MPC, 28th October 2001.Philippians - "Chain Letter"
Phil Campbell MPC, 28th October 2001.
According to the latest news releases, the Taliban trial of Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas has been delayed indefinitely. They're the two West Australians in an Afghan jail. Charged with preaching Christianity. The trial had just started when the American bombs started falling.
The penalty for preaching Christianity under the Taliban regime is either DEATH or PRISON. Either way, the results are no closer. Trial stopped. And they're waiting in jail.
In prison for allegedly PREACHING CHRIST. Which means they know FIRST HAND what it was like for the apostle Paul. We get glib about it when we read it. Not so glib I'm sure if you're living it.
If you were here last week you’ll remember we saw it; we saw it in Acts 16, as Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke hit town in Philippi. All they wanted to do was TELL PEOPLE THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS. For which in the end they’re whipped. And thrown in jail.
But Paul's time in Philippi saw the birth of a church. By the time he left town there was a cluster of Christians. He left them and moved on. To start MORE CHURCHES. And a while later, he's WRITING TO THEM… to urge them on.
It comes a couple of years later. And Paul’s in jail again. House arrest, in Rome. The capital city of the whole empire. Paul’s gone up a peg or two. From a two bit prison in Philippi. To being a prisoner in Rome.
So here he is, the apostle Paul, REPEAT OFFENDER. Timothy's with him; and they’re writing, if you look at the very first verse of the letter, Philippians 1 verse 1, to ALL THE SAINTS in Christ Jesus at Philippi, all the Christians in the church there; together with their overseers and deacons. This is a church that by now has grown to the point of having elders and deacons. A leadership structure, a care committee. Who Paul is addressing along with everyone else.
This is a church that started with some of the people we met last week; like Lydia and the other women who used to sit praying by the river just out of town. The jailer who took Paul and Silas home in the middle of the night. And his wife and kids. But by now, a whole lot more Christians as well.
Now we’re not going to look at this letter to the Philippians in detail. But I just want to touch down on some key points. Particularly Paul’s MEMORIES of Philippi and his time there; looking back to what we saw in Acts 16 last week.
So here’s what we’re doing. LAST WEEK we were in the book of Acts; and we saw Paul’s visit. This week, it’s the LETTER he writes back to them.
Now I’m a hopeless letter writer. Full of good intentions, but sometimes I just don’t quite get around to it. Email is fine. But I'm one of those people who proves what the post office has said. They said, social mail is dead. And now the vast majority of mail that passes through Australia post's sorting centres is what they call financial mail. Like BILLS. The sort of mail with little windows on the front.
But the point is, when you do write to people you know, there'll be some sort of REFLECTIONS of your relationship. Of past times shared.
As if you look carefully, you'll find things like that here in Philippians. Little links, that remind us that as we come to the Bible like this, we’re coming face to face with REAL HISTORY. REAL PEOPLE. REAL EVENTS. And not just something made up.
And as Paul writes with the chains round his ankles in Rome, he’s very much reminded of the sort of time he had in Philippi. And the whips and chains there. More than that, he’s heard that the Christians back in Philippi are doing it tough now as well.
I want to pick it up with you at verse 29 and 30; right at the end of chapter 1. And the thing I want you to do most of all, is put yourself back there in your mind. And if you were here last week, see if you can think back to what Paul’s talking about.
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ – verse 29 – not only to BELIEVE ON HIM, which is the easy bit – but also to SUFFER FOR HIM, since YOU are going through the same struggle YOU SAW I HAD. And now hear that I still have.
Now can you hear what that's saying to them? He says, you saw it happen to me. And they did, didn’t they. Very public, when the crowds shouted and screamed and dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace, where they stripped them and whipped them, without even giving them a chance to make a defence. And threw them in jail. In chains and stocks.
It’s very easy for us from a distance; with the distance of the years; with the distance of pretty long plane trip to Afghanistan; it’s easy for us to say, BIG DEAL. A bit of a whipping.
But when you think about it, I reckon it's amazing that anyone at all wanted to become a Christian when they saw what happened to Paul. And even worse, the things they saw happening to Paul, the things they’re hearing he's going through in Rome… now Paul says, it’s been granted to YOU AS WELL – to suffer for Jesus. In the same way you saw with me when I was with you. You’re going through the same struggle you saw I had. And now hear I still have.
Now the question is, HOW ARE YOU MEANT TO HANDLE IT, when you face struggles like that? How are you meant to RESPOND when you’re facing that sort of treatment for the sake of your faith?
Well, let me give you a hint. And again, it helps if you were here last week and you can think back to what happened in Philippi. And the EXAMPLE that was set by Paul and Silas. Because when Paul and Silas did that very unusual thing we saw last week, he did it to SET A PATTERN.
If you weren’t here or you can’t remember, we’ll run through it again. Paul and Silas, they’ve been whipped; they’ve been chained. Their legs are locked up in the stocks. And in spite of it all, they’re sitting in their prison cell singing hymns. And praying. And then when the jail doors fly open in an earthquake, they stay put. And don't even bother escaping.
Because he wants to preach the gospel to his jailer. Because Paul, in the pain of his back ripped to shreds by the whipping, in the agony of the hours with his legs cramped in stocks; his first question isn’t HOW DO I GET OUT OF HERE. It’s HOW DO I SHARE THE GOSPEL.
And you can see the same thing coming through in the letter. Same attitude in Rome, where he’s writing from. Chapter 1 verse 12. In chains in Rome, and he says, “I want you to know that what’s happened to me has REALLY SERVED TO ADVANCE THE GOSPEL. Verse 13, he says, As a result, as a result of the fact that I’m IN CHAINS AGAIN, it’s become clear through the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I’m in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”
He says, this is terrific. Stick me in chains more often. Because it’s given me a whole new audience. All the palace guards, who I can talk to about Jesus. It’s given me the chance to be an example; so other Christians are encouraged to speak boldly as well.
Whether he’s in jail in Philippi or in jail in Rome, no difference. Doesn’t matter where he is. Paul's main concern is that people get to hear about Jesus.
And that’s what how the Philippians are meant to respond to their hardships as well. To be united in that single cause of being fundamentally DIFFERENT. And PROCLAIMING CHRIST as one body. And instead of looking to what’s comfortable for themselves, they need to always be looking for WHAT’S BEST FOR OTHERS.
Come to chapter 2. Verse 1 to 4. He says, if you really ARE united with Christ, if you really ARE ENCOURAGED BY THAT, here’s what you do. He says in verse 2, make my joy complete by being LIKE MINDED, having the same love, being ONE IN SPIRIT AND PURPOSE. Here’s the crunch. Do NOTHING. Our of selfish ambition or vain conceit. But in humility, consider OTHERS BETTER THAN YOURSELVES. And here’s the thing Paul’s modelled so clearly himself. Verse 4. These aren’t empty words. Because it’s exactly what Paul’s done, isn’t it. "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Because, he goes on to say, when you do that, you’re actually being like JESUS. Who being in very nature God, made himself nothing. Even to the point of death on a cross. For us. Not looking to his own interests; but ours.
And if you want a quick overview of the shape of the letter, Chapter 2 verse 20 to 22, Paul says, that's what TIMOTHY MODELLED FOR YOU. Verse 25 to 30, that's what Ephaphroditus modelled for you.
And then chapter 3; verse 17, he says that's what I'M MODELLING FOR YOU AS WELL. Have a look at it. Chapter 3 verse 17. He says “Join with others in FOLLOWING MY EXAMPLE, brothers, and TAKE NOTE OF THOSE who live according to the pattern we gave you.” When you see this stuff in me, when you see people living according to the pattern Paul and Silas set in Philippi, let me tell you, there’s NO COPYRIGHT. He says, COPY IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT. You do the same. Same in 4 verse 9. Read what he says. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – PUT IT INTO PRACTICE.” Do it.
Which means, folks, if you’re copping a hard time at school for the fact you’re a Christian, Paul says, LOOK AT WHAT I'M DOING. And you do the same. If you're being bypassed for promotion at your office because you're a CHRISTIAN, Paul says, look at what I'm doing. He says, learn what it means when you’re being jeered at and heckled to stop looking at YOUR PROBLEM. And start caring for the person on the other end of the stick. Tough, isn’t it. To think to yourself in the middle of all that, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP THIS GUY to show him what Jesus is like? And so your tutor at Uni is berating you in a tutorial class because you're not sucked in by all the postmodern secular stuff being dished up; you're being mocked in front of the whole class; and you're thinking, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP THIS PERSON to see what Jesus is like?
You know, the bad news is, that's not the way it's always happening in Philippi.
Do you ever think, boy, if we'd been Christians back then it would have been WAY EASIER? I mean, you might have even met the APOSTLES. A few years earlier, you might have even sat on the hill listening to Jesus himself. And I mean, Christians back THEN wouldn't have had the same sort of hassles WE HAVE. Would they? I mean, would have been WAY EASIER back then to put other people first.
Well, think again. Because if you've ever seen a church full of petty disputes, if you've ever seen disharmony and division, you'll know being united doesn't come naturally. And even though the church in Philippi is almost a brand new church, even though they know the apostle Paul PERSONALLY… there's division. Between two of the apostle Paul's best friends.
And so the words at the start of chapter 4 are kind of sad; these two women who for so long worked side by side with Paul for the cause of the gospel. Maybe some of the women from the riverbank prayer meeting we saw last week. Maybe the jailers wife. Don't know. But in the time since Paul's left them, they’ve been derailed. They've been distracted from the main game. And both of them have decided they have to have their own way.
May have been over something trivial, like the colour of the carpet or where you put the vases. May have been over personalities. Whatever it was, we don't know. And Paul doesn't even take sides. Or say what he thinks on the issue. But he PLEADS with these two women - he begs them. To put aside their differences. And get on with the business of putting CHRIST FIRST.
See what he says? Chapter 4 verse 2. “I plead with Euodia, and I plead with Syntyche to AGREE WITH EACH OTHER IN THE LORD. And he pleads with everyone else as well, to help them mend their broken fences, to put aside their differences and get on. United under Jesus; following the example of doing what’s best for others. Instead of themselves.
It’s tough, isn’t it? He’s saying, look at me in PRISON. In chains for the gospel. It’s going to be like that for you. So what are you going to do with it? Your choice. You can get bitter. And just give up. Or you can get serious about following my example as I use every opportunity to speak and live for Jesus. Putting others first. In a way that makes the gospel message SHINE in a dark world. Putting others first. In a way that makes it impossible to have your Euodia and Syntyche situations. Because Euodia want's what's best for Syntyche. And Syntyche what's best for Euodia.
They saw it modeled in Paul when he was with them. And now it's a reminder in his letter. You do the same.
I wonder if we worked a bit harder to remember that our gospel would have more of a cutting edge? In big things and in small things. I mean, you hear about boatloads of refugees, the easy thing is to say SEND THEM HOME. The easy thing is to be fearful and say, they're probably TERRORISTS. The gospel thing is to say WHAT CAN WE DO TO LOVE THEM? And have them hear about Jesus. Even though they're from the sort of place that puts Christian missionaries in jail. It goes against the grain, doesn't it. To imitate Paul who always put others first.
And if you're caught up in a Euodia and Syntyche situation, what ever you do, be about the business of RESOLVING IT. So together you can get about the business that we're really here for. It's summed up best in chapter 1. Verse 27 and 28. So let me finish with these words… "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 one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you."