The Self-Talk of a Saved Soul

But this morning, as we think about Christmas, as we sort of start putting our heads in that space, it's an interesting phenomenon that as we get towards this day that's all about being joyful and happy and being filled with good things, good tidings, good feelings, it is just as true that it is one of the most inauspicious days for mental health. That there are people that really struggle on this particular day, that suicide or suicide attempts goes through the roof around this time of the year. On the one hand, a day of joy, and on the other, something that is a day of grief and sadness and loneliness and depression. What is the Christian's remedy in a time of hardship and difficulty? Perhaps if you're sitting here and you're celebrating Christmas for the first time by yourself, away from family, perhaps for the first time, struggling with a very deep personal pain, to use today's terminology, what is your self talk?

What can be your self talk in this time? We're gonna talk about Philippians chapter one, where we receive today's message, and it's entitled the self talk of a saved soul. The self talk of a saved soul. And we see how Paul, in the midst of very dire circumstances, of circumstances you could assuredly think, man, that guy has some troubles. We hear how he deals with his understanding of what a saved soul can say to himself.

Philippians 1:12. Paul writes, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 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. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel.

The former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, 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. 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.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me, yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in Him, but also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. As we talk about this idea of self talk, we see this repeated theme in the opening verses here of Philippians 1, of rejoicing on the one hand. Paul is actually so thankful in this letter. It's the epistle of joy, commentators call it. So on the one hand, there's rejoicing, and on the other hand, even as he addresses the Philippians, he talks about fear a lot.

He talks of them being afraid. He talks of them fearing for him. And then he talks of himself in the face of fear, having courage. So on the one hand, a theme of rejoicing. On the other hand, a theme of fear.

Three basic ideas that I want to share this morning of what Paul characterises in these verses, verses 12 to 30, that can explain to us when we talk about this self talk of a saved soul, what confidence we can have in any situation if we are tempted to fear like the Philippians were. Ultimately, Paul will express a message of courage to the Philippian Christians, which can encourage us as well. He reminds them and us of the type of things that we should be thinking and saying to ourselves when we are tempted to be fearful, when we are tempted to be nervous, when we are tempted to be anxious or worried about life. The first thing he says, the first bit of self talk of a saved soul, is that a saved soul is on the side that cannot lose. As Paul writes to the Philippians, he begins his letter by addressing their very real fear for his life.

Paul had been taken prisoner at this stage. He was now waiting in Rome to face the Roman Emperor, Caesar. This was because Paul had been in Jerusalem, where there had been a powerful uprising by very powerful leaders who wanted Paul silenced for preaching about Jesus Christ. And they were wanting to execute Paul there and then. And Paul instead appealed to the Emperor, as his right was as a Roman citizen.

But even in jail, Paul wasn't safe. At one point, his enemies, as he was moving from Jerusalem and Judea all the way to Rome in Italy, at one point his enemies tried to lay an ambush to assassinate him. Thankfully, that plot was foiled, but hearing of these sorts of things, you can understand why the Philippian church are fearful for their beloved Paul. Apart from the fear for his physical life, apart from the fact that they loved him and would want him to be around for many more years, there was a greater fear that God's will for gospel proclamation, of which Paul was the prime apostle, that God would somehow have His plans frustrated. Paul had been one of the most influential apostles of his time.

In other words, he was a star player on the team, and what happens when Michael Jordan leaves the Chicago Bulls? They don't do as well. Now as a prisoner, Paul's been taken off the field. What will happen to the work of the gospel of which the Philippians were motivated and passionate about? But he assures them that they shouldn't fear, either for his physical life, his literal death, or the chaining up of the gospel.

Why? Because he says he's on a side that cannot lose. In verse 12, Paul assures the Philippians, what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. And he explains how amazingly the gods who personally look after the Roman Emperor Caesar, that the gods have started hearing about the gospel. In God's providence, through Paul's capture, the gospel has been brought to the most powerful man on the face of the planet.

Now, think about the amazing transformation that had taken place. It was only thirty short years ago that there was a man, a carpenter's son, who died a robber's death in nakedness and shame upon a Roman cross, in the backwater, flea-bitten part of the Roman Empire, a place called Judea. And thirty years later, who in their wildest dreams could have imagined that this little movement had now reached the marbled courts of Rome? In fact, says Paul, his imprisonment in Rome itself has caused the Christians there to be so inspired by his faith that they themselves were emboldened to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ all the more. The gospel was starting to reverberate in the streets of Rome.

So the fear was, has God's plans been foiled? And Paul says, by no means. As a Christian, we take great encouragement from this perspective. We need to remember that while God saved us, the plan is much bigger than us. God hasn't simply saved little old me, although He certainly loves me, although He certainly loves you because He certainly loves us, He is more significantly the God who is ferociously jealous for His own glory.

And this God has a plan to save the whole world. The descendants, the physical descendants of Abraham, the Jews, aren't enough. He must save the Gentiles too. The disciples of Jesus aren't enough. The first century Christians aren't enough.

Two thousand years of gospel proclamation will continue and millions must be saved for the glory of God. God deserves a great salvation so that even right now, God is busy saving entire families. We saw two young people married here on Friday, professing a great salvation. God saves families. God saves cultures.

God saves entire people groups. Yes, God saves entire nations. This God that we serve has this planet in His sights and He will not be stopped. And Paul, as a child of this God and a servant of this mission, says, we don't fear because we are on His side.

And the fact that I'm sitting in Rome under the Emperor's nose shows you that this is a side that cannot lose. Alternatively, an anxious soul is a soul that thinks that God's plans are very small. That God's plans revolve around us and our discomfort, our immediate pain. We think of God's plans as small, and we think of God's power as small, and that He can somehow be frustrated, that He can somehow get it wrong. It's the fear, isn't it, of God losing His grip.

But that fear alternatively gives way when you remember how big this God is. That He is the God of glory. He is the God that the angel said, holy, holy, holy, three times. Why? Because He is very holy.

That fear gives way to genuine peace when we regularly come to the sobering realisation of God's immense glory and power. All things, friends, all things are and will always remain possible for God. When it comes to God receiving His deserved glory, nothing frustrates His plans. And so what can be more glorious than tens upon hundreds of millions, marvelling and rejoicing in His majesty. Our God is a roaring, bellowing lion and He cannot be muzzled.

And so that is Paul's first perspective here. When the Philippians fear, Paul has peace. Why? Because he is on the side that will not lose. Secondly, the self talk of a saved soul is one that has gained a freedom that can never be taken away.

Paul deals with perhaps the most significant immediate fear that we all have, that is the fear of losing everything. Some people call that the fear of death, losing everything. Having your choices taken away, having your opportunities taken away, having your freedom taken away and your life ultimately. And so Paul here reflects on death. And as he sits in prison, he thanks God for the Philippians and their concerns for him.

And then he says this. Verse 18, the second half. He says, yes, I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this, all of this, will turn out for my deliverance. As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul says he takes great courage in this situation because he is confident of this one thing, verse 19, his deliverance. Now this is not some prophetic statement that Paul is foretelling his release from prison, because a few verses later, he says he doesn't know. Maybe he will see the Philippians again, maybe not.

Maybe he lives, maybe he dies. The deliverance that Paul talks of here probably has nothing to do with him being in prison. He's saying whether I die or whether I am released, I am free in either case. I am confident of my deliverance because I have been released from a fate far more significant than execution. I've been forgiven.

I've been cleansed. I have been reconciled with my God. And so whether I rot for the rest of my life in prison, or whether I die tomorrow, I am free. And so for me to live is Christ. Whatever I have is His.

And for me to die is gain. It's like a dad joke of a dad who tosses a coin with his son. And he says to him, heads, I win. Tails, you lose. Think about it.

Either way, he wins. Heads, I win. Tails, you lose. To continue living means that Paul could continue serving the church, serving Christ. But if he was to die or be assassinated or face some gross injustice that would take his life, he would be with his Saviour quicker.

He has a freedom that cannot be taken away. Heads, I win. Tails, you lose. When we are faced with some of the greatest fears in our life, perhaps even the fear of losing it all, whether that is your life or your family or the most precious things that you have. When you are faced with the fear of losing the things you hold most dearly, the eternal comfort of knowing Christ is you have already received your deliverance.

And so the self talk of a saved soul is one of peace from a freedom that cannot be lost. And then in the final verses of his opening chapter here, verses 27 to 30, Paul addresses the final fear of the Philippians when it came to the resistance they themselves were experiencing. So they are on the one hand fearful for Paul, they're fearful of his imprisonment or his physical life, but now they are also fearful for the opposition that they are facing as Christians, new Christians, young Christians. And Paul encourages them in these final verses. Verse 27. Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, not being frightened in any way by your opponents. We don't like to admit it, but it is true that the fear of people who oppose us and disagree with us is a legitimate fear.

Some of us are less sensitive than others when it comes to opposition. But I'm sure that all of us, to some extent, care what people think about us. And we fear what might be done to us by those who dislike us. So you might insist that I don't care what anyone thinks of me. I'm self assured. But if you're honest, you probably don't love the idea of them thinking that you're weird, them thinking that you're dumb, them thinking that you're not nice.

At least the people that you want to respect. Now, I suspect that the Philippians were fearful of something a little bit more serious than not being thought of as being nice. But we're not yet in the history of the church here a genuine persecution where every Christian is under the threat of death either. Something's simmering, something's bubbling, but it's not yet every Christian dies for being a Christian. Their opposition probably is in the realm of something not too dissimilar to what we are experiencing as Christians now, to be disparaged, to be mocked, to be rejected for believing in this guy in the sky. And Paul accepts that the Christian gospel will bring division.

He says, don't be surprised that this is just gonna happen. Paul says that a genuine separation does exist. It'll exist down the line between those who believe and those who don't. But against the backdrop of this division, Paul says to the Philippian church here, don't you become divided. He says, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so you have been delivered like me.

Now let your life, in light of that, be worthy of that truth, so that he says, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened by any of your opponents. There's a powerful wisdom in these verses. Paul is encouraging unity within the church by building the church around a single goal, and that is the purpose of getting the gospel of Jesus Christ out there to the world. Those phrases, to stand firm, to strive side by side, to not be frightened by anything, these are all encouragements that evoke resilience, but it is around a mission, the gospel of faith. We cannot let it die.

We cannot put it under a bowl. We cannot hide this truth. Now there's a real sense that by drawing closer together as a church and becoming single-minded about the mission that we should be busy with, to reach the people around us with the good news of Jesus, that that focus works against disunity. When churches start fraying and crumbling, we start talking about theological secondaries. We start talking about traditions and how things have always been done.

We talk about people and their personalities. Think about the church splits that you know about and almost every time where there has been massive disunity in a church, it's been because people have lost sight of the big picture. And when that happens, all sorts of egos and irrational fears and self righteousness raises its ugly head, and Paul is saying against the enemy of division, stand firm in one spirit and hold the gospel at the centre of it. For it has been granted to you, he says, that you should not only believe in Christ, but that you will also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and that you now hear I still have. Ask yourself, what is the best way for a church to fall apart?

It's by losing sight of the main thing. Once the church starts going down that path, once the church starts looking in on itself, that's when its enemies, Satan, sin and the world, starts winning. I don't know if you remember. I think it's the year 2000. Rob is our trivia man. He might know the movie Gladiator.

Russell Crowe's Gladiator. In there, there's a beautiful scene of these fellow slaves that have, you know, like pitchforks and, I don't know, like chains or something to fight against, like, armed gladiators. And Russell Crowe's character gets his fellow fighters to huddle up together back to back against these professionally trained warriors, covering each other's backs as they face outward to fight against their common enemy. Even though they are a ragtag bunch of slaves, even though they've just met each other in the belly of the coliseum, they survived that day by covering each other's backs facing outward towards the enemy. And this is what Paul is describing here, I think, when he talks about this striving side by side.

This is a struggle not against individual people. It's not a struggle against the nasty coworker or against anyone annoying in your uni class. Your struggle is for the gospel truth. And Paul is concerned not only in fending off attacks, but also advancing God's glorious plan of saving the world. The image here is not of a poor defensive Christian being hammered by their enemy.

Now Paul is talking about the advancement of the gospel. He's not saying just huddle up. He's saying we are proclaiming the gospel and pushing back Satan's darkness. But this is the phenomenon. When Christians are engaged together in that fight, unity is maintained.

And so Paul can say that this unity comes out of this reverse ethic of the gospel of letting your manner of life be worthy of the gospel which you already believe, which has already delivered you. Now be united and fight. In fact, Paul says in verse 28, that unity is a sign of your salvation. And it is a sign of others' destruction. And so we must be tenacious.

If you ever fear what is happening to the world around you, if you fear of wars and rumours of wars in Palestine, if you fear terminal illness, if you fear loneliness on Christmas day, if you fear loved ones walking away from the faith, the solution isn't to walk away with them. The solution is to draw together with other believers, to press in, to huddle up, and to keep the main thing the main thing, to strive together for the faith of the gospel. This tenacity is ultimately given to us by the power of God's grace found in the gospel. It's through Christ's saving death and His resurrection that you and I have this hope. This is how the Bible empowers our courage.

He says, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. He's saying, become what you already are. Live up to what you have already received. Beloved, you are now the victorious sons and daughters of Christ. Now.

Through faith in Him, you cannot lose. Let your life reflect your victory. Live with the tenacity of a soldier who knows they've won the battle. Live with the freedom of a bird who has already escaped the cage even as he sits in it. Live with the purity of a saint who already knows that they have conquered every sin.

In closing, words of the next hymn we're gonna sing, Yet Not I. The opening verse goes like this. What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give. He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom, my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace. To this I hold. My hope is only Jesus, for my life is wholly bound to His.

Oh, how strange and divine I can sing, all is mine. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. Friends, if you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ, you are a saved soul with nothing to fear. That is where our self talk is centred. I am a saved soul on a side that cannot lose, with a freedom that can never be taken, finding a strength in my brothers who stand in the fight with me.

Let's pray. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for the encouragement of these truths. We pray the way we think about our lives, the circumstances we may all face, not just today, but in the next few weeks, in the coming months, that our self talk will be centred on what has already been done for us, that we are saved souls, delivered, that for us to live is service to Christ, to die is bonus. Help us, Lord, to live lives that are radically reprioritised along those truths that we have found ourselves, we find ourselves on a side that cannot lose. Regardless of how things are going for us, we will not ultimately lose.

Lord, help us to know that we are free even if we sit in a cage. And Lord, help us to trust and believe and work with our brothers, our sisters, towards the common goal of the hope of the gospel, which is bound to Your glory, which is bound to the saving of many souls. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.