Sermon Notes - Philippians 1:12-20 Spread His Gospel - Rising Sun Baptist Church - June 21, 2026

 1.        God has given us two primary commandments.

2.        The first is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

3.        The second is to love our neighbor as ourselves.

4.        These commandments should drive our lives as Christ Followers.

a.        When things are going great, we should love God with all that we are and love others.

b.       When we are facing the greatest struggle we will face on this side of eternity, we should love God fully and love the people around us. 

5.        We love God by seeking Him.

a.        Seeking His Will.

b.       And doing what He has created us to do.

6.        We love others by caring for them.

a.        By meeting needs when we can.

7.        But arguably most importantly we love people by pointing them to Jesus.

8.        As we work through Paul’s letter to the Philippians we are going to see that he has some things to address.

a.        They were a faithful church, but they are receiving a letter for a reason.

9.        Regardless of what drove Paul to write this letter, his first major point is about sharing the Gospel of Jesus.

10.   Philippians 1:12-13

a.        There is a great lesson in these first two verses.

b.       Paul’s circumstances.

c.        His being in jail, one might think it would limit his ability to share the gospel.

d.       But instead, it is advancing it, to use his word.

11.   Paul being in prison has helped the Gospel message spread.

a.        People know why Paul is in prison.

b.       Some of that comes from Paul himself telling people why he is there.

c.        Might have come from the times he is interviewed by the Roman leaders.

d.       God knew Paul would be in prison.

e.        He knew his time in prison could be used to reach those who had previously been out of reach.

f.          Paul being there was not an accident.

g.        It was not a mistake.

12.   Paul starts out this new and incredibly important topic, saying he wants his brothers and sisters to know this truth.

a.        If we are grafted into the family of God.

b.       If Jesus is our Lord.

c.        We are Paul’s brothers and sisters.

13.   Paul’s message to us is that the pain we may endure in life, as we follow Christ, opens doors.

a.        It can be used by God to touch those who we might not normally come into contact with.

b.       16 years ago, last May, I spent 10 days in Michigan University Hospital.

c.        I had a brain tumor removed.

d.       Both Alexis and I can think back to conversations leading up to the surgery as well as time in the hospital, that God used us to point people to Jesus.

e.        I remember having peace when the first doctor mentioned the tumor.

f.          He repeated things couple of times, maybe reading our calm as us not understanding what he was talking about.

g.        We simply said that God’s got this.

h.        As we were drawing closer to the surgery, people could not understand our peace.

i.          We would tell them that our trust is in God, regardless of the outcome.

j.          We knew where I would be if the world’s worst happened.

14.   Over the years God used our experiences to open doors that would not have been open without us going through that.

15.   Many of us have events like this.

a.        That when we look back, we can see that God used them.

b.       They may not have been pleasant.

c.        Might not be something we would want to sign up for a second round.

d.       But we can see that God was glorified during some hard things.

e.        We may not have led someone to Christ with a prayer.

f.          But our faith in Jesus was shared.

g.        People saw what it was like to trust in God regardless of our circumstances.

16.   Philippians 1:14

a.        The devil might have thought he was stopping Paul.

b.       Instead, his imprisonment allowed the Word of God to spread.

c.       And it encouraged other believers.

d.       It emboldened them to share the Gospel without fear.

17.   That is no small feat.

a.        The letter to the Romans was written 5-6 years before this one.

b.       Shortly before Romans was written, the Jews and Christ Followers were cast out of Rome.

c.        They were afraid that it would happen again.

d.       Yet, they witnessed Paul’s faithfulness.

e.        And their trust in God grew.

f.          And they were boldly sharing the Gospel of Jesus.

18.   Witnessing another person’s faith in trying times can build our faith.

a.        It helps us to remember that we are not alone.

b.       That our God is with us.

c.        That He does not make mistakes.

d.       That the people in our life are not there by accident.

e.        God will use all of it to grow our faith and the faith of others.

19.   Philippians 1:15

a.        Paul divided the people who preach the Gospel into two groups.

b.       One group he does not think too kindly about, as they preach out of envy and rivalry.

c.        The other preach it out of goodwill.

d.       Paul sees them in a much better light.

20.   What is interesting here is that he does not call them out for false teaching.

a.        Paul is not bashful.

b.       So it was not a matter of him not wanting to hurt their feelings.

c.        Best we can tell both groups were teaching the same words.

d.       The message was the same.

e.        But their motives were miles apart.

21.   Philippians 1:16

a.        One group preached out of Love.

b.       They were faithful ministers of the Gospel.

c.        They knew Paul was in chains.

d.       They knew that his desire was to see Christ glorified.

e.        And they picked up the mantel and carried it forth.

f.          They boldly preached in love to those Paul could not reach while in prison.

22.   Philippians 1:17

a.        The others preached the Gospel.

b.       But they were trying to paint another target on Paul’s back.

c.        Making things more painful for him.

d.       They wanted to knock Paul down and build up their own influence.

23.   One group wanted to point people to Christ.

a.        The other was hoping to get something out of it.

24.   We have to regularly check our motives.

a.        Are we doing all that we do to point people to Christ.

b.       Or are we hoping to get something out of it.

c.        We want Rising Sun Baptist Church to grow.

d.       But if our focus is numbers alone, our desire to grow the church may outweigh us doing what is right.

e.        Our focus is to be on honoring God and for His Kingdom to grow.

f.          Sometimes that will be in this local body.

g.        And sometimes it will be at another church.

25.   John 3:30

a.        It is not about us.

b.       It is not about what we may want.

c.        It is all about pointing people to Jesus.

26.   All our work is to be for God’s glory.

a.        And for more people to join us in Eternity.

b.       That’s it.

c.        Nothing else matters.

27.   Philippians 1:18a (stop after first rejoice)

a.        Regardless of someone’s motives.

b.       Regardless of if they are lifting others up or focusing on elevating themselves.

c.        The important thing is that they are telling people about Jesus.

d.       The message is being shared.

28.   Sadly, I can think of churches that are preaching the Gospel, but their focus is growing in size.

a.        They focus on events.

b.       Creativity.

c.        Excellence.

d.       They like the prestige when their Pastor has a bestselling book or is invited to preach at conferences.

e.        The Gospel message is being shared.

f.          Lives are being changed.

g.        But their motives are out of whack.

29.   Now we have to be careful, this same thing can apply to normative size churches.

a.        They may take pride in holding onto traditions that have been in place for decades.

b.       They may like that they can know every person who attends each week.

c.        The Gospel message is being shared.

d.       Lives are being changed.

e.        But are the motives in alignment with God’s?

30.    All churches and all Pastors are at risk of getting their motives out of alignment.

a.        The Gospel can still be faithfully shared.

b.       Which is the most important thing.

c.        Which is what Paul was celebrating.

31.   Our Job is to point people to Jesus.

a.        Celebrating our wins as well as those of other churches in our area and around the world.

32.   Philippians 1:18b-19

a.        Paul rejoices because he knows that his salvation comes from the Gospel of Jesus.

b.       He is rejoicing because the Philippian church is praying for him.

c.        He is also thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit.

33.   Romans 8:26-27

a.        The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.

b.       Helps us to pray and intercede for us.

34.   I suspect a man chained to a guard all day every day, was thankful for the work for the Holy Spirit.

a.        I suspect that as we go through life.

b.       As we grow as a follower of our Lord Jesus.

c.        As we let the Holy Spirit lead us.

d.       We will be thankful for the strength He gives us.

e.        We will appreciate that He gives us the words we are to speak when we need them.

f.          That we rejoice knowing that He is at work in us.

35.   Philippians 1:20

a.        Paul did not know what his future held when he wrote this letter.

b.       He was not sure if he would be released and be able to travel to Spain.

c.        Or if this was it.

d.       What was important to Him was that Christ will be honored.

36.   As a child of God, on this side of eternity, what really matters is that we honor our God.

a.        We are to live our days loving Him with all that we are.

b.       Learning about Him and His Word.

c.        Growing as disciples.

d.       Pointing people to Jesus.

e.        Loving them as best we can.

f.          Praying that they will repent and turn to Jesus.

g.        It all boils down to Loving God and Loving Others.

37.   Reflections for the week.

a.        How can knowing that God can use the challenging situations in your life to spread His Gospel, change your perspective?

b.       How can we celebrate the wins of others who are sharing the Gospel? Even if it negatively impacts us?

c.        How can you honor God this week, in spite of the situations you may be facing?

38.   If you are not a member of Rising Sun Baptist Church and are feeling led to become an official member, please sign up for our membership orientation.

a.        We will be starting our next sessions soon.

39.   If you do not know Jesus, please listen.

a.        Our God sent His Son Jesus down to earth.

b.       During His time here Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life.

c.        He died on a cross to pay a debt we owe.

d.       He died to wipe away the sin of those who call Him Lord.

e.        Then on the third day Jesus defeated death and rose again.

f.          He is now sitting at the right hand of our Father.

g.        Those who follow Jesus are given an amazing everlasting life.

h.        Jesus is offering this to everyone.

i.          Regardless of what we have done.

j.          If you are ready to give your life to Him.

k.        I would love to pray with you.

l.          Please come forward during our next song.