"Chain" Reactions Series

This is the truth. The world is under siege from you who believe in Jesus. Isn’t this what Jesus said, “…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Mt 16:18)?

God used Paul’s trouble to encourage bold testimony. And God uses our chains, our trouble to encourage us to boldly testify. Whatever you are chained to, perhaps that is where Jesus wants you to talk about him.

3. …to Motivate the Church

Can you see the reactions to Paul’s chains so far? What happened to him helped to advance the gospel. One result was an opportunity to witness to his captors. Here’s another result: “Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (v. 14).

The word “speak” in this verse is not the word for “preach.” This word means ordinary, everyday conversation. It is a natural way of talking, chatting about what Christ has done for us on the cross and how he has impacted our lives. It is like telling our story at the coffee shop like we do with any other story.

How easily do we bring Jesus into our conversations? Not very easily. Some do it very naturally but for the rest of us it can be a very awkward segue. I am just talking about conversation here, not evangelism.

The other day at Monday night hockey, our brother Don Penner was telling everyone in the locker room after the game how he had taken a guy out of the play. Don then said, “Man I deserved a penalty, maybe a few.” And I looked at him and said, “No Don, Jesus paid it all.” Now you might think that borders on the sacrilegious or in poor taste, but in a funny way I meant it.

It would be interesting to know what Paul’s tactics were in speaking about Jesus. He said in 1 Cor 9:21, “…I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some” (NLT). Whatever his tactics were, it was his trouble, his chains that encouraged people to speak about Jesus.

A good illustration of how God uses trouble to motivate the church is found in Acts 8:1. Jesus had given clear directions to his disciples before he went up into the clouds in Acts 1:8. When they received the Holy Spirit they were to go and witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. But they grew comfortable in the home base of Jerusalem. So in Acts 8:1 we read of a great persecution that broke out against the church in Jerusalem. In v. 4 it says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”

Our trouble may be God’s nudging us to action. Whatever difficulty you are facing right now, I want to encourage you to prayerfully put it before God and ask “What do you want me to do, Lord?”

4. …to Reveal what we Value

Finally, Paul recognized that trouble is a refining fire that reveals who our true friends are, what are real values are, and ultimately what really matters.

“It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (15-18).