Phil 1: 15-26 Purpose of My Life

1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;

1:16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

1:17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.

what are the two categories of preachers mentioned here ?

1. selfishly motivated, ambition, envy, strife, even cause Paul distress
2. out of love, good will, assisting Paul in defense of the gospel.

how could some one cause Paul distress by preaching the gospel ?

the phrase is “thinking to cause me distress”

i.e. envy may be their motivation in thinking they are competing with me causes problems or distress for me

Envy is an old word and an old sin and strife (eris) 

is more rivalry than schism. 

It is petty and personal jealousy of Paul’s power and prowess by the Judaizers in Rome whom Paul has routed in the east, but who now exult at the opportunity of annoying their great antagonist by their interpretation of Christ. Jealousy is always against those of one’s own class or profession as preachers with preachers, doctors with doctors.

1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. ¶ Yes, and I will rejoice,

Paul says that he can rejoice over both categories because each are still being used by God in the spreading of the Gospel

ie.  as long as the true gospel is being preached , I rejoice in watching God use their envy to His glory

1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

1:20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

1:22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

1:23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;

1:24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

1:25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

1:26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

what is your passion (result of understanding purpose)

what is your predicament (as result of the passion)

what is your perspective  (to explain and triumph over the predicament)purpose = passion = priority 

you are only as trapped as you imagine your self to be

you are as fulfilled as you see your self to be 

depending on which blueprint you cling to

what is Paul’s conflict ?

torn between living down here and dying and going to be with the Lord

(which is greatest expression 

which option does Paul consider more desirable to himself ?

which do you think God would say is better ?

(there is no greater love than to lay ones life down for his friends)

which option does Paul consider the greatest sacrifice (expression of love) ?

is this our mindset ?

do we live each day with a mindset of appreciation for being adopted children by God our Father ?

we are:

wanted (desired, sought for relationship)

Jeremiah 29:11

Psalm 139:16-17

Matt 10:29-31

Rom 8:28-30

chosen (set apart, called out, called towards)

Eph 1:4-5

John 6:44

loved (not only serve but looking out for)

1 John 4: 9-10 (11 is loving back)

Rom 8:37-39

adopted (what is adoption ?)

Psalm 68:5-6 we were fatherless

Eph 2:2-3 we were the object of His condemning wrath

John 1:12-13 to those who believe, He gave the right to become children of God

2 Cor 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Gal 4:4-5 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Rom 8:14-17

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 

we should have the same joy each day as this little girl

bible says our appreciation for being adopted is best expressed by being a living sacrifice to Him

1 John 4:11

Rom 12:1-2

love one another

John 13:34

1 John 4:21

How do we best express that ?

Matt 25:31-46 is the tail end of a message beginning back in Matt 24 about the coming of the kingdom

Jesus talks about coming tribulation, false prophets

the rapture

being ready

the difference between those able to be ready and those not able to be ready

in Matt 25:1 He says “the kingdom of heaven will be like:

virgins without and with oil

one man who does not invest the talent compared to two men who do invest and multiply their gifted talents

(worthless servant thrown into darkness)

comprised of examples of the kingdom of heaven in as much as those who claim to be part of it , live like it

(this is the last example given in this passage)

Matt. 25:31 ¶ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.

Matt. 25:32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

Matt. 25:33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Matt. 25:34 ¶ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matt. 25:35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

Matt. 25:36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

Matt. 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

Matt. 25:38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

Matt. 25:39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

Matt. 25:40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Matt. 25:41 ¶ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

Matt. 25:42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

Matt. 25:43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’

Matt. 25:44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’

Matt. 25:45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

Matt. 25:46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus is clearly explaining the same idea that we find in 

John 13:35

1 John 4

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit ^[1] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son ^[2] into the world that we might live through him.

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for ^[3] our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us.

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.   

loving one another is how we are expected to show our love to Him

Paul says “to live is Christ and to die is gain”, because he knows that the best way to show his love for God,

for showing his appreciation for being adopted, it to love others (and the only way to do that is to stay down here rather than die and be with Jesus

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.

anyone can die for another, but how many of us can live for others ?

Jesus tells us “unto the least of these” so we can understand the connection between loving Him and loving others

Glenn Campbell –  Show Me Your Way – 1991

• 1.
  The Greatest Gift Of All
  2.
  Jesus and Me
  3.
  Where I Am Going
  4.
  The Wayward Son
  5.
  Unto the Least of These
• 6.
  Show Me Your Way
  7.
  The Savior I Sing of Today
  8.
  A Few Good Men
  9.
  Where Shadows Never Fall
  10.
  The Four Horsemen

this is track 5

It’s cold and windy on these streets tonight
Lines are forming now
Meals to be eaten, beds to find
Hearts are warming now
Love is given and love is received
A candle in the darkness
Because someone has believed

What Jesus said Unto the least of these
What you do for them, you also do for Me
You must give of what you have
To become what you must be
You must give your love unto the least of these

It’s warm inside the safe suburban home
But souls are dying now
The sound of words unspoken drowning out
The sounds of crying now
Love withheld is a love that disappears
They do not care because they cannot hear

What Jesus said Unto the least of these
What you do for them, you also do for Me
You must give of what you are to become what you must be
You must give your love unto the least of these

Hungry mouths to feed, thirsty souls in need
The naked clothed again
The sick in their distress, prisoners of loneliness
The strangers welcomed in

Jesus said “Unto the least of these”
What you do for them, you also do for Me
You must give of what you have
To become what you must be
You must give your love unto the least of these