We are so grateful to be together again this year in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is to the praise of the Lord that we have been able to gather here in Vancouver.
We have been gathered by the Lord for a calling. There is a calling from the Lord: “You are My witnesses.”
Tonight, as we begin, we want to read some Scriptures concerning this matter. My particular portion is to share from Paul’s testimony of Jesus. We find his personal testimony in Philippians 3.
Let us read Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3, beginning with verse 7.
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, that I may gain Christ,
and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Now let us look at our theme passage in Isaiah 43. We will read verses 10 and 11.
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe Me
and understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no god formed,
and there will be none after Me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
and there is no savior besides Me.”
Once again, let us pray.
Our Father, we come to You tonight in the name of the Lord Jesus, the faithful and true Witness. We know that the Holy Spirit has been given to us to bear witness of Christ. We pray that You would focus our eyes upon the Lord Jesus tonight and remove the distractions as we have gathered together this evening.
We come and say with the apostle Paul, “We want to know Christ.” We have confidence that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our weakness and quicken our mortal bodies to be attentive as we gather tonight. We cast ourselves in complete dependence upon You.
We thank You that You are here among us, and we pray with faith in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
We have been gathered with this calling: “You are My witnesses.” There is something we should say right at the beginning concerning this matter of being His witnesses. If He has gathered us and declared us His witnesses, it means that He is already here. He is already doing something, and He wants us simply to bear witness of what He is doing.
We read a few verses from the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah was prophesying about Israel, who would return from captivity. During the captivity, they had forsaken their idols. Now they believed and could witness concerning the one God.
When you read the whole chapter, you see that God is gathering all the nations of the world together. They are gathered, as it were, in a courtroom to prove whether there is any God besides the Lord.
God Himself speaks first. He says, “I alone am God. Is there any other god beside Me? I am He, the only God. There is no other God who can save but Me. That is who I am—and you are My witnesses.”
Do you believe that? Israel was to be a witness of this one God. But we know that Israel’s testimony began to fade. The witness of the Lord was growing dark.
Then the Servant of the Lord came—even Jesus. He fulfilled this role of being a witness for the Lord God. He was the faithful and true Witness. When He saw God do something, He witnessed to it.
When we come to the book of Acts, we see Jesus again gathering men together. He tells His disciples, “You are to be My witnesses. But wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon you in power, so that when you witness, the Spirit of God will also bear witness.”
On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they began to go out and be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
The apostle Paul was saved in part by the witness of Stephen, the martyr. As Stephen bore faithful witness to who the Lord Jesus was, the people came upon him, stoned him, and killed him. Saul was in their midst and began to persecute the church.
But they could not escape the faithful witness of Stephen. Then the Lord Jesus met the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. After He revealed who He was—Jesus—we find the Lord’s calling to Paul recorded in Acts 26:16.
“But rise, and stand upon thy feet:
for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose,
to make thee a minister and a witness
both of these things which thou hast seen,
and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee.”
The Lord’s call to the apostle Paul was to be a witness. When Paul was given an opportunity to witness for his Lord, he spoke about the Jesus whom he met on the road to Damascus. His witness was powerful, but all he did was speak about what he had seen and what he had heard.
Jesus also said that Paul was to be a witness of things that he would see after his Damascus-road experience. Through the letters Paul wrote, we can see how his witness increased as he understood more and more of who Jesus was.
When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, he wrote Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians. These three prison epistles are tremendous revelations of Christ.
In Ephesians, we see God’s testimony of Christ: He is the center of God’s eternal purpose. The church, which is His body, is to be a witness of this eternal purpose and of the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
In Colossians, we see Paul lifting up the testimony of Christ in all His grandeur. He is the Creator. He is the Redeemer. He is the Head of the church. He is preeminent, the firstborn over all creation.
These are things we have all known about, but this is Paul’s witness concerning what he had seen about Christ. In books such as Ephesians and Colossians, we see the substance of the testimony of Jesus.
But we are especially thankful for Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The church at Philippi was a Macedonian church, and not rich by any means. Yet they had been praying for and supporting the apostle Paul since his second missionary journey.
Paul obviously felt wonderfully bound together with these dear saints. He opened his heart and shared his personal testimony. It is an amazing testimony, especially when you know Paul’s background.
Paul said there was a time when he held many things to be important in his life: his religion, his zeal, his righteousness, and his authentic Jewish heritage. Many things were important to him. But then he met Christ, and he began to know Christ.
Paul says that what he began to see was “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” When he came to know Jesus, there was something so tremendous about Him that He changed everything in Paul’s life.
Everything Paul had thought was so wonderful, he now considered rubbish. Paul had seen the ultimate; he had been spoiled by the knowledge of Christ. Therefore, he put away all those former things.
By the time he wrote Philippians, when he said, “Forgetting the things that lie behind,” he was not only including his former heritage. He was also including the former successes he had experienced in building churches and doing things.
Paul shares with the Philippians, “Here is my testimony: I want to gain Christ. I want to know Him.” Suddenly, we realize that there is so much more to knowing Christ than what we knew at the beginning.
It would take us longer than our entire weekend together to share the various things that Paul was seeing in his knowledge of Christ. But you would have to agree with me on this: Paul had been captivated by Christ.
What I would like us to see is how Paul’s knowing Christ affected his ministry to the Philippians. In his letter to them, Paul not only ministers a doctrinal, objective knowledge of Christ. The Christ-life within him ministers overflowing encouragement to these saints.
In my two sessions, I want to do something very simple. Tonight, I want to share how Paul ministered out of what he already knew of Christ. As he saw Christ, he began to live on a higher ground as he ministered to the saints in Philippi.
In the second session, the next time, Lord willing, I would like to share concerning what Paul was stretching forth to discover in further knowledge of Christ.
This is a testimony to us who serve the Lord. What do you know of the Lord? We should minister out of that which we know. But if our witness and testimony of the Lord are to remain fresh, there needs to be a further pursuit.
If we merely minister what we know and do not increase in our knowledge, we will soon become stale. But if we join Paul in stretching forward to the goal and the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus, then our testimony will be ever expanding.
When we notice Paul ministering to the Philippians, we see something important: Paul is encouraging this church. They were evidently having some conflict because they were preaching the gospel, and Paul wanted to encourage them.
This is so important in our ministry: to encourage the saints. Paul, out of the encouragement he himself had received from the Lord, now encouraged the Philippians.
Before we look more closely at how Paul ministers to them, let us give a brief outline of Philippians. If there is a theme to Paul’s testimony, it is this: “I want to gain Christ.”
In Philippians 1:21, Paul says:
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Christ was Paul’s life. He shared with the saints that it is not merely about doctrine, and it is not merely about service. It is about a life. Christ is my life.
In Philippians 2:5, Paul says, “Have the mind of Christ.” This is his testimony. He tells the Philippians that they need the mind of Christ.
In Philippians 3, Paul says, “I press on toward the goal.” Christ is his goal. Paul did not have lower goals—victories, churches started, or souls saved. His goal was Christ.
In Philippians 4:13, Paul says:
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Christ was his strength. What a wonderful testimony: Christ my life, Christ my mind, Christ my goal, Christ my strength. Paul began to see Christ as his Alpha and Omega. Everything came down to Christ.
I leave that impression with you of Paul’s testimony, but I do want to ask us a question. When those we serve observe us, what do they see?
If we serve God, do they see our dedication, our ambition, our intelligence, or our sincerity? Or do they see a lover of Christ?
Paul wrote many letters, and some are very doctrinal and strong in objective knowledge. But in every one of those epistles, you can see that Paul had a heart for Christ Jesus Himself.
Paul was an apostle. Paul was a bondservant. Paul was a steward. But he was a lover of Christ. He was so full of Christ.
You remember how Jesus spoke to His disciples in John 14. He said, “The prince of this world is coming, but he has nothing in Me.” Paul’s horizon seemed so full of Christ that he was indeed crucified to the world and the world to him. Satan did not have much that he could get at in Paul’s life.
The simple point I am trying to make is this: the testimony of Jesus needs to be not merely something we preach, but something we live.
If we preach great doctrines such as “Christ lives in me” or “Christ works through me,” is that a reality that can be seen? Are we standing in the power of His resurrection?
This is what strikes me and challenges me when I look at Paul’s testimony. What did Paul say about Jesus? “For me to live is Christ. Christ is my goal. Christ is my strength.” This is Paul’s testimony.
Paul grew in his knowledge of Christ. When he wrote this testimony in Philippians, he had grown, matured, and deepened in his knowledge of his Savior. He was speaking about knowing.
We can imagine that when Paul was first saved, he was hungry and searching for answers concerning his Christian life. He searched the Scriptures and began to understand how Christ could be his righteousness, his salvation, and his justification by faith.
He had to work out these doctrines in his mind. I can almost picture Paul in his days in the desert, with scrolls in front of him, trying to grasp this righteousness by faith and all that had happened in his life. The first stage was this desire to gain the knowledge of these truths.
With the keenness of Paul’s mind, he might have become a person oriented merely toward doctrine. But there was a difference: Christ was revealed within him.
Paul could never forget that his salvation had to do with the Savior, and that his righteousness had to do with the righteousness of the One revealed within him.
Are you a young person here tonight? Do you love the Lord? Then study to show yourself approved unto God. Learn to rightly divide the Word of God and understand these things for yourself. This objective knowledge is very important to us.
But do not forget: you also need to know the Christ who dwells in you, the hope of glory.
Paul, like most of us, came to a second stage, where he served the Lord faithfully, preaching the gospel. It is wonderful to preach the gospel, because in doing so you bear witness of Christ Jesus.
Do you know what happens when you do that? Those who serve faithfully in the gospel find that Christ reveals Himself by the Spirit in fuller and greater dimension.
When Paul first preached in Damascus after his conversion, he preached that Jesus was the Christ. By the time he preached in Antioch, he was preaching Christ as our fullness and our life.
Has the Lord begun to reveal things about Himself to you? Upon the foundation of doctrine, the Holy Spirit begins to reveal Christ in His fullness.
I remember a point in my earlier days when I could not wait to read the next book by Watchman Nee that had been written in English so I could understand it. You may be used to reading the works of our brother, and I think you will agree with me: he had so much revelation.
Reading his books was like the Fourth of July. I wanted to see more revelation. You love to read such things and discover these wonderful boundaries of Christ.
But by the time Paul gets to Philippians, he is in the third stage. He is still founded upon the doctrines of Christ. He still wants further revelation. But his life is no longer focused merely on ministry; it is focused upon the Lord Himself.
What do you think Paul’s testimony means when he says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus”?
Surely Paul continued to minister. Even in prison he continued to write letters, pray, and serve. But he had found, could I put it this way, a higher ministry.
Still an apostle, still a bondservant, but serving the Lord Himself. Sometimes, as servants of God and those who are faithful to the Lord, we serve the house—but do we serve the Lord?
It has to do with something personally related to Christ.
Let us return to Philippians and see how Paul uses the knowledge he already has to minister to these dear saints.
To see how he can minister, we must come back again to Philippians 1:21:
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Paul was in a difficult situation. There were many unknowns in his life. Would he ever be released to minister again? Would he be martyred for the Lord?
But Paul had come to a position of rest in his relationship with Christ that enabled him to minister to the Philippians.
If you look at the section surrounding Philippians 1:21, you see how this was worked out in Paul’s own life. Such was his witness of Christ that he could actually say, “To depart and be with Christ would be much better.”
How many of you want to live and never die? “If I can stay alive another day, that is all I want. If I can just survive, that is what is important.” But Paul says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Paul says in Philippians 1:23, “I am hard-pressed between two situations. To depart and to be with Christ is much better.” That is what the Greek says: “much more better.”
How do you feel about that? Can we love Christ so much that death loses its sting? The only person who can really say that and mean it is someone who knows Christ so well that he cannot wait any longer to be with Him.
But Paul also says that to remain is necessary for the sake of the Philippians. What was he going to do? Did it trouble him? No.
He had learned that his life was in the sovereign hands of God. He knew the Lord would do what was best.
In Philippians 1:19–20, Paul says:
“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
Paul was not saying, “Should I go, or should I stay? I will make the decision.” He left it to the Lord. Yet he sensed that the Lord was going to release him because of their prayers and because the Holy Spirit was working. He thought he needed to remain a little longer for their sake and for the Lord’s sake.
Still, there were no guarantees. Whether absent or present, whatever happened, Paul had one earnest expectation: that the Lord would keep his testimony in his body and that he would boldly proclaim his witness, whether in life or in death.
So Paul says, “Is it life? Is it death? That is not the decision. My one decision is that I want to exalt the Lord in whatever is best.” Paul had come to rest in the wrestling of his own life through his knowledge of Christ.
Now let us see how Paul encourages the Philippians. They had been preaching the gospel, and they had been facing persecution and conflict because of it. The atmosphere of Philippians 1 is encouragement.
Here is Paul sitting in prison. He had wrestled many nights with his purpose and with the will of God for him. But in his imprisoned circumstances, the Lord had come to him many times, in the fellowship of His sufferings, with encouragement and comfort.
Now it was time to write to his brothers and sisters in Philippi. His love for Christ and his love for them overflowed in the letter.
Sometimes Bible-study books tell us that the topic of Philippians is the joy of the Lord. Now, joy is certainly there, but that is not the true topic of Philippians. Joy is the overflow of someone whose life is Christ.
Paul writes to the Philippians and encourages their hearts. He says, “Every time I think of you, I am full of thanksgiving and joy.” Why did he feel that way? He was glad that they were doing the same work he was doing: they were preaching the gospel and bearing witness.
Paul’s heart was with them. He wished he could be there preaching the gospel with them. He remembered that they had always found sufficient grace when they preached the gospel.
Since they were serving alongside Paul in the ministry of the gospel, he was confident of this:
“He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Paul encouraged them as fellow soldiers of the gospel. Who should have been encouraging whom? Perhaps the Philippians should have sent Paul a letter of encouragement—after all, Paul was the one in prison. Yet he was the one encouraging the saints. He was the one full of joy.
In the next section, Philippians 1:12–18, Paul says, “Do you know what I have discovered about my situation here in jail? Christ is in complete and sovereign control.”
He reports to them that the circumstances of his imprisonment had actually resulted in the furtherance of the gospel.
You can imagine the Philippians praying for Paul: “Oh Lord, help Paul in his difficult circumstances. Help him with the food they are giving him, and please help him get out.” Love prays, and love is often concerned.
But Paul sets their hearts at rest. He speaks to them as people who have inside information. It is almost as though he says, “Remember when I was with you in Philippi? Things looked bad. I was in jail. Yet God turned the whole thing around. The jailer was saved, and the gospel went out even further as a result of my imprisonment. It has happened again.”
Paul says that since his imprisonment he had the opportunity to preach the gospel to the Roman guards, and some of them were being saved. Some dear Roman brothers saw his imprisonment and dedicated themselves to preaching the gospel more boldly.
There were also some who preached the gospel out of wrong motives, trying to make Paul feel worse. But it did not trouble him. He was glad the gospel was going out, however it was going out.
Paul brings these saints onto a whole other resurrection ground in their view of his imprisonment. In his trust of Christ, he knew that the ministry was not about him.
There was a dear brother who served the Lord and spoke several times at the Richmond Conference in Virginia years ago. He went through several years of great physical difficulties, during which he was limited in ministry. Afterwards, he wrote a book entitled God Can Do It Without Me.
That is what Paul was saying. The gospel work is what matters. If Paul was put in prison, the gospel work still went on. Praise God.
Then Paul tells them in Philippians 1:27–30, “You have an important role in this gospel ministry. God has counted you worthy of suffering for the sake of the gospel.”
Remember how, in the book of Acts, when the brothers preached the gospel and were persecuted, they would leave the town, shake the dust off their sandals, and rejoice as they went to the next town. They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the sake of the gospel.
Paul says, “You are sharing the gospel, and you are suffering in the same way that I am suffering. Join with me and remain faithful. This is a privilege.”
Let us look at the second example: Philippians 2. Here we have the most famous passage in the whole book, verses 5–11.
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
There was a problem in Philippi. We know from the beginning of Philippians 4 that there were two sisters who were having a conflict.
Rather than saying, “Now, you two sisters, stop it,” Paul first wanted all the saints to look at the attitude that Christ Jesus had.
He says, “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” There are two different words Paul uses concerning the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul uses a word that refers to the objective intelligence or knowledge itself.
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Paul is saying that to those who are spiritual, the Lord reveals His mind—objective knowledge concerning certain things.
But in Philippians 2, a different word is used. It has to do with our thinking and our attitude, expressing our mind. English translations often render it, “Have this attitude which is in Christ Jesus.” It means, “Have this way of thinking.”
There is a modern English translation called The Message that renders Philippians 2:5 this way: “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself.”
What is Paul’s point? Do you live in Christ? Does Christ live in you? If that is true, then at some point His attitudes should become our attitudes, and His way of thinking should become our way of thinking.
Paul is especially speaking about two things: an attitude of humility and of obedient service.
Paul addresses the Philippians in chapter 2. He says, “You are suffering for the gospel, but you are also receiving God’s comfort and the consolation of love. If you would make me happy, have this mind—this attitude of Christ—among yourselves.”
This is humility, not conceit. It is preferring one another. We are being transformed in the character of Christ, and even as He had such an attitude, we should also have it.
So Paul says, “Let us look at Jesus. What kind of mind do I mean? Look at Jesus. He was in the form of God, yet He did not feel that He had to grasp it. He let it go. He humbled Himself. He became a man. He became a servant. He became obedient unto death. And now God has highly exalted Him.”
You should have that same attitude. You cannot force someone to be humble. People who fake humility are doubly proud.
But if Christ’s life is being formed in you, this attitude becomes real. Paul does not merely say, “Be humble.” He says, in effect, “The humility of Christ is in you.”
Let us see how Paul applies this to the dear sisters Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4. Every fellowship seems to have Euodia and Syntyche in it.
I was once in a fellowship where there were two sisters who always had conflict. One was wonderful at going out, finding new people, witnessing to them, and bringing them in. She was full of love.
The other sister was a teacher. She knew how to teach the truth. Perhaps she was a little overly critical. She always had an opinion. The other sister never had an opinion. But they had conflict because they did not have the mind of Christ.
It eventually became a conflict among all the sisters. Now see what Paul says:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”
Then, in Philippians 4:2, Paul says, “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche.” This is the word of coming alongside, the word related to the Paraclete. Paul comes alongside Euodia, and he comes alongside Syntyche.
He uses the very same word that he used in Philippians 2:5. Literally, he says that he wants Euodia and Syntyche to have the mind of Christ.
Then Paul asks the responsible brothers to make sure that they also have the same mind in themselves. He wants them all to live in a cooperation bound together by the single mind of Christ.
This is so important, especially as we serve the Lord in the church. If we have a testimony of Jesus, we need to have the mind of Jesus as well.
Many so-called Christian works going on today actually promote pride, jealousy, and everything opposite to the mind of Christ. But Paul’s mind was humble and obedient, and he encouraged the brothers and sisters to live in harmony with one another.
The reality is that the Lord set both Euodia and Syntyche in the body of Christ. Each one served Christ in her own way, and they both built up the church.
But if Christ is to be our testimony and our life, then His mind must be among us.
Our time is going, and there is much more to share from Philippians, but let me make one final point. Paul had learned to rest in the nearness of the Lord’s coming.
Look at Philippians 4:4–6:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.
The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Why is it that every brother or sister who comes to know the Lord has a sense that He is coming very soon? This is not merely a wish that they have.
As Paul speaks about Euodia and Syntyche, he says, “The Lord is near. Be gentle in spirit.” It is difficult for God’s workers to be gentle in spirit.
I remember an older pastor speaking to a young preacher. The young preacher asked, “What do you think of my message?” The old man said, “You have to make up your mind whether you are going to feed the sheep or club the goats.”
In light of the fact that the Lord is near, can we be gentle with one another? In light of the fact that the Lord is near, can we rejoice in the Lord—and again rejoice?
In light of the fact that the Lord is near, can we be anxious for nothing, but with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make our requests known unto God? Can the peace of God keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus? Is that possible?
Because the Lord is near, be occupied with these things:
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Those of us who live in the United States heard the Republican Convention last week and the Democratic Convention this week. I have heard nothing pure, noble, good, or holy.
Paul is saying something stronger than merely, “Think about these things.” In Romans 6:11, you know the verse:
“Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.”
“Reckon” is the same word here. Reckon the things that are noble, honest, true, and of good report. Be occupied with these things.
You can see that Paul is on a higher calling. Workers and those who serve the Lord cannot be people who cannot let go, who cannot trust God, and who fret continually.
Should a servant of God be obsessed with his health and worried about his finances? If the Lord is very near, do not worry about those things.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. Can you do that?
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4 is so precious because it speaks to us about the secret of learning how to be content in whatever situation we are in. Paul knew that the Lord Jesus was his strength.
In any case, all I am trying to say is that Paul was living out of his love for Christ and encouraging the saints to live a life on a higher plane.
We are witnesses. May we pursue the Christ whom Paul pursued, the Christ who leads us onto this higher ground. Amen.
Let us pray.
Lord, we are so thankful for the way Paul was met by You in every circumstance upon resurrection ground. All the things that make for death had been overcome, and Paul was living on a higher plane.
During these days that we are together, would You open our eyes to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord?
Until Christ is our life, Christ is our mind, Christ is our goal, and Christ is our supply, lead us to this higher ground, we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.