In Philippians chapter 4 beginning at verse 14, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. You Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in the giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek a gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more, and I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God, and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. And you can be seated. If you noticed how this paragraph began, yet it was kind of you to share in my trouble. It's interesting that in our various versions you will find often a start of a new paragraph here. But it begins with a coordinating conjunction that's translated yet in the scripture. And that clues us into the fact that the Apostle Paul is clearly continuing his thought. He hasn't left it. He's coming to it. One thing to always remember is that your paragraphs, your chapters and verses as they are numbered, these are not inspired. They were not in the original manuscripts. Those were added later. And so always keep in mind that we should be reading in context, don't necessarily stop where there is a change in paragraph, continue on. And so yet it was kind of you to share in my trouble. So the apostle is commending these saints for sharing in his ministry as they had done from the moment they first heard the gospel. But what a strange way to put it. It was kind of you to share in my trouble. If you recall, it seems that this congregation was very concerned about Paul's plight and the effect that his current condition might have on his ministry. So in chapter one, it's been a while since we've been there, but in chapter one, we find Paul reassuring them that despite his present circumstances, the gospel isn't being hindered, it's advancing. But here, he says, they're sharing in his trouble, not his triumph. So if the gospel is advancing, wouldn't it be this kind of you to share in my triumph of this advance of the gospel? But you see, this is how Paul characterizes his ministry throughout scripture. And if you'll recall that bold assertion that ends this previous paragraph, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And so Paul is speaking as a victorious and triumphant minister of God. So which is it? Is it a victory or is it a trial? It's both, right? In Christ, Paul is triumphant, but it is triumph in the trouble. It is triumph through the trouble. It is triumph despite the trouble. It is not triumph instead of trouble. Trouble dogged the Apostle Paul throughout his earthly ministry. But thanks be to God, it didn't stop him. No matter what trouble was hurled at him, no matter what obstacle was deployed in his path, he kept on running his race. He kept on pressing toward that mark of a high calling of God in Christ, and he did so with a rejoicing heart. He kept his eyes on the prize. And so what we see in this passage is an amazing marriage of ideas in the preceding paragraph being continued in this paragraph as well. Previously, we saw that the apostle rejoiced greatly in the Lord upon receiving this gift from the Philippian saints, but nonetheless, he goes to great lengths to make it clear that he was content before that gift arrived. And he would have remained content, he says, with or without the gift. The gift was irrelevant. He had learned the secret of being content, of being satisfied wherever he was, whether he was being humbled or whether he was being esteemed, whether he was full or whether he was hungry, whether he had plenty or whether he lacked what we consider to be the essentials. He had the strength for every situation through the power of Christ that enabled him. So think of Paul's situation as he writes this letter. He's taken pen in hand in a Roman prison, chained to an imperial guard. And since prisoners were given the barest of provisions, if they were given any provisions at all, it's clear that the Apostle Paul could use some help. But this wasn't Paul's first rodeo. His whole ministry had been characterized by desperate and perilous situations, any one of which could have easily sidelined the apostle and silenced his tongue. Beatings, flogging, stoning, shipwrecks, imprisonments, bandits, conspiring enemies, starvation, exposure, the list goes on and on, and Paul gives us that list himself. He had to face all of these things and more, and he had not only survived, here he is still proclaiming the gospel, still watching over the churches, undeterred by impossible situations that he had endured. These were the all things that he could do through Christ who strengthened him. None of the troubles in his ministry surprised him. I mean, after all, immediately following his conversion, he was told up front that he must suffer much for the name of Christ. So trouble was a constant companion of Paul's ministry. So what if he's in jail with little or no provisions? He's been through far worse. So what if he's constrained by chains? The gospel is unconstrained. The gates of hell cannot withstand the advance of the kingdom of heaven. And so rather than hinder the gospel, as Paul says, my current troubles have actually opened up a whole new field of harvest for the kingdom of God. Because through his chains, if you recall, the gospel had spread throughout the entire Praetorian guard, and it had even made its way into the household of evil Caesar himself. That's triumph. But it wasn't Paul's triumph, it's Christ's triumph. He's the one giving Paul the strength to endure all these things. And as Paul had learned early on, even when he's weak or especially when he's weak, that's when Christ is strong in him. And the impossible becomes possible in Christ. And nowhere is this set forth more succinctly than in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 8 and 9. Paul explains there how he ministers and other ministers of the gospel are able to fulfill their call despite the opposition they face and even their own personal human frailties. Now, of course, it's later on in that very same epistle where he gives us that catalog, that list of specific trials and troubles he'd endured. But before he gets there, he gives them a comprehensive summary. So I want to read that passage to you. It is in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. You can read it later for yourself. I'm just going to read verses 8 and 9. And this is what the apostle Paul says. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. Those are important words the Apostle Paul is speaking. And so this is what we find in this particular text. Paul is summarizing the kinds of troubles he has experienced in his ministry and that all who truly proclaim the gospel will experience to one degree or another. And he does so with these contrasting vulnerable situations over against unexpected outcomes. You know, if you are afflicted in every way, you don't expect to survive, right? If you're perplexed, you don't expect to have understanding. You know, if you're knocked down enough times, eventually you don't get up, right? I mean, these are the things that the apostle Paul is saying. And I wanted you to notice something about this because I read from the English Standard Version, but that negating conjunction that is translated, but not, can just as easily be translated, but never. In other words, the pattern Paul gives is this, but never that. This always, but never that. And Paul's language is quite colorful. He is afflicted, he says, in every way, but he is never crushed. The word afflicted is a broad term that encompasses all kinds of trials and troubles. It's the word Jesus used whenever he promised every one of his followers in this world, you will have tribulation. You will have affliction. And the word paints a picture of being hard pressed on every side, being closed in upon in every way imaginable. It's being squeezed so tightly that you feel there's no room to breathe. That's pressure. This is what Paul experienced regularly. And yet, despite that kind of pressure, he says, never crushed by the heaviness. You might expect, but I wasn't. There's always a way of escape. He says that he is perplexed, but never driven to desperation, never driven to despair. Paul is sometimes baffled by situations and circumstances. We even see this in the text itself. He was bewildered that the Galatians were flirting with legalism, all right? He was perplexed about his thorn in the flesh, but he was never driven to utter hopelessness. There may be times where, for a moment, he's at a loss over what he's experiencing, but he never comes to his wits' ends because God is always there. And the Lord our God always reminds him, my grace is sufficient for you. He's persecuted by men, he says, never forsaken. So who is it that never forsakes us? It is the Lord, right. That's what he means. He is oppressed. He is pursued by his enemies, but he is never deserted. And this is interesting because Paul had friends who sometimes deserted him. There was a time whenever Paul had his companions and he was dispatching them to different places. He sent Crescens to Galatia, he sent Titus to Dalmatia, but Demas was to remain with him, to help him. But he says, Demas, abandon me, because he was captivated by the allure of this world. And there's Paul left all alone. But even then, though he was all alone, he wasn't all alone, was he? Christ is with him. And the Lord who promised to never leave us nor forsake us was the one strengthening him through this ordeal. And then finally, Paul says, I may have been struck down, but I have never been destroyed. The word struck down is very interesting. It's a wrestling term for being knocked down or being thrown to the ground by your opponent. Well, Paul had been knocked down many, many times, but he was never down for the count, ever. Just whenever he was stoned and left for dead and people thought it was over for Paul, what happens? That pile of rocks begins to move. He shakes it off, he stands up, he gets up. And this is what Paul says, I've been knocked down many times, figuratively as well as literally. But he says, I'm always able to get up. And that's going to continue until that very moment that the Lord says, You're through. Your race is finished. Come home. So you see, despite the best efforts of his enemies, Paul is still here. That's the point. He is still doing the work he was called to do. And this is what it means that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. That's what that passage means. It does not mean you get to do whatever you want, whatever you set your mind to, that God's gonna rubber stamp it and he's gonna give you the power to accomplish it. It means that you will be able to do whatever God has called you to do. You won't be able to submit to him and do his will, because Christ is your strength. And so Paul says to them, having said, therefore, that yes, it was a gracious gift, and I rejoiced when I received it, but not because it made me somehow content when I wasn't. Whether I received the gift or not, was it going to matter? I'm going to continue on proclaiming the gospel. But nonetheless, it was kind of you to share in my trouble. How did they share in his trouble? Well, in this instance, it's by sending gifts to him. The Philippians were a mature and exceptional congregation. We need to understand a little bit about this particular body of Christ, this local assembly, to realize what actually is going on here. Their love for Paul was second only to their love for Christ and the gospel that had set them free. As the old saying goes, talk is cheap, but The love that these saints had for Christ and for Paul and for the gospel was much more than lip service. As we saw last week, they were one of the few churches who consistently supported the apostles ministry. And as we saw last week as well, this is what scripture teaches us to do, isn't it? As Christ told his disciples, a laborer is worthy of his wages. So Paul echoed this very sentiment of Christ himself whenever he shamed the Corinthians for freely giving to false apostles while withholding support from those who had brought them the truth of the gospel. And when instructing Timothy on setting the churches in order, what does he say about elders? Those who labor and preach and teach earnestly are entitled to generous support. That's what he says. Well, this had been the Philippians' practice from the very beginning, from those early days when they first heard the gospel from Paul and Silas. Remember, as they moved into Philippi, they found no synagogue, which means that there must not have been enough men of Jewish descent to have a synagogue. You had to have 10. And so they found people praying by the river, and they began to preach the gospel. And of course, the most prominent of these were women who came. And Philippi, you see, was a prosperous Roman colony. Lydia, which is mentioned as the very first convert there in Philippi, one of the founding members of the church there, she was a businesswoman of some means. Scripture says she was a seller of purple. And that meant that her clientele would have been quite wealthy because only the very, very rich could afford purple clothing. The reason is, is in those days purple dye was so scarce. It was rare and it was expensive because it was difficult and time-consuming to make. It was extracted from small marine snails that had to be harvested from the Mediterranean. And we're told that it took some 250,000 or more of these snails boiled for days to produce a single ounce of purple dye. So some claim that this purple dye and purple clothing was more precious than gold. Lydia then was clearly a woman of means. And it's quite likely that others in that congregation who had believed the gospel were also of substantial wealth. It was a wealthy colony, a Roman colony. And from the very beginning of Paul's ministry in Macedonia, these newly converted Christians enthusiastically used their resources, whatever they were, to help fund Paul's gospel work. So at first, at least, it's likely that they had the means to give generously. But things had changed drastically. Many in the church had fallen on hard times. And from what we can glean from scripture, it seems that they had been impoverished for their faithfulness to Christ. It wasn't bad business decisions. It was people no longer willing to do business with them. Philippi was filled with loyal Roman citizens. And from the very beginning, many of them were hostile to the faith. Do you remember how they threw Paul and Silas into prison on their very first visit? And of course they did so because their livelihood was at stake. They not only saw Christianity then as a threat to their livelihood, they were highly offended by people refusing to bow to Caesar and worship him as God. They were highly offended by those who wouldn't swear primary and absolute allegiance to Rome. So all of these factors entered in. These saints had likely been ostracized from society. They had likely been blackballed from business. And it seems that this had happened rather quickly because just three years after their conversion, as the Apostle Paul writes his second letter to the Corinthians, he describes the church at Philippi as joyfully enduring a severe test of affliction. Nonetheless, they continued, he says, giving generously despite being in the throes of extreme poverty. What a change. Like Paul, these saints knew what it was like to abound and what it was like to be abased. Well, as Paul's letter tells us, though the Philippians had been consistent supporters of Paul's ministry, it had been some time since they had been able to make connection with Paul. But whenever he was finally settled in a Roman prison cell, and they got word of this, they seized the opportunity and immediately gathered together a care package, and they elected someone from their congregation, Epaphroditus, to take it to Paul. And so while Paul rejoices over their act of kindness, he wants them to know that it wasn't their gift, but it was the love and concern that they had for him. That's what gladdened his heart. He wasn't in the most favorable of circumstances, though he was surely short of funds, surely short of essentials and could use supplies. He was nonetheless content, not discontent. He wasn't complaining. He was rejoicing. He wasn't anxious. He was calm. He wasn't in a paralyzing panic. He steadily stayed his course, even there in prison. He had been thoroughly discipled, as he told us earlier, in the art of being content regardless of his situation. The secret he had learned? Simple. The Lord God is directing all things according to the counsel of his will, and God's grace is always sufficient in every circumstance of life. And so despite his present trouble, he says, I can do all things. I can endure all things. I can continue preaching and answering the call that's been placed upon my life because of the power of Christ and Christ alone. He could do all of this with contentment, whether or not these saints had sent their gift. And that's when Paul says, yet it was kind for you to share in my trouble. You see, Paul again is saying, with or without your gift, I'm content. With or without your gift, I'm able to do what God has called me to do, though Christ, through Christ who strengthens me. Even so, he says, it was kind of you to share in my trouble. In the Greek, it was kind of you has been variously translated. Listen to some of these translations. It was right of you. It was good of you. You have done nobly by sending this gift to me. You did beautifully. You acted generously. Now you can see from this range of interpretations, of translations, there's a wide range of nuance in this word. And it does have a flavor of thoughtfulness and graciousness to it. Well, what these saints did, they did out of love for Christ. They did out of love for Paul. They did out of love for the gospel. But the most consistent translation by far is simply, you have done well. You have done well. Paul is saying, even though I'm content and doing without, even though, through the power of Christ, I am strong for whatever I must face, you did the right thing by sending this gift. It was the right thing to do. This is how the body of Christ is supposed to function. We are to bear one another's burdens. As Paul says in Romans 12, we're not only to rejoice with those who rejoice. That's the fun part, isn't it? We don't mind that. Let us know when there's something that you're rejoicing over. We'll all gladly join in. But find somebody to weep with you when it's time to weep. Scripture says we're to do both. And it's more than just a show of sympathy. We're to join with those who rejoice. We're to join with those who weep. Paul is admonishing us to participate with one another, to be there for one another, to be involved in the lives of one another. As he told the Philippians in chapter two, we're to look to the interests of others, not just our own. And so Paul is saying, you did well by sending this gift for that's what God's people ought to be doing. And what makes us even more beautiful is that this congregation did so not begrudgingly, not out of obligation, but cheerfully with a heart of compassion and a spirit of love. And it was a sacrifice for them. Nonetheless, supporting those who faithfully preach and teach the gospel, even though they did so with such a heart of love and cheerfulness, it is also a duty. It is what God expects from his people. As we saw last week, there were many churches, Paul said, that were muzzling the ox that treads out the corn. They were failing to support those who fed them with the bread of life, with the manna from heaven, with the life-giving word of God. It's the responsibility of God's people to support those who labor well in the preaching and teaching of scripture. And on this front, the Philippian congregation was to be commended. Not only were they supporting the gospel ministry of the one from whom they had first heard that word of life, they did so willingly, and as I said a moment ago, sacrificially. It was a lot for them to be able to gather this gift together. And of all the churches under Paul's care, this was one of the poorest, if not the poorest. And yet, as the apostle told the Corinthians, this congregation's, and I love this phrase, he says, this congregation's abundance of joy and extreme poverty has overflowed, he says, in a wealth of generosity. Don't miss the irony in that. This abundance of joy and extreme poverty has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Abundance of joy seems incompatible with extreme poverty, doesn't it? I mean, most people would say, those folks are out of their mind. Not only are they irritatingly joyful, for people who are so poor, they just keep giving away what little they have. What imbeciles, right? You know, it doesn't square with the world's economics, does it? But as Jim Elliot said, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. That's what it means to invest treasure in heaven. And as Paul affirms in verse 19, God rewards those who obey him. We will get there in due course. And so if there was ever a congregation that understood Paul's command to rejoice in the Lord always, it was the Philippians because they could give out of their poverty while rejoicing. It was an abundance of rejoicing. And so they could truly say, whenever Paul says, rejoice in the Lord always, been there, done that, got the T-shirt or the robe, right? I don't think they had T-shirts. So Paul says, you were right to share in my trouble. It was the right thing to do. You did well. The word share is often translated fellowship or to be a partner. So what he's saying is, you did well to partner with me in my trouble. That's the same idea that the apostle uses in the opening of this letter when he says these saints had been his consistent partners in the gospel from the very beginning. These saints had been transformed by the power of the gospel that Paul had preached. They had rejoicing hearts, and so they shared with Paul's zeal for the advancement of this wondrous gospel. Great gratitude, they wanted everyone to know the joy of what it means to be blessed of God and to know the salvation that he has come to give. And so they advanced the gospel in many ways. They advanced the gospel by meeting together like we're doing this morning and worshiping him. They promoted the gospel by proclaiming the good news that Paul had preached to them. The gospel was reshaping their lives. It was transforming them by the renewing of their minds. They were partners, participants in the gospel. And when Paul set out from Philippi to take the gospel elsewhere, they wanted to share in his work. You see, this is more than mental or verbal agreement. It's engagement. It's participation. It's working together for a common cause. That's what partnership means. It entails an investment. You know the old saying, put your money where your mouth is? Well, that's what these saints did, quite literally. But these saints didn't just write a check and forget about it. They prayed for the Apostle Paul. And they sent Epaphroditus, a member of their own congregation who had to make a long and perilous journey from Philippi in order to get to Rome. He carried with him this gift. We're not told what the nature of the gift is, but in addition to money, it likely included food and supplies. That was not uncommon in that day. But what's more, the gift included Epaphroditus himself. He had come not only to bring gifts, but to be a gift to the Apostle Paul and to assist him any way he could. You see, the church there at Philippi, they couldn't all pack up and go to Rome, so they elected to send Epaphroditus, that he might be their hands and their feet, that he might be their representative. They sent him, that he might come alongside the Apostle Paul and help bear the burden the apostle was bearing. They were serious about supporting Paul and the gospel. And so now we come then full circle back to the paradox with which we started. Sharing in the triumphs of the gospel is also sharing in the troubles of the gospel, the adversities of the gospel. It is also suffering that is involved in ministering the gospel. You can't have one without the other. And so sending this gift, by doing so, these saints were not only partnering with Paul in the fruit of his ministry, they were partaking of his troubles as well. They were investing in his gospel ministry, and therefore, not only sharing in the triumphs of the gospel, they were sharing in the troubles through which the triumphs of the gospel prevailed. As Paul said at the end of chapter one, He says, you have been given a privilege, a privilege of not only believing in Christ, but the privilege of suffering for his sake. And I wish those who preach the health wealth gospel today could read that verse and take it to heart. It is a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ. That's what the scripture says, it cannot be denied. It is a blessing. It is a gift from God. And the God who gives us the gift of faith with which to believe, the God who grants to us the heart to believe, the God who gives us repentance as a gift is the very same God who says, now I'm granting you another gift, the gift of suffering for my sake. So yes, these saints had their own burdens to bear, but they were also identifying with Paul and his plight. They were bearing his burden with him just as he had identified with them in their struggles that they faced. This is what the writer of Hebrews, by the way, is talking about in Hebrews chapter 13. He says, remember those in prison, and this next part's very important. Remember those in prisons, it doesn't just mean Think about them from time to time. Don't forget that they're there. No? Remember those who are in prison as though you were in prison with them. Therein is the heart of the gospel. Remember those who are in prison as though you were in prison with them. Don't forget about them. Pray for them as if you were there yourself. And if possible, provide any relief for them. Share in their trouble that you can possibly provide. That's what this verse is saying. And this is what the Philippian saints had done. They were true partners of the gospel. They weren't partners who had given a one-time gift and forgotten all about Paul and never followed his ministry ever again. No, these were partners who were steadfast and faithful. They recalled Paul regularly in their prayers. They gave regularly and sacrificially to the ministry. They were invested in Paul's ministry. And this is how the whole body of Christ is supposed to function, with mutual care and concern, by identifying with one another. What does it mean when he says, remember those who are in prison as though you're in prison with them? That's identifying with them. Go more than just thinking about, oh, they're in prison, that's a really sad situation. Put yourself in their shoes, that's what he's saying. Because we're called to look to the interests of others as well as our own. We are called to bear one another's burdens. We are called to weep with those who weep. We are called to rejoice with those who rejoice. And so the question for us this morning is, do we love Christ and the gospel enough to be true partners in the advancement of the gospel? This is what we do that's eternal. What we do for the kingdom of heaven is the only thing we're going to take from here when we die. As one fellow once said, he's never seen a hearse with a U-Haul behind it. Everything you have accumulated here is going to stay. And the only thing that will go with you are the spiritual value that you placed upon what you were able to do for the kingdom of heaven. Obeying the Lord Jesus Christ and doing what he says. And so that's the question we need to ask ourselves. Are we like the Philippians or are we like the Corinthians? The Corinthians who were shamed by Paul. for their failure to be what they ought to be in Christ. Didn't mean they weren't Christians, but they had a lot of growing up to do, and they were chastised soundly by Paul. The book of 1 Corinthians is not a chapter that goes by that doesn't have a stern rebuke. But the Philippians, they had their problems. They had to deal with difficulties. They had problems within the body of Christ, difficulties. And Paul says, I'm urging you, settle those matters. You are one in Christ, do not allow anything to divide you, right? But these were saints who I'm sure listened to that admonition because these were saints who were true partners in the advancement of the gospel. And the gospel must not be just proclaimed, but believed and lived. And so the question, again, Do we love Christ and the gospel enough to be true partners? Are we willing to bear one another's burdens, even when it's inconvenient? Are we willing to put ourselves in the shoes of others and really consider them, not just with sympathy, but with empathy, with full and true compassion? My prayer is may the Lord give us the grace to follow Thee Godly example of the Apostle Paul, those who served with him, and this beloved congregation who had given so much for the cause of the gospel. May he give us the grace to be true and faithful partners in the gospel. And to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.