. And going to be defending. The gospel. At the highest level.

[32:36] And so not everyone. Preached Christ. From pure motives. But secondly. In verse 17.

[32:49] Look again. Some Christians. At Rome. Tried. To stir up. Trouble. For the apostle Paul. Look at verse 17. The former.

[33:00] That is the same group. Of people. Who are envious. And who are rivals. Proclaim Christ. Out of selfish ambition. Not sincerely. But thinking.

[33:11] To afflict me. In my. Imprisonment. Christians. At war. With other Christians.

[33:25] Well in the words of. The book of Ecclesiastes. There is nothing new. Under. The sun. Is there. We are good. Sometimes. At fighting.

[33:36] Amongst ourselves. It's hard. To believe. However. That anyone. Would oppose. The apostle Paul. But there were some. Believers at Rome. Who had it in for the apostle Paul.

[33:47] They had it in for him. They wanted to stick it in him. As we would say. In Glasgow. And kick him. When he was down. When he was in a difficult situation. Rather than helping him out.

[33:59] Yeah. They were preaching. The gospel of Jesus Christ. But somewhere. In their motivations. They are thinking.

[34:09] Hopefully. This will make Paul's life harder. That's what the verse means. It's so easy. Isn't it. To become bitter. Towards other believers.

[34:23] So easy. To become twisted. In our views. They are different. Therefore. They're wrong. They do things. This way.

[34:33] In their church. That's not the way. That we do it. They don't do the things. The way that we do them. And it's easy.

[34:46] To become bitter. And sectarian. And vindictive. And selfish. And twisted. In our views. And that's because.

[34:58] Of our sinful nature. Isn't it. It's so easy. To wish. Ill. On other people. On other believers. To be envious. Sometimes. Hoping.

[35:08] That other believers. Will fail. That they'll get. What they deserve. Well. We might not say that. Out loud.

[35:21] But we think it. Sometimes. If you're like me. When I was young. Went to Sunday school.

[35:33] We sang a chorus. I'll not sing it. This evening to you. But what it said. Was. Envy. Jealousy. Jealousy. Malice. Malice. And pride.

[35:44] They must never. In my heart. Abide. Root it out. Get it gone. And so these people.

[35:56] Were. Ambitious. The former. Proclaimed Christ. Out of. Selfish. Ambition. Not. Not sincerely. Not sincerely. Not sincerely. But thinking. To afflict me.

[36:08] In my. Imprisonment. Don't be selfish. Don't be vainly ambitious. Don't be vindictive.

[36:19] Because it's not. Christ like. And finally. What does Paul have to say. About all this. Here he is.

[36:30] He's in prison. He's hearing about all this going on. I'm sure. What does he conclude? It's bad enough. Being in prison. But to know that other Christians.

[36:42] Are against you. That's pretty hard. You expect support. From other believers. Don't you? Well. Look at verse 18.

[36:53] He says. What then? Only. That in every way. Whether in pretense. Or in truth. Christ is proclaimed.

[37:04] And in that. I rejoice. He didn't rejoice. Because people. Might make his life a misery.

[37:17] He wasn't like that. Rather he rejoiced. That Christ. Was preached. The NIV says. What does it matter?

[37:29] He says. What does it matter? It's not about me. He says. It's not about my reputation. The apostle Paul says. It's not about me being popular.

[37:41] Or having a following. It's all about Christ. That's who is important. And the important thing to Paul was.

[37:54] That people were hearing about Jesus Christ. Christ. So he says. So what? Or as we would say. Whatever. Whatever.

[38:06] And what does he say? He doesn't say it. But we might say it. In a vindictive way. Major loser. Yeah. He says. Whatever. It doesn't matter.

[38:17] It doesn't matter. Whether you're preaching. Whether you're preaching. As a Baptist person. Or a Presbyterian person. Or a Brethren person. Or somebody. In the Church of Scotland. The important thing is.

[38:28] That if the gospel is being preached. We should rejoice. As Paul did. Here. And he says. So what? He's so excited.

[38:39] About the gospel. Going out. That he couldn't care less. About the motives. Of those preaching. Or how. It would affect his comfort. What then?

[38:52] He says. Only that in every way. Whether in pretense. Or in truth. Christ is proclaimed. And in that. I. Rejoice. There was no envy.

[39:02] In Paul's heart. There was no selfish ambition. It mattered not. That there were some. Who were for him. And some who were against him. All that mattered.

[39:14] Was that Christ. Was being. Proclaimed. Nothing. Is more important. To the apostle Paul. Than advancing. The gospel. Advancing the gospel.

[39:26] To the apostle Paul. Was more important. To him. Than his own freedom. Advancing the gospel. To the apostle Paul. Was more important. Than his own.

[39:38] Comfort. And so. In conclusion. What does this mean. For us. Well. This passage. I think. Challenges us. To evaluate.

[39:49] Our lives. In terms of the gospel. Nothing. Is more important. Than advancing. The gospel. Because. The gospel.

[40:00] Magnifies. Christ. It lifts. Christ up. As a savior. And Lord. God. The gospel. The gospel. Restores people. To a right relationship.

[40:11] With God. The gospel. Is how people. Come to faith. In Christ. And are saved. Eternally. The gospel. Is how.

[40:22] We. Put our faith. In the Lord. Jesus Christ. Christ. And we. Evade. Going to hell. The gospel. Saves people. From sin. And death.

[40:34] And judgment. And there's no. Other name. Under heaven. Given amongst men. Whereby. We must be saved. The only savior. Of sinners. Is Jesus Christ.

[40:47] And therefore. Nothing. Should be more. Important. In our lives. Than prioritizing. The gospel. In our lives. Witnessing.

[41:00] In word. And witnessing. With our lives. As the apostle Paul does. So how does your life.

[41:10] Look like. How does your life. Back that up. When you examine. Your own life. Do you look like. Someone who truly.

[41:20] Believes. That advancing. The gospel. Is the most. Important. Thing. In the world. Or is that a side event.

[41:32] For you. An add on. To your life. We mentioned. Verse 21. Earlier on. We mentioned it. This morning.

[41:44] Paul said. For to me. To live. Is Christ. And to die. Is gain. Is gain. Put your name in there.

[41:59] For Alan Thompson. To live. Is. What? Is it Christ? Or is it something. Else.

[42:11] And I leave that question. With us all tonight. For you to live. Is. Fill in. Is it? Fill in. Fill in. That blank. What's the number one.

[42:21] Priority. In your life. Because if it isn't. Jesus Christ. And living for him. Then we all have a problem. So may.

[42:33] Christ be. The priority. As it was. For the apostle. Paul. Let's. Close. In prayer. At this time. Father. We thank you.

[42:44] For. The gospel. Of your son. The Lord. Jesus Christ. We thank you. For your servant. The apostle. Paul. Who. Came to Philippi.

[42:56] And. In coming to Philippi. He brought the gospel. To Europe. Where we live. And. We thank you. For his life. And.

[43:06] For the way. That he conducted himself. In serving your son. The Lord. Jesus. And. Father. We thank you. That. We should challenge ourselves.

[43:16] This evening. As we think. Of the priority. Of the gospel. In our lives. And. Father. Especially. If we have never. Come to know you. And.

[43:28] Have never put our faith. In. The Christ. Of the gospel. In your son. The Lord Jesus. And. We pray. That. If there are any.

[43:39] Here. This evening. Who have never done that. Then we pray. That they might. Put their faith. And trust. In the Lord Jesus. Because he. Is the only. Savior.

[43:50] Of sinners. We ask this. Just now. In Jesus name. Amen. Now. We're going to finish. By singing. Amen. Do you have to.

[44:03] God.本当に. Good. God. God.

[44:18] I love. God. I love to. Jesus. The courage. God. He had to. God. I love. God. God.