Treasure Shared

When we ask that question I wonder if we really want the answer. And when we answer that question I wonder if we really care to give an honest answer. My guess is that this falls into the same category of common lies right in there with, “I’ve read the terms and agreements.” But what happens when you really do answer that question honestly. Or you really do care about the answer. That’s what we have in our text this morning. The Philippians are concerned with Paul. He has been put on house arrest, chained to a Roman guard, for preaching the gospel and he is awaiting trial before Caesar. He doesn’t know what his sentence will be. He has already answered in part how things are going. He says that the gospel is advancing through his chains and so because of this he is rejoicing. This morning we get a second part of that answer. It’s really Paul thinking out loud. So, how do you think this is going to turn out Paul? How can we pray for you?

He could have answered something vague. But he chooses to share his life with them. He let’s them into his thought process. This is part of the sharing that he speaks of in 2 Corinthians. He is inviting the church at Philippi to share in his sufferings. He is sharing his heart with them. But he is also teaching them. So listen up as we get a glimpse here into the mind of the apostle Paul.

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Sermon Introduction:

We know that we have this text because the Holy Spirit wanted to give it to us. This isn’t just inside the mind of Paul this is God speaking to us through Paul’s thoughts here. But why? Why do we get this little glimpse into the apostle’s mind? I think it can teach us a great deal. I’ll tell you now what I believe God is doing in this text and then I’ll try to show you why that matters for you. It’s interesting that Paul says here, “what shall I choose”. Dude, you’re chained to a Roman guard and at the mercy of Caesar. You don’t have a lot of choice as to what happens to you. But what Paul means here is, “I don’t know which thing to desire. I’m not sure what to pray for—what to long for.” But keep in mind this isn’t divorced from everything we’ve already seen here in Philippians. We talked a few weeks ago about choice and how grounded love motivates us to choose what is best. What is more excellent, Paul is asking. Is it better for me to depart and be with Christ or to stick around and keep laboring for the Philippians?

If love motivates your elbow

He is modeling for us here. This is what love does. This is what it looks like when Christ is truly your treasure. And his answer might be shocking. You’d think, wouldn’t you, that if Christ is his greatest treasure and he can depart and be with Christ that this is exactly what he would choose. But he doesn’t. He seems to say, “stay for your advancement” is what is more excellent. Something rather baffling happens when Christ is truly our treasure. We want to give this treasure away and often at great cost to ourselves. That’s what is happening in this text. True treasure doesn’t terminate on itself. True treasure has an impulse to be shared.

How do you most glorify a candy bar? What I mean is this..how do you most communicate the value of the thing? If you say, “Oh man, this thing is so good. My precious. Let it never be shared. I’ll keep it all to myself.” Then you are saying that you believe it’s only big enough for you. But what if you take a bite and you say, “Oh man, this thing is too good to be shared alone. It’s going to cost me a piece but I have got to share this with someone.” I’m going to argue here this morning that true treasure always has the impulse to be shared.

And so why does that matter to you? Because it’d be a horrible shame to either give your life to fool’s gold or to walk right past the true treasure. And we have such a capacity for this. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when our first parents said, “You know that fruit is more valuable than all the others. I’m gonna reject all these other treasures and put all my eggs in this basket here—this, “fruit that God said no on” basket.

The other day at the park. Huddle of teens, every head down. But they aren’t alone in this. They’ve learned it from us. A few years ago…Joshua Bell

Story of Joshua Bell.

A few years ago Washington Post did and experiment. They had a young man named Joshua Bell dress in a ball cap, t-shirt, and blue jeans and play his violin in a busy area during morning rush hour. During the time about 1100 people strolled past and very few stopped. But they didn’t know that this wasn’t just an ordinary street musician. Three days before Bell had played to a packed out Boston Symphony Hall with $100 a seat. And he was using a 3.5 million dollar violin. He played for 45 minutes and only 7 people stopped. He earned $32 and some change. $20 of that came from a woman who recognized him and got a great deal on this impromptu concert.

All of these people walked past this beautiful music and never stopped or even acknowledged this guys presence. One guy was so busy listening to his own IPod that he was 4 feet away from Bell and never new it. Walking right past beauty—they were caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that they forfeited a chance to be captivated by brilliance and beauty.

A guy by the name of Sir Thomas Smith made a great point in his last words, “It is a matter of lamentation that men know not for what end they were born into the world until they are ready to go out of it.” That’s another way of saying, “I missed it I’ve wasted my life.” Another prominent man—a Prince of Wales on his deathbed echoed much the same.

“Tie a rope round my body, pull me out of bed, and lay me in ashes that I may die with repentant prayers to an offended God. Oh! Tom! I in vain wish for that time I lost with thee and others in vain recreations”.

We a prone to miss it. We aren’t very good treasure hunters. So this matters because I believe God is showing us here what it looks like when Christ really is your treasure. And that matters because Christ is the greatest treasure. To miss this is to miss everything. I don’t want you to live your whole life and miss it. To give yourselves to lesser treasures. To be so enamored with your iPhone that you can’t enjoy a day at the park. Or even worse that you’ll enjoy days at the park but never have a relationship with the One who created those sunny days in the park. Likewise, I think we have a very real danger of finding some treasure, naming it Jesus, and declaring ourselves okay because all the promises are ours because of our fake Jesus. Real treasure does something to you—and if it doesn’t do something to you—then you might just be holding onto fool’s gold.

So now I need to show you this from the text.

In verse 19 Paul says that he knows “this” will turn out for his deliverance. The this is his present situation. But what does he mean by deliverance?

I want you to catch what Paul is saying because it is crucial. The word there for “deliverance” has a double meaning. It’s the same word which is often translated salvation. Paul is saying two things: one to take at surface value and one to take at a deeper level. On the surface what Paul is saying is this—“through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ I really do believe that I am going to be physically delivered from this time of suffering. I really do believe that I will continue to go about living. I will be delivered in the physical sense.” But Paul is also saying something deeper. “This will also lead to my ultimate deliverance. I will remain with full courage and Christ will be honored in my body. I will be acquitted on that great day. I will be with Jesus Christ”.

I believe is what is known as a double entendre—it can mean two different things and yet it means both at the same time. It is a play on words. Paul is saying two things; one to take at surface value and one to take at a deeper level. On the surface what Paul is saying is this—“through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ I really do believe that I am going to be physically delivered from this time of suffering. I really do believe that I will continue to go about living. I will be delivered in the physical sense.” But Paul is also saying something deeper. “This will also lead to my ultimate deliverance. I will remain with full courage and Christ will be honored in my body. I will be acquitted on that great day. I will be with Jesus Christ”.

So, what Paul is saying essentially is this. If I die in Rome then it’s not like I have not been delivered. It’s not like your prayers have not been answered. I have been delivered. Actually my death here would be preferable. “To die is gain”. “To depart is to be with Christ and that is far better”. But even if God decides to spare me physically where I am delivered in the physical sense then it is going to mean fruitful labor for me. I will be delivered here too.” “To live is Christ”. So, no matter what happens I know 2 things—Caesar cannot ultimately do me harm and Christ is going to be honored whether I live or die. It’s a win-win situation.

Similar to how I pray for healing…not knowing if God is going to provide immediate healing or ultimate healing in glory.

So Paul knew that no matter what happened he would be delivered. And he knew this because it was his eager expectation that he wouldn’t be ashamed. Now it could mean again that he is saying I know that I’ll faithfully testify to Christ. Or it could also mean that he knows that he will not ultimately be ashamed as he stands before Christ. Again, it’s likely both. Christ is honored if he lives or dies and that is his goal. To live is Christ, to die is gain. And he spells out what he means by this in the next few verses. If he continues on it’s going to mean more fruitful labor as he works for the gospel to advance in the hearts of believers—like those in Philippi. But his desire is to depart and be with Christ.

Do you see the choice? I know that if I die at that moment I’ll be in the glorious presence of Jesus. There is nothing better than this. This is truly the absolute best thing which could happen to me. But I also know that “remaining in the flesh is more necessary for you”. It’s better for me to go. It’s better for you that I stay. So what do I pick? Well love always motivates me to give of myself for the benefit of others, so I know that I’ll remain (that’s him saying I”ll be getting out of jail”) for your benefit.

Then verses 27-30 which I preached months ago as my first sermon here…either way (whether I come or am absent) you live in such a way that Christ is shown as precious. And notice verse 30 he is again drawing them into his suffering. All believers are united in Christ in this way. His battle is our battle. This is one of the reasons I say that Paul is modeling for them here. And he’s showing them that given the choice between benefit to me or benefit to you love calls me to choose you. That in part is what it means to live in a manner worthy of the gospel.

Given the choice between benefit to me or benefit to you love calls me to choose you.

This is why I say what is happening in this text is Paul is showing that a true treasure has an impulse to share. It’s the same thing happening in . When Paul says, I would that I could be cut off from Christ for your enjoyment of Him. It’s the same thing that Jesus does in . Didn’t count equality with God a thing to be grasped. In other words already enjoying the treasure of eternally enjoying the Godhead---the Son of God left heaven so that others could share in this joy. True treasure always has an impulse to share even at great cost to self.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR TREASURE…does it cause you to share? This isn’t just evangelism it also speaks to the way we do Bible study. It speaks about community—doing life together. Is my Bible study meant to help myself and others enjoy Christ more—or is it an end of itself?

Older theologians spoke of sin having an inward curve. What they meant by this was that sin always has a tendency to turn us inward. It has a tendency to make our world smaller. It makes us like Gollum in Lord of the Rings…who couldn’t bare the thought of someone else having his precious ring. And so he ends up spending his life in a cave and becoming something much less than a Hobbit. It actually changes his being. And that’s what sin does to us. It causes us to be less than human—it turns us inward on ourselves and it consumes us.

Walked past this lady at Lowe’s the other day on the phone…having some sort of panic attack or angry tirade with someone on the line. And she said, “Listen, the only thing I care about right now is my mental well-being.” I get that. I really do. But that’s a death sentence for that lady. We don’t find healing by turning inward—we find even more despair. I’m gonna focus on me for awhile. Death sentence.

The gospel does something different. It turns us outward. To live is Christ means that your life no longer belongs to you. That’s what happened to Paul. The gospel broke that inward curve and for Paul to continue living it’d mean more fruitful labor. His argument doesn’t work if that isn’t the case.

Spurgeon:

What did it do to Paul?

But we also have to say that Paul’s argument doesn’t work if

life doesn’t equal fruitful labor

His life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business-are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a [bad] reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian-its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word-Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the [bull] which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."

But it also has to be true for Paul’s argument that death really would be gain. Can you say that this morning?

I want to tell you about a couple of qualities of God (they are called attributes). 1) Perfection which can be defined by saying that “God completely possesses all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for him.” That means if it is something good to have or to be then God is perfectly that; meaning that God is Love, perfectly. There is not a shred of love that exist outside of God nor is their any ounce of love lacking in God. There is not a shred of justice that exists outside of God nor is their any ounce of justice lacking in God. He is perfect in all his attributes. No lets look at a second attribute of God. 2) Blessedness which can be defined by saying that God delights fully in himself and in all that reflects his character. Or we could even here speak of God’s beauty that God is the sum of all desirable qualities. Or even his Goodness. But lets look at “blessed”. What does it mean to be blessed? It actually means to be happy, to be fulfilled, to be full of delight and full of pleasure. Think about what is being said here. God is perfectly happy and He is the source of all happiness and fulfillment.

This is why Paul can say what he did. This is why Spurgeon could say, “Make me like a bull ready for work or ready for sacrifice.” Christ is life. He is all that is blessed. He is all that is fulfilling and you will never find an ounce of fulfillment outside of Him. You will never find any happiness outside of God. You might say, “I have pleasure in my sin”. And that the Bible definitely would assert. But it is only momentary. It is not true pleasure because it does not last. It goes away it is fleeting.

I mentioned earlier that I had been reading a little bit about people’s last words and it is amazing to see the difference between believers and non-believers. Believers are often like Paul facing potential death at the hands of Rome. Unbelievers are often in despair. Take these different last words of Isaac Watts a hymn writer who gave his life to Christ and Thomas Hobbes a famed atheist that corrupted many of his contemporaries.

It is a great mercy that I have no manner of fear or dread of death. I could, if God please, lay my head back and die without terror this afternoon.

If I had the whole world, I would give it to live one day. I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at. About to take a leap in the dark!

One had no dread and was ready to be with Christ. The other was hoping for one more moment of this life (all that he had) and longed to find a hole to creep out of the world at. Or again take Captain John Lee who lived his life rejecting God but on his deathbed longed for hope, “Oh that I had possession of the meanest place in heaven, and could but creep into one corner of it”. Compare this to the famed Puritan author of The Pilgrim’s Progress John Bunyan, “I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; who will no doubt, through the meditation of His Blessed Son, receive me, though a sinner: when I hope we shall ere long meet to sing the new song, and remain everlastingly happy, world without end. Amen!”

One man longed to even have a small corner of heaven (obviously not understanding that heaven is not about places but about enjoying the glory of God) the other got it. He knew Christ. Listen again to Bunyan’s quote. In it is the gospel.

“I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Bunyan knew the Father and he knew the Son. He acknowledged God as His Creator and His Lord. He knew that He was accountable to Him, yet he understood that He was His Father, and His Christ.

“…who will no doubt, through the meditation of His Blessed Son…”

Bunyan knew that his hope was built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. He knew that his only hope was Jesus Christ. He knew that it was through the blood of Jesus Christ spilt for him that he could have eternal life. He understood that Jesus Christ has already provided the sacrifice and he placed his faith and his trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He was staking all of his being not on what he could do, but on what Christ had already done.

“…receive me, though a sinner…”

How beautifully this echoes , “That while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for the ungodly.” Bunyan knew that he was but a sinner. In fact he lived much of his early Christian life struggling with assurance of his salvation. He was in fact for quite some time tormented by whether or not he was saved. And then he realized that his salvation was in Christ alone as one author noted, “Most of Bunyan's struggles with his assurance came as a result of taking his salvation lightly. God allowed Him to struggle with this so He could clearly see that his salvation was of the Lord not in any way due to any righteousness of his own.” Once Bunyan realized that salvation is through the righteousness of Christ given to him and that alone Bunyan was assured. Because he knew it was not about sinner John but righteous Jesus.

Imagine if Paul would not have known Christ. He would have been clinging to his life because that to him would have been all he had. He would have been living each moment in fear that the door would open and he would be cast before Caesar and proclaimed guilty. Rome would take his head and he would then in a twinkling of an eye be cast before the great judge of the universe. Paul would have nothing but his own righteousness to stand upon. He would have nothing. If he thought being declared guilty by Caesar was horrible this guilty sentence is eternal. He would forever be cast away from God. From all that is good and all that is God.

Or maybe he would have even chose death thinking that somehow this would earn him a seat in heaven. Or this would have been the end of his time of misery. But love did something different to him, didn’t it.

Again you can read prideful words from a man named William Pope, “I have no contrition. I cannot repent. God will damn me. I know the day of grace is past…You see one who is damned forever…Oh Eternity! Eternity! Nothing for me but hell. Come eternal torments…I hate everything God has made, only I have no hatred for the devil-I wish to be with him. I long to be in hell. Do you not see? Do you not see him?”

But Paul was not like these men, and neither should you be. Paul could truly say “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Can you truly say to die is gain? Not because your sick and twisted and have some silly little idea about hell—or that it would be better for you and everyone else or because you will punish someone by going to hell. No, that’s not going to happen. You’re only hope is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Otherwise to die=loss. Eternal loss, to depart would be to be away from Christ and all that is good. But because of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice might you cry out to Him tonight and cast yourself wholly upon His mercy!

If you have this treasure....

It’s meant to be shared. If I don’t have an impulse to share I might be holding fool’s gold in my hand. If it’s just something that gets me out of bed on Sunday mornings and drags me to church but isn’t enough to take up my life it isn’t the same treasure which Jesus speaks of…buy the whole thing…live your life to find it.

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