The following is a transcript of a sermon that Pastor Josh Moore preached at Red Door Church on November 2nd, 2025. You can watch the sermon here.
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 honored 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 labor 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. (Philippians 1:18b-26)
Introduction
In my reading on this passage this past week one of the authors mentioned the story of Bill Jeracki. Maybe you’ve heard this story before. Bill was walking to a fishing hole about an hour outside of Denver, Colorado, at St. Mary’s Glacier when a boulder fell on him and pinned his leg. This being in the early 1990s, Jeracki had no cellular phone. He cried out for help repeatedly, no one came. He knew that snow would be coming that evening and being without jacket or any way of communication, he knew that if he did not get free, he would probably freeze to death. Jeracki, being a physician’s assistant, came up with a plan. In God’s kindness, his tacklebox was within reach from where he had been pinned down. He used his flannel shirt as a tourniquet and then used his fishing knife to amputate his own leg, at the knee joint. He used some other equipment from his fishing tools to clamp the major arteries closed so that he would not bleed to death. He then crab walked all the way back to his truck and drove himself to the hospital. He was interviewed after the wild incident and he said: “I cut through the knee joint like you separate your chicken,” he says. “It’s all soft tissue. It took maybe 15 or 30 minutes.”
When asked about what motivated him to do such a thing, he said he wanted to see his wife, Kate, and two young kids Megan and Christopher, again.
This story illustrates the great lengths that humans will go through to live—to survive. But the more important question is what are you living for? For Bill Jeracki, it was his family that kept him going. That’s what motivated him to survive in an absolutely desperate situation.
For me, for a long time, it was baseball. That gave me meaning and significance. Until I got injured and it didn’t. What is it for you? What is the thing that gets you up in the morning? The thing that your mind goes to when you are in a desperate spot?
Paul tells us what that thing is for him today in our passage. But here’s the thing about this thing for Paul. Unlike family or baseball, or any other worldly thing, the thing that Paul is living for can’t be taken away by suffering or even by death. Even more so, Paul’s thing doesn’t just get him through difficulty, it gives him joy in difficulty.
Of course, Paul’s motivation is his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the beautiful results or things that flows out of this is that Paul gets joy. You see joy is one of those things that if you grasp at it and seek it intentionally it tends to be elusive—it’s slippery. Joy is the result of something else, something deeper. We are going to see today that deep, abiding joy, comes from relationship with Jesus.
But before I go further, let me give just a little bit of the backstory again.
Background
So about 10 years prior to writing this letter, Paul was on his second missionary journey and he received a vision in about the year AD 51. The vision invited him to come over to Macedonia, what is today modern day Europe. Silas had accompanied Paul from the very beginning of the journey and they had picked up some others along the way, including Timothy and Luke. They make their way to a very important city, Philippi, a Roman colony of great importance that was built right on the major road that connected Europe and Asia, called the Via Egnatia.
Paul, of course, wants to preach the gospel but in Philippi there is no synagogue so he goes down to a place of prayer where a group of Jewish women were meeting and he finds a receptive audience among them. Eventually, a small congregation is formed and Luke stays behind to lead and shepherd them after Paul is jailed and then forced out of town.
The Philippians had formed a special bond with Paul and they continue to support him in various ways as the years go along after Paul’s departure from Philippi. Now, some 10 years later, Paul has been thrown in prison. The Philippians hear of it, take up a collection to help him again, and send Epaphroditus over to help and strengthen Paul. In response, Paul wrote the letter before us this morning.
Remarkably, the letter is a letter of encouragement and joy. Where does Paul draw his joy from? How can Paul be so exuberant and joyful? If you remember what Charlie shared with us last week, not only is Paul in prison but there are others out there who preach Christ from envy and rivalry. He’s far from home, never been to this place before. He doesn’t have many friends and he’s locked up. He may even be executed—he doesn’t know. How can Paul have peace and even rejoice as his enemies are out there working while he is in chains?
Well it’s because of how Paul answers that question we asked at the start. What was Paul living for? What was the bedrock motivation of Paul’s life? The thing that kept him going? It is the way Paul answers this question allows him to maintain joy in this trial.
This leads us to our first point this morning: Christian joy is rooted in Christ.
Point #1: Christian joy is rooted in Christ.
Let’s look at the passage now, starting with that last phrase in verse 18.
“Yes, and I will rejoice,“
This is a miracle right here. Paul has enemies that are out there doing work and he is locked up in jail, and he says, “I will rejoice.” How can Paul rejoice? He’s already told us some of what he’s rejoicing in at the start of this letter, in verse 3, 4 and 5,
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.“
Paul is rejoicing in their partnership in the gospel with him. And then last week we saw that even though Paul’s enemies are out there sharing Jesus with wrong motives, Paul says, he rejoices that Christ is being proclaimed.
But this letter is not just about Paul’s joy. Philippians is not written just so we can see a man full of joy. This is not Paul’s memoirs. Paul writes because he is fighting for their joy too. In verse 25 of our passage today he says,
“Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith…”
And then in chapter 4 verse 4 of the letter he is even going to go as far as to command them to rejoice: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
This truly is a book of joy. Paul’s joy, the Philippians joy, and our joy.
But notice those few passages I referenced there, what is the common root of the joy?
What I mean by root, is source. What is the source? What is the fountain? What is the well from which all of Paul’s joy is drawn? He mentions through this letter many other joys that he has—we’ve seen a few just now. Partnership in the gospel, Christ is proclaimed!
He’s also going to mention that it would give him joy if they would have unity in Christ. He calls the little church there in Philippi, his joy and crown. All of these things bring Paul joy. But what is the common root? The root here is Jesus. Rejoice in Jesus, rejoice in what He has done for us, rejoice in our partnership in telling others about what he has done for us. Christian joy is rooted in Christ.
Now maybe some of us think, “I know some joyful people who are not Christians.” “Christians don’t have exclusive rights to this sort of thing.”
Well, maybe. But I am speaking of a particular kind of joy: Christian joy. This kind of joy here is different. Just as Scott spoke a couple of weeks ago about Christian love—agape love—a love that is unlike other loves. It is a sacrificial, self-giving love. A love that is willing to suffer for others, just as Jesus did for us.
This joy here is similar. This is not a superficial joy, it is a rugged joy. This is not a joy that is a result of some good fortune, this is a joy that is not determined by one’s circumstances. Indeed, at times, it is in spite of one’s circumstances.
This takes us right to our second point this morning. Christian joy exists in spite of affliction.
Point #2: Christian joy exists in spite of affliction.
Look with me now at verses 19 through 21.
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 honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Notice right there after those words “and I will rejoice.” Paul says, “for I know…” Paul is now elaborating about his joy. He is saying there are some things that I know that give me this joy, even in my affliction.
First, he knows they are praying for him, no doubt a source of encouragement and strength. We saw earlier how often Paul asks for prayers in his letters. He is truly helped through the prayers of others.
Second, he believes the Spirit of Jesus is going to help him. Paul is not resting in his own power or might here. He is a weak individual, like all of us and he knows the power of the presence of Christ’s Spirit.
Third, notice there in verse 19 he says that he expects to be delivered.
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,
The meaning of the word there, “deliverance,” is debated. Some say that Paul is referring to his deliverance from prison while others argue that Paul is referring not to his immediate deliverance from prison but to his ultimate salvation in Jesus.
The Greek word behind the English word is soterian, which means salvation and in almost every instance refers to the ultimate salvation we have from sin through Jesus Christ.
Word studies—looking at how a word is used in different places of the bible—can be useful to help us understand the meaning of a word. But we must be careful because words can have different meanings, of course. The greater factor is how it is used in a sentence. Take a word like “bark” or “fall” or “stand” as a few examples of words that mean very different things depending upon how it is used in a sentence.
So here with this word “deliverance” we need to be careful. The most important factor here is going to be how it is used.
When we look at the flow of thought something emerges very clearly. Look now at verse 20.
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 honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
That word “as” means “according to.” In other words Paul is indicating to us how he believes his deliverance will take place and in this verse he says it can happen either “by life or by death.”
In other words, it doesn’t appear that Paul is necessarily expecting to be released from prison. He may die in jail or be executed. That is in his field of view here as he writes.
Yet, he still says, “I will rejoice.”
Now, verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Why does Paul have joy even in hardship and affliction?
Because in life we serve Christ and in death we get to be with Christ. Both are joyful. One is far superior, Paul is going to say, but both have great joy.
Because the joy is in Jesus. Christian joy is deep joy, stubborn joy, tough joy, because it is in Jesus… and Jesus cannot be taken from us.
Now this does not mean that this joy just cancels out all sorrow. In chapter two of this letter Paul talks about Epaphroditus. Remember he was sent to Paul to encourage him and it seems that perhaps along the way to see Paul got very sick and nearly died. Paul says this:
“I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.“
You can see from Paul’s words here that this joy he has and that he speaks of can live alongside of other emotions. Though sorrow come or anxiety come, the joy is still there. I think that needs to be said because this joy is not a phony, pull yourself up by your bootstraps kind of joy, “fake it ‘til you make it” kind of joy.
We know this intuitively. Remember our opening example of the man whose leg was trapped under the boulder. His joy in his family did not simply remove the pain of having to remove his leg. He still went through that agony and suffering and has to live without his leg. But the loss of the leg did not diminish his love and joy in his family—it may have even increased it in some way.
And Christian joy is superior to that. Because it is rooted in something even bigger than family or our bodies—those things can be taken away from us but Christian joy has Jesus as its source and Christ can never be taken from us. And that leads us to our final point this morning. Point #3: Christian joy is experienced now but fully complete in glory.
Point #3: Christian joy is experienced now but is fully complete in the presence of Christ.
Another way of saying this is Christian joy is something that only grows and increases. If our joy tomorrow is less than our joy today, then even though we may have joy, we experience it as loss. But that is not the picture that Paul paints in our passage.
Look with me know at verses 22 and following:
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
When Paul looks into the future he sees joy. The only difference is a matter of degree.
Paul is caught on the horns of a dilemma here. Both options that he ponders here, his potential release or his execution, bring him joy. If he stays to help the Philippians grow and mature, he misses out on the joy of being with Christ (at least, temporarily). If he departs to be with Jesus, he misses out on the joy of helping the Philippians. Paul admits that his greatest longing is to be with Christ. Death for Paul is gain. So he has this dilemma.
From time to time I hear people talk about heaven in a way that doesn’t involve Jesus. For Paul, the reason heaven was great and desirable was because that’s where Jesus is. Is that how you feel about heaven? Is it the place where Jesus is and that is why you long to be there?
So I want to return to my original question that I started with. What is your supreme love? What is the thing in your life that brings you more joy and delight than anything else? If it is anything other than Jesus, you are building the house of your life on the sand.
That’s not to say you can’t love other things, or have joy in other things. I’m talking about your ultimate joy, your supreme joy. What is the thing behind all of the other things that brings you joy and delight?
If that thing is not Jesus, then death will always mean loss for you.
And the reason is this: you were made for a relationship with Jesus. This is why you exist. You can have everything and if you don’t have this, you will always feel off. Things will never quite make sense. Paul shows us here in this passage that real joy and meaning comes not from being able to do whatever we want to but rather from living for our true purpose, relationship with Jesus.
If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ then you can have this joy and this meaning even in prison because you can have relationship with Jesus in prison. And what is more, you have the hope of being with him in the future.
Jonathan Edwards captured it this way:
To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean.
Are you struggling to find this joy? If this joy is something that you are missing in your life, it may be because you are striving to find it in all of the wrong places.
Or maybe for some of you, you are just not being honest with yourself. You say you are a Christian but you are not really putting God first. You are half-hearted in your prayers, your church attendance, you don’t think much about the Scriptures or God’s truth, you don’t serve others or talk about your faith much. You are really living for other things; you are motivated by other things.
To those of you who are married in the room. Let me ask you a question, If I never spend time with my wife, share about our life together, take her out on dates or make sacrifices of any kind for her. What would you think? Would you think that I was really delighting in her and putting her first? Of course not.
That’s what a great many of us in this room do with Jesus. We say we love and yet our lives don’t show it. No wonder we have no joy in Him. Relationships must be cultivated. So I want to exhort all of you, cultivate your relationship with Jesus and you will find in time, this joy that Paul speaks of, no matter what afflictions you are facing. This is true Christian joy.
A joy that is rooted in Jesus.
A joy that is present in spite of affliction.
A joy that is experienced now but is fully complete in the presence of Christ.
Amen.
