“Joy
in Serving Jesus… even when life is hard!”
Philippians 1:12-18a
Introduction: Do
you recall the speech of Samwise in the “The Two Towers” in the Lord of the
Rings series? When it seemed there was no hope and Frodo was ready to give up the
mission in despair, drained by the struggle and the opposition, thinking he
couldn’t complete the task, Sam offers words of hope…
I know. It's all wrong. By rights we
shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo.
The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And
sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be
happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had
happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even
darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will
shine out the clearer…
Sam spoke some good theology there! We
know that God, who created the universe and called it “good,” will one day
restore life as it should be in the New Heaven and the New Earth. God has appointed a Day in which He will judge
the world in righteousness. Paul has alluded to that “Day” a couple of times
already in this chapter (cf. 1:6,11). Until Jesus comes, we’ve been
entrusted with the mission of bringing the “Good News” to the Shadowlands.
We have been included in God’s story! The Bible teaches that all of history is really
about Jesus Christ, the King of the universe, coming to provide the basis for
sinners to be reconciled to God. He is both Sovereign and Sacrifice, the slain
Lamb is the conquering King - through whom and for whom our world
exists. Being a follower of Jesus is really about knowing Him, entrusting
ourselves to Him, and finding our place in His story. He saved us on
purpose, for a purpose. Even when life
doesn’t make sense, even when we are passing through hardships or people seem
to be against us, looking at the big story can give some perspective. It’s all about Jesus, so we can serve Him
joyfully!
Context: “But I want you to know brothers…” Paul
has just told the Philippians that he
prays for them to grow as disciples of Christ, loving God and loving one
another, discerning what really matters, and living a life that brings glory to
God. He is confident that God will
answer that prayer, and complete His good work in and through the Philippians. That
does not mean that the Christian life is easy, that it is without hardships or
opposition. Paul is modeling the truth of serving with joy that goes beyond
the circumstances of the moment as surely as he is teaching it with his words.
We can serve the Lord joyfully because He is sovereign, the Lord of History—and
because history really is His Story… nothing is going to impede His
plan. We don’t live in a chance
universe, the end is not in doubt! Psalm 2 shows a world in chaos, the nations
in rebellion against God and his anointed, but He who sits in the heavens
laughs—one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord. Until that day we urge men on behalf of Christ to be
reconciled to God!
The BIG Idea: We
can serve God joyfully, even when life gets hard, because God is Sovereign, He
has a plan, and we can trust Him!
I. Trials from outside: We can serve joyfully in spite of trouble – because
Jesus IS building His church! (1:12-14). Let’s
begin with 1:12-13…
12 I
want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to
advance the gospel, 13 so
that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the
rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
We see here Paul in chains, but even so
the Gospel advances inside and outside of Prison. Paul, in the midst of trying circumstances,
could see God’s hand at work. I used to enjoyed reading books by Tom Clancy… he
was a great story teller, weaving a complex narrative with several storylines
that seem to always converge in some way at the end. Think of the story of your
life! All things to work together for good to those who love God, for those
who care called according to His purpose. This we know, God is the author
of this story, and he will work everything together for our good, and for
His glory. We don’t know all the details, we may not see how they fit together,
but we do know the end of the story: Jesus wins!
We shouldn’t be surprised by trials or
hardships as we seek to follow Christ. After
all, Jesus warned his disciples in John
16:33, “In the world you have
tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." Face it, a lot of the Message we have to tell
runs counter to popular thinking. They
say there is no absolute truth… we say Jesus is the way the truth and
the life. They say there are many
paths to God… and we say there is no other name under heaven, given
among men, by which we must be saved.
They say the world is changing, and the rules of sexuality and marriage
we find in the Bible are outdated and irrelevant. We say God is immutable and his Word
has not changed, and humans are what God created them to be, male and female.
The world says I’ll make my own rules, I am in charge of my life and my destiny,
we say, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and so we owe him our allegiance and
obedience. That is not popular thinking.
We shouldn’t be surprised by trials and hardship. Even so, we strive to speak
the truth in love, and we urge people on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to
God.
Paul saw God’s hand working in his
struggles. He could see how the news of his imprisonment for the gospel was
spreading among the unbelievers around him, “…what has happened to
me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial
guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ…”
Paul
wanted to encourage the Philippians that God was working in his circum-stance,
that some good purpose was already evident. The guards, and others around him
knew why he was there, and they were hearing the message of Christ. The Gospel
was advancing, so Paul could rejoice despite his chains! He could also see that
his circumstance had emboldened others to proclaim the Gospel boldly…
14
And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment,
are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
That
reminds me of the effect of the lives of the five missionaries to the Wao Dani
(a.k.a. Auca Indians) in Equador who were martyred in 1956…* Jim Eliot and Nate
Saint among them… I’ll refer to them again next week. They knew the risks, and
yet they were ready to give their lives to bring the gospel to that remote
indigenous tribe. After their deaths their wives went back to that same tribe,
and eventually the people turned to Christ. The testimony of those families
inspired a generation of missionaries to go out, bringing the Gospel to
unreached people groups. The modern missionary movement was advanced by their
devotion and sacrifice. Like Paul, they knew that whether by life or by
death, Christ would be exalted (Phil 1:20). They understood, as Jim Eliot
said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he
cannot lose.”
It will not always immediately be evident
how God is working, even so, we can know that it is true. Ultimately, in
the big picture, He works everything together for our good, and for His glory. He
is weaving together strands of a story that is bigger than we know. We see that
in the early church in the book of Acts… As Luke writes, in Acts 4-7 he shows the
church growing through testing. What fascinates me, is that the tests come
from outside, as we might expect, but then also from within…
External Test: 4:1-22 - the
apostles were arrested and threatened – And the church was united and continued
to grow (4:32). [Notice their prayer, vv.23-30!]
Internal
Problem: 5:1-16, Ananias and Sapphira lied about their gift, and God took
them – 5:1-11. Nevertheless, the church continued to grow, with great reverence
for our awesome God (14).
External
Test: 5:17-42, The Apostles are arrested again, threatened and this time
beaten – Yet, they rejoice, and never stop preaching the Gospel (5:41-6:1a).
Internal
Problem: 6:1-7, Division over Greek-speaking widows being neglected in the
distribution of food. Deacons are
appointed, the structure of the church is enhanced, and instead of division, growth
continued (6:7)!
External test: Acts 7, Stephen’s speech
and martyrdom… And so the church is scattered in the midst of persecution, but those
scattered continue to preach the Word, and eventually a church is planted in
Antioch (8:1,4; cf. 11:19-21).
The pattern here is clear! Jesus
is building His church. Trials and opposition will come, trials from outside,
trials from within, but nothing is going to stop God from accomplishing
His purpose. In fact, the church can flourish in times of testing!
Paul had been a prisoner for four years,
two in Caesarea, and two more in Rome. If he was released after the end of
Acts, we know he was imprisoned again in Rome, a time in which he wrote the
pastoral epistles. He then would only be released into the arms of Jesus at his
martyrdom. But Paul did not wait for things to get better before he served – he
was a faithful witness right where he was. He did not put serving the Lord
on hold! He was faithful where he was. Is life different in this
post-pandemic world, amid the political divisions and the worsening situations
in the world? In some ways, yes. But the mission continues, unchanged, even more
urgently as time passes, until the Day of the Lord.
Others were encouraged to serve boldly,
seeing Paul’s ministry in chains. Paul was
a prisoner and was being used by God. Did they think, “surely we can be
available as well!”? Aren’t you blessed when you see someone witnessing
from a hospital bed, or a shut in who can no longer drive or get out
encouraging you when you come to
visit? Haven’t you seen families or
friends who had a peace that passes understanding in the midst of a crisis they
were experiencing? Doesn’t that
encourage you to want to be faithful where you are, whatever the circumstance? The
Big Idea: We can serve God joyfully, even when life gets hard, because God is
Sovereign, He has a plan, and we can trust Him! But we see here that Paul not
only had external, worldly, opposition. No. He also faced…
II. Trials from within: We can be joyful in spite of trials – as long as
Christ’s name is proclaimed (1:15-18a). The Gospel Advances outside
Prison – despite ill will .
15 Some indeed preach
Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.
16 The
latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the
gospel.
17 The
former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me
in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in
pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
First of all, we should not be surprised
by opposition and criticism! Nehemiah was called of God to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem, yet he experienced mocking, criticism, and opposition. Jesus warned
His disciples in the Upper Room that they should expect opposition from the
world. He said, for example, in John
15:18-19,
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me
first. 19 If you belonged to
the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
But
that is talking about the world, about this world system that is blinded by the
devil, and unwittingly serving him! Paul is experiencing that
from unbelievers, Romans and unconverted Jews. But from other Christians? It ought
not to happen. But are those who “preach Christ from envy and rivalry” among
the emboldened “brothers” in v.14? As we read the context, I think so. I
don’t think Paul is talking about false teachers or heretical doctrine. He
is not shy about rebuking such in other letters. He is talking about some teachers
and preachers who perhaps didn’t embrace aspects of Paul’s preaching, or maybe
still questioned his authority since he was not one of the original twelve
apostles. Do you think there is ever envy or rivalry between genuine
Christians? If you have been a Christian for more than a minute, I think you
know the answer to that! It ought not happen, but it does.
Obviously, Paul was rejoicing
over some who were preaching with boldness because they are encouraged
by Paul’s faithfulness in the midst of his imprison-ment. Let’s face it, we all want to be loved and
accepted. And Paul had to be
encouraged by those who loved Christ and also loved him, and preached
knowing that Paul had been chosen by Jesus for a special mission, that he was “appointed
for the defense of the Gospel.”
Others, however, were preaching with
wrong motives, with envy, with selfish ambition, some apparently hoping to
somehow make Paul’s situation even worse.
Rather than getting defensive, or angry about their motives, Paul
basically says, “It doesn’t matter. It is not about me, it’s all about Jesus.” As long as they preach the Gospel, and point people
to Jesus, God can use them, and He will be glorified. Consider the story
of Joseph in Genesis. Rejected, lied about, forgotten… but he could see God’s
hand at work, and instead of seeking revenge when his brothers came before him,
he said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,
to bring it about that many people should be kept alive …” (Gen 50:20).
Are trials and opposition something God
can use in our lives? It can be that God allows hardships and opposition to
teach us. Peter said,
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as
was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness
of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by
fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation
of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you
have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in
him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory… (I Pet 1:6-8).
God may allow hardships or opposition to teach us, to
build our faith. James said, “Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of
your faith produces steadfastness…” (James 1:2,3).
What is God saying to me in this passage? We
can serve God joyfully, even when life gets hard, because God is Sovereign, He
has a plan, and we can trust Him!
What would God have me to do in response to
this passage?
1) Know that the enemy would want to discourage
you. Jesus said I am with you always… He said, I will never leave you
or forsake you. And we have the indwelling, empowering presence of the
Spirit! Greater is He who is in you, than He who is in the world! Jesus
said, “I have overcome the world!”
2) For a while, we are here, living as
pilgrims in a fallen world. That means thorns and thistles, sickness, sometimes
heartbreak… someday, death. It is all a consequence of Adam’s sin. The best
moments of life are just a glimmer of the future God has in store for us. Nothing
shall separate us from the love of Christ…!
3) We are pilgrims, but we are not just
passing through. We are here by God’s design. He saved us on purpose, for a
purpose. Jesus is building His church. We have a part in His Mission. We’re
part of His story, and a new day is coming! AMEN.
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