The Power Of The Gospel Series

A long time ago, the only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small uninhabited island. He cried out to God to save him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none came. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a rough hut and put his few possessions in it. But then one day, after hunting for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. He couldn’t believe it! After everything that had already happened, he had lost all that he had left, and he was stung with grief. Early the next day however, he noticed a ship on the horizon that was clearly coming to the island! The ship arrived, and a crew came off the ship and rescued him! “How did you know I was here?” he asked the crew. They replied, “We were passing by, and we saw your smoke signal,” When his hut burned to the ground, devouring everything that he had left, he thought that all hope was lost. But in the end, his hut burning down became his salvation. Though he didn’t realize it in the moment, his hut burning down was actually a blessing in disguise.

Have you ever felt like this before? Have you ever felt like nothing was going your way, or like everything in your life was working against you, just to discover that God was working through those bad experiences and through those events to bring about something greater in your life? If you have, you will be able to relate really well with what Paul was experiencing when he wrote the letter to the church in Philippi. We started a new series on the letter to the Philippians, and we are still in the opening part of this letter. Last week Paul began by giving thanks to God for the believers in this church, and for their incredible faith, and he prayed for them, that they would continue to grow and to learn and mature in their faith. And now we have come to this place where Paul begins to reassure them that he is personally doing ok, because when Paul wrote this letter, he was in prison, or under house arrest. Paul understood what it felt like to be stuck. He wanted to be out preaching the good news and spreading the love of Jesus to the world! He had all these plans for where he was going to go, and what he was going to do, but he was being held back from doing it! He was given the highest calling on his life by Jesus, to go and disciple the nations for Jesus, but he was stuck in prison, literally handcuffed to a Roman guard. His frustration must have been so immense, because he wants to go and preach about Jesus, but all he can do is write these letters to people while he is stuck in a room somewhere. But what we will see from scripture today, is that although Paul was being held back physically from his ministry, God was using his captivity to spread the good news faster than he ever could have done on his own. Because the Gospel overcomes all adversity. It cannot be held back.

Today we are going to cover Philippians chapter 1 verses 12-18. “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.”

So Paul began the letter with a prayer of thankfulness for the Philippian church, and now he starts to let them know about his own personal situation. It was pretty clear from his prayer at the beginning that he is very close with many of the church members in Philippi, so it makes sense that he wants them to know that he is doing ok. By now they almost surely are aware that he is in prison, and as they ARE very close, they are probably pretty worried, both for Paul, and for what this will mean for the church. They may have been hearing rumors about how he was being treated in jail, they may have even sent messengers to find out how Paul is doing! We don’t really know. But we can tell from this first verse that they were concerned for his well-being. And what Paul tells them, is that its ok! Everything is actually working out for the best! He says, “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else”. He is saying, its ok! Yes, he is in prison. But despite this obstruction to his ministry, and the potential dangers ahead, his imprisonment has resulted in a powerful witness for Christ, and a triumph of the gospel in the place that he is under arrest. Because of his arrest, the entire guard, and the rest of the household where he is being held, KNOW that he is there and in chains for Jesus. They know he is not a law breaker! They know that he does not deserve to be there! They know that he is suffering for the cause of the gospel, and it is changing lives, because everyone wants to know WHY he is there. Everyone wants to know what is so offensive and exciting about this Jesus, that they would lock Paul up for talking about him. Because he is locked up, people are coming to Jesus. The word progress, or the Greek word “Prokope”, means advancement, continuation, work, labor. Paul is saying that BECAUSE he is in prison, the good news is advancing and continuing. The work of the gospel is reaping benefits that it would NOT be if he were a free man. He is recognizing that God is working through his misfortune. No matter what happens to him personally, the gospel will continue to spread and grow.